ZOOMING OUT

Temple at Livermore, CA

KACHORI

My earliest memory of Kachori dates back to my childhood. A great aunt, an expert cook, was visiting us one summer. One such lazy afternoon she decided to treat us to some kachoris. I had never even heard of kachoris before and imagined she was preparing something truly exotic.

I still faintly remember the scene; my great aunt seated on the kitchen floor, expertly filling the stuffing into the crust and then flattening them into neat little kachoris, all while maintaining a steady stream of tales from here and there. Although the kachori left such a strong memory, I don't remember having it again......

One of the reasons I enjoy cooking is for the sense of accomplishment that it provides. I go about with a smug smile on my face, after trying out a dish that is not regularly made or after attempting a recipe that requires skill. (of course if they turn out well) Praise from grandma is an added motivation.

Thus I embarked on a kachori making adventure this afternoon. My recipe, as always, was a mash-up of multiple recipes with my own little variations. I like this site because the recipes are accompanied by a video, always helpful when you are not sure about "what should be the consistency of the batter" or "how dry should the filling be", etc. Needless to say I peeped in here before I got down to making my kachoris.

My kachoris turned out tasty but slightly chewy...wonder why!...was it because the crust should have been thinner? or was it because the temperature of the oil while frying was not right? Any guesses?

I served my kachoris with some homemade tangy tamarind-date chutney.

BERKELEY KITE FESTIVAL

There is something about the image (mental or real) of a colorful kite, cruising the sky, which always brings a smile to my face, and fills me with hope and positivism. Maybe it’s the bright colors or perhaps the bounce with which the kite moves in the sky. To me, a flying kite is a symbol of conviction and perseverance, virtues that we require to keep plowing through life, to achieve our goals and to turn our dreams into reality.

Kite flying is a popular sport in Northern India. I had only read about kites/kite-flying in books and seen the euphoric atmosphere surrounding Indian kite-flying festivities in the movies. So when I heard about the Berkeley Kite Festival, it wasn’t too surprising that I decided to go.

The festival was running through the weekend between 11 am – 2pm. We headed for Berkeley on Sunday after a quick brunch. Considering that it was summer and that the festival was in its 22^nd year, we were expecting a crowd, but weren’t really sure of the size. As we neared Berkeley, we were able to see the big kites suspended for display. A friend had warned us about traffic in the area and tipped us about his parking woes. Sensing that we too were destined to similar fate, we turned back and found a parking spot in town, maybe a mile or two away from the park where the festival was running.

Long traffic lines near the festival area

Throngs of people, of all ages, walked towards the kite arenas. A group of musicians jammed, as onlookers swayed and clapped. The sky looked glum with no patch of blue and we were glad to be bundled up in layers. The monotone of the sky was broken by the colorful kites, some suspended for display and some drifted in the sky, like paintbrushes sweeping across a blank canvas with colorful strokes. While many, like us seemed to be there just to enjoy the scene or hang-out with friends and families, there seemed to be many photo enthusiasts, armed with cameras, from the simple point and shoot, to SLRs. Families with little ones had their own kites. It was fun watching children fly kites, their expressions darting between curiosity, focus and excitement.

Kite festival area

Musicians jamming

Some kites that were on display

After touring the arena for all the interesting looking kites, we stopped near the main arena to watch the kite ballet and synchronized kite flying. The kite flyers precisely controlled their kites to make it seem that their kites were moving to the music playing. I was very impressed by this display. The next scheduled program was the Rokkaku kite battle. As we waited near the fight arena, Arnold invited us and a few others to join the fight. I was excited that V would get to fly a kite. But unsure of my kite flying skills, I tried to excuse myself, citing photography as an excuse. But Arnold made me abandon my camera and handed me the line and gloves with “Taking pictures is no fun, flying a kite is”. So I dumped my camera and put on the gloves as Arnold gave us the “kite flying 101”. I got a cute looking sky-blue kite with pink daisies – numbered 34. “Maybe I am the the Rokkaku champ waiting to be discovered”, my delusional mind suggested. You see, my house number is 34 and my home phone number used to end in 34.

Arnold giving lessons

Either it was my non-combative nature interfering, or simply the fact that I couldn’t steer my kite, I was far from trying to get at the neck of other kites in the fight. The commentator commented on chickened fighters (apparently I wasn’t the only one! ) and challenged them to be more aggressive. Finally somebody noticed that it was time to send me home, my cutie kite tumbled down to the ground and that ended my dreams of becoming a Rokkaku champ. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Next in line was the candy drop event. I was curious to see how they would do it and also hoped to get some nice pictures of kids scrambling for candy. Kids had lined up for the candy drop, the youngest ones (3 yr olds I think) with their parents. A bag of candy would be hoisted up on the kite line, the kite line would then be cut loose and the bag opened. Kids of a specific age group would be called in and they would run around scouring the ground for candy. Volunteers with bags of candy would throw some more candy on the ground just to create a ruckus.

Children lined up for the candy drop

We then made our way to the food stalls to get our candy, oops! fries. We had seen all that there was to see and decided there wasn’t much left to do.

Content at having done something new and fun, we bade good-bye to the kites.

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT DAAL MAKHANI

Certain dishes leave an indelible impression on you, so much so that you crave for the same experience, everytime you eat the dish. Some set on a pursuit to find a restaurant that can guarantee them that experience, while some, (like me) undertake the challenge of appeasing their taste buds by replicating the flavors on my own - in my very own kitchen.

I fell in love with 'Dal Makhani' (DM) ever since I had it at a restaurant last year. Now, DM has become comfort food for me. This week I finally got down to trying it on my own. I read many DM recipes on the Internet. I didn't follow any particular recipe to the dot, but picked up ideas from all over. Here is my version, which turned out to my liking, except that it was a tad too hot for me.

Pre-Prep:

• Soak whole urad dal and rajma (red kidney beans) overnight. I measured the urad dal and then threw in some rajma.
• Pressure cook the dals. I added salt while pressure cooking. I also dropped in a couple of bay leaves, a black cardamom, a cinnamon stick and a few cloves while pressure cooking, so that their flavors would be nicely absorbed by the dals.

For the puree:

• Grind tomatoes-ginger-garlic-green chillies to a fine paste.

Procedure:

• Heat oil for tadka. Add heeng, mustard seeds, jeera seeds when the oil is hot.
• Saute finely chopped onions when the seeds start crackling.
• Once the onions are done, add the puree and saute it till its cooked.
• Add pepper powder, anardana powder, some turmeric powder and red chilli poowder (optional)
• Add the dal and mash it slightly. Mix well.
• Add water, salt (if necessary) and allow the mixture to simmer.
• Add some milk and simmer for a bit.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and a dollop of butter. I also used some chopped spring onions for the garnishing.

Tip:

• Remove the whole masalas from the dal once it is cooked, else, their flavor can be over powering.
• Be careful with the spice. I used 4 ingredients (green chillies, pepper powder, red chilli powder and cloves) and a bit too much of the pepper powder.

WE FLY HIGH

I wish I were a kite that could fly high, high, high...

“Don't be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against, not with the wind.”
~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

What doesn't have wings but can fly?? - Kite (eesh that was baad). We had a good time at the Kite Festival in Berkeley this past weekend. If you are in the Bay Area and missed this one, fret not. Santa Cruz will be having a similar event in Sept. (13th, Saturday)

HAPPY FEET

When I started running early this year, I used to put on my regular sneakers and go for the runs. I had a goal of being able to run 5K on a regular basis and wanted to reward myself for achieving that goal. What better reward than a good pair of running shoes? Since the program was following a gradual progression to 5K, the longer runs did not come until towards the end of the program, and was able to get away running in my sneakers. But as I continued running 5K 3 days a week, I noticed that my feet hurt. That reminded me of the promise I had made to myself. I headed to a local running store and bought myself a good pair of running shoes.

My running shoes - Nike Air Pegasus

Now my feet don't hurt and I feel a marked difference in the running experience from before. Here are some things that I learned while shopping for my running shoes.

• A running store helps - I had a very good shopping experience at my local running store. The sales people were real runners. They started off by identifying my foot type and suggested the best shoes for my foot type. I was able to get a real feel of the different shoes I tried, by running around the store or on the treadmill in the store. They gave me all the guidance that I needed to choose the right kind of shoe, without being pushy about making a choice. I would highly recommend going to a running store where one can get personalized attention over buying something at the mall.
• Your running shoe should be a size bigger than your regular shoes. Our feet expand on running; the bigger shoe size gives your feet some room to move.
• Mesh-work on the shoe is an indicator of a good running shoe. The mesh allows your feet to breathe which helps, since feet get hot and sweaty during a run.

DRAGON

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, CA
I see a dragon. What do you see?

The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.
~ Henri Bergson

Reality is what we take to be true.
What we take to be true is what we believe.
What we believe is based upon our perceptions.
What we perceive depends upon what we look for.
What we look for depends upon what we think.
What we think depends upon what we perceive.
What we perceive determines what we believe.
What we believe determines what we take to be true.
What we take to be true is our reality.
~ Gary Zukav

‘One new perception,
one fresh thought,
one act of surrender,
one change of heart,
one leap of faith,
can change your life forever.’
~ Robert Holden

What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are.
~ C. S. Lewis.

Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.
~Epictetus

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
~ Marcel Proust.

People only see what they are prepared to see.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.
~ Anais Nin