Apple Dal
Preparation Time: 30 mins
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1 cup toor dal
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1 onion - finely chopped
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1 tomato - finely chopped
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1 green apple - cut into cubes
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2-3 green chillies - finely chopped
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1 tsp - mustard seeds
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1 tsp - cumin seeds
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2 tsp - oil
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A few curry leaves
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2 tsp - sambar powder
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1 tsp - corinader powder
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1 tsp - red chilli powder
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1/2 tsp - kitchen king masala (optional)
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A pinch of Turmeric
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1/2 tsp - Garam Masala
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Salt as per taste
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2 tbsp - lemon juice
Method:
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Pressure cook Toor dal with a pinch of turmeric & salt
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Soak apple cubes in water mixed with lemon juice for about 15 mins
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Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan & add mustard & cumin seeds
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Once the seeds pop & splutter, add chopped green chillies & curry leaves
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Add chopped onions & saute till they turn transparent
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Add apple cubes & cook for 5 minutes
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Now, add chopped tomatoes
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Add Sambar powder, Red chilli powder, Coriander powder, Kitchen king masala, & saute till the raw smell disappears
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Add cooked toor dal & mix well
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The apples will be fully cooked my now & will be soft & mushy
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Add salt as per taste & add a pinch of Garam masala
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Give the mixture a gentle mash & mix well
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Cook on low flame for 10 mins
Transfer to a serving bowl & Serve with HOT rice or rotis .. Enjoi !!
I loved the slightly sweet & tangy taste of apples mixed with spices .. It had all the right ingredients to tickle our taste buds. We had our Dal with HOT steamed rice, accompanied by roasted papads, Yogurt & pickle. It was one complete meal we thoroughly enjoyed . .
NOTE:
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You could consider cooking the apples along with toor dal in a pressure cooker.
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If you do not like biting into apples, you could mash them into a paste or just boil them separately & puree them using a blender. This will keep people guessing about the secret ingredient.
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Addition or Deletion of spices is entirely upto you.
When are you making Apple Dal?
Why are we measuring USA from the health of 30 stocks?
DOW represents only 30 stocks and not 300 Million people. There are enough hardworking & innovative people in this country. Financial stocks are going down on their own mess. Alternative systems will soon emerge… press your congressmen to let these failed institutions go down in flames. Let sanity return to USA. Economic prosperity is not linked to borrowed money or to the handiwork of a few spreadsheet jockeys, but to the sweat and hardwork of its real people. The top down, trickle down economies are a passe. These guys are no different than the Steins, Sheiks, Sahukars, Sahus, Saha’s(?), Shahs, Sheths, Sethis, Shettys, Shreshtis, Chettiars and what not that controlled the money flow of the pre-independent India ( Are all of them birds of the same feather?). As with the co-operative movement that ushered in India after the independence, the technology based peer to peer financial networks will fill in the void today. Those who have money can’t hold it in their mattress. I do not believe this government induced trickle down economy is the answer. JUST VOTE THIS DOWN!!
Sarah Palin says Dinosaurs and men co-existed 4000 years ago
Sarah Palin lost 10 points in ratings this week
Is the Conservative America Deluded?
by Sriram
September 24, 2008
I just got back home after a surgery. As I was coming home, I was still suffering from
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the effects of the general anesthesia and I was only half conscious. During that brief period of delusion, I had a vision for bringing about real change in America, and I was confident that Sarah Palin’s glasses would bring about that vision.
As the effect of general anesthesia wore off, I could really relate to how the conservative Americans feel all the time. My objective of writing this piece is to get at least some of the people off this delusion. Now you may think that I am deluded myself, thinking that I could change the minds of conservatives. At least until the effect of the pain medication wears off, let me live in that fantasy!
Past success does not guarantee future performance
First of all, like all sincere American citizens feel, I recognize John McCain to be a true hero. However, please note that Politicians are like Stocks in the stock market. Past success does not guarantee future performance. Consider why the conservatives passed him over eight years ago in favor of Bush. The reason is they saw more potential in Bush – younger, more dynamic and more likely to appoint conservative judges, etc.
Was John McCain any less of a hero eight years ago? Why is his past service for the nation worshipped by the conservatives now, while it was mostly ignored in 2000?
Agent for Change?
John McCain has been in the US Congress since 1982. That makes it 26 years in Washington, DC. Out of these 26 years, he has served under Republican Presidents for 18 years. Out of the 22 years he has served in the Senate, Republicans have had the majority for about half the number of years. Out of the last six years in Senate, he has been part of the majority for four years. When he calls the Senate “the good for nothing” Senate, let us not forget that he is an integral part of the “good for nothing” Senate.
What change did he bring about when he had the power to do so? The biggest change was to his own integrity. Eight years ago, I would have voted for him myself, since I believed he was a maverick, who can work with people across both aisles of Congress. Now, to appeal to his party’s base (the Bible belt of America), he has picked Sarah Palin as the candidate for VP (Vicious President?).
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“The Republican party has master minded a non-existent rivalry…between the Rural and Urban America every election…” |
At his age, he should have some concern for the country that he should have the most qualified person to be his partner. Is this what you would call putting “Country First” out of the window?
If changing himself from being a respectful man known for his integrity to someone who will stoop to any level to pander to the conservative base of the party to win an election is evidence for being an agent of change, John McCain is your man.
War with Iraq
John McCain has been an avid supporter of the war with Iraq which had nothing to do with Sept 11. While he takes pride in his support for the “surge”, which he is attributing to the “success” in Iraq, he doesn’t stop and ask himself why he supported the war in the first place.
While neither candidate can bring an immediate end to this war, who has a better chance of bringing this to a closure – one who admits we should have never gone there for a war in the first place or the one who still believes that was the right decision and adding more troupes will bring better results.
And add this to the equation – Sarah Palin thinks the Iraq war was God’s will! Why would she want to end something that was started by God? She is right about one thing though – the plan for the war must be God’s will, as the Bush administration did not have one.
Shaking up America?
We have been promised that Sarah Palin is going to shake up Washington! What exactly does this mean? She was the Pork queen in Washington when she was the Mayor of Wasilla. She actively campaigned for the bridge that went nowhere until Congress essentially killed it and she realized what a political liability it would be.
In some respects, she has the traits of a dictator – surrounds herself with family and friends in official positions and goes after her opponents and critics with vengeance to get them fired. She belongs to the category of people who will claim that it was a grand plan of God when a disaster strikes and will drag God’s name to justify the policies she supports. I consider her to be a religious fundamentalist, the last kind we want to put in a position of power.
Rural Vs. Urban America
The Republican party has master minded a non-existent rivalry into a war between the Rural and Urban America every election year. Their strategy is to divide and conquer, which has unfortunately succeeded as you can see the how divided the country has become between Red and Blue states.
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“A …candidate must be able to capture the votes of any State based purely on merit…” |
It still blows my mind how Republicans have convinced the rural population that they are their champions, while they are the biggest proponents of Corporate giants (Wal-Marts that destroy small town economies), favor outsourcing of jobs and completely oppose Unions of any kind.
By playing the religious card and manipulating people’s fears, they have created an artificial rivalry. If only the rural and small town people are considered real, are the urban people made of plastic? Aren’t celebrities born out of real people?
For example, consider Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie. Haven’t they used their fame to draw the media to issues that need attention and have they not contributed a large amount of their wealth to help poor people in Africa? Conservatives will only balk at them for having children out of wedlock, at least until recently when they may have realized that they are throwing stones from a glass house.
The country needs to unite as one. The concept of swing States gives undue attention and power to a few States in determining the next President. The Red and Blue States need to merge into 50 purple states. A Republican or a Democratic candidate must be able to capture the votes of any State based purely on merit and must not be predisposed.
Myth about Security
Inexplicably, many believe that only Republicans can provide security to our country, and it is about time that this myth is blasted. Let us first note that Sept 11 happened under a Republican President’s watch. While there are a lot of factors that are involved in an incident such as this, some Republicans have the audacity to conveniently shift the blame to Clinton. Give me a break! If 9 months is sufficient to conceive and deliver a baby, 9 months in power is long enough to accept responsibility for an incident that is good or bad.
Richard Clarke, our Counterterrorism chief, was denied access to the President and prior to the attack, the Bush administration ignored clear warning signs. What did the President do to secure our Airports after the August 6th Memo that warned about terror attacks by Osama bin Laden?
While it is wrong to assign all the blame to President Bush for letting Sept 11 happen, it is worse to pretend that blaming the previous President will make it all better. For those who are interested in plain facts, I suggest reading the book Against All Enemies by Richard Clarke.
Hillary Vs. Palin
For those of you who switched your support from Hillary to Palin, I really cannot help you, because it is beyond delusion. The viewpoints of these two people are 180 degrees apart, it is an insult to anyone’s intelligence if the only reason you were or are supporting either candidate is their gender.
Why Obama?
I will be the first to admit that Barack Obama lacks experience. However, he has shown the potential to lead our country. He overcame a hard childhood and has the gratitude to the people who helped him overcome the obstacles. He made it to Harvard, which is a great academic accomplishment in itself and made history by becoming the first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review.
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“Obama is humble enough to know that he does not know it all and will hire the best minds for the various jobs…” |
Obama earned his candidacy the hard way by hiring the best minds and putting together a major campaign to beat a formidable opponent, who was expected to win by all Pundits. Republicans make fun of Obama for being a Community Organizer. I don’t want to belittle Gandhi or compare Obama with Gandhi when I say this, but I consider Gandhi to be a community organizer.
Gandhi inspired and organized all the communities in the country effectively to drive the British out of the country. Obama showed us he has conscience when he volunteered himself to serve the community for an extended period of time. Service is not necessarily something associated only with Military. Community service is equally noble.
Throughout the campaign, Obama has been talking about issues and has not been parading his kids on the stage to attract votes from “real” people. He is not waving flags or glorifying a long past American ideal. He is focused on finding solutions to current problems.
Obama is humble enough to know that he does not know it all and will hire the best minds for the various jobs just as he did in his campaign. It is going to require the best minds in the world to turn our economy around and this is not the time to be voting for a candidate because of past glory, religious beliefs, color or gender.
The pain medication is finally wearing off on me, so I am waking up to reality. I realize most of what I said above fell on deaf ears on my intended audience. Just forget what I said and get in line to buy a pair of Kazuo Kawasaki 704 glasses. You can expand on your delusion and think that you now even look like Sarah Palin!
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