Sand

Sand,that's the stuff we used to build castles and play in when we were kids.Last week my mother unearthed a recipe that we had long ceased to use.Its a old recipe that's common to most homes in kerala,used as a common snack or as a celebration dish depending on the mood of the maker.
Its called "avalospodi" and is made from rice.The rice grains have to be soaked in water for about an hour and then left to dry(semi dry).Its then ground coarsely and roasted adding grated coconut and whole cumin seeds.A little salt to bring out the flavours is added. Its roasted till golden brown and then served with sugar which is mixed into it.As children my friends called it sand.Recently I met a friend after many years and the first thing she remembered was "sand".Does your mom still make sand she asked as an opening line.Funnily enough my mom had made sand two days ago and then made it onto little laddoos by mixing the sand with some ghee.Then she makes a syrup using jaggery,adds a bit of dry ginger powder.When the syrup is warm but not hot,she add the sand into it,rolls it into ladoos and then coats it with rice flower.Luckily we had enough to share with my friend and we couldn't believe how we had unearthed it just in time for her arrival.

Unrecognizable thats who i am....

You could have known me for twenty years of your life but if you haven't seen me in six months,chances are that you will walk right past and not acknowledge my presence.That's because you wont have recognised me.Now lets get this right,its nothing to do with height weight and all that other stuff.Its just that over the years for some strange reason I look different almost everyday.I wasn't aware of it until a professor insisted that I sit in the same place in class ever day.He swore that he had to search for me as the look changed every day.Not surprising then that I am constantly walking up to old schoolmates and college mates and having to introduce myself and hear them gasp in surprise at the change.I am convinced that its all about the rest of the world having bad recognition skills.
Imagine my surprise then this morning as I stood waiting for the butcher to cut the chicken for me.A couple walked into the shop and I knew instantly that the woman had been with me in school or had she worked with me.A quick scramble through my brain files and i knew that she was a classmates sister from school.Should I confirm it?.Or should I just go by after all she had known me for sixteen odd years(years when we moved from being children to teenagers to young adults...where the most change happened).I decided to let it pass and was just about to leave when she smiled and we both started to say something....well wonders never cease.She remembered me and we exchanged notes of fellow school friends.It left me convinced that this was all about recognition skills or that the brains ability for long term memory is far greater than short term ones.Shared experiences,time spent it all matters.Of course even in the case of girls who didn't recognise me,the fact remained that when we did get over the initial shock,life was back to normal.So here I am all ready to go out again this evening and chances are that there will be people who know me but wont recognise me.One things for sure,I am safe from being identified from any police line up and that's for sure....like they say there is always a silver lining.

Discovery

After years of eating the same old unimaginative food(that's what happens when one has to plan a menu keeping in mind the skills of the cook)it was a delight when my mother came to stay with us.She unfortunately was also a victim of unimaginative food(having to get outside catering as she wasn't up to cooking )and has long forgotten the taste and aromas that can ignite appetites.
Well we decided that perhaps the time had come to revive some long forgotten recipes.
Today our curries have extended from the tried and tested,sambar and dhal to some dhal with veggies,theial with ladies finger(okra),kalan and olan and kachya moor.All varieties to be eaten with rice at lunch or dinner.Breakfast does come with appam and chicken stew and that sees us eating well into lunch.The rich creamy stew thickened with coconut milk is so good that long after the stomach groans we continue eating.Puttu and kadala curry(chickpeas) is another new breakfast food at our place.
We are still trying out old recipes,dictated by the seasons and the veggies available.Yams,stems,leaves whatever there is in the market and we haven't got bored as yet.

fried sardines and left over juices

Having lived off the coast with the sea within wish able distance,my love affair with sea food goes back to when I was born.My parents loved fish and there wasn't a day when we had fish in some form or the other.The variety was endless but best of all was the sardines.In winter,they arrived fresh and chubby with the fat literally oozing off their skins.My mom would fry them in oil with chili powder salt and turmeric and the aroma filled the house,our clothes and wouldn't go for many days.It was a stink actually but i choose to call it an aroma as the juicy flesh was something to die for.Winter sardines were full of fat and good fat(omega 3 oils) but we didn't know that then.We ate them for the sheer joy of sinking our teeth into which flesh.The highlight was the pan in which it was fried.All the masalas and juices would linger in the pan and we would mix hot rice into it.My mother divided the portions into three to avoid sulking children as this was a huge bone of contention among us,the elder sister always loosing her share to the youngest.To this day sardines make me salivate in sheer anticipation of wonderful taste.

Banana skin porial

skin of raw banana
grated coconut
garlic,green chili and cumin seeds
water
turmeric
salt to taste
tempering-oil (i teaspoon)mustard seeds and curry leaves

The banana variety have to be the ones used for making chips,nothing else will do.Chop into tiny bits and add grated coconut salt and turmeric and water.Crush the garlic,green chillies and cumin seeds coarsely and add to mix.Cook uncovered on slow flame till the skins are well cooked.
temper by heating oil,splutter mustard seed and add curry leaves.Mix into the cooked mixture and serve.