A few notes

This year Diwali seems to be quieter than usual. Maybe the ban on the decibel level ratios is responsible or have people woken up to the fact that their hard earned money is going up in smoke. Those who didn't read today's newspaper. Surely, here is a good reason to get married soon guys. Read a description of avial and sambar, as described in the New York Times.

One of her classics is avial, a ragout of vegetables, in which she uses matchstick-size pieces of carrot, cucumber, green beans, drumstick (long, ridged pods from the moringa oleifera tree, rich in vitamin C, with a delicate flavor resembling that of asparagus), kovakka or little melon (a kind of gherkin) and brinjal, a longish eggplant. First she boils the vegetables with green chilies. Then she adds a mixture with the texture of oatmeal, including turmeric, coconut, garlic and cumin, along with home-made cow's-milk curd and kari leaves (highly aromatic and widely used in Kerala, these are often confusingly called curry leaves in the West; they look like basil leaves and taste of citrus and bell peppers). Sambar, a lentil and vegetable stew, makes use of two unusual spices. Asafetida, a resin taken from the rhizomes of giant fennel, is admired in Kerala for its earthy scent when fried in oil, and fenugreek seeds are liked for their bitter caramel flavor. Together with tamarind, a souring agent, chilies and coriander leaves, they give the stew intricate layers of flavor.

Interesting to read the different names that the foreigners give to Indian dishes, trying to findsimilarities between thier food and ours. Try figuring out what sourdough crepes are? Anyway, Have a wonderful Diwali, guys and gals, at home or not?