Of Keerai, Google, Upma.......

My son came home loaded with a big pack of leaves. He told me the leaves were a kind of keerai[spinach] given to him by a colleague. I had never seen this particular keerai. I admired the fancy shape of the leaves-spear shaped tips, looked quite ornamental! The next dilemma was how to cook it. I’m no culinary expert so that was a dilemma to me. Anyway, I just sautéed it with onions and chillies and garnished it with coconut gratings. Then came the time to taste the cooked leaves. O my gosh, how my sons and I winced and screwed up our faces! It tasted as sour as ever, nearly acidic.
That evening my son’s colleague educated him and me that that spinach was called Pullicha keerai in Tamil. I exclaimed that it sure did live up to its name[Pulli means sour in Tamil] !
Enlightened now, I entered Pullicha keerai recipes in Google Search. I briefly had a quick glance at the sites that showed up and learnt that it was called Gongura in Telugu and Sorrel leaves in English. Most of the recipes were for chutney and so I just clicked on a couple of the sites. For one not fond of cooking I didn’t like the tedious methods of preparation in those particular recipes so I just rehashed what I read and pressure cooked, for five minutes, all the ingredients along with the leaves.
While the cooker whistled away merrily, I was awe-struck at the lovely smell which delighted all my senses, emanating from my kitchen. When cooked and cooled, I blended it in the mixer. Presto! The outcome was a creamy, rich green puree. As if to prove the saying, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, that afternoon we slurped it up with steaming hot rice!
I thought of the humble,unpretentious rava upma which was the winning entry in a cookery contest in the USA. The chef won $ 100,000 and the dish was stylishly called Semolina Pudding! Just for fun, I mused that may be some day, some time, somewhere Dame Fortune may smile on me too through my exotically labelled Whipped Sorrel Sauce! A wishful and over-optimistic musing, indeed, by one who has no culinary skills and whose forte is certainly not cooking!!!

Zip zap zoom

On the eve of the 18th of the Tamil month Aadi, my niece called up to let me know of her taking delivery of a car the next day. That sure was terrific news! I wished her to go places [in style and comfort!]with this sincere little prayer.


On this auspicious day
Prosperity is entering your driveway.
May she have for passengers
All her faithful messengers-
Happiness, Safety, Cheer,
And everyone that is dear.

May you never tire
Or ever want to retire. [Or ever have a flat tyre!]
May you traverse many miles
Gladdening your hearts with smiles.
On whichever road or track
May God be watching your back.


May you delight in many a ride
Journeying far and wide.
Go, go, go; keep going;
Relishing all of life’s zing !
Vroom, vroom, vroooom;
Zip, zap, zoooom!!!

Ma Foi Pandiarajan

“A good drummer listens as much as he plays.” So goes an Indian proverb. I was reminded of that when Mr. Pandiarajan won the legislative election of Virudhunagar constituency this May. His party symbol was a drum!
About a couple of months back I happened to come across his website www.kpandiarajan.com. One of the dropdown menus in his site was Sharing. How many of us have been to, or, for that matter, can go to Greece? There was a neat blog of his views on maintaining and preserving our cultural and architectural monuments, while he was in Greece-very heartening. He had answered a visitor’s query with a promise of changing Virudhunagar to a vibrant Virudhunagar. To attain that goal of a vibrant Virudhunagar I wish him vigour, vitality and versatility. With all those Vs bundled together may Mr. Pandiarajan achieve the all-important V- Victory!
I was quite impressed with his activities in the social scene [I’m not much of a politics-interested person] like the Sornammal Educational Trust and Ekam. I take my hats off to him for his keen interest in women empowerment and children’s physical health.
Armed with an MBA in Human Resources from an excellent and prestigious institution like XLRI, Jamshedpur, Mr. Pandiarajan launched his own HR Services company –Ma Foi. Today he’s better known as MaFoi Pandiarajan [than MLA Pandiarajan!]. May this dynamic man lead us with a guiding light and turn out to be ‘notre foi’!
Now, with no further ado, I take leave of you to visit Ma Foi Pandiarajan’s website again to see if there have been any updates during the past two months.