How to wear a Saree

Start wearing the sari by tucking its edge of the plain/upper end into the petticoat, at a position which is to the right of the navel.

Make sure that other end of the sari should be touching the floor and even the whole length of the sari comes on the left-hand side. 

After this wrap the sari around once with the sari now coming back in the front, on your right side.

A saree should have about 5 to 7 pleats of equal width of 5 inches, starting at the tucked-in end of the waist. 

Gather the pleats together, neatly, ensuring that the lower edge of the pleats are very much and just off the ground and that the pleats fall straight and evenly. A safety pin may be used to stop the pleats from moving away.

Neatly tuck all the pleats into the petticoat at the waist, slightly to the left of the navel, in such a manner that pleat open to your left.

Drape the remaining fabric of the saree around oneself once more left to right, and bring it round your hips to the front, holding the top edge of the sari.

After this slightly raising the remaining portion of the Sari on towards back bringing it up under the right arm and over the left shoulder so that the end of the Sari falls to about the level of your knees.

The end portion thus draped, from the left shoulder onwards is the Pallav or the Pallu, which is the most interesting part and can be prevented from slipping off the shoulder, by fastening it at the shoulder to the blouse with a small safety pin.

Indian Clothing

Indian culture is embedded with rich culture and heritage and is deeply rooted in traditions along with the rich culture. Indian Clothing is known for its elegance and traditional wear all over the world. As India has vivid and vibrant festivals to celebrate, there is no dearth of opportunities to shop here for beautiful Indian clothes. The elaborate wedding ceremonies further add to the list of celebrations and prove to be a fabulous excuse to shop for gorgeous Designer Indian Clothing. It is no secret that Indians are vivacious people and hence their clothing, too, tends to be bright and vibrant. Indian clothing not only enjoys huge popularity in U.S., U.K and other European countries but there is a huge market for Indian clothing in Australia too.

When it comes to celebrations and festive occasions in India, getting the right Indian Clothing becomes most important. It can be said that without the right Indian Clothing, there is no fun in indulging in revelry and merriment. Indian Clothing for women includes Saree, Salwar Kameez, Churidar Kameez, Kurti, Lehenga Choli, Ghagra Choli, Chaniya Choli, etc. Indian Clothing for men comprises Kurta Pyjama, Sherwani, Churidar Kurta, Shalwar Kurta, Afghani Suit, etc. With a plethora of fabrics and styles to choose from, it becomes quite difficult to choose the right outfit for the right occasion. When it comes to ordinary everyday Indian Clothing, women in India are mostly spotted in Saree, Kurti, Salwar Kameez or Churidar Kameez while Indian men lounge in Churidar Kurta, Kurta Pyjama, Shalwar Kurta, Afghani Suit, etc. For special occasions, Indian Clothing such as Lehenga Choli, Saree, Salwar Kameez, etc or Sherwani, Churidar Kurta, Jodhpuri Suit, etc are chosen by all Indian women and Indian men respectively. Though trendy designer wear outfits have become more popular nowadays, it is advisable to stick to traditional and classic Indian Clothing when it comes to traditional events such as festivals, pujas, weddings, etc

Pili vesha / Huli vesha / Tiger Masque

Pili vesha / Huli vesha / Tiger Masque is a folk dance unique to the Tulu Nadu region of Karnataka.& Kerala. Pili vesha is performed during Navratri to honour the goddess Sharada - an aspect of Saraswati whose favoured animal is the tiger. It is also performed during the Krishna Janmashtami at Udupi and during Ganesha Chaturthi in Moodabidri in Tulu Nadu.

Typically, young males form troops of five to ten members or more, which will have three to five males painted and costumed to look like tigers, and a band with two or three drummers. This troop is accompanied by the manager of the group. During Navratri, these troops will be roaming the streets of their towns, with the accompanying drum beats of their bands. They stop at homes and businesses or on the road sides to perform for about ten minutes.

Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is easily the most popular and loved dessert in India.  Gulab jamun is best described as an Indian version of a donut immersed in a sweet syrup.  Gulab jamun recipe is especially dear to me as it was my very first video showcased on You Tube.  To be frank, I never dreamed that I would still be doing what I love seven years later.  Not everyone can say they are truly following their passion.  So in this spirit I decided I would present another version of Gulab Jamun.  This recipe is simpler than my original recipe, but still delicious.

Preparation time 15 minutes

Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup nonfat milk powder
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (plain flour, maida)
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, use as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom coarsely ground

For Syrup

• 1-1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cup water

Other

• Oil to fry

Method

For Syrup

1. In a pan add water, sugar bring it to boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat. Set aside.

For Gulab Jamun

1. In a bowl, mix milk powder, all purpose flour, baking soda, and cardamom add cream and mix it well. This will be consistency of soft dough, if it is too dry add 1 to 2 spoons of milk as needed not the cream. Dough should be very soft and sticking to fingers, as dough sits milk powder will absorb the extra cream. Cover and set aside for about 10 minutes.
2. Knead the dough; grease your palm before working the dough.
3. Divide the dough into 18 equal parts and roll them into round balls.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 inch of oil. Notes: To test if the oil is the right temperature, place a small piece of dough into the oil; oil should sizzle but it should take about 30 seconds to rise the dough. If dough rises faster, oil is too hot; if dough just sits without rising, oil is not hot enough.
5. Place the gulab Jamuns in the frying pan. Note: remember gulab jamuns will expand in about double the size, so give them enough space, and don’t over crowed them.
6. It should take about 7 minutes to fry the gulab jamuns. While frying keep rolling the gulab jamuns so they are evenly browned. You can make gulab jamuns in different size and shapeFry until the gulab jamuns become brown.
7. Let the gulab jamuns cool off for a few minutes before placing them in the hot syrup, not boiling.
8. The gulab jamuns should sit in the syrup for at least 20 minutes prior to serving.

Additional Tips

1. If the gulab jamuns are fried on high heat, they will become hard inside and not fully cooked.
2. Too much baking soda will cause the gulab jamuns to get too soft or they will break apart when frying.
3. Don’t place the gulab jamuns in the syrup immediately after frying. This will cause the gulab jamuns to lose their shape and become chewy.

Mangalorean Kori Rotti Chicken Curry

Kori Rotti is a Mangalorean speciality. Kori means chicken, and rottis, in this case, are not the traditional chapattis or rotis. They are a special kind of bread, which are made of rice paste and then dried, so quite hard and crispy and are made into sheets that are then broken into pieces. These rottis, when soaked by the chicken curry, absorb it and turn quite soft. A real taste and texture sensation!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken on the bone
• 1 medium sized onion finely sliced
• 1 coconut to extract 2 cups thin milk and 1 cup thick milk * see note#1 for substitute
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 cardamom slightly bruised
• 2 cloves
• salt to taste

For the masala

• 5 short red chillies * see note#2
• 10 long red chillies * see note#2
• 1-1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp peppercorns * see note#2
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds / methi
• 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• 1/8th tsp turmeric powder
• 8-9 flakes of (Indian) garlic with skin
• 1 medium sized onion sliced
• 1/2 lime sized ball of tamarind
• 1/2 a coconut (or 1 cup grated coconut)
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil

For the seasoning

• 1 medium sized onion finely sliced
• 1 tbsp ghee

Method

1. Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces, wash and allow to drain on a colander.

2. In a heavy bottomed pan/kadhai heat 2 tbsp ghee or oil and roast the red chillies, coriander seeds, peppercorns, fenugreek seeds & cumin seeds one by one. Each of them should be roasted on a slow flame for a few seconds until you get a nice aroma * see note # 3

3. Next fry the onion and garlic and remove and add the coconut, turmeric powder and tamarind to the same pan, roast and remove.

4. Grind all the roasted ingredients to a fine paste using a little water. Reserve the masala water.

5. In the same pan add the ground masala and the sliced onion. Mix and add the thin coconut milk. Leave the pan uncovered & bring the curry to a boil, add the chicken pieces and salt to taste. Cover the pan now and cook the chicken till tender on a medium flame. When the chicken is cooked, simmer and add the thick coconut milk and bring it to boil for just a couple of seconds. Turn off the flame.

6. In a smaller pan, heat the ghee for seasoning and toss in the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pod and the sliced onion, fry till golden brown and add this to the curry. Cover the pan immediately to trap the aroma of the seasoning.

7. Serve hot with crispy rice Rotti - let the curry soak up the rotti a bit before you eat it. Alternatively, you can serve the curry with rice, pan polay (neer dosa), appams, sanna, mutlim (rice dumplings), polay (dosa) or chapathi

Rain

Water droplets form from warm air. As the warm air rises in the sky it cools. Water vapor (invisible water in the air) always exists in our air. Warm air holds quite a bit of water. For example, in the summer it is usually very humid. When enough of these droplets collect together, we see them as clouds. If the clouds are big enough and have enough water droplets, the droplets bang together and form even bigger drops. When the drops get heavy, they fall because of gravity, and you see and feel rain.

When clouds develop or rain occurs, something is making the air rise. Several things can make this happen. Mountains, low-pressure areas, cold fronts, and even the jet stream. 

Raindrops are much smaller than we think! They are actually smaller than a centimeter. Raindrops range from 1/100 inch (.0254 centimeter) to 1/4 inch (.635 centimeter) in diameter.

Facts about rainbows

Rainbows are simply beautiful multicoloured arcs of light in the sky. Rainbows occur when it's both raining and the sun is shining simultaneously. To see a rainbow, you must stand with your back to the sun, otherwise it will not be visible.Our sun gives off light, which we see as 'white light'. But in fact, it isn't actually white at all, it is actually numerous different colour wavelengths. The main colours it gives off are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. These colours are called the colours of the spectrum. This is often remembered by the mnemonic 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain'.

As an experiment, you can use a prism to separate these seven colours of the spectrum from the white light we see.

Random Facts about Rainbows

-- A Rainbow is light refracted through millions of droplets of water

-- The angle of light refraction to create a Rainbow is 42 degrees to the eye of       the person   watching        

-- Sir Isaac Newton discovered the seven distinct colors of the visible spectrum

-- Rainbows are Gods promise - Genesis 9

-- Rainbows in your environment create good Feng Shui

-- Everyone loves a Rainbow!!