Atlantis launch hopefully today

NASA is going to launch Atlantis (hopefully today , if everything goes fine) from Florida. The mission is to install the new European space lab 'Columbus' on the International Space Station. ISS is a joint project of 16 nations although US has been the major contributor so far. This is an astronaut mission today. It also reminds me of the Columbia disaster which happened on Feb 1, 2003 which had Kalpana Chawla among other 7 astronauts on board. Well how dangerous these things can get, but still man is constantly lured by the excitement of exploration irrespective of the accompanying dangers.

Space Tourism - Business or could mean something else?

Today morning i was listening to the news on CNN when they showed that Richard Branson of 'Virgin' along with some other business partner is going to launch a space tourism jet by the end of the year. The jet will carry 6 passengers to outer space along with 2 crew members. The price is targeted to be 200,000$ per passenger. Sounds like a great business plan for Virgin who are ready to invade the outer space. Well there are 2 sides to this. This program which will be a cup of tea for the affluent will enable people to travel to outer space. There are already 200 passengers from different countries who are signed up for the program. However the other side to this is that man has started putting his footsteps in space for commercial purposes. Where would it lead to? It has been seen in the past , that wherever man goes he brings with him pollution, acts which harm the nature and destroys peace. This is not too far if we dont stop our rapid invasion of space. I think space should be kept for research and exploration as much as possible and not for commercial use. This will help maintain the sanity and peace of space.

Tangy Honey Kissed Baked Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:
-Potatoes
-Honey
-Mustard Seeds
-Ginger
-Black Pepper
-Red Chillie Powder
-Turmeric Powder
-Salt
-Cooking Oil

RECIPE:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small rectangles.

2. Take some cooking oil in a pan and heat. Once it is hot, put some mustard seeds in the oil.They will sputter. Now add some turmeric powder, ginger juice, black pepper and red chillie powder,salt to it. Mix them and heat for sometime. Now add one table spoon of honey to this and mix to form a glaze.

3. Coat the potato pieces with the glaze and spread them on an aluminium foil to bake.

4. Once baked, garnish them with coriander leaves. Serve hot. Enjoy the spicy and tangy flavor.

Movies I saw on Xmas

Yesterday night i saw 'Taare Zameen Par' directed by Aamir Khan. The movie was phenomenal and very realistic with respect to the Indian society. The child who acted was very natural and a perfect fit for the role. Aamir Khan's debut as a director is an amazing attempt. The movie portrays the emotions of a 9 year old child very effectively and a typical day to day life of the kid as well as his parents. An awesome movie with nice inspirational numbers.
Today evening was for another movie- 'I am Legend'. Well i didn't like the movie at all. the fiction plot was good but the movie lacked content and detail according to me...

Punjab De "Amritsari Chole"

I tried this recipe for the first time. Pure Punjabi delight- Amritsari Chole. Here I am sharing my recipe:

1. Soak Chole (Chick Peas) overnight. Next day morning put them in a pressure cooker with water, add half of white salt and half of black salt needed. Amritsari Chole are black in color after cooking. To give this black color, add a tea bag in the pressure cooker. Close the pressure cooker and boil for 15 minutes.

2. After opening the pressure cooker discard the tea bag. It would have left the chole black in color.

3. Now cut an onion in small slices and fry in oil in a pan. Also add a few bay leaves while frying the onions. The bay leaves will give a very distinctive smell to the masala. Now chop 2-3 tomatoes and add to the onions once they are golden brown. Add ginger to this masala and heat till a smooth paste of masala is formed.

4. On a separate tava roast the dry spices- black pepper, red chilli powder, jeera powder, mango powder( amchur powder) and coriander powder. Once the dry masala is roasted, add it to the paste of onions, tomatoes and ginger in the other pan. Right now the paste will be smelling very nice with the smell of the bay leaves.

5. Mix the Chole with this paste now. Boil 2 potatoes wrapped in plastic foil ( microwaveable) in a microwave. Cut them into small pieces and add to the chole. Garnish with coriander leaves.

6. Delicious Amritsari chole is ready to eat with bathure/ kulcha. Unfortunately in USA you dont get these things in grocery stores so I had it with garam chapatis.

Enjoy!

Seeing Rain

Unlike in Delhi where I have spent 22 years of my life and where it rains during Monsoon season every year, it rains in winters in Northern California. This area is surrounded by hills and I am seeing it rain for the first time here. The hills are typically taller than the elevation of the clouds.

Today morning while going to work, I saw the top portions of the hills immersed in the gray clouds. The sun was smearing the clouds to find its way out. The greens around were giving a different freshness to the air. I could admire the sun, clouds as well as the greens around me. It was a beautiful day.

Halloween Trip To Badgerland

I was once again in bliss. I was in Madtown this weekend after graduating 2 months back. Me, Waj and Arvind flew there on Friday evening. We rented a car from Ohare at 8 and reached Madison around 10:30. On the way I was sleeping on the back seat of the car using Waj's huge jacket as my comforter. In Madison, the first place we stopped was Olin Park. The cold winds made standing on the pier quite amazing. I saw once more the city of Madison shining brightly on the edge of waters of Monona. The city looked calm and beautiful as always. I was wearing my blue Columbia jacket which I had worn all my student life in the utter winter of Madison. The cold winds which blew on my face while i stood on the pier felt very familiar. From Olin Park we headed to the State Street to see the Halloween party. There were quite a few people dressed up in different interesting costumes walking on the Street which led to the Capitol. We walked and watched the people. We came to Isha's house at around 1:30 and I had an interesting night to spend trying to sleep on the floor. Well, that did not work so I was just killing time in the night waiting for morning. On Saturday morning we left Isha's place and went to Engineering Hall and CAE. It was a football Saturday and the Badgers were out all over the place enthusiastic and dressed in red. We went to Union South and had the same coffee in Red Oak Grill along with the French Fries with tonnes of Mayonnaise. I was reliving the moments which I had spent in Red Oak reading 752 papers whole day with Coffee and taking short naps in Copper hearth lounge next to Quick Byte in Union South. We went to the West town mall for an hour passing by my 1664 Monroe Street Apartment and lake Wingra. The small lake was surrounded by trees in beautiful Fall colors. In the afternoon we had the typical lunch of lentil soup over rice in Mediterranean Cafe which we used to after the 755 Class. After that I did splendid shopping at the University Book Store. That was followed by an evening at Mendota and a babcock sunday at the Memorial Union. I sat besides the lake trying to think nothing and absorbing the calmness and beauty of the lake in my heart. We then headed to the hotel followed by a delicious dinner at Laos La Xang. After that we headed to State Street for the Halloween party which was wild and crazy. My legs were shattered by this time and still we walked till the Capitol before heading back. I slept like a log after returning to the hotel that night. Sunday morning i got up late at 9 as we rushed as we had just a few hours left to spend in Madtown. We went to the zoo and I picked up some stuff from their gift shop. We then went to India Durbar for the usual buffet. After that we went to Olin Park and I lay in the sun on the grass for a little while staring at the lake. To conclude we met a couple of friends- Sunil, Magesh at Engineering Hall before heading for Ohare.
Overall a fun filled and colorful weekend with lots of sweet memories and golden moments relived.