A Space to Pause

We arrived in Milan when it was a little past over dawn. We changed into new clothes and headed to the train ticket counter to purchase our local train tickets; Milano Centrale (pronounced as Chentrale) to Lanza. We got the map and figured out how to get to Lanza. We had to take a couple of different train routes to get there. It took nearly 30 minutes from airport to get to the city. The sight outside the train was a bit different from the US's. Orderly lined up brick houses, tiled roofs, different flora, etc. The trees in Italy appeared in faded green as compared to the trees in the US that are always in lush green. I found more similarities between India and Italy - The brick houses, vegetation, people speaking a different language, Whatsapp using people (I learnt that people in India, Mexico, Brazil and Italy majorly use whatsapp for messaging) and many more. We were altogether in a different country; not India, not USA but Italy, which didn't feel different to us. We were...

I have two reasons to write this post: I want to share the joy, and I want to register a milestone in my baby's life. A year ago, I was not a so happy mommy as I am today. I was really worried about the fact that my little boy was showing less interest in learning something through a formal education system. I couldn't understand the problem. I spent more time with him, sat down with him for longer hours, took many initiatives to drive this little wanderer. I was driving nearly 20 miles twice a week to take him to Kumon class. I thought that at least by looking at other kids he would get some interest in learning what is in a book. I took him to an Indian language class just to make him comfortable learning, listening and developing a longer attention span. Well, I did not see much for the efforts I had put. First thing, I am from India, and you know what that means when it comes to education. The effect was there, but I was so conscious not to overrule the rationale behind a ...

Beginning is half done! That was what we felt when we booked our tickets. We weren't sure how the weather was going to pan out when we visit there. Thinking about it retrospectively, the usual issues that I think now should have alerted me did not even pop up in our minds when we started planning. The itenerary was finalized, Eurorail tickets were booked, museum tickets were pre-ordered and Airbnb stay was booked. The actual expense list grew exponentially, but we made up our minds and moved staedy ahead. One more thing: how am I going to manage a 7 and 4 year old for 11 days in a country that I am visiting for the first time. Never mind! I have a reliable and strong pillar by me - he is going to take care of us! Shailesh spent hours after work, researching about the places to visit. He made a complete  list of places to visit in a city. We read books on Italy. Opened up the map of Italy, and learned about its history and geography. We watched videoas on food in Italy, the diver...

I was in my 8th grade. My father built a new house, and we moved from a rented house to the brand new, dream house in which my parents still live in. The house looked huge from outside, but it was a compact yet a lavish one with quality materials such as rose wood and teak wood. The house was a huge commitment beyond his monetary capacity that he did not even choose to add any interior decoration. However, I was surprised to see him build a fancy, spacious cupboard in the staircase room. I asked him what it was for. He told me that he is building a library. I was fascinated! An array of books adorned the shelves of the cupboard. All those text books of my parents' college days lined up in the shelves. There was still room left. After  we moved in, one fine afternoon, two men brought two humungus, heavy cartons. I was curious to open them, and I immediately did. I was happy to see all the volumes of the Britannica encyclopedia. Those were years without internet, and when I started ...

Amma used to make three different kinds of chutneys and one sambar variety whenever she made idlis. Once a family friend of ours commented, "I am so impressed with the India flag color chutneys on the plate". No one gave a thought about it except him. There was coconut chutney (white), cilantro-mint chutney (green) and shallot chutney (orange in color). And in spite of having these three options, I was asking for idli-milagai podi. That is how much we all liked the spicy, catchy powder. Usually, the podi  is mixed with sesame oil. It can be either spread over the idlis and dosas or it can be used as a dip. Idli- milagai podi or Gun Powder  is a common, handy side dish for idlis and dosas . Though the ingredients that go into it differ among kitchens, a few of them stay constant across kitchens. Homemade ones are fresh and healthy, and it takes just 30 minutes to prepare it, which goes for months! It is a time-saver in a majority of south-Indian households. I relied on...

Idlis!  One of the earliest solid foods that hit my tongue... Soft, healthy, easy-to-make (for a south-indian), highly reliable under any circumstance, doesn't belong to the 'no' list during any kind of illness, easily manipulatable, serves as an accompaniment to something or draws the accompaniment because of its highly social skills and TASTY! I have seen this evolve in my home. Amma used to soak the ingredients on a Sunday morning, and by evening, they go into the stone grinders that were embedded in a spot at the back of the house. People come and go during that one hour period, and I have seen my amma or grandmother pull it, twist it, gently flip over with one hand, while the other hand was constantly put in circular motion. The batter went into huge vessels (brass ones) that were 3 times of the fresh batter. The next morning, mainly during summer days, I have woken up to see the lid about three inches pushed above the vessel. Fermentation! No yeast or no innoculu...

This post is an entry for a contest hosted by Shobs Kitchen . I have been following the Facebook page My Chennai for a while now. My Chennai is well-known for their prompt and interesting photographic updates about fun, food, places, beach, festivals, weather etc. in Chennai. I noticed the wonderful and appetizing Briyani at their cover page that led me to Shobs Kitchen. Shobs Kitchen is a blogging venture by Shobana Arunkumar , and I was excited to see the announcement for annual give away event commemorating the big event of reaching 500 likes on Facebook. Great going, Shobana!  Hearty congratulations! Here is the event logo and announcement page for the contest: http://shobskitchen.blogspot.com/2014/12/event-giveaway-announcement-2015.html As a contestant, I find this opportunity to get introduced to many more food bloggers and to promote my blog among avid readers and food lovers! When I decided to write this post, it was hard for me to find a name for this un...

The harvest festival celebrated in all four quarters of India is commonly called as  Makara   Shankranti.  Regionally, they are called by different names: Pongal in Tamilnadu , Sankranthi in Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh and Telangana , Khichdi in UP  and Bihar and Uttarayan in Gujarat . As always, the commonality lies in the purpose of celebration - Harvest! What else could be as big as this exciting event? The Tamil month of aadi (July 17th - August 16th) is a significant month for sowing and investing in land, followed by two months of calm weather that would help in germination and first-quartile growth of the crop. Then comes the voracious North-east monsoon that helps in the most expected growth spurt of the crops. It calms down by the end of November with gentle drizzles. The next month goes on without much excitement, and by the end of December, the busy preparations for harvest starts, and hence festivals, offerings and excitements begin!  The...

Before I get to the recipe, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to each and every one who visited my space, read and tried the recipes. I wanted to express my gratitude and love to those who left comments on my writing and also to those who strolled by my blog to see "What did she write today?" January 1st 2014, it was then I decided to post my first piece of writing at this space. Though I wrote, I did not have the courage to post it to public media, because I thought my writing was not up to the mark. However, I rolled up my sleeves and posted it to your sight. One post after the other, I slowly started gaining confidence. I have never written anything for myself. I wrote for my profession but with lot of help. When I started writing, back in early 2000, a pro in the field commented, "Your writing is awful. It is not articulated, no sense of grammar and it is a torture to read what you write".  A timid and naive Sharmila, then, started weeping. I did not ta...

Every child has an inclination toward his or her own interests that is quite visible at an early age. I am sure my parents saw that inclination in me, and that pretty much ended up in making me participate in every cultural event that came up in my little school. The school authorities and a few other parents tried their best to bring in classical dance teachers. Partly successful, they tried to retain the teachers for a long time, but somehow, for the teachers' own personal reasons, they left within a few months of teaching. I still remember a dance teacher by name Latha, a brahmin lady, with bright patches of marudhaani ( mehendi ) in hands and feet. Though I was in an age that would not give me a complete glimpse of how proficient a professional dancer should be,  I was impressed with her dance movements. When I was 13 years old, a classmate of mine, by name Latha (Lathas have had quite an impact on my life!!!!), performed classical Bharatanatyam for the song " Ninnaye ...

Badusha - Even the thought of it makes me drool! This was the first sweet I tried all by myself when I came to this country, and I treated myself with this scrumptious sweet for the kitchen queen in me. I definitely deserved it as I was an amateur cook then, and I treated myself quite often, sometimes with flaw and sometimes perfect! Badushas were hard to avail in my little town, back in the 90s. These days, there are numerous sweet stalls that sprawl around every corner of the street. Mommy was very particular about hygiene, which literally did not allow us to eat sweet from anywhere outside. Also, those days, sweets were meant to be festive treats. That too, a badusha was certainly an once-a-year treat. A week before Diwali, mommies would convene at their favorite spot to discuss about sweet and savory items for Diwali. After it was all decided, a day was chosen, materials were bought, children were put asleep, and the embers were set. A few curious kids would linger around to have...