MYSTICSPICE

Ladoos are round sweet balls; they are a popular Indian dessert. This weekend for my food experiment, I tried making sugar free and dairy free energy ladoos. Unlike any desi (slang for Indian) ladoos, they are inspired by protein/energy bites which is something very prevalent in the US. This experiment was way different from my past experiments where I'd been using authentic Indian recipes and ingredients. However, given that this recipe has ingredients with all sorts of goodness and the fact that it was super easy, it was hard to forego it. Also, it gave me a chance to learn about carob, something that I've always been curious about. For this recipe I used Suspire's Vegan Carobs Chips. Carob is basically similar to chocolate, just like chocolate it does not have any unsaturated or trans fats. However, its texture and flavor is a bit different from that of chocolate. Carobs are naturally sweeter or rather less bitter than chocolate which makes it sometimes a preferable s...

This is a great sambhar recipe I found in an Indian news website. It has buttermilk which is a good source of probiotics and is great for digestive system.  So the fact that this recipe has a good portion of probiotics and is healthy, I've decided to include it in my 'food exploration mission'. If you didn't read my previous blog, last weekend I resolved to try a new recipe every week. In this process, every week I will be picking recipes from different parts of India and trying them out. The idea is to pick regional recipes that are unique, so that I could play around with different ingredients and my taste buds, and of course a recipe gets extra points if it’s healthy too! This Sambhar recipe fits perfectly in my exploration of finding authentic Indian recipes.    Here's sharing buttermilk sambhar recipe , that looked great to me and Im pretty sure I will be trying it very soon!:)    Buttermilk Sambhar (source: cooks.ndtv.com)

A friend of mine is a great cook. I think she has a magical touch, why I say that is because whatever she makes, always turns out very good. I think the fact she is a wonderful person and has an awesome happy vibe has something to do with the magic too. I'm a fan of both her and her cooking and have always wished I could cook (atleast) somewhat like her. So this last weekend, I decided to fulfill my wish and showed up at her place and asked her to supervise me. We decided to cook a recipe from a recipe book that my brother gifted me on Christmas some three years ago. I don't use that book a lot, I would often open it to get ideas for what to cook, but never followed the recipes closely. However, this time, I decided to follow every instruction in that book. After going through different recipes in that book and making sure we had all the ingredients, we decided to make 'Eggplant in mustard seed and yogurt gravy'. This is a bengali recipe and I got excited mostly becau...

I submitted some of my photographs for the International Photography Exhibition organized by Office of International Affairs at my university. There were three photographs submitted under: Place, People and Transportation category. I love all the photographs, they remind me of the amazing time I had during my trip in 2012. The caption of the photographs brings back some fond memories that I'll cherish for life and reminds me how well I connected with all the things I came across :) The Taj Raaz :  Built in the mid 1600s by a Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his loving wife, Taj Mahal, reveals its subtleties when one visits it without being in a hurry. While the famous white marble dome flanked perfectly by four tapering minarets persists to be focus of lens’ attention, the closer you come to the monument the more you are bound to appreciate the intricacies in the creation. This photograph  is a section of one of the minarets, which has the holy Quran inscribed ...

Wrote this on January 13,2012... I went to Doon (Dehradun) last week, had some pending dental work and  also I wanted to spend some time with my cousin whom I knew I probably  wouldn’t be able to see until my next trip to India. Also, there was  some writing pending that I failed to accomplish. But that’s ok! It  was overall a good stay in Doon, had good family time and of course  great food.  One of the best things about going to Doon is that every time I go  back I run into new few familiar faces/family friends etc…it is a good  feeling. During my trip, I also managed to get a haircut from the same  guy who had been cutting my hair since I was in first grade. He gives  on an average 50 haircuts every day!  People in the mountains amaze me all the time, they  torment their bodies a lot, but that again is because they don’t have  any other choice, there are times when they have to walk several  kilometers to ...

Love this story, wrote it in an email to all the siblings while cherishing memories of my dad... It has been a month since I got back to the US from my fieldwork in India. I was just having coffee with famous butter pista biscuits from Ellora's that I got when I was in Dehradun. Yes, I still have those biscuits, I have been very measly about them, as I want them to last long!  Anyhow, the whole reason why I'm writing this is because everytime I eat those biscuits, it reminds me of an incident of Papa ji with my professor (HOD; Head of Dept) at Delhi University. All of you know how frequently Papa used to go to Delhi for work, he always made sure to meet me during his visits. Since I did not have a cell phone then, there were times when I was not even aware that Papa was in Delhi, and some random day I'd just spot somebody from afar looking exactly like papa and then hit myself on the head and say 'silly, that IS Papa'! It was amazing how without any inform...

Just watched The Great Gatsby. The movie is based on a very famous novel by F.Scott Fitzgerald, apparently this novel serves as an important part of the high school curriculum in the US. Since I haven't read the book I was curious about what makes the book so important, therefore was really looking forward to watching the movie; plus the cast is so amazing that it didn't seem like a movie that should be missed. The movie is a love story set in New York, it reflects the kind of changes America as a country was undergoing in the 1920s. It was a time when America was in the process of becoming a superpower (roaring twenties, as they say it). The lifestyle of the people was changing--there were fancy parties, liquor and LOT of money! Ofcourse things have changed tremendously since then, but American dream till this date esp. for many people outside of the US is somewhat along the lines with how the lifestyle was in the 1920s. In the movie, although Leonardo is being touted as ...

I've always thought about the money  question, however  never sought for answers thinking that maybe it's too naive a thought. But it's hard to ignore the question that what makes money so important? How did it become so important in the first place? I remember lessons from history when there was barter system where people would exchange food grains, spices, jewels etc., not only that, they would even offer manual service in exchange to get what   they wanted. That system still makes sense to me. People were  independent and were capable of fulfilling their needs. In case they lacked 'something' they would exchange 'something' they had in return to obtain 'something' they didn't. Looking back to those times, that model seems to be very sustainable as the individuals were actively indulged in sharing and exchanging their resources. The process of sharing and exchanging has immense potential, it cuts down overuse and over-consumption and cuts...

I watched a documentary today called 'Invisible Children', it was a 10 mins long documentary that sparked thoughts and questions that are rolling from one side to the other in my mind. The documentary was screened by a student organization, it was about child trafficking in India. It focused on the state of Bihar, a notorious state known for high poverty, illiteracy, vulnerable to floods, where politics is in shambles. Being poor and illiterate has its own disadvantages, the documentary showcased how during the time of floods the families deprived of their home/food/money/land/possessions helplessly agreed to give away their children for some money. These kids are initially told by the traffickers that they will be living in palaces and will be eating lot of food and will be earning lot of money in the cities. So basically, these kids were lured into the business of child trafficking without them having much clue about what the reality has in store for them. There are young...

When I was about 11 years old, my dad used to forcibly send me to a didi (young women older than me) who lived in our neighborhood to learn Hindustani music. My dad was very particular about his morning walks, he would wake up every day at 4am to go for walks. There were times when on his way back he would hear this didi doing her riyaaz (rehearsal/practice). He was totally mersmerized by her singing. So one day he went to her and asked if he could send both my sister and me to her, thinking maybe we could also learn to sing like her. Unfortunately, that didi agreed, as a result my sister and I had to wake up everyday really early to go for our music lessons. We both hated it, getting up early in the morning, taking bath and getting ready at 5am to go for music lessons was something we weren't too happy about. But then, no sooner would we start our riyaaz, than we would completely overcome our grogginess and get immersed in the moment. That didi was a well trained and a talen...

This is one of the incidents, or I would say accidents that is popular amongst my friends and family. As scary it was for me back then, it has never failed to make people laugh in surprise. You know how when you tell people something and they don’t believe you and then they exclaim –WHAT???!! and just go crazy laughing at it? Yes, this is one such incidence. I prefer to categorize it under the section ‘My adventures in the US’. I should also mention that I’m writing about it not because I’m proud of it, no, not at all, it makes me feel embarrassed and stupid, but the reason I’m sharing the story because it’s made a remarkable imprint on my memory and if at all you are new in the US and have come from a country that does not have such an organized traffic system, then this story might be a lesson for you.   So, I start with the description of the story as one of the scariest experiences of life... It was during my first quarter at OSU, Fall 2009. I was studying for the mid-t...

I wrote this few years ago and whenever I read it, it never fails to warm my heart, hence sharing...  This time Rakshbandhan was a very different experience, different in a very special way. It was raining very heavily so we (my sister, younger brother and I) hired a car to visit our relatives in town.  For those of you who are not aware of Indian festivals, Rakshabandhan is one of the festivals where sisters tie bracelets (Rakhi) around their brother's wrists, upon tying Rakhi brothers give gifts to their sisters. I've always loved this festival, and I'm certain that my fellow Indian sisters love it too! ;) Just like any other festival, Rakshabandhan too has a relevance, a meaning to it. This festival is a symbol of bond between siblings, of brother's vow to protect his sister and sister's prayers for the well-being of her brother.  Although its always been fun tying Rakhis and accepting gifts from brothers, for some reason while performing the ritua...

I returned from India this summer after spending six months collecting data for my dissertation.  My dissertation is on the role of local institutions in natural resource management. For data collection I was working in the central Himalayan region where I visited several villages to interview people about forest management activities that are conducted and coordinated by the local institution in the region. This local institution is called Van Panchayat (Forest Committee), it is a traditional institution that dates back to 1931. Since it was formed before independence (India got its independence in Aug 1947), it is significant in terms of rights of locals’ to natural resources. I collaborated with an NGO working in the region that helped me with navigating remote villages and also with arranging accommodations in the villages. Going from one village to another was a challenge, as there was lack of proper road network, driving was near to impossible, but thankfully there were ...

I went to New Delhi, India to attend a four day long workshop called Future Workshop: Resource Governance in 21 st Century (Jan 14 th -17 th , 2013), organized by Heinrich Boll Foundation (HBF), Germany and Center for Science and Environment (CSE), India.  There were 24 participants in total, out of which 10 participants were from Afghanistan and 14 were from India.  The group comprised of people from diverse academic and professional backgrounds such as lawyers, journalists, graduate students, researchers, consultants, NGO personnel, and social entrepreneurs.  During the workshop these diverse minds pooled in their experiences and creativity to discuss and resolve key natural resource management problems. There were several environmental issues/topics that were discussed, but the ones that generated extensive discussion were Biodiversity Conservation, Water Governance, Mining, and Power Supply. The participants worked in groups and cruised through three planning phas...

If you are reading this post thinking that you might be able to learn some tricks about mastering time, then you might be at the right place ;). I just came across a blog post about being 'Jedi Master of our own time', it is pretty entertaining and puts the point across the audience very in a very lucid manner. Although, I am breaking one of the rules by not 'focusing on the importance' which is work, and giving in to 'feeling of urgency' which is to share the article, there are good chances that guilt wouldn't last for too long as my presence on this page wouldn't linger for too long :) Be a Jedi! Source of following article is HERE .... The secret to time management is simple:  Jedi time tricks .  Imagine you were a  Jedi master  called Bob (your parents, whilst skilled in the ways of the force weren’t the best at choosing names). The love of your life – Princess Lucia – is trapped in a burning building as you hurry to save her.  You mig...