Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Tips from the kitchen of an Indian homemaker




Today’s Tips

1. Sometimes, we can’t handle burnt utensils. Never scrape burnt leftovers from casseroles. Soak in a weak solution of vinegar, salt and soapy warm water for an hour or so. The stuck particles will come off very easily, without scratching the dish.
2. Always soak cauliflower in warm salted water for some time to get rid of the tiny insects sometimes present deep inside the florets and not visible to the eye.

Beauty Tips :


1. In winter, one of the most important thing that many of us usually neglects is our Hands. Take a bowl and pour two tablespoon of sunflower oil, two tablespoon of coarse sugar and two tablespoon of lemon juice in it. Mingle all the ingredients nicely until they are nicely fused and become a smooth paste. Apply this homemade on your hands and give a massage to your hands for at least 15 minutes and then rinse with water. Use the homemade beauty tips if you have dry and dark hands.

2. Aloe Vera plant is naturally available, take the pulp content of Aloe Vera and apply for your skin half an hour before taking bath. Natural Aloe Vera gel is available in the herbal shops. You can also use Aloe Vera gel in the absence of natural one.

Monday, 17 December 2012

Festivals of India in the month of December






Chumpha Festival

 



Manipur, the land of merriment, is always busy with one festival or the other throughout the year. Different cultures and races in Manipur have different festivals to celebrate and each is rejoiced with an equal passion and zeal. It is the Tanghul Nagas of Manipur who celebrate the Chumpha Festival, one of their most popular and fêted festivals. The Chumpha Festival in Manipur is a harvest festival and is held with a lot of rejoicing and merriment. This Festival is mainly celebrated by the Tanghul Nagas of Manipur, for whom it is one of the most important festivals and they celebrate this festival with great joy, merriment, fun and frolic.

The Festival is celebrated for seven days and a week after the harvest season in December. During the last three days of the festival, cultural events are organized including dance and music performances.

Chumpha Festival is celebration include gatherings of family and friends for everyone to rejoice and enjoy. As against other festivals where women have a limited role to play and participate, this festival of Chumpha gives them immense roles and responsibilities The end of the Chumpha Festival in Manipur is marked by a procession that is carried out within the village premises.

Manipur as a state is famous for its culture and traditions. There are numerous fairs and festivals held in Manipur throughout different seasons of the year. One very interesting aspect to be noticed regarding the fairs and festivals held here is that although there are different festivals, events for different races and communities, they all are celebrated with equal passion and zeal.

This year Chumpha Festival celebrated on December 12th, 2012.





Ram Janaki Vivah


Ram Janaki Vivah is celebrated in the Indian state of Uttar Prades and marks the celebration of Lord Rama's marriage to Sita. The main function is held in the city of Agra where the festival takes place during the Ramlila celebrations.

Ram Janaki Vivah is one of the most colorful events of the city of wonder, Agra. Large numbers of people participate in the marriage processions popularly known as Ram Barat. One locality is specially chosen as the home town of the bride, Sita where the Barat reaches with its royal procession. This place is observed as Janakpuri and is decorated with flowers and lights.

Children dressed as Ram-Sita

The Ram Janki Vivah or Ram Barat festival was initiated by Lala Kokamal, a cloth merchant, about 125 years ago. It is celebrated during the Shukla Paksha of Marghasheesha month as per the Hindu Calendar. Music bands and dances are other attractions of the procession in which people enjoy and cherish grand and divine wedding of Ram and Sita. Some actors play the characters of Ram and Sita for the procession.
Ram Janki Vivah is on 17th December, 2012.



Sunday, 16 December 2012

Flavors of India




Egg Curry with Potato and Soyabean Nuggets/Chunks (Dim-sayabean-er jhol)

        Ingredients:

·         Egg: -                                                                                      4 piece.
·         Potato (slice in 4 pieces):-                                                       2 piece
·         Soyabean nuggets or chunks:-                                50g/18-20 pieces
·          Onion (slice in fine pieces):-                                                2pieces 
·         Ginger paste: -                                                                 1/2 teaspoon
·         Garlic Paste:-                                                                        1 teaspoon
·         Tomato(slice in four pieces):-                                                  1 piece
·         Green chili:-                                                                          3-4 piece
·         Fresh Coriander :-                                                                  1/3 cup
·         Red Chili Powder (if you want):-                                          1/2 teaspoon
·         Kashmiri red Chili Powder:-                                                   1 teaspoon
·         Coriander Powder:-                                                            1/2 teaspoon
·         Turmeric Powder:-                                                            1/2 teaspoon
·         Mustard / Refined Oil:-                                                    1 Cup(150gm)
·         Sugar:-                                                                             1/5 teaspoon
·         Salt:-                                                                                     

  to taste


Process:

 



1.       Boil the eggs.
2.       Dress the boiled eggs and set aside.
3.       Full heat the oil in a pan & fry the boiled eggs till it becomes brown and set aside.
4.       In the same oil, pour in the potatos, turmeric powder, salt and fried still color of potatos should take up a bit of brownish.
5.       Now, add the onion & fry for 2-3 min.
6.       Add the tomatos, ginger paste and garlic paste and fry still it smells.
7.       Now add ¼ cup water with rest of the powders of ingredients, sugar and cook for 2-3 min.
8.       Add eggs and soyabeans with some more water and cook again for 2-3 min.
9.       When it become dry, ad about 500ml. of water and stirs well.
10.   Add green chillis and cover; let it cook for 10 minutes on low flame.
11.   Take it off the flame when the potatos are well cook.
12.   Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.