CALVIN
CALVIN - THE KING
Sunday 17 February 2013
Sunday 21 October 2012
Fried Rice in Kashmiri Chili Sauce… (Winter’s special complete meal)
1: For Red-Hot Kashmiri Chili Sauce
15 Red Kashmiri Chilies
1bowl Salt
8 pods of Garlic (optional)
¼ tea spoon Peeper powder
1-2 Pinch of clove powder (optional)
¼ teaspoon of Cinnamon powder
¼ of Black cardamom (Bura elaichi) powder
¼ tea spoon of Black cumin seeds (Shah Jeera) powder
1small bowl of fresh lemon juice
4-5dried apricot minced without seeds (Jerdaloo) (optional)
2-3 table spoons of Vinegar /ascetic acid
350 ml or a big bowl of cooking oil
1-2 tea spoon Asafetida
2: For Rice
250gms of Basmati Rice
2-3 tablespoon of butter /Ghee
3-4 strands of Saffron (optional)
½ tea spoon of cumin seeds
Pinch of Asafoetida/ Asafetida (Hing) powder
150 gm of finely minced chicken or mutton (keema)
Or
150 gm of mixed sprouts (for veg.)
Little Salt to taste
1: Preparing Red-hot Sauce
Early in the morning wash red chilies and wrap in cotton towel to become absolutely dry for at least 3-4 hours. Take away stems of those chilies, add salt, peeled garlic pods (optional) and make a paste
In a pan heat a big bowl of cooking oil. When it gets heated then add spoonful of Asafetida and fry above chili paste for couple of minutes. Add apricots & fry. Add black peeper, and also cinnamon, cardamom, cumin seeds powder (in hot countries or in summers avoid using these spicy powders, as these spices are very Hot). Add lemon juice and fry again.
Take away this paste in a clean bowl.
Keep this fried paste in an airtight, clean container. Pour remaining oil on top of this paste. (This layer of oil acts as a preservative.) Add vinegar/ascetic acid, if you want to preserve this for more days and stir. Keep this aside to cool. Close the lid after cooling.
(When this paste comes to room temperature, then keep this in a fridge.) You can use 2 table-spoon of this paste while making fried rice, just like Shezwan Sauce...
2: Preparing Fried rice
Wash clean Basmati rice. Marinate it with little hot-melted butter, pinch of Saffron. In a pressure pan, heat-melt butter/Ghee. Then add cumin seeds, pinch of Asafetida (hing) powder. . Add 2 tea spoon of “Red-Hot Kashmiri Chili Sauce” and fry for a minute. (Those who prefer to eat spicier should add more quantity) Then add chicken/mutton or sprouts. Fry them for couple of minutes. Add marinated rice, salt; again fry for couple of minutes. Add water and close the lid. Steam cook.
When served with salads, and/or glass of butter-milk or curds, this becomes a complete full- meal.
This is spicy rice, eaten specially on the last day of Goddess Shakambhari’s Nav-Ratri, (9 days festival) in Month of Paush or December while breaking away the fast.
Monday 14 May 2012
Friday 25 November 2011
OLMECS AND AZTECS
The Olmecs
The first civilization to evolve in Mesoamerica was that of the Olmecs. Around 1500 B.C. villages in Mesoamerica became more complex and specialized. These people formed a nation which they called Olmec.
The Olmecs built huge religious stone emblems of their gods and rulers. Some of these emblems were more than nine feet tall, and weighed more than 40 tons. These massive figures were transported miles across the terrain without the use of wheels, or the aid of animals.
The Olmec villages were organized, with a market square in the center, where trade and business could take place. They worshiped a variety of gods and deities. Their chief god was believed to be a being with a human body, and a jaguar face.
The Olmecs were expert farmers, and practiced a type of farming known as slash-and-burn farming. They would cut the trees of a forest down, and wait a period of several months as the trees dried out. They would then light the trees on fire, burning them all into ashes. These ashes acted as a fertilizer, making the soil more fertile. These farmers then farmed the land a few years until it was no longer fertile, at which point they moved on to the next forest.
The Teotihuacanos
Just outside of present day Mexico City, a civilization developed known as the Teotihuacanos. This people built a massive capital city, that at its height had more than 200,000 inhabitants. This city was expertly laid out with wide streets, town squares, markets, and plazas.
This massive city had over 600 pyramids, which were believed to be used for religious purposes. It also had well over 2000 apartment buildings, were many of the people of this civilization lived.
The Teotihuacanos thrived for nearly 750 years. Then in A.D. 750 invaders from the north known as the Toltecs conquered and destroyed them.
The Aztecs
In A.D. 1200 a group of nomadic hunters called the Aztecs migrated into Mesoamerica in search of food and wild game. By A.D. 1325 the Aztecs had settled in present day Mexico City, and had built a large, beautiful and powerful city, on a small island which they called Tenochtitlan.
As the population of Tenochtitlan grew, the island became too small. Their innovative solution was to make the island bigger. They built large wooden rafts, which they covered with mud, and secured to the lakebed with stakes. Many people lived and farmed on these floating parcels of land.
The Aztec Empire
By A.D. 1500 the Aztecs had used both their military strength, as well as political ties to conquer almost all of the territory in and around their capital city. Their empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean in the west, to the Atlantic Ocean in the east.
Aztec Sacrifices
Aztec sacrifices were an important aspect of the Aztec religion. At the root of these Aztec rituals was the belief that the gods needed to be nourished by human beings. This was accomplished through human blood. A part of the Aztec religion, therefore, was to participate in bloodletting, which is intentionally harming and drawing blood from the body. Those who were higher in status within the Aztec religion were expected to give the most blood during these Aztec rituals.
The Aztec gods and goddesses also required the living hearts of humans for nourishment. All hearts were good, but the bravest captives were considered to be particularly nourishing to the Aztec gods. As a result, widespread warring took place as the Aztec people sought to bring captives back to the Aztec temples for sacrifice.
Sometimes, those practicing the Aztec religion sacrificed just one person. At other times, hundreds or even thousands of captives were sacrificed at a time. Each Aztec sacrifice, however, took place the same way. The captive or captives were taken to a pyramid or temple and placed on an altar. The Aztec priest then made an incision in the ribcage of the captive and removed the living heart. The heart was then burned and the corpse was pushed down the steps of the Aztec pyramid or temple. If the captive was particularly noble or brave, however, he was carried down instead.
In the case of an Aztec human sacrifice being performed for the god Huehueteotl, the ritual was slightly changed. Huehueteotl was the Aztec god of warmth, death, and cold. He was responsible for light in the darkness and for food during times of famine. As a part of the Aztec religion, special sacrifices were held for Huehueteotl. The victim was first thrown into a fire, and then pulled back out with hooks before being dying. The living heart was then removed and thrown back to the fire. Aztec human sacrifices and bloodletting were important aspects of the Aztec religion, as they believed it brought balance and peace to the world around them.
The Aztec Government
The Aztecs founded a strong secure central government. This helped provide stability, and allowed the empire to thrive. At the top of this government was the royal family, headed by an emperor or king.
This emperor appointed various authorities to rule different regions of his empire. These leaders swore allegiance to the emperor himself. The emperor maintained his control over the empire through the use of his vast and powerful army.
The Aztec Empire Falls
In A.D. 1521 the peoples who were ruled by the Aztecs grew tired of the treatment they received at their taskmasters hands. The Aztecs required all conquered peoples to pay heavy and burdensome taxes. They also often sacrificed their men to the Aztec gods as part of their religious practices.
In this year these people joined forces with the Spanish explorers, who had arrived in the region, and attacked the Aztec capital. They were quickly able to overthrow the Aztec Empire.
The first civilization to evolve in Mesoamerica was that of the Olmecs. Around 1500 B.C. villages in Mesoamerica became more complex and specialized. These people formed a nation which they called Olmec.
The Olmecs built huge religious stone emblems of their gods and rulers. Some of these emblems were more than nine feet tall, and weighed more than 40 tons. These massive figures were transported miles across the terrain without the use of wheels, or the aid of animals.
The Olmec villages were organized, with a market square in the center, where trade and business could take place. They worshiped a variety of gods and deities. Their chief god was believed to be a being with a human body, and a jaguar face.
The Olmecs were expert farmers, and practiced a type of farming known as slash-and-burn farming. They would cut the trees of a forest down, and wait a period of several months as the trees dried out. They would then light the trees on fire, burning them all into ashes. These ashes acted as a fertilizer, making the soil more fertile. These farmers then farmed the land a few years until it was no longer fertile, at which point they moved on to the next forest.
The Teotihuacanos
Just outside of present day Mexico City, a civilization developed known as the Teotihuacanos. This people built a massive capital city, that at its height had more than 200,000 inhabitants. This city was expertly laid out with wide streets, town squares, markets, and plazas.
This massive city had over 600 pyramids, which were believed to be used for religious purposes. It also had well over 2000 apartment buildings, were many of the people of this civilization lived.
The Teotihuacanos thrived for nearly 750 years. Then in A.D. 750 invaders from the north known as the Toltecs conquered and destroyed them.
The Aztecs
In A.D. 1200 a group of nomadic hunters called the Aztecs migrated into Mesoamerica in search of food and wild game. By A.D. 1325 the Aztecs had settled in present day Mexico City, and had built a large, beautiful and powerful city, on a small island which they called Tenochtitlan.
As the population of Tenochtitlan grew, the island became too small. Their innovative solution was to make the island bigger. They built large wooden rafts, which they covered with mud, and secured to the lakebed with stakes. Many people lived and farmed on these floating parcels of land.
The Aztec Empire
By A.D. 1500 the Aztecs had used both their military strength, as well as political ties to conquer almost all of the territory in and around their capital city. Their empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean in the west, to the Atlantic Ocean in the east.
Aztec Sacrifices
Aztec sacrifices were an important aspect of the Aztec religion. At the root of these Aztec rituals was the belief that the gods needed to be nourished by human beings. This was accomplished through human blood. A part of the Aztec religion, therefore, was to participate in bloodletting, which is intentionally harming and drawing blood from the body. Those who were higher in status within the Aztec religion were expected to give the most blood during these Aztec rituals.
The Aztec gods and goddesses also required the living hearts of humans for nourishment. All hearts were good, but the bravest captives were considered to be particularly nourishing to the Aztec gods. As a result, widespread warring took place as the Aztec people sought to bring captives back to the Aztec temples for sacrifice.
Sometimes, those practicing the Aztec religion sacrificed just one person. At other times, hundreds or even thousands of captives were sacrificed at a time. Each Aztec sacrifice, however, took place the same way. The captive or captives were taken to a pyramid or temple and placed on an altar. The Aztec priest then made an incision in the ribcage of the captive and removed the living heart. The heart was then burned and the corpse was pushed down the steps of the Aztec pyramid or temple. If the captive was particularly noble or brave, however, he was carried down instead.
In the case of an Aztec human sacrifice being performed for the god Huehueteotl, the ritual was slightly changed. Huehueteotl was the Aztec god of warmth, death, and cold. He was responsible for light in the darkness and for food during times of famine. As a part of the Aztec religion, special sacrifices were held for Huehueteotl. The victim was first thrown into a fire, and then pulled back out with hooks before being dying. The living heart was then removed and thrown back to the fire. Aztec human sacrifices and bloodletting were important aspects of the Aztec religion, as they believed it brought balance and peace to the world around them.
The Aztec Government
The Aztecs founded a strong secure central government. This helped provide stability, and allowed the empire to thrive. At the top of this government was the royal family, headed by an emperor or king.
This emperor appointed various authorities to rule different regions of his empire. These leaders swore allegiance to the emperor himself. The emperor maintained his control over the empire through the use of his vast and powerful army.
The Aztec Empire Falls
In A.D. 1521 the peoples who were ruled by the Aztecs grew tired of the treatment they received at their taskmasters hands. The Aztecs required all conquered peoples to pay heavy and burdensome taxes. They also often sacrificed their men to the Aztec gods as part of their religious practices.
In this year these people joined forces with the Spanish explorers, who had arrived in the region, and attacked the Aztec capital. They were quickly able to overthrow the Aztec Empire.
Sunday 13 March 2011
:-)
Sambalpur TimeThere are so many Good and Helpful people around us. Just look around and you would find them.Saturday 6 November 2010
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS 05.11.10 BHOPAL
Me and Kitu
Who says Dogs get scared of crackers, Calvin enjoyed it to the hilt (ofcourse under proper supervision :-))
Anaar
Kitu says he likes :-D
Daddy puts up a show for Calvin
Thats our home and Daddy and Kitu seems to be enjoying the happenings :-)
More fireworks
Wednesday 20 October 2010
WHY DOGS EAT GRASS?
These summer days, when I take my German Shepherd Calvin for a walk, he always wants to stop and eat grass. Not just any grass. The leaves have to be the right size and shape. Although there are other grasses nearby, he always heads for wheatgrass (Agropyron), with its broad green leaves.
I have read that dogs eat grass because they want to vomit or because they are having digestive troubles.
Calvin hates to vomit. He will do anything to keep from vomiting, so that doesn't seem to be the answer, at least as far as he is concerned.
I feed him premium dry food, and he digests it very well, with well-formed stools. Digestive troubles do not seem to apply to Calvin either.
So because the two explanations I have read do not seem to be relevant to Calvin, I decided to dig a little bit into the scientific dog literature to see what I could find.
Surprisingly little has been written in scientific journals about why dogs eat grass.
One recent study approached grass eating in dogs with the hypothesis that grass alleviates digestive distress (McKenzie et al. 2010. Reduction in grass eating behaviours in the domestic dog, Canis familiaris, in response to mild gastrointestinal disturbance. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 123: 51-55).
In that study, the authors fed dogs a diet that produced loose, watery stools, to mimic a condition of a mild digestive upset. They also fed the dogs a standard diet that produced normal stools, and gave the dogs two types of grasses to eat during each experimental condition.
The results were that the dogs ate more grass when they were fed a standard diet than when they ate the diet that caused the digestive upset. So much for that hypothesis.
Then there's vomiting.
I found a study that looked at whether dogs vomit more when they eat grass (Sueda et al. 2008. Characterisation of plant eating in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 111: 120-132),
In that study, the authors surveyed 1571 dog owners on the internet and found that 79 percent of the dogs ate grass, and of these, only 9 percent were sick before they ate the grass, and 22 percent vomited after eating the grass.
These results show that the vomiting hypothesis doesn't seem to hold any water either.
So why do dogs eat grass?
Ask yourself that question the next time you eat a luscious salad.
My guess is......because it tastes good.
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