Experiments of the Third Kind

What happens when you open your fridge and see a box containing 10 cold idlis gazing bleakly at you?

You chop ‘em up and make Idli upuma! Easiest thing to make EVER!

And how ?

• Take the idlis  and chop them into random squares
• Bring out the pan , pour some oil , add your seasoning (mustard , tuvar dal) and when it begins to crackle , add some karuvaipella and green chillies and diced onions
• When the onions turn all golden and shiny, add red chilli powder/cayenne/sriracha , turmeric powder, salt and a dash of coriander powder
• Toss them about  and mix the chopped up idli pieces in so it can soak in the spices
• Give it about a minute or 2 and garnish with fresh coriander or mint.

You could do the same with Bread and its Bread Upuma.Child's play.Am feeling rather good about getting the hang of this whole Uppuma shabang and that includes getting even the water consistency right. It all boils down to basic math and proportion, I guessJ

My second question to you – What do you do when you realize you have to leave town tomorrow and have an unused kilo of carrots cooling its heels in your refrigerator? 

You shred them like they’re paper in your grater and make Carrot Pulao! It’s just THAT simpleJ . 
If you said Carrot Halwa, my answer would be to ask you to make it for me. I somehow feel guilty making sweets these days. Watching first-hand the amount of sugar, butter, cream and god-knows-what-other sinful thing going into the dessert makes me ultra-aware of all the calories I’m downloading onto my waistline. Sigh! Ignorance is bliss, peeps! 
'k, enough digression -back to my super healthy and colorful Carrot Pulao!!!;)

How to make it, you ask?

• Grate the 4 carrots and set aside
• Measure 1 cup of Basmati Rice , wash it nicely.
• Take a pan , and grease it with some ghee or butter
• When the luscious dollop of butter melts and froths, bung in the diced onions and garlic.
• Now , let them sweat for a good 2 minutes before you add the grated carrots
• Toss some chives and tarragon if you have them handy
• Add salt and red chilli powder in at this stage. I love my spice and salt. Do as I do or else suffer the blandness that goes into every bite you put in your mouth:P
• Stir the pot for about 2 minutes and add the washed rice in.
• Mix the veggies and spices well with the rice and then add 1 and a half cups of water to this.
• Cover the pan and cook on a medium flame
• Keep stirring the pot every now and then so as to make sure the rice does not stick to the pan
• Once the rice gets done garnish and serve hot with a vegetable curry of your choice.

My last questions goes thus: Do you like strawberries and ice cream?

If you do here’s what I did …

I had strawberry icecream handy that I melted. I then added my brand of nougat to the melted concoction.Froze the mix and added cut strawbeberries as a topping justforjolly! Nothing like savoring a bite of real fruit in an ice-creamJ

Ain’t life grand?:)