Me and my World

I was in Fort Myers, Florida a few months back at my friends. Had a great time with his wife and 2 sons, such naughty ones at that! I was there for about 5 days. We went to the Edison estates and spent quite some time. Didn't know this grand guy invented so many things that are indispensable in our every day life. And what more, Ford seems to have been his student and later partner! Edison's lab in his Fort Myers estate The next trip was to the Kennedy Space center. It was an experience. We saw the launcher which was being readied to launch in the next few days. NASA launched Dragon from that site on May 25, 2012. It was so interesting and educational to see all the pre-process. Dragon launch site at Kennedy Space center So just to celebrate my experiences in Fort Myers and to say thank you to my hospitable host Vinoth and his wife Aruna, I cooked Bajji , a very simple South India snack.  Bajji  is been a long overdue on my blog.  Bajji is a d...

Its' been a long time and I thought would start with a simple dish. As you all know, most of my dishes are South-Indian, that's who I am and so is this. My friend Eshwar is looking to cook something simple and I am helping him with that today. Vendakai kari (thoran as it is sometimes called) is a very simple side-dish to make. The knack here is to make sure the vegetable cooks well, but doesn't become soggy and sticky. This is not a fried vegetable, so diet- conscious people take heart! Vendakai in Tamil is Ladys' Finger. This vegetable is substitutable, I will tell you how. Ingredients: Vendakai (Ladys' Finger)- 200gm (1pk of cut and frozen) Oil (vegetable/olive) - 1 tsp Kadugu (Mustard seeds) - 1/2 tsp Manjal podi (Turmeric powder) - a pinch Rasam podi (Rasam powder)- 1 1/2 tsp Salt - to taste Procedure: * Heat a flat non-stick pan on the stove and add oil. * Splutter mustard seeds when oil is hot. * Add Vendakai (Ladys' Finger) to the...