If you've been following my blog you would know that I had tried my hand at cooking last weekend. And after the monster failure that had been I had decided not to try my hand at cooking until I got my hand on some Indian spices. Keeping that decision in mind, I ordered the Maharaja Meal at Rasoee on Friday night. The reason I picked it was that they give 6 curries with rice and naan. So all I'd need to finish the rice and naan would be 3 curries, leaving 3 more for the next meal. And that's what I had for lunch yesterday.
I thought I'd apply the same strategy to dinner and headed out to Rasoee at 8 pm, only to find that they were closing and they were out of everything. So I headed back home and had fried chicken with bread. And I was left with the option of either cooking my own lunch for today or going to Quiznos and picking up a sub.
After a lot of coaxing from dad I decided to give cooking another shot. But I did not follow his and mom's recipe. This is what I did:
Fried Chicken -- Nikhil style
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
3 tea spoons of chili powder
1/2 an onion
1 tomato
coconut to garnish
oil
a dash of tabasco sauce
3 tea spoons of chili vinegar mix
1.5 teaspoons salt
Directions:
Pour out a substantial amount of oil into a frying pan. Add the chopped onions and saute it until the onions turn light brown. Chop the chicken into small cubes and add the chicken to the pan. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the chili powder and stir. After 2 more minutes, add the chopped tomato and the coconut to the pan and stir. Cover the pan with a lid and let the chicken cook for 10 minutes on a medium flame. There is no need to add water, the chicken will cook in its own fat and the oil. After 10 minutes, add the tabasco sauce, the chili vinegar and the salt and stir. Let it cook for another 5 minutes, and take it off the stove.
And its ready to serve!!
Of course, this does no good to your health due to the high cholesterol and spices, but its good to have once in a while!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Friday, October 14, 2005
Damn!
Damn!!! damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!damn!!!
DAMN!!
DAMN!!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Heat finally!!
When I got back home today I saw a notice on the bulletin board in the lobby that brought some good cheer in this miserable time. It said that the heat's gonna be turned on tomorrow. Looking forward to that!!
Toronto office dinner
On Tuesday night, all the Talisma employees in Toronto (almost all of them, Andrea could not make it due to personal reasons) and Bill met for dinner.
The topics of discussion ranged from Talisma's vacation policy to Fatherhood (tips from fathers to fathers-to-be) to Hockey to Fainting Goats to an Exploding Python (and the crocodile that caused it to explode) to Siva's state in Sudbury :-) and many more.
The dinner was good, except for the fact that I could not understand anything on the menu. So I just ordered the dish whose name I could pronounce easily, and it turned out to be a seafood spaghetti :-)).
The topics of discussion ranged from Talisma's vacation policy to Fatherhood (tips from fathers to fathers-to-be) to Hockey to Fainting Goats to an Exploding Python (and the crocodile that caused it to explode) to Siva's state in Sudbury :-) and many more.
The dinner was good, except for the fact that I could not understand anything on the menu. So I just ordered the dish whose name I could pronounce easily, and it turned out to be a seafood spaghetti :-)).
Attached is a snap of all who attended. Clockwise from left : Jorge Backal, Jason Smiley, Bill Meikle, Shawn Hilditch, Michael Larkin, me and David Lewis.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Chicken curry -- Nikhil style
So I finally put my theory to test and made the chicken curry the way I thought would be good. But guess what, it sucked (big surprise!). It tasted more like tomato soup. Yuck! Cannot waste it now, so I have to some how shove it down my throat. :-(
Well, everything is a learning experience!
Well, everything is a learning experience!
My kitchen adventures
Staying alone has meant that I have had to do a lot of things by myself, including doing the laundry, the dishes, cleaning the house and of course cooking! I've always been an armchair cook -- meaning, I've always had a theory on how to cook certain dishes -- but I've never got down to making them. Now, living by myself has given me a chance to try my had at cooking. Here are a few things I've tried my hand at
1) Bread and eggs: This is a basic meal. I've made this back home at Bangalore too. A nice, quick, basic meal.
2) French toast: Nana used to make this for us every evening after we got back from school. Making it brought back memories of my childhood and made me emotional. It also made me trip the fire alarm, cos I had forgotten to turn on the electric chimney. Hearing the damn fire alarm ring made me jump out of my skin!
3) Fried chicken: This was something I had never made before. I had bought some chicken during my last shopping trip to Loblaws with Jason, and it had been more than 2 weeks since I had bought it, and I was yet to cook it. The reason I was delaying it was that I wanted to buy some spices. But after putting it away for so long I finally decided to fry it. So I used some Tandoori mix I found and salt and fried the chicken. It came out pretty well, if I may say so myself :-), except for the excess salt that I had put :-)). All in all, it was a good learning experience and a tasty one too.
4) Rice and chicken curry: On my second trip to Loblaws, I picked up a sack of basmati rice and a premixed curry. So yesterday, I cooked the rice (rather, overcooked it, cos I put more water than needed) and stir fried some chicken pieces and added the premixed curry. It came out pretty well :-). Today, I am going to try one of my theories and cook chicken curry :-D. Lets see how that goes.
Damn, all this talk of food and made me hungry and its just 5:50 am!
1) Bread and eggs: This is a basic meal. I've made this back home at Bangalore too. A nice, quick, basic meal.
2) French toast: Nana used to make this for us every evening after we got back from school. Making it brought back memories of my childhood and made me emotional. It also made me trip the fire alarm, cos I had forgotten to turn on the electric chimney. Hearing the damn fire alarm ring made me jump out of my skin!
3) Fried chicken: This was something I had never made before. I had bought some chicken during my last shopping trip to Loblaws with Jason, and it had been more than 2 weeks since I had bought it, and I was yet to cook it. The reason I was delaying it was that I wanted to buy some spices. But after putting it away for so long I finally decided to fry it. So I used some Tandoori mix I found and salt and fried the chicken. It came out pretty well, if I may say so myself :-), except for the excess salt that I had put :-)). All in all, it was a good learning experience and a tasty one too.
4) Rice and chicken curry: On my second trip to Loblaws, I picked up a sack of basmati rice and a premixed curry. So yesterday, I cooked the rice (rather, overcooked it, cos I put more water than needed) and stir fried some chicken pieces and added the premixed curry. It came out pretty well :-). Today, I am going to try one of my theories and cook chicken curry :-D. Lets see how that goes.
Damn, all this talk of food and made me hungry and its just 5:50 am!
Friday, October 07, 2005
Why am I not riding in Toronto?
This is one question that I am being asked by a lot of people. One of the reasons they ask me this is because they know that I am crazy about bikes and long trips on bikes. In fact, before leaving for Toronto, I had researched the different rental places in Toronto that rent motorcycles. But in my excitement at finding a couple of such places, I forgot some important things, things that resulted in me not being able to ride here.
1) I don't have a motorcycle license. Most countries require motorcycle riders to carry specialized licenses called "M" licenses (M for motorcycle). And there are different stages under the M license, each of which corresponds to a certain maximum limit on the engine capacity of the motorcycle. I could apply for it, but I'd have to take up a course. By the time the course ends, it would be winter and there would be no scope for biking then.
2) The rental is pretty high. Makes me think twice before renting a bike. And I'm not the kind to think twice when it comes to getting on a bike and hitting the road. Daily rental is $75 per day plus taxes (15%) and insurance (dunno how much). Plus, this is the killer, the security deposit for each bike is $2500. Now, I don't have to pay that amount to the rental agency but they will block that amount on my credit card. Problem is, that none of my credit cards have that high a credit limit. And I'm in such bad credit debt, that the total available credit on all my credit cards would not help me meet that amount.
Therefore, my plans of riding in Toronto will never take off. I just have to make do with staring at the different bikes that roar past me.
1) I don't have a motorcycle license. Most countries require motorcycle riders to carry specialized licenses called "M" licenses (M for motorcycle). And there are different stages under the M license, each of which corresponds to a certain maximum limit on the engine capacity of the motorcycle. I could apply for it, but I'd have to take up a course. By the time the course ends, it would be winter and there would be no scope for biking then.
2) The rental is pretty high. Makes me think twice before renting a bike. And I'm not the kind to think twice when it comes to getting on a bike and hitting the road. Daily rental is $75 per day plus taxes (15%) and insurance (dunno how much). Plus, this is the killer, the security deposit for each bike is $2500. Now, I don't have to pay that amount to the rental agency but they will block that amount on my credit card. Problem is, that none of my credit cards have that high a credit limit. And I'm in such bad credit debt, that the total available credit on all my credit cards would not help me meet that amount.
Therefore, my plans of riding in Toronto will never take off. I just have to make do with staring at the different bikes that roar past me.
One month in Toronto or one month away from home?
Well, I don't know if I am loving Toronto or if I am missing home. Maybe a bit of both. I really like the organized manner in which the city functions, esp traffic! Also the people are very courteous and helpful and generally very patient. I miss my girl, my bike, the spicy food, the chaos of Indian traffic, the evening and weekend fun that I used to have back home.
Well, one down, x to go. I wish I knew what x was :-(.
Well, one down, x to go. I wish I knew what x was :-(.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Six and a half grand worth headphones and grocery shopping worth more than ten grand
Yeah, sounds like a major spending spree eh? On Monday, I went to the Toronto Eaton center, one of the biggest shopping malls I've ever been to. Someone even told me that it is the biggest one in North America. It sure was H-U-G-E. It covers two full city blocks! Read more about it here. I had gone there to pick up a nice pair of Sony headphones from the Sony Store in the Eaton Center. It was so huge that I thought I'd get lost in there. By the way, did I tell you, the place was HUGE?? Believe me, I cant say that enough. Its bigger than Bangalore Central, Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop and Garuda Mall put together. I mean, its friggin' huge! So anyway, I found the Sony Store but couldn't find the model I wanted so bought a more expensive one. I went over budget 100%, but its worth it!
Jason brought in his car again today to help me with my grocery shopping for this month. Spent around $200 on groceries including chicken, apples, sandwich meats, bread, juice, ice cream, chocolates, pudding, biscuits, and so on. Then I went to the LCBO and picked up $70 of booze including, Smirnoff vodka, Napoleon Brandy, Baileys Irish Cream liqueur and Port wine. I wonder if this will last me this month. More importantly, I wonder if I will have the patience and will power to make my own dinner and not eat out. Well, only time will tell.
Jason brought in his car again today to help me with my grocery shopping for this month. Spent around $200 on groceries including chicken, apples, sandwich meats, bread, juice, ice cream, chocolates, pudding, biscuits, and so on. Then I went to the LCBO and picked up $70 of booze including, Smirnoff vodka, Napoleon Brandy, Baileys Irish Cream liqueur and Port wine. I wonder if this will last me this month. More importantly, I wonder if I will have the patience and will power to make my own dinner and not eat out. Well, only time will tell.
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