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Wednesday 28 August 2013

Chakli Recipe | easy way of making Chakli | Boiled Urad Dal Murukku/ Chakali / Chakkuli (made with cooked urad dal )



Chakli... The name rings instant delight. There are hundreds of recipes for chakli. This snack is a must for every south Indian home - both during functions and celebrations and also on daily snacks platter.





I love chaklis. They are easy to make, children love them and they can be prepared instantly and savoured for many days. I have tried different recipes for chaklis, some instant and some requiring days of preparation. But there are no two opinions regarding which chaklis taste authentic - the ones which are prepared using urad dal.

Urad dal gives that distinct aroma, delicious taste to chakli. But let us admit, grandma's recipe for this authentic chakli, no doubt is numero uno, but the preparation time and the procedures involved need way too long time and energy, which is very scarce nowadays.

So when my colleague Radha brought delicious chaklis made from urad dal and informed that they are instant chaklis, I was all ears for its recipe. Thanks to her wonderful recipe, I could prepare these chaklis within half an hour for Gokulashtami and am sure Lord Krishna was also damn pleased and has blessed me to learn many more such things and share them with Him and you guys :-)





These crisp golden brown and delicious chaklis earned me brownie points from my daughter and hubby and boy, was I delighted! It was like icing on the cake.The pleasure  of cooking manifolds when a connoisseur appreciates it and when you get a little pat on the back and of course a big smile :-D

So want to try this wonderful recipe? Don't worry, there is no fear of it getting spoiled or getting it wrong, and it can be prepared within minutes using the ingredients available at home. Ok ok...The introduction was a bit long. And you want the recipe... Here you go:-)

Recipe video : 






Preparation time     :    5 minutes
Cooking time           :    30 minutes

Ingredients :

  • Urad dal                    1 cup
  • Rice flour                  4 cups
  • Butter or ghee          1 tablespoon
  • Jeera                         2 tbsp
  • Til                               2 tbsp
  • Coarsely ground pepper 1 tablespoon
  • Hing                          1/2 tsp
  • Oil for frying
  • Salt to taste


Preparation :





  • Wash and cook urad dal in cooker for 5 whistles and let it cool.
  • Mix all other ingredients in a bowl along with two teaspoons of heated butter.
  • Grind the cooked urad dal in mixie and add to the above.
  • Knead well adding water if required.
  • Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai.
  • Roll chaklis with chakli maker on a paper.
  • Fry over low oil till they turn golden brown.
  • Your crispy chaklis are ready. Don't forget to give me feedback after you eat them :-) Happy Cooking :-D



Tuesday 6 August 2013

Hindu Culture and Festivals -- Bheemana Amavasya

livegoodlife-lp.blogspot.in
Do you believe in customs and traditions? Are you spiritual or orthodox? What do the festivals mean to you? Are you indifferent to them, or follow them as just rituals or try to find out the reason, history behind these festivities. As for me I am spiritual but not orthodox, celebrate the festivals not as a custom but as a social celebration, cook delicacies meant for the festival day not as a binding compulsion, but because I want to enjoy and share the pleasure with my family and friends. What about you ???

Monday 5 August 2013

Applying for Google Adsense? Have you taken care of these points?

              Work from Home  

Are you interested in working from home? Trying to make money online?  Trying to generate income from Internet through your blogs, websites? Are you a work from home mom, trying to find avenues of earning some extra dollars, and planning to apply for Google Adsense? If your answer is yes to any of the above questions, read these tips and guidelines before you proceed.

Google Adsense

We all love to write. And we all need money. period. The biggest incentive and attraction for writing online is generally the handsome income. People who want to add some additional bucks, or who would love to work from home generally look up to make money online through Google Adsense program. That is by placing ads on their blogs and websites and getting money when  readers click on the ads.

And rightly so. Because among all the on line advertisement programs, Google Adsense is far more popular, well established and pays well. And they have a well set rules and procedures, all very well established.

Saturday 3 August 2013

How to get readers to your Blog ?

How to make your blog interesting?

Imagine you have grown a beautiful flower, what do you want to do next ? You may want to offer it to God, or present it to your loved ones. Even if you don't like to pluck the flower and want to leave it in the plant,you would love others to look at it and appreciate it. You want the pleasure of sharing. You would like others to appreciate your efforts. Isn't it?

Or suppose you have prepared some delicious dish. More than eating it yourself or eating alone, sharing the dish would enhance your pleasure.

Friday 2 August 2013

Parenting Tips

Economy :                             

Recently I came across an answer given by a boy in an interactive site wherein the boy had answered to a question regarding " How do people react to moving from low to a high standard of living. "

The boy was very articulate and firm and very forthcoming with explicit answers, quoting examples from his own family, about himself, his father and his grandfather. He had clearly analysed the socio economic background of the three - how from have nots, to middle class from the past two generations, he had moved up the ladder and has reached the top spectrum of the society. 


He narrated how his grandfather - from partition days - with great difficulty survived and moved to India to make a living for himself. This economic evolution had an effect on his social upbringing too and taking a lesson from Maslow's Hierarchy, he had beautifully explained the problems of generation gaps. Unfortunately the boy had written as Anonymous, so I cannot name him, but I would love to quote his words of final analysis "  "My   Grandad's greatest worry is to see all that he built breakup. My   Dad's  greatest worry is not having enough savings for his family. My   greatest worry is being  stuck in a routine lifestyle, with the same  old  people in the same old job." "

Art of Living :


As long as I was reading the article I was feeling as if he was taking words from my mouth. He reminded me of myself in my younger days, my reactions, my way of thinking and expressing and my style of living, i.e.being upright and straight-forward - sometimes even being labelled as a rebel and confrontationalist.

And suddenly it dawned ! Not only was his line of thinking and speaking similar to mine, it was exactly the way my son would speak. While reading the article I also had felt as if I was listening to my son, putting across his points, as effectively - with supporting facts and figures which broods no further argument. I could not help sharing this opinion with my son and he too acknowledged the fact with a smile. 

Generation Gap :

We would be seriously wrong if we claim that the previous generation was less intelligent than the present one. On the contrary  we can claim that the present generation is more smart than their predecessors :-) If we say the gen-next boys to do or not to do something, they demand a reason or logic for it. Why were our predecessors not like that? Or were they?

For example, when I tell my children to go to temple and pray, they will ask why go there as we can as well pray at home. My grandfather would not have questioned his father like that. Or did he? What would have been that father's explanation?

God and Religion :

Recently I came across a mail that was doing circulation on the net, from an unknown source, scientifically explaining the need go pray in temples which I have quoted below. 

The scientific explanation for visiting Temples regularly :


Generally, vedic temples are located in a place where earth’s magnetic waves pass through.
In simple terms, these temples are located strategically at a place where the positive energy is abundantly available from the magnetic wave distribution of north/ south pole thrusts.
The Main Idol is placed in the center,where high magnetic values are available.A copper plate with some Vedic scripts is buried,beneath the Main Idol. This place is known as “Garbhagriha” or Moolasthana.
The copper plate absorbs the earth's magnetic waves and radiates them to the surroundings. Thus a person making clockwise pradakshina of the Main Idol’s placement, automatically receives the beamed magnetic waves.
Regular visits make him absorb more positive energy.The Sanctum Sanctorum is completely enclosed on three sides.The effect of all energies is very high in here.The lamp that is lit radiates the heat and light energy.The ringing of the bells and the chanting of prayers gives sound energy.The fragrance from the flowers, the burning of camphor give out chemical energy. The effect of all these energies comes out of the idol.
This is in addition to the north/south pole magnetic energy that is absorbed by the copper plate and utensils that are kept in the Moolasthanam.
The water used for the Pooja is mixed with Cardamom, Benzoin, Holy Basil (Tulsi), Clove, etc is the “Theertham”.This water becomes more energized because it receives all these combined energies.
The water that is sprinkled onto the people passes on the energy to all. That is the reason why, men should not wear shirts to the temple and ladies should wear more ornaments because it is through these jewels (metal) that positive energy is absorbed by ladies.
It is proved that Theertham is a very good blood purifier, as it is highly energized. In addition, temples offer holy water (about three spoons).This water is mainly a source of magneto therapy as they place the copper water vessel at the Garbhagriha.
It also contains cardamom, clove, saffron, etc to add taste and Tulsi (holy Basil) leaves are put into the water to increase its medicinal value!
The clove essence protects one from tooth decay, the saffron & Tulsi leave essence protects one from common cold and cough, cardamom and benzoine
known as Pachha Karpuram,acts as a mouth refreshing agents.
Last, but not least….when you walk around in the PRAHARAMS…both inner and outer… your walking exercise is done in a serene atmosphere!!!!
This way, one’s health too is protected, by regularly visiting Temples ! "
Physics and Philosophy : 
I don't have the source or the author of this information, but it sounds quite right to me. But for my son, this would sound like physics and chemistry. My father, may be would have learnt about it, but would have thought, " Let me tell if and when asked", and my grandfather would have silently followed his father without questioning and his father might have been too scared to ask, his father would not have dared to even think of asking, and his father .......
This can go on and on and on. The only complaint I have against my predecessors is that either they didn't records the scientific reason for everything they did, or questioned when being asked to do. Or may be they wrote it down in a language which was not universal - Sanskrit - which is not as widely used in today's world like English.
Records :
So at least now is the time to keep a record of scientific analysis and findings and preserve them. Let us record what we know, let us try to find out what we don't know, or keep a track of what has not been recorded properly so that the next generation will have a strong scientific basis and foundation and don't under estimate our knowledge :-)
Tell Me :
Do you agree with me or differ? I would love to hear from you and receive your feedbacks. Please feel free to give your opinions in the comment box below.