Merry Christmas! Be the Christmas Tree :)

I wish all of you wonderful people out there (whether or not you read this blog :D) a very very merry Christmas and Happy New Year. A bout of bad health has kept me from blogging these past couple of months... but there are many new recipes and stories in store in the coming year. To end this year, I send you this beautiful message from Sri Sri about the Christmas Tree and its (spiritual) significance in our lives:

"You are the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree is pointing upwards and its branches grow on all sides. It is orderly. At the time of year when no tree bears anything, it has many gifts to offer. And it is green throughout the year. A Christmas tree bears the gifts and the lights not for itself. Similarly, all the gifts (Talents) you are carrying in your life are for others. Anyone who comes to you, offer them your gifts. When you show kindness, your true nature comes into play. Also remember that like how the Christmas tree's leaves are ever green despite storm or snow, your life is evergreen and your spirit is eternal despite personal and social grief.

There were lots of gifts around Sri Sri’s couch. John asked Sri Sri, “Are you going to open the gifts?” Sri Sri winked and pointed at the people and said, “I am always opening the gifts.” (Laughter)

Your life is a gift. And you have come to unwrap the gift. In the process of unwrapping, you also save the wrappers. Your whole environment, situations, circumstances and body are the wrapping papers. When we unwrap, we destroy the wrapping paper. We are in such a hurry at times that we even destroy the gifts. With patience and endurance, open your gifts and save the wrapping papers."

The Invisible Hand (Part 2)

When the going gets tough, many a times I have noticed that I dont get going :) Instead, depending on just how tough the things are (and this depends on my energy level of course :D) I often catch myself either complaining or bawling my eyes out! While crying it out often helps my mind settle down and accept the situation, complaining does nothing of the sort. On the contrary, it tangles my mind up more and more in misery and questions like: "Why does this only happen to me?" "How come no one is helping?" and (ironically) "Why are people so self-absorbed!" :D A few weeks ago, having discovered that the earlier diagnosis of "no stones in my gallbladder" was wrong, I went into a low energy self-pity mode, stopped eating and started complaining about everything and everyone around me. What happened with my stones and my chain of complaining in relation to the stones is a long story... saved for the next blog post. But in this post, I relate a shorter cuter incident.

So I was in this "not so happy" state of mind. I went to work, came back home and started cooking. My little angel was happily playing and "talking" to herself in the living room. I looked into the refrigerator and found only a large hard pumpkin available for cooking. Immediately came a set of complaints - "this is just totally unfair! Why do I have to do all the pumpkin chopping on my own? How come I don't have any help? My hubby is so much stronger than me - he could have chopped the pumpkin before leaving!" etc. etc.

At that moment, I heard Meera in the living room making a whole lot of noise banging some of her toys on the floor. I peeked in to see what was going on... As I watched, she played for some more time, and then started crawling around the room. At one point, she noticed one of her socks (she loves/hates her socks dearly and keeps trying to eat them for some reason!)stuck at a difficult place under the living room table. She immediately got onto her belly and started reaching out for the it. I instinctively started to move forward to help her get the sock. But then I stopped and thought "let her do it - she can. Its not dangerous and she is learning. So its better for her if I don't help her." Finally she managed to got hold of her sock and was really happy with herself (or with having the sock back - I dont know! :)) She started chewing on the sock and then carefully investigating what it really was. See below - Meera chewing away on her sock!

After a while, she got bored of the sock and started crawling around the room again to explore other hidden treasures. Lo and behold... there was another small toy stuck under the sofa this time. Once again, she started reaching out and trying to grab it using all her skills. Just to see what would happen, I went ahead and helped her this time - I took the toy out and gave it to her. She looked at me, then at the toy, and immediately turned away and started looking for other toys :) She had no interest (left) in the toy that was made available to her so easily!

I remembered at that moment my state of mind while I was in the kitchen - I had been complaining about not having help! Yet, often, not being given help is actually the biggest help! We also often don't really appreciate the things that come to us too easily and enjoy more things that we have worked hard to get. Doing things ourselves teaches us more things than having help readily available. Indeed, if I helped Meera all the time, she would probably develop her muscles and co-ordination skills a lot slower! So who is the one who is truly helping? One who helps or one who doesn't help? I think both are helping - one is just more subtle than the other :D Another kind of invisible hand :)

So here's to all the invisible helping hands - the people who help us improve our skills and strengths. I thank you from the bottom of my heart! :)

Todays Simple Recipe: Paneer (Indian Cheese)

I've read several paneer making tips online and in books - but I was never able to make soft paneer at home. I started experimenting with making paneer using various proportions of yogurt, lemon and milk. This is the proportion I find to be really cool for getting soft paneer each time!

Ingredients:
3.5 liters full cream milk (3.5% fat or more)
250 grams (one cup) yogurt
2 large lemons


Method
In a large pot, heat the milk while stirring from time to time using a wooden spatula or spoon (stir such that the fat doesn't stick to the bottom - by scraping the bottom of the pan with the wooden spatula). (If you have a heavy bottomed pan, this might not be needed.)
While the milk heats up, squeeze the juice of half the lemon into the yogurt and mix well. Squeeze the juice of the remaining one and a half lemons into a separate cup and set aside.



When the milk is close to coming to a boil, add the yogurt-lemon juice mix and stir well. You will now see the milk starting to curdle and small grains of cheese starting to surface. Let the milk come close to boiling over and then add the remaining lemon juice that you had set aside. Stir once and reduce the flame to minimum. You should now see large chunks of cheese starting to surface and the liquid under it should start becoming translucent. (Once the liquid below is entirely translucent and has lost its milkiness, you know that all the cheese has surfaced.) Remove the pot from the fire and once again scrape the surface with the wooden spatula to ensure that no cheese is sticking to the bottom (do not stir too hard or you might break the cheese into tiny bits).
Using a large strainer, transfer the cheese floating on the surface onto a cheese cloth (or muslin cloth) placed on a pot.


Wait for 10 minutes to let the paneer cool down a little. Tightly wrap the cheese cloth around the paneer to squeeze out as much water from the paneer as possible.


Tie up the cheese cloth containing the paneer into a tight ball and set aside for one or two hours. (I do not feel the need to place a heavy weight on top of the paneer - doing so makes the paneer too hard in my opinion) Open the cloth, cut the ball of paneer into slices or cubes and use in any recipe of your choice :) Look out for some right here - coming soon! :D

Fresh soft sliced paneer :)

The Invisible Hand (Part I)

After an intense and fun 4 week training, I finally became a youth courses teacher for the Art of Living in December 2004. It was quite a surprise for me actually... I never thought I could get along with a bunch of teenagers (despite having myself being a teen not too long before :D). More importantly, I didn't think that a bunch of teenagers would ever get along with (or even tolerate!) me!! Nonetheless, I started teaching AOLF's Youth Empowerment Seminar (YES) course in Delhi on a monthly basis from January 2005 onwards. Somewhere in the middle of 2005 (May or June, I don't remember exactly), the Bangalore Ashram announced the first ever YES 2 course (advanced program for teens) to take place in the ashram premises. I was super excited and wanted all my students to go for it! Of course, being teens, the parents wouldn't dream of sending them so far away from home all alone without adult company. So I happily volunteered to take responsibility without thinking for one moment what kind of mess I might be getting myself into!

As should have been expected, despite being fully (or at least sub consciously) aware of the nightmare that train bookings in India are, and despite my constant requests to confirm their participation or absence by a specific date, most of the students confirmed their participation only one week before scheduled departure. Instead of telling them all off, I dutifully went to the railways booking office (online booking was still non-existent in those days in India) to reserve 14 seats! No surprises there: I was wait-listed a ridiculous 150-164 (or something similar). (I.e. 164 people with confirmed seats would need to cancel in the coming one week in order for all of us to get seats!).

I called the reservation office each day to check the status. The changes were miniscule - until 2 days before departure, we were still wait-listed 130 and up. Interestingly, not for one moment did the thought cross my mind that I should give up and ask everyone to book their own flight tickets. (I knew that most parents would not like the idea anyways!) So I waited... tried all my contacts, my dad's and mom's contacts, other contacts etc. etc. to get some or the other "quota" so my wonderful YES "kids" could go to Bangalore. But nothing was working. Everyone told me that getting 14 seats confirmed was difficult if not impossible on any quota and if by chance we could apply various quotas (which again, was not possible really), we would all be spread out all over the train and not be able to travel in one bogie. On the day of travel, I called the reservation office thrice. The first time, we were still wait-listed over 100. The second time, there was no change. I had decided by then that I would stuff everyone into the general compartment (which by the way is a nightmare and more so if you are on a 36 hour journey from Delhi to Bangalore!) and leave even if the parents protest. (See below - example of a general compartment in Indian rails)

So, as a last minute thought, and very halfheartedly, just before jumping into my car to leave for the railway station, I called the reservation office a 3rd time. This time, I was told by the cheerful machine at the other end, that we all had confirmed seats - in the same bogie, right next to one another :) I was dumbfounded!

I floated in the state of shock, surprise and uhhh - complete amazement, to the station where all the parents were still with their kids, expecting to take them all back home right away :) Instead, they were all given the shocking news that we had confirmed seats. (Those of you who are used to train travel in India will know what a miracle this was!)

So we all went to Bangalore in the comfort of 2nd Class AC as planned, singing songs and cracking jokes.

Needless to say, we had a wonderful course - learned a lot, made many new friends, felt refreshed, relaxed, inspired and energised to make a difference in this world of ours :) But on the last day, a thought kept nagging me: "We are also wait-listed 135-149 on the return journey :( Maybe the universe blessed us with a miracle so that we would not disappointed and could all come for the YES2. But will we also be so lucky/blessed on the return? None of the "kids" are really looking forward to being back home... but the parents would be worried!" And so went my thought process. Again, I considered stuffing everyone into the General Compartment and even mentioned this to some of the kids... they didn't seem to mind (young blood you know - always ready for adventure). However, I started getting phone calls from worried parents - how r u coming back? Is there a confirmed seat for my kid? To one of the parents, I mistakenly mentioned the General Compartment I think and that was it.... the kid was immediately booked on the next flight to Delhi. Now I was a little worried: "not all kids can do this... what will I do? Maybe it is not even safe to travel in the General Compartment!"

So once again, I decided to call the booking office, and once again, a similar chain of events happened. Call # 1 - wait-listed 100-114. Call #2 - wait-listed 99-113. Call #3 (this time a few hours before we left for the railway station) - all seats confirmed! :D This time, we had 14 seats for 13 people!

I've often thought about this and several unexplainable "miracles" that have happened in my life. And each time, I have remembered something that one of my teachers (I unfortunately don't remember which one) told me: "If you have never experienced a miracle in your life, it is because you have never stepped out of your comfort zone." Indeed, each time I have experienced a miracle, I have done something that was not so comfortable or easy: Shouldered responsibility beyond what I thought was my capacity, done something despite the fear or inhibition in me, done what I think is my duty, despite the discomfort or inconvenience involved, gone out of my way to help someone etc. etc. In each of these instances, there has been an "Invisible Hand" that worked from nowhere to help me out. I also often remember a quote from the movie "The Pricess Diaries" which goes something like: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but a realization that there are things more important than my fear."

In one of the knowledge sheets, Guruji talks about the qualities of the divine. He says that one of the qualities of the divine is that it is hidden. Every divine miracle can be dismissed as a co-incidence. But then again, can they ALL really be mere co-incidences? Twice in a row, all 14 seats confirmed, all in one bogie, right next to one another? More than 100 people had decided last minute to cancel their train bookings on two different occasions? One of the famous quotes from Albert Einstein says "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous!" :D

I have also thought sometimes - why does it matter whether we treat an occurrence (similar to the one I experienced) as a miracle or a co-incidence? I have, over the years, realised that it makes a difference to me (and perhaps to anyone who consciously or unconsciously makes this distinction). When we think of something as a miracle, there comes with it a sense of deep gratitude and an inner softness. It makes the mind totally silent. It is such a precious space to be in! On the other hand, if we dismiss something as a co-incidence or even as "our good luck," we miss being in this precious space. In other extremes, our ego might come up and make us think "oh! I am always lucky!" and we might start taking the most beautiful gifts from the "invisible hand" for granted.

The "invisible hand" works in more ways than Adam Smith could ever have imagined :D We just need to have the eyes to "see" and the ears to "hear"!

Today's recipe (rely on a miracle and just try it!):

Sambhar and Lemon Rice (Once again, I was never taught how to make these, I just gave it a shot one fine morning, and was told that they taste really authentic! :D)

Sambhar: Ingredients (for 4-5 people with a good appetite)
5 medium sized carrots - chopped into circles (not too thin)
3 medium sized potatoes - chopped into medium sized squares
1 zucchini - chopped into medium sized squares
30-40 green beans - chopped into large pieces (each bean can be cut into 2 or 3 depending on the length)
1/2 cauliflower - cut out medium sized flowerets
4-5 tomatoes - chopped
1 cup yellow mung dal (yellow mung beans) (wash well 3-4 times)
2 inch piece of ginger - grated fine
1 inch piece of tamarind (soak in warm water for 15 mins and squeeze out all the pulp and juice for use (throw away the seeds of course :D)
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (if you are too sensitive to spice, you can avoid this)
2 tsp sambhar powder (you can use more or less to make it more or less spicy)
15-20 curry leaves (fresh if possible, washed and chopped into halves or 1/3)
1/4 tsp hing powder (Asafoetida)
3-4 tablespoons ghee or oil
3-4 tablespoons coconut flakes
2 large whole dried red chillies (If you dont have a high pitta problem or if it is high winter, you can use more. Or if you are too sensitive to spice, you can avoid this)
Salt to taste

Method:

In a large pot, put 1 liter of water and heat it to about 50 degrees. Put in the washed dal and let it come to a boil. Reduce the flame or heat to about half and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes or till the lentils are soft.

Now, add all the vegetables (including the tomatoes) and another 300-500 ml of water (depending on how thick or watery you like the sambhar to be), bring to a boil, and let it cook on medium heat for another 20-30 mins.

Add the grated ginger, salt and tamarind pulp+juice and let it simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes.

In the mean time, in a well heated small frying pan (or tadka pot), add the ghee/oil, all the spices (including the sambhar powder), curry leaves and cook while stirring on low to medium heat for 2-3 mins (make sure you don't burn the spices!) Add the coconut flakes and the whole red chillies (you can break each into two) and stir for 1-2 mins. Put this entire spice mix into the pot of vegetables+dal, stir well really quickly and immediately place the lid on the pot. Turn off the heat.

Lemon Rice: Ingredients (for 4-5 people)

3 cups Basmati rice (washed 2-3 times in cool water)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 handful of peanuts (I prefer the roasted split ones)
10-15 fresh curry leaves - chopped (not fine)
2.5 tsp white Urad dal
1.5 tsp mustard seeds
1 large whole dried red chilli
2 tablespoons of oil (not ghee)
Juice of 1/2 to 1 large lemon (depending on how sour you like the lemon rice to be)
Salt to taste

Method

In a rice cooker or pot, put the Basmati rice, twice the amount (or the advised amount) of water (i.e. 6 cups of water for 3 cups of rice), 2/3 tsp salt (or as you like it), 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and let the rice cook. (If you don't have a rice cooker, the method to cook rice is as follows: bring the above mix to a boil, reduce the heat to low, place the lid on the pot and let it cook until all the water is soaked up by the rice - this might take about 10-15 mins for 3 cups of rice).

Once the rice is cooked, transfer it to another broad, shallow pot and let the rice cool down. Once cooled, add the lemon juice and mix well with a light hand (dont mash the rice!) (You'll notice that the rice changes colour from orange to yellow once you add the lemon juice :D)

In a shallow small well heated frying pan, add the oil, then the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start jumping around a bit, add the urad dal and the peanuts, stir a little till the urad dal becomes light brown. Add the curry leaves and the whole red chillies and stir again for 20-25 seconds. Remove from heat and mix well into the rice. Place a lid on the rice to retain the aroma in.

Just before serving (optional): In a frying pan, heat 1-2 tablespoons of ghee and stir in 5-6 fresh curry leaves (stir for no more than 10 seconds in the hot ghee). Pour into the Sambhar and mix well - serve immediately with the lemon rice. ENJOY! :)

Innocence and Interpretations

If I were to look at you and say, "hey! You have beautiful eyes, such wonderful hair and oh, the most beautiful nose I have ever seen... but what happened with your chin? It looks a little crooked!" When you go back home and look in the mirror, the first thing you will look at is - of course - your chin! No attention might go to the hair, eyes or nose :) Right? Similarly, if one were to say to someone "I love you," the response (if not out lond, then in the mind) might often be "really?" but if one were to go to another and say "I hate you!" no one in their "right" mind would ask "really?" This is (another) one the first things I heard in the Art of Living - one of the several insights into the way the human mind is. It tends to cling to the negative. We often readily believe the worse and negative things (about people for example) and ignore or disbelieve the good or positive. (We do this also with ourselves - we doubt our abilities but never doubt our (perceived) inabilities!) This happens a lot more when we have low prana (energy). This simple piece of knowledge from Sri Sri has (among several other pieces of knowledge), always intrigued me. In my short life so far, I have also experienced the truth in, and nuances of, this knowledge through various experiences, brought to me with love by the universe. :) Also very recently in a party-meeting organised by some of my dearest friends in Munich.

We were supposed to discuss the schedule and various other things for the Munich Art of Living Yoga Oase during this party. Having recently discovered that the several stones that were found in my gallbladder a few months ago had miraculously disappeared, and I didn't need surgery, I was really excited to attend this party-meeting (which I would otherwise have had to miss, and instead be in the hospital post-op). As happens when one feels happy and grateful, I had a surge of energy and bundles of ideas which I wanted to implement or discuss asap. So I wrote out several emails to my friends (the other AoL teachers and volunteers in Munich who were coming to the meeting) and also prepared a detailed "agenda" for the meeting, logically laying down all the things that people had mentioned in various emails as "needing discussion" and even designing a "follow up action" page within this agenda. As I said, I was very excited :D (and looking forward to make several "important" contributions to the meeting.)

As the day progressed, my enthusiasm grew more and I even decided to make an elaborate lasagna for the party so that my host friend could have some help. Come evening, I half made the lasagna (we were running late and I thought I'll just use the oven in the host's house to bake it), got everything I had planned for the meeting together (prints of the agenda, my laptop with various draft plans etc. etc.), and piled into the car with my husband and baby hoping to reach the party on time!

As soon as we reached the party however, things started going slightly different from my plan. Meera woke up and started crying really loudly (she wanted her dinner and her own bed). The others were already there so my now using our host's oven to bake the lasagna was going to delay everyone's dinner, my husband (the sensitive soul that he is), started getting stressed seeing Meera's discomfort and thanks to all the chaos, the start of the discussions was getting delayed. With each unexpected "catastrophe," my prana level came down another notch.

Perhaps for a good hearty long lasting laugh (at my expense of course), the heavens decided to torment my already tormented mind a little more: I was busy trying to get my sweet angel baby to go to sleep when I heard one of the guests (another good friend) say "where is our chairperson?" Another one said "you mean Mrinalini? She is feeding the baby." My mind being in the state that it was, got highly agitated and immediately started interpreting the conversation in the worse possible way: "They are being sarcastic and making fun of me! Maybe I was a little (too) enthusiastic and in the process killed everyone else's enthusiasm?" To add some more spice to my boiling mind, the host (a really sweet and innocent person if you ask for my honest opinion on days that I am more centered) peeked into the room where I was and asked very sweetly "What would you like us to discuss?" My mind and heart, were, by this time, nothing short of devastated. After calmly responding "What ever you guys want to", I (mentally) dove right back into the negative thoughts chain: "So what
if I was a little (too) enthusiastic? Why do they have to be such wet blankets? I was only trying to be helpful. None of them were organised enough to make a proper agenda, so why beat up poor me for doing the secretarial work? I should just focus on my PhD and not get involved with people who don't really need my enthusiasm...." and so went my mind on and on and on.

Finally, I decided to put a break to the negative thought chain and take a deep breath. Immediately, I remembered a short piece of knowledge that Sri Sri had shared during a recent satsang: A person had asked a questions which in substance was as follows: "Guruji, I have many creative ideas, but I don't know if I should implement them because I am not sure if they will be successful." Guruji said: "You know, when you deliver a baby, there are labour pains. You cannot say that you want to have a baby, but don't want the labour pains. So if you want to implement an idea, be willing to go through some resistance." Remembering this piece of knowledge, I sprang out of the room fully willing to face all sarcastic comments but putting forth my ideas anyways. But there was still some resistance in me. I was hesitant and a voice in me also said... dont push too much, they will not like it. So I decided not to get the beautifully organised "agenda sheet" and lap top out of my bag and instead just go with the flow.

The meeting went forth quite well. Many good ideas came out (not just from me! :D) and good decisions were made. But somewhere, my mind remained agitated. When dinner was served, I hated my lasagna (I thought it was over baked). I thought - "maybe it was a bad idea to bake. I should let others be 100% hosts without trying to butt in while trying so hard to help!" Once again the heavens must have wanted to laugh, so they decided to add some more spice into my burning heart. Meera started wailing uncontrollably. My husband immediately got very worried and told me that he was "never going to do this again!" I was shocked into silence. But my mind kept chattering - "I am an overbearing person overall! As a mom, volunteer, wife,
everything!"

We left in a rush. By the time we reached home, I decided to let all my frustration out on my hubby dear. I told him that it was unfair that he had reacted that way to Meera's crying. The decision to go was ours not just mine and babies do tend to cry every now and then! He agreed and apologised immediately and said very simply - I was stressed! I could't help but accept that - it was an honest and simple statement. Since I couldn't take my frustration out following that line of talk, my troubled mind started complaining about the evening's discussions. We had not discussed so many things on the "agenda!" So my husband said - "Well, you should have reminded us." I said, "well, I didnt remember everything." He said, "well, you should have written it out and taken a print." I said "Well, I did!" My hubby dear was now totally confused! "Well, then why didn't you take it out and give it to us?" So I started telling him my version of the entire evenings proceedings - how I thought that people were being sarcastic wet blankets and I didn't really want to contribute anything. He listened carefully and then laughed! He said, "you know, the first guy was just cracking jokes. He was just happy and joking about everything in a
good natured way." In my wise hubby's view, the host who asked me what they should discuss, was just being her sweet respectful self trying to include all the guests. He said "dont you think she was showing you respect? Perhaps because of all the work you had put in?" He continued "you do realise, right, that this is your ego that interpreted these innocent things in this way? And, it was your ego that prevented you from taking the "agenda" out! You should have rather added to the joke by saying, now the chairperson is here haha, and contributed 100% without worrying about what you thought they were thinking!"

The truth in what he was saying was immediately clear. I chose to cling to the negative interpretation that my mind cooked up in a state of stress (low prana). So the next day, I went back to being my enthusiastic self and started sending out emails and suggestions once again. Needless to say, everyone responded constructively and several more decisions (that couldn't be made due to shortage of time the previous evening), got made over emails.

At the same time, I also remembered another piece of Guruji's (more rare and deep) knowledge: An AoL teacher once complained to Guruji that he was getting too many negative thoughts and he didnt want them! Guruji said, just know that those thoughts are being given to you for a reason. In my short time as an AoL teacher I have realised the worth of negative thoughts (provided we are aware of them and want to do something about them, i.e. get rid of them!). They help identify some pattern in our minds and in our struggle to come out of them, we detach from the mundane and go deeper into silence, introspection and meditation. I realised several things from the negative thoughts that hit me that night - I realised once again, that my mind can cling to the negative in subtle ways. I realised also that I am indeed over enthusiastic sometimes, and in my enthusiasm, I forget that others too have enthusiasm and have great ideas to bring to the table. Finally, I realised the importance of innocence - innocence prevents us from reading too much into situations and helps us save our own enthusiasm to be creative and to participate despite any (real or mis-perceived) resistance. Innocence also lets us listen to and appreciate others' good ideas :)

So here's today's innocent recipe (open to interpretation! :D) for all my creative and loving friends - with special love and gratitude to my AoL Sangha. You bring me forward, you take me deeper! Thank you!

Multi Flovered Vegetarian Lasagna

Ingredients:

I packet Lasagna sheets (I used whole spelt wheat Lasagna)
250-350 grams grated cheese
6 tomatoes (or half a can of chopped tomatoes) - chopped or pureed
250 grams Pumpkin
250 grams Zucchini
400 grams Carrots
(and any other vegetables you like) - all chopped/sliced finely
300 grams kidney beans (soaked overnight and then pressure cooked)
1/2 inch ginger - grated
Salt, pepper and any non-Indian spices to taste (I used dried Italian herbs, oregano and paprika powder)
5 table spoons olive oil

Method

Take an oven suitable dish, strike a thin layer of olive oil (about one table spoon) all over the inside. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Chop all the veges and put aside (I used a food processor to slice them really fine)
In a frying pan, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil (you can use less if you are weight conscious, but this adds to the taste), put in the tomatoes and stir for a few mins. Now add all the spices and grated ginger. Stir again. Add all the veges and half a cup of the liquid from the cooked kidney beans. Mix well, place the lid on the pan and let it cook for about 10-12 mins (or till the veges are semi soft). Now, add the cooked kidney beans and another half cup of the liquid from the cooked kidney beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for another 5-6 mins (with the lid closed). This is the filling.

Take 2-3 large serving spoons of just the liquid from the filling and pour into the baking dish. (This is important, if you dont do this, the lowest lasagna layer might not get cooked). Place one layer of lasagna sheets on top of the liquid (do not overlap, some distance between sheets is ok). Put a layer of the veges filling, then another layer of lasagna, then another layer of filling, then a layer of cheese. If there is still lots of filling left (it depends on the size of the baking dish), put another layer of lasagna sheets and on the very top, put the final layer of filling and cover with cheese on top (optional) - if you are allergic to cheese like me or are counting calories, you don't have to use cheese - it tastes just as good without it :D. Note: None of the Lasagna sheets should be on top or visible after you finish layering - Lasagna sheets need the liquid from the veges to get properly cooked. Therefore, dont worry if it looks too "liquidy" - the lasagna sheets will soak it all up!

Put into the over and bake for 30 mins or till the lasagna sheets are cooked (i.e. soft).

Serve immediately!

Demanding Love and Loving Demands

My mind just has not been able to let go of the question "Why do I love cooking?" In recent times, the question has transformed itself into various (related) shapes and sizes. For example, I noticed a few days ago that I don't love cooking ALL the time and I certainly don't love cooking all the time for everyone alike. So the new Avatar of the question bugging me has been why do I love cooking sometimes and why do I love cooking (more) for some people than for others?

In the beautiful book titled "Secrets of Relationships," Sri Sri gives us simple and practical tips for a successful, lasting relationship. One of the things he says, that has always stayed with me, is "Demands destroy love." It struck me recently that one of the reasons I love cooking for my hubby dear is that he never demands or even expects me to cook. He is, in fact, always excited when I cook and enjoys the food without expecting the next meal to be (as) good or even cooked at all (by me). I remembered that in the past, I've had guests who stayed a lot longer than expected. On top of it all, they expected me to cook all the time, three meals a day and didn't offer any help at all. By day 3, I was exhausted and their expectation that I cook (and also serve) all the time, got me sick of the whole thing, including them and I couldn't wait to get rid of the cooking and the guests! :P

But sometimes, some people have also enjoyed my demands (especially for food). I remember my grandmother (and my mother) who actually enjoy(ed) my (food) demands and cooked with even more love and enthusiasm if I had asked for a specific dish. It made me wonder - if I constantly stayed with my mom or grandmom, and constantly demanded things from them, would I have become a pain sooner or later (just like my uninvited long staying guests!)? I am not so sure... This is not really what I experience with my little baby for instance - she loudly demands food with all the power in her lungs several times a day. But I don't get sick of feeding her! (See below - Meera demanding food :)

It is said that all the Gods, enlightened masters and sages of the past and the present - Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Guruji, the Dalai Lama etc. etc. are embodiments of unconditional love, patience and compassion. It is no wonder that nothing shook/shakes them from their center - no matter how bad/demanding the behavior of the people around them, they remain calm and composed and are therefore able to spread this calm to everyone around them (and lovingly teach the misbehaving lot how to behave better :D). Guruji, in his commentary on the Bhankti sutras, compares a mother's unconditional love to Bhakti (devotion) - the highest form of unconditional love. (The difference is that the divine loves everyone the way the mom loves only her child :D)

Until such time as we can reach that level of unconditional love for existence and start loving all demands, it is perhaps good to not demand love (or anything else :D)

Today's recipe (on demand from several of my dear friends :D)

Eggless Chocolate Almond Cake

Ingredients
2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1.5 cups sugar or sucanat
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup cream
1/2 cup silken tofu (called seiden tofu in Germany) - optional (it makes the cake softer and more moist, but can be avoided if not available)
1/2 cup oil
1.5 cup apple juice
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup coco powder
2/3 cup almond pulp (left over from the almond milk recipe)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Celsius

In a mixer, mix the sugar, cream, butter, tofu, oil and almond pulp really well - till it is a smooth liquidy mix
In a separate bowl, mix all other (dry) ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and coco powder) - make sure there are no lumps of coco powder or baking powder/soda.
Put the dry ingredient mix into the sugar/fat mix and blend till its a smooth and paste like mix. Add the apple juice and mix again. The end result should be a slightly thick liquid that is a difficult to pour. (If it is too dry or too thick, add more apple juice or milk.) In the end, add the vanilla essence.
Brush a thin layer of oil or butter in an oven suitable cake pan (9 x 13 inch). Transfer the cake batter into the pan and immediately place in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 35-40 mins or till a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean.

Concepts, Learning and Taking Risks

On the first day of the Art of Living course, the teacher spoke about three types of listening. I wont describe them here (in case some of the readers haven't done the course, I dont want to spoil their surprise for when they do do the course :D) but one thing that stayed with me from the discussion was that in order to learn something new, we have, to a large extent, to let go of previously constructed concepts. Put in a different way, in order to gain a new experience or insight (for example, in the kitchen), one has to be willing to experiment and take "risks". Taking risks entails going against what is popularly considered the "normal" or even "correct" way of being or of doing things. It also means that one is ready to face criticism for ending up with something that is at best "not as per expectations" or at worse, a complete disaster.

In an attempt to follow a Satvik Ayurvedic diet (which is supposed to, inter alia, support better health and deeper meditations), I stopped using onions and garlic in my cooking several years ago. (I always hated garlic, so it was not much of a sacrifice :P) Many of my family members and guests however love garlic (and onion). While I was doing my teacher training course in Bangalore in 2004, someone mentioned that in order to get a garlicy flavor, (without using garlic) one has to mix hing (asafoetida) and grated ginger. I imagined immediately that this might indeed taste at least a bit like garlic. This was 7 years ago. I never mustered up the courage to actually try this because most of my family dislikes either asafoetida or ginger or both.

Just a couple of week ago, I was making hummus for my sister and mom (who were visiting from India) and for my husband (all of them love hummus and love garlic). As many of you may know, garlic is an important ingredient of hummus. I was considering whether or not to use garlic, when I remembered this combination I'd heard of long ago. For several minutes, I hesitated... should I or should I not try it? My sis hates ginger and my hubby dislikes asafoetida... Finally, I remembered my last post (of being too worried about consequences and praise) and decided to go ahead and take the risk :)

Indeed, the hummus tasted pretty good (not exactly the same I must admit, but it was much better than it tasted when I didnt use garlic and as a bonus for me who hates garlic, it tasted a lot better than "normal" hummus.) What made me really happy however was that my sister didnt notice (or atleast didnt complain about) the ginger and my husband didnt notice the asafoetida (till I told him :D) and they both enjoyed the hummus as usual :) What ever be the consequences, at least I wont look back at my life and regret not trying to see how the hummus would have tasted if I had used hing and ginger as a substitute for garlic. :D

I've been thinking about my resistance to trying new things and taking risks a lot these past few days... It is such a wonder to me that I don't challenge my own concepts of what will work and what wont (i.e. I should challenge them at least from time to time if not all the time!) Imagine if all the great scientists of the world refused to go beyond the accepted norms of what is possible and what is not. How would the frontiers of science ever expand? Indeed, it is by thinking different from the ordinary and challenging the "norms" and accepted limits of science that scientists like Einstein were able to expand human understanding of so many of the secrets of science.

I've heard large successful corporations take many risks and incur several losses in the process. But one experiment going right is often enough to make good all the losses from failed experiments. I've even heard people say that failures (following an experiment or taking a risk) are actually successes in disguise... others more commonly also say that failures are stepping stones to success. Why then are we (or atleast why am I) so afraid of taking risks and trying new things?

So here's to taking risks, being open to new (unknown) things and enjoying the consequences!

PS: I still feel that if I can hit the correct proportion (by trial and error), I can indeed make the combination of ginger and hing taste like garlic - will keep you posted! In the mean time, if any of my readers have any experience with this, please let us know!

Todays risky recipe: Homemade Hummus without Garlic :D

Ingredients:
1.5 cups chickpeas (Kabuli chana) - soaked overnight or even for 24 hours
Juice of 1 large lemon
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 inch piece grated ginger
1/4 tsp asafoetida (Hing powder)
Salt to taste
1/3 cup water (you can use less or more depending on how thick you like your hummus to be)

Method:
Pressure cook the chickpeas till they are really soft. Drain off all the excess water (leaving aside 1/3 or more cup to be used if the hummus is too thick after adding in all the other ingredients)

In a food processor or powerful blender, make a paste of the cooked chickpeas. Add all the other ingredients and once again, blend till a smooth paste is formed. Add the water (if needed) to make it thinner or to reach the desired consistency.

Dispassionate Enthusiasm (Why do I love cooking?)

As is clear from my blog, I love cooking. However, over the past couple of weeks, the question "why do I love cooking?" has been coming back to my mind repeatedly. Several answers also suggested themselves to me: because its fun, its a creative outlet, it makes my mind come to the present moment, it is relaxing etc. etc. While all these (answers) seemed, at least to some extent, true, they were not making the question go away. And so I kept thinking and perhaps contemplating again and again - why do I love cooking? On the lovely Saturday morning last week, a new answer came to me - I love coking because I can see the results immediately! I can taste the food, smell it, see the expression on people's faces when they eat it, immediately get feedback either on how much they love the food or how to improve the recipe. What ever be the result, there was for sure an immediate tangible result - either praise or a concrete suggestion to improve (If people did not voluntarily give feedback, I could always fish it out of them with a simple question - "Did you like the food?" :D). So was the expectation or certainty of a (positive) result the reason for my love of cooking? I told myself that at the end of the day (to put all these complex thoughts in a simple way), I just like making people happy :) and thats not a bad thing at all... so what ever be the reason why I love cooking, I should just keep doing it and keep making people happy! :) Following this train of thought, I sternly put the question "Why do I love cooking" out of my mind and continued dreaming up a new recipe in the kitchen.

On Sunday, after a long relaxing day next to the beautiful Ostersee near Munich, for no good reason, I felt a little low on prana (Sanskrit for "subtle life force energy"). As is always the case, with the low prana, came several unnecessary negative thoughts. I started questioning the things I do and whether I do them well enough and most importantly, is there any point to my doing them? What is the result of all my actions? Am I an "effective" person? Are my actions effective (in achieving the desired outcome)? Am I skillful enough? Is my PhD going anywhere? Am I a good wife, mom and daughter? Am I a good enough Yoga teacher? If I am a good teacher, why arent people regular in attending the classes?

My (messenger from Guruji) husband, immediately noticed my abnormal mood (even though I had said nothing... or perhaps BECAUSE I was saying nothing for a change ;D). He asked very lovingly as usual - "Are you feeling OK? Whats on ur mind" After a few half-hearted attempts at not telling him, I finally dove full swing into my "self-pity" monologue telling him how I felt I was a totally ineffective person who is most often unable to accomplish desired goals. He listened very carefully to my moaning and sobbing and then said - "well, this is just not true! You are very effective and good at everything you do. Your only problem is that you want results immediately and are perhaps too output oriented." He reminded me of one of spirituality's golden principles - dispassion! He said, "you know, Guruji says that while we should be enthusiastic in our actions (and give our 100% to everything we do), we must be dispassionate about the fruits of our actions. So just remind yourself over and over again - dispassion is the key." :)

This little reminder from my hubby dear of a simple yet profound truth immediately made my mind calmer. Interestingly, the question that had gripped my mind came immediately back - why do I love cooking? Perhaps because of the knowledge capsule I had just consumed, the answer I had dismissed the previous day acquired a new meaning - I cook to make people happy and this is not bad at all... but under this desire to make people happy was a more subtle (mental?) pattern. The pattern of being fixated on the result of all my actions. I further realised that this "result fixation" can also affect the quality of the action itself. Indeed, when I cook for "important" people, I am more stressed and often end up messing up recipes that I make really well on other days. The anticipation/expectation of a (good) result can also affect creativity, and in the long run, enthusiasm to perform the action in the first place.

Photo (left): Serving dinner with Guruji in the European Art of Living Center, Bad Antogast, Germany with (dis)passionate enthusiasm (December, 2009)


It is no wonder that ancient texts (such as the Bhagavad Gita) say that man has right over his actions alone, and not over the fruit of his actions. So we have to do Karma (i.e. action, according to our Dharma) and not worry about the Phala (fruit/result). So 100% enthusiastic action aimed at benefiting anyone is an end in itself, notwithstanding whether or not people actually benefit/appreciate or become happy. Guruji also says that dispassion does not mean disinterest. In fact, dispassion brings with it endless enthusiasm. How true! When I cook without worrying about how the dish will taste or whether people will like it, I fearlessly experiment, enjoy the process and also enjoy what ever the result is :)

Wishing everyone in the world, happy and enthusiastic dispassion in what ever they do :)

Today's dispassion enhancing recipe: Pumpkin-Lentil Soup

Ingredients
1/2 Pumpkin (chopped)
1 cup yellow lentils (eg Mung)
1 inch piece of ginger (grated)
1 tablespoon butter
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste or 1 chopped green chili (optional)

Method
Wash the lentils well in cool water (2-3 times)
Cook in a pressure cooker or on the stove, till soft and mushy
Add the chopped pumpkin to the lentils and cook for 10 more minutes or till soft (if using pressure cooker, one whistle is enough)
Remove the pumpkin-lentil mix from fire and add ginger, butter, salt and pepper (or green chili) and blend together using a hand held blender or regular milk shake mixer till all the ingredients are well blended to form the desired soupy consistency.
Serve immediately
Goes really well with Lemon Rice (Recipe soon to come)

Everybody's Indispensable!

There's a famous idiom: Nobody's indispensable. I always found this idiom somewhat odd. Something in me always said the opposite - everyone is important in some way or the other... so in a way, nobody is dispensable!

I guess because of idioms such as these (and of course due to several other reasons), on bad days, we sometimes lose the sense of self worth. On terrible days, we might also feel truly "good for nothing!" Another flavor that this thought process takes is "I am not doing enough" or "my role is insignificant." In recent times, I have often caught myself thinking: I wish the world would use me more for what ever needs to be done in this world! I also get caught up in comparisons - so and so is working so hard and doing so much for society! Why am I not like them? How come I do so little for my society!? :(

A few days ago, as I was cooking away (as usual) in my kitchen (I was cooking Gobi ki sabji), I saw the salt lying next to the cauliflower and thought - what if the salt were to start wanting to be used in the quantity in which the cauliflower is being used in the recipe?? Everyone would go to bed hungry, or, in the least, not enjoy the meal one bit! :) On the other hand, if the salt were to be not used at all, we'd have a similar result.

I then looked at all the other small bits of spices that were patiently awaiting their turn to be used (see photo left) and realised that in the larger (Divine) plan, we are all playing very important roles. Just like the small spoonful of mustard seeds makes the whole difference to the taste of the Carrot Toran, each of us is indispensable in the larger plan. An expert knows what ingredient is missing from a recipe and what ingredient is needed in what quantity to make the perfect dish. Similarly, nature, divinity, the supreme organising power, God, the enlightened master (Guru) or the ultimate expert (what ever you believe in or like to think of it) know just exactly how and when to "use" us, for what purpose and in what quantity, to accomplish the larger goal(s) of existence. All we have to do is be available and willing. (Guruji says that existence is moving from one level of perfection to another :D).

Yesterday, another thought hit me... while the cauliflower is used in a huge quantity for just one (or a few) recipes, the salt and several of the spices, are used in small quantities, but in almost ALL recipes :) and each one (no matter how "small") is indispensable in making the perfect tasting dish!

In Ayurveda it is said that a complete meal has all 5 flavors: Salty, bitter, pungent, astringent and sweet. For a complete life and world, we need all sorts of people - sweet ones, salty ones, bitter ones, angry (pungent) ones...

Today's multi-flavored recipe dedicated to all my past, present and future indispensable family, friends and acquaintances:

Health(ier) Stuffed Capsicum (Stuffed Shimla Mirch)(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

1 cup Millets
3 potatoes
½ handful raisins
1 handful cashews (lightly crushed)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 tsp butter
6 medium sized capsicums (use different colours)
3 tablespoons oil

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Cut the top portions (at the 1/3rd mark) of the capsicums and empty out the “contents” of the capsicum so that there is a large hole in each. (see photo below) Replace the top (cut 1/3rd - they look like lids :D) portions on each of the corresponding "emptied out" portions of the capsicums.

In a separate (oven suitable) dish, put one table spoon oil, add a sprinkle of salt and turmeric powder and mix well. Spread it evenly in the entire oven suitable dish. Using a food brush (if available), brush some of this oil-salt-turmeric mix onto each of the capsicums (on the outside). Place the capsicums into the dish and put in the pre-heated oven. Let the capsicums cook in the oven for 20-30 mins or until they start looking wrinkled or start to turn a little brownish on some parts on the top (in the mean time, prepare the filling).

Filling:

Cook millets (with three times the amount of water). Once cooked, add the butter to it. Keep aside. (Method to cook millets - wash well several times, add three times the amount of water, a sprinkle of salt and bring the entire mix to a boil. Turn down the heat to minimum and let it simmer till all the water has evaporated (or absorbed by the millets). We do not usually cook millets in a closed container - they become too mushy - but for this recipe, it doesn't matter as we will be mashing it all up anyways :D)

Cut potatoes and (pressure) cook till soft (mashable). Mix the mashed potatoes and Millets together.

In a pan, heat 2 table spoons of oil, add all the masalas, cashews and raisins and cook on low heat till raisins look a little swollen. Mix the masala mix into the millets-potatoes mash.

Take the capsicum out of the oven, fill the filling into each capsicum, close the “lids”, and place back into the oven for 3-5 mins. Turn the heating off and let the stuffed capsicums remain in the oven till you are ready to serve them (ideally, within 10 mins thereafter)

This is a complete meal - you do not need rice or chapatis to go with it as it contains Millets and potatoes as the major carbohydrate. If you would like to make it more nutritious and balanced, replace 1 or 1.5 potatoes with cheese or paneer - this will add to the protein content of the meal. But Millets are themselves a very good source of protein.

Anger Facts # 1

As a child, I lost my temper very rarely. As I grew older and hit the teens, it became increasingly more fashionable to follow in Amitabh Bachchan's footsteps and be called the "Angry young (wo)man" and idolize James Dean to become a "Rebel without a cause." It was cool to yell and shout at everyone in general, and my parents in particular (especially my dear mom, who is a truly sweet natured and cool headed person!).

Somewhere along the way, I lost the habit (and interest) in meditation, yoga and everything to do with spirituality (remember? I was introduced to TM at the age of 11). But as mom's go (they are a skillful and patient lot who have perfected the art of striking just when the time is right), my mom skillfully got me back into yoga and meditation through one of Art of Living's advanced programs called the DSN. This was in 2002. Since then, (perhaps as a result of regular breathing exercises and meditation) slowly but surely, I have been going back to the childhood nature of hardly ever losing my temper... or so I thought until recently!

In Jan this year, came my beautiful baby daughter Meera (see picture below)

and with her came bundles of joy, laughter, tears and STRESS! Back came my old (painstakingly nurtured and developed) habit of yelling at my mom. I particularly watched (often in amazement) how easily I got annoyed at my mom in the kitchen. You see, I like my kitchen to be just as 'I' like it! "I" can create a mess but no one else is permitted to do so. Although at least some working parts of my brain told me that mom was being a sweetheart helping out so much, and I had no business to be anything but grateful, BANG came another round of bad temper, angry comments and irritated instructions! Mom, as patient as ever, never said a word in retort.

A few days ago, I was happily cooking away in my kitchen, when my (messenger from Guruji) husband came waltzing in, (in a rather good mood) and declared that he would cook lunch for us for a change. I jumped and accepted the loving suggestion. Immediately after this sweet exchange of words and looks, came several angry (and annoyed) comments from him about how messy the whole kitchen was! I was shocked and distressed and became angrier and angrier as he threw several more angry remarks and instructions at me. In sum and substance, he wanted the kitchen to be just as HE liked it. I marched out of the kitchen thinking how terrible it was that he could create a mess and clean it as and when he wanted and I was not permitted to make a mess while I so lovingly cooked for him! I would never cook for him again! >:(

As I marched out, one of the few parts of the brain still working despite the anger attack, nagged me - "isnt this exactly the way you behave with mom? Good getting a taste of your own medicine!" :(

Guruji says that we should see every situation in life (including unpleasant ones) as post meant for us being delivered by a postman (the other person in the situation, for eg the person who is scolding you). I never really understood what he meant until that morning a few days ago. My husband was only the postman - he was delivering a message meant for me - a message asking me to look at my own behavior and re-assess whether it is necessary or appropriate and how it affects people around me. Guruji also says that when we dont react to (or are unaffected by) a situation, the person who is behaving badly will realise their mistake. That my husband was just the postman became clearer to me as he dropped his anger and lovingly served lunch immediately after I walked out in a huff. I, on the other hand, held on to the anger for quite sometime as the above realization was hard (for my ego) to swallow and even harder to digest :) Once digested, it is proving to have several health benefits including more gratitude for my mom, more respect and love for my ever patient husband, and most importantly, better working brain cells :)

Today's recipes - Pitta Pacifying Shakes (to calm the angry young man or woman in you :D)

Fire extinguisher #1: Watermelon Mint Juice (For 1 serving)
Ingredients:
Two large slices of watermelon (seedless or remove as many seeds as you can) - preferably cooled overnight in the refrigerator
3-4 mint leaves
a dash of lemon juice (optional)

Method:
Blend all together in a mixer - drink immediately!

Fire extinguisher # 2: Almond-date shake (For 4 servings)
Ingredients:
60 gm almonds (soak overnight, remove skin in the morning)
800ml water (cold, perhaps refrigerated overnight if you live in a hot country)
6-8 dates (soak overnight in refrigerator, remove skin and seed)
A dash of cinnamon powder (avoid if your temper is out of control)
4 table spoons of maple syrup or Agave syrup

Method:
Put almonds, 300ml water in blender and beat thoroughly till all the almonds are fully crushed. Add the rest of the water (500ml) and beat again.
With a large sieve (with small holes), sieve the almond-water mix to remove the almond pulp. What comes out is pure home made almond milk :) (You can use the pulp in other recipes - will suggest some soon!)

Put the almond milk back in the blender (without the pulp), add the dates, cinnamon powder and maple/agave syrup and blend again - several times till the dates are almost fully "dissolved".

Pour out into glasses and serve immediately.

"Bliss comes out of chaos and the ability to enjoy chaos is enlightenment"

I am often a rather chaotic person... meaning, I do things in a rather haphazard way. To any onlooker, I will appear downright messy! But there is (sometimes) some sort of order in my chaos. Just how the chaos (or mess) affects my mind and functioning is something I realised just a few months ago... while cooking :)

I was preparing a meal for an important guest, Kashiji (visiting from India to teach a Yoga course in Munich) and several other guests - also very important - (I wasnt sure how many) who were going to accompany him and my husband back home after the yoga class. I wanted to (a) prepare several dishes, (b)make sure that they all tasted great (c) ensure that they were still warm and fresh when the guests arrived (I dont like re-heating food as I feel it kills the prana in the food) and (d) be all finished and place everything beautifully on the table before they arrived so they could eat immediately (they would, after all, be so hungry after the Yoga session!).

In my head I thought "this is nuts! How can I do all these things together? One or the other dish is bound to get cold as I would have finished preparing it first!" So I proceeded to do everything all at once! I set part of the table, cut half the veges for one dish, half for another, washed the rice, cut the rest of the veges, made the batter for the muffins, set the rice in the cooker to cook, finished cutting the rest of the veges for the 2nd dish... and so on and so on.... The kitchen looked like someone had turned it upside down. My brain might have looked the same if someone were to be able to look at it! To cut a long story short, following the utter chaos in the kitchen, a wonderful meal was ready by the time the guests arrived. While the table was not set, the kitchen was (somewhat) clean. In another 10 mins, the table was set and everyone gathered around to enjoy the food. I would like to believe that they were in bliss because of the smell and taste of the food, but I am sure it was the Yoga session with Kashiji that had them in that state already :)

This crazy chaotic session was similar to most of my cooking sessions. But for the first time I realised that this is how I deal with most of my life, including my PhD work. I try to do it all at once and end up in the midst of chaos! I told my husband this new insight into my way of working and he said... "yes, you should focus on one thing at a time." Very simple, good and practical advise - just like my husband! :) The next day, I watched myself work at my office desk. Indeed, my tendency was, again, to do half of one thing, then 1/3rd of another, 1/4th of a third thing... and so on... At that moment, my husband called me and said "this is just a friendly reminder to stay focused!" :D (yes, he is such a sweet heart! and a messenger from Guruji for sure!) I have been telling myself to finish one thing at a time at work since then and it has truly helped to keep my mind calmer at work.

A few days ago another thought hit me as I cooked. Although I am chaotic, I do finish the work and sometimes, the chaos leads to creativity... the downside is just that the chaos stresses me out. So if I am somehow able to enjoy the chaos, I can be creative, finish the work and enjoy the entire process! Perhaps I should let myself be chaotic sometimes and slowly learn the skill of enjoying the chaos... till then, maybe it is a good idea to be atleast a little systematic? Is that a good approach? Any further insights into chaos, order, creativity, bliss and the connection between these are welcome :D

Todays recipe: Carrot Coconut Toran (originally a Kerala recipe... I was never taught how to make it, but this is how I did it one fine morning and it tasted pretty good!)

Ingredients (for 4 portions):

8 carrots (shredded - using what we call in Hindi, a "kaddukas")
One handful of dried coconut flakes (or if you are have a lot of time and energy, fresh shredded coconut)
2 tsp of mustard seeds
15-20 currey leaves - chopped once or twice
1-2 dried whole red chillies (optional - avoid if u have high pitta)
1 inch piece of ginger (grated)
salt to taste
Ghee or oil to cook in

Method:

In a large frying pan, heat oil/ghee
Add the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter (do not burn!)
Reduce the flame/heat
Add curry leaves, coconut flakes, red chillies and ginger - stir it all in (20-30 secs)
Add the shredded carrot, salt - mix well (1 min)
Close the lid of the frying pan, wait for 30-40 secs and turn off the heat/flame. Let the carrots sit on the stove for 10 mins. The heat within the pan will cook the carrots just the right amount.
Serve immediately
(Goes really well with warm basmati rice.)

If you have been blessed with a talent, put it to good use!

Sri Sri says that all our talents are for the benefit of others - if we sing well, it is for others to enjoy hearing it. If we write well, it is for others to enjoy and learn from our writings :D He also says that if we are blessed with a talent, we should put it to good use. By putting to good use, he means not just for oneself, but for society! When we put our talents to good use, more talents are given to us!

This is so true for cooking! Once I realised I could cook, I first cooked for myself. Then, for my family. Then for family and friends. Then for large satsang groups and (unexpected) guests :D I noticed that the joy of cooking multiplied with the number of people I was cooking for. More importantly perhaps, as I cooked for larger and larger groups of people consisting not just of people "near and dear," my creativity in cooking increased. Recipes just came to me from nowhere! Randomly cooked dishes (following no fixed recipe) tasted simply marvelous and "traditional" Indian dishes I had never dared make before (out of fear that they would taste nothing like the original) were praised as tasting truly "authentic!"

By writing out these recipes on the blog, I hope that I can share this talent that has slowly emerged from somewhere within me, with those who it is truly meant for - YOU!

Todays recipe: Avocado Peanut Salad

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado (not over-ripe!) (chopped into small cubes)
1 cucumber (chopped into small cubes)
1 handful of peanuts - roasted ones taste better (can be substituted with lightly fried or roasted cashews, but peanuts taste better)
1/2 handful of raisins
Lemon Juice (to taste - no more than 1/2 of a medium sized lemon)
Salt and pepper to taste (if you are a highly pitta person, avoid pepper. If you are a highly Kapha person, add extra pepper or even green chillies - the spice will surely increase the Rajas in you and make you active :D. Spices are also recommended in cold climates but may be avoided during hot summer days - especially in India!)

Method: Mix all ingredients together and serve immediately!

The salad contains all 5 flavors - sweet, salty, pungent, astringent and sour. Light and satisfying!

Happy cooking and happy sharing your talents!

About the blog and the blogger... at some level, they are both but one!

Although I'm a lawyer and law student by profession, in my heart, I am just a spiritual seeker and a student and disciple of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. I've taught Art of Living's Youth Program (YES course) and Yoga courses for the past 7 years and read almost all books written by or about Sri Sri. Before joining the first Art of Living workshop (at age 17), I was initiated into Transcendental Meditation at the age of 11 and learned yoga under a senior teacher from the Bihar School of Yoga from the age of 13-15. Although I never admitted it as a teenager, I have always felt a strong attraction towards meditation and yoga. My mind always wandered into the outer world beyond the Earth and the inner world - of our hearts and souls - can they ever meet?

My interest in cooking, particularly vegetarian, Ayurvedic cooking is relatively recent. While I was in the United States doing my masters program, the lack of good vegetarian restaurants around my law school in beautiful Concord, New Hampshire forced me to cook my own meals. This was in 2005. Following my masters, I moved to New York where I spent 2.5 happy years studying (for the NY Bar!), working (with IBM and later as a consultant), teaching Art of Living courses, and of course COOKING for my sister and for the students who I taught. During this time, I also did the Sri Sri Ayurveda cooking course and realized that I had a flair and instinct for cooking and baking. This was 2006-2007.

Realising that cooking helps in introspection, recognizing (unnecessary) personal behavioral patterns and overcoming them, living the present moment in its totality and experiencing deeper meditations came even more recently - just within this year in fact (2011). This realisation (which is in its infancy and hopefully on its way to progressive maturation) inspired this blog.

Through this blog I bring to everyone of us who has a creative heart and/or a love for trying new things (whether in the kitchen or elsewhere) my experiences with introspecting and meditating while doing something that I enjoy a great deal most of the time, and hate some of the time :).

As Sri Sri advises, I cook in the present moment and never make anything that tastes the same as last time. Most recipes here are either modifications of well known recipes or creations off the top of my head or a combination of these.

I hope you enjoy reading the blog! Please feel free to comment or criticize or suggest or praise. I offer and surrender it all to the divine.

With love... happy cooking and happy introspecting. :D