Camping Trip Apr 09 - Guadalupe River State Park

Attendees:

Singhs (Not overnight)
Gours with Raahil
Jains
Sainis
Guptas
Tandons
Salujas
Bharadwajs

Highlights/ Memories:

Thanks to the Tandon family for organizing this, Garima’s “detailed” lists and also to Everyone for following Garima’s instructions quite flawlessly …

Aman getting Garima fired up to fight up with the park people by messing with Garima; Good April fool's joke (a few days late, but still in April!!)

Pakeezah from 'Park" ??? seriously who guessed that?

Water fun the first day and Sakshi's Annie hair the next morning :)

Girls NOT doing the 'bartans' even after losing the Dumbcharades game...

Poor Siddh carrying Vihaan most of the trail

Ishaan singing Oye lucky Oye even in his sleep :)

Poor Armadillo getting roasted while Prachi nearly jumped out of her skin, as did everyone else around, incld. Avyay and Sakshi in the “mahal” tent …

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye ….

Koi "Tumsa" Nahin ... Or was it.. Koi "Tujhsa" Nahin ... We will never know which one Garima said...

Prerna’s convincing the Chai freaks that the quick and easy method works too … New process improvement …

Sejal’s perfect singing for Pass the Parcel game…

Rajiv and Navneet’s Govinda dance as part of the spouse game …

Sushil’s taco station in the morning …

Most people got no sleep, either due to snoring spouses/neighbors or the rain all night long …

SlumDog and millionaire tents…

Harshita’s chocolate dripping smores … yummm…

Girls drinking SmirnOff while all guys taking care of the “choolha” …

Avyay having fun in water and even saying "Maaro, Maaro" and splashing everyone!

Paakiza, Hatimtaai, Aloo Chat, Gajini

Shaili and Shubhan arriving at the campsite in style just as their song “Singh in Kingg” was playing in the background …

Prachi's wonderful spouse "pass the parcel" game revealing the "true" feelings between many couples :)

Mayoors’ innovative technique to help Vihaan pee on the trail.

Shubhan enjoying hammock with his Mom and falling to sleep

Sakshi proposing Vibhav with a knife in her hand

Sejal playing Mom - She might be the Mom of the little boys in this group sometime in their previous births

Thank goodness that Shaili/Girish arrived with Shubhan because Sejal has almost emptied Prerna's brain by asking where is Shubhan? Why are they not here yet?

Prerna got all worked up when I noticed some deep scratches and bruises on Sejal’s hands and started scolding her for not being careful. She left Prerna speechless by telling her that she was trying to save Vihaan from sharp bushes that were coming on Vihaan’s face when he was walking around with her. Oops..Prerna had to tell her that she is sorry!

Sejal and Ishaan’s TLC (tender loving care) moments on a chair in the corner - And Romir did see that ... He gave Ishaan such a quick smack on the head that even the three adults standing around (Shaili, Vibhav and Sakshi) could not stop him ... gawd .. that li'l dude is quick!!

Avyay & Sejal teaming up to turn Rajiv uncle into a mummy by pouring tons of pebbles on him while he was lying flat in water

Avyay/Romir/Sejal & Vihaan taking turns on hammock and giving each other push in the hammock. In fact they were some of their most cooperating moments

Next Stop suggestions (depending on feasibility):

Inks Lake
Lost Maples State Park (Late Oct, Early Nov)
Colorado Bend State Park

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Holi Poem/dedication to the group

Alright people,



A lot of you have asked me to send my poem that I recited on Holi. I am glad that everybody enjoyed this and really appreciate the encouragement. The truth is that all of us in this group have such distinct qualities and personalities that it was easy for me to pen my thoughts about people on paper along with the Holi tie up (just don't expect this again next year :))

Enjoy!


Thodi si chaat
Thodi si kulfi
Tasty-Tasty tikki
Aur muh bhar ke golgappe
Saath mein ho char yaar
Aur haath mein thandai
Dekho dekho yaaron holi hai aayi

Karte hain sab is din ka besabri se intezaar
Kyonki aata hai yeh saal mein ek hi baar
Kholti hai Sakshi apne ghar ke darwaze
Aur bhejti hain who rangon bhari email
With maybe just a little too much detail

Chaloo hota hai sab ladkiyon ka sajna
Holi ke din kuch achcha hai lagna
Lehnga, suit ya pehne saari, itni choices kya Karen bechari
Vihaan/Ishaan aur Avyay ka pyaar, ki ladne ke hain bahanne chaar
Sejal ka dance aur Megha/Anushka ke gaane
Chalo bachchon hame sabko hain dekhane

Doston is parv mein phailey hain raang saarey
Pichkari se khelo holi, ya le aao gubare
Choti choti hain baatein , chotti chotti hain khushiyan
Tum bhi zara haslo aaj, jab hasti hain yeh duniya

Shuban ko ho yeh pehli Holi bahut bhaut Mubarak, I-Rak ki badolat ayaa hai yeh pyaara balak
ab dekhte hain Sid aur Prachi dete hain hume kab khabbar pyaari,
arre Shubhan ko bhi chahiye koi dost jisse kare who yaari
Rajiv mamu/chachu ki masti khush karti hain bachchon ko har baar
Yahi hai Austin, jisse karte hain hum sab pyaar

Kabhi-Kabhi lagta hai, yeh bhi kaise Holi hai
Na doston ki toli hai, na bhang kissi ne gholi hai
Na gaal peele laal hain, na rangon se bhare baal hain
Na pichkaari ki dhaar hain, na bheege rishtedaar hain
India ka dil mein pyaar hai, wapis jaane ka intezaar hai

Per phir lagta hai, kisse zaroorat hai in sab cheezon ki
Jab Madhu ke hain kisse hazaar aur Vibhav/Mayoor ke PJ’s aprampar
Kisse chaihiye pichkaari ke dhaar
Jab water sprinklers hain available har baar
Pakke range nahin toh kya, pakke doston se banti hai Holi
Shagun karne ki liye, kafi hai roli

Shuru hota hai yeh 6 course walla khana
Jiske liye paet mein jaga tum banana
Bhuke paet ghar se aana aur har swadisht khane ka maza tum uthana
Lekin yahan nahin hota hai yeh din conclude
Jab tak Shshank and Sushil ka Rang Barse pe dance na ho include
Khana peena ya ho naach, sab kuch hai is din ki speciality aaj

Toh chalon yaaron dhoom dham se yeh Tyohar hum banayen
Doston ko nayee kavita aur kisse hum sunayen
Laddu-pede nahin hai to kya
Apni baton ki mithaas hai
Aur saath saath uske Vibhav ki chai (bakwas) oh I mean khaas hai

Holi bahut bahut mubaarak!!!

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Makhani Arbi Masala (sans the makhan)

Vibhav and I tried this recipe from Nita Mehta over the weekend (lucky enough to find a link with same recipe online)... Came out just fantastic ... Just follow it to the tee ... Except for the makhan part in the gravy... I left it out completely and no damage to the recipe ... Obviously, if you add it, it will probably be tastier!! ... Also, as always use discretion in the amount of oil used for the pan saute ...

The basics of this recipe are fabulous and I am sure it can be carried over to using paneer, potato, tofu etc. instead of the Arbi ... But since Arbi can be a tricky vegetable to make tasty without deep frying it, I thought this one was a good one to share ...

Ingredients
Arbi (medium size) - 250 gmsBesan (gram flour) - 2 tblspOil (tel) (tel) - 3 tblspAjwain - 1/2 tspOnion (pyaj) (chopped)- oneGreen chilli (slit) (deseeded and chopped)- oneRed chilli (lal mirch) powder - 1/2 tblspChopped coriander - 1 tblspSalt (namak) - 1/2 tsp or to tasteLemon juice - 1/2 tblspGaram masala - 1/4 tspMakhani Gray :Tomatoes (tamatar) (chopped roughly) - 250 gmsGinger (adrak) paste - 1/2 tspGarlic (lasan) paste - 1/2 tspGreen chilli - oneRed chilli (lal mirch) powder - 1/2 tspLaung (cloves)- 2Choti elaichi (green cardamom)- oneSalt to tasteButter - 2 tblspHoney- 1 tspKasoori methi - 1 tblsp

Directions

MAKHANI ARBI MASALA RECIPE:
* Pressure cook the whole arbi with three cups of water to give one whistle.* Keep on low flame for 2-3 minutes.* Remove from fire. Cool and drain.

* To prepare makhani gray, put tomatoes in a bandi, add one cup of water, ginger and garlic paste, green chilli, red chilli powder, laung and chot elaichi.* Boil. Cover and cook on low heat till it is reduced to a saucy consistency.* Remove from fire.* Blend in a mixer.* Strain into a clean pan.* Add butter. Stir in honey.* Add salt to taste.* Keep on fire.* Boil. Simmer on low flame for 1-2 minutes.* Add kasoori methi and remove from fire.* Keep the makhani gray aside.

* Peel and flatten each piece or arbi.* Sprinkle some salt and red chilli powder on it.* Sprinkle dry besan.* Overturn the pieces and sprinkle salt, red chilli and besan on the other side too.* mix, so as to coat lightly.* Heat oil on a large tawa, add half the arbi and sauté over medium heat till golden.* Shift the fried arbi from the center to the sides (periphery) of the tawa.* Add the rest of the arbi, fry and shift to the sides.* In the same oil, add ajwain, when it turns golden, add chopped onions, grated ginger and green chilli and sauté for three minutes.* Add 1/2 tsp salt.* Return the arbi to the center, add red chillies and half of the coriander.* Fry for a minute.

* Add the prepared makhani gray and fry until the arbi is coated with the gravy.* Adjust seasoning.* Sprinkle lemon juice, garam masala and the remaining coriander.* Stir and serve immediately.

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Garima's recipe - Tomato and peanut South Indian style chutney

Just adding this to the blog ... Wish I could take credit for this ... But this is Garima's recipe which she was nice enough to type in email but lazy enough to go on the blog :-) ... A recipe definitely worth sharing with everyone ...

I will be making it soon and will provide feedback ...

Tomato and peanut South Indian style chutney

Ingredients (1.5 cup chutney)

3 medium sized Serrano peppers (whole)
4-5 mid size Roma tomatoes (cut in to halves or quarters)
4-5 cloves garlic (whole)
0.5 cups non roasted peanuts or more if you like the taste
Salt
Haldi

Individually take peppers, tomatoes and garlic and saute them in 1-2 tsp of oil each for about 5-7 minutes each (tomatoes may take a little longer). Leave the peppers whole else they will leave their essence in the air and bother kids. Its ok if all the things get black from a few sides Cover them half way while cooking so that they get a little soft as well.

Dry roast peanuts in a pan or oven as well. Combine all the ingredients in a mixer with a salt and haldi to your taste and Voila!!! A simple and tasty South Indian chutney is ready to eat with Idli's and Dosas.

Depending on your likeness for peanuts you can reduce the amount a little bit. The smoothness in the chutney comes with peanuts only though so you can not eliminate this ingredient.

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Great Website: The Hunger Site

Hi all! I just wanted to point out a really cool website to you. It's called "The Hunger Site". On it, there is a button that you click and it automatically donates food to hungry people all over the world! The food is donated by the site's sponsors, so the more people that visit the site, the more food that gets donated. It's completely free and you're doing some good too! You can only click once a day, but 100% of the proceeds go to charity. They also have sister sites where you can click and their sponsors donate money for child literacy programs, saving the rain forests and feeding pets in animal shelters. The site also tells you exactly how much was donated based on your click. For example, today my clicks donated 1.1 cups of rice to the hungry, 0.6 bowls of animal food for shelters and saved 11.4 sq feet of rain forest! I may have already shared some of this info with you in the past, but it's worth repeating. It's a really good site supporting some really good causes! Go everyday and click, and please forward info about this site to as many people as you can!

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Music Review - Luck by Chance... (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

This would be a quick review as I sit and eat my lunch. This movie brings together quite a few of the team from “Rock On” (Farhan Akhtar, S-E-L, Javed Akhtar etc.), which in my mind was absolutely THE best soundtrack of last year and one of the best movies as well. This movie is based on struggles to survive and make it big in the Bollywood industry and its promos look very impactful…Farhan Akhtar is in the lead role as well though he does not sing in this album...

Anyway, this soundtrack begins with a song called “Yeh Zindagi Bhi” which is in the mould of “Kal Ho Na Ho” title song. Very pleasing to listen and easy on the years but does not offer anything new...passable...

After that comes a really good song, “Baawre”…This song is kind of rajasthani folk/sufi  with modern beats…really good to listen to…once you give it a couple of hearing, it will be on the repeat mode…real good…this kind of reminded me of the “Bumbro” song that S-E-L had done years back but still very different…As usual Shankar’s voice is immaculate…

 “Pyar ki Dastaan” follows Baawre which is a typical love song that S-E-L can churn out in their sleep…. Still good to listen to…does not trouble the ears...

 “Yeh aaj kya ho gaya” has a hangover of “Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein” from Rock On… That was a great song, so this also sounds very good…though I would rate the one from Rock On a little higher…But still feels contemporary song…

 Following this song comes my favorite of the album, “Sapno se bhare naina”…this song is a fusion of semi-classical and western beats…very similar to some songs from “Karsh Kale” or “Midival Punditz” (if you have heard of them)…but just amazing song and Shankar does majic with his voice on this one…This one stays with you for a long time….

 Following this is “O Rahi Re”…slow and sad song but again Shankar amahdevan shows why he is the best in the business…very nice song….

 Lastly comes the remix of “Baawre”…generally, as you already know how much I love to hate remixes…but this one said it is remixed by “Midival Punditz” so it peeked my interest…it is nicely done with some mega beats and better than most other remixes out there…but again remix is always a remix and can not replace the original….

 This looks to be a very good start for 2009… With every new album, S-E-L are earning more and more respect... They are next best to ARR in my mind at this time in Bollywood... This album has something for everyone… slow, fast, folk, contemporary, fusion everything…. So, all in a all a very good mix of songs that you can listen for some time to come…

 Next I am waiting for music of “Delhi-6” by ARR…so let us see how that turns out to be…

 My ratings for the album:

 “Use-and-Throw” Value                  = Low (You can listen to it for a decent time)

“More of the Same” Value               = Medium (Some new some Old sounds)

“Mass Appeal” Value                        = High (Will be popular, but not extremely popular)

“Overall”                                                = Very good (Couple of hearings should get you hooked)

 Have fun listening...

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“Yuvvraaj” Music Review – A R Rahman

As I sit and write this review I am wondering what exactly do I like in music from ARR, and why do I look forward to listening to it so much? So, here are a few reasons why I look forward and listen to music of ARR:

- It is always original, creative and offers loads of variety…
- There are so many layers in the music that you can keep listening to the songs for a very long span of time and still hear something new every time you hear them…
- Extremely good use of traditional instruments like flute (Bombay), shehnaai (Swades, Duet) etc. fused with western instruments…
- Only time I get to hear ARR’s voice is in his own albums, the voice that I absolutely love. I think he is perhaps the most underrated and one of the best singer in the industry. If you closely listen to some of his soundtracks, you will find atleast one song where he does an alaap, which just takes the song to another level (like in Dil hai chota sa – Roja, Kabhi neem-neem - Yuva, Lukka-chuppi – Rang De Basanti etc.)
- Most of the time I get to hear Sukhwinder Singh’s voice, who forms an amazing combination with ARR. One look back to all the songs they have sung together (like Chaiya-Chaiya – Dil Se, Ramta Jogi - Taal, Ghanan-Ghanan - Lagaan amongst so many others) and you will know what I am talking about…not to say Sukhwinder does not sing well with others, it is just this combination that spells magic…
- He also occasionally brings unconventional voices like Daler Mahendi (RDB), Lucky Ali (Yuva), Kailash Kher (Swedes) Mohit Chauhan from Silk Route (RDB) etc…all of which I love…

Anyway, the point I was trying to make was there are just way too many things to look forward to in his upcoming soundtracks. Also, when ARR and Gulzar came together they created Dil Se, and when ARR and Subhash Ghai came together, they created the unforgettable Taal. Then, it is no surprise, that when all three of them come together more than ample buzz is created. So, I was hoping to have one of the best soundtrack in years come out in form of Yuvvraaj. The only thing slightly underlying in my mind was could this be the case of “Teen-tigaada, Kaam Bigaadaa!!” :-)

Subhash Ghai is known for folksy tunes like ones in Khalnayak, Pardes, Saudagar, Taal, Kisna etc. so I was thinking this would be another one of the folksy album high on Indian music. But apparently this musical movie is based in Austria and Prague so the soundtrack has a high influence from western classical music instead of Indian folk music…it is very different from earlier works from Subhash Ghai and ARR….With that knowledge, I started listening to the album and have listened to it like 30 times before I am finally ready to write this review…

First off is “Mein Hun Yuvvraaj” which is really not a song, just some random garbage in Salman’s voice (Hint: you can sense my love for Salman here… :-) ) with Beethoven’s symphony in the background…don’t care for it…

Then the real soundtrack begins…In comes “Tu Meri Dost Hain”…Beautiful song with high western classical and orchestra influence – this is the one they are using in the movie promos… takes 2-3 hearing to get into it but very-very nice thereafter…Sung by a newcomer Benny Dayal and his voice sounds very soothing in the song…Also, this song has some music in there towards the end that is of one of the following songs called “Tu Muskura”…typical way of Subhash Ghai interweaving multiple songs…

Followed by such a good song is an OK-OK song “Shano-Shano”, typical club dance number – good to hear but nothing exceptional…

Then comes “Tu Muskura”…This song again very high on orchestra and all of it is in high notes….very dreamy feel to the song…nice to hear to, I have heard it many times and only now I can say I really like it…This song is interwoven with the music of “Tu Meri Dost Hai” heard earlier….I just feel if this song has some low notes as well, it would have been great…

Then comes a fun song called “Mastam-Mastam”…Sung mostly by Sonu nigam but again high on chorus and orchestra (by now you must be tired of me reapeating this statement!) but a really fun song…imaginative lyrics from Gulzar like “Bheje mein bhauchaal hai, pairon mein paataal hai”…it kind of reminded me of “tinak-tinak tin taara” from saudagar…Anyway, another thing to note in this song is Alka Yagnik’s voice…it comes towards the middle of the song and she sounds almost like Lata Mangeshkar…I had to double-check to ensure it was not Lata singing…very-very beautiful…this song is a little slow to develop but develops very nicely towards the end and grows on you quite a bit after repeated hearing…quintessential Subhash Ghai song...

Zindagi-Zindagi comes next which is in the mould of Nahin Saamne from Taal…The voice of the singer (Srinivas, I believe) is very similar to Hariharan and he has done justice to the soft song…though, I believe Nahin Saamne was a far superior song…

In comes next my favorite of the album called “Dil Ka Rishta”…Grand orchestra, multiple sargams and absolutely beautiful…towards the middle of the song ARR comes on the mike with his trademark alaap and it just takes the song to a completely new level… the alaap keeps ringing in my head…sheer bliss…again heavy on orchestra/western classical and takes time to grow on you but if you give it time, you won’t be disappointed…

Manmohini morey is next which is a fusion of Indian classical and western beats…nice song but after the dil ka rishta high, this song sounds a little bit low but still a very good song.…you catch on to it in the first hearing itself…they should have placed this song before Dil Ka Rishta in the album and should have ended the album with Dil Ka Rishta…

At the end is “Shano-Shano remix”…useless…did I say I hate remixes! :-)

So, most of the things that I had said about ARR and why I like his music still hold in this album…the one gripe is that there is no full song sung by either ARR or Sukhwinder Singh….But, this is a soundtrack that takes multiple hearings to grow on you…not even 2-3 hearings will do it and I think most people will give up on it after 2-3 hearings…Also, this has none of the folk tunes that has made Subhash Ghai’s music so popular in the past…this is a high-end gourmet product that not everyone will appreciate…. ARR presents here an album that is completely different from what we hear these days but this music is not something the common person will identify too much with… unless you have grown up listening to western classical, it will be difficult to stomach…

Unless the songs are choreographed extraordinarily and the movie is a hit (which I highly doubt given it has Salman and Katrina, Hint: you can sense my love for Salman again here!), the album will be only relished by die-hard ARR fans…aka me…

On a separate note, two other movie’s music that I am waiting for this year are “Ghajini” (Aamir Khan and music by ARR based on memento) and Rab ne bana di jodi (Sharukh and directed by Aditya Chopra who is directing this one after Mohobbatein and DDLJ)

My ratings for the album:

“Use-and-Throw” Value = Very Low (You can listen to it for a long span of time)
“More of the Same” Value = Very Low (You have not heard any of this sound before)
“Mass Appeal” Value = Low-Medium (Will not be very popular, maybe more after movie release)
“Overall” = Very good (Give it time and you will not be disappointed)

Next up will be quick review of music of Fashion, Golmaal Returns and EMI, if I get a chance…until then…

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Protein Pancake

Alright people, in the spirit of contributing I thought I would put something out there too. Also this is fall season and pumpkin is a vegetable that we do not get to eat on a regular basis so I though that I would put out something with that ingredient. One receipe everybody can use since its an extremely simple eggless receipe. The other one probably only Sakshi/Vibhav and I will be making since both of us use protein supplements on a regular basis but I can promise that its a great receipe to try out.

Eggless cake
Ingredients
Cake mix (Any cake mix would work but Spice cake or a plain yellow works best)
15 Oz can of pure pumpkin not pie filling (you will find this in the cake section)
1/4 cup of water
some dry fruits including raisins (chopped up)
dessicated coconut (optional)

Just mix the cake mix with an entire can of pumpkin and use a little bit of water if it gets difficult to mix (pumpkin is pretty solid). Mix it with a spatula, just like any cake and add dry fruits and cocount in the end. Bake for about 10 minutes less than the said time on the box, since this does NOT have any oil or eggs, it take shorter time to bake. Yes, I said NO OIL :)

Since this does not have any oil, the shelf life of this cake is not very long so I recommend that you put the leftover cake in the fridge.

Pumpkin pancakes
This is a receipe that I found from one of the fitness forums but is great and has tons of protein. I know I am tired of having protein in my milk so thought that this would be a great idea to try something new.

15oz can pumpkin (425g)
12 egg whites (1 1/2 cups)
3 scoops of vanilla protein powder (can use other flavors)
1 tsp cinnamon
Nutmeg to taste (optional)
1 tsp maple syrup (optional)

Mix pumpkin, egg whites, maple syrup, and spices together until fairly smooth. Add PP powder and mix until well combined. Heat griddle until sizzling hot and spray with a bit of pam. (I used a non-stick griddle and turned my heat slightly lower than with wheat pancakes.) Pour 2/3 cup batter onto griddle and cook like a regular pancake. Mine were 8 inch in diameter. If you want a smaller pancake, use 1/2 cup to ladle batter onto grill. (I used 1/2 cup slightly rounded and it made 6 pancakes). Flip when top begins to look set and almost dry.

Total recipe: 623 calories Protein: 85g Fat: 4g Carbohydrates: 48g
Per pancake (1/6 of batter): 104 calories Protein: 14g Fat: .66g Carbs: 8g

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