I heart google!

I am sure we all have our 'I love google' moments. I had mine today...again! So lets back up a little bit and let me give you a quick brief about what happened last Sunday. I had put some rice to cook in IPR's pressure cooker. You know the prestige/hawkins kind? These pressure cookers are a blessing. Everything cooks so quickly in them! So on that day I had put the usual quantity of water in the rice and expected that it will cook within the usual twenty minutes. But within ten minutes I smelt something burning. And you can imagine a hungry woman's dismay and frustration when she sees her dinner stuck to the bottom of the cooker. The rice had turned as black as one of IPR's cats and It was an ugly sight. So I scraped out the rice or what was remaining of it and let the cooker soak for a bit. Then I began the difficult task of scrubbing and cleaning. And I kid you not, but the cooker was charred and there were even outlines of rice grains on it. And I kid you not again when I say that I scrubbed it for half an hour straight. But nope, the charred cooker was stubborn. By then, I was getting really worried. So what will I tell IPR?! After all, pressure cooker is a prized possession of almost every Indian in US. Pressure cookers are insanely expensive to buy in this country so every Indian will guard their pressure cooker as they would any treasured possession. So then I did what I usually do when I don't know what to do. I googled how to clean burnt pots and pans! I found a remedy recommended by quite a few people. Here it is:

"Fill the burnt vessel with an inch of water, add 1 tbsp of dishwashing liquid, 2 tbsps of baking soda and 2 tbsps of vinegar. Bring to boil on the stove. Then set it aside for an hour or so. Then use a steel scrub to scrub it."

I wasn't too confident but it's not like I had other options. So it was worth a try. I felt like I was back in my chemistry lab, mixing up all sorts of chemicals. I used to really enjoy doing that. I distinctly remember the distinctive smell of the chemistry lab in school, my teacher explaining the experiment of the day, the rotten egg smell of Hydrogen Sulphide, pH test, titration experiments, yadda yadda! I remember my excitement when I was assigned my 12th grade chemistry project. It was analysis of soft drinks and I thought it was the coolest of the lot because I got to buy all varieties of soft drinks from the canteen and do all sorts of experiments with them. Its a different issue that I don't remember any of it now.

Anyway, so back to the problem at hand. I didn't have any of the ingredients for this home experiment so I went out and bought all of it, including the dish washing liquid and the steel scrub. I came home and proceeded to do exactly as mentioned above. And voila! it worked! Ok, I had to repeat the procedure three times. So you can imagine how stubborn the problem was. But it worked like a charm. And I know you guys won't believe me if I don't give you a proof. So here's a picture after the third round of experimentation.



I wish I had taken a before-the-experiment picture so that you could have appreciated this better. But I didn't! Sigh...

Anyway, so now I have a remedy to pass on to my kids and grandkids and so do you. You're welcome! For now, I will sign off in 'Powerpuff girls' style...so once again the day was saved by Google! Anybody remember powerpuff girls? Blossom? Bubbles? Buttercup? Anyone?

P.S It is essential to use the steel scrub. The other scrubs didn't do the trick.

Shopping and other related stuff

I love shopping. Whether its for myself or for someone else, I just love going to the malls. After coming to NY, today was my first visit to the mall. And I spent nearly four hours at just a couple of shops. I browsed through each and every aisle at length. I scorned at some of the hideous yet exorbitantly expensive stuff and ooohed and aaahhed over the sweet deals. But its not like I bought anything. I found a good pair of formal shoes but I wasn't sure if I wanted them. So I put them back. After a couple of hours of browsing, I allowed myself a break and sat down at the Starbucks in the mall and did what I love doing at times: People watching. And as I snacked on my blueberry scone, I watched men and women with kids in tow pushing huge shopping carts, some lone shoppers like me, and some disinterested husbands just waiting for their wives to end this torture! I wondered why most men hate shopping. What is it in their DNA or cellular structure that makes them detest this experience that most women find delightful! Are Men really from Mars and Women really from Venus? Then why on Earth are they together on Earth?! Maybe I will ask S about it tonight. The men among my readers: please feel free to vent your suppressed emotions (regarding shopping) here so that I can understand your anatomy better!

P.S Happy 4th!
P.P.S The red eye is gone...yaaay!

Long live Bollywood!

Munching on grapes and watching Saif twist in the Twist song promo from Love Aaj Kal on youtube, I am reminded of my long lost love for Bollywood. I love the dance-gaana, good looking people, palatial homes/larger than life sets, designer clothes and every bit of other unrealistic stuff that comes with this package titled 'Bollywood'. I love it that the hero and heroine break into a song-dance routine at the drop of a hat. I like the big fat indian weddings and parties.(I am big sucker for feel-good stuff. Evidently.)It's a different story altogether that in real life, neither do I enjoy going to parties nor am I particularly fond of attending weddings (unless its a close friend's or for food).

Anyway, now imagine if Bollywood didn't exist. Then real shaadis would get so boring. What songs would they play during the sangeet?! How would the bride and bridegroom design their D-day clothes according to the latest trends?!
Even real life runs the risk of being boring in the absence of Bollywood. I mean how else will I associate a song with every other situation in my life?! Be it romantic, funny or sad - Bollywood offers all kinds of songs for every kind of situation.

So all of you who share my love for our beloved Bollywood, raise your glasses and say cheers! The rest of you can stay boring and shut up. And I look forward to catching up on all of the Bollywood gossip while I am in India. I am sure my Mum knows all of it. And of course, I am going to catch up on the movies I missed!