Indulge in Indian- Helsinki Times

Thrilled to have another article published in the Helsinki Times!

http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/news/index.php/eat-and-drink/3425-indulge-in-indian

Passion for Pedhas

Its nearly the end of the week! The sun is still shining bright, despite the fact that summer has been declared officially over! Work has been going well and I'm all set to start teaching Bharatanatyam (Indian Classical Dance), this weekend to a bunch of very passionate learners. Reason enough for a bit of sweet celebration?

I love food and I do love to cook. But I always get cold feet when it comes to Indian desserts. Sweets were especially made during festival times when the family 'chefs' were always around- mom or my aunt or my granny! And with these expert cooks taking over my kitchen to handle the desserts, I never really got the hang of making them. My range is very limited. I can precisely make 3 Indian sweets and am definitely more comfortable making a pannacotta than rolling out traditional polis (jaggery/dal stuffed thin pancakes).

The chosen dish was 'pedha', simply because both my kids love it with equal passion and have not had a chance to savour it these last 6 months. A milk-based dish it has several variations, consistencies and specifications. I trawled through websites for recipes and was alarmed at how many I found. Except for the main ingredient, ricotta cheese, the others are my brave additions:

250 gms of ricotta cheese
4 table spoons of condensed milk (depending on how sweet you like it)
2 table spoons of ghee
2 pinches of cardamom powder
2 tablespoons of finely ground almond powder

I heated up the ghee and simply added in the rest of the ingredients. I left it on slow flame and gave it a good stir now and then. After about 15-20 minutes, all the moisture evaporated, leaving behind a soft ball of creamy goodness.I patted them into little flat balls and pressed a pistachio on the top. Refrigerated it for half an hour or so to allow the pedhas to retain their shape.

The kids gobbled a couple of pieces yesterday and have packed a few for their snack at school today.

A very tasty, super easy, no complication Indian dessert that can be whipped up within half an hour! Yipee, my repertoire just increased and now stands at a grand 4!

Glorious, glorious food!!

The summer was packed with travel, good times, new sights and spectacular tastes!
For me, food is as much a treat to the eyes as is it is on the tongue! I can do without ambience but not without appeal. I have eaten in ramshackle joints but only because the food there was oh so inviting!

Every meal was a gastronomic delight- atleast to me and my son!We are the confirmed foodies at home. Whether it was the hand-made gnocchi that we had in a little alley in Trastevere, the flavourful pizzas that we lunched on in some remote suburb of Rome or just a snack of potato spinach croquettes outside the Vatican- they were all relished with equal and utmost fervour. I'll let the splendid food do the talking!

I am big on markets!Nothing does it for me than visiting a local market filled with fresh produce. I could possibly trace this 'not so common' love for markets way back to when I was a curious kid following my mother every Sunday morning through the farmer's market or 'Sandhai'(as we call it in Tamizh)in Madurai. The heat and haggling never bothered me. In fact, I think it added a certain charm to that rustic setting. So, I was thrilled, to say the least, to visit the century old market square in Budapest. I can easily say that it was the highlight of my Hungarian trip! The colours, the people, the atmosphere-they all told a tale!!I've always believed that a vibrant local market can teach us more about a country than its ancient ruins!The market house in Budapest was not even remotely similar to the humble 'Sandhai' that I used to frequent in Madurai. But the essence, tone and mood were all intact!

The Big Bad 'D' Word

Truth is, its neither big nor bad anymore! Divorce is something that just happens and ever so commonly in this part of the world, that we now call home. It still is rare and kind of taboo in South East Asia(which we used to call home till recently) which is all about family and strong relationships.

The kids have been suddenly exposed to the entire concept.A little too soon for my liking! They have local friends in the neighborhood who live with their mother but visit their step mom and dad every other week when they also get to play with V and S. They have classmates who live with single parents who proudly claim that they have two houses and hence two playrooms. They've met friends of ours- women who are raising babies on their own and grannies who find gardening more worthwhile than husbands!

For kids who have never heard the word before, its been quite an education! Predictably, they were full of questions. Queries that just needed to be heard aloud but answers to which their hearts already knew.

Kids-Will the step- mom be mean to them?
Me-You've met Mrs. X several times. Do you think she is a mean person?

Kids-Why did the Mom and Dad have a fight?
Me- Its not about them fighting. They just were not best friends anymore

Kids-Why did they not make up and sorry?
Me- They did and are happier this way

Kids-Do we have any step-brothers or sisters?
Me-I sure hope not :-)

I'm learning that however much you shield your kids from certain realities in life, they just sneak right into their lives when you least expect them to. This was just a topic we had never discussed. We never had an opportunity to bring it up.It did not occur in the TV shows they watched,books they read, movies they saw or families they interacted with. It was just not in their sphere of thought....till now.


So now, they know that families can be structured differently.People can have two moms or dads and love them all. With that minimum information stored somewhere deep inside their heads and hearts, my little innocents run to the door to greet their friends and also pop in a cheery 'Hello' to their friends' step-mom!

Madras Magic!

I know I'm not supposed to call it Madras but Chennai. But to me, it will be Madras as that's how I've always known it!

Now, I've no strong feelings, attachments, memories with this place. The city is beyond hot, very cluttered and is yet another concrete jungle! I did not grow up here and it was always the 'big city' where I performed (Bharatnatyam, Indian classical dance) or went to a performance!

But Madras means something completely different to my kids. They simply love it! And its easy to see why. They have both sets of their grandparents living there and if that's not reason enough, they get ridiculously pampered in this very city! Having been fortunate enough to travel half the world around, my kids will still rank Madras as their top 3 destinations!

We make a trip atleast once every year and each time, everytime the kids' excitement levels peak! Anticipating their adoring grandparents faces at the airport, visiting the Elliots and Marina beach every single day and having their every whim and fancy catered to- they cant wait for the trip to happen!

I'm glad that they have such strong emotions with an Indian city which they have never called home. I'm touched that they don't find the streets, public toilets or litter revolting. I'm amazed at how they have on the contrary embraced it all as part of the magic that is Madras!

What we do to keep ourselves busy in Madras:

- A day trip to Dakshinchitra- has tons of art and craft activities for the little ones (fantastic open exhibits of art and culture - one place where you will be as enthralled as your kids)

-Gangotri: where we go for our regular fix of chaat (Indian street food served not in the streets but in a hygienic little cafe)

- FunCity: This is a supervised indoor play gym where the kids can go crazy for an hour or so when you can actually shop!

- Elliots and Marina beach: Beware, the beaches are not as clean as they should be. But its more fun than any clean beach! Guaranteed unadulterated pure joy! Kids can go on a bunch of rides, frolic in the water and get so tired that they'll want to hit the sack the minute you go home!

- JuiceShop on Greams Road: This is a drive-in juice shop! Simple thrill- Beating the heat with chilled glasses of fresh juice served right inside the car. My all time favourite is the Mosambi with a dash of lemon!

- Marundeeshwarar Temple: Its a beautiful age-old temple! But what holds it special for the kids is that they can feed the temple calves! The special grass/cow feed can be bought right outside the temple for a few Rupees. Watching the calves munch away while your little ones feed it will definitely be a Kodak moment!

Loving ISH!

Its been 10 days since the International School of Helsinki threw its doors open to a new term. The school is everything I expected and so much more. A small community- just about 300 kids from K1 to K12- the ISH is a dream come true for any kid!



Why I'm loving it:

- V who started 2 nd grade has 13 kids in his class with Mrs. L as his classteacher. She gives the impression of being this warm and kind grandmother who somehow lost her way and ended up in a 2nd grade classroom! Within a week, I got to know more about Mrs. L's health issues, dog and husband than about where she's taught before or the curriculum to be covered. V rattled off snippets about her every evening at dinnertime. When I asked him how he got to know so much, so soon about his teacher, he simply said " we take breaks inbetween work and we share a lot (Good Lord!!) about ourselves. Afterall, we are classmates". Huh, not Mrs.L right? She's your teacher.
"Of course ma, but she's also my classmate....we share the same room"!! Love the way V thinks of Mrs. L as his classmate and not his form teacher!

-S's K2 teacher is a propah, pretty, and very young British lady who I've observed is forever on her knees looking into the eyes of some 5 year old's, listening to every word as if the information coming out is going to change the face of the earth the next minute. I was curious as to what these little imps could possibly say that holds Ms K in trance-like concentration. I got to know soon, as we were early one morning when yet again Ms K was with one of her VIPs. And this is what I heard- " Ms K I'm sorry but I think I forgot to wear my underpants today"!!

- Inspite of the bum skimming shorts and weird hairdo's I've noticed the upper school kids actually holding doors, greeting and even smiling at parents (even the ones they don't know as yet...like me!). To me, that's a great sign and one that communicates about the kind of values that the school imparts.

-The boundaries are seamless. Upper School, Lower school, Faculty, Staff- these are all just words and in paper. In reality, everybody knows everybody and they all work under one roof. Its lovely to watch an 8th grader casually ruffle a kindergarten kid's hair while ambling into the cafeteria. And its equally great to watch the little ones jump and shout as they excitedly run to an older friend!

- The Mad Minute is something like we have at home. Only difference is that ours is not restricted by time! V tells me the Mad Minute is a time to get all the madness out!Sometimes they go all nuts and finish 15 sums in a minute or simply act crazy and silly and then feel better! What a brilliant idea. Every 7 year old needs that release of pent up craziness!

- S's class is huge and even houses a mini icecream parlour. Kids take turns in being the icecream seller and I was allowed once and only once (by my daughter) to be on the other side and choose my flavours. As a mother I was of course allowed to pay with kisses :-)

- V remembers and associates all his classmates with an adjective that describes their most striking quality(a super idea implemented by their Music teacher). For example he will say something like " Bouncy Bruno and Rock N Roll Romy ate lunch with me today". And to his friends, he is 'Voracious Vaibhav'!

- They are all off on an all day picnic on Friday! S will be at her teddy bear picnic when she and the other kindergartners+teachers will bring along their favourite teddies for some outdoor fun. V and the rest of the Lower school are going to some faraway hillside to bond over food and games. No packed lunches on Friday.. Yippee!

Its like a whole new world that's opened up for us in Helsinki. And the more I interact, talk and chat with parents from Argentina, Lithuania, Moscow and Chicago, I just realize how different we are culturally and yet how very similar our fears and hopes and lives are!

Looking forward to more of the ISH experience!!

Our little Miss Sunshine

Our trip to Italy was perfect in every sense save for one unfortunate incident that happened early on in the vacation. The husband's wallet got stolen on one of the busy metros. The loss was about 100 euros and all his identity and credit cards!Thankfully he had the rest of the cash in a safe place. But this episode rattled us to say the least! How, who, why...questions filled our heads.Having lived long spells in cities like Singapore and now Helsinki (our trips to India don't count as we are forever being shepherded by family) where safety and trust are so taken for granted, we were rudely welcomed back to the real world!


We rushed to a police station to register a complaint. But to add further salt to our wounds, we faced this huge barrier called language!! We lumbered across town with heavy hearts to 4 different stations only to find that none of the staff there spoke English!As we were waiting at one such station, the husband and I were discussing what to do next in low tones. We took it in our stride and told ourselves that it could happen to anybody (and it did to seven other people , the same day, the same metro- Barberini for those of you who want to know). But the disappointment in the Dad's face was writ large. Being the most responsible character at home, I guess he was upset that he could be taken advantage off than even losing the stuff. That's when we noticed two pairs of eyes keenly watching our every move.


V&S were quiet throughout the afternoon. I guess they had only read about thieves and never actually come across any. We explained to them how these things do happen and the Dad took the opportunity to highlight the fact that in such cases it is best to remain calm and composed and look for solutions, like we were doing just then.

They nodded their heads absorbing it all in. V then asked if we'd have money for the next meal, live on the streets of Helsinki when we get back and if we were officially now 'poor'. Justifiable seven year old worries!

The little girl suddenly blurted out ' Dada, I don't see the whole fuss behind this! Amma says that the bank will give you new cards. You tell me that you have a job where the money lost can be easily made back. So why are you all looking so sad? Is it because of the wallet? Was it a special gift? Don't worry, V has several at home and I'll ask him to give you his best wallet, ok? Now, can we please go and get some gelato?'

If only we can always, always be like you, Shriya! Seeing the positive in everything and shrinking problems to nothing! She'll never sweat the small stuff and according to her everything is really small stuff!! I don't know how much we taught you from this rather invasive real-life incident, but you sure did teach us a thing or two that day, Little Miss Sunshine!

Our Italian Itinerary

Italy can be done in a week, month or over several trips. There's so much to do, see, eat and experience that we decided (even before actually going there) that we'll need to make more than one trip.

Overwhelming is what comes to mind when I think of Rome. There's just way too much to see in that one city. Being our last vacation before school started and having just come back from our hectic Eastern European trip, the kids and husband were very clear that they wanted to 'chill' on this vacation! It was 3 of them against me. Not that I'm against chilling but come on, nobody goes to Rome to do that!


So, that's how we ended up doing the sights and sounds in 7 days that most people will pack in 3 days! A compromise of sorts! We would start our day at a leisurely 11am after breakfast and decide where and what to have for lunch immediately after! All sightseeing began only after that. But I couldn't complain for long as the sun didn't go down till 9.30pm and we did get to see and experience all the touristy stuff, but one at a time. If we did the Colosseum one afternoon, then the evening was spent at the Villa Borghese parks. The Bocca Dela Verite (mouth of truth) I would have normally skipped. But just watching the kids fret, hesitate and worry before putting their hands in the mouth for a fleeting second was well- worth the hour long journey that it took us getting there.Many a leisurely hour went by at the Spanish steps eating gelato and watching people. Suited me very well! Allowed me to soak it all in at a very relaxed pace.

We had done our fair bit of research and learning before we went on this trip. The kids were visibly excited and rattled off history and facts when they sighted the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. I knew the very best gelato place in all of Rome which meant we had to trek halfway across town before we could relish those extra special delights.The kids knew all the popular Italian flavours like Crema (egg and cream), Fior Di Latte (just milk), Fruitti De Bosco (raspberry.. I think) which justified the very frequent gelato breaks that we took.

Rome is like an open museum. Ruins and history everywhere you look. And without the right guidance or expert tips from the locals you could easily pass by something spectacular without even realizing it. We were lucky to get a lot of advice from our very Italian owner and housekeeper of the place where we were staying. They suggested we take a trip to Orvietto, a little hill town in Umbria. And we did just that.

I can easily say that Orvietto was one of the best things that happened to us. It is such a hidden jewel just a couple of hours from Rome. Sun drenched hills with sloping vineyards, quaint little ceramic stores and quiet cafes alternatively lining narrow streets, an exquisite cathedral bang in the middle of the market square- it gave us a peek into the 'real' Italy. The exact kind of break we needed from Rome!

Recharged from our little getaway we came back with added vigour to take in more of Rome. But when it came to choosing between seeing more ruins at the Forum or walking through Trastevere, a charming suburb famous for its food, the latter won hands down. We might have missed a few sights but what we will always remember are the walks we took down the beautiful parks, the birds we fed in front of the Vatican, the gelatos that we licked off each others cones and the afternoon we spent atop a hill gazing down the rolling Italian countryside!