Ratatouille Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

I was always of the opinion that Italian cuisine comprises of only thick, cheesy Pizzas. However, one trip to Italy and I was introduced to this new fascinating world of pastas, gnocchi, ravioli and crostinis. I discovered that Italian cuisine is far far versatile than what our Pizza huts have to offer. Today I tried my hand at making pasta right from scratch and discovered that it wasn't such a big deal! Here's the recipe

What are we making?

Ratatouille Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

Ravioli is a square shaped pasta with a vegetable filling. It tastes best when prepared fresh.

What you will need:

For the pasta:

1/2 cup of maida

1/2 cup of atta

1/4 cup spinach ground to a puree

1 tablespoon oil

a little salt to taste 

For the ratatouille filling:

1/2 cup of finely chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup of finely chopped capsicum
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
salt to taste
a tablespoon of oil

For the tomato sauce:

1 cup of blanched tomatoes, peeled and ground to a puree
1 tsp peppercorns
1 cup of sliced baby corn

Yeah! seems like a long list! but its incredibly easy to make.

Start by making a dough using the maida, atta and spinach puree. Knead the dough well until it is soft. I generally leave the dough for about half an hour as this makes it a little elastic and easy to roll out. Now, heat oil in a pan and toss the chopped onions and saute until brown. Add the capsicum and tomato and saute until the tomato loses it raw smell. If you like you ravioli spicy, add finely chopped green chilies. Finally add some salt to taste and the oregano and mix well. Oregano adds a rich flavor to the dish but too much of it can make it too pungent. Now, allow the mixture to cool.

Now, roll out the dough to a fine sheet. It is important that this remains thin otherwise the ravioli will be too sticky. Cut out little squares from the sheet. Place a little of the ratatouille mixture onto the middle of the square. Now, cover it with another square and press the edges firmly. Your first ravioli is ready! ;)
Now, repeat the procedure to make as many little raviolis as you want.

Now for the tomato sauce. Heat some oil in a wok and add some crushed peppercorns and saute well. Peppercorns give a nice mildly spicy flavor to the sauce. Now, add the tomato puree and half a cup of water and boil until it reduces in volume. To get the rich red color of the sauce you can also add a pinch of red food color. Toss in the sliced baby corns and saute for a few minutes. Finally sprinkle some oregano and add salt to taste.

Meanwhile we can start cooking the ravioli. Boil plenty of water in a large pan with some salt and oil. The more the water, the better. Now, add the ravioli one piece at a time and cook for 3-4 minutes. Once cooked, the ravioli will rise to the surface of the pan. Scoop it out and transfer it to a bowl of water for a few minutes. Then drain it and keep aside.

Plating is an important aspect in Italian cuisine. The food should look enticing and taste heavenly as well :)
First scoop out some tomato sauce and coat it on the serving plate. Carefully place 2-3 pieces of ravioli and add more tomato sauce on it. Finally grate some cheese and also sprinkle some oregano on the dish.

Voila! Authentic Italian Ravioli is ready!! :)

Go ahead and treat your taste buds!

Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Kosubat

                                                                  

Far far away, through the dimly lit streets of southern India, the residents were plagued by a crisis. A crisis that was being tackled from years but which had not seen the light of the day. First came Tortoise and then came Mortien, and half a dozen of its counteparts; but come what may, nothing could challenge the existence of the killer mosquitoes. Then it happened one day. Some good samaritan came up with a unique weapon to defend the human population against the blood-sucking community! And lo, the KOSUBAT was born! One swish of the bat saw hundreds of those tiny pests wiped out in seconds. And all was peaceful once again.

Strangely enough, the people of Hamelin also faced the wrath of pesky insects and houseflies. Unfortunately the Pied Piper was dead and gone for good. And the world famous German Engineering was unable to come up with a solution. This must have propelled a Weber, Heisenberg or a Scrodinger to visit the dwellings of the commom man in India. And lo, were they stumped!

So now history will be re-written. India's most popular export after the zero will be the Kosubat! And yes, its a hit in every German city. So, thanks to our ingenious minds, the need for another Pied Piper has been eliminated.

Long live the Kosubat

Through the Bazaars of Bangalore

                                            

Its been a month and a half for me, living in this alien country, far away from home. People back home ask me what I miss? Why do I yearn to return back? Why I prefer living in the chaos, the dust, the pollution and why not in this serene, calm land?

I must say that I miss the vibrant colors, the joy of gliding through the chaotic markets of Malleshwaram, the spicy bajjis sold at the road corner, the young little girl who hands out bunches of coriander to pedestrians, this and much more. This in fact reminds me of a poem that I had read years ago by Sarojini Naidu - The Bazaars of Hyderabad. Somehow, I feel that this is quite apt to describe the wonderful chaos that is the bazaars of Bangalore.


What do you sell, 0 ye merchants?
Richly your wares are displayed,
Turbans of crimson and silver,
Tunics of purple brocade,
Mirrors with panels of amber,
Daggers with handles of jade.

What do you weigh, 0 ye vendors?
Saffron and lentil and rice.
What do you grind, 0 ye maidens?
Sandalwood, henna and spice.

What do you call, 0 ye pedlars?
Chessmen and ivory dice.
What do you make, 0 ye goldsmiths?
Wristlet and anklet and ring,
Bells for the feet of blue pigeons,
Frail as a dragon-fly's wing,
Girdles of gold for the dancers,
Scabbards of gold for the king.


What do you cry, 0 ye fruitmen?
Citron, pomegranate and plum.
What do you play, 0 musicians?
Cithar, sarangi and drum.
What do you chant, 0 magicians?
Spells for the aeons to come.

What do you weave, 0 ye flower-girls?
With tassels of azure and red?
Crowns for the brow of a bridegroom,
Chaplets to garland his bed,
Sheets of white blossoms new-gathered
To perfume the sleep of the dead

Virtually Networked??

Man has always been a social animal.

Right from the instant human life appeared on the Earth, man realized the need to socialize. Living in small groups soon paved the way for river valley settlements; incomprehensible  murmurs matured into sophisticated languages. Awkward streaks with unburnt charcoal gradually transformed into the legible script of today. We have reached the pinnacle of civilization, we claim! But slowly and steadily we are drifting away from our true human nature.

Thanks to social networking, the meaning of human relationships is slowly but surely fading. We chat with a friend miles away from us, yet forget to greet the simple chap sitting across the next cubicle. Gone are the days when true happiness was turning a year older amidst the cackle and laughter of best friends. All we see now is a thankless birthday greeting posted on our wall. A handmade birthday card from a childhood friend  brought tears to our eyes; but even a genuine greeting in our scrapbook does not excite us anymore; thanks to the birthday reminder feature. We now merely "like" it when our friends get promoted or engaged, and worse we still "like" it when they are in despair. 

What has happened to the "human" inside us? Do he/she still exist?  Has technology made us ignorant and lazy? We are fast building a wall around us - one that obstructs the warmth of friends, one that breeds loneliness. We need to act fast, pick up the drill and pierce holes in this invisible fortress.

A gentle smile, a casual wave, a comforting shoulder,a pat on the back, a warm hug - All this mean much much more than a few words sent through a mail transfer protocol. Get out of your lonely den, walk across the street, stop to smell the roses, appreciate the beauty of nature, spare a moment to thank your sub-ordinates, spend a minute to give your best friend a tight hug on her birthday, shed a drop of tear for a dear departing colleague. Tiny actions like these add meaning to our existence and brings hope in the hearts of the depressed, the forsaken.

Let us break down the walls that we have built around us.

Let us bring back the human in us.

After all, man is still a social animal.

Midnight Dogs - A mundane effort!

A few weeks ago, all Tamil channels were abuzz with Gautham Menon appearing in every single program promoting his latest venture "Nadunisi Naaygal (Midnight Dogs)". In fact, this movie was touted to be a tribute to the erstwhile Kamal Hassan starrer "Sigappu Rojakal". But after having watched both, a stern piece of advice to Mr.Menon - Please do not compare your yawn-inducing so called thriller "Nadunisi Naaygal" to BharathiRaja's 80's master piece!

Nadunisi Naaygal deals with child sexual abuse and its possible repercussions with the protagonist transforming into a psycho, schizophrenic and serial killer rolled into one. 8 year old Samar is subjected to sexual abuse by his own father and is forced to participate in such activities. A kind neighbour Meenakshi rescues the kid and gives him shelter and tries to bring him back to normalcy. Unable to bury the ghosts of his traumatic childhood, Samar now rechristened as Veera, turns into a violent possessive young man who kidnaps, rapes and kills young women. His bloody run comes to an end with the kidnap of Sameera Reddy.

Gautham Menon has this unique knack of picking talented new comers and this time too the casting is perfect. Its neither Sameera's wails nor newcomer Veera's menancing looks but Swapna Abraham's performance that makes us sit and take notice. Swapna as Meenakshi amma, the middle aged single woman in smart kurtis and jeans gives a convincing performance. Check out the scene where her maternal instincts comfort Samar and the following one where she is unable to resist his advances. Full marks to Gautham Menon for aesthetically filming a very sensitive and what could have been a sexually explicit scene.

Inspite of having excellent actors and a well conceived story, Gautham Menon falters in the most important department - screenplay. It looks like the director got carried away with so many details that he forgot to give an answer to many obvious questions that might arise in the minds of the viewer. For example, didn't it strike Meenakshi Amma  that a young kid subject to such explicit sexual activities would require counselling?? 

Secondly, what is the real motive behind the serial killings?? Kamal Hassan in Sigappu Rojakal had a solid reason for his eccentric behaviour, but we fail to understand Veera. Did the director forget the fact that a whole lot of people actually watch a lot of English thrillers? The mother-son relationship and the brutal killings are a rip-off from Hitchcock's Psycho! 

No doubt, Nadunisi Naaygal is a welcome break from the scores of the run-of-the-mill movies, but this is far from Gautham's best work. Cmon Gautham, we know you can do much better than this!

P.S: And in case you were wondering what the significance of the title could be, there you have 4 black dogs chasing a hapless Sameera at midnight! (Seriously Mr.Menon, your viewers are not so dumb!)

The Silver Sorceress

The icy blue queen glides through the moonlit sky,
Her silver gown envelopes the arid plains;
Silently she does begin her lonely hunt
Through vales, hills and lanes!

The lovely Luna looks at her in fear
"Oh No!", she chuckles in despair,
For the silver temptress brings naught but anguish;
Into the minds of men and women, no matter poor or rich.

The swish of her skirt pellets tiny grains of ice;
They strike the happy, the mirthful, the joyous.
The blue poison now spreads across the unfortunate
Eroding the gaiety, the happiness,
Swallowing their jocund mood!

She silently sucks the energy, the radiance, the happiness
And unlocks the secret vault of dolor and distress
She sparks off a series of musings,
Among the hearts of her victims.

Isolation is ushered in,
Memories hoped to be buried forever, unearthed again!
An icy cool breeze grips the prey;
Any attempt to resist goes in vain!

Sorrows, guilt and fear
Are unleashed from within!
Those terrible monsters
Feed on the tears of their masters.

The queen breaks her silent spell,
She laughs scornfully, dances in glee!
A drop of tear,
Rolls down the tender cheeks.

"My day is done!", says she,
 "My mission accomplished!"
To bring loneliness into men's lives
Is the law on which she thrives.

The first few rays of Sun shine down!
Piercing through her lovely gown.
She slowly fades into the oblivion,
But wait! I know she has still not gone!

For when the moon light illuminates the streets,
When night gently descends on the creeks.
She will return with her silvery wand!
To haunt the minds of countless in this vast land!

The Purpose of Existence

One tiny drop of water, seated elegantly on a green petal glistened as the Sun's first rays shone through it. The tiny water droplet seemed to enjoy its last few moments of existence as it sparkled like a polished diamond. This serene sight triggered me into deep reflection. What was the purpose of existence of this tiny drop of water?  Had it been placed there just to be sucked by the radiant sun a few seconds later?

We pride ourselves in unearthing the secrets of nature. First it was the atom, then it was electrons, protons and neutrons, and now they say that quarks are tiniest sub atomic particles known to man!  Scientists may have mapped the human genome; men of medicine may have perfected the art of saving countless lives in pain, yet we cannot pinpoint the exact moment when the foetus is infused with life or when the soul leaves our body! The more we try to unlock the mysteries of nature, the more bewildering it is.

Such thoughts bring a plethora of questions to my mind. Who is the architect of the universe? What is his ultimate goal? Why would he painstakingly build such a complicated cosmos? Why should a single drop of water be constituted of hundreds of electrons, neutrons and protons?? Wouldn't it have been much simpler if there had been only one particle?  Why are there so many stars, planets and satellites? If God wanted to create life, it would have been simpler if he had just created the Earth and the Sun. What purpose does Pluto or even Andromeda serve?

God  is widely regarded as the most powerful of men, the invincible! He who singlehandedly controls the destiny of all organisms in the vast emptiness called the universe. As humans, we rule over the rest of the animal and plant kingdom. Does that make us the Almighty for a bunch of weeds that grow at our feet?
For a colony of hardworking ants that trot across my living room, I am the one who controls their destiny. They are at my mercy as I can choose to either stomp on them or let them live in peace. I can disrupt their well formed line and create havoc among those tiny helpless creatures. But I'm sure that in a day or two, I would be soon be bored of trying to control them. Now the question that perplexes me is how does the creator manage to govern us all day in and day out? Doesn't God ever get weary of ruling this vast universe? Doesn't he get weary of creating humans, animals and other living organisms? Is He playing a game? One of creation and destruction? Assuming that there are numerous Gods who play this game, will they also not get tired one day?

This brings me to the final question. What is the purpose of existence of God?? What does He gain by this never ending cycle of creation, destruction and re-creation? Is He merely gambling??

I'm forced to contradict Albert Einstein.
My dear friends, looks like God does play dice!