Double ka Meetha - A Lip Smacking Dessert

When I was a kid and we were at Dehuroad I remember one day when my mom, our neighbor Saramma aunty and Pasha aunty decided to have a sort of family get together. Each was to make 2 dishes. I do not clearly remember what mummy or Saramma aunty made but Pasha aunty made this sweet dish with bread which was superb. I fell in love with it instantly and till date it is my favorite dessert. At that point I did not even know what it was called :)

Later in life while I was working at TCS Borivali, the canteen celebrates food mela where once in a month they would cook the cuisine of a state. One day it was Hyderabad and as I stood in the line for desert, my eyes gleamed as I saw the same dish that I had eaten when I was young. My eyes darted to the name plate and there it was written in bold- Double Ka Meetha.
It is named so because the dish is made from bread and in olden days bread was called double so Double ka meetha.
Anyway now that we are in US one day I decided to try this receipe.
Here is how it went:-

Ingredients-
Bread slice- cut in 2 halves(abt 8 half slices)
Oil
Sugar
Milk
Cardamon
Walnuts
Pistachios,Cashew,Raisins

In a vessel heat some oil/ghee/butter(I did not use ghee as I was health conscious)
Fry thebread pieces in them till brown. Take it out in another bowl. In the same vessel fry the nuts, once fried place them over the bread slices. In the same vessel add 2 cups of milk. Keep boiling this till it is reduces to half. Once reduced to half put some cardamon and simmer on low flame for 5 mins. In another vessel take 2 cups of water and boil. To this add 5 tbls of sugar and heat. After a time this becomes a thick browny mixture. Stop at this point. Pour the sugar syrup over the bread pieces. Pour the milk over the bread pieces. After it cools refrigerate. You can eat it warm or cold.

Right now I have no pics but will upload when I make them again. Me and Gopi eat some the same nite after dinner as I couldnt wait till the next day and remaining we kept in the fridge which got over the next day.
Truly a lip smacking dessert.

Jan19th 2009- A year later after Paarth was born

Jan 18th 2009 - (Sunday)- Tomorrow is Paarth baby's 1st birthday. How time flies . It seems like it was yesterday when he was brought out by the pretty lady nurse.

I was in the US. It was already past 12 am in India and so officialy it was his birthday.

I had decided weeks before that I would bake a cake myself for his birthday.

After checking a few receipes I decided on the Black Forest cake.

Sunday after calling home I was all set to start. 

Ingredients:-

5 eggs (seperated yellow from white in 2 sepearate bowls)

Cocoa powder

Sugar

Maida

Butter

Cream

Coke

Baking Soda

Vanilla essence

I took the egg whites in a bowl and kept stirring with a spoon them till I get a froth. This was the process that took the most time as I did not have an electric whisk, but after 30-40 minutes I got the white froth

 on top.

I seperated this in another bowl. In a seperate vessel I took the egg yellow added vanilla essence(1 drop) , half spoon melted butter and powdered sugar 5 spoons and beat them for 5 minutes. 

Now in the egg white I added this mixture and lightly mixed it 

with a spoon. 

To this I added 2.5  cups of maide and  .5 cups of cocoa powder and half spoon of baking powder. I mixed all this ingredients. Then I needed to add some cola product, as I had mountian dew at home I added half can of mountain dew to this. 

Then I took it in a butter greased cake pan and baked it at 350F for 30 mintues. Once it was done, I took it out and cooled it. 

The chocolate sponge cake was ready.

Now to make it into the Black forest 

cake. I cut this cake into 2 layers. Take some water and add sugar in it to make a sweet mixture. Sprinkle 

this on the cut chocolate layer.. Cover it with cream and strawberry. now put the other layer on top. Cover this with cream also and put dark chocolate(cut)  on top. Then I put the icing and decorated it.

After decoration it looked really yummy and so I cut the cake Wishing Paarth lots of happiness and many more birthdays to come. Luv u kissi baby.

.

I am sending this for the Just for you event.

My Wedding (March 08-09,2008)

Note: My wedding as I remember it a year later and for all my friends who could not attend :)

Jan 4th 2008(Friday): My engagement day- the D day for the wedding was fixed as March 9th(Sunday) Muhurtham 7am - 8am and reception on March8th (Saturday). I was surprised, I had never heard of having  areception before the wedding but apparantly that is how it happened in Tamil weddings as the kalyanamandap was always booked. So be it I thought :). 

Jan 28th 2008(Monday):I did my wedding shopping with my in-laws and all the relatives iat Coimbatore A pink color saree for the reception and an orange for the wedding, we went to the beautician and fixed the style etc.At night when I reached the airport to fly to Mumbai my MIL thght it was better to have the orange one for the reception and pink for the wedding and told me likewise and they would get it sorted with the beautician, so be it I thght again, off I flew to Mumbai.

Mar 1st(Saturday): I was off to my 2.5 weeks of wedding vacation. Myself and Gopi had out tickets booked from Mumbai on the 1st March for Netravati Express(10:00 am). Mom, Dad, Chechi, kuttu, Gee and Sandy had their tickets booked the same night from Pune in Poorna Express. The 1st family in AC and second in S2 compartment. Gopi was to receive his Passport that day, so morning to avoid all the trouble the postman would have to make we walked the 10 mins to the post-office. But as luck would have it the postmaster insisted that he would deliver the Passport only at the residence address. No amount of cajoling or even for that matter my marathi speaking skills put to test have any affect on the postman. We even showed him our train tickets but the man was UNMOVED. We had no choice but to go back and wait at Gopi's home for him. Finally at noon he came and delivered the Passport with much cajoling from our owner Mr Shekhar and also pocketed his 100 bucks. Now as we had misse dour train we immediately checked for availability in Poorna, luckily we got 2 tickets for that nite in the S3 compartment. Immediatley we caught the ever reliable Raj Travels and reached Pune by 10 pm and that is how finally the whole family travelled together :)

Mar3rd 2008(Monday): We reached Trichur station at 2:30 and it was pouring. We caught a taxi to go home,  left Gopi at the bus-stop and we all went home. The next few days went in shopping for gold and eating gr8 food. My relatives got me a necklace set, Chechi gave gold earrings and my uncles got me the kalyanam saree from maternal home as is custom. The wedding was in Coimbatore, we i.e(Mom,Chechi,kuttu,Amooma,Apoopan and my cousin Sreeji left for Cbe Fri afternoon itself). We had booked 2 buses for all my relatives along with Daddy who would come Sat evening for the reception stay back for Sun morning wedding and go back by noon.

Mar 7th 2008:We i.e(Mom,Chechi,kuttu,Amooma,Apoopan and my cousin Sreeji) left for Cbe Fri noon in a taxi. Initially I thought of wearing a the saree my uncles gave but later on decidedto wear that on the wedding day and wore a normal chudidhar. We had lunch at a restaurant in Palakad and reached Cbe by 4 pm. Gopi, his brother Udhay, cousin Bharati were there to receive us. They took us to the hotel that they had booked. Tonite was to be the Haldi ceremony, they asked us to get ready by 7pm and left. I was excited, I would be smeared in turmeric, I love the shine it leaves on the skin. So by 7pm we reached the kalyam mandapam. It was decorated beautifully. There were 2 rooms, 1 for the bride and 1 for the groom. I was taken to a open area and asked to sit on a stool. But unfortunately for me my to be relatives decided to make a shortcut of the ceremony or else they thought a city girl would not like getting drenched in cold haldi water, so they applied some haldi on my feet and washed it 3 times. Then I was taken to the girls room and Shantiamma put the toe-ring. After that we had dinner and then myself and Sreeji went to the beauticians place to get my mehendi done. Later we got back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Mar 8th 2008: Reception Day. I was asked to reach the wedding mandapam by 2 pm with the saree. So myself and Sreeji went and my parents would come later at 6pm. Now I took the orange saree as I was told by my in laws, but the beautician who came there had got all the accessories for the pink saree(apparently no one informed her is my guess) but anyways due to the confusion poor Sreeji had to go back to the hotel and get the pink saree. In the meantime my make-up process started. She did a very light make-up which was good but she tied my hair back very tight which was so not very good. By 6 pm the mandap started filling in. There were always relatives peeping in the girls room to see the bride. By 7 pm all my relatives had reached. Now I was all set to go on the stage. A big garland was got which I myself wore around my neck and was escorted on the stage by the groom's sister(cousin). Handsome groom was also next to me. Then the usual reception tradition started. Guests coming on stage...smile.....wishes.....click clikc....Next.  By 11pm most of the guests had left and I was famished with hunger. We were taken to the dining area and served.  Now many people ask me what was the best thing about my wedding and I say - the FOOD. It was the best. There was a variety of items( all vegeterian) with great taste and made of really unique things. By the time we were done all I wanted was to go and sleep and then it was that my MIL stated that the bride cannot leave the mandap, as is tradition the bride and the groom have to stay at the mandap itself, I was so not prepared for this. But as nothing could be done me and Sreeji would stay back and others went to the hotel. The bed in the mandap was creaky , the lights were on, there were mosquitos, I had to get up at 4 am in the morning for the beautician and to make things worse, the saree which my uncles gave and my mom inssited I wear it as per tradition, so I would have to get up in the morning, go to the hotel, get ready , wear the saree and come back to the mandap and no one would see me in that excpet for myself , Ugggggggh. I hate waking up in the morning :(

Mar 9th 2008(Sunday):I woke up at 4am, went to the hotel, got ready wore the saree, came back and immediately removed it as I had to get ready. I was all done by 6am. At 7am I was taken on stage by my uncle and aunty, then my uncle put the garland across my neck(some tradition), then I was taken back to my room while the groom was taken to the temple with all gana bajana. After they returned i was again taken to the stage and then the pooja followed with thali kethu and garland exchange between the bride and groom. Finally by 9am I was married :). Then the usual photo clicking session followed by some yummy breakfast. 

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Parents trip to America

Prelude:- The first time I left the soil of America in April 2004, I knew I would be back, not single but with my parents. Yes, that I knew for sure that the next time I come to US, I needed to get my parents. Well I came again and left within 5 months and then came again on the 14th May 2005. This trip my dear friend Sujata who also wanted to get her parents coaxed me into filing the papers (well coaxed me because I was on a short trip, and the dates for visas were after 4 months). After all the papers were send and I prepared my parents for the interview and the all the help from immihelp website and my sister they finally got their visas on Aug 29th(lucky day- my mom's bday). Summer was officially coming to an end but I did not know if I would get a chance again and so I coaxed them to fly. Their tickets were booked for the Sept 11th 2005.

Sept11th2005: I was all excited for their arrival and went to the JFK airport. Flight (Air India) usually arrives by 3pm, my idea was to take them back via train. I knew they would be very excited as it was thier first trip in a flight :) I entered the airport and looked at the arrivals. No mention of Air India. A flight could be delayed that I can understand but not to be listed was not something I thought I would have to handle.
A little while later an Air India flight attendant mentioned that the flight was bird struck at London and had to make an emergency landing and there was no ETA.
What I could do but wait. From evening 3 to 6 and still no news. Anxious monemnet passed by al the while talking to Gopi on the pay-phone and he reasuuring me. Finally at 8pm they announced that the flight was diverted to Chicago from London. Immigration check would happen at Chicago and then a domestic flight would bring them to JFK. Finally at 3 am the flight landed at JFK. My parents were happy to see me and I was relieved to see them. A note here-when the flight changed from London to Chicago they got to travel First Class as economy was full(first surprise). As it was late at night I knew I would not get any trains. It so happened there was another couple who wanted to travel to Hartford and there were lots of limo drivers, so we shared an actual limousine. So the first time my parents travelled from JFK to Stamford was in a limousine(second surprise).

The first thing I did was to buy a pre-paid cell phone. The first trip I organized with my ever reliable Chinatown bus tours was NewHaven,Rhode Island,NewPort,Boston. I was a good 2 day weekend trip. I also wanted to familiarize them with the China town buses as they would be travelling their future trips with them.
Their next trip was Niagara Falls. I dropped them at NY at the bus office and picked them back the next day. The next trip was to Philadelphia-Washington D.C. The got some Indian company and enjoyed it well. One of the weekends was also kept to visit our friends in Philly whom I regularly visit when I am in the east Coast.
One weekend we went to Yale University and Mohegan Sun.
Fall had started and Gopi came to vist them, we planned a trip of White Plains and New Jersey, while returning we stopped at Atlantic City. Dad wanted to play but as it was late we had to go back. We also went all the way to North Hampshire to see the fall leaves.
One weekend I decided to show them around New York, I had a couple of places in mind. As soon as we reaced Grand Central there was a whole lot of extra crowd and we could see that some sort of shooting was going on. I was not very keen as I was detaling the plan. Suddenly my mom exclaimed, look its Karan Johar and next to him Shah Rukh Khan and yes indeed. They were shooting for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. We saw them at very close quarters and then went to see the Statue of Liberty. On return from there we saw Rani Mukherjee. After this star studded show we managed to go to Empire State Bldg, UN Bldg, wax Musuem,Times Square and then back home.

The long trip that I had planned for them was California. Mom,dad and me flew from here and Gopi joined us there. Our first stop was Universal Studios at LA, the next day was Sea World at San Diego. The third day we drove through Yosemite Park to SFO. The fourth day we spend time at Ghiradelly, Golden gate bridge, rose garden before flying back to Stamford.
Oct end they flew back to India.
I was very happy and thrilled with their visit and that I could manage to show them all these places.

Crazzzzzzzzzzzy Volleyball

I was no master to the game, infact I did not even know how to hold a ball in my hand.
I am an athelete at heart having all the desires to do great but I have never got into the actualities of playing.
I am not a sportsperson just because of the very few outdoor games that I play but the energy and enthusiasm that I have is confirmation enuf that if I had the proper foundation for being one I would be pretty damn good at it.

My baby Nephew

Jan 18th 2008: A Friday- I clearly remember this day as this week-end I had decided not to travel to Pune from Mumbai over the week-end. I was travelling continuously for the past 2 months and was very tired. I clearly needed some rest for myself. And just 2 days before gee had called telling that Jithan wanted to visit Mumbai and so they both would come here and it was our responsiblity to take them around. It was Friday nite at office and i couldnt wait for the day to get over to go home. Gee mentioned he would be calling me before they leave around 7:30 ish. 

I was having a client call and my cell started vibrating. Well as it would jus tbe my uncle I thought of taking the call after the call was done in about 10 minutes. That is when the new mesage icon flashed on my cell and on opening it was my sister telling they were going to the hospital for her delivery. I was thrilled but it also meant I would have to travel to Pune again but so what......I called them back and they were on their way to the hospital. Mom said that my bro-in-law was flying in from delhi and since his flight would get him to Mumbai we should all come together.

I immediately called my bro-in-law who said his flight would reach by 1 pm at night and we could meet him at the airport.At 1:00 midnite myself and Gopi went to the airport all the while in between calling to ask how she was and if the baby was born, but it looked like even the baby was waiting for us to reach :). Wwe reached the airport at around 2am, the same time the flight reached. A car was already waiting for us- so in we all hopped and reached Pune directly to the Jehangir hospital at 5:30 am in the morning.

19th Jan 2008: We directly went to the Maternity section and the hospital was empty except for one lone stranger who was sleeping in the waiting room. Apart from him there was Anil, my aunt and my mom inside with my sis. I went inside to take a look and she was asleep with the pain :(. My dad and others were at home and they would come in the morning. My mom asked me and Gopi to go home and get some rest and come back in the morning, even though I did not want to go I reluctantly agreed but the next train was only at 6:30, so we sat doing a lot of time-pass there actually debating whether it was a boy or a girl. We all voted for a girl except for Vijay and Anil who said it would be a boy. At 6:15 am some of the nurses came for a check-up and said that the baby would be delivered soon, so then we decided to stay , but nothing seemed to be happening and as we were very hungry we went and had some poha and tea at the restaurant just outside. it was 8:30 by now, there was a India-Australia match going on and Australia was playing very well with no one getting out so much of our conversation was even directed there.by this time the waiting room was full of people. I was very tired and managed to cuddle at a corner. I just got a nap when at 9:20 my mom came out and said that they had taken my sis to the labour room and it would soon happen. I couldnt sleep after that and me and Vijay were waiting outside the labour room. Even the security lady waiting outside was anxious and she went inside to check and after some time came out telling the baby was born. I ran to tell my mom, Gopi and others. Then they called my mom inside with a towel and soap and oil and she came out and told us it was a boy. Soon the doctor followed telling it was a boy and both mother and son were fine. Then they called the father and us inside to take a look at the newborn. There he came out with a pretty lady nurse all wrapped in a white towel outside to this NEW WORLD!

Recruitment Drive to Gwalior- March 16-18, 2007

I was called for yet another campus recruitment drive to Gwalior. I was all excited as I had never been to that place before.
March 16th 4:00 am. Woke up early and myself and Suj came to office as some early morning work was to be compelted. At 5:30 am we both caught at taxi from office and picking up Kujs on our way we reached the Domestic airport at 6:20 am. our flight was scheduled to depart at 7:15 am. After collecting our boarding-passes we directly went for the security check and then boarded the Kingfisher flight. In the flight we got introduced to some more members of our travel like Gency, Raj, Chandni, Jyothi and Archita. On flight we were given break-fast and we reached delhi at the scheduled time of 9:30 am.