Karela with Capsicum

Link to the recipe: http://www.tarladalal.com/Karela-and-Capsicum-Subzi-4311r

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Bitter though it is, karela has a unique taste that transforms it into a delicacy if prepared in the right ways. Here, an innovative combination of bitter gourd, onions and colourful capsicums are sautéed with a traditional tempering, resulting in a flavourful and aromatic subzi that goes well with rice and rotis. Although prepared with everyday ingredients and the simplest of cooking methods, the Karela and Capsicum Subzi is a super hit mainly because of the thoughtful combination of vegetables.

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Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 18 mins
Makes 4 servings
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Ingredients

2 cups bitter gourd (karela) strips , cut approx. 2”
1 cup coloured capsicum strips (green and yellow)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 cup sliced onions
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander-cumin seeds (dhania-jeera) powder
1 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

Method

1.    Combine the karela strips and salt in a deep bowl, mix well and keep aside for 10 minutes.

2.    Squeeze out the excess water from the karela and keep aside.

3.    Heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan, add the cumin seeds and asafoetida.

4.    When the seeds crackle, add the karela strips and onions and sauté on a medium flame for 2 minutes.

5.    Add the turmeric powder, mix well and cover and cook on a medium flame for 6 to 8 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

6.    Add the capsicum and salt, mix well and cover and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

7.    Add the chilli powder, coriander-cumin seeds powder and sugar, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

8.    Serve immediately.

BABY CORN MASALA | SIDE DISH FOR ROTI

BABY CORN COOKED IN RICH TOMATO GRAVY.

Last week when we all went to a North Indian restaurant  for lunch we ordered a Baby Corn Masala which we have never tried before in that place. We all liked it very much and we went for veggies shopping and my daughter picked the cute baby corns in the vegetable section and asked me to make a masala with that.
I tried to recreate the same taste but i almost it was like that(my daughter said) and we had a great dinner with rotis and a salad(recipe coming soon)

Picture updated.



SERVES : 4-5
INGREDIENTS:

BABY CORN	2 PACKETS(15 NO. APPROX)
ONIONS	2 NO AND 1 NO FOR GARNISHING
CAPSICUM	1/2 NO
TOMATO	2 BIG RIPED
CASHEW NUTS	5-7 NO.(OPTIONAL)
REDCHILLI POWDER	1/2 TSP
CORIANDER POWDER	1/2 TSP
CUMIN SEED POWDER	1/4 TSP
KASOORI METHI	1/4 TSP
TOMATO SAUCE	1/4 TSP
GARAM MASALA/KITCHEN KING MASALA	A GENEROUS PINCH
CUMIN SEEDS	A PINCH
MILK	1/2 CUP
SALT	AS NEEDED
TURMERIC POWDER	A PINCH
OIL	2 TBLSP

METHOD:

• Wash the Baby corn and cut them into big pieces .

• Roughly chop the 2 onions and saute them in a kadai(add a few drops of oil) till it turns into a nice brown colur.

• Roughly chop the tomatoes and the capsicum into cubes.

• In a pan cook the baby corn till it becomes soft.
• It took 10 minutes for me to get them cooked.
• Add a pinch of turmeric and little salt while cooking.

• When it is done, drain the excess water and keep the corns aside.

• In a mixer jar, add the sauted onions, tomatoes, redchilli powder,coriander powder,cumin seed powder,tomato sauce , kasoorimethi, cashew nuts(if adding and i didnt add) into a smooth paste.

• In a kadai add the oil and saute the capsicum and cubed onion for a minute.
• Keep it aside.

• In the same oil throw in the cumin seeds and add the ground masala.
• Saute them in a low flame for 5 mins.

• Add the cooked Baby corns and the milk to the gravy.

• Now add the capsicum and onions to this.
• Put off the flame.

• Serve it hot with Roti/ Naan.
• It tasted even so yum with Peas pulao also.

Tomatoes can be replaced by 1/2 cup of store bought tomato puree.
I used the Everest Kitchen King Masala and it gave a wonderful flavour to the curry

The US now knows who Narendra Modi really is

Last updated on: October 01, 2014 07:29 IST

Narendra Modi's positive engagement with Barack Obama has well and truly washed away the doubts and slights of the past.

Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.

US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the National Martin Luther King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington. Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully launched himself in Washington, DC.

During his first-ever summit with United States President Barack Obama, the prime minister was looking for more than just political partnership; he sought American help to accomplish his development dreams for India.

What India can do for America or what America can do for India had become outdated questions. What both can do together was what was discussed at the Oval Office at the White House.

Modi not only shared an editorial byline with Obama, but both leaders even walked together at the memorial for Dr Martin Luther King Junior, the legendary American civil rights leader.

The denial of a US visa to Modi was majorly due to the human rights-related issue in Gujarat as perceived by the State Department in Washington.

By his presence with the Indian leader at the memorial, Obama, and in turn the United States, has embraced Modi to uplift India-US relations.

The US is well introduced to Modi now.

Nothing more could be achieved because nothing less than a proper burial of the visa issue was necessary in the first round.

Washington, the city of daily intrigues and many myths, did it in style. No apology or regret, but Modi got enough when Obama shared a byline on The Washington Post article jointly written by him and Modi.

US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi interact during their summit at the Oval Office. Photograph: Ministry of External Affairs

Vikram Doraiswami, Joint Secretary, Americas, ministry of external affairs, briefed the media before the joint statement was made public.

The talks between Obama and Modi were conducted against the background that this relationship was just not transactional but that "there was a great deal of understanding on how can we do something together."

On India-US cooperation on terrorism, Doraiswami said the two leaders had agreed to make joint and concerted efforts to dismantle safe havens for terror and criminal networks, disrupt all financial and tactical support to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the D Company, Al Qaeda and the Haqqani network.

This was mainly done to cater to the domestic audience in India.

Already high-level intelligence is shared between India and the US and a lot is being done to fight these terror groups.

In the last 10 years, the US has helped India dismantle safe heavens of terror. In cyber security too, both countries have helped each other.

Importantly, Doraiswami said the US acknowledged that India met the requirement to be part of the Missile Technology Control Regime and that it will help New Delhi get membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group as well.

Both countries decided to set up an inter-agency contact group to expedite all pending issues, including that of civil nuclear liability to implement US-origin civil nuclear power projects in India.

US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office. Photograph: Paresh Gandhi/Rediff.com

India and the US also agreed to renew the bilateral defence agreement for ten more years.

Modi's 'Make in India' vision was central in the defence-related talks. A special task force will be set up to highlight the items which can be produced jointly.

The US also reaffirmed its support to India's membership of the United Nations Security Council, which President Obama had first declared in Parliament during his visit to India in Novembver 2010.

India, Doraiswami pointed out, wanted American help in challenges that India has been facing on its path of development, economy and in urban infrastructure.

The two leaders, Doraiswami said, spoke a lot about the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene initiative launched by the United Nations and how India is looking forward to the US to help provide clean water in urban areas.

Modi has put his political weight behind the cleaning of cities, rivers and rural areas in India.

Modi believes that all urban centres in India should clean waste waters with the help of modern waste management technologies imported from the US, Israel or China, and then supply the water for agriculture purposes in surrounding rural areas and keep fruits and vegetables prices under control.

Doraiswami also spoke about how India sought help to develop small and medium scale industries and improve their manufacturing hubs.

The US Federal Bank and the Reserve Bank of India will join hands to share trans-border capital market issues and information.

The tri-lateral partnership involving the US, India and Afghanistan too came up during discussion between the two leaders.

Also part of the 90-minute discussion were topics like education, women's empowerment, combating the Ebola epidemic and cancer, alternative energy and improving the e-governance digital partnership between the two nations.

When asked to identify three factors that suggested that India-US relations had gained momentum, Doraiswami asked, "Why three? We have 30 factors between us, which means that India-US relations are on the fast track now."

• Please click here for full coverage of Prime Minister Modi's US visit.

Chalein saath saath: Modi, Obama's op-ed

United States President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House. Photograph: MEA India/Flickr

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama wrote a joint editorial in The Washington Post, which appeared on its website on Tuesday.
Headlined ‘A renewed US-India partnership for the 21st century’, the op-ed talks about democracy, robust partnership and Modi’s pet ‘Clean India’ campaign.

Read the complete op-ed here
Here are top quotes from the editorial.
1. Ties between the United States and India are rooted in the shared desire of our citizens for justice and equality.
2. Today our partnership is robust, reliable and enduring, and it is expanding. Our relationship involves more bilateral collaboration than ever before — not just at the federal level but also at the state and local levels, between our two militaries, private sectors and civil society. Indeed, so much has happened that, in 2000, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee could declare that we are natural allies.
3. The true potential of our relationship has yet to be fully realized. The advent of a new government in India is a natural opportunity to broaden and deepen our relationship.
4. This will be an agenda that enables us to find mutually rewarding ways to expand our collaboration in trade, investment and technology that harmonize with India’s ambitious development agenda, while sustaining the United States as the global engine of growth.
5. We will discuss ways in which our businesses, scientists and governments can partner as India works to improve the quality, reliability and availability of basic services, especially for the poorest of citizens. In this, the United States stands ready to assist. An immediate area of concrete support is the “Clean India” campaign, where we will leverage private and civil society innovation, expertise and technology to improve sanitation and hygiene throughout India.
6. As nations, as people, we aspire to a better future for all; one in which our strategic partnership also produces benefits for the world at large.
7. As global partners, we are committed to enhancing our homeland security by sharing intelligence, through counterterrorism and law-enforcement cooperation, while we jointly work to maintain freedom of navigation and lawful commerce across the seas.
8. The promise of a better tomorrow is not solely for Indians and Americans: It also beckons us to move forward together for a better world. This is the central premise of our defining partnership for the 21st century. Forward together we go -- chalein saath saath.

TN's Panneer, the first chai-wallah to become chief minister

September 28, 2014 21:50 IST

 
O Panneerselvam is the first chai-wallah to become chief minister in the country.
Gujarat's Narendra Modi, the better-known chai-wallah to become chief minister, followed Paneerselvam around a fortnight later in 2001.
The parallel should end there, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
It is the second innings for O Panneerselvam, or 'OPS', to be named 'interim chief minister' of Tamil Nadu -- if that is the phrase -- and under near-similar circumstances.
Whether he completes the chief minister's job until assembly polls become due in May 2016 or not would depend mostly on the future course of the 'disproportionate assets' case against ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa, and a host of intra-party affairs between now and then.
Whatever that be, Panneer, seen above, with J Jayalalitha, is the first chai-wallah to become chief minister of any state in the country. A graduate, he owned a tea-shop in his native Periyakulam in the hilly and scenic Theni district of Tamil Nadu.
Gujarat's Narendra Modi, the better-known chai-wallah to become chief minister first and the nation's prime minister over a decade later, followed Panneer around a fortnight later in 2001 -- September 23, 1001, and October 7, 2001 respectively.
The parallel should end there.
So should the parallel between the circumstances under which Panneer became CM.
In 2001, the Supreme Court held then governor Fatima Beevi -- incidentally, the first woman judge of the apex court -- swearing in Jaya as chief minister, ab initio void.
The court held that only Jaya's sentence in the TANSI case remained suspended during the bail period, but not the conviction in the corruption case. Her disqualification to continue as a legislator or contest a seat after being sentenced for over two years was cause for disqualification under Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act, RPA.
Independent of this case or any other, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government would soon amend the RPA. Under the new Section 8 (1), mere conviction in a corruption case would disqualify a legislator, for six years after completing the prison term.
Should the appeals courts uphold Special Judge Michael D'Cunha's four-year prison-term sentence for Jayalalithaa (which commenced with his verdict on Saturday), she would not be able to contest elections for 10 years in all.
For this, the period out on bail would not be considered as the sentence period.
In the normal course, Jayalalithaa thus would not be able to contest the assembly elections in 2016 and 2021. She cannot also contest the parliamentary polls, in 2019 and 2024, the latter falling a few months ahead of the completion of her bar-term under the normal circumstances.
Jayalalithaa would be 78 by then.
 
As Panneer becomes CM, it is likely that former Tamil Nadu chief secretary Sheela Balakrishnan, one of the names that were being fleetingly mentioned to take Jayalalithaa's place after the latter's conviction, may continue as an advisor to the state government.
Image: Policemen prevent an AIADMK supporter who tried to immolate himself in Coimbatore in protest over Jayalalithaa's conviction. Photograph: PTI photo
Under the changed circumstances, she may function as the coordinator between Jayalalithaa and the Panneerselvam government, shuttling between a prison in Karnataka and Chennai.
The last time Panneer was CM, Jayalalithaa was out on bail and staying in her Poes Garden residence in Chennai. As reports said at the time, he would visit her morning and evening, discuss government decisions and take 'instructions.'
Under the changed circumstances, it might not be feasible, considering that Jaya might continue in a Karnataka prison until granted bail. Protocol too might demand otherwise.
To be precise, the AIADMK questioned the propriety of then DMK chief minister M Karunanidhi calling on MDMK chief Vaiko, charged under the anti-terrorism law, at the Vellore prison in the state. The circumstances are different, however.
Questions might remain as to how an official of the state government, even if a retired chief secretary functioning as an advisor, could visit the inmate of a prison, that too in another state.
As coincidence would have it, on Sunday, Sheela Balakrishnan could not meet with Jaya at the Parpanahara Agraharam prison in Bangalore owing to technicalities. It might be overcome on Monday, when Sheela/Jaya apply to the authorities concerned for permission for such a meeting.
As an A-Class prisoner, Jaya is also entitled to possible concessions in the time-span and frequency for such meetings.
Yet, it is likely that even if Jaya were to be granted bail, the courts might direct her to stay out of Tamil Nadu, and possibly stay under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka high court.
Sure enough, her defence could be expected to argue that as the party boss, she would have to continue attending to the day-to-day functioning of AIADMK affairs, address rallies and organise conferences, all within Tamil Nadu, particularly during the crucial run-up to the 2016 assembly polls.
Constitutional impasse
Panneerselvam would be sworn in as chief minister by Governor K Rosaiah on Monday, September 29. It is likely that Jaya might want him to retain much of her outgoing government.
With that would end the Constitutional impasse caused by Jayalalithaa's statutory removal from office, as soon as the Bangalore verdict was pronounced.
After all, the Founding Fathers could not have been expected to imagine situations such as this, for them to prescribe instant solutions.
Incidentally, Rosaiah, a former Congress CM of the neighbouring, undivided, Andhra Pradesh, is the only governor nominated by the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government, not to have been sacked by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Loyalist number two all through
After being promoted as chief minister from being the revenue minister after his first successful outing in the assembly polls, Panneerselvam has retained his accidentally thrust-upon number two slot in the party and government, after Jayalalithaa returned to power in March 2002, with a clean-chit from the Supreme Court.
Over the past 12 years, he has remained possibly the only AIADMK leader to have retained his position under the Jayalalithaa dispensation. He is considered both a loyalist, confidant and Jaya's primary trouble-shooter, particularly in district party affairs.
This has given him an aura of being irreplaceable at that second slot, since. His choice as the CM now is also a message to his Kallar sub-sect from within the numerically strong and traditionally militant 'Mukkulathore' community, which has been with the party since the late superstar politician, the M G Ramachandran, founded the AIADMK since 1972.
 
That Jayalalithaa's confidante, Sasikala and the latter's sister-in-law Illavarasi and estranged nephew (who also used to be Jaya's foster son for a time), V N Sudhagaran, belonged to the community cannot be overlooked.
Image: Sasikala Natarajan, left, with J Jayalalithaa
Though in this case, there is nothing to suggest that Panneer was close to Sasikala's controversial husband M Natarajan, who had been sidelined from AIADMK affairs almost completely, if only over a period.
Among the three co-convicts of Jaya, Sudhagaran is the grandson-in-law of the late thespian of Tamil cinema, Sivaji Ganesan. Illavarasi was married to Sasikala's brother. Sasikala has her voter-id card and ration-card entries made at Jaya's 36 Poes Garden bungalow.
Though details of Judge D'Cunha's verdict is not available in full, this might be a factor that could have weighed with the court. Under the amended Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, any 'public servant' (which Jayalalithaa was) or anyone 'deemed close to a public servant' (which Sasikala's acknowledged address could prove) could be punished under the law....
Thereby hangs a tale.
N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and political analyst, is Director, Observer Research Foundation, Chennai Chapter.

N Sathiya Moorthy in Chennai