| UTTERLY DELICIOUS From lime and fruit flavours to aromatic herbs and spices, you can blend almost anything into your butter to give your food that added zing One dab of butter can transform a dish, making paratha, dosa, mashed potato bhurji, paratha, dosa, mashed potato and toast taste like never before. Even simple steamed vegetables can take on new dimensions. Think, then, what butter infused with great seasonings will do. It's not that hard to imagine, because fat carries flavour. That is one reason we temper Indian food with tadkas. The oil or ghee is infused with volatile oils from the spices, and carries them through the whole dish. Flavoured butters can add oomph to any meal. Continental cuisine calls them “compound butters“ and they are often served with grilled meat, seafood and vegetables as an alternative to a sauce. Available in both savoury and sweet varieties, they can also be added to sauces to finish them, mixed into pasta and rice to add flavour or served over warm puddings and desserts. Making a compound butter is simple. Unsalted butter works best, with cooks adding salt to taste, but any butter or butter substitute will work. Allow the butter to soften at room temperature and then stir in the ingredients of your choice. Next, refrigerate the butter. For more robust flavours such as mixed spices or garlic, I lightly sauté the ingredients in a dab of butter, cool them and then stir into the rest of the butter. You should use up compound butters within a few days of making them. Even if you do freeze your butter, be sure to use it within a month, using an acid like lemon in the compound butter to help preserve it. As for flavourings, your imagination is the only limit. Lemon-and-dill butter goes well with many fish dishes while tarragon compound butter is a classic French garnish. Herbs and spices are the easiest options because they are easily available, but you can also add vegetables and even fruit. I like to use butter infused with lemon zest and green chilli to garnish rasam or a clear, light chicken soup. Garlicand-coriander butter adds new flavours to good old hot parathas and dosas. These days, with green peppercorns and mango ginger in season, I like doing butters using them. The very nature of this condiment allows delicate flavours, such as the green-ness of the peppercorns or the subtle mango flavours of mango ginger, to hold their own. Sweeter compound butters such as honey butters or fruit-flavoured butters make great accompaniments to morning toast, biscuits and hot puddings and pies. You can also replace regular butter with these butters in your favourite baked dishes. In such cases, flavour the butter with sweeter spices such as cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and cloves. I like to get creative with the form of my flavoured butters too. I often freeze them into logs or blocks for easy slicing. You can also roll them into small balls or freeze them in a flat tray to be cut into shapes with a cookie cutter for attractive garnishing. Or freeze them in small moulds, decorating them with pretty combinations of the ingredients that have gone into them. This also makes it convenient to identify the flavours later on. Flavoured, moulded and garnished butter makes a great gift too. Wrap it up in butter paper or just carry it over in a pretty bowl. (Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal HTS120311) |
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
FOOD SPECIAL..A bit of flavour can make your butter better
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
WOMAN SPECIAL..FOR RENT: SIX YARDS
A Kanjeevaram to an ice hockey game? A blue chiffon to the prom? Why not, ask these unique sari entrepreneurs who are offering the outfit for hire across the US and UK. And if you need a hand with the pallav and the pleats, there are saristas to help
Picture this: You walk into a family wedding, feeling priceless in your uber expensive diamanteencrusted turquoise sari you are wearing. A distant cousin surveys you head to toe and comments: “Lovely sari... Isn’t this the one you wore to Rita masi’s 25th anniversary, too? I saw the photos on FB.” There is little need to say your night is ruined and you want to bury yourself in the six yards.
Now, one can make sure this never happens.
Several young desis, mostly B-school graduates, in the US have turned the perennial wardrobe crisis into a business opportunity and started sari rental services so one can wear a different sari to every occasion without spending a fortune. With this, the traditional Indian ensemble, which used to be bought and passed down the generations, has become the latest offering in a world where everything from evening gowns to toys is available for short-term use.
Around half a dozen hire-a-sari services have been launched in the US in the past year and one has been set up in the UK. They are already a hit with Indians living there. Sari Closet, which was set up in May 2011, gets 60 to 80 orders for its saris every month. Borrow it Bindaas and Luxemi, two other rental services in the US, too say that they have been inundated with orders.
Considering the sky-rocketing prices of saris — a dressy drape could cost you anywhere between $300 and $500 in the US — the prospect of
getting something nice to wear for a quarter of the cost is obviously attractive. Sari Closet charges a standard $79 dollars for any of its 140-plus saris and others charge anywhere between $45 and $200 per piece depending on the retail price.
“Indians in the US need saris for at least 10-15 occasions every year but most of us travel to India only once in three-four years and if you don’t live in Los Angeles, Chicago or New York, you don’t have many options,” says Swathi Narra, 31, a licensed attorney and co-founder of Luxemi which was launched in May 2011.
All the sari rental companies were born out of the struggles of their own desi owners in finding nice saris and avoiding the faux pas of repeating the same ones. Having grown up in small towns in Louisiana, Narra and her partner Swapna Chandamuri, a MBA from Northwestern University, had little access to Indian clothing. The friends therefore teamed up to start the sari rental service.
Nisha Patel, a graduate of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and her classmates Sreesha Vaman and Patrick Gengoux, had conceptualised a sari rental business plan for a class project and later turned it into the Sari Closet. BIB was started by 25-year-old twins, Riddhi and Siddhi Khara, who are currently pursuing MBA at University of California, and HireASari in UK is the brainchild of Rupinder Nanuwa, a 26-year-old with a degree in marketing management from Manchester University’s B-school.
The process of renting a sari is simple: Select a sari from the collection showcased online, enter the date of the event, make the payment and you are almost done. If you don’t have a blouse, you can also select one from the options provided. Also on offer are matching clutches, earrings or bindis to go with the sari. The sari, which is guaranteed to be in good condition and dry cleaned, reaches the client’s home a day or two before the event along with the blouse and petticoat. The companies throw in attractive freebies too, be it a matching bindi, a sari bag or a pack of safety pins. One can keep the sari for four to ten days depending on the agreement and then courier it back in the pre-paid envelope which is provided.
While elders may frown upon the idea of wearing a used sari, young women are all for it. Anu Nayyer, a nurse in Redwood City, California, hired a sari from the Sari Closet last July to wear to a friend’s wedding which was planned at the last minute. She already had an enviable collection of 30 saris in her wardrobe, but had worn each one of them several times. “I was also done with borrowing saris from cousins and aunts. It is too embarrassing,” says the 28-year-old.
Nayyer ordered a fushcia pink net sari and purchased a metallic blouse for just $20 dollars from the company’s collection. “I always wanted to try a net sari but didn’t have one. I also cut off the sleeves of the blouse and loved the final look,” she says.
While weddings drive the demand for sari rental, companies also get orders from women who wish to drape six yards to black-tie events, formal office parties, cultural shows and New Years Eve parties.
Sari Closet refuses to pin the outfit down to tradition. If a sari is good enough for a wedding, it should be good enough for an ice hockey game. Its special ‘Sari n Skates’ guide helps you pick the right colour to cheer your favourite team — an aqua blue sari if you are rooting for the San Jose sharks, for example. “A lot of our customers are ice hockey fans. When they call us because they are unable to pick a sari, we sometimes ask them to base their choice on the team and they love the idea,” says Sreesha Vaman.
Many Indian-American brides these days also like having bridesmaids wearing matching saris like their Western peers even if they have a traditional wedding ceremony. Sari Closet is planning to launch a special collection of saris for bridesmaids. Borrow it Bindaas is also helping organise special sari-themed bridal showers. “We have received orders from some brides-to-be who have a ‘sari party’ for their bridal shower,” says Siddhi Khara.
Ironically, young women in India are slipping into daring dresses, not saris, for bridal showers and bachelorette parties. And, even when they do wear the sari, it’s a sexier avatar of the outfit, with sheer fabrics, super-slim pallavs and halter neck blouses. But in US the demand for traditional saris is as high as that of the contemporary versions. “Women here still like to be a bit more conservative and elegant when it comes to the saree,” says Khara.
(NEHA BHAYANA TOICREST 120310)
How to buy a budget tablet
Here are a few pointers to help you zero in on a good tablet that costs less than Rs.15,000.
A year is a long time in technology. At around this time last year, a tablet was considered an extravagance, with prices hovering in the vicinity of 25,000. Today, things are markedly different. You can walk into a store and pick a good quality tablet for less than half this amount. But, how do you zero in on a ‘quality’ tablet? The sub-15,000 tablet market contains some very good devices but is also populated with rather ordinary ones. So, here are a few points to keep in mind before you take the plunge.
Operating system
Barring the BlackBerry Playbook, whose 16 GB version is skimming below the Rs.15,000 mark and which runs on the BlackBerry Tablet OS, the only tablets that you are likely to get for less than this price are the ones running on Android, Google’s operating system for smartphones and tablets and the most popular mobile operating system in the world currently. However, we would advise you to make sure that you acquire a recent version of the operating system—Android 2.3 (or Gingerbread, as it is called) at the very least. It will result in smoother performance and will also be easier to upgrade if the need arises.
We recommend: Android 2.3 or higher Bare minimum: Android 2.2
Display
In terms of size, you will find yourself being restricted to 7-inch displays. But more than the size, it’s the type of touchscreen that will determine how enjoyable your experience will be. There are two types of touchscreens—resistive (which responds better to styluses) and capacitive (which works better with fingers). You should opt for a capacitive display as these are generally more expensive but are easier to use, and Android works better on them. One of the reasons for the failure of the much-hyped Aakash was the fact that it came with a poor quality resistive display. In terms of resolution, anything below 800x480 pixels is not to be considered.
We recommend: 7-inch capacitive display, 1024 x 600 pixels Bare minimum: 7-inch capacitive display, 800 x 480 pixels
Connectivity
Most people buy tablets to be able to browse the Web while on the move. Ideally, you should pick a tablet that supports 3G connectivity, though having a Wi-Fi-only tablet will work just as well if you are unlikely to venture far from a Wi-Fi hotspot. In most cases, a tablet with 3G connectivity will let you make phone calls as well, a handy bonus for those who do not like carrying multiple devices. Ease of connectivity with other devices should be kept in mind too. The best option would be to get a tablet that has support for USB devices, though it is rare in this price segment. Bluetooth connectivity, however, is a must.
We recommend: 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, phone call support Bare minimum: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Processor
When it comes to processor speed, the faster the better. Most budget tablets come with single core processors with speeds in the range of 600 MHz-1 GHz. We would advise you to go with the fastest possible processor, though we have seen 800 MHz processors do a decent job on tablets running Android 2.3.
We recommend: 1 GHz processor Bare minimum: 800 MHz processor
Memory and storage
While Android can function reasonably well on tablets with 256 MB RAM, it works significantly better on devices that have 512 MB, especially if you want to run Android 2.3. Anything less and you will witness an occasional lag in performance and may be applications crashing. Most budget tablets come with 512 MB storage space, of which usually around 300 MB is available for usage. This is expandable using a memory card, which is often bundled with the tablet. In the case of storage, the higher the better, so negotiate for a higher capacity memory card while buying the tablet.
We recommend: 512 MB RAM, expandable storage Bare minimum: 256 MB RAM, expandable storage
Multimedia
The tablets in this division are unlikely to be multimedia powerhouses but will, in most cases, play videos and music decently well. In a perfect scenario, we would recommend a device with dual cameras with the capacity to play HD video, but barring this, we would insist that you go for a device that has at least a frontfacing camera as tablets are handy for making video calls. Most tablet displays are good to play DVD quality videos.
We recommend: Dual cameras, capacity to play HD video Bare minimum: Front-facing camera
Pre-installed apps
No matter which tablet you purchase, it is likely to come with some pre-installed applications. These could vary from browser variants and special application stores to full-fledged office suites. While having a lot of software pre-installed on the tablet might appeal to many who are on a tight budget, the downside is that it eats up storage and can slow down the performance of your tablet. So, it makes sense to opt for a tablet that comes with applications that you need and are likely to use rather than just plain bloatware.
We recommend: Browser with Flash support, office suite with the ability to read and edit MS Office files Bare minimum: Office suite with the ability to read MS Office files, media player, Android market
Battery life
This is an important part of a portable device. However, measuring battery life is not easy. A larger battery may be capable of lasting longer but a lot depends on the quality and resolution of the display, the processor, RAM and so on. We would suggest that you consider how long the battery can last with Wi-Fi running on a single charge. The longer it runs, the better it will be. In this price segment, anything in excess of six hours will be a huge bonus if you are a power user.
We recommend: Eight hours on Wi-Fi Bare minimum: Six hours on Wi-Fi
The best tablets for less than Rs.15,000
Spice Mi Tab Mi-720: 12,990 MSI Windpad 7: 12,999 Reliance 3G Tab: 12,999 iBall Slide: 13,995 Samsung Galaxy Tab P 1010: 14,500 Mercury Mtab: 9,499
(NIMISH DUBEY ETW 120305)
Monday, March 19, 2012
FOOD SPECIAL...Almond and its nutrients
Almond, rightly called the wonder nut, not only tastes good but also comes loaded with numerous health benefits, especially, for women. Packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and health-promoting fats, research reveals that these nuts reduce risk of heart disease and lowers cholesterol. What more? Frequent consumption of almonds aids weight management as they satiate your appetite and curb cravings.
Though referred to as a nut, almond is technically the seed of the fruit of the almond tree. They are off-white in colour, covered by a thin brownish skin, and encased in a hard shell. There are two kinds of almonds: sweet and bitter. While sweet almonds are the kind that are eaten; bitter almonds are used to make almond oil, known to strengthen bones, improve skin and hair.
Traditionally a part of the Indian diet, almonds make for a healthy snack and also a tasty additive to many recipes.
Health benefits of almonds:
Helps cure anaemia: Nearly 56% of Indian women are anaemic, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). The haemoglobin count for most Indian women falls under the standard accepted worldwide. Sufficient amounts of copper when combined with iron and vitamins can boost production of red blood cells and cure anaemia. Since almonds pack in a high percentage of copper, they make for an ideal supplement. Further, these highly nutritious nuts help increase bone mineral density, making a strong skeletal system.
Wonder food for mothers-to-be: Doctors across the globe recommend consumption of almonds before and after pregnancy. A leading source of Vitamin E, the most essential nutrient for mothers-to-be; a handful of almonds can supply 33% of the Vitamin E required by the body.
Aids weight loss: Many avoid nuts in the fear of weight gain. But studies suggest that nuts like almonds, when eaten frequently help in weight management. Thanks to its nutrient density, almonds have the effect of making you feel full and thereby reducing cravings and possibilities of over eating.
Prevents birth defects: One of the most important things you can do to prevent birth defects in your baby is to get adequate folic acid everyday. Folic acid, which plays a big role in healthy cell growth and tissue formation, is found in high doses in almonds
Good for your hair and skin: The antioxidant properties of almonds are considered to be good for your skin and hair. So eating almonds, or alternately applying almond oil to your skin and hair will help you to derive its benefits.
For a healthy heart: Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of “good fat” found in olive oil that is known to lower risk of heart diseases. Including almonds in your regular diet helps increase HDL or “good” cholesterol, levels, and lowers LDL or “bad” cholesterol, levels.
More help with energy production: Nutrients in almonds such as manganese, riboflavin, and copper are all known to aid energy production. If you’re the kind who is always on the go, keep almonds handy for an instant energy boost.
(yahoo.com)
Learn mathematics by playing hopscotch
Learn mathematics by playing hopscotch
Keeping mentally and physically fit at any age is now literally child’s play, thanks to an interactive gaming system that uses a mega-sized phone keypad to teach and exercise at the same time
Dubbed “HOPSCOTCH”, the interactive learning system is designed to be more efficient at combining learning, movement and most of all fun – whether for learning vocabulary words, history or math.
The scientists presented their solution, which is named after the popular children’s game, at this year's CeBIT trade fair (6th to 10th March).
Interactive learning with the aid of a computer was the hype of recent years. But as users quickly discovered: learning on a computer monitor is almost as tedious as learning from a book.
Media scientist Martina Lucht from the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology has found the solution to this problem on the street, so to speak.
“I found my inspiration one day when I saw a hopscotch game drawn on the sidewalk,” she recalls. “It suddenly occurred to me that learning has to be combined with movement to make it fun.”
The result was HOPSCOTCH, the English name of a game in which children hop between clearly defined boxes on the ground.
The learning game consists of a sensor mat divided up into nine fields. Each field contains letters and a number, arranged like the keypad of a mobile phone.
The user is supposed to complete tasks in certain subjects as these appear on a monitor, such as: "What is three times two?”
To solve the task, the user has to step on the right fields on the mat in the right sequence to enter words or numbers – like writing a text message on your phone.
With HOPSCOTCH, a user can practice drills for English, do multiplication or answer questions on health science or history.
“What makes this method so special is that it is suitable for all ages,” Martina Lucht is quick to point out.
“We saw a two-and-a-half year old girl start playing with the program. She had learned the entire alphabet by the end of the day. But we have also found that senior citizens enjoy it, too, as we saw in their interest in our history quiz.”
The learning system capitalises on children’s enjoyment of playing and movement.
And there is no negative feedback telling the user he or she is wrong. If an answer is incorrect, the user simply receives no confirmation message. So they have to keep trying until they get the right answer.
“We have built in a kangaroo that jumps up and down and shouts ‘Yippee!’ when you have solved a task. The children love that.”
Initial tests at an elementary school have already demonstrated that all children were enthusiastic participants, particularly hyperactive children.
Martina Lucht’s vision is to bring more movement into the classroom. For instance, there could be a HOPSCOTCH period each day that would combine physical education with instruction in language skills.
MMBureau 1203
Sunday, March 18, 2012
FOR SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE..STAY GROUNDED
| If you are successful you're a star. But mishandle it, and things could come crashing down `Once success is achieved, the person's tone, manners, clothes change, and that can cause friction' AT A MEDIA interaction at the Hindustan Times office, actor Aamir Khan memorably recounted his experience of achieving overnight fame after the success of his debut movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT). Khan's anecdote provides just one insight of how life can change for people once they achieve fame.
Experts agree that it can be equally important and difficult to handle success. Says Mumbai-based psychiatrist Dr Seema Hingorrany, “Even successful people come in for therapy.“ According to Dr Kersi Chavda, consulting psychiatrist at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai, a sudden burst of fame is often accompanied by insecurity. “There is this near constant paranoia about whether their friends and people close to them are with them because they really like them or because they want something from them. That is what often brings them in for therapy,“ he adds. Hingorrany also feels that one of the problems successful people face is that once the desired goal is achieved, it tends to go to their head. “It is important to keep your arrogance levels down,“ she explains. According to her, while people are pursuing their dream, they are very driven, and can lose many friends as they cannot compartmentalise their life. “Once success is achieved, the person's tone, manners, clothes change, and that can cause friction,“ says Chavda. At such a time, the successful person must remember that they need to show discretion and wisdom, and in effect always take a few steps forward first. “You must say `good morning' first,“ adds Hingorrany. STAYING GROUNDED Singer Meiyang Chang, who first shot to fame when he attained the fifth spot in Indian Idol 3 in 2007, acknowledges that staying grounded is very necessary. “It's easy to get carried away when people flatter you,“ says the TV host and actor. “I was determined not to let anything change me, but a little bit of corruption did seep in. However, you have to keep monitoring yourself, since no one else will do that for you. The other day, on the sets of a show, I threw a fit about something, but in retrospect, I thought how childish I had been and was sorry about it.“ It's the support of friends and family that many famous people come to count on. Says Chang, “I'm lucky to have my family and friends, and also I tend to undervalue myself. It's not a defeatist attitude, but it does stop me from building castles in the air.“ Pooja Dhingra, the owner of Mumbai-based French patisserie Le15, says that it is very easy to be consumed by success. “When I started Le15 two years ago,“ she says, “I worked 365/7, and came close to burning out. I then realised that it was important to achieve a balance, and have learned to take a step back, and delegate responsibilities sooner than later.“ DEALING WITH ENVY Along with the hard work came some envy. “There were people who would say that all the success was a fluke,“ says Dhingra. “They would say we've been working for 20 years and she has just been working for two. My strategy is to work harder and ignore them.“ Dr Hingorrany says that successful people need to recognise why people are jealous and not get affected by it. “Even a person's family and spouse are not immune from such feelings,“ she reveals. “They see you changing and that is not acceptable to many. This can drain a successful person, but the important thing is to recognise that jealousy is natural and give them time.“ According to Hingorrany, the saying that it's lonely at the top is too true. “Since successful people are always in the limelight, people take them for granted,“ she explains . Both Chang and Dhingra say that one way to deal with success is to “stay a little hungry,“ as Chang puts it. “You must hanker for more creative satisfaction,“ he explains. by Mignonne Dsouza HT |
Six best smartphones under Rs.15K
| HTC Explorer |
-- DNA Feb 28, 2012