Kunafa!

Coming to the middle east, I was introduced to this cheesy & sweet dessert called Kunafa for the first time about 8 years back in Kuwait and I simply felt in love with it! I have always loved cheese....all kinds... so it was obvious that I would favor this cheese based dessert!

Kunafa is a traditional arabic dessert and is quite popular particularly around Ramadan. Don't know why but during Ramadan many shops would make this dish in huge pans and just the look of it would be so tempting!

By far the most delicious Kunafa I have ever tasted were the ones in Kuwait. The cheese were real soft with a crispy layer of vermicelli on top and were bright orange in color topped off with sugar syrup. It was sweet but not so sweet and I could easily polish off quite a bit of it.

Two weeks back, knowing my love for this sweet dessert my friend prepared Kunafa just for me. The cheese was too little and it was more of the vermicelli. The vermicelli was too hard and it was tough to chew. It was a disaster but I was sincerely touched by the thought that went behind it. I will never ever forget this Kunafa!

Then today, I passed by Carrefour and I spied Kunafa in the delicatessen section! It wasn't that good to look at and now having tasted it, it wasn't that good at all!

One of these days, I shall learn how to make Kunafa. One of these days....

A letter from a friend

Amongst my papers I stumbled into this gem of a letter....

Hi M,

So good to hear from you too! It really does seem to be a good year - I had quite a run of doom and gloom last year. This year things seem to be looking up already - two emails from a chum and good news in them too! don't worry about being "not exactly the budding flower". You could just be a late bloomer.

Age creapt up on me faster than I could imagine. I still think young but from somewhere (quite likely from the sky - not the hundreds of bars of chocolate I scoff on a regular basis) the kilos have piled on. Weight is certainly the enemy to age. If you can fight off the fat, you will have no problem - age will be your best friend. At the moment my body is my main enemy with its ally - a rapidly expanding waisline!!

.........

Right now we are experiencing the worst summer ever. Steaming hot days and rain at night. You would think we are in the tropics! One good thing about it - it keeps me indoors so I can catch up on my writing. I haven't managed to publish anything yet. I lost most of my early work when my computer crashed. So its back to the grindstone from scratch. You'll have to hang on for that autograph for just a little longer. Maybe in years time I'll have completed a collection of short stories about women who have overcome odds. Serious stuff! When I get to writing about fun times I'll have to consult you - remember our flashes of hilarious moments? Laddoos and naps in the sun?

My phone number is xxxxxxx. Do you know the time difference between SA and Kuwait?

When is the best time to call? Hoping to hear from you soon.

Lots of love
Su...

We lost touch after my visit to SA. Wonder how she is? Did she publish her book? I did email her but received no reply. I will try the number she gave here hoping it's still the same....

PS:- I called after doing this post and yes! the number still was the same. It was her at the first hello...the same ol 'Su!

Taste of Thai

When it comes to eating something light on the stomach but filling, nothing comes close to Thai Food! Here too where I am currently living I have found a quaint little Thai Restaurant nestled among one of the busy streets. Where trees are rare there is a couple of lean trees richly decorated with those small colored light bulbs which makes it look so christmasy! One could sit outdoors as well as indoors.

My usual meal would consist of one of the famous hot & sour soup called Tom Yum to start with. The main ingredient I always choose for this soup is shrimps. So it it the Tom Yum Shrimp soup flavored with aromatic lemon grass, lime leaves, cilantro and fresh mushrooms. Believe me when I say this is yummy!

Then comes salad. Sometimes it would be the Shrimps Salad. This is shrimps mixed with red onions, lemon grass, cilantro & lime juice served on a bed of lettuce. At other times it would be the Seafood Salad. This is shrimps & squids with the same ingredients as the former more or less.
For the main meal, I like to have rice with any of the shrimps dishes. Shrimps with Basil Leaves, Green Shrimp Curry (shrimps & vegetables in green coconut curry with Thai Basil & chillies), Shrimps in Red Curry, sometimes with bamboo shoots and at other times with mushrooms. As an extra, the rice is topped with a fried egg!

All these food would be washed down with one of the Thai drinks.....Thai Iced tea or Iced Longan Drink usually though at times I could go for the Coconut Water.

A good meal in whole.....a little expensive albeit....but money well spent!

"Age is of no importance unless you are a cheese"

Last couple of weeks, there's been so many Birthdays of my friends. One from school days and others from my college days and still others who I met later in life. All, so "well settled" as Mom would say. Looking at them, I can see how time has flown. At times, I do feel age creeping up but most of the times I just feel that it was just yesterday when I was in college...in school. Memories are so crystal clear and I do not even feel a day older than what I was then!

Then again, "age is of no importance unless you are a cheese!"

Simply Delicious - Strawberry Cake!

I have always loved Strawberry & Cream. So, it was a delicious surprise when one of the Store Girls brought in a huge slice of Strawberry Cake to celebrate her engagement.

It was layers of cake with cream frosting in between and topped with sliced fresh strawberries! Very pretty to look at and very good to eat! Yummy!

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The Dates are coming!

Friday morning....la la la....I thought I would explore new routes down to Al Corniche! Yay yay yay!! It's a beautiful day!!! So, 7.30 am, I drive down taking totally different route than my usual. With my sense of direction, after all I am a Navigator's (ex Fighter Pilot) daughter....I finally reached the seaside. The drive was adventurous, the radio was blaring cool songs...just my kind and the weather was just fine.

The date trees are in full bloom now and many of them are already bearing fruits! What a wonderful sight it is! My walk down by the sea....all the more delightful! Things are looking up....life goes on...the dates are coming! Woo hoo!!!

PS:- I love the yellow crunchy dates which these green dates would soon turn into khalal...the 2nd stage!

Down memory lane

Just a couple of days back, a mail came in....from a friend, announcing the start of a 3 day training program - Creative Dance Therapy - Introductory & Advanced.

Looking at the advertisement, it reminded me of my awkward movements and the group's encouargement.....not so long ago! Even though I was in the group for a short period, I loved every moment I was there! After work, I would drive down straight.....my way of unwinding! Some stretching, few movements and a whole lot of laughter!

Below, "Apoorva Dance Theater" practicing on the roof of Alliance Francaise just before heading to Bombay for the "Anand Shankar Ballet Festival" - 1996.

Welcome to the Middle East!

If you see Date Palm Trees here, there, everywhere....then be sure you're in Arab Land! They look gorgeous lining up the long winding road and down the seaside. During the season, trees heavily leaden with yellow dates looks so gorgeous! I love these crunchy dates which is the 2nd stage in the ripening process!

Down Al Corniche!

Internet Censorship in Arab Land

Here in Arab Land, Censorship is at it's height. So many of the sites/pages have been blocked saying that it contains prohibited materials. One would think that the sites or pages one is trying to access contains nudity or is political which would hurt the sensibility of the local people but this is not so. It's real frustrating and nothing can be done as even the proxy pages are blocked!

I seriously fail to fathom on what basis the sites have been banned. To me it seems that the Censorship which should be taken seriously is nothing but a joke in this part of the world. See the below picture and you will know what I mean. Oops!