Examine what is said, not her who speaks

Festivities continue in the household as the biggest Hindu festival has arrived. We are celebrating Diwali this week.

Yesterday was the first of the five days of Diwali. Dhanteras is the thirteenth day of the waning moon where people buy gold.

Fortunately, gold rates dropped last weekend after so many months. You could see hordes of ladies at the jewellers' buying earrings, rings, necklaces, gold statues of ganesha and laxmi among other things.

No one looking at the crowd, at the jewellers' would say there was a market recession going on. *I wish I had enough money to buy a block and keep it aside for my future. *

I also helped mother make Diwali sweets at home yesterday. During lunch, we had something called LAPSEE. Lapsee is a typical sweet-dish to be made for lunch during Dhanteras. Nothing difficult; it is made up of wheat germ, ghee and jaggery with some almonds, cardamoms, etc thrown in.

Apart from that, we also made Gulab jamuns and Gujias which will be served to the guests along with other salty snacks. Both are standard Diwali sweets, made every year in our household. (Yippee! I'm here this year to enjoy them all.)

You can get gulab jamuns in the market at at sweetmeat shop but Gujia is best when made at home. It is relished and enjoyed all over the country. It is made on Diwali and on other festivals as well.

In some states, like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab, the filling is made with sweetened khoya (milk thickened almost to a solid state) and nuts while in others like Goa, Andhra Pradesh, etc. it consists of shredded coconut, nuts and jaggery.

Here's the recipe. And oh! HAPPY DIWALI!

GUJIA

Ingredients:
* 500 gms all-purpose flour
* 6-7 tbsps of ghee (do not melt the ghee)
* Water
* 500 gms khoya
* 300 gms sugar, powdered
* 1 tsp powdered cardamoms
* A handful of almonds cut into slivers (add more or less as per your taste)
* A handful of raisins (add more or less as per your taste)
* Ghee for deep frying

Method:

* In a flat dish, mix the flour and ghee to form a crumbly mix that just about holds together.
* Add water a little at a time and knead to form a firm dough. When done, cover the dough with a damp tea towel or muslin and keep it aside.
* Put the khoya in a thick-bottomed, wide pan on a low flame and cook, stirring frequently till it turns golden.
* Add the sugar, almonds and raisins and cardamom powder and stir well. Cook for another minute and turn off. Allow the mixture to cool.
* Divide the prepared dough into equal sized-portions and make them into balls.
* Roll these balls out into circles about 4-5" wide.
* Put a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre of each circle and fold over into a semi-circle. Pleat the edges to seal and keep aside. Repeat the filling process for all the circles.
* Once all your dough and filling is used up, heat ghee on a medium flame and deep fry the gujias.
* Drain them on paper towels and store in an air-tight container.

At least men admit to some of their inabilities. Here's an example.

Why men don't write advice columns:
 
Dear Walter,
 
I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving
my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't driven more
than a mile down the road when the engine conked out and the car
shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help.
 
When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with
the neighbor girl. I am 32, my husband is 34, and the neighbor girl is
22. We have been married for ten years. When I confronted him, he
broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the
past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let
go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling
increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever
since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He
won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him
anymore.
 
Can you please help?
 
Sincerely,
Sheila
 
******
 
Dear Sheila:
 
A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a
variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no
debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and
hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If
none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel
pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor
float chamber.
 
 
I hope this helps!

Interesting piece of news I came across while randomly looking at the news.

According to a new study by Ipsos MediaCT, gamers aren't the socially awkward, people-shooting psychotics that society thinks they are. In fact, the study even claims that games are "more social, more active, and more valuable as consumers" than "normal" people.

Turns out that 55 percent of gamers are married, 48 percent have kids, and the average age of people who have started gaming in the past two years is 32. Seventy-five percent of gamers are the "social" kind, playing games with other people--both online and in person.

But that's just regular survey stuff. The crazy news? In a given month, gamers are twice as likely go out on a date than non-gamers.

So parents, if you're worried about your children losing their social lives with gaming, think again--gaming could actually get them off your couch, and into someone else's.