scanman’s posterous

daughter sang this with her classmate (ortho surgeon's daughter) as prayer song in a hospital function some days ago.

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this is the first english song that my daughter has learnt.

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…as drawn by my daughter. she thinks she'll get a prize for this in her school drawing competition.

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drawn by my daughter, copied from a comic book (the enduring favourite, tinkle)

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made by my daughter for the competition held at her school on saturday for vinayagar chathurthi.

many thanks to Mrs. NS who gave her the idea of making a stucco vinayagar on a granite stone, which turned out to be much easier to do, rather than a free-standing (er…sitting) vinayagar.

made with modelling clay and Play-Doh, then painted with gold-ish paint (does wonders to the statue, in my opinion). additional decorations with plastic leaves. though the mouse didn't turn out well, i think the plantain leaf with the prasadam is superb.

my daughter says one of her classmates overheard the teachers saying she got first place. we await the results. will keep you all posted :)

       

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my daughter explaining a four panel storyboard about two girls in a village who open a shop and sell a soap to a man and how the man finds a snake's egg in the soapbox the next morning!

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in yercaud.
photographs taken from (& on) the balconies of suresh's house, except for the last one, which shows the kids having breakfast.
we're waiting for the kids to finish before we attack the food - idli, plain dosai, egg dosai, sambhar, chutney & chicken gravy.

           

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made by my daughter using an empty ice cream cup, straw, a bottle cap & a thin strip of packing sponge (used as a covering over the ice cream cup).

   

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happpy raksha bandhan to all who celebrate.

photo 1 is this year's collection of rakhis that my daughter is taking to school for her friends.

photo 2 is last year's collection, which incidentally is the wallpaper in my mobile phone :)

   

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this was our breakfast last sunday. my wife made chutney-tomato-onion sandwiches.

i made a variation of gas house eggs. i thought the ones that i tried the previous week with plain eggs were too bland. so i made a couple of masala omelette ones this time.

my masala omelette recipe - மசாலா ஆம்லெட்

1. eggs முட்டை - 2
2. medium sized onion சின்ன சைஸ் பெரிய வெங்காயம் - 1 chopped fine நன்றாக நறுக்கி.
3. green chillies - பச்சை மிளகாய் - 1 chopped நறுக்கி.
4. garlic - பூண்டு - 1 clove chopped - 1 பல் நறுக்கி.
5. garam masala powder கரம் மசாலா தூள் - as needed தேவைக்கு எற்றபடி
6. salt உப்பு - as needed - தேவைக்கு எற்றபடி
7. pepper மிளகுத்தூள் - to sprinkle on at the end - தேவைக்கு ஏற்றபடி.

blend / whisk / beat ingredients 1 to 6 together. add a bit of milk, about a teaspoonful, if you want - i believe it makes the omelette fluffier, don't ask me why.

i used the same lid to make holes in two slices of bread.

heated a pan. melted a bit of butter (you could use ghee). lightly fried the bread slices then poured the blended omelette mix into the holes in the bread slices.

my usual recipe for masala omelette includes adding finely chopped tomatoes & grated cheese after one side of the omelette is cooked. i did not add tomatoes because i thought the bread could become soggy.

meanwhile my wife was preparing her quick coriander chutney (recipe follows). this chutney can be used as sandwich spread and as an accompaniment to idli, dosai, chappathi, puri, upma, ven pongal and snacks like samosas. it would probably be good with tandoori chicken / grilled chicken too.

recipe for quick coriander chutney - அதிரடி கொத்தமல்லி சட்னி

ingredients - தேவையான பொருட்கள்:

1. coriander leaves - கொத்தமல்லி தழை - 50g (கடையில் கிடைக்கும் சிறு கட்டு)
2. green chillies - பச்சை மிளகாய் - 2 or 3 chopped நறுக்கி.
3. shallots (what we south indians call small onions) - சின்ன வெங்காயம் - 2 or 3 peeled & chopped நறுக்கி.
4. garlic - பூண்டு - 2 cloves peeled 2 பல்.
5. tamarind paste - கறைத்த புளி - to taste - தேவையான அளவு. (here is a video of celeb chef madhur jaffrey explaining how she makes tamarind paste)
6. salt - உப்பு - to taste - தேவையான அளவு.
7. grated coconut (optional) - துருவிய தேங்காய் (தேவைப்பட்டால்)

procedure:

grind all of the above in a food processor after adding a bit of water. மேல் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ள அனைத்தையும் சிறிதளவு தண்ணீர் விட்டு மிக்ஸியில் அறைக்கவும்.

all three of us had a chutney-onion-tomato sandwich each. my daughter had a strawberry jam + cheese sandwich while my wife & i had a masala-omelette-gas-house-egg each, washed down with good strong kaapi.

ps. i don't have any photos of the food. i suggest you take a look at purplesque's exquisite food photographs instead

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