Saturday Samayal - Vaazh Podalanga and Pavakai Maanga Pitlai

Bittergourd (Momordica charantia/Kareta, Karavella, Kathilla, Sushavi)

Vaazh Podalanga Snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina)
See its interesting white flower at: Chachinda
Ayurvedic health benefits: Patola

Wheat Jaggery Kheer, Pavaka pitlai, Carrot slices, Vaazh Podalanga, Bikaneri Papad

Was wondering, what is different in Vaazh podalanga that commanded a price differential in market, that i decided to make podalanga, even though pitlai with podalangai was something i never tried before.

Mom said, it was different from usual fatter snake gourds, i could not discern anything different. Vaazh podalanga is a longer, sturdy and leaner than its smooth, chubby cousins.

We started with wheat kheer, cloyingly sweet with lots of jaggery and 10+ aromatic cardamoms. Whenever, i cook, i don't use tamarinds. So for pitlai, i used mangoes for tangyness. No konda kadalai, instead i used a mix of split moong and chana dal. Whenever i come home in spring and summer, i have to walk through a maze of drying tamarinds and finely cut baby mangoes, in various stages of being pickled. At times, I have to watch out for drying baby mangoes and tamarinds when i get up from bed or sofa. Mom would not even throw the tamarind seeds. She said, some one in village needed it.

Talking of tamarind reminds of this school song - Ram chale van ko mata, hum bhi chale jayenge. In the song, when mom asks her kids what will they eat as they accompany Sri Ram to jungle, the kids say, they will eat tamarind leaves and pods. We used to rub one side of the tamarind seeds, till they turned white and play dhaayam (dice) with 12 such seeds. One of my favourites is koil puliotharai. But believe, every eatable has a phase in life. So good bye tamarinds, if am at home. If i eat outside, i eat nonchalantly.

Last time, bitter gourd was crunchy, so this time i let bitter gourd cook for some more time for mom, till they were soft. Still mom said, she didn't want to chew the vegetables, she wanted to swallow them without having to chew them. Mom said, cook it for some more time, i will eat them in the evening. I told her i won't reheat anything that has oil in it. So i told her, when she is toothless, i would cook, so that she would not have to chew. God! our body constitutions are poles opposite.

Saturdays are for bittergourds, enemas, rest

Arisi payasam, Pavakkai pitlai, Murungai keerai, Roasted papad

Yet Another Saturday

Navadhanya Payasam, Kothavaranga Paruppu Usili, Murungai Keerai Poriyal, Pavakai Pitlai, Rasam, Curd, Roasted Papad

Navadhanya Payasam - Sathu mavu sauted in ghee with jaggery milk cashews, cardamoms and raisins

Kothavaranga Paruppu Usili, Murungai Keerai Poriyal

Pavakai Pitlai

Rasam

Curd

Full Meals

Peerkangai Thugayal

Torai Peerkangai Ridgegourd

Health benefits of Koshataki
spiceflair
logayurveda 

English School Teacher

My 11th and 12th standard english school teacher was LG, an Anglo Indian, a bachelor. One of his favourite movies was Kadhalikka neramillai. I loved his classes. He was the one who taught me how to pronounce V and W properly. I had changed schools after 10th and sir had taught his old students grammar just after 10th standard. However, for just two of us (new joinees) he stayed a bit longer after the classes got over and taught us english grammar. He was full of wise quotes.

One of the things, that i remember, he described, was answering the question - How is life? And different interpretations of the "so-so" response of say a tailor (sew-sew), a farmer (sow-sow) etc.

He used to say, how earlier, for a wedding, all that you had was a simple brinjal sambar and how ambrosiac it was, how the sambar's mouth-watering smell, would linger around the whole street. Now we have so many varieties, but gone is the taste, definitely gone is the health with pesticides, gone is the satisfied mind, gone with the wind. Incidentally, whenever, i find myself mentalizing too much, Scarlett O Hara's I will think about it tomorrow is what keeps me going. If not Hara, our 2nd chapter of BG. Thinking about variety, made me recollect the economic times spiritual columnist article on cooking blogs - where the author talks about Japanese tea ceremony - simple ritual which goes on for hours - partaking food as offering to God.

Once after a Kerala school trip, (when i still didn't know to read tamil alphabet written on buses), LG sir, sacrificed his sleep to help me board the bus at market.

Early Morning Gandhi Market

So at market I was, this morning. Anyway, once Mayiladuthurai Express reaches Trichy junction anywhere from 3:30-4:30 am in the morning, i would have to wait for at least 30 minutes for the first bus. So, i decided to go to Gandhi market to buy vegetables for home, along with local vegetable vendors.

Market pricing based on supply and demand is so amazing. Just two weeks before, around 4 am; i could buy a mega bunch of spear mint and corriander for Rs.10 each, this time, a even larger bunch was half the last price, at Rs. 5 each. Two weeks ago, all vegetables cost  Rs.10 each. Only carrot cost me 20 Rs a kg. This week, carrots were priced the same rate, but all other common vegetables - broad country beans (avarakai), ridge gourd, bitter gourd, beet, everything was 15-25. So last time, i had a half of gunny sack of 6 kgs of vegetables + additional 2 green bunches for Rs.90, this time,  it cost around 200, for 9 kg of vegetables + 2 green bunches.

Market Pricing Dynamics

Even funnier is the fact that this simple market pricing, like our 2G notional loss of 1.86 lakh crore, got a black mark on a government servant's ACR. The allegation against him was that, over many years, he pocketed lakhs by inflating vegetable prices meant for the mess, since he accounted for it uniformly, instead of considering daily market rates.

Thinking about allegations, I always used to wonder, mangal shani or rahu-shani combination (rule breaker-rule enforcer) like now in Thula. Christopher Reeves and Judy Garland with Mangal Shani dristi (movement vs. resistance). I asked an April 13, whose second born son had Mangal and Shani in his 12th house of thula, as to what he thought, if a person could make and break rules. The father said, such a person would be god. God or whatever, intriguing combination indeed.

Even more funny is the concept of 12th house. I read that it is likely that a person with venus in the 12th house was a female in the past life. I was thinking about gender, like idea's ad - couple accidentally swapping phone, what if the wife was born as the husband and vice versa. Does it take so much to understand each other? Especially, since in both my case and my sister's case, the 12th from guru (1st husband) is venus. My BIL has 12th venus in cancer, so every time, i would almost call him mother, for he cares for, cooks excellently for the whole joint family and feeds everyone around him effortlessly, that too from his childhood. There is nothing feminine physically about him. So my sis is married to a cancerian lady and i would be marrying a virgo lady who have become guys in this life. In my case, husband's 2nd house is my 12th house. I can't enjoy his wealth or his wealth is hoarded through my losses.

Vegetables and Ex - Neighbours

Back to ridge gourd. One of the harmless vegetables, sources say. Thugayal was too good, crunchy, a tad sweet, simply delicious. I had prepared a banana leaf feast of avarakkai sambar, my favourite kothavaranga paruppu usili, toasted bikaneri papad, fresh carrot juliennes, pudhina chutney, peerkangai thugayal, inji maanga thokku, yellow moong dal kheer laced with ghee with lots of ellaichi cashew and raisins. Since it was saturday, i had originally planned pavakkai pitlai. After my ex-neighbour barged in, i decided to make avarakkai sambar.

Yesterday night, i was watching Special 26. Nothing like having opposite door neighbour for a lover. There was this case of Aslesha girl who married her opposite door neighbour, another bongo mesha girl who married her March 9th neighbour. It was the same with my second cousin as well. In all cases, they were childhood pals, in all cases, first born was a son. In my case, am surrounded with immature kids who brandish their arms with self-inflicted knife scars. Home is a perennial conflict zone, from where i clamor to escape. I can't even open my windows and ask my mom to lock the front door to get some time to study peacefully. I can't even fart peacefully at home, for neither the locks nor the fence is any barrier to prying eyes  of my younger brother's junior set neighbour, (his elder sister is my close friend). He finds no shame in jumping over fences, or entering through back door, taking my snaps in my nighty. Had a mini fight snatching the camera phone. Had prepared extra food for him also, but after mom served payasam, carrot juliennes, kothavaranga paruppu usili on the banana leaf, he refused to eat stating, if mom had prepared food he would have had food, but he would not eat my preparation. Am extremely wary of accepting free gifts or anything for free from guys. So our initial agreement was that, if he ate lunch at home, i would accept his free ride till railway station on sunday evening. I added extra rice, only after he stated, he didn't want to miss my cooking. After mom left for work, he again sneaked in through back door, eating just the kheer stating, now that he had kheer, i should come in his cab to station. Whatever, this once-in-a-blue-moon-weekend-drama too would pass. Need to do a pranic cut-cut to all ties with these juvenile delinquents.

Yellow Pumpkin Mystery

Thinking about ridge gourd - harmless vegetable. I was surprised to learn that that yellow pumpkin ought to be avoided during menstruation. All that i remembered that anything yellow and orange was rich in vitamin A, good for skin, eyes. So i used to gorge in carrots, papayas, mangoes, pumpkins whenever i got a chance. While papapya clearly eases cramps during menstruation, am yet to understand, why yellow pumpkin ought to be avoided those days. 

Chakka Eriserri Maanga Pachadi Baby Corn Golden Roast

For Sunday - Crunchy wheat Jaggery sweet with cashew, raisins and ellaichi

Baby Corn Golden Roast

Maanga Pachadi

Wheat Balls, Sweet Amlas, Carrot, Maanga Pachadi, Chakka Eriserri, Murukku, Murungakka Sambar, Curd

Mom and Periyamma said, they don't want jaggery in maanga pacchadi, so we made two versions, one without jaggery and one with delicious jaggery.

Mom distributed mangoes and our mallu neighbours gave us raw jackfruit, so with google to guide me, we ended up with Chakka eriserri cooked in coconut oil, and avialish coconut paste. What an odd combination i thought, baby corns and jackfruit and mangoes. Any day, my first preference is ripe mangoes, ripe jack fruit part of the fruit triad.

The best part was maanga pachadi with jaggery, and maanga pachadi without jaggery for curd.

Hair Care - Hibiscus and Henna

When i stayed in Vannathurai, my room mate, KS took me to parlour once, where i observed how they did hair massage, and lo my hair massage was an instant hit with chithi, bro, sis and mom. Next need to learn stomach and abdomen massage.

My virgo ex-model apartmentmate runs BodyCare and she keeps on talking about costly imported machines that give figure correction massage. Her clientele includes the actresses and hi-fi folks. But i believe in the long run, it is simple boat asana and self massage that would help. Need to bring this topic up with my physiotherapist SIL. She spent hours massaging my quadriceps and taught me how to as well. Thanks to her, now am able to climb steps with lesser height with my right leg.

Hibiscus Sembaruthi

Maruthaani Henna

Mom plucked the leaves, made a smooth paste, while periyamma sat next to me, to ensure, i covered all my scalp. Was feeling bad that two hibiscus buds were there amongst plucked leaves. But the effect of this combination is simply too good. Only after hours, when my head started hurting, i washed my hair and stood under hot sun to dry my wet scalp. Omavalli leaves were growing wildly with the leaked water tank water. Thanks to mother nature, we are all able to savour these little little things. Thank you! God of small things, rather everything.

Every morning, when i touch the ground, am always amazed at the relative motion effect, where it is so difficult to believe being close to equator, it is always the stability of terra firma I perceive rather than the velocity with which earth is rotating and revolving.

Dogs and Fish

For the past two nights, i had been sleepless, first due to a ppt and the second due to train journey. From morning, when D gave a me box full of  chocolates, it was extremely difficult to be just its safekeeper and not relish it.  I told R that I badly missed chocolates and he bought my  favourite Temptations Rum and Raisins, which i almost single handedly polished off in just 30 minutes. (ok, I just gave just 8-9 bits to SB who was carrying for three months wondering, if chocolates were good for babies).

The cab supervisor was going to Mandya by Chamundi Express. Without asking, he handled
my trolley and i just followed him. The moment the train started jolting, i decided to spare my eyes and L3 and collapsed happily. At Karmelaram, B joined me with three soft idlies. Wow, it was ambrosia, after PG and office idlis, i almost forgot, what soft idlis and proper chutney sambar tasted like.

Every major stop woke me up. No water was there in the train and the stench was unbearable at the station halts. Lampooning the stench, someone played Veti veru vaasam, vedla pulla nesam around 3:30 am. Nothing indeed can match the fragrance of vetti veru scrub in soothing warm water. Since i massage with oil most days except mondays, thursdays and sundays, the vetti veru scrub would start smelling oil after just a week.

B woke me up at 4 am and we parted ways. So appa and amma came, gave me anna's blazer. Amma asked, did you get a trolley just for this. I said, no, i had things to take back. She asked me, if there was no car to pick me up. I said, it was only mom and she didn't know driving. They went to station to have coffee and I felt bad, with Adyar Anand Bhavan closed in station, i was going empty handed to meet mom. I typically give 150 to N to buy 1 kg pomegranates for mom during my trips, but he didn't come to office on friday. So I took a bus to Gandhi market and bought half a gunny sack of oranges and vegetables, coriander bunch, spearmint bunch, which i could carry without straining.

Along with other vegetable hawkers who were carrying many larger sacks of vegetables for their area customers, i stood waiting for bus, which came after a while and i reached home around 6 am. A police guy, helped with the trolley while alighting.

Mom was also there at the  bus stand, to buy milk. She buys milk only if someone comes home. She said, i looked like a theevaravadi (aathathayinah) in my black tshirt and grey pants and brown black stole covering my head and face. I was glad. My test while going outside, is street dogs behaviour. I intentionally build in some fury, make my footsteps firm, almost stomping, and walk brisk with my fist clenched and sharp thumb nails jutting out ready to draw blood. If the dogs run away when I approach, am sure none of the gropers would dare come near me. I hate going to crowded markets because of gropers. I badly wanted a physical shield that would sense gropers and became porcupine like, with sharp knives. It took me years to realize, that a girl's best self defence was arul kaapu (prayers) and protective thoughts. Have tried and tested in so many crowds and it does work for me.

Talking about vibrations around the body reminds me of fish in office. If the fish quickly swim away frightened  as i approach them; I stand and pray and bless everyone whom I am going to meet till the fish return. That is the best entry check for kitchen as well. To cook in a positive loving frame of mind.

Meals at Home

For Mom: Corriander Chutney Rice, Pumpkin, Snake Gourd, Bitter Gourd, MangoDrumstick Sambar, Curd, Kheer

For Periyamma

Ever since, it got confirmed that we are not working on saturdays and i didn't have to cancel my weekend train tickets, i had been asking mom for corriander chutney and pudhina chutney. After reaching home sleepless for 2 nights, woke up pretty late and missed breakfast's corriander chutney. So ended up making a makeshift corriander chutney pulav with fresh peas and carrot.

Kheer reminded me of cerelac. Laced with melting ghee, mashed rice, milk, cashews, fragrant ellaichies and jaggery to sweeten, i could not help taking one more tiny scoop from mom's and periyamma's share. It was too good.

Summer season, so everywhere, there was these tiny baby mangoes that had fallen in the wind, that ended up as avakai pickle. Maanga murungaka sambar was simply tangilicious.

I had gone straight to early morning Gandhi Market from junction, so ended up with kgs of vegetables. Tomorrow, we will have only one proper vegetable.

La Opala's can never beat the special taste of steaming rice on fresh banana leaf, probably an Ag/Au plate can beat the taste. Pradhosam and tomorrow is Maha shivarathiri, but we ended up eating so much, with paneer peas pulav for dinner. Gone are the days when i used to give rest to tummy on trayodashis. Now, it has shifted to weekly tuesdays rather than fortnightly trayodashis.

Random and Order of Birth

She would not be more than 20 years old. Fragile and slim, with a fawn brown kurti pajama and black dupatta. Kind of cute girl. She had rolled up her pajamas a little below her knees, so that she could clean the toilets without wetting her dress. She came with a white bucket and broom. Earlier, we used to have a talkative lady in her 30s, who would advise me to not to do yog pranayam when others could see, who would never bother to cover her high waist blouses with her sari, or cover her thighs, as she went around cleaning the rooms. And I used to think, this modesty is mostly middle class. Higher up, except for practical, political or spiritual reasons, women seldom think twice about ultra-miniskirts or all revealing attires. How, temporal this beauty is. Beauty and poverty. Instead of going to school, she wanders with a broom and bucket.


Nithya shodasika roopa. One of the many interpretations I read was sweet 16. Our planets have different ages. But most of our gods and goddesses are depicted sweet 16. Still remember the first class our geography teacher took. I was surprised to see, how he related gods that people prayed to the geographies. Coast regions had narayana, Krishna with pastoral regions, muruga with his rooster and snake attributes down south, lord rama with hunting attributes with the plains, Shiva on the Himalayas, the rivers with whimsical goddesses.

In yet another other class, wonder how he got diverted to this topic, he went on to describe sexy grand moms in the US, where women did what not jobs on their face, body and skin to look so good looking. While analyzing cases, there would be pairs, where the women is 25 years older than the 40 year old guy. Skin deep, how it enslaves. Of course, men- women mirroring takes place at all pancha kosha levels, all chakra levels, many who go beyond the skin and muscle structure, look for the companionship, conversation, intelligence, talent, spirituality within. There were cases, where all that they shared a longing glance; a loving thought; love of music, books, dance. There was a case of matrimonial ad, where the father-in-law wanted for his son, a bride, who had in-depth knowledge. At physical level - there was a Vishaka Gemini, a thiruvathirai Cancerian; krithika Capricon; Uthirathaadi Taurean who wanted multiple women the same day, not even wanting to waste transition time and there was a kumbha taurean who retorted we are not humans, if we are not loyal to one person. Well, all flavours of mirroring. Numerology got etched in my memory because of certain pair formations. Half united, half parted. Unions in school college, old age, rather all ages are matter of interest, especially for men in power, the original creators with a strong vishuddi chakra. Everything has its time. A time to meet, a time to part.

Order of Birth

Of late, shiva on my lips has transformed to Krsn. Every time, only after I realize that I had uttered krsn, I would wonder, did my tongue touch the upper palate for the sa and na. So I don’t know why I uttered krsn, but my mentor was quick to point out that, he too was krsn. When I asked him, how? He said, he was born as the eighth in the family.

Suddenly order of birth reeled in my mind. The first borns, have to carry the heavy burden of society, parent’s expectations, set the example. The second born has to fight for attention of parents. The third born is the happy go lucky child, accepting whatever life gives with a cheerful mind. Day before yesterday, I happened to have breakfast with my colleague who was the third born and it instantly reminded me of my jovial brother.

From barbara, it was amazing to learn the simple truths, which are so obvious, but least acknowledged.

Fussing over Food

Yesterday, after working on a saturday, our director bought us lunch. Since it was mini meals and i was craving for something sweet, i bought ellu urundai (sweet sesame seed balls). My director said, that was his favorite and i told him that i bought it since it was saturday. He said, you have healthy eating habits, i have seen what you pack for lunch. I replied now I have shifted to a PG from my dupleix, and i eat maggi noodles and pizza at times. Till February next year, when my chandra dasha rahu bhukti ends, i have to stay in a PG, rather than shifting to place of my own.

At times, like on sundays, am forced to either sleep less hours, or skip breakfast to follow a delayed dinacharya, or skip dinacharya and have hot dosas which gets made only during a specific time slot.

Day before yesterday, as i was slowly alighting the stairs to reach another building, i saw a middle aged cleaner bending and picking pieces of creamy birthday cake on the floor. The birthday guy was running amuck, trying to protect his dress. His face and neck was already smeared in the cream. For the housekeeping lady, what is wasted in the parties is sheer luxury. The cost of one slice of rich chocolate cake would equal that of her two square meals.

I would watch these TLC cooking shows (years ago, it used to be Nigella Lawson), or any of these cooking shows and try to replicate the vegetarian delicacies. Dad had clean eating habits. It was a pleasure to serve him and watch him polish his curd rice on banana leaf. When i would come home from college, dad would buy banana leaves, arrange keerai and make me eat. No matter, how tiring his day would be, he would come early morning or late night at railway stations to receive me or send me off.

Recently I read sadly that Reader's Digest had filed for bankruptcy. Like in Arundhati Roy's God of Small things, I too, ended up buying the heavy weight world atlas, heavy weight Interior Decoration book from RD. If i were dad, paying for those books, i would have never agreed, but dad would always let me buy, the costliest books, dresses. Except the interior decoration book, all books vanished from my life. One friend borrowed a Rs. 2.5k hard bound chemistry book (i simply loved the high quality glossy colourful illustrations of chemical reactions in that book) and never returned. And i would console myself stating, probably, in my last life, i didn't return him a costly book. After reading lal kitab, i would make it a point, never to say lies, never to possess any rusted metal objects or accept gifts or anything for free. As a kid, i used to steal things of no value, trinklets. After reading Garuda puranam, i returned my school library book (The little mermaid, sindbad stories) after a decade. Probably for persons like me, it takes danda amongst 'sama, dhana, bheda danda', to follow dharma. Now everytime, something catches my eye, i remind myself, isa vasya upanisad's - 'Ten Tyaktena Bhunjitha, Ma Gridhah Kasyasvid Dhanam'. Am wondering, if Plato had read our purusa suktam - sahasrAksha: sahasrapAt - would he have come up with this invisible ring of Gyges concept? Coming back to food...

We would hide our Champaks, Gokulams, Archies and RDs inside our school books and read the same stories again and again. In RD, there was a cute story of a couple, who would serve snacks and tea decorated beautifully on a tray, starting from their honeymoon days, till they died. I immediately started serving things, even if it was just plain water on trays, arranged to perfection. There was another family in RD, who would add a mystery ingredient in everything she cooked. After the lady dies, the family realizes, the mystery ingredient was love written on paper and i started praying and blessing while cooking. Kaimanam, that people say, won't ever come without that tender feeling of love while cooking.

I was so fussy at home about food, almost Gandhian, on timings of dinner, eating neem leaves for lunch, that my Rohini mom would get perturbed, stating that neem leaves would make one lose interest in life. Even if it was simple sambhar, rasam, curd, i would arrange it like Indian tricolour as a kid. Till my 5th standard, i would never touch vegetables. After reading science text book on vitamin deficiency, i started eating vegetables. I still remember the heap of radish from sambar on my plate when i first decided to eat vegetables. Now i can eat soaked fenugreek seeds or plain amla as if it was the most delectable delicacy in the world. My relatives would hurriedly clean up cellars, buy green leafy vegetables, or make my favourite pudhina corriander chutney when i visited them.

Right from the colour of the vegetable, the pulses i added for a day, the oil i used for cooking, everything was carefully considered in terms of nutritive value, ayurvedic and planetary impact.  In PG, they cook veg and non-veg in the same vessels, make only cabbage (like in 1984) or potatoes and I eat in remorse. Till my apartmentmate, a virgo, in the body care business gave me some insights.

She said, the more you fuss about anything in life, the more nature tests you to the depths of nadir in that area. Eat whatever you get as prasad. And yes, i decided, everything is his blessing. I should rather bless the food i eat, like they taught atVethathri Maharishi's. A little bit of love, a little bit of blessings and prayer, energizes the food, even if it is taken straight from the fridge and offered, no matter how dirty our PG cooks are.

Every action is an offering to God. More so is eating. What ever be it, even if it is drinking plain water, everything is an union with God. Why fuss over colour, combinations, recipes, cuisines, nutrition, timings, quality, quantity. Whatever, unto you.