Change in Gates

From today, the SEEPZ main-gate is off limits. It is being repaired / renovated for monsoons, and methink, also to handle 24/11 like emergencies better. Well, that's good news. This means, from now till the time the gates are back, one will need to use Gate #5.

I saw it today, open, and entered. All these years it has only been shut whenever I would pass it. What a surprise it is to see a ruined building right in the front - it seems like an imposing edifice. The official notice about the gate change talks about a 'church', maybe this is it? It does look ancient. I never knew it existed. Worse, it seems uncared for, for centuries! That is a shame.

That whole area near 'Gate # 5' is so lovely and old-world. It should be a good place for walks after lunch. Or even a stroll on a free afternoon. Let's see if we can take a shot at it with the camera - I'll post them here.

Apparently there is a lake behind the church and once upon a time there used to be a walk circling the lake for exactly the reasons above. Who says we are progressing?

Obama and us

At one of the Balls, when Barack, in a fit of sartorial rhetoric said of Michelle, 'How beautiful is my wife?' I heard myself say, ' No dude, it's you who is beautiful; she is merely plain'. There is a touch of the vain peacock in the President, but it becomes him. The slender tall figure with long and nervous fingers - the head a gallant study in ebony from a Togo figurine - all looks too good to be true. And that is only a third of the story. For, when Obama speaks, the heart listens.

I cried when I saw tears in the eyes of black men and women gathered there. It is not only an American dream to see a minority, any minority, who have for centuries been the exploited and the unempowered, in a position of leadership, to have it in his hands to carve the destiny of the planet. It was an overwhelming feeling to be moved by an event that is not 'our own'. It is hard to explain but easy to understand what Barack Obama means to me, to us, to all of us.

I do not know what kind of President he will be and what will he unleash, unbidden. As of now, Obama has brought hope in the free world, he has forced people in India to look at askance of their leaders - can we hope for someone with his vision, his articulation, his empathy and erudition, even? That speech at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center after the pastor debacle, is it possible to imagine anyone in the current crop to make such a nuanced and complex argument for hope and unity? Some of the public cogitations (can't call them speeches, really), of Pandit Nehru had that quality. None, after him. I am hopeful of Omar Abdullah, but it is too early. How bare does our cupboard of 1.2 billion look! Let us not despair, for just as Obama rose out of nowhere, we too might see a miracle.

Well, all the best to Barack Obama. May he continue to be the beacon. May cynicism stay away from his person, may luck ride with him in all his endeavours. Amen!

Looking for the perfect dosa

The Dosas in Mumbai restaurants are sweet. The sambhar is also sweet, or bland. The chana-coconut chutney is tasteless and often watery. Of course, very few serve gunpowder (malagapudi) here; one has to ask.

Lets start with the dosa. Instead of letting the daal and rice batter ferment on its own, the restaurants, especially the Udupi ones, add yeast immediately after making the paste. As we all know, yeast is more the bread kind of thing, it produces glucose as an end-product of fermentation, sweetening the batter and giving it the rose-like fragrance which is wholly inappropriate for dosa. Dosa needs that tangy, sour smell of fermentation, and a sour and sharp taste.

Now the sambhar. They make it mostly with tomatoes here, with tamarind making a guest appearance, or not at all. And the masala is not quite OK - too little dhania powder and hing, too much of chili powder and SUGAR!! OMG! Its terrible, the sweetness of it all!

Chutney - well! the word itself a touch of onomatopoeia about it - chhhhuttt- nee! the chhhhutt is the mouth-watery click of the tongue against the back of the teeth. And look what we get - the blandest possible paste of insipid nothingness - no tang of the green chillies, no back-of-the-throat sensation of the ginger, no roundedness of the coconut milk and the faint nuttiness of ground chana daal.

The tiny joint on Dadar TT, a few shops before Parsi Dairy makes it the way I like it. Crisp but thick dosa, made from proper sour and salt batter. The sambhar and chutney come in small bowls. The moment you finish any, the waiter will replace it with another. You suddenly feel that the sambhar and the chutney are precious - not to be lavished upon yokels. The sambhar is not the best (you can have better in Radhakrishna in Andheri West opposite Shopper's Stop); but the chutney!!! Ooooh! exquisite! The consistency is just right - a bit of the solids and enough gravy to soak your dosa into. The coconut is not ground down mercilessly into a gooey paste, but retains the granularity and hence the juices. There is ginger and green chillies - plus a hint of garlic and tiny bits of coriander stalks. Its just perfect! Try it.

Dogged if I can!

I wish I had a dog. A Labrador, maybe; or even a German Shepherd again.

I wish it was possible to convince oneself that it is a workable idea. At 1,100 sqft, the flat is large enough for me, but small for a tiny bundle of restlessness. The bigger problem - who will look after the chap when I'm away at work? One does not mind giving up vacations for the pet, but work! And one can't really depend on keepers and servants - they will mistreat the li'il guy; I've seen it happen too often. Indians as a people, are not as attuned to animal happiness as, say, the English. The countless times I've caught a keeper angrily belting the dog with the leash while on a pee-break, all because the dog had woken him up during the noon siesta, or is tugging in a particular direction, or simply to practise some whacks.

Then there is the problem of walks and exercising - where are the empty spaces in Mumbai? Where I live it is impossible to see a large enough park where one can exercise a young dog. They require vigorous physical activity, else they become moody, unfit and cantankerous. Nails grow to become talons and you can know that your dog is around at the way the nails tap against the floor. The 'parks' around my place are dust bowls fringed with debris. And they are full of kids - who, no doubt, face similar dilemma - where to play? A doggie-walk in Mumbai is a visit to the neighbourhood lamp-posts and garbage dumps accompanied by frenzied barking of the galli ka alpha male or the over-friendliness of tail-in-the-legs non-alphas.

I wish it was possible to have a dog at home now. While I was growing, I can't remember a time when we did not have a dog - maybe only those short months of despair at the passing away of the pet when we would promise ourselves to never, never again, keep pets - they die. But, once hooked, it is impossible to completely forget the joy a dog can bring in the life of a person, especially a growing child. So a few months later, another puppy would be yapping to welcome us home from school, peeing over the carpet at the sheer joy of seeing us. It would start, a familiar routine by now - and a very welcome one. Preparing the food would always be 'Mum's Department', the weekly baths would be shared, and romping in the garden would be a joint affair. Yes - we had gardens then. Not Mumbai.

Coming back to this maximum city, a dog ought to be the ideal companion of the single guy - me! A metrop ought to have the facility for its citizens to keep pets. I feel envious to see people in cities like New York and Chicago, Melbourne and Brisbane, everywhere, I would see dogs of all shapes and sizes being taken out for a run at all hours of a weekend.

Maybe I should stop moaning and just go ahead and get my Labrador puppy; after all, it is not as if mumbaikars have no pets. And maybe the pets don't mind the lamp-posts and the strays. Maybe I can get a keeper who is genuinely fond of animals - after all I have really not looked hard enough for one.

This time, it will be a tan Labrador.

Pat Style French Beans

It started off when we saw this mound of shiny and tender french beans in the thela last week. So we selected the best from the heap and then wondered what could be done with them that was different from the usual (the usual is to stir fry it for a Hakka noodle or blanch it in salt water and dress it for a salad). I remembered a beans sabzi with fresh-coconut in Mangalore. It had a little gravy and also had some kokum, if I'm not mistaken. The sabzi that I made that day turned out to be an eclectic mix of styles. And Robin loved it. Then I made it again last Sunday, and my bro, bhabhi and my niece loved it. 'Hey!', I thought, 'Hey! let's post it; maybe some more people will like it..." So here goes...

Ingredients

1. French beans - 250 gms. Take the trouble to pick tender, green ones.
2. Onion - 1 medium, red.
3. Tomato - 2 medium, red, firm.
4. Dry Coconut powder - 2 tablespoons + some more for the decoration
5. Jeera - 1 teaspoon.
6. Kasoori methi - three pinches.
7. Tomato puree - two tablespoons (for the tartness and for a touch of thickness of the masala).
8. Salt to taste.
9. Sugar - just a little, to round off the tastes.
10. Vegetable oil - 1 and half tablespoons.

Get Going

1. Pare, wash and dry the beans. Chop them into tiny cylinders of half centimeter.
2. Clean and chop the onions fine.
3. Pare the top off the tomato and chop it fine. If if find the tomato skin annoying, do take the trouble of removing the skin. I leave mine in.
4. Roast the Jeera in a kadhai, wait till it browns evenly; then add the oil. Once the aroma starts to waft, put in the onions. You must have noticed that I have put no chillies. Yeah, strange, but true...
5. Stir till translucent, add the beans and put in some of the salt so that the colour is retained. The kadhai is to be kept at medium heat throughout. As the water dries off, and the beans still look green and crunchy, add the chopped tomato.
6. Stir in the tomato till it becomes mushy. Add it the salt and stir it till the tomato becomes part of the gravy. Keep tasting the beans - they should be crunchy, yet cooked. It should not have the rawness, say, that is desirable in stir-fried beans.
7. Add the puree to adjust the tartness and the consistency of the masala. Remember this dish is not intended to have a 'gravy' but will have some nice masala. around the beans pieces. This should take 8 minutes.
8. Add the coconut powder and the kasoori methi and work it into the sabzi.
9. Adjust the salt and the sugar to your taste
10. The sabzi is ready. Keep it in the kadhai as the beans sweat and cook a little while not losing its crunchiness.
11. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle more coconut powder on it.
12. It goes well with phulka and daal

War Looms

Something does not add up.

The meekness of sending the dossier to 180-odd countries; so many of the barbs from the Pak-establishment being ignored, or dealt laconically; too many high-level meetings involving the Services Chiefs; sending 2 Sukhois for retrofitting; the Army not responding to the Pakistani troop movements and loud warmongering, the PM mumbling out exceptionally harsh statements; the US interlocutors of all shades seen too frequently in the neighbourhood; the ambhibious INS Jalashwa and INS Viraat both patrolling the west coast.

All this cannot be for 'putting more pressure' to Pakistan to 'comply' with its promises. The signals are muddled and work against each other. The studied underplay, the meekness of 'crying out for help' does not fit with the medium-term planning of Sukhois and warships.

Can it be that India is preparing for a limited strike at defined targets inside Pakistan and POK? The planning points towards it. The timing need not be defined by the elections - the first intuition might suggest that things will move into top gear before April. However, traditionally political parties have been united in the matters of defence - as witnessed during the 1998 testing - when all the preparation was done during the Congress government, but the testing happened under Vajpayee.

The logistics of the strikes will need at least 6 months - given the winter and the lead time required to unleash the covert links on the targets. Indian government's reaction to another attack on Indian targets would be an interesting indicator. If it is raucous then maybe there is no planned strike. If it is muted and wreathed in silence, then war is afoot.

Despite what the US may try to sell as an argument, if push comes to shove, India will not listen to US concerns about Pakistani troops shifting to the east, abandoning the war on Taliban and Osama. The argument would be, 'you take care of your interests, we will take care of ours'.

If indeed there is war, however limited, the reasoning should be reconstructible. Let's attempt it.

First big concern: will Pak press the nuclear trigger? No. The MAD scenario will not be invoked. The Pak nuclear buttons are now split and secured (under Musharraf's insistence) and while they are bunkered in the western region (nearer the Islamist armies), they are safe from being taken over. Islamist sympathiser top brass have been purged from the army and the ISI has never shown an appetite for full-blown nuclear war. Besides this, the US Navy is keeping a close watch on the bunkers from the Arabian Sea.

Well, then in the situation of a low nuclear risk, India might think thus: there is no way that Pakistan will ever be reconciled to being India-neutral, not after Bangladesh. Any peace movement will always have periods of controlled warfare, either through terrorist strikes or Kargil-like incursions. In short, it will never be like France and Germany. The only reason Pakistan can give for its existence is if it leads to the dismemberment of India. Else it does not need to exist. Thus Pakistan will always seek India's dismemberment. If that is so, can India afford it? No. Not if it wants to be part of the global leadership. Simply because the setbacks caused by Pak strikes would never give it the legitimacy of a leader and it will always be seen as an economic risk by investors.

Containment is not going to help because, as we have seen, even a limited, once in a year strike can swing the sentiment away. Besides, instability in Kashmir and North-east, Telangana and Naxal-zones will not be options anymore. They will need to go.

Sooner or later, India will need to undertake this job of relieving Pakistan of its army, the ISI and hence, of its islamists. This cannot be done only though warfare. It can be done and sustained through building institutions, civilian rule, shared civilian-army control on the nuclear button and economic revival. All are long term factors.

Making Pakistan smaller is an active thought with India - it has succeeded before and hence may think that it can do it again. Separating Sindh (or parts of Sindh) will mean a lesser sized territory to handle. Balochistan could be next. In other words, its the Punjabi army and ISI that is the enemy; it is that which needs to be defeated. These are again long and strategic activities - we can see them slowly unfurling over the next 15 years.

But why is India planning to strike now? It can only be one thing - a rehearsal. India wants to test the waters before unleashing the grand plan. The brief incursion of Indian fighter jets can be explained only if we assume that it was done to check the scramble-times and the counter-strike readiness of Pak jets.

By doing a quick strike, say on a Lashkar camp and on JuD HQ, India will know the extent to which Pakistan will engage them militarily. Under the current economic conditions the world will stop Pakistan from a revenge strike. India has the advantage of not carrying a begging bowl. Far from it - it may be the only economic oasis in the free world in 2009 and 2010.

If this is the way then we will see a sustained effort from India to keep the post 26/11 situation warm. It will remove embassy staff, gradually withdraw from trade, cut air-links, shut roads. India will do so based on the timetable of the planned strikes. All this will be to ensure that the 26/11 situation is not allowed to cool despite conciliatory gestures (and even actions) by Pak.

So all portends to a grim 2009.

28th Nov

The US offices are closed for Thanksgiving, hence not many mails. The presentation can wait. There is some attendance at work - maybe 30%? The canteen is on and I have already got my morning cuppa and idli. I was bewildered yesterday, and when I left work, a little sad. Today I am writhing in anger. And I want to spew venom here on this blog. Its an impotent attempt at doing something. The news coverage is annoying the hell out of me - everybody seems to be speaking loudly and with no coherence. I don't feel comforted. The PM said something in a weak, whiny voice that set my blood boiling. So I won't get into that.

I got an auto to come here and there are buses plying as well. When I entered, there were armed policemen in the van in front of the SEEPZ gate today. They looked just as lazy and unkempt as always. Who would trust them to save their lives? I won't. I would run; or maybe in a mad, blind run, choose to attack those who wish to harm me. I would be dead in the most likely scenario.

Back to the screen - there is smoke billowing out of the front of Taj now - must be some botched attempt at rescue, or maybe the chaps inside are lighting all the furnishings? I remember going up to the top-floor suite once to visit a rich American cousin. The room was tiny, the roof was low, the bed was huge, the doors were narrow, the bathroom was shiny but without any character. I remember the curtains were thick and ugly and had three layers. The upholstery everywhere was soft. So it must be an arsonist's delight, this Taj.

The three police honchos who died yesterday - I can see repeat pictures of them and can't help wondering - why the heck did three top guys need to go in the same jeep? I'm familiar with Karkare's name, and the little bit of the Malegaon thing; he seemed to be a smart guy, with his wits about him. I bet his last thoughts must have been, 'fuck, what a chutiya I am to die like this!' And did you look at his helmet? And his tiny, frayed flak-jacket? In fact, even as I write I can see more policemen in front of the Taj barricades; none are in flak-jackets, and two are bare-headed. Why do we have jokers to protect us? We in India are not that poor, surely?

More news pouring in - all are condemning the attack, rah rah, and we have a grim faced Pranab saying something that seems to be in English. But then I am illiterate in that version of the lingo. I am not interested in his bakwas. I'm curious at this stage to know what happened to the hundreds who were caught at CST. No update yet on that. Perhaps the crowd that was caught in the crossfire was not as glamorous as this crowd. Or maybe the killing ended too soon and there is nothing else to report from the 'scene'.

Its lunch. I'm hungry.

27th Nov

I am at work right now. I have logged on to the online IBN CNN news channel - the volume has been tuned down, and I keep checking on what's being shown every few minutes. I'm not really interested in finishing the presentation slide that I started yesterday. I don't care if the deadline is tonight. I'm caught in the scenes of unfolding terror, I can hear random bullets being fired and an occasional bang, maybe of a grenade? Is this Mumbai, my Mumbai, or is this West Bank, or Fallujah, or Chechnya, or Karanchi?

I stepped out a while back - and all is as usual here in Andheri East. A couple of police vans on the door, and maybe a lesser traffic, one can't be sure. The vada - pav guys is doing brisk business, the paal-wala has a line of three people, the new-vendor's stall is missing, but the nariyal-pani stall has a person eating the 'malaai'. I can see a small jam ahead of me near the Rolta building and there are idle pedestrians all over. No one seems to be in any hurry or in any concern of what is happening in deep south of the city. I don't feel any urgency either - it might be happening in another country, anywhere. This is puzzling.

I am back in my cabin, the news is just as before - more shots, more smoke, more screeching news from frenzied reporters. It seems I have entered a dark, mad world again. I am glued. The fear is returning, I can feel the heartbeat thumping against the rib-cage. I abandon all pretence of work.

It seems there is a gun-fight now at Nariman House as well. However on the screen I can see two stray dogs in front of the house and hardly any NSG guys - in fact none; just some slovenly policemen and a bearded gent in white. It seems there won't be any more cricket either. Once England wakes up we'll know for certain. Anyway it was a 5-0 bluewash. I am hungry and need sustenance.

Every now and then I can see the first pictures of the terrorists - a chap in a blue duffel bag, short and stocky carrying an automatic in his right hand, face with one streak of what seems blood. The picture has done something to the eyes - they seem to be glowing - like the obsessed girl in Exorcist. I feel uncomfortable looking at the picture. The platform is empty - they have killed everybody on it? The air conditioning is making me shiver. I want to go home now.

Daal without oil ka tadka

All oil is baaaaad - that is the mantra. So how to make tasty stuff without the oil in dishes that were meant to? Read on...
Ingredients

1. Tuvar daal: how many mouths to feed, ji?
2. Jeera: a generous pinch for every fistful of pulses.
3. Salt to taste.
4. Turmeric: enough to give it the yellow of your dreams.
5. A touch of ghee (utterly, totally, completely optional).
6. Coriander leaves and stems: for the garnish and the top-note.

Get Going

1. Pick, wash and soak the tuvar daal for the time that you have at hand. Don't soak if you are in a tearing hurry, it's OK.
2. Put it in the pressure cooker and cover with water till the water is a half-a digit above the daal.
3. Don't put haldi now as the blubberings of a bad cooker will stain everything with indelible turmeric.
4. Don't put the salt now - it softens better without
5. Four whistles should do the trick. Give five if you have no churn. In which case remember to put a tad more water.
6. Let it cool on it's own. Open, add as much water as you want. I like it being tolerably thick. Stir it around till it has no lumps. Put it to boil. Simmer. Move to preparing the tempering now.
7. Dry roast the jeera till it is well browned all over. Pour it over the gently bubbling daal. Add the salt. Adjust to taste.
8. Add the coriander stems and leaves and put the ghee if you want to eat right now.
9. Goes well with steamed rice and fulka. Of course I have it with any dry sabzi - aalu, beans, gobi.....

Pat's Baingan Bharta

Winter brings the most luscious, lightweight yet firm aubergines blushing a radiant purple on the market stalls. With tender peas and garlic greens also making an appearance, it is the right time to cook-up a bharta!

Ingredients

1. 1 large, firm, light, non-wormy aubergine (while looking for larva, check for tell-tale perforations on the green stalk as well) with a long enough stalk (so that you can hold it over the fire).
2. 3 large, firm, red tomatoes (Remember Penelope Cruz in Woman on Top?).
3. 3 medium red Indian onions.
4. Handful of fresh shelled peas.
5. A bunch of clean garlic greens.
6. 10 pods of large fresh peeled garlic.
7. 4 firm and hot green chillies (all wimps can choose less, I suppose).
8. Quarter inch piece of fresh, mature ginger (the young, pink variety has a fishy taste).
9. 4 tablespoons of mustard oil (choose Engine or Mastan for the best results).
10. A large bunch of clean, dark green and fresh coriander stalks and leaves
11. Quarter lemon if the tomatoes don't lend enough tartness.

Get Going

1. Roast the aubergine (after having cleaned it and checked it thoroughly for larva) over a gas flame. Start from the end and slowly work your way up to the stalk. About five minutes into the roasting, the aubergine will start becoming limp and drooling juices. At this stage you may want to support the end of the damned thing with a steel implement of sorts - this will allow you to roast the veggie nicely. Don't mind the puffs of steam that will come out of sudden cracks to the skin of the eggplant. Once the top part is also uniformly cooked (about 10-12 odd minutes), rest the roasted aubergine on a plate and incline the plate gently so that the juices run clear. I like putting the juices back in the bharta. Let it stand for now; go back to the rest of the veggies.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the top ugly centre, chop the nice parts into 1 cm cubes. For this to happen, your knife needs to be sharp. Retain the juices that run from the cutting and put them in along with the rest of the tomatoes.
3. Chop the onions into small pieces - the way you would do to onions in bhelpuri.
4. Chop the garlic greens and the garlic into as tiny bits as you can.
5. Skin and chop the ginger as fine as well.
6. Chop the Coriander stalks fine; keep them separately from the finely chopped coriander leaves. Stalks go into the cooking, the leaves are for the garnish.
7. Break the chillies into halves.
8. By this time the aubergines would have cooled enough for you to handle it. Remove the burnt skin by picking chunks of it with your fingers. Leaving some in lends a nice smoky flavour. With most of the burnt skin off, caress the now naked and fleshy lump from the top like you would a lock of tress. A rope of tender meat will come away and reveal clusters of seeds. If you think they are a bother, remove as many as you can. If the aubergine is young, the seeds will be soft. Some people find the seeds itchy while chewing. Do this 'combing' to the rest of the aubergine. Once you have deseeded, wrench the stalk off to leave just the fresh, smoky, trembling flesh.
9. Heat up a kadhai / wok with 1.5 tablespoons of mustard oil. Let it smoke, then cool it and when you are sure it is cool enough to not burn what you put in it, put in half the garlic, half the ginger and two pieces of chillies. Stir for 10 seconds; put in half the onions and all of the peas. Stir till onions are translucent. Put in all the tomatoes. Stir till tender. Check if its becoming dry, if it is, add some oil. There should be a nice sheen over the cook-up. Keep stirring till the tomatoes are nicely mushy. Add the coriander stalks and stir some more till you are convinced that the tomatoes and onions are well cooked.
10. If you do not like the starkness of this dish, add some turmeric. I know of itchy-fingered Moms who add turmeric no matter what. Desist, if you can, else its OK to succumb by a pinchful of the yellow powder.
11. Now assuming you are ready to eat, continue with the rest of the steps. Else, switch off the gas and wait till you are famished.
12. If you are restarting, then wait till the cooked mess is hot and sizzling. Add the remaining onions, garlic, ginger and chillies. Add the roasted baingan. Switch off the gas. Now it is all about mixing.
13. Tease the aubergine flesh into the rest of the masala. The raw onions, garlic and ginger will sweat a little in the heat and provide a wonderful crunchy texture. Work in the rest of the raw mustard oil. Add the chopped coriander. Serve with fulka.

The traditional way is to cook the aubergine in the kadhai. I find that cooking it further makes the aubergine lose the wonderful smokiness and texture. Adding the raw onions, garlic and ginger brings a touch of adventure and un-tamedness to this rough but satisfying dish.