“The more I see the less I know, the more I like to let it go... hey oh”

Monday, April 16, 2007

Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder
Where it's so white as snow
Privately divided by a world so undecided
And there is nowhere to go
In between the cover of another perfect wonder
And it’s so white as snow
Running through the field where all my tracks will be concealed
And there is nowhere to go

The weather sucks! We have been in the middle of the Nor’easter storm and all this rain and wind is just starting to make me angry. After a really cold February and March, I was hoping for a warm spring time. So I am praying that I can hang my winter jacket away for good and soon! Anyway this past weekend, even though it was cold and rainy, Bhatji and I made plans to meet up with Ms. Pai and her cousins Mrs. Karavande (sp?), Mr. Pai and his gf for dinner at Jaleo….not the one on 7th street downtown DC, but the one in Crystal city :o) Sangria, Tapas, and fun company followed by more drinking at Mackie’s…overall a wonderful time. We all discussed food (come on a whole bunch of konks sitting around talking…you know food will be a big part of discussion) specifically how much we all loved Dosas (crispy Indian pancakes). Its amazing how everyone just loves dosas. Maybe because it actually takes skill to make it, its almost like an art. My mom makes the dosa batter from scratch keeping it overnight and that’s why her Masala Dosas are famous! Well I have never attempted to make the batter let alone the skill of ladling it into a fine thin pancake consistency. Luckily a lot of Indian food companies are now making it easier on the girls who live away from India ( My mom believes that the tropical weather in India also helps with the consistency of how the Dosa Batter turns out), leading busy work lives but have hungry husbands to feed by making pre made Dosa batter packets. Yep companies like MTR, Swad, Priya make these Dosa batter mixes and all you need is water and yogurt to make it work. Obviously there is nothing like making it from scratch…but when you are short on time, or you just wanna practice ladling dosas (trust me you need practice to get it just right…this aint your American Pancakes!) you can always use these mixes. Anyway I decided to take it upon myself to try the Rava dosa mix by MTR. All I needed to add was 1 cup of water, 2tsp of cumin seeds (moms suggestion), 3 tbl spns of yogurt and chopped coriander (also moms suggestion) in the mix; After the first 2 failures (those landed in the trash) the 3rd one looked decent, the 4th one came out even better and the ones that followed actually looked and tasted great. Bhatji was happy and so was I. I served it along side some chutney pudi (dry spicy chutney that goes great with a little bit of olive oil) One day I will have to actually make it all from scratch with my moms help, but as of right now, this novice cook was supremely satisfied with the way the Rava Dosa’s turned out. Maybe after a little more practice I’ll be able to have a Dosa Party :o) Make sure to try em out! The MTR or Priya (south Indian companies) mixes work the best.