C'est la Vie- My life in a mug (microwave mug cake)

When I recall myself on this date last year, I instantly think "Wow! You have got so much time in hand!". In the past four months life has radically changed thanks to a full-time job, a full-time course, and SheDares. So much so that I haven't really given much time to what I love the most-writing and cooking. 
So last night when I finally got some amazing me-time, I firstly thanked my stars, caught up on some sleep and sat down to watch some Master Chef Australia episodes. Watching the contestants make some amazing dishes gave a wake-up call to my inner sometimes-good-mostly-disastrous-cook and since I was hungry (again) I decided on doing something that was quick, instant and didn't involve much technique (or dainty fingers). I looked up for various recipes online and found this amazing microwave mug cake recipe on www.tablefortwoblog.com and tried it, giving it my own spin.

Taking the risk of sounding immodest, I'll say it was flippin' AH-MAZING!!! I prefer cakes that are not to heavy on sugar and cream but is soft and moist so this one turned out just perfect for me. And for those of you who are still reading this and willing to try the recipe out, here it is:


What to collect- The Utensils required:
One microwave-proof mug
Bowl to mix
Spoon/Spatula 
Paper Towel 

What to gather-The Ingredients:
3/4th cup Fine Flour
2 tbsp Bournivta, grounded
1 tsp Coffee
1/4th tsp Baking Powder
A pinch of Salt
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Condensed Milk
1 tbsp Milk
2 tbsp Butter, melted
1 tsp Cream

The way to get it-The Method:
1) Sieve the dry ingredients (flour, Bournvita, coffee, baking powder, sugar and salt)
2) Add in the milk, butter, and condensed milk and lightly fold the mixture in. 
3) Whisk in one direction till the batter has no lumps 
4) Pour it in the butter-greased mug. Ensure that you don't fill the mug completely; leave some space for it to rise
5) Add the dollop of cream on the top of the batter and do not press it down. You may skip the cream if you want
6) Put the paper towel in the microwave and place the mug over it. The paper towel will help ease the clean up in case the batter spills.
7) Heat the batter on Medium-High for about 2 mins or till you can smell the aroma of the cake baking.
8) Take it out and enjoy your treat.

Do let me know if you guys try it. Also, any cooking/baking tips are more than welcome. Y'enjoy!

Saluting The Living Legend

I was sitting casually, intensely reading a book, when I got a text, ‘leave everything and confirm, is Sachin retiring?’ I dropped my book (I never drop a book I’m reading), dashed to my laptop and typed in ‘Sachin Tendulkar news’. In about 0.16 seconds flashed the headline: 

‘Sachin Tendulkar to retire from all forms of cricket after 200^th test’. 

And my heart sank. I wanted to cry and shout and deny the fact. But all I could do was show my disbelief on the social networks, just like zillion other fans out there. And I feel I can’t even call myself a ‘fan’, ‘cause I know how crazy they can be and I just never got that lucky to be crazy.

I remember not liking cricket as a kid; I thought that the game was ‘too long’. Then, when I came to India in 2007, I watched the 1^st T20 World Cup and India emerging victorious. And that is when I fell in love for the first time. Fell in love with the game everybody loved so dearly. I watched every cricket game, read about every cricketer and watched as many past matches as I could. I began to realise and understand why Sachin Tendulkar was titled ‘The god of cricket’, why Rahul Dravid was ‘The Wall’, why batsmen feared Anil Kumble, why Indians treated cricket like a religion. I soon became a crazy fan myself, and followed cricket as much as I could.

I vividly remember breaking down to tears when Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from the ODIs last year. People who deeply understood the game said that it was a right decision on his part. But I don’t understand the game like that. I am a stubborn, short-sighted fan when it comes to cricket. So even when

we knew that this was coming soon, the news today about his retirement for good broke me down again. No, I did not cry today. I just regretted the many chances I had missed in the past to watch him play live. Like the Champions Trophy Finals. I reminisced every debate I have had with people in the past defending Sachin, fighting with my mother to watch his matches or interview on the TV, cutting out his pictures from newspapers and secretly making huge collages of his.

No, I won’t cry today. I will just sit all day and read every single piece on his acheivements, watch every glorious moment of his, and talk about him as much as I can. That is how I will honor the legend. That is all I can do to honor the legend. That, and feel proud to be a fan of the Cricket God. #SaluteTheLegend

Happy Dosti Day :)

Image Courtesy: Google

Extremely sorry for going AWOL on the blog..haven't been up to writing much lately except forms and application :P But hey, Friendship's Day is here and that had to get me out of my hibernation right? So here's a little write-up I did; didn't really put much thought to it, just wrote what I felt like...

I don’t believe that life is short. Neither do I believe in being a part of the meaningless ‘cat and rat’ chase. No, life is too long a journey (as many poets adorably call it), and the journey becomes horrid, miserable and unbearable if you are all alone in it. My point? Oh, nothing that is unheard of. It is in fact the ancient simple mantra: Make friends. And not necessarily for a lifetime; we are way too short-sighted to see what happens next, but make friends so that when you glance at your past, you don’t see yourself all by self, dragging yourself through the times. And of course alone is good AT TIMES, but in the long run, it just makes you feel worthless and devoid of care and attention that you deserve from time to time.

So yes, make friends with people around you. Make companions who may not know your secrets but may share your tales with others. Be a reason behind someone’s smiles, be a hand behind somebody’s little victory. Be in the spotlight for all good reasons but have people in the crowd who can proudly say, ‘Hey, that’s my buddy!’. Be a part of someone’s stories; make some people a part of your legacy. Because life is too long to be lived alone my friend, and sometimes you need an extended family called FRIENDS.

Hope everybody reading this and the people around will take a chance to make some cherish-able memories for the years to come. Happy Friendship’s Day y’all…hope the friends in each one of us stays alive for good.

Beti-Ek Abhishaap?

Kyun nahi reh sakti wo apne tareeqe se?

Kyun nahi kuch keh sakti apne saleeqe se?

Kyun beta keh kar bhi usse dete nahi wo vishwas?

Kyun hota hai, beti bananna, ek abhishaap?

Kehte hai ki ladki humara sir garv se ucha karegi,

Lekin samaj ke naam ki bediyaan sirf usse neecha karegi,

Kyun nahi karte uske iraado par vishwas?

Kyun hota hai, beti banna ek abhishaap?

Ladki ko nibhane hote hai kitne farz,

Kabhi  behen to kabhi saheli ka tarz,

Kyun nahi karte uski taaqat par vishwaas?

Kyun hota hai beti banna ek abhishaap?

Beta kehkar bhi usse bojh ki tarah maante ho,

Kyun usse ‘He’ aur ‘She’ ka fark samjhate ho?

Kya yeh duvidha har yug mai chalti rahegi?

Samaj ki yeh soch, kya kal bhi palti rahegi?

Kya kabhi nahi kar paoge ek betii par adigg vishwaas?

Kyu, akhir KYUN hota hai beti banna ek abhishaap??

India and its DemoCrazy

Image courtesy: Google :P

Before u start calling me all bad names, let me clarify that I have nothing against India, the country. I am an Indian and am proud to be a part of such a glorified country. But what enrages me is the problems that we have here. And it enrages me because it is all man-made and not something that we cannot solve or work upon. I’ll be frank; I know nothing about the politics here, just maybe the names of a few players in it. And I've never had an interest in it either. Why should i? I have been taught to stay away from things that are bad and the Indian politics is portrayed in such bad light that I've always wanted to stay miles, kilometers, rather light-years away from it! I read once that Rahul Gandhi stated that the ‘Indian Youth’ (it’s like his trademark now) is the only solution to cleaner politics. And I totally agreed with that. But then nothing happened. You still have old, aged, senior citizens (no disrespect to anyone) moving form one position to another, but still in power of what is still cited as a DEVELOPING country! 63 years of independence and we are still DEVELOPING?!!! What the ****!

Now, I’m no Bhagat Singh or some revolutionist (and neither I intend to be one!) but all this outburst is because I've been questioning myself for the past few days; is this what we term Democracy? Is that what India is known for? It may not be believable, but I've still met people who think of Indians as snake charmers or ladies draped in sarees or worse, people with largest families! That should NOT happen! Does one come across people who talk of Americans as racists or people who enslaved black? No, they are talked about how great their country is! Then why not for us?! Why are we called upon for our services around the globe and yet mocked at the end of the day?!

Of course, this write-up won’t bring in some revolution. Of course tomorrow even I won’t give a thought to all this. But then today, I shall sleep with all these questions, and with a hope that someday, SOMEDAY I will laugh at this all and pride upon being an Indian in every aspect.

Jai Hind (???) till then.       

THE WORLD I LIVE IN

I live in a world that is like a coin, two sides to every thing. There are people here who you just cannot trust, and some that you can trust with your life even! There are emotions that are defined crystal clear while some emotions just stay nameless, yet equally dominant in our daily lives. There are some words that express your views in just the right way, while some words, no matter how long,  never do justice to your thoughts. The choices you make here will speak louder than your actions, and your actions will dominate your words. Your character and personality is judged here not by what you say, but by what others say about you. There are people who you think are close to you but are not actually, while there is always some stranger whos got your back. There are people who you think love you but actually don’t, while there is always some unknown person who crushes on you secretly. No matter how confident you may be, there will always be that one factor that can bring you down. And there will always be one face that will bring a smile on your face the minute you see it.

That’s the kind of world I live in; beautiful outside, ugly within.

IRONY

I watched a Korean Drama a few days back ( yes, u read it right! ;) ) and the characters in it inspired me to pen down something. Following are the lines that I felt many would feel related to....

IRONY

Funny, how every time I try to let you go, I end up thinking of you all the more.

Ironic, how every fight that we’ve had, makes me smile every time I think of it.

Sad, how every paranoid thought I had about you, turned out to be true.

Tragic, how the only person I really want to be with, is the one I can actually never have.

Weird, how every moment I think I’ve moved on, brings me back to square one, back to your thoughts, back to your memories.