MY PASTA'S A HIT! SO HERE'S THE RECIPE - ON PUBLIC DEMAND

So here I was terrorised by treat threats from all my buds at Oracle. Yup, When everyone cooks up goodies and you hog on all of that, you have to treat them to ice-creams n pastries. So one month down the line when the threats started surfacing again, I decided to unleash on them the cook within. So here's the pasta I made. Proud to say t'was a hit with everyone. And on public demand, here's the recipe.

PASTA: MA WAY

Ingredients: Any Pasta(My fav: Spaghetti), Olive oil, red chillies, garlic, lots of tomato, all the veggies you like, basil, thyme, any other spices you like.

Preparation: Boil the pasta, add some salt to the water. Once the pasta's nice and soft, drain the water. Now for the sauce- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan(this one's too big for a saucepan). Smash the garlic just enough to get their peel off and the into the hot olive oil. After a couple of minutes slice some dried red chillies into and put them in. Now you can either throw in the veggies along with the tomatoes or stir fry everything except tomatoes separately, adding tomatoes to the pan with garlic and chilly(I like it this way, making the sauce separately). And as I hardly get those juicy tomatoes(Hamesha salad vaaley crisp tomatoes hi miltey hain), you can always use puree, I did it with this one - although home-made tomato pulp's great any day. Once the sauce starts cooking well throw in the veggies, throw in some salt, throw in the spices - lots of basis. Feel the need to add water? Go ahead. Feel like adding olive oil? More the merrier.. but remember, your gonna drizzle some from the top once your done. And of course salt to taste. Keep tasting and keep adding salt or spice as per taste, I also like to throw in some pepper. And once your happy n you know it.. Toss the pasta into the mix let it simmer for some time n Voila! Drizzle some Olive oil now or better still, at the time of serving.

PS: Thanks Jyotsana for making me write this, as this adds a new label to my blog- Recipe.

PICKLE TIME AGAIN! IT'S THE TIME WHEN I FEEL THE PROUDEST OF MY TELUGU ROOTS

Yeehaa..! it's that time of the year again when we put fresh Aavakaaya- and many more pickles, the live-wires that run through the famous Andhra cuisine. Our cuisine has a huge profile of pickles including the great Gongura- a biological cousin of the friendly cannabis. But the big daddy of 'em all just has to be the Aavakaaya. It's a mind blowing amalgamation of tasty green mangoes, the deadly Warangal red chillies and a special Gingelly oil made from de-husked seeds specially for pickles along with lots of mustard seeds and garlic.

Some like it fresh and new, like me, with a zing of raw spice and the hot red chillies spinning their magic. Others like it aged a few months with the juices from the Mango cut by the spicy salty flavours. I'm lovin every time I lick it off my fingers. Mmmm......

PAHAR GANJ, DELHI'S RAIL ENTRANCE IS UP FOR A REVAMP

This is a pic of the Main Bazaar, Pahar Ganj. Bustling with economy tourists from world over, the place - though dingy - tries to present India in the rustic hues that tourists would love to see. In fact I really love the way some of the joints here have won patrons among many expats. Book-stalls, boutiques, and joints that are a cross between a cafe and a dhaba, team up to make for a fabulous experience. While all this might make it a desirable crib for the discerning traveller, the place is, rather dingy. The many tiny corridores and super-crowded streets give it the real 'underbelly feel' - making it pretty possible for you to bump into someone selling you pot. Now you to must be thinking all this comes nowhere close to the pic here. That's because all of this might be in for some change. With Commonwealth games coming to town the government swung into action to revamp the New Delhi Rail Station only to open into the dingy Pahar Ganj. Now with days to go for the games they want to facelift Main Bazaar as well. All I hope is for this activity to not take away from the look n feel the place has acquired organically over the years.

THE ROAD WHERE YOU DON WANNA STOP

Here's a song that I wrote recently. Will try to compose this one also, no matter how bad I am at it. Apart from being a confession of stupid situations I get myself into, it's also a comment on the superb, efficient and women-friendly law and order situation we have in our national capital. So here you go..

THE ROAD WHERE YOU DON WANNA STOP

Half sane
Half miserable
But for all my buds this day
This day ain't nothing liveable
Of all the roads back to our home
Tis the road less travelled
So I'ma put my foot down hard
Break every law applicable

I'ma put my foot down hard
Break every law applicable

Chorus:
Cos This is a place where you don go lone,
And this is the road where you don wanna stop
Lest you like a prick with a gun in his hand
Put the gun t'your head and ask you wachugot!

See me through please..
Don't die on me now
It's a bad country for chicks
You had better duck down
Duck down n stay like that
Although its hot,sweaty n how
Got meself into shit like this
Feels good its been so long

Got meself into shit like this
Feels good its been so long

Chorus

Who the Shanks! pulled down the windows?
All of you uninvited quetoes!
D'you really think i'ma scratch her toes?
Go away n leave us alone!

[This song is dedicated to our saviours, Saurav n Sweety]