Rudra blues

My taste in music was and is heavily influenced by Bob Dylan. One of my motivations for coming to the US of A more than 20 years ago was to see Dylan. That was checked off within a year after showing up here. Okay, that was not the primary reason!

Most of you also know my penchant for runon sentences and my liking for using not so easily pronounceable words in conversation.

It is very much possible that my memory, vocabulary, run on sentences etc. all have roots in my childhood. As a toddler I used to sit patiently on my grandfathers lap for hours and listen to him recite scriptures. To this day that is my most favorite memory of him. 

Jr. and the little one are always amazed by my memory and I keep telling them that if they just listen to certain sounds, there is a benefit to their brain and the way they can register things. It is true that I don't have any personal experimental proof of this with the western scientific method, but this is based on what the smart elders in my family concur with and it is possibly working in my favor. Nevertheless, not everything needs a proof this way as some experiements go on for generations over thousands of years! Maybe this is one such experiement in progress where these chants are taught?!

Jr. now knows almost 80% of the Chamakam and recites it with the correct pronunciation.  I am not asking her to recite it, but just sit next to me when I recite. So far, so good..

We (Jr. and me) had an idea to do a video of the last stanza with some inspiration from Dylan's Subterranean Homesick blues. 

It is funny that she was introduced to Dylan before she was introduced to Chamakam.. 

Here is the result..

You will see a video here somday where Jr. recites the entire thing. On a side note, we had a funny incident at home a few months ago when she was conscious of her accent when it came time to pronounce some words. Given that she knows neither Hindi or Sanskrit and only Tamil, she was not comfortable reading it in English. 

My initial reaction was to enroll her in Sanskrit class in hopes that she will pick up the Devanagari script and that did not work out. Did find something else to motivate her.. A video where a bunch of Caucasian folks recite Rudram with perfect intonation (catch it from the 55second mark) that taught Jr. that it has nothing to do with where you are born and what your native tongue is and it is just a question of practice and finding a good teacher!

I called it the Rudra blues because sometimes listening to this or chanting this makes me miss my grandfather and the Kapaleeshwarar temple and also sends me back to simple and innocent days from my past. Then again, watching the kids pick it up makes me feel that some goodness is being transferred to the next generation!

Taro (சேப்பங்கிழங்கு) Curry - Do it yourself Videoblog

The traditional way of making Taro (சேப்பங்கிழங்கு) curry that my mother taught me is by staring to boil them whole.

We used a pressure cooker to boil the root (irrespective of how ugly and muddy it was) and then remove the skin after putting it in cold water (thermal shocking the skin!). 

It would still not peel off easily like a potato and needed some delicate care during the peeling process. Otherwise most of the stuff would be thrown away with the skin. Also it was not a nice experience peeling the skin off pressure cooker boiled Taro as it was very slimy and slippery to touch. The curry was usually made with large pieces and the end product would roast on select areas but for the most part would be mushy.

Recently a  us Taro, but potato curry style. It was crisp and not goopy! The secret? Peel it like a potato and almost fry it! Had to give this a try, but this method is very very labor intensive. It takes more time to get the thing cut than to actually make the curry.

The kids and San were out of the house for an hour and that gave me a chance to try this. Given I am still moping around with the antibioitics and no painkillers, this was a good idea to take my mind off things and do something I like! 

Here is a valuable tip. Pick the Taro carefully at the Indian store. Pick well rounded large size Taro without too many cuts and crevices as it makes this approach easier. Pick ones with the highest volume for a lowest surface area.. ie., pick nice round ones! 

The end result was yummy and crispy. Hope you have fun trying this at home.. when you have a lot of time on your hands! 

ps. The same procedure pretty much applies to Okra curry (you don't have to put it in turmeric water after cutting).. and to Plantain curry (there you put the cut vegetable in water with some tamarind paste.. aka tartaric acid to prevent it from going black and sticking together). 

Kitchen fun

Getting back in the kitchen more often these days, just on a whim!

Made some "Adai" with the little one for company. 

Adai : ~18 % protein (batter made from rice and lentils)

It is good to be back!