miles to go....

miles to go...., originally uploaded by -xh- aka aNoop.

Shot en route to madikeri. The road is awesome - excellent surface, nice straights, wide sweeping curves, very less traffic. The road from kushal nagar to madikeri is getting laid now, so, one more month, and we will get some nice twisties to enjoy.

We chanced upon some excellent back roads near madikkeri - narrow roads, challenging tight turns, breath taking scenery - had a real dose of corner carving adventure there, and to top it off, we took the madikkeri-dubare route while coming back, which is filled with lot of fun twisties.
Jeevs was at his usual best - he never complained, and did the ride without any issues.

This was R's first real long ride -2 days, 623 km of pure fun!

yellow whispers...

yellow whispers..., originally uploaded by -xh- aka aNoop.

after a long long break, testing the waters again... :)

Two to tango

Two to tango, originally uploaded by -xh- aka aNoop.

Shot this at Bennerghetta National park, bangalore.

Sweet-Sour karela (Bitter gourd) curry

Some time back, we had this awesome sweet and sour karela curry @ kanua, and since then, I always wanted to make it at home. This weekend, I decided to give it a try - here is the recipe I tried:

Karela (bitter gourd) - 3 nos (medium size – pick the white ones if you don’t like the bitter taste – the greener the karela, the bitter the taste) )

Toor Dal - a bit

Urd Dal - a bit

Salt - to taste

Chili powder - a bit

Turmeric powder - a bit

Jaggery - to taste (I used 3 vellams - if you want the curry to be sweet, add more Jaggery)

Tamarind - a small piece

Red chilli - 2-3 nos

Curry leaves

Lemon - one half

rasam powder - 1-1.5 tbsp

Wash and split the karela. Clean the inside and cut into small slices. Mix this with salt and turmeric powder and keep for about 15 minutes.

Soak the tamarind in water and keep it aside.

Mince the jaggery and make powder.

Take a non-stick tawa and heat oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds stop spluttering, add urd dal and toor dal and fry till they are light brown. Add red chili and curry leaves to this, and then add the karela. Keep it on a medium flame till the karela is almost cooked. Add a bit of water to this and add the tamarind paste, rasam powder and jaggery. Squeeze one half of lemon and add the juice to this. Cook till the curry is dry. Serve it with rice or chapathi.

the tag of A2Z

Mooched this from tys's place:

A. Attached or Single? Attached.

B. Best Friend? Can't pick one :)

C. Cake or pie? Cake.

D. Drink of choice? Coffee / Wine. If alcoholic, then Jack Daniels. (Wine is NOT alcoholic)

E. Essential item you use every day? my charm ;)

F. Favorite color? Green / Black.

G. Gummy bears or worms? no to both.

H. Hometown? Kerala.

I. Favorite indulgence? Anything to do with anything which have an engine and can run :)

J. January or July? Both.

K. Kids & their names? One - goes by the name --xh--. (incidentally, he is the owner of this blog too)

L. Life isn’t complete without? the ups and downs.

M. Marriage date? April 23rd

N. Number of Siblings? One.

O. Oranges or Apples? Apples.

P. Phobias? mildly claustrophobic.

Q. Quotes? lot of them to choose from.

R. Reasons to smile?almost anything :)

S. Season? Rain.Rain.Rain - and more rain.

T. Tag 3 people: please come forward

U. Unknown fact about me? I can apprate. No kidding.

V. Vegetable? yes.

W. Worst habit? ask my friends/better half :)

X. X-ray you've had? Left knee

Y. Your favorite food? Chakkapuzukku.

Z. Zodiac sign? Libra

playing with myEgo

dont be too hard on me - this is my first try on both 55wordfiction and haiku... :)

H-1

I will NOT share fame

I will NOT Compromise on any thing

I OWN the center stage

H-2

bikes gadgets food camera books

I learn I experiment and I love

DIY is my golden mantra

H-3

patience is not my virtue

I demand I get what I ask

I never bow my Ego

and here goes the 55wordfiction:

He was not sure how to break the ice. She looked polished, hot and too sure about herself.Resigned, he opened his laptop and started playing his favourite game. Suddenly he felt some one near his seat.she asked him "i love your Ego". He smiled and handed her his brand new Wipro Ego laptop

droplets

droplets, originally uploaded by -xh- aka aNoop.

One more from the eyes of Moi...