Saturday, December 22, 2012

India at its Worst

        Dear readers, I have been hoping to start 'Ponderings' section for some time now. Its a column where I reflect my views and take on matters. Matters on varied topics, anything that I would love to share with you all, hear what you have to say about it, know the pulse of the readers. Many topics almost made it to this first post of 'Ponderings' section. But nothing moved me more than this current topic I want to rise -- The ever increasing innumerable rape cases in India.
        I write to you with utter shame and fear. The shame of our nation, that we all know despite all the protests and the promise of politicians, the Rape Syndrome will not stop and will continue. The fear that I am a girl too, have a family, am scared for myself, for the safety of my loved ones and for every living being. May such a trauma, psychologically and physically never befall on even our worst enemy. Its a cry of helplessness. Searching for the root of the problem is in itself a problem. A multitude of factors are causal agents for such an untoward incident. Then the solution has to be multidimensional too.
         What protects the common man is the law. If such a law is weak, then the loopholes in the law system encourage the culprit rather than deter them from committing crime. Most criminals seem to have a mindset that 'Rape whom you feel like, and enjoy a vacation of few months or maximum of few years in jail and return back to the rape business like never before'. What do we do to instill the fear and moral in these criminals. Fear and morality have to be handled hand in hand. We cannot sit tight and wait for the mindset of the people to change and let criminals let loose till then. Strengthen the laws, nothing less than Death Penalty will serve the purpose. There is no issue of human rights here. The guilty cannot be allowed to roam free, when the victim is damaged for life and suffers either the social stigma, psychological and physical scar, which most times last a life time or die a painful slow death. Worse even being petitioned for mercy killing. Why is it that people who fight for the human rights of criminals, not see the human rights violation of the victims???
          Who has to strengthen the law? The people in power, the politicians. But why would a politician want to strengthen the law when they themselves are booked under various offenses. When one party agrees, the other agrees to disagree. This leg pulling game will continue for ever and no real work or decision will ever be reached.  Then why did we elect these kind of people in the first place.
          We THE PEOPLE are very loyal. We attach ourselves to our leaders more with the tags of caste, class,  creed, and political party rather than personal and professional achievements of the election candidate. Many people vote today for the loyalty of distributed money, or the loyalty that from ages their family has always supported a particular party, or for the loyalty towards their caste, that if a person from their caste is elected, their caste would become dominant and would receive a share of the corruption money, or for the ultimate loyalty of not having to do with any of these and abstain from voting thinking that the abstinence from voting will somehow lead to a better India. We need to change. Set aside the divisions among us and unite and for once vote for the health of this very ill country. Not think momentarily but far ahead as our vote is precious and our vote could change the course of our future generation.
         Young blood in politics is necessary. Not the young blood of the blood sucking politicians. Young blood of hearts which beat for the people and country. We are in need of new political parties and leaders, who are educated, well mannered, compassionate, bold enough to take tough decisions, honest and most of all have common sense. Its time for the old rot in politics to go who have been making merry in the name of experience. And most important of all is for us to support such parties and encourage sensible netas.
         Coming back to the gang rape of Delhi, I am of the opinion that the guilty be encountered. The list of such notorious culprits to be made and encountered one by one. This might seem extreme for some. The point is not that, if these people deserve such a harsh punishment, but their punishment is to set an example for the society, that such criminals think twice before they pounce. The death to these criminals will serve as warning to many others to come, saving many lives in turn. But such a powerful weapon of encounter not be given to each and every police. A specialized cell of sensible honest top police officials to handle these in an efficient manner. On the other end, another tracking unit be composed, where the women police act as bait, and lure these animals out and are caught on tape as evidence and punished instantly. And for people who have been shouting out that wearing jeans and other western wear attracts attention and symbolizes that the victim is asking for rape, mind you that our traditional wear saree exposes a lot of the woman's body than a jeans would do. Nothing has been free from external influence in this world. Even the so called traditional modern day saree has undergone too many changes from time to time and if the saree in its original avatar has to be worn, it would be more explosive than western wear. There is no culture, raping in the name of culture. May this brave girl survive and live healthily. A symbol of bravery for all those who have wielded the deadweight of rape.
        
         

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Radish Curd Medley / Mooli Raita

               This is the perfect dish when you have a Radish pleading to be used in ur Pantry. Easy to prepare and amazing to taste. Perfect for those lazy weekends, when ur body seems heavier than a ton and you can't drag urself to prepare anything elaborate yet taste buds demand for tasty food. Easy Breezy dish... I got ma hands on this recipe from MonsoonSpice Sia. Tastes as wonderful as it looks. Goes well with rice. But ma fav is with Indian flat bread - Chapathi.


Ingredients: 

> Radish / Mooli - peeled and grated - 2 cups       
> Onion - 1 small chopped finely                                  
> Green Chilly - 2, finely chopped
> Yogurt - 2 - 3 cups beaten
> Coriander / Cilantro - 2 tbsp - finely chopped



Tempering:
> Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
> Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
> Urad Dal - 1 tsp
> Red Chilly - broken - 2
> Curry Leaves - 7-8 chopped finely
> Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
> Oil - a tsp


  • Heat oil in a pan. Add Mustard and Jeera. Wait till they splutter and add Urad Dal and Hing. Cook till the Dal turns light brown. Add Red Chilly and Curry leaves.
  • Add chopped Green Chilly and saute for a minute and add Onion. Saute till they are translucent.
  • Add grated Radish to Pan and saute for couple of minutes till the raw smell disappears.
  • Let it cool and add beaten yogurt and salt. Enjoy with Rice or Flat Indian Breads.




Bitter Gourd Stir Fry / Kakarakaya Fry

           Bitter Melon, the bitter enemy of many!!!!! We were not allowed to skip the bitter melon in our food. Instead mom used to prepare them with Jaggery, so that it would be bearable. And for Dad, without the jaggery, as Bitter Melon is said to help Diabetes patients. Nature seems to have gifted the vegetables and fruits that we hate, with the most useful properties of all!! This Bitter Gourd fry, involves removing most of the bitterness. Then you might ask, what is the whole point. Well, I said most of its bitterness, not all. Something is better than nothing, esp. if you have bitter memories of bitter gourd. If you happen to love Bitter melon, then skip Step 1, and also skip the sugar in the recipe. This recipe balances out the bitterness due to the sweetness of onion, sugar, and dry Coconut. And will not be despised by kids as much. Thanks a lot Vahchef for such a wonderful and easy recipe. This is a regular at our home. :)

Ingredients: 


> Bitter Gourd - 6                                    
> Onion - 1 big, sliced thinly lengthwise
> Urad Dal - 3 tsp
> Curry Leaves - 7 - 8
> Turmeric - 1 tsp
> Dhania / Coriander seed Powder - 1 tsp
> Chilli Powder - 2 tsp, adjust according to taste
> Green Chilly - 2, slit length wise, medium spicy
> Coconut Powder - 1.5 tsp
> Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
> Coriander / Cilantro - 1/2 cup, chopped
> Salt - 4 tsp, adjust according to taste
> Oil - 4 tsp






















  • Cut Bitter Melon into thin circles / chakras. Sprinkle 2 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Turmeric and mix well. Leave aside for 10 - 15 mins. Now squeeze the Bitter Gourd using your hands and separate it from its juice and place in another vessel. Do not throw the seeds away that come out as they cook crisp and are very tasty. (An optional step after squeezing, would be to wash the Bitter Gourd and squeeze again and separate from juice. This reduces the bitterness almost completely).
  • Heat 3 tsp of Oil in a Pan. Add Urad Dal and cook till light brown. Add split green chillies, Curry Leaves and Onion and fry well. 
  • Add a pinch of Turmeric to the Pan. Add Ginger Garlic Paste and fry well till the raw smell disappears
  • Add the squeezed Bitter Melon to Pan, Salt and Dhania Powder and fry well for 2 minutes. Check Salt and add Chilly Powder. Cover and cook for on medium flame for 10 minutes till Bitter Gourd is browned, mixing between regular intervals.
  • Add Coconut Powder, Sugar and mix well and cook covered on high flame for 5 - 10 minutes, mixing it in regular intervals.
  • Add chopped Coriander and fry for couple of minutes.  Switch off flame. If you want Bitter Gourd to be more browned, add another tsp of oil and continue frying on high flame, without the cover, mixing in regular intervals. 
  • This dish goes well with rice, serves 3.