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Mom and Dad came over to my place for the last couple weeks. It was a gourmet’s gala time all the time, to say the very least. One of the dishes we made was this special curry from my Mom…

Enjoy…

Ingredients:

1. White raddish (mooli) – 1 big one or a couple small ones

For gravy:

1. Coconut (Nariyal) – 1 cup grated
2. Rice grains – 2 to 3 tsps.
3. Whole red chilies – 2 to 3
4. Tamarind (Imli) juice – ¼ cup
5. Jaggery (Gud) – 1 tsp.
6. Oil – 1 tsp.
7. Salt to taste

For spluttering:

1. Mustard (Rai) seeds – 1 tsp.
2. Asafetida (Hing) – a pinch
3. Split black beans without the skin (Urad daal) – 1 tsp.
4. Fenugreek seeds (Methi daana) – 1 tsp.
5. Turmeric powder (Haldi) – ½ tsp.
6. Oil – 2 tsp.
7. Curry leaves – 2 to 3 (optional)

Procedure:

1. Wash, dry and cut raddish into 1 inch long pieces.
2. Heat a tsp of oil in a pan and roast the rice grains and whole chilies till rice grains turn slightly golden. Remove in a bowl and let it cool.
3. Add Coconut to the same pan and roast till flakes turn golden and add it to the rice grains and chilies kept aside.
4. Mix the roasted mixture with tamarind juice and jaggery. Grind into a fine paste.
5. Heat a spoon full of oil and add mustard seeds, a pinch of asafetida, split black beans, fenugreek seeds.
6. Once the ingredients splutter, add turmeric powder curry leaves and raddish pieces and sauté for a min or two.
7. Add some water and let the pieces cook for about 3 to 5 mins.
8. Once the pieces are tender, add coconut mixture.
9. Adjust salt and water and cook for another 8 to 10 mins or for about 2 boils.

Notes:

1. For making tamarind juice, soak a small-lemon-sized ball of tamarind in required amount of water, ¼ cup for this recipe, for about 10 mins. Remove the seeds and strings out once it is well soaked.
2. Vary the number of red chilies depending on your spice preferences and variety of chilies.
3. In case fresh curry leaves are hard to find in your part of the world, you can dry and store curry leaves whenever they are available. Simply wash the fresh leaves clean and dry them in sun. Store in a clean dry container either whole or powdered.
4. For spluttering, follow the order such that the ingredients are roasted evenly. Some items like mustard seeds taste bitter if over roasted, so add the next ingredients in time.

We Indians (and mostly I think “people” in general for that matter), have a way of relishing grief, cherishing sorrow. Especially when it is “other’s grief”, “someone else’s sorrow”! Pardon me if I sound stoic, but look at what word we spread around? Take daily newspapers, TV channels, magazines, the web – celebration of pain is everywhere.

Last year on 26-Nov there were about 10 people who came to India illegally, ripped our security networks, targeted our financial capital (amchi Mumbai) and tore apart the faith of 1,139,964,932 people in our own justice and protection system. Even now I shudder at the thought of those images on my television screen. Each minute was gruesome. It was hell while it lasted.

But heck, all that is over, isn’t it? Can we take the lesson, benefit from it and move on?

There was also one other side of that midnight – people from all over India were extremely courageous, helpful even to strangers, immensely close knit during those times. Tell me how many of us ever prayed for strangers, wished to God to help innocent souls, really really meant and *felt* sympathy towards fellow Indians before? During Kargil war? I would think so. May be.

But at other peaceful times we bicker amongst ourselves over which tenant gets to park the car in front of a three storey apartment or we gossip about movie-icons and cricket-stars or indulge similar kind of nonsensical pass-times. Do we really bond as “Indians” during those times?

Every country has good as well as bad things. Corruption, crime infest each society. But do we really want to let a handful of evil thinkers get the better of 1,139,964,932 ? Do we let them ruin our achievements, happiness, peace & all-the-little-things-that-matter-big? Have a gala time with free publicity at our expense? Make us forget our triumph over tragedy?

I would never want to do it. Why did we do the parades, light candle etc on the day it started? Why not commemorate the day we WON over them? Why not do something special for the dear ones of the victims and let them know that they have their countrymen with them (and I just don’t mean Govt. grants and stuff… )?

India should be (and definitely CAN be) a symbol of hope over despair, light over darkness, joy over sadness. It is OUR country, our beloved “Bharat-maataa”, so who else will take care of her, if not us?

Think not about what this country did for you, instead ponder over what YOU did for INDIA….!