The 'idli' - my nemesis

Idli is not exactly something I long for or miss in my existence away from my home country.It is a necessary evil that I had to put up with since it is an integral part of the south Indian food repertoire.Maybe it was the rock hard idlis we were forced to eat for breakfast in Guruvayoor (because that is the only thing available at 4am!!!) or the discoloured fungus like thing they called idli at hostel-whatever the reason it was and is just not on my list of favourite things.I had vowed never to make idlis in my house - the house that I would run after I was married!!!That was going to be my revenge for all those times when I was made to eat idli at home.

But then,when has life gone as planned??It just so happens that my dear husband is a lover of all things south Indian (except coffee which he really has no feelings for - totally unthinkable if you are from Madras!!!!).Anyway,his love encompasses the infamous idli.Life always seems to have this way of winking at you saying......howzzat???!!

To my credit however,I have managed to escape this idli making ritual for 10 months now (that's as long as we have been married).I have made other more palatable versions of it and managed to keep my husband happy.But then yesterday he tells me that idli has to be made today.It is the day of the year when the men are required to change their sacred thread.He convinces me that the menu for today has to be idli.I vaguely remember something like this being said back home but am not very sure of it so I assume he must be right and agree to try it.

Now see it is quite a process to make idli.You have to soak the rice and black gram for a few hours,grind them separately and then mix them together with your hands.It has to sit overnight and ferment for use the next day.Never did understand why people willingly went through all this trouble.Anyway,I decided to attack the task after we got back from the movie and I from grocery shopping and after dinner.By this time it was 9.15pm.Added to this was the desire to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics 2004....!!

Finally,I started the process of grinding the dough.Now traditionally there is the grinder which is a device that is particularly used to make this kind of dough.But then I don't have that with me and had to make do with the good old mixie.Here is how it went.
1.Too much rice to grind it all in one shot.....have to do it twice.
2.Put the first installment,added water and turned the switch on.Waited for a couple of minutes.
3.Opened lid to discover that I have added too much water!!!
4.Put in second installment of rice and just sprinkled water this time.Waited for a few seconds and realised that the mixie was having trouble rotating.Opened and realised that there was too little water this time.Adjusted water proportions and tried again.
5.Added salt and let it run one more time.
6.Put in the black gram and grind finely(remembered to add very little water).
7.Mixed the rice and black gram dough with hand.The heat from the palm of the hand is supposed help it ferment.Idli dough ready!!

By the end of this,of course,I had dried dough on my T-shirt and dough under my nails!!Ok,no time to freak out...had to quickly wash the mixie and other dishes used lest they dry and become 10 times more difficult to wash!!!!!Did all that and put the dough away,glad to get out of the kitchen.

Cut to this morning.I open the lid of the vessel hoping to see the dough nicely fermented and risen.Hah......no way,it is as flat as I had left it last night.I tell Uday the status and request he come home for lunch.I promise to have his idlis ready.I wish..........It's noon and time to get the idli cooking.I grease the idli plates and pour the dough (there is a small voice that tells me that the dough has still not risen enough). Let it cook for about 20 mins and then take it off and let it cool.

Uday is here.I tell him that I think the idli is not quite ok and try to scoop them out from the idli plates.Yeah right,like it's going to be that easy.Anyway,manage to pry one off (this is not a good sign) and give it to him to taste.He puts a piece in his mouth and then takes another.
Verdict:it tastes like karuvadam maavu!!!!
I put a piece in and yes he's right.Undercooked and under-fermented.Great.....my first attempt at making idli and it turns out like karavadam maavu!!!Well,then again,maybe I shouldn't have told you that I was trying to make idli in the beginning......then it would have just turned out that I make fabulous karuvadam maavu rather than pathetic idlis!!!!!Me and my hindsight!!!

Anyway,Uday, the kind husband that he is,made absolutely no fuss at all.We just quietly ate the left overs from yesterday and he is back at work.And I have soaked the idli plates in an attempt to ease the cleaning process....I have to scrub off all the semi-cooked dough that is still stuck to it!!!
The next idli attempt will just have to wait for another day.

PS:There are reasons why the idli is so popular- it is very low in fat and sugars and is harmless to the stomach (digests also pretty easily).
PPS:Maybe I should also add that I used jasmine rice instead of the traditional idli rice.Catch me going and buying 5 lbs of idli rice.......hah never!!!

Yoohoo....here I am!!!!

It surely has been a long time since I wrote!!!Well,there's no earth-shattering reason for that....just the good old one - I was lazy!!Yeah,the thing is everyday I know I have something I want to write about and I go over it in my head,trying to figure out the best way to put it down.And then since I have already spent a few good minutes on it,I feel like I have already written it!!Yeah I know,the problem is nobody else knows or has read what went on in my head :))!!So,that's what's been happening!!You see,I did tell you everything that was happening ;))!!

Also,it's not like I did not write because I had nothing to write about.Believe me you,a whole lot of things did happen.But then again,going back to my original reason....well,I'll spare you the blah blah...you know what happened.What has brought me back then,you ask?Well,I got a mail today from one of my relatives.He lives in India and I had sent him the link to my blog some time ago.Today,he writes to me asking why I haven't posted anything for some time now.I really did not think that somebody would be checking back to see if had posted something.....Sekhar,you are that one faithful reader!!!Thanks a bunch for re-motivating me :))!

I have noticed this tendency increasing in me lately.I seem to procrastinate a lot.The worst part is I know exactly what I am doing.....distracting myself with other things but I just can't stop doing it.Well,atleast I am aware of it,I tell myself.Should pull up my socks and get going.Otherwise my plans for completing my thesis by next year will never happen!!!!

A couple of days back I heard from Uday that one of our friends was leaving.He had resigned from the company and was moving East.I was shocked!!No,not that it is such an uncommon thing but because we were the last to know.All our other friends knew.It just got me thinking about relationsips and life here in the US.I wonder....are adult relationships different from what we form when we are younger or do I have a totally off idea of them?Uday tells me that there is a difference between friednships forged at work and otherwise.I can't say anything about that 'cause I have never really worked.But I find it hard to believe because I know that some of my parents' best friends are those they found at work.Anyway,may be I am just thinking too much about this.Maybe they just had so many other things on their mind that they missed tell us.Either way,the rest of the folks here are trying to organise a farewell for them.Let's see.

Ok,I guess this is as close as I can get to my sister's idea of a blog (a whole lot of goggledebook,as she puts it)!!!Will stop now.Sure to be back soon......no,am serious this time!!!!Tata!!!