Required: 1 small tomato, 1 cheese slice, 2 eggs, 1/2 sp butter

Optional: chili flakes, pepper powder, green coriander, tandoori chicken masala

Method:

- Heat the butter and spread over a pan

- Fry finely chopped tomatoes (can add any spices, pepper etc)

- Break eggs directly on the pan and spread evenly mixing yellow and white

- let it firm (takes 2-3 mins), make sure it is not sticking to teh pan

- tear cheese slice into bits and spread over the egg, spread green coriander if you will

- wait for 1 min

- fold amlait into half

Serve hot…

Required

Chicken legs, tomatoes (1 per leg), red/green chili (1 per leg), 1 sp ginger paste (per leg), 1/4 sp soya sauce (per leg), 1/4 sp garam masala (per leg), 1/4 sp tandoori chicken masala (per leg), 1 and 1/2 sp oil per leg, 1/2 sp salt per leg

Sookhi Tangdi - basic ingredients

Preparation

Dig the chicken legs with knife and apply ginger paste and tandoori chicken masala. Fine grind the tomatoes and chili.

Method

Heat the oil in pan and fry tomato-chili paste for 10 mins. When it is a little brown, add garam masala and fry for 2-3 mins.

Add chicken, soya sauce and salt and stir so that chicken is covered in paste. Cover and fry for 5 mins, remove lid and turn and again fry for 5 more mins. Sprinkle little bit of tandoori chicken masala for color and taste. Fry for 2-3 more mins.

Serve with more tandoori chicken masala sprinkled, lime and green coriander leaves.

Required (for 2 people)

400 gms boneless chicken cut into 1 inch cubes, salad leafs, mayonnaise, 1sp butter, 1 sp black pepper powder, 200 gm long chopped baby corn, 1/2 capsicum chopped, 2 sachet oregano

Optional
boiled potato, mushroom or any other salad vegetables, olive oil

Method

Boil the chicken in water with 1 sp salt for 15 mins on high flame (water level just enough to submerge the chicken pieces). Drain excess water (can be used as chicken stork actually), wash pieces in cold water and spread to dry.

Melt the butter and in a bowl and saute the babycorn in it for 5 mins. Then shake the chicken with it and the rest of the ingredients well after covering the bowl with a lid. Salad is ready!

Tossed chicken salad

- First there are official discounts but you must ask about each of them, otherwise they can be hidden!

• Corporate Discount, if you are working for a big MNC
• Loyalty Bonus (just a pretext of attracting previous buyers of same brand)
• Govt Employee schemes (it might make sense for you to buy a car on dad’s name for e.g.)
• Cash discounts, seasonal offers or free gifts
• Group discounts (if two or more people buy together from same showroom, larger the no the better)

So inquire about all of them. You might be able to land a combination. A good idea is to ask about these on phone from at least 2 dealers so that you have a very good picture. These are major discounts.

- Then start bargaining for free accessories (both major and minor). Starting from mud flaps, carpet, sun-film, car perfume, idol, teflon coat, teflon polish, reverse tweeter, gear lock, central lock, car cover, seat cover etc…this will have to be done face to face. Call and meet at least 2 salesman from different showroom.

- If you get one or more of the above discounts and a few accessories, thats not it! You can easily get more from dealer’s margin. But first finalize the dealer now. Go to showroom or call salesman. Show them a cheque and tell them to give more discount and you will give the booking right there, otherwise you will ‘think about it’. Dont hesitate in coming back. You may not get anything but worth a try (can give you some free/discounted accessories or cash discount of 1-2k). You can always go back.

- If you are going for cash down, the dealer might give you some more concession. If you are going for finance, the bank or finance agent may leave some of their incentive and you can get a better deal.

- Finance (car-loan) should be taken very carefully. First you will be quoted high rate. But call several banks directly and pit them against each other for better deals. Try to waive off the processing charges.

Note:

- Always be cordial but persistent and persuasive

- Dont go overboard with bargaining, it will kill the pleasure of car buying, do it for fun and experience rather

- Better not be too impatient when buying (but it is difficult to do so)

Required

For 2 people: 2 medium tomato (finely chopped), 1 medium potato (finely chopped), 100 gm peas, 2 garlic slices, a bit of ginger, 2 green chilie (ginger, garlic and chili can be grounded instead of fine chopping), 1 sp ginger paste, 1 sp garlic paste

1/2 sp red chili, 1/2 sp garam masala, 1/2 sp coriander powder, 1/2 sp turmeric, salt, 2 sp oil, 1/2 sp cumin seeds, 1-2 bay leaf (tej patta)

1/2 cup rice (read the ‘golden rules’ to figure out which cup), 1/2 cup water

Method

Heat the oil in pressure cooker and add 1-2 cumin seeds to see if they crack. If they do add all cumin seed and bay leaf and in 60 secs add ginger-garlic-green chili. In 60 more secs add potato. Cook for 1 min, keep stirring.

Add ginger-garlic paste and all dry spices. Stir fry for 2 mins and add the tomatoes. Cook for 2 mins. Add peas and salt. Let it stand for 2 mins.

Add water, rice and stir properly so that all contents mix. Set to pressure on medium flame for 1 whistle. After 1 whistle increase the flame to max for 60 secs and then turn off.

Let the cooker stand and cool for 5 mins. Take off the steam and serve with lime and green coriander.

Best served with lime, green chutney, pickle or onion salad.

Variations could be made by adding paneer and soyabean nuggets.

Required

400 gms washed mutton pieces, 1 large onion thin sliced, 2 sp ginger paste, 2 sp garlic paste, 1-2 bay leaf, 3/4 sp red chili powder, 1/2 sp turmeric, 1 sp garam masala, 1/2 sp coriander powder, 1/2 sp cumin powder (jeera powder) , 1/2 sp pepper powder, 3 sp oil, salt

Method

(Keep flame medium throughout as mentioned in ‘the golden rules’. Pressure cooker needed)

Heat the oil well. Add onion slices and bay leaf. In 2-3 mins add the meat and cook covered for 5 mins – removing lid only to stir. Add ginger garlic paste and in 2 mins add all powder spices, salt and stir well. Cook covered for another 15 mins.

Add a bit of water (1 small bowl or so) and set to pressure for 1-2 whistle.

Note 1- Sprinkle lemon and coriander leaves while serving.

Note 2 – mutton needs more oil and spices than any other thing.

Here is some experience sharing on how to decide which car to buy and how to go about doing it.

Why/Why Not Car?

• Car is highly desirable for families with elders, women and children or those with long commute routes or odd work hours, so dont hesitate to contract this expense if you are in such a situation. But dont buy just out of peer pressure or social status reasons. Be practical.
• A car is an expense, a luxury and to some extent a liability (running cost and safety). So budget yourself carefully. It always depletes in value so keep in mind how much you can comfortably spend on purchase as there is no end to car budgets and accessories!
• Not knowing driving is not a reason to defer car buying, ownership is needed to develop driving and handling ability
• Any car new or old is highly susceptible to minor or freak accidents, so dont take these to heart or be afraid of them. If it is a car it will get dented someday

Which Car?

• • One has to be aware of and balance between various factors while buying a car. There is no formula and it is a matter of subjective understanding. A compromise on one/more of these points is involved – we wont get everything.

1. Price

Fix your budget and dont overstep it unless you see long term advantage in doing so

2. Looks

I would say, it doesnt matter much. You can always add personal touches to exterior/interior of a car. And you cant achieve differentiation in looks by buying expensive car as a more swank looking car is just around the corner. But ya, dont ever buy a car whose looks you hate or which doesnt make you glad to posses.

3. Type: Sedan/Hatchback and Petrol/Diesel

A sedan is good for an expanding family. It should not be considered a status symbol. A fuel-efficient hatchback is rather more practical for daily use.

Petrol cars are light on maintenance while diesel needs costly services/replacements. Diesel sold is more adulterated and a bad fill can spoil the car, though much cheaper than petrol. Life of a diesel car is less and it tends to become noisy over the years quickly. Diesel is suitable for long daily runs as it helps to mitigate that extra cost you paid for the diesel model.

4. Interiors and Space

As a car is about comfort, it should be high on space. It really tells in the long journeys, esp if you have kids. If you havent been in many cars, it is a good idea to personally go and see many cars so that you can make out the difference.

5. Maintenance and Fuel Economy

Certain cars of foreign make import their spares so the cost could be very high. Also the procurement time and roadside availability of spares is not great. Of course everybody likes fuel economy, but that should *not* be the principal criteria (which is the normal herd mentality), pay due consideration to other aspects too vis a vis your priority.

• • Dont go on ‘public opinion’ like ‘”tatas are good for taxi”, “fiat has no service”, “ford has expensive spares”, “only maruti is best for India”, “diesel car is cheaper”, “diesel has no pickup”, “ford has best pickup”, “aajkal i10 bahut chal rahi hai”, “aankh band kar ke swift le lo” etc etc without understanding the reasons and ascertaining the truth for yourself. These might be true or false, but you never know. Read up on net and discuss with friends and experienced people but guard against biased opinions. The car companies are not bojos, they keep on refining and changing their products and so an observation made for a particular make/model at sometime might not extend to others.

• • Keep in mind your own priorities, they may be different that your advisor’s. For e.g. when I was looking to buy a car 5 years ago I clearly knew I need a sturdy, cost effective, spacious car for the family for occasional use. I had zeroed in on Indica PETROL after researching and test driving few cars. I had to go through ‘stiff opposition’ from friends who said ‘Indica is a taxi’, ‘horrible noisy car’, ‘no worse car’, ‘tata can make only diesel, no one buys petrol from tata’ etc etc. To this day, I am a ‘marvel’ for owning a petrol Indica. But only I know how correct is my decision for the purpose of my family.

Required

1/2 cup macaroni, 1 slice of cheese (Amul or any other), 2 spoon corn flower powder, 1 spoon butter, 1/2 spoon black pepper powder, red chillie sauce

Preparation

Soak the macaroni in 1/2 cup water for 5-10 mins.

Mix cornflower powder in 1/2 cup water and stir well.

Method

Heat butter in a pan and add cornflower water and stir until bubbling hot, then add macaroni and any water remaining from soaking, pepper powder, cheese and red chillie sauce and stir well until a smooth mixture is obtained – add a bit of water if u like it a bit runny (it will loose water during cooking)

Cook with lid on medium flame for 5-7 mins and serve hot.

Options

Normally the default seat fabric and fabric inserts on the sides provided in the car is good quality, but in India it is pretty much a default practice to get seat covers installed. They are done to protect the original fabric from soiling or damage and to add style. Custom seat covers can be stitched at any car accessory shop or local/standard brand can be purchased and installed.

Instead of seat-covers one can opt for complete upholstery – where the car fabric is removed and new upholstery is added. This virtually eliminates the need for seat covers and looks more chic. Specialized accessory providers do this job, not all shops.

Materials

There are several kind of materials used for making seat covers or upholstery:

• Cotton fabric – doesnt add to heating up of car when left in sun, doesnt cause sweat as ventilation is there, absorbs sweat and is most comfortable for skin, is machine washable, comes cheapest in great many colors, quality and prints but it can get dirty as quickly as original fabric and not at all durable, is a dust magnet
• Velvet/Suede fabric – this is more soft to touch and a bit upmarket, ventilation and sweat tolerance is good (but not as good as cotton), is not machine washable and is slightly costlier than cotton covers, it is equally susceptible to dirt, stains and damage
• PU/Art Leather – This is synthetic material, costing as much as suede/velvet but very much durable and leather like to touch, it is water proof and stain proof but can get scratched or cut, comes in a great many variety and can be designed in great many ways BUT it can cause smell and heat in cars if left in sun, is not at all friendly for skin though it offers good fit on the seats
• Genuine Leather – This is most expensive (starting from up to 10 times of cotton) but is highly durable and dirt/water/stain/damage proof, highest on style, comes in good variety and colors, studios exist for highly customized designs and the fitting is skin tight on the seats, it is fairly heat proof also

Combination of velvet and PU or PU and leather is also much used. PU for the back and sides (where its gets most stains) and to reduce cost while leather or fabric on the body contact area.

Strategy

It is not a good idea to get upholstery done unless you are a big car decor geek or you have taken a second hand car. Pulling out original material from new car is a waste and in the process the car itself may get scratches, marks etc as it is a manual process to unbolt everything, pull out fabric and insert the new leather/PU/velvet. It is costly too.

If you go for it, go for pure leather (comes in different varieties) and the design of your liking.

Fabric/PU/Leather simply depends on your taste and budget, as is color. I prefer sporty looking suede/velvet, leather, PU, cotton – in that order. But varieties and quality in suede/velvet are very difficult to find. There are some companies like Elegant that manufacture nano-coated cotton/velvet fabric which are resistant to stain, dirt and liquids but they come in limited designs. Do check them out as well. Though for the same price you can get PU+genuine leather covers also.

Installation

It is a bit messy but to get a good tight fit, better unbolt the seats completely and detach the back and sitting parts and then have the covers pulled on. Otherwise using clamps etc causes loose fittings. Never leave the seat belts under the cover or seat – always integrate them with the cover.

Beware of grease or dirt getting on to your new covers during the installation process itself.

2 slices of bread (shredded or sliced) , 1 spoon honey, 1/2 spoon sugar, 1/2 cup cold milk, 2 spoon ghee

Optional: shredded dry fruits, tuti-fruti, mango slush

Method

Heat the ghee in a pan/tava and put bread on it . Let it become brown a bit. Sprinkle sugar and stir a bit until it melts and sticks to the bread. Thats all !

Turn the flame off and leave the bread on the pan for 2-4 mins. bread will become crispy automatically.

Put in the serving bowl and pour honey over bread evenly. Now add milk and any toppings.

Serve. This will do as breakfast item.

Dessert Variation

Bread has to be deep fried. Milk needs to be thickened before adding to bread. This could be done be heating it on low flame for 15 mins or so and then letting it cool. One can add milk powder or milkmaid etc to thicken the milk.

If doing for breakfast, one can thicken by adding horlicks or complan.