Lamb Liver Barbeque

As the rainy season is on, all we need is a good immune system and strength to face the seasonal flu and colds. Lamb Liver Barbeque is not a vaccination for flu or cold, it can make you strong enough so that you can barely sense the effects of the flu or cold.

Preparation:

Go to a butcher shop nearby and buy 100g of lamb liver (better if you know the butcher, as they won’t sell liver separately in most shops). Cut the liver in to large cubes. Marinate with salt and pepper. Each cube should be covered with pepper on all sides. Let the mix still for ½ an hour. You may need a fresh bicycle wheel spoke for barbequing.

Cooking:

If you got a charcoal stove it is better. Or you can go for a gas stove. Arrange the cubes on the spokes and slowly cook it over the flame. Take care that the liver won’t get charred. After the texture of the liver turns stiff and the color becomes dark brown from maroon, the dish is ready.

Serving:

This is ideal for breakfast. It can be served along with lamb-leg soup and idiyappam. This one will be great combination. Try this if you have a cold. You will feel the change!

Book Review: Kurunthogai Portrait (குறுந்தொகை ஓவியம்)

In this busy life we seldom pause and appreciate the beauty of small things around us like a flower's bloom at our backyard or a bird's song in the morning. Then how can we explore the marvels of literature written hundreds, if not thousands of years ago? Unless wrapped with religion or made compulsory in curriculum, we ignore these gems for cheap arts like cinema and TV serials. If you love reading, especially good old literary works, please continue reading...

Kurunthogai (குறுந்தொகை) is one of the books in Ettuthogai (எட்டுத்தொகை), which means "Collection of Eight books".  ”Kuru” means short and ”Thogai” means consolidation or compilation. The songs in Kurunthogai were written by numerous authors. The themes involve love and romance and hence classified as ”agam” (அகம்) literature, a literary genre that discusses love while maintaining anonymity of the parties involved. Tamils gave importance to privacy even centuries before.

Scholars estimate that the compilation happened in 7 century AD. It is one of the so called ”Sangam literature” (சங்க இலக்கியம்).  Whatever! I don't mind how old the literature is, but how good matters a lot for me.

Now, coming to this book, ”Kurunthogai Portrait”. It is an English paraphrase (I feel translation is not the right word) of the Tamil literature. It contains the Tamil songs in Tamil script immediately followed by English paraphrase. As you have Tamil songs in their original form, you can enjoy its beauty fully. The English paraphrase provides easy access to the meaning of the songs.

The English used by the writer is lucid. The sentences are deliberately made small in order to avoid confusion. The book has a list of Tamil words used within the paraphrase and their meaning for easy reference of readers. So if you are a person without in depth Tamil knowledge to understand the meaning of Tamil songs, then you can also benefit from this book.

This book is also suitable for readers who don't know Tamil at all. They can just leave the Tamil songs and read the paraphrase alone. So it is a win-win for everyone from hardcore Tamil literature freaks to those who don't even know what Tamil is. So this book is a must have even if you have slightest interest in Tamil literature!

Crab Gravy

Ingredients:

Crab 5 (fresh and live)
Onion 2 (big)
Tomato 1 (medium size)
Ginger-Garlic paste 2 Teaspoon
Chili-coriander Powder 1 Teaspoon
Pepper Powder 1 Teaspoon
Turmeric Powder 1/4 Teaspoon
Curry Leaves 6-8
Oil - 2 tablespoon
Salt - to taste

Method:

Pour oil to pan and put finely chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, tomato, curry leaves. Fry for 2 minutes. Add cleaned crabs, chili powder, salt, turmeric powder and water till it covers the crabs. close the pan and cook for 7-10 minutes. Now open the lid and stir with full flame till the gravy becomes thick. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Your crab gravy is ready...

Swine Flu Vaccination

There is an unwanted panic about swine flu among the public. But still, if you want to make sure your you or your beloveds will not be touched by these virus, please visit King's Institute near Guindy railway station for vaccination. This is where they provide subsidized vaccines and the vaccine's effectiveness and safety are guaranteed.

Don't buy in to advertisements like herbal cure, yoga therapy etc. There are some groups spreading false messages like this to milk some cash out of people's fear. So only go with what Government or approved medical practitioners advise. Don't take risks by listening to unauthorized sources. They may or may not work well and may have adverse effects.

So far, the disease seems not so bad. For example, in Germany, there are thousands of confirmed infections, but no deaths. I am not downplaying the risk. But don't worry much. Our tropical climate and hot weather can make the spread difficult for the virus. Let us hope for the best.