Rajan's View

I usually hate beans, but there is one which is a favourite. It's called Rajma in India, otherwise known as red kidney beans. A great dish to be had with both rice or chappatis. It is a famous Punjabi dish which is found in Indian restaurants in India and all over the world. Ingredients: 1. Chopped onions - 1 2. Chopped green chillies - 2 3. Ginger & garlic paste - 1 tablespoon 4. Chopped tomatoes - 1 5. Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon 6. Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon 7. Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon 8. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon 9. Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon 10. Rajma powder (from MDH or Everest) - 1 tablespoon 11. Vegetable oil - 4 teaspoon 12. Salt - 1 teaspoon (or to taste) 13. Chopped coriander 14. Cooked Red Kidney beans / Rajma - 1 Cup Recipe: 1. Heat the oil in a kadai. 2. Add one of the chopped onions, cumin, fenugreek seeds and green chillies and fry for a few minutes until the onions are golden brown. 3. Add the ginger garlic p...

Rasedar is a quintessential bengali dish. Perfect for a dinner with chappatis and quite easy to make. Ingredients: 1. Chopped onions - 2 2. Chopped green chillies - 2 3. Ginger & garlic paste - 1 tablespoon 4. Chopped tomatoes - 1 5. Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon 6. Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon 7. Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon 8. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon 9. Vegetable oil - 4 teaspoon 10. Salt - 1 teaspoon (or to taste) 11. Cauliflower cut into florets - 1 12. Chopped coriander Recipe: 1. Heat the oil in a kadai. 2. Add one of the chopped onions, cumin, fenugreek seeds and green chillies and fry for a few minutes until the onions are golden brown. 3. Add the ginger garlic paste. 4. Grind the remaining onions and tomatoes into a thick paste. 5. Add the cauliflower florets to the kadai and fry them. 6. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. Continue stirring until the cauliflower is softened. 7. Add the onion and tomato paste to the ...

A quick look at some of the new deals sites sprouting all over the world. Prologue As the internet evolved, one of the major industries to exploit it was retail. One of the initial hypes was around the internet only sites such as Amazon and Ebay . These sites are still holding steady and expanding into more countries and services (such as  Amazon Web Services ). Once these sites started succeeding, the brick and mortar retailers were quick to jump the bandwagon. Some of them like Tesco have been very successful, it's online grocery is now one of the leading in the world. Main Story Adding to the mix has been Google. They initially debuted Froogle which morphed into Product Search and the latest avatar is Google Shopping . They are even trying their hand at designer shopping, check out boutiques.com (beta at the time of writing this blog). It includes designers like 7 for All Mankind, Oscar de la Renta, Diane Von Furstenberg and others. It features a unique "visual...

At the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, one of the hottest (odd isn't it sometimes people use coolest) gadgets to be reviewed was the Motorola Atrix 4G smartphone. Specifications The phone itself is quite powerful. It's one of the next generation of smartphones with a dual core processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2). This is the same processor powering the Adam tablet from Notion Ink. This chip is a new class of chips called SOC (System On Chip) where there are dedicated processors to handle CPU, video, audio etc. More about it here . The RAM will be 1 GB. The screen is a 4" HD screen. And the other usual suspects such as GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, you get the drift. When it ships out, expect minimum Android 2.2 or perhaps 3.0 (if it is ready by then). I think the phone may start shipping out by either the 1st / 2nd quarter of this year. Killer Feature All the above features already are getting it rave reviews. Added to this is the really cool feature...

That Google has become like a de-facto search for everyone is known. Here is nifty way to customize it to suit your needs. Google has a really cool service called Google Custom Searches . This is a completely free service where one can customize the google search. Of course, there is an enterprise version too available for companies (which is based on a subscription model). Some of the features are Specify the list of websites to be searched for Auto complete feature Add custom synonyms Index custom websites instantly Add filters Modify the look and feel Monetize the search with AdSense I am trying to create some custom searches which might be useful. Feel free to try any of these and let me know your feedback. I am already hooked! I have created a search for shopping (called "Shopping Search"), you can see it on the menu on the right. I will add more custom searches as I go along.

The Consumer Electronics Show just recently concluded at Las Vegas, USA. CES is the annual show of all gadgets and new products. This year, the unanimous winner was Android (and therefore Google by extension). Also, amazing was the sheer number of tablets, smartphones, smablets (smartphone+tablet), tabbook (tablet+netbook), smartbook (smartphone+notebook)! The last category might particularly appeal to the road warriors. Check out the Motorola Atrix 4G , a cool concept. Another cool tablet to finally be unveiled was the Adam from Notion Ink. This is a startup based out of Bangalore, India. Finally, they got some fair and balanced reviews. The Pixel Qi display technology used in it is a key one to watch out for. It has the qualities of both an LCD and the E-Ink. Check out this article . For more details, you can go to 2011 International CES, January 6-9 or a host of other websites / Google search. Lastly, an interesting search trend for CES. The spikes are quite regular and it...

So said, Hellmuth Conz . He is a German who has made India his home for the past many years. I recently attended a studio photography workshop conducted by him. It was organized by Photography On The Move (POTM). A photograph is nothing but capturing light. It's the light that illuminates the object or scenery. We were able to learn the importance of having the right light conditions to take a photo. Here is what I think is my best photo from the workshop. Feel free to drop your comments here or in Flickr. Lastly, happy new year to everyone.

Finally after lots of research, I bought a digital SLR. It's a Nikon D5000 with a fixed 50mm lens. I am still playing round with the settings. Even the mundane object can be shown in a new light. The first shot is shown here, it's part of the feng shui windchime. Click on the photo to enlarge. Now begins the hard part of learning photography. Surprise, surprise, there is lot of practice to be done! However, this is a hobby which nicely complements things like traveling. And if you are looking for a decent camera, there is lots to choose from Nikon and Canon. With digital SLR's being within budget and everyone having a computer, it's really easy to practice. A few things to keep in mind. 1. Buy a basic or medium camera like Nikon D3000, D5000 series. 2. Choose a really good lens. The Nikon 50mm 1.8D is excellent plus it's cheap too. 3. Go for at least a 1 or 2 day photography class. It makes a huge difference. Soon you will be able to make "wall...

I have finally decided to sell my apple laptop. Yes, the usurper "Ubuntu" had a hand in it. Here are the details if someone wants to buy a lovingly cared for laptop - http://bangalore.craigslist.co.in/sys/2003842541.html . Update (16-Feb-2011) - Finally, managed to sell the apple laptop!

Apologies to the malayalis all over the world, but it really is zimple. ;) Ingredients: 1. Chopped onions - 1 2. Chopped green chillies - 4 3. Ginger & garlic paste - 1 teaspoon 4. Chopped tomatos - 1 5. Cardamom - 3 6. Bayleaf - 1 7. Star anise - 1 8. Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon 9. Soya nuggets - a dozen 10. Chopped carrot - 1 11. Grean peas - 100 gms 12. Vegetable oil - 4 teaspoon 13. Salt - 1 teaspoon (or to taste) 14. Basmati rice - 2 cups Recipe: 1. Heat the oil in a kadai. 2. Fry the onions, bayleaf, star anise, cardamom and green chillies for a few minutes. 3. Add the ginger garlic paste. 4. Add the tomatos. Add a cup of water and continue to stir. 5. Add the carrots, soya nuggets and peas. 6. Add turmeric powder and salt. Continue stirring until the vegetables are softened. 7. In an electric cooker, add 2 cups of rice and water. Add the above mixture and start cooking the rice. 8. As in most electric cookers, let the ri...