Klickd !

"It's weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don't even amount to a couple of hours."
~ James Lalropui Keivom

Photography has become a very common hobby of many now a days, including me :o). I have been more into photography these days. Especially, a Digital Camera in my hand, I keep experimenting everyday with something or the other. My colleagues and friends would be surprised if i didn't have my camera with me any day. Almost every other day i have my camera with me.

Definition of Photography : Producing pictures with camera , Using light to make pictures

I like the second one better. Light plays an important role in photography, during the time you take a picture or during the time when it is developed .

Gone are the days when you would use a analog camera, Click pictures and wait for them to get developed and only to find out that many of the photos haven't turn out so well. Digital Camera gives you the freedom to take as many pictures as you want, If you don't like a picture - just delete it, Need less light - use less flash, want to shoot a sequence of events - use the 'burst' option.

Creativity and Uniqueness are also two important things which go hand in hand with Photography. Take a normal photo with a different angle and its sure it won't go unnoticed. Appreciations are always welcomed. Any photo which is appreciated by others is like a milestone for you in the field of photography. Photos are an imprint of your memories .A look at the photo album at time brings back memories of the past, your Childhood ,School Days (Those group photos with the uniform and red ribbons) ,your Birthday snaps (you standing eagerly in front of the cake to blow the candels),your College photos ( Those unsuccessful attempts to click the photos of a smart guy /gal) :o) and many more ..

Timing is one more criteria which is in line with photography. Correct timing for clicking the shot has to be decided by the person behind the lens. A well timed capture would result in great results.

Photo editing Softwares are a common way to enhance your Digital photographs. Take a normal picture and try different effects on the photo to give it a different look .
I have recently been using Picassa. Click here to see my experiments with Picasa and other photos which i have taken . Comments and Suggestions on the photos are well appreciated .
I am just a Beginner into this world of Lights, Lens, Focus, Zoom, Pixels, Exposure, ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, White Balance, Focal Length, Noise .....

The Spirit of Christmas !

[Christmas Lightings in Singapore ,at Orchard Road]

Christmas relates to Santa Claus ,Gifts, Cakes, Christmas Trees, Lights, Bells, Snow, "Jingle Bells", Stars, Angels, Reindeers, Magic , Kids , Holidays, SALE , coming of New Year ...

Less work at office during these times as everyone is OOO (Out of Office !!!)..
Termed as Freeze Period [Maybe bcos it is very cold this time of the year:o)].There are Christmas or Year End Sales everywhere!

During School Days this was the one time i used to wait for , since there were 10 days holidays ,Time to go to Grandma's house !!!You wished you would meet a Santa Claus on the road and he would just pop up a gift in your hand .All sorts of questions we used to ask our parents "Why doesn't Santa Claus come to our house? " ,"Where is North Pole?" ,"Does Santa really live there? ,"Why don't we get gifts?" ...And the answers we used to get "If you be good then Santa will surely come!! " :o)

As years went by holidays reduced ,questions reduced but the Christmas Spirit is still the same!

Who knows Santa might read this blog !!!!!

Christmas is truely magical !!!

Five Top things to make for 'Dabba'

'Dabba' -Afternoon Lunch ,Tiffin Box ,Lunch Box whatever you want to call...

Being away from 'Sweet Home' is one great thing, and above that, cooking your own food daily without fail is one more great achievement. All the guys who are onsite would definitely agree with me, may not be true with people who are staying with their families !!!

"What to make for dabba tomorrow/today?", "Nothing is there at home to prepare, no Vegetables, no Groceries!!". Did you ever come across with this question in your mind ?

Alarm rings, you put it to snooze and Zzzzzzzz, then it rings again and again you press the snooze button and finally you get up at the third ring. Getting up early in the morning is quite a difficult task and then to cook is even more difficult unless you have some idea as what to cook !

As long as you are not too fussy about the food you eat, maybe you can a have a little peep into my list of 5 Top things for Dabba !!

1. Mosaru Anna/Curd Rice -The easiest thing to make. Take Curds, mix it a little bit of Chopped Onions and Green Chilies, add salt to taste and mix the rice. In a frying pan keep a little bit of oil, add mustard seeds and Cumin seeds, once they start to jump out, switch off the gas and add this to the curd rice, this will be a little bit of garnishing to the curd rice. You can add pomegranate seeds, dried grapes etc, etc to your taste and convenience.

2. Pulliogare/Tamarind Rice -A big Thanks to MTR without which all the Bachelors going onsite would have to go for cookery orientation class before they leave for onsite projects.
Pour a little bit of oil, drop a couple of spoons of Pulliogare Powder, fry it, add rice and Pulliogare is ready !!!
You can also customize the Pulliogare by adding Chopped Onions or some other Vegetables which you like, fry these vegetables and add it to the Pulliogare !!

3. Upamma/Kara baath /'Concrete' - I never used to like this at home, but now its okay since this is easy to make. Tip :Always Keep Frozen Vegetables Packet in your freezer.
Fry the Rava and keep it in a container for easy use. Pour a little bit of oil in the frying pan, a bit of mustard seeds, chillies, cumin seeds, chopped onions, some frozen vegetables, fry them a bit, add the Rava and then add the water. Let it boil for sometime until the water evaporates.
Tip :Keeping the hot water ready will make things easier.

4. Dosa /Thosai- Little background work is required other than that, it can be used for 2-3 days !!
Soak rice and Urad Daal (Split White Lentils) in 4:1 proportion overnight, grind it to a fine batter not too watery, leave it to ferment for 6-7 hours. And then Dosa Batter is ready. You can have lot of variations to this, you can add a little bit of Chopped Onions, Tomatoes and Coriander Leaves, once you put it on frying pan and you have utthapam. You can make Tomato chutney to go along with it !!

5. Sambar Rice -Fry a little bit of frozen vegetables in little oil, add Yesterday's left over Rasam/Daal into the Frying pan and mix rice .Saambar Rice is ready !!!
(This process is called as a 'Patch'. 'Old is gold' :)

Here are Some of the other 5 Top things for 'Dabba' from my friends

Murali's List

1. Rice sambar prepared on the previous day.
2. Tomato, onion, and rice mix - 'Tomato Baath'
3. Rice & Dal .. fried in oil - 'Fried Rice'
4. Rice & Coconut mix -'Coconut Rice'
5. Finally, Dosa & tomato chutney.

Manju's List

1. Pulliogare.
2. Chappathi.
3. Chitranna (I call it as 'Art Rice', 'Chitra' means Art).
4. Vaangibath (Lot of Brinjals/Capsicum in this).
5. Sambar Rice.
There is a 6th one in this List
6th. Avalakki (Avalakki is 'Flattened Rice')

Thanky's List

1. Chicken Curry with Rice- boil chicken and put all the masalas.
2. Fish Curry with Rice- boil fish, put chilly powder, ginger garlic paste, tomato
3. Moru Curry with Rice- curd mix with turmeric powder.....oil, onions.....
4. Salad with Rice - tomoto,onions and vinegar
5. Sambar with Rice- Ask the Servant to help making the sambar ,mix it with Rice

Its not necessary to go by the traditional way ,Cook the way you want but keep in mind 'It should be edible! ' and then give it a fancy big name like Shahi Fired Rice ,Onsite Dosa Experiment ,Vidya's Special etc ,etc!!!
There are no rules for cooking .Kitchen is like a R & D Lab (Research and Development Laboratory ) ,keep experimenting !!

Have fun in the Kitchen !!!!