Tip from an amateur cook

My mom would faint...my dad would feel very very proud...my friends would want to snigger but yes, i have a tip to share with everyone...

its for those like me... interns who are still trying to learn the art of cooking...

have you ever tried cooking Pulao... it looks heavely on internet and on cookery shows..each grain of rice is so neat, separate, fragrant and colorful..you hope that yours turn out like that... most of the time it doesnt...
color and fragrance is ok but it sometimes turns gooey.. looks like a mushy mass you wouldnt want to eat...inspite of the color and everything...
so i present a tried and tested solution...

do not follow the recipe as it is... ever read Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince? The half blood prince became a good potion brewer cause he chose not to go by the book...

so folks when you want your Pulao and not a gooey mass, cook the rice completely first and then remove it in a plate..(no bowls..it has to be plate for the science involved of more surface area means more heat dissipation :( )
separate the grains without crushing them... and then put this plate in fridge for atleast an hour or a little less than that...
this makes the rice grain dry and separate...

now prepare the gravy that comprises of all spices and mixed vegetables and when its ready, add rice in it and stir it with a light hand (my mom says halka hath which is literally Light Hand...the point is, dont crush the rice...) and then mix the spicy gravy in the rice...

at the end of the day...you have your pulao  looking a lot better than The Gooey Mass... :)

Ugly Duckling & The Peer Pressure

....And then comes a time when you start doubting your communication skills..


no matter what you do, the wall of ice remains there, unmelted, cold against your heart and mind...

you want to break it and try to see what is on the other side but it seems a daunting task...

you start wondering if you are invicible...if the normal questions are not meant for you...

you cant outgrow your commanalities and be the one with special smile or twinkle in eyes or chiming voice..

you still remain the ugly duckling..waiting for the magical transformation..waiting to turn one day into a beautiful swan...

the winter passes by, your wings freeze, you see your mirror and the same old ugly duckling looks back at you... meanwhile you see other swans gliding by you...

you want to hang your head in shame for not being the perfect one that everyone wishes you are...

but you dont do it... you rather jutt out your chin some more and refuse to give in..

you bask in your imperfections...you want to take pride in saying that you are different..not weird like the world thinks you are..but then you say hell with the world..and then you sulk..

you wish world was not this cruel..you wish you were not so lame..

you cry in the night but with the dawn you still emerge with the vestiges of confidence..to take the world head on..

It laughs at your imperfections... you snigger at their perfection!!!!!!!!