Modi, media and the illusions of Lutyens Delhi

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Aadit Kapadia

(Fictional scene from a private conversation in Lutyens, Delhi)

Journo # 1: So Modi is responsible for progress in Gujarat?

Journo #2: But, 2002 happened on his watch!

Journo # 1: So now Muslims vote for the BJP?

Journo #2: But, 2002 was really bad, no?

Journo # 1: Congress hasn’t been secular in Delhi, Assam, Nellie, Bhagalpur, Hyderabad etc.

Journo #2: But, 2002 should not be forgotten!

Journo # 1: Hasn’t Modi done enough to answer his critics?

Journo #2: But, 2002 is etched in my (oops) OUR memory!

(News flashes that allegedly ‘Advani ji is against anointing Modi’)

Journo # 2: So this proves that Advani is a secular leader and brave enough to stand up for what is right.

Journo #1: But weren’t you against Advani ji ideologically? Haven’t you called him a fascist leader before, and by the way, since when did you start calling him ‘ji’?

Journo # 2: No Advani (ji) is a leader of great stature; he stood up to Modi and made his stance clear. He was BJP’s inclusive leader. He tried to take everyone along.

(News comes in again and this time ‘Advani ji blesses Modi and shares a stage with him’)

Journo #2: ADVANI HAS BEEN A FASCIST LEADER SINCE 1992. I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN!

Journo#1: But didn’t you just say…?

Journo #2: No! Advani and Modi are communal.

Journo # 1: So what about stature and all that you just said?

Journo #2: 2002! 2002! 2002! 2002! You are an ignorant Internet Hindu. I don’t want to talk to you. You are MODIFIED!

The above conversation is a story in almost every newsroom in India. Does that mean I am calling all journalists immoral and corrupt? No I am certainly not; I do believe that a lot of journalists in India have been doing groundbreaking work.

But in some cases when we mention the name Narendra Modi, they lose all their so-called objectivity and in some cases even their common sense. More often than not, they get dissuaded by columnists and activists who have a certain ideological persuasion and base their essays on them.

Now, I am not suggesting that they adopt a favourable approach to Modi. I don’t think they should stop criticising him. In fact, I would welcome all criticism and respectfully consider it. But in the past years and especially in the last few months, ever since the rise of Modi in the BJP became imminent, these idiosyncrasies have become common with a motivated section of the Indian media. You have certain journalists from regional newspapers with no perspective whatsoever and who are only called on to national prime time TV because they do a better job of defending the ruling party and of vehemently opposing the BJP than party spokespersons. I support journalists having a political leaning but I would like for them to make it clear rather than sound like a hypocrite when they proclaim to be neutral.

This brings me to two articles that I read. The first one was by Aakar Patel: Why the BJP and Modi are bigger threats than the Congress. I respect Aakar Patel for his principled stand on many issues and the fearlessness with which he addresses them. But in this article, he gets it wrong – completely wrong. Not only is the article based on fallacious assumptions, it defies logic and represents a dangerous trend that is developing in the media lately. Along with Aakar Patel, we had one other – Harbans Mukhia – writing this nonsense masquerading as an opinion where he compares Modi to, hold your breath, Aurangzeb.

Aakar Patel says, “Over the decades BJP had polarised the State.” This is far from the truth. Congress had ruled Gujarat for most of the time prior to 1995. Riots in Gujarat have taken place in Gujarat in 1969, Navnirman (1970s), and parts of the 1980s. Has Aakar Patel ever mentioned that the riots in 1969 had allegedly been done at the behest of Indira Gandhi according to this Hindustan Times report. He doesn’t mention Chimanbhai Patel (The person who let Gujarat burn during the Navnirman agitation) or even Madhavsinh Solanki who, apart from being one of the worst Chief Ministers of Gujarat, was also involved in the notorious Bofors scandal). These Ministers will be conveniently left out and so will the Congress which had ruled the State for 30 years and polarised it.

Harbans Mukhia goes one step further and uses all sorts of nonsensical assumptions to justify his atrocious theory. Normally, such articles don’t behoove a response, but for long this kind of ridiculous journalism has been allowed to pass scot free in the mainstream media. He compares a democratic process in the BJP to choose a Prime Ministerial candidate to the brutal murders that Aurangzeb committed to rise to the throne. Nothing could be further from the truth, Modi is a democratically elected Chief Minister of Gujarat, that too three times. This fact is completely ignored by people like Harbans Mukhia, who have a fixed theory on Modi based on their ideology.

The only regime overthrow that reminds me of dictatorial policies was when a certain president was locked in the bathroom of a party headquarters till a certain family took over. But obviously Harbans Mukhia won’t remember this since in the name of phony secularism, anything is permitted by that party and since it is close to his ideology he will choose to ignore it. He has talked about Advani and Keshubhai forgetting that both have given Modi his blessing on the PM nomination. Such is the bias of these writers that they resort to these desperate motives to further their ideological hatred for Modi.

Aakar Patel also claims, “Under Sonia Gandhi, we have had a magnificent gesture to Sikhs in the face of Manmohan Singh. His two terms as Prime Minister have done much to heal feelings of Sikhs and non-Sikhs offended by the way the community was treated in Delhi.”

I haven’t seen a poorer defence of the Congress than this one. If, by appointing a Sikh as a PM, the Congress has done enough then the BJP appointed APJ Abdul Kalam barely three months after the riots! So going by Aakar Patel’s bizarre logic, BJP did in three months what took Congress 20 years to do.

Such tokenism should never be used as a barometer and in his argument he conveniently leaves out the fact that these riots happened under the watch of a Sikh President appointed by the Congress. Thus, if India has to operate on such logic then we have a very dark future ahead. Healing comes from development and empowerment. And the BJP, under Modi after 2002 has ensured development of all communities irrespective of their religion and has thus made the community prosper. I am not saying that he has achieved a 100 per cent success but he has strived for it and the results are there for all to see.

As far as the argument of seats in Punjab is concerned, the BJP has had a lot of Muslim legislators elected and has gotten majority in Muslim dominated areas such as Salaya and so forth in Gujarat. A sizable portion of the Muslim population has voted for the BJP in the 2012 Assembly election. Whether that number will go up or not I do not know and neither do you, but I am still willing to give him a chance rather than jump to conclusions like these. As someone who was 13 when the riots took place, I remember everything that happened and have also seen the spin that the media put on this issue. Evidence has been concocted and witnesses have emerged from nowhere with ‘proof’ which has been refuted by the SIT appointed by the Supreme Court.

My intention is not to disrespect you, nor stamp my opinion over you. You have the right to your opinion as much as I do to mine. It’s just that I refuse to see Indians from the paradigm of caste and class and look at them only as Indians. I respect all religions and strongly believe in the pluralism of India. But to say that Congress is a better choice after Nellie, Bhagalpur 1989, Assam 1912, Mumbai 1993 and Delhi 1984, I’m sorry to say I vehemently disagree with that opinion.

A Phenomenon called Narendra Modi

At about 3:20 AM in the wee hours of Sunday Morning I along with many Indians in the US and around the world were rejoicing. Was it a cricket match, Olympics, etc.? No, nothing of that sort, instead the jubilation was because Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) had finally made the announcement that a lot of people were waiting for. It made Narendrabhai Damodardas Modi as the Chief of the campaign committee for the 2014 general election.

The reactions were immediate and as expected extreme. The media went into frenzy and tried to play on a rift between the top leaders of the BJP and the social media also acknowledged the rise of the man who could potentially be the prime minister of India. But why was there so much celebration and cheering at the appointment of Mr. Modi at this post, after all the previous campaign committee chiefs hadn’t come close to becoming the PM.

It was significant because here was a man, hounded by the media for 11 years in spite of a mandate by the people of his state, finally at a position which he richly deserved.

It was significant because it gave HOPE to the people of India that after the gloom here was a decisive leader who can lead them out of the darkness.

It was significant because for the first time in the history of modern India did a party democratically choose a leader purely on the wishes of its cadre and the voting public in spite of hostility from within.

It was significant because the son of a small tea vendor will be leading the charge against the government and that gives Indians hope that to enter politics and serve the country, you can be born in a small family and rise to the top.

And it was significant because now Modi would be projected as the face of the party unlike the others who weren’t in 2004 and 2009.

Would this change India? Does this mean that the BJP will easily form the government in 2014? absolutely not! The BJP looks like it will easily become the single largest party but to cross that magic figure of 272 it will need 180+ seats. Narendra Modi with an alternative vision and a record of governance behind him is the best leader to lead the BJP and enthuse its cadre. Thus the decision made was a significant one in the Indian political history. For the first time there will be a leader who is democratically elevated in a primary phenomenon.

One interesting thing that I noticed during the coverage of the Modi elevation was the sudden sympathy that the pathological haters of the BJP now have with Lal Krishna Advani. It was no secret that Mr.Advani was against the anointment of Mr. Modi at this event. But the way it was being played out in the media was laughable.

I welcome that L K Advani gave his point of view and it was taken into cognizance by the party and eventually they elected their most popular leader. That is how political parties in India should function and a divergence in views within a party should be discussed and not strangulated by imposing one leader who is born in a particular family. The media, especially Rajdeep Sardesai and his channel took the line that was it ideology versus personality. This was an uninformed, biased and an absolutely ridiculous line of argument.

Agreed that Modi has a larger than life persona but to suggest that he is not following the ‘ideology’ and Advani is makes it laughable. In Narendra Modi happens to be one of the only Chief Ministers in India who has a center right viewpoint and has a vision opposite to that of Congress. He has stated his position on the economy, social sector schemes, growth, defense, development on a number of occasions. He has shown that vision and implemented it in Gujarat and has proposed to do the same in the country.

So to say that he doesn’t follow any ideology is fallacious. In fact it is the congress which has lost direction and the only ideology it follows is votes and notes. Wherever it thinks that it can gain votes or money they do not hesitate in switching sides.

Coming back to the original point, what motivates a 24 year old like me to stay up at night and watch the proceedings from 10000 miles away? It’s that same four letter word, HOPE. Here is one leader who motivates the youth to work towards their future by working for the country. His leadership is motivating people to come from other countries back to India. Is he the only one responsible for these changes? no, certainly not, he has a great team which works along with him to make this happen.

But a good team needs a great leader who has a vision and can motivate them to maximize their potential. I believe that time has come that India accepts this leader and embraces this phenomenon. Come 2014, it will be the year of hope, the year of the youth and the year of the Indian who made it happen and got a leader who inspires them at the center. The road is tough and it’s not going to be an easy task but as Modi himself said, ” Mana Ki Andhera Ghana Hai, Par Diya Jalana Kaha Mana Hai”

first posted on www.centreright.in

The Nonchalance of our Society

Although it has been more than 4 weeks since we heard about the brutal atrocities inflicted on the poor five year old in Delhi, I chose to write this now because of a tendency that we Indians have.

Outrage, then debate and eventually forget. 15 days after that brutality we have moved to banal things like who will win the IPL and which movie will gross 100 cr. And therein lays the root of all the problems, our tendency to accept the worst as a reality and just move on, the tendency to accept it as a fact of life and forget about it. Why can’t we change the narrative, why can’t we stand up and fight for what is right and what is our right.

The more I talk to the children going to schools in India, the more I find them cynical about what’s going on in the country and nonchalant about the situation. The common issues of corruption, dowry, child marriage, sexual abuse and rapes are assumed as a matter of fact and people don’t think about it after an high profile case goes of the media radar. It is shameful that we as a nation have to be reminded by the media at every instance and have our conscience shaken up by new incidents. So what has led to this situation? Incompetence, indifference or just a mindset.

I think it’s a mixture of all the three and for the narrative to change the change to all of these needs to come from within. There needs to more interaction between the people and the government. By the government, I mean all facets of it, more interaction with the police force, labor groups and politicians. The sense of dread that prevails over a person when they have to approach a government agency needs to go and they need to be secured with a feeling that the government agencies are there to help and not hinder the investigations. There are numerous things that can be proposed as a change in the system and they all need to be done, but I think our nonchalance is the major problem. A lot of people might have forgotten about the girl who was brutalized and the fault lies in our attitudes, we have to be the change.

Since this column focuses on Gujarat, I would like to highlight some issues pertaining to our state. I remember growing up in a state where saving the girl child and security was an issue, which is slowly being dealt with. As far as safety goes I can proudly claim that Ahmedabad is one of the safest metros in the world. Ask anyone who has traveled to Ahmedabad and they will say the same. Am I therefore suggesting that these incidents do not happen in Gujarat, no they do happen, maybe the frequency is less but certainly that does not make these incidents less reprehensible. What needs to happen is a consensus between the government and the public and the disenchantment which is prevalent needs to go. In Gujarat there are schemes like Mission Mangalam and Amrutamyojna which are helping empower women and social issues are being focused upon. We desperately need nationwide schemes such as these. As the Chief Minister Narendra Modi says,” to empower a state the youth must be kept at the centre, and if that happens no one can stop us.” Therefore we the youth have to be the change.

Like many other folks, even I started thinking about other things and focusing on a lot of other issues, but my humble request to all would be that let’s not forget about these atrocities. Focusing on complexities of life and other issues is fine, but try to keep these social issues in discussions as well. This is a wakeup call for us as a society because till we don’t change the narrative, most of the debates and the focus on these issues is not going to change. This column started with the brutal rape of the 5 yr old and delved into the issues of women empowerment because both are significant issues at present. Both have to be tackled soon, because I hope that we do not have another Nirbhaya or another 5 year old subjected to this fate. With that hope I would like to remind the immortal lines of Tagore reminiscent of the India he set to create with that hope that we do the same :

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”

As posted on www.kidsfreesouls.com

http://www.kidsfreesouls.com/index.php/kidsfreesouls/guest-column/aadit-kapadia/1078-nonchalance-of-our-society

Where the mind is without fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

These immortal words of Rabindranath Tagore haven't ever been more relevant than now. India, as we speak in plunged into a state of sorrow and anger after finding out about the innocent 5 year old and what happened to her. I don't want to repeat the torture that she went through here but one thing that is seldom mentioned is the amount of types these kind of events keep on happening. I'm tired of calling each of them a wake up call. How many types will we need to be woken up. There is a breaking point to everything. But these events keep on repeating and out toothless laws do nothing to set a deterrent.

Rather than regular debates which we see on TV we need to move on. Laws as we have seen do not act as a sufficient preventive measure for these criminals. And although hanging a child rapist is a amendment that needs to be incorporated into the law, significant other measures need to be taken. One major thing that is not being addressed is the psyche of the people of commit these acts need to be understood. Seeing these stupid debates which pin the blame of porn and bollywood movies is cringing. 

Which brings me to the poem, i started with it as a grim reminder that the above mentioned India is what our forefathers and revolutionaries envisioned. I dont want any person, more so the mothers, sisters and daughters to step out with fear in any city and fear for their lives. Rather these shallow domestic barriers need to be broken and a new discourse has to be thought of.

( P.S. will be expanding this piece into a column with a more focused view)

A Sad Day

As i type this post, the cause that prompted me to write this post saddens me. It could have been so much different. it was just a normal day this Monday morning, Houston was getting hotter by the hour and thus announcing the onset of spring on the city and it all changed as i saw the horrible news on TV. Another bomb attack, again an attack on innocent individuals making a mockery of the civilized world we live in. What have we become?. I thought the society that we lived in was never filled with barbarians. Have we become so barbaric that such attacks keep taking place. I come from a country, India, which has seen some of the worst terrorist attacks in the the last two decades. As the horrifying images flickered on screen, the screams and the scenes brought back sad memories. Memories of youth that had been scarred by seeing these attacks happening in various cities. Somehow the world i remember used to be a very peaceful place devoid of tensions and hatred. 

          The perpetrators of this heinous crime are still to be caught and the law is taking its own course. But like millions in the world, my prayers and feelings go out to the people in Boston who are suffering and going through this terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to families who were waiting for their respective family member to finish the marathon so that they would meet them and congratulate them. What have they done to deserve this?. Among those that the blast consumed, was an 8 yr old boy. Just the thought of him going through this sends a chill down my spine. I have been seeing the analysis of the facts of the case and comments on security lapses and so forth. Although this is very important and needs to be addressed, What bothers me the most is 3 people have lost their lives in such a way that no one in this world deserves too. 
            
            The more i see and hear about these attacks the more aggrieved i feel as with every innocent life lost i feel that I've lost a part of myself. With that lets hope that the Almighty gives strength to the people going through this ordeal. And having seen thousands of people losing their lives to such attacks  I will pray tonight in the hope that civility returns to the world, and it becomes a better place as all we strive for is a little bit of peace. 

I will be praying and i hope you do as well.
-AK

East of West, Ahmedabad is the Best

Not much is written about Ahmedabad nor does it regularly feature in the ‘touristy’ places, if I may call them, of india. But there is so much to Ahmedabad that we don’t know or sometimes even though it is in the known we haven’t explored that part. Now what defines an ‘amdavadi’ (yes we people from Ahmedabad call it ‘Amdavad’ and refer to each other as ‘amdavadis’ ) from everyone else? Yes we are entrepreneurs, love garba, and exist in every part of the world but the major thing that we all love is food. Ahmedabad’s food culture is one of the most underrated food scenes in India. From delicious street food, to suave restaurants to great bakeries and great cafes - it is all here. The influence by various

Culture and religions form the city of Ahmedabad and give its charm. There is a lot ofinfluence of Jain, Parsi, Islamic, Hindu cultures in the living style with a sizeable population of Sikhs and Christians too. Contrary to a lot of beliefs it is quite a cosmopolitan city.

Most people when visiting Ahmedabad, visit the main city and go back. I agree that the western part of the city is upcoming and developing quite rapidly, but for me a visit to the city is incomplete without visiting the roots. The Eastern part of Ahmedabad more famously known as the walled city is where the old Ahmedabad starts and it has a unique charm to it. No other city in the world has the ‘pol’ concept like Ahmedabad. You will find houses lined up close knit with a small lane between two rows of houses. It was said that during the pre-independence days the revolutionaries could jump from one deck to another and go sideways to emerge from a completely different ‘pol’. This is how complex the construction of the pols was. The eastern city boasts some architecture marvels like the ‘Sidi Sayed Jali’, ‘Hutheesingh ni Haveli’, ‘Hutheesingh Jain temple’, ‘Jama Masjid’, the ‘Jhutla Minara’ (where when one minaret was shaken the other one would move as well), ‘Bhadrakali Temple’ and many more. The list is endless. A heritage walk that takes you through the city is highly recommended. The gates of the city like the ‘Teen Darwaza’, ‘Lal Darwaza’ which used to be the entry points of the city are worth checking out. For the foodies, there are lot of options around the old city, apart from the restaurants around two places are a must visit. Manekchowk which has some the best local street food that there is a must go. Open till late in the night a visit in the wee hours is recommended, the energy of the place is the sight to behold. For the meat lovers in Ahmedabad Bhatiyar Gali is a place to visit. About 80% of the city is vegetarian, so there are lots of vegetarian options available and places like bhatiyar gali for the meat eaters.

Ahmedabad along with all of the above characteristics is a city of the festivals. Navratri and Uttarayan are two festivals where the city is like no other place in India. All the other 2 festivals are celebrated with equal joy but there’s something special about these two and
celebrating them in Ahmedabad. Ask someone who has gone to celebrate kite flying in Old Ahmedabad,, it is a sight to watch. The sky with the colorful kites in the morning and the lanterns (tukkals) in the evening is a brilliant sight. On the 14th and 15th of January the life comes to a
standstill and people are to be seen on their rooftops celebrating a unique festival. Navratri is another popular festival in Ahmedabad. The garba continues for nine days making the atmosphere and the energy of the city absolutely brilliant. For nine days amdavadis forget everything and just dance. The best part is going home late on the last night and having some delicious fafda-jalebi as an early breakfast for Dusshera. For amdavadis every festival or an event begins and ends with food.

The old city then was connected with the new city with a slew of bridges where in Ellis Bridge, a historical bridge built in the 19th century, is an interesting site to go to. You cannot leave the city by not visiting Gandhi Ashram and the Calico Mills. Once known as the ‘Manchester of the East’ and having more textile mills than any city in India, the old dysfunctional mills are a grim reminder of the city’s glorious past in textiles.

The new era ushered a new kind of energy into the city. From the cozy city where you would almost always find a known face at certain place was next to impossible now. Gone are the days when you had to go through the small ‘galis’ and now the enormous over bridges and the roads await. Posh restaurants and sprawling malls have risen throughout the city. They say change is inevitable so I welcome this one as well. It’s just that as an amdavadi, I hope that the old charm of the city is not lost. Do I miss the city of the 90’s, a part of me would say “Yes”, but this is a new beginning for the city. It is now that it has become a symbol of aspiration, hope and achievement. It saddens me that people only characterize it with certain events in the city. This is an example of the event when the correct leader and the correct intentions juxtapose and you get great results for the city. The river front projects, the redevelopment of the highways are all examples of how different this city has become. One thing though that hasn’t changed is the spirit of the city. It is said that Sultan Ahmed Shah founded this city when he saw the brave act of a hare chasing a dog. This typifies the city I was born and brought up in.

To me, Ahmedabad is still one of those beautiful cities in India that amalgamates the past so beautifully with the present without changing the character of either. Visit the place and I hope you would fall in love with the city and love it as much as I love it today even though I haven’t
seen it for the past six years.

As posted on kidsfreesouls http://www.kidsfreesouls.com/index.php/kidsfreesouls/guest-column/aadit-kapadia/1056-east-of-west-ahmedabad-is-the-best

-AK

Gujarati Cuisine and Handvo

Known for its economics, entrepreneurship and off late political leadership, Gujarat has a lot to offer in terms of food. The most common myth with Gujarati cuisine is that it is always sweet and all Gujaratis love some sugar in their food. The cuisine is much more than that and ideally Gujarati cuisine can be divided in to 4 aspects: Saurashtra cuisine, Central Gujarat cuisine, South Gujarat cuisine and North Gujarat cuisine. All of them have remarkable influences on an average Gujarati meal or thali as its better known as now.

South Gujarat food is on the spicier side with most of the dishes having a hearty mix of chillies and other assorted spices. The famous ‘surtiundhiyu’ cooked in an earthen pot below the surface comes from South Gujarat. North Gujarat and Saurashtra possess a far more rustic feel to their cuisines and the food is closer to the rural backgrounds. North Gujarat also has Kutch which has its unique taste and is also influenced by Sindhi cuisine. Central Gujarat includes the contemporary Gujarati cuisine amalgamated with the old school dishes. This also has the two biggest cities Ahmadabad and Vadodra. Ahmedabad has two huge influences in the food, the Jain/Vaishanvite influence and the Islamic influence. In the by lanes of the old cities this is quite evident, where the non-vegetarian cuisine in the old city is primarily influenced by the Mughalai and Islamic heritage, the vegetarianism in the city (lots of it) come from the former influence. Vadodra on the other hand although is predominantly good Gujarati fare, has some food influenced by Marathi cuisine since it was ruled by the Gaikwads once.

Some of the famous Gujarati foods include undhiyu, khaman, khandvi and so forth. An interesting thing about Gujarati thalis are that they would always have around 10 or more things prepared. Most Gujaratis love some ‘farsan’ with their food, which are basically different kinds of side dishes prepared with mostly quite basic ingredients. They include khaman, khandvi, kachori and so forth. Another unique aspect of Gujarati cuisine is the now famous sweetness in subzis and dals. Traditional Gujarati dal will have a little jaggery put in and will also have chilli and kokum. This gives it a unique sweet, sour and a slight spicy tinge. In fact Gujarati cuisine has reinvented the concept of sweet and sour foods by the use of kokum. Khaman, Dhokla (yes in Gujarat, khaman and dhokla are two different things); khandvi and other things are quite popular and are used as side dishes or appetizers. Let us know about a dish which is a complete meal and quite easy to make. It is known all over Gujarat as ‘Handvo’.

The concept of this dish is that it includes all the necessary components of a meal namely dal, rice and veggies. Thus it is not only a complete meal, but also very nutritious. Although this has been made in Gujarat for a long time, with new electrical appliances after the 80′s and the 90′s it is much easier to make.

So without further ado here is the recipe of a good and delicious handvo:

RECIPE

Ingredients

Dals

• 1/2 cup Toovar dal (arhar)
• 3 tbsp. urad dal
• 3 tbsp. chana dal

Rice and Curd

• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 cup sour curd (depending on consistency.. make sure that the curd is a little lumpy and it has to be sour)

Veggies

• 1 ½ cup of doodhi (bottle gourd) (it has to be grated)  (If you want to create a mix veggie handvo u can also put carrots, green beans, cauliflower, tomatoes, and some potatoes — (all finely chopped and grated)

Oil and Spices

• Around 6-8 tbsps of oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp turmeric (haldi)
• 1 tsp green chilli paste
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ tsp bi-carb for the salty texture

Salt (as required)

Vaghar (Tadka)

• 1 tsprai (mustard seeds)
• A pinch of hing (asafetida)
• 1 tsp til (sesame seeds)

Serves around: 6-8 people

Procedure

• Mix all the dals and soak them with rice for around 5-6 hours
• After the rice and dals have adequately puffed up; blend them to a flowy consostuency.
• Mix this mixture with the yogurt and let it sit for fermentation. Preferably overnight with normal yogurt but with sour yogurt 6-7 hours should suffice
• Add all the spices with 4 tbps of oil and the bottle gourd and mix it with the mixture
• Take a quarter of this mixture (half if you have a huge tray) and put into an oven baking tray. Make a thick layer and pour about half of the pan because it will puff up. Make sure the tray is adequately greased with oil
• For the tadka, take 3 tsps of oil and put the mustard seeds and let them simmer
• Once they are simmered add the hing and sesame seeds and pour over the batter.
• After pre heating the oven; bake this for around 35 minutes till its golden brown
• Repeat the procedure for more batches

The process of cooking the dals and the curd is long but you just have to mix it overnight, and put the handvo to bake before your meal; it will come out perfectly.

Handvo tastes the best with Gujarati mango pickles, lemon pickles (if you like a little zing), green chutneys and Sugar (since handvo will be on the sour side sugar will taste good),

All these four and a glass of masala chaas and it will be a nice filling Gujarati meal.

As I mentioned before you can always add more veggies and make it a veggie handvo in that case proportion it against the bottle gourd and some increase in the dals.

A new beginning

Been thinking of creating a blog for a long time. Never gave it a serious thought, but i am now thinking of writing and doing something what i'm passionate about and what I've wanted to do for a long time. I will be posting my thoughts on a variety of issues ranging from politics, sports, food, lifestyle, culture and a host of other issues. 

          Being an avid reader i love to read about current issues and writing on them. So starting a new venture with this. i will also be posting my columns on other websites here. i look forward to feedback on my write ups. 

Cheers

-AK