Jalebiii!!

I thought I  had a ready mix at hand - but I didn't.

So here is how I prepared my Jalebis from scratch -

Batter - 8-10 heaped table spoons of plain flour, 3 table spoons of gram flour, 5 table spoons of sugar, 1 table spoon of baking powder. Add water to achieve cake-mix consistency (so that it drips of the spoon in strands rather than drops).

Syrup or Chaashni - 1 portion of sugar & 1.25 portion water - left to boil for about 1 hour, then cooled to thicken such that it coats the back of the spoon.

Process - Let the batter rest for about 30 min. Then fill it in a squeeze ketch up bottle.

Heat cooking oil in a wok (kadahi) on medium heat. Test if the oil is hot enough by 1 drop of batter - it should bubble and rise immediately. If the oil is heated enough then start squeezing small circles of batter from the bottle. Don't worry too much about the shape :)

Dip hot jalebis into chaashni for 20-40 seconds and put aside.

Yummy jalebis are ready :)

Jaana to hai...magar..JALEBII!! Iconic advertisement - cannot not think of it every time I make Jalebis :) :)

Preparation!

Sweetened with Syrup

Dig in!

Acknowledgement -

Bajiya's Cooking - Took the basic batter proportions from her recipe video.

Little Women

I have to stop this - the urgency of finishing a book over the weekend - it leaves no time for anything else during the much coveted weekend :(

The book - it is a pleasant read in most parts. Almost 70% of it can be read without any effort or skipping pages. But then comes the elongated 30% - which seems a bit of a drag and too predictable. 

I guess in 1860's when the book was written, it was not fashionable to surprise the readers with an anti-climax or keeping it sharp. 

Overall - a very good read for secondary school (Yes! I was delayed by about 2 decades :D)

Everything happens for better

This is what I take away from last week.

Life can take unexpected twists and turns, throw things at you which you wouldn't dream of. After all, we are mere players in a puzzle He has already laid out. We tend to get too focused on our little piece and forget to look at the bigger picture. Ignore the fact that there is a Controller sitting high and mighty - joining us up to make that picture.

Last week I experienced some of the most tormenting hours of my life. It was a rude awakening to the frailty of us beings. But as I said - He is watching over & let us through unhurt. 

The implications are far reaching but nothing which can't be overcome. Everything seems to have been put in perspective. I will be honest, I can't help feeling a pang about the consequences, but then I quite well understand the point of view. Hence, the learning - this shall be all for good! Good will come out of this and more as our Puppeteer is far more imaginative than we can ever be.

Just as this week comes to close - I have got another reason to tell myself to believe - everything happens for better. That after all life can only be planned to a degree, we didn't create it, and we can barely control it. Sometimes the Controller may make us take longer routes, but it shall all be for good. Amen.