Dream World

Monday, October 28, 2013

Sweet Pasta / Pasta Payasam

Ingredients

Small shell pasta/macroni – 1 cup

Water – 1½ cup

Milk – 2 cups(whole milk)

Sugar – ½ cup

Raisins & cashews – few

Cardamom – 3 nos

Ghee – 2 tblspn

Method

♥ Boil the water and add the pasta to cook for 3 minutes.

♥ When the pasta is half cooked, drain the water and keep it aside.

♥ Now boil the milk and add sugar, crushed cardamom to it.

♥ Add the half cooked pasta and stir it occasionally to avoid sticking.

♥ Keep stirring until it reaches semi-thick consistency.

♥ Then add 2 tblspn ghee and stir it.

♥ Finally fry the nuts and raisins in ghee and add it.

♥ Serve hot or keep it refrigerator and serve.

It is a great feel to receive a gift from someone. But its true that more satisfaction comes from giving to others, knowing that you helped and made someone happier. There is something very nourishing to our soul when we give and help others.

If you ask people why they give? They reply as, god wants me to. I feel better about myself, others need and I have. I want to share. This shows how good-hearted they are.

I always wish to have the attitude of helping someone without asking. Here is an incident. One man was washing his new car. His neighbor asked him for how much he bought that car. The man replied that it’s a gift from his brother. Then the neighbor said he would love to have a car like that. Hearing this, the man said to his neighbor that he should wish to have a brother who could gift a car. Listening this conversation, the neighbor’s wife said, she wanted to be that brother who gifted the car. What an amazing thinking about giving happily!

One need not be rich to give. Having a kind heart filled with love and care is enough. What can we give? It is not just money or materials, we can gift time, happiness, hug and care, there is a long list that we can offer.

Giving is not about possessions always. A smile, a heartfelt wish, a companionship for a walk, your precious time to listen others talk, a simple message, mail or a call asking how are you? Everything counts in giving. You don’t have to look chances for giving. Let it come from you, from your heart. The one who give away is more fortunate than the one who receive. So friends, from now lets all find our true happiness in joy of giving.

“It’s easier to take than to give. It’s nobler to give than to take. The thrill of taking lasts a day, the thrill of giving lasts for lifetime”

-Joan Marques

A Friendship With Darkness

The sun sets down behind the high peaks,

Sprinkles the hue of color streaks,

Darkness vanquish the gushing light in race,

Signifies the arise of silver white lymph upon the space,

An emptiness filled the void,

Fluffy bunch of black clouds were deployed,

The moon navigates to veil after,

Crossing the scattered twinkles that shines so brighter,

I float aimlessly in the gloomy nature,

Free from my fears for the future,

A howl of the dreary dusk cries aloud,

Violent echo of my silence shrills very loud,

A sense of slacken drift of my soul to sky,

Concealed by glistening beam of moon to utter good bye,

Darkness engulf my shadow beneath,

As a comrade who heave my faith.

Heart Feelings 16

When words lose the power to express

what my heart feels for you,

my eyes will speak,

because my lips can lie on what is true,

but my eyes couldn’t because,

even if I close them,

I could still see you!

A Secret Heart - Part 5

Part-1 & Part-2 & Part-3 & Part-4

Sruthi see both prithvi and maya with shocked face. Prithvi introduce maya to sruthi,

Prithvi: This is maya, a new member of our class, and maya, this is sruthi, my best friend.

They both exchanged smiles and hellos and a few formal talks. Then prithvi tell sruthi to help maya in studies so that she will catch upto the day classes she missed. Sruthi feel disgusted but hides it with a fake smile. Maya thanked prithvi for making her comfortable on her first day in the college.

At the break time, prithvi called sruthi and maya to canteen. But maya refused to go with them as she have more writing works to complete.

Sruthi: Ok maya, you carry on. We will come back. Come on prithvi lets move.

Prithvi: Wait sruthi, lets help her, we will go to canteen later.

Maya: It’s ok no problem… I can manage (smiled)

Prithvi: No, nooo, how can we leave you and go. Give your note I will help you.

Prithvi take maya’s note and started to write. Sruthi is so annoyed.

At evening, sruthi came to prithvi as usual to go home together. But prithvi called maya too with them. Sruthi looks irritated and walks with them silently to the bus stop.

Prithvi: Maya, shall I ask you one thing, if you don’t mind?

Maya: Yaaa (with a confused face)

Prithvi: Will you give your mobile number? (hesitantly)

Maya: Ofcourse…(she gave it to him with a sweet smile)

Sruthi fumes.

Prithvi: Sruthi, you too note maya’s number.

Sruthi unwillingly noted maya’s number in her mobile.

When the bus arrives, they boarded into the bus. As usual, there is no place to seat and they travel in standing. Prithvi stand beside maya and they both were talking. Sruthi was left alone and she remains quiet.

Prithvi: Sruthi, are you ok? You are looking very dull today… why?

Sruthi: Nothing, I am ok, a slight headache.

When the bus stops,

Prithvi: Sruthi, I forgot to tell you that I have an important work on the way. I am not coming with you today. I will go directly to my home after finishing the work.

Sruthi: Ok (in a low voice)

Sruthi got down from the bus and watched grouchily that prithvi and maya happily chatting with each other.

-To Be Continued…

Truth Always Prevails

Many of the morals and principles that we live by throughout our life were given by our parents when we are young. Among other things, parents are largely responsible for building the character of their children. They are our role models.

When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me that, although she was good, truthful and honest person, it didn’t pay to be that way. She wanted me to be same as good. She said that dishonest and conniving people are the ones who get ahead in this world. Though I was young, somehow I knew in my heart and my soul that her perspective was wrong. I didn’t understand why. But as I observed the world around me, it often appeared that she was right. This was very confusing for me to process.

I don’t want to stray too far from the focus of the article. The point that I am trying to make is that what we see with our eyes is not always true. We see many people climbing up the ladder of success through lies, cheating and dishonest means. It’s equally true that at the end such success will only short live.

We travel our path of life facing people and situations that test us, at times being seen as guilty, until we can prove our innocence. This is harder when it is a true friend or loved one doesn’t believe us. What can we do? Trust, truth shall always find its way to be known and shown. Sadly it may be too late. The friendship, the love may be damaged too greatly. But there is no escape from the truth. It’s god’s law, a universal law, the truth will always win through.

Our thoughts should agree with our words, our words should agree with our actions. Though we can’t undo anything we have already done in life, we can face up to it. We can tell the truth and seek forgiveness. Truth is the gateway to the kingdom to god.

“Three things cannot be long hidden: The Sun, The Moon and The Truth”

-Buddha

Chicken Biryani With Chicken Gravy

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

Chicken – ½ kg

Basmati rice/jeera samba rice – 600gms

Big onions (chopped lengthwise) – 2 nos

Small onions – 10 nos

Green chillies – 10 nos

Tomato (chopped) – 2 nos

Mint leaves – 1 cup

Coriander leaves – 1 cup

Ginger/garlic paste – 3 tblsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds powder – 1½ tblsp

Bay leaf – 2

Mace – 2

Curd – 1½ cup

Coconut milk – 1 cup

Lemon – 1

Salt – required

Oil – required

For Biryani powder

Cardamom – 5 nos

Star anise – 2 nos

Cloves – 3 nos

Black stone flower/kalpasi – few

Poppy seeds – 3 tblsp

Cinnamon stick – 3 nos

Nutmeg – 1

Dry Red chillies – 5 nos

Fennel – 2 tblspn

Method

♥ Soak the rice for 30 mins and Drain it and set aside.

♥ Marinate chicken for an hour in half lemon juice, 1tblspn ginger/garlic paste, ½ tspn turmeric powder and ½ cup curd.

♥ Take a pan and add all the dry ingredients for biryani powder and fry for 5 mins in slow flame and grind them into fine biryani powder.

♥ Grind mint leaves and coriander leaves with water and make semi-thick juice.

♥ In a cooker add oil and saute bay leaf, mace and chopped big onions until onions change into light brown color.

♥ Add the chopped tomatoes, ginger/garlic paste and sauté for few mins.

♥ Now grind small onion + green chillies and add the paste and saute.

♥ Then add some mint leaves and coriander leaves and mix well.

♥ Add the marinated chicken and cumin powder and stir well until the chicken is half cooked.

♥ Now add the rice and sauté for 2 mins.

♥ Add 1 spn biryani powder.

♥ Measure the coconut milk and mint/coriander juice which makes 1 ltr and add it. If the above 3 things doesn’t make 1ltr, add some water.

♥ Now add the remaining curd and squeeze half lemon juice.

♥ Add required amount of salt and two tspn ghee and mix well.

♥ Close the cooker lid with whistle on and cook it for 8 to 10 mins in medium flame.

♥ Switch off the flame and release the pressure to open.

♥ Mix well the cooked biryani and garnish with fried cashews and coriander leaves.

♥ Serve hot with onion raita and chicken gravy.

Chicken gravy

Ingredients

Chicken (boneless) – ½ kg

Big onion (chopped) – 1 no

Tomato (chopped) – 1 no

Coconut (grated) – 2 tblspn

Turmeric powder – ½ tspn

Red chilly powder – 1/2 tspn

Dry red chilly – 2 nos

Coriander seeds – 2 tblspn

Cumin seeds – 2 tblspn

Fennel – 1 tspn

Black pepper – 1 tblspn

Cinnamon – 1 small piece

Cardamom – 2 nos

Cloves – 3 nos

Ginger – ½ piece

Garlic – 4 pods

Lemon juice – 1 tspn

Curd – ½ cup

Oil as required

Salt to taste

Method

♥ Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces.

♥ Marinate the chicken with turmeric powder, lemon juice, red chilly powder and curd for an hour.

♥ In a frying pan pour some oil, add fennel, chopped onions, salt and turmeric powder and sauté well.

♥ Add chopped tomatoes and sauté until it turns mushy.

♥ Then add the chicken and sauté for few mins.

♥ Take little oil in a separate pan and add grated coconut, dry red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger ,garlic and fry it for 3 mins.

♥ Grind them into a smooth masala paste with little water.

♥ Add 1 tblspn masala paste to the chicken mixture and sauté well.

♥ Throw in some salt to taste and pour ½ glass water in.

♥ Close the pan with a lid and let it cook for few mins in medium flame.

♥ Stir it occasionally until the oil separates.

♥ Now the chicken gravy is ready to serve.