The Wrong Kind of Milk In Our Coffee

Our neighbors now collectively own FIVE animals of the cow variety (2 cows and 3 buffaloes). When I first moved here there were only 3, but recently the cow and buffalo have been popping out babies. Aside from having a really cute cow baby to pet, there are other 'products' that come from the birth of a cow/buffalo.

After the cow gives birth, its milk is different than regular, plain-ol' cow's milk. For a few days its milk has a higher quantity of fats and vitamins than it normally would. People can also drink this milk and in fact, many people really like it. To make a special 'treat' with the new cow's milk you just boil it and add raw sugar. Once its boiled it separates into liquid with small pieces and becomes a light brown color, called Khees. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Khees, though I don't hate it either. Its just one of those things that throws you off mentally when you hear what it is, even though the taste isn't bad. Actually, the first time I ever met my in-laws they served me Khees. I had never heard of it before and judging by its texture and taste I was a little scared. Though, I was even more scared not to finish it so that my in-laws' first impression of me wouldn't be that I'm a picky eater! Ha!

ANYWAYS, our neighbors so graciously bring us Khees every time their cow or buffalo has a baby. Usually when they bring it, it has already been boiled and changed color. This time when they brought it, it was still in its normal white milk form. So this morning in my sleepy stupor, I reached into the fridge to grab the milk for mine and Abhinav's coffee. I performed my usual half-asleep ritual of making coffee for the both of us without a second thought of what I was doing. We both sat to read the newspaper and drink our coffee, when suddenly my mother-in-law came in the room and asked me a strange question. "Jess, how is your coffee today???" I drink coffee the same way everyday and she never asks me how it is. Why now? With a funny smile on her face she showed me the two different bowls of milk. "You made Khees coffee!" I tasted my coffee and realized I had used the Khees milk instead of regular milk. Which, does not taste the same AT ALL.

The strange mistakes that I could never make in the U.S. surface all the time in India...hmm :)

Horniest Citizens Award Goes To...

In India, I've made it a part of my daily routine to read the English newspaper (I make my attempts at the Hindi newspaper when I have extra-EXTRA time on my hands). Thanks to Times of India I've really come to enjoy a writer by the name of Jug Suraiya and his articles in the Ideas section of the paper. He doesn't have articles published daily, but when his articles do run they are often about current events or situations in modern-day India. From thought provoking to straight out funny, his articles are interesting and well-written.

My favorite article so far is what I would call a perfect explanation of Indian traffic, at least from a foreigner's point of view. I once had the idea to make a recording of the sounds of Indian traffic but when I replayed it in my camera it was nothing but constant loud, overbearing noise. The kind of noise that literally makes your ears hurt and the hair on your arms stand on end.

The following is Jug Suraiya's article, 'Horny India.' Enjoy.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/horny-india

And I have to add this comment given by another reader:
When I learned to drive almost 50 years ago, one of the advices given to me by my instructor was "hamesha haarn bajana--- bhulna nahi". I did not question why, because he was my guru!
Which translated means, "Always blow the horn--do not forget!"

A Different Kind of J.O.B.

This group of musicians comes through our colony about once a week playing the dholak(drum), tambourine, and hand cymbals, while singing songs. They go throughout the city playing music to earn money. Sometimes people will come outside of their homes to give them small amounts of money.

The tradition of these types of music groups roaming the streets and playing for money is actually quite interesting. In Indian history, and still today, people with leprosy were banned from acquiring normal jobs or living in normal quarters. Leper colonies were even created (at least 1,000 in India) for those that were plagued with leprosy. Without many opportunities for jobs from employers, brilliance of mind and musical creativity opened this opportunity for ailing lepers to earn a living in society.

These days the traditions still continues and some people, like the ones you see in this video, are still able to earn money and provide for themselves while living with a crippling disease.

Indian Independence Day

August 15th marked the 65th anniversary of Indian Independence.

India might have many fun and exciting festivals and celebrations, but I'm sad to say that Independence Day in India is not much compared to U.S Independence Day. :-P I'm used to outdoor picnics, barbeques, live bands, family and friends, and lots  butt-loads of fireworks. To India's defense, it is monsoon season, and rain not only covered, but flooded Independence Day without even a minute of dry relief. So besides the deluge of rain, the day was rather uneventful.

Gaining Independence from the British in 1947, it is a rather young country. Nonetheless, Happy Birthday to India, a country full of deep and colorful culture and traditions not found anywhere else in this world.

Raksha Bandhan; A Brother-Sister Affair

On Saturday, August 13th, we celebrated the annual bro-sis festival of Raksha Bandhan. With Raksha and Bandhan meaning protect and promise, the brother makes a promise of protection to his sister. The sister ties a band (rakhi) around the brother's wrist, reminding him of the promise he made to her.

I really enjoy the idea of a promise made between brother and sister like this, and it makes me wonder why, in the U.S., we don't celebrate that unique bond that a brother and sister hold. Even when family members live far apart, they make it a point to come together for this festival. Many times rakhi is also exchanged between close cousins, considering each other as brother and sister.

For Raksha Bandhan we had family come and stay with us, which is always nice. And of course, like any festival, excellent food was had. :)

 Abhi and Shivangi

Shivangi tying rakhi on Abhinav's wrist 

Shivangi tying rakhi on my wrist. Husband and wife are considered as one, so when a sister ties rakhi on her brother's wrist, she also ties it on her brother's wife.

My Mother-In-Law tying rakhi on her brother's wrist. 

Mother-In-Law tying rakhi on brother's wife's wrist.

Happy Raksha Bandhan.

Chyawanprash: In Sickness and in Health

The practice of using natural medicines and (ayurvedic medicines) originated in India, bringing remedies for illnesses from the major to the minor. With the main concern being finding a cure for sickness using all natural ingredients, ayurveda provides natural medicines for things like upset stomachs or bad gas to artery and heart disease to diabetes and more. There are even yoga exercises that are practiced to keep good health as far as illness and disease are concerned. Within India many ingredients, such as turmeric and cumin, that are used in everyday foods are also key to ayurvedic practice of maintaining good health.

I recently started showing symptoms of a cold (first one in 6 months, I think thats pretty good!), so Abhinav introduced me to a new "product" used in ayurveda. Its not exactly a cold medicine, per say, but more of an immunity booster. It can be eaten throughout the year... in sickness and in health.

Its called chyawanprash and I really have never seen anything like it in my life. Its this dark brown paste with a strong sour smell; not appealing to the senses in any way by its looks alone. The taste is not so bad, though i takes some getting used to if you've never had it before. And its really difficult to describe, other than a mixture of salty, spicy, sweet, and sour all-in-one.

Chyawanprash is made up of around 50 different ingredients, but the main effective ingredient used is Amla(Indian Gooseberry). Amla is considered the fruit with the highest Vitamin C content on the earth, and is a key ingredient in many ayurvedic medicines. For a list of other ingredients used in chyawanprash, look here.

Nice color, huh? 

Here's to better health!

Making Paneer

With the help of Google and YouTube, I was really excited to learn how to make Paneer. Paneer is a type of Indian cheese with a very plain taste that doesn't easily melt like our regular American or Provolone cheeses (man, I miss cheese). Since its used in a lot of different Indian vegetarian dishes and I have never seen it in the States, I wanted to be able to make it when we return home. Surprisingly, its super easy to make!

First, bring your milk to a boil (I used 1 liter).

When milk begins to boil (before it starts to boil rapidly), slowly add lemon juice (about 3-4tbsp) and stir with  heat on low.

Milk will start to separate into curds(cheese) and whey (milk liquid) {ahh, Little Miss Muffet FINALLY makes sense now!}. If the milk isn't separating you might need to add more lemon juice. Once separated, turn off the heat.

Using cheese cloth or any other thin type of cloth, strain your cheese.

Rinse the cheese with cold water to remove any lemon taste. While still inside the cloth, squeeze out excess water from the cheese; the more excess water you squeeze, the harder the cheese will settle. You can wrap the cheese in a cloth and form into a block shape if you wish by placing two flat and heavy surfaces on either side. Let it sit and cool for about 30 mins. You can use it for cooking immediately or else store in the refrigerator.

Our 1 liter of milk made about 100 grams of paneer (not very much) so don't feel bad when you look at the finished product and think somebody stole your milk! Its normal :-)

We used our paneer to make paneer paranthas, just like my previous onion paranthas.

Enjoy!