tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351Sun, 22 Feb 2026 12:10:56 +0000Children and ParentingSocietyPersonalBloggingBangalore LifeDesiPunditWashington D.C. LifeWomenTravelMiscellaneousFood and DrinkPublicationsLifeJournalismNewsWritingBangalore - Service ProvidersExpat LifeUS PoliticsFilmReview - Books and MagazinesIndian RitualsTVMusicPhotographsPoliticsReview - Children's Books and SoftwareBangalore SchoolsFictionImmigrationRadioUS ElectionsChildren's Books and SoftwareEveryday IndianObama WatchFootloose FridaysPianoSwimmingIndian Vegetarian CookingTerrorismReview - FilmAkshara FoundationHome CookingMy World PostFoodIndian RecipesReview - RestaurantsSportsUS SchoolsI Read So You Don't Have ToMagazinesPoetryScienceVolunteeringCondimentsRecipesReview - Children's TheaterChutney PowderFair gameGrandmother StoriesHistoryThanksgivinghttp://blogpourri.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger584125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-3217718617967141887Wed, 25 Nov 2015 16:09:00 +00002015-12-15T11:14:32.615-05:00Everyday IndianFoodFood and DrinkHome CookingIndian RecipesIndian Vegetarian Cooking A road map for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. The entire essay is up at The Aerogram, including a recipe for Cranberry Pickle.&nbsp; One of the best memories of all our years celebrating Thanksgiving is the year we realized that the holiday had less to do with exactly what form the dinner took and more with getting to spend time with family and friends. It seems like a simple idea, but it http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/11/south-indian-vegetarian-recipes-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-5518424964837566739Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:36:00 +00002015-11-09T10:41:21.923-05:00BloggingFilmPhotographsSocietyWashington D.C. LifeWomen For folks in DC, MD and VA, a week-long photography festival and exhibition is currently on at&nbsp; various locations in DC and Virginia. If you're in town, more than a few look like they could be worth your time. A complete list of events is at this link: http://www.fotodc.org/fotoweekdc/&nbsp; Starting today: "In a special nighttime display from November 9-12, the United States http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/11/fotoweek-dc-2015.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-9146599199333680311Mon, 19 Oct 2015 17:25:00 +00002015-10-19T13:25:54.396-04:00FoodHome CookingIndian RecipesIndian Vegetarian CookingLifePublicationsRecipesWomen The entire essay and the recipes are on The Aerogram. Here are a few excerpts. Avalakki is a staple in North Karnataka cuisine. Avalakki Uppittu, a type of semi-dry porridge, is a popular breakfast dish. The rice flakes are also used to make quick snacks eaten late in the afternoon. A few basic spices and ingredients are all it takes to turn avalakki into dishes that are flavorful but http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/10/two-avalakki-pressed-rice-flakes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-3672552205476002622Sat, 23 May 2015 11:30:00 +00002015-05-23T07:31:19.213-04:00CondimentsEveryday IndianFoodHome CookingIndian RecipesIndian Vegetarian CookingPublications My new essay with two recipes, one for Tomato Dal, which uses tamarind, and the other for a delicious accompaniment to the Dal, a recipe for Baby Radish Raita. The essay and recipes are available on The Aerogram. Tomato Dal Baby Radish Raita The flavor of tamarind — a fruity sourness — is a cornerstone of South Indian cooking. It’s more often than not paired with jaggery, http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/05/south-indian-recipe-series-what-is.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-7239997937084549184Fri, 01 May 2015 15:37:00 +00002015-05-01T11:40:46.414-04:00Chutney PowderCondimentsEveryday IndianFoodIndian Recipes You will find many websites touting the health benefits of flax seed, the tiny, shiny seeds of the plant that gives us linen, but this post is a recipe for an Indian condiment called Chutney Powder (Chutney Pudi or Podi in the various South Indian languages, pudi/podi meaning powder). Chutney Powder is served with a variety of Indian dishes such as Idlis (rice/lentil cakes), Dosa (rice/lentil http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/05/recipe-flax-seed-chutney-powder.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-6241351596785353741Tue, 28 Apr 2015 19:03:00 +00002015-04-28T15:15:45.274-04:00HistoryPoliticsTravelWashington D.C. Life <!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/04/lincoln-cottage-washington-dcs-hidden.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-4915984093516113210Fri, 17 Apr 2015 12:41:00 +00002015-04-17T08:44:05.733-04:00Everyday IndianFood and DrinkIndian Vegetarian CookingPublications My new essay on the basic spices used in South Indian vegetarian cuisine includes a recipe for Potato and Onion Curry. An excerpt is below. The entire essay is on The Aerogram. Indian cuisine is vastly diverse, not only in terms of ingredients, traditions, and techniques, but also in terms of levels of complexity — ranging from simple curries and chutneys to the biryanis that demand http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/04/south-indian-vegetarian-homestyle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-3518550276341861008Fri, 13 Feb 2015 16:07:00 +00002015-02-13T11:08:05.407-05:00Everyday IndianFood and DrinkHome CookingImmigrationIndian Vegetarian CookingPublications On AntiSerious, my essay on a childhood dish I learned to hate and then learned to love as an adult. The entire essay is here: The Pagan's Progress: How To Make Your Upma and Eat It Too Then on one of my trips back to my parents’ home, I stumbled upon the problem with my Uppittu. Or the answer to the problem. As my mom stood over her stove, her die-hard cast-iron wok held firmly in one handhttp://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2015/02/semolina-porridge-how-to-make-your-upma.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-4190456253670476028Wed, 26 Nov 2014 12:25:00 +00002015-02-04T14:42:52.113-05:00Everyday IndianFood and DrinkHome CookingIndian Vegetarian CookingPublicationsRecipes My new food essay is up on The Aerogram with two recipes. In my quest for dips that are a delicious departure from the ordinary, I decided to re-purpose a couple of types of condiments that play supporting roles in South Indian cooking — chutneys and bharthas. Bharthas are somewhat of an unknown quantity outside of desi circles, and while various types of chutneys are popular items onhttp://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2014/11/new-recipes-for-dips-and-appetizers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-8945124250257316133Tue, 25 Nov 2014 16:50:00 +00002015-02-04T14:44:09.852-05:00Children and ParentingEveryday IndianFood and DrinkImmigrationIndian Vegetarian CookingLifeThanksgivingWashington D.C. Life My essay on Thanksgivings past.&nbsp; We had left behind a culture that boasts of many festivals and rituals that bring families together. With extended families still living in close proximity, impromptu family gatherings are still the norm in our hometowns. Once we moved here we got busy with school and work calendars and we regularly lost track of those festivals (and still do), only ahttp://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-evolution-of-immigrants-thanksgiving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-7248369117446715194Tue, 22 Jul 2014 15:41:00 +00002014-11-26T07:16:00.997-05:00Children and ParentingChildren's Books and SoftwareReview - Books and MagazinesScienceWriting The older one, who's now 14, discovered Sam Kean first through The Disappearing Spoon and was hooked. The Violinist's Thumb followed quickly and there was no question about not pre-ordering The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons. Here is a portion of his review of The Dueling Neurosurgeons: The fastest and most powerful computers in the whole world cost millions of dollars to build and http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-sam-keans-tale-of-dueling.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-4879014813924239610Wed, 11 Jun 2014 17:39:00 +00002014-06-18T09:09:36.639-04:00FilmLifeScienceSociety Anytime I hear about a human in space, I take all of about 10 seconds to marvel at the level of technological sophistication that is necessary to accomplish space flight. The rest of the time, it's the human story that leaves me awestruck. In fact, it's the same with any endeavor (such as climbing mountains or plumbing the depths of the ocean) that involves extreme hardship and whose demands http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2014/06/documentary-last-man-on-moon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-6942912816123553519Fri, 07 Feb 2014 14:23:00 +00002014-02-07T09:23:35.303-05:00Children and ParentingSocietyWriting This information is from The Creative Arts' Facebook Page Objectives: Theatre Skills, Life skills, Creativity and Imagination : The Creative Arts Theatre Workshop is dedicated to providing an atmosphere for children to explore, imagine, create and have fun through the world of theatre arts. We impart Theatre Skills like Expressions, Acting, Voice, Speech, Body Training, Rhythm, Music,http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2014/02/theater-courses-for-children-in-kolkata.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-2119902582196545307Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:14:00 +00002015-02-04T14:43:07.426-05:00Everyday IndianFood and Drink The recipe that accompanies the 'Food is the Tie That Binds' essay on preserving family&nbsp;recipes for future generations is also up on The Aerogram. Pickling is usually a process that takes days if not weeks, but in less than a couple of hours, you could have on your hands this tomato pickle designed to delight your taste buds and impress your guests. The entire recipe, with detailed notes,http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/11/easy-tomato-pickle-recipe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-1834600590687284469Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:24:00 +00002013-11-15T10:15:26.687-05:00Food and DrinkLifePersonalPublications My new essay on The Aerogram: So each time we sat down at my breakfast table I would bring out not only all our assorted notes, my computer, and pens and pe...ncils, but also my measuring cups and spoons. One day, even a golf ball ended up on the table. My mother-in-law held up her fingers for the nth time to indicate a piece of jaggery or tamarind, I forget now, and since we had decided that http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/11/working-out-kinks-in-inter-generational.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-538355058092996475Sat, 26 Oct 2013 15:40:00 +00002015-02-04T14:43:43.187-05:00Everyday IndianFood and DrinkImmigrationLifePersonalPublicationsWriting The Aerogram published my essay on why a bowl of rice and some pickle is my comfort food. On any other day, late night infomercials would give me company through a bedtime snack, but that day, with the occasional swish of a car whizzing past the house for company, I stood barefoot in the kitchen and polished off the entire bowl. Not for the first time, I wondered what it was that drove me to http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-makes-food-comfort-food.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-3419020954183969290Wed, 23 Oct 2013 09:31:00 +00002013-10-23T06:26:27.445-04:00 I wrote a while ago about Pratham books and how refreshing it was to come across stories for children set in India, written in language that is suitable for children's reading levels, and told in rich color and visuals. The books are categorized by age groups and are available in a few Indian languages in addition to English. For example, the Tell Me Now! Series, Khikkhil Tota (Hindi, Marathihttp://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/10/pratham-books-is-finalist-in-google.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-8733256572317511421Thu, 22 Aug 2013 15:12:00 +00002013-08-22T11:12:46.672-04:00ImmigrationSocietyUS Politics "The nearly 1.9 million Indian immigrants living in the United States in 2011 represented the third-largest immigrant group by country of origin, behind Mexico and China. The share of Indian immigrants among all foreign born in the United States grew from less than 0.5 percent in 1960 to almost 5 percent in 2011. [snip] This article reports on a wide range of characteristics of Indian http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/08/amazing-resource-for-research-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-5034298249302246293Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:08:00 +00002013-06-19T22:08:34.891-04:00ImmigrationLifeSocietyWashington D.C. Life Fairfax County is one of the most diverse locations in the country. Its residents come from every continent on Earth except Antarctica. A morning walk to drop off your child at school can put you within earshot of the more than hundred different languages spoken in Fairfax County (more than a third of the population speaks a language other than English at home). The student body in Fairfax http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/06/life-as-immigrant-in-fairfax-county.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-6492483095425349718Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:06:00 +00002013-06-12T00:06:10.332-04:00Children and ParentingFood and DrinkLife A clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning and it hit me that this was&nbsp;it.&nbsp;The answer to my prayers to help me steer clear of the trap that many parents around me seemed to be unable to extricate themselves from — one in which feeding their children healthy food turned into wars of attrition. My&nbsp;post on&nbsp;why it's important to involve children in the kitchen and tips on how to do http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/06/let-children-have-say-in-what-they-eat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-329667261899507623Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:55:00 +00002013-06-06T20:56:07.195-04:00BloggingChildren and ParentingLife Jessica Lahey on how 'regular' rules differ from 'middle school' rules. Middle school rules. Different from the regular rules. Elusive, slippery things I'm only beginning to master, and I have spent the past five years as a professional middle school referee. Read&nbsp;the rest of her thoughtful post on her blog&nbsp;for pointers on dealing&nbsp;with the all too difficult middle school years.http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/06/middle-school-rules.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-8605078672931052458Sun, 02 Jun 2013 17:03:00 +00002013-06-02T13:03:09.398-04:00LifePersonal Seemebadhnekaayi curry with rasam rice was one of my favorite dishes as a long-braided teenager growing up in India. The squishy sweetness of the vegetable, a member of the squash family, gelled blissfully with the tangy spiciness of the rasam, a gravy-type dish usually eaten with rice. [...] &nbsp;I turned my sights to the other vegetables on my list, left the coyote squash where I had found http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/06/even-simplest-of-things-come-with.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-8453060635732141613Thu, 02 May 2013 17:53:00 +00002013-10-09T11:20:55.977-04:00LifePersonal At 2am on a cold, damp weeknight, the highway that connects Washington, D.C. to its Virginia suburbs was nearly empty. I had the run of its deserted lanes as I hurtled through the darkness towards home with this single tantalizing thought on my mind – a bowl of hot rice, ghee and spicy mango pickle. The past several days and nights had been one unending blur at work and the next few weeks http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-spoonful-of-pickle-makes-life-go-down.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-4173872617500666119Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:01:00 +00002013-04-24T10:14:54.184-04:00BloggingLifeNewsScienceSociety Physicist Frank Wilczek's essay is absolutely lovely to read, and inspiring,&nbsp;because it considers not only the science but also the human aspects involved in an inquiry of this magnitude: The scientific work leading to the Higgs particle discovery involved thousands of engineers and physicists, not to mention billions of taxpayers, from all over the world co-operating to pursue a common http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-does-higgs-particle-matter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13834351.post-2992823079179725843Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:56:00 +00002013-04-29T10:34:44.225-04:00BloggingNewsPublicationsSocietyTerrorism As an intern at a communications consulting company&nbsp;many years ago, I had to get familiar with the firm's documents and their various formats and templates. The resident tech guru pointed to the computer screen and said, "Click on that icon." Try as I might, I couldn't see an image of Jesus, Mary or any other religious figure. I turned to him and shook my head. "The icon. Here." He pointed http://blogpourri.blogspot.com/2013/04/when-all-thats-left-of-pressure-cooker.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0