Baked Salmon

Ingredients - Panch Phoron 

2 tbsp nigella seeds (Kalonchi)

2 tbsp black mustard seeds (Rai) / 2 tsps White Mustard2 tbsp fenugreek seeds (Methi Seeds)2 tbsp fennel seeds (Sauf)2 tbsp cumin seeds (Jeera)

Other Ingredients - 2 pounds salmon. Tomatoes,Onions, Garlic, Mustard Oil.

Method:

Soak in water for 20 min before making the paste.. : Panch-Phoron, Red-Chilli, Kaskas, Peanuts (5-6) : for paste- smooth paste, salt. 

Make a paste - Onions (2) , Garlic (2-3), and add Mustard Oil. 

Marinate salmon and the paste. In Mustard Oil - Heat oil for 5 min. Add Haldi Mirchi, Curry Pataa, and Green chillies. Spread Cut Tomatoes on top salmon

Put mustard oil in the glass. Place marinated salmon. spread cut tomatoes on salmon. spread the heated oil on salmon

Tribute - A life well lived (1949-2010)

It's a year today.September 2nd 2010 - A beautiful soul, a true fighter and a wonderful human being left the material world. This day my mom gave in to her battle against cancer after a year long fight.

Her Childhood and Marriage.

She was born on Oct14th, 1949, Deharadun. She was named - "Sudha", which means 'Superb, wealthy, pure, nectar. She was true to her name. She maintained a sweet and simple demeanor throughout her lifetime - Saving her sisters when they sneaked out watching movies, doing their homework, or saving them from my grandmother. She got married to my father - Mr. MadhuSudan Gupta on Nov 11th 1976 . It was an arranged marriage where they didnt even see each other. Can we imagine this now? A lawyer by education, She decided to be a home maker till we grew up.

when i was growing up,i never observed her. i guess, somethings are always taken for granted and never cared. In 2009, when she was sick i spent 4 months beside her, noticing her every moment. This is the time i actually knew her.

Her Smile and Confidence
A perfect libran. A thread that tied all of us toghther - My Father, My Brother and I. She is the person who knew what is happening at my end by just listening to a hello on phone. It's very difficult for older generation to accept change but she not only absorbed the changing times but molded into us the strong values.

Her Patience and UnderStanding
She knew whaz cooking in my head. I was a brat. She understood us without saying a word. it was never easy to lie to her. She understood that mistakes are made. I never saw her holding a grudge against anyone. we should learn to forgive/forget who wronged us.

Her Unconditional Love
She respected and showed her unconditional love to every soul who came in touch with her - from the person who delivered milk to the person who worked at our place to her friends to US(my brother and I). She understood every individual has his/her personality.She respected their individuality. Never judgemental and handling ego issues with care.

Her organised ways
She was an Independent women. She was a perfect manager.She started working as a Teacher in sometime. My father worked with ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Commission). His job required him to travel 28 days a month. She managed both home and work gracefully. Managing brats such as My brother and I was definitely a challenge. she patiently tolerated our mood swings and tantrums. In the last few months i spent with her, I was amazed to see how she scolded the nurses when they didnt do their job properly and showered love afterwards. She told me - every one is a kid. you need to handle them with care. No wonder she was one of the best teacher.

Her culinary skills
She was an amazing cook. She was unbeatable with all kinds of Indian foods - from home made pickle, South/North Indian food.My friends waited for me :). Every Sunday we had different cuisine to taste. No wonder i was an healthy kid. I can only imagine her carrying me everywhere in her arms. My friends waited for my lunch box and invitations.

Her Never-Say Die attitude
In the year of 2009, she was diagnosed with incurable ovarian cancer- Stage IV. we didn't know whom to blame - the pathology report which didnt detect the cancer in early stages or the gynecologist who didnt pay attention to her. She went through 13 chemos and an operation but she was calm, courageous, and ever smiling. Never once through her battle she cried "why me". The excruciating pain could never rob her contagious smile. The journey was long. The end was sure. The question wasnt if. The question was when.Her cancer was stronger than medicines but she pulled along with a
smile and grace.

Her Strength at the time of adversity
Going through 13 chemos - the inexplicable pain that none of us can even imagine. Her doctors admired her Strength. Her doctor once told me - she never complains. Always greets us with smile. It's always easier said than done.

Take Life as it comes
I was a short tempered and easily stressed out individual. She always asked me to relax and take things as they come.

you were there

when i opened my eyes to show me the world.
when i was sad to console me,
when i was lonely to hold me,
when i made mistakes to scold me,
walk beside me in every step i took,
to take me through my failures,
patiently, calmly moulding me to who i am,
you are my strength and guide
i wish i was you.
we love you and miss you.

Fat to Fit

Date : Aug 25th 2011
Venue : AdvancedExpression Toastmaster
Event : Humorous Speech Contest

My journey - FAT to FIT


I was always a fat kid but my Mom's love made her say “You are not fat but you have a structure that makes you look broad." I believed her, until a few years ago, when I met a group of environmental activists who were organizing a skit on preserving the environment. They offered me the lead role. While they were narrating the story, I was building the castle. And when I got to know that my role was that of a healthy broad tree, to be saved, the castle came crashing down on me, smashing my dreams, and sorrowing my soul. Fortuna’s wheel had turned on me - throwing me from my mom's protected shield to the world of reality.The fat became my insidious enemy. However, I gathered the ashes of my dream and decided to do something about it, like join a gym or go on diet.

When I was growing up, I was told that I there are two roads to success - the long, righteous one and the short one. I chose the easy, short one – The unbeatable google gave me a long list – Atkin’s diet, Fruit diet, Vegetarian diet, protein diet… I scanned and decided to go on Lemon water diet. However, the universe had decided to conspire against me. It appeared to join the God of evil-fat and determined to spell evil days ahead - showing me food and invitations in every direction I looked- from my mailbox to the dark streets i walked. How can one fight the nature that made Fat people better at smelling food.

Disheartened, I decided to join a gym. I tortured myself in the gym but no drastic results. I manipulated and concentrated and at last reduced from 200 pounds to 140 pounds. Today, I am going to share the secret tips. However, please try these "At your own risk"

I want to ask a question: what is the next best thing that is in abundance after free advice - Stress.

1. Use Stress - You don't have to hunt for it. With economy crashing and stock process going down faster than earth's speed, you dont need anything else to reduce.If you have not invested in stock market then worry about everything in life - from your kids to office issues to bitter/better half issues. Worry is the key to fight the evil fat. You have not invested in stock and have no major worries - befriend a person who always cribs. Crying is contagious. if you don't have problems, you will be stressed out with their problems.

2. The next tip is gender specific - if you are a gal- go shopping. Buy a dress from a boutique at full price. The size should be smaller than your current size. This is your motivation and the rest would be history. I am a gal - trust me and this works every time. Guys - give your credit card to your better half. Either you will reduce because of starvation or because of depression of losing money.

3. Every ounce of fat has its own character - abs fat, muscle fat. It has to be beaten for hours - irrespective of season - summer or winter. For such fat - start traveling through NJ transit. The gods of weather always succeed in crashing human efforts to run the transit on time. This process will beat away the hidden fat.

4. The next 2 tips are easy ones - there is so much competition. Know your friends. Buy them deals from living social. First, these deals are economical - the icing on the cake is you don't have to join your friends and at the same time you are cutting competition.

5. With the advent of iPhone things have become easier. A few days back i downloaded this app- myfitnesspal - where you can log everything you eat. Scan the items. Real hitch, first day i logged, it advised me - " if you continue eating this way you will gain 10 pounds”. I was heartbroken, but then i saw my roommate's log - if you keep eating this way you will gain 20 pounds. My guilt disappeared and i started praying hard- GOD if you cant make me thin make my friends fat :)

Heal Your Body - By Louise Hay

This book got my attention as the author of the book survived incurable vaginal cancer without taking medicines. Two concepts got my attention - Metaphysical healing and Patterns [ as said in "SECRET" ]. The book emphasizes that one has to clear the patterns of resentment that one has been holding. It is imperative to let go of the blame. This is definitely difficult but not impossible. The resentment would literally eat oneself with cancerous growth because one hadn't forgiven.

Metaphysical healing is based on the belief that negative mental patterns, left unchecked, can eventually result in physical disease or illness; and that the reversing of those negative mental patterns into positive patterns can in turn lead to healing.

For example, worry about money issues tend to manifest as lower back problems, as the back represents support. A believer in metaphysical healing who was experiencing soreness in his lower back would examine his thought process to see if he had been over-anxious about money issues of late. Once the negative thinking pattern was identified and replaced with a new habitual positive pattern, the backaches, if caused by the old negative pattern, should subside.

In modern world we see a lot many people affected with diseased such as Diabetes, Blood Pressure etc . These are caused by the old negative patterns.

The idea behind metaphysical healing is that the individual is his or her own healer, responsible for creating both health and illness. When an individual falls ill, the believer in metaphysical health does not think it was by chance, but by mental patterns that can be identified and replaced. The type and point of origin of the ailment gives a clue where to look in the thinking patterns.

According to this belief, the most compromising emotions to health are longstanding guilt, resentment, and anger. The biggest healers are self-love, self-acceptance, and self-worth.

About the Author -

Most of her childhood was spent enduring both physical and mental abuse, with a lot of hard labor thrown in. Her self-esteem got lower and lower, and few things seemed to go right for her. This pattern got reflected in her outside world.

she had this “already confirmed belief” that she was worthless and did not deserve anything that put her at the end of the line with no cake. It was her pattern. They were only being a mirror for her beliefs.

In those early days, the violence she experienced as a child, combined with the sense of worthlessness she developed along the way, attracted people into her life who mistreated her. Gradually, however, through positive work experiences, Her self esteem grew, and those kind of people began to leave my life. The book "SECRET" also talks about the same concept. "PATTERNS" attract people and situation in our life. They no longer fit her old pattern of unconsciously believing that she deserved abuse. She didn't condone their behavior, but if it were not “her pattern,” they wouldn't have been attracted to her. Now, a person who abuses her does not even know I exist. Our patterns no longer attract.


Having been abused in childhood and holding on to her old resentments, the author was diagnosed with Vaginal Cancer. The word incurable, which is so frightening to so many people, means to me that this particular condition cannot be cured by any outer means and that we must go within to find a cure. If she had an operation to get rid of the cancer and didn't clear the mental pattern that created it, then the doctors would just keep cutting her until there was no more Louise to cut. She didn't like that idea.

She immediately took responsibility for her own healing. She read and investigated everything She could find on alternative ways to assist her healing process.

She knew she had to clear the patterns of resentment that she had been holding since childhood. it was literally eating her body with cancerous growth because she hadn't forgiven.

So LET GO the anger, blame, and resentments. Love is the ultimate healer. Love yourself just as you are, with all your seeming conflicts and inner turmoil. Do not withhold love from yourself, and don't use your confusion to further judge and criticize yourself.

Apologize Like a Celebrity in 5 Easy Steps!

To err is human. I came across this article in One of Toastmaster's magazine.

This gives a clear idea how asking for forgiveness should be done. 

#1 Play the Blame Game

Start by saying how sorry you are. Then shift the focus from your actions to the other person's reactions: "I am sorry that you were offended by what I did or said." Make it sound as if the other person's think-skinned sensibilities, outdated notions of fairness and decency, or failure o understand what you really meant - not your misdeeds - are the real culprits. 

#2 Offer an Excuse
According to Witt, if you can't pass the blame on someone, you can always blame extenuating circumstances. I think this is very applicable in the Philippines, where I live. We have so many options to put the blame on - from corrupt government officials, skyrocketing electricity bills to poor garbage disposal system - we can always point at something that's beyond our control. For instance, I if arrive late at work, I can always blame it on heavy traffic or the slow railway train. Or if I can't finish an article, I'd say I have writer's block.

#3 Use the Passive Voice
The author says that in making apologies, using the passive voice does the trick. Instead of saying "I made mistakes," use "Mistakes were made" or "There was an error of judgment". By saying it this way it moves the offender away from the harsh media glare. 

#4 Be as Silent as a Lamb
The moment we've done something wrong, it's common for us -people with a conscience often do - to apologize right on the spot! But in the world of show business, some celebrities delay as long as possible and some are brazen enough to steer clear of apology. They just wait and see how things play out, hoping people will forget about what they did or someone else will do something even worse. Then they are off the hook!

#5 Hide your Feelings
If you feel remorse, regret or even guilt because of what you've done - people with a conscience often do - make sure no one knows it. Make an apology the way sincere people do.Tell people you are sorry. Accept responsibility. Offer to make amends. Do the whole enchilada! But like some celebrities, read from a script. Speak in a monotone.Avoid eye contact. And never reveal a heartfelt emotion. 

It may be difficult to backpedal your way out of a messy situation, but the art of saying sorry is something we should never deal so lightly. Void of well-crafted PR and choreographed apologies and other theatrics, I think we should use appropriate words and actions to make our true intentions known.

Just like what Witt said, "You may not win an Oscar for your performance, but you'll receive something far more important: Forgiveness." 

Recipes From Other's Kitchen - Ras Malai

Get recota cheese. Add sugar according to taste. Mix Sugar and recota cheese. Meanwhile Pre heat oven at 400C for 15-20 minutes. Keep the mixture in oven 20-25 min till the base becomes brown.

cool the recota cheese mixture in freezer for an hour.

Get Half - Half milk. Add sugar. Boil the milk till the thick cream appears.

Add dry fruits - kesar, illayachi, almonds, kaju to milk.

cut the recota cheese in cubes and add to the milk.

Recipes From Other's Kitchen - Aaloo Posto

I love eating. I have amazing friends who are very good cook and i eventually land up eating.This time when was in india i went to calcutta. I had some amazing authentic bengali food. One of them is - Aaloo Posto. For lunch today am planning to make Aaloo Posto. (This recipe is for reference). Your suggestions are most welcome.

Note - I have copied this directly from the email :) .. didnt wanna to put much effort in organizing the content :)..

Here you go -

Keep the poppy seeds in lukewarm water for 30 mins. Make a fine paste of poppy seeds with a lil dry red chilli. it helps to make a paste fine and smooth. chop the potato in small cubes. and sprinkle a lil salt and tumeric on them. keep them aside for 10 mins. now ... heat oil in a pan.and put methi seeds in hot oil.use methi seeds not powder.once the methi seeds turn a lil dark ... put the potatoes and fry them

dont over fry the potato.juss fry em in low heat till then turn a lil brownish.now ..pour the posto paste ... and stir well for 5 min. Add salt and a few green chillies (cut vertically )

put in low steam, cover the pan ..and keep it.check every 5 mins .. shud be ready in 20-25 mins.

one red chilli is enuf for 100 gms of poppy seeds

if u wanna put onion ..then use black jeera seeds in stead of methi. methi n onion dont go together