Udipi Charlotte

Archive for March, 2010

 

 

Dosa is one of the most admired South Indian dish. Dosa is a kind of fried pancake made from split Urad Dal and rice batter. Rice and dal are soaked into water and blended into fine pastes. These pastes are mixed and salt is added into it before leaving it for fermentation. Ferment overnight or for a day. For making crispy dosas take a laddle of batter and spread it on hot greased skillet into a thin circle and fried with oil or ghee until golden brown. The dosa may then be folded in half and served. Dosa can be eaten plain or with some stuffing inside. For making stuffed dosa or masala dosa prepare the stuffing separately and fill in the centre and close the dosa.

Dosas from South India are a staple food in their home region. In the rest of the country too, they are hugely popular and Udipi restaurants serving them and other South Indian foods can be found in almost every suburb! Learn how to make them with my easy recipe.

Idli is another culinary delight from South India which is savored by all food lovers of the country. Idli, the steamed rice cake is more like steamed dumplings. It is made by steaming batter, traditionally made from pulses and rice. Rice and pulses are soaked into water and ground to a paste which is fermented overnight or until double in its volume. The fermented batter is put into greased idli mold and steamed until done. Idli molds are perforated that allow the idlis to be cooked evenly. Idlis can be steamed into cooker or idli maker. All Indian Chinese foods are available in Indomunch NYC. This Hotel is announced new gift certificate. Please visit and Get Gift Certificate.

Vada is originally a dish from South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka but now it is popular all over the country. It is a kind of snacks which is cooked with many different recipes and ingredients. The regular vada is made from smooth urad dal batter. To add the flavor to batter ginger, chillies, curry leaves and spices are added. The batter is pressed to the shape of vada and deep fried in oil till golden brown. It can be served with coconut chutney and/or sambhar. For more details http://www.indomunch.com

 

One day I happened to go to downtown Charlotte to register some business documents and was told to go from this building to that. From this room to the next. I have a disability from a bad car accident, so on the way through one of the buildings – which happened to have some of the criminal and/or traffic courts I had to sit and rest my back. The only place to sit was inside one of these courtrooms. So I sat and was amazed at what I heard.

It wasn’t what I heard from the judge or assistant district attorney that caught me offguard. It was what I heard from the police. They were there to answer for the citations and such they issued. According to the U.S. Constitution every person is innocent until proven guilty. But to these police officers, that was not the case. These people were referred to as scum, inbreeds that belonged on Jerry Springer, etc… I overheard racist remarks, jokes about the defendents, etc… all muttered between the police officers. I thought these officers took an oath to uphold justice and American laws. It sure didn’t sound like it.

Then I noticed something even more disturbing. There were a few deviant individuals in there, but mostly it was the poor and destitute in there. It was also mostly black people. As I looked around there was not one wealthy or even middle class person present. The only people in these catagories was the lawyers, assistant DA and the judge. It was mostly poor people that are working hard to just barely make it by. The black lady I sat next to was there to fight a speeding ticket and an unregistered license plate. The Assistant DA came over and offered to drop one citation if she would plead guilty to the others. The lady’s reply -

“I was held after at my first job and was rushing to get to my second job so I wouldn’t be late. I have already been late due to my first job and my other job on the weekends. I was afraid of being fired and I would lose my kids to Social Services as I wouldn’t be able to provide for them. I have three jobs just to put food on the table – I can’t afford even one of those fines. I can hardly afford gas. Maybe I should just go on welfare.”

I couldn’t believe what I heard – This lady was working 3 jobs to provide for her kids. She wasn’t doing anything wreckless – her ticket was for going 5 miles over the speedlimit. There was no way she was lying. This brought tears to my eyes – I took what money I had in my pocket and wrapped it in a piece of paper and gave it to her when I walked out. She needed it more than I did and it was the right thing to do. What has this world come to. We punish those who can least afford it – if this lady were rich she would have had her lawyer take care of these things for her.

I just recently read an article in the Charlotte Observer that described how many inconsistencies there are with the court and policing system in Charlotte. Basically from what I saw is the system is geared to take advantage of the poor and destitute. These people aren’t all bad. They are your blue collar hard workers and they are trying to climb out of financial holes many were born into. It wasn’t just this one lady. It was one after another, after another. Good people getting slammed by the system and at fees that they cannot possibly afford – $110 court costs + fines. Let’s see at least 100 people were in that one court room. Thats a lot of money. And there are many courtrooms full of people just like this one in Charlotte.

Hmmm, it sounds like we are taking advantage of the poor to fill probable extravagant local government pockets and coffers. This is just taking advantage of the people that these police as sworn officers swore to protect. It sounds to me like we have created a legalized bully system as I did not hear one police officer that had anything nice to say about these people. And after watching the news and looking things up on the internet I see many articles on police brutality, missuse of power, fraud, corruption – and its not just one instance – there are thousands and thousands of these.

This is wrong and needs to be changed. I’m sure this happens in every city and every state. We need to stand up to this – why is it that the local firemen are the first to the scene, always happy to see kids and help out, and always speak positive regardless of the situation. The police scare people lately. I wouldn’t hesitate to take my kids to see the firemen – they come out with coloring books, stickers and let them play on their trucks. The police are too busy and don’t have time, and to be honest, I wouldn’t want to take my kids to see the police. Not after what I saw in one day in downtown Charlotte. Maybe all I saw were the bad police – where are the good ones? I know there must be some. I just wish there were more of them.

For people firmly rooted in the dirt of the interior U.S., living on the ocean seems but a dream. However, you don’t have to live right on the sand to experience the full benefits of a beach lifestyle. There are many properties within a 15-minute walk to the oceanfront, especially in Gulf Shores, Alabama. And if you’re willing to walk a little – or go on a short drive – those properties become affordable for even the most frugal budgets.

A three-bedroom, two bath cottage home is available in Gulf Shores for $135,000. Located just five miles from the ocean, the clean home with crown molding, cathedral ceilings, and an open floor plan is next to state park land so privacy is also assured.

There are numerous new construction homes also available for under $130,000. Where a buyer would get a subdivision lifestyle, they would also have all new appliances, flooring, paint, cabinets, and yard.  One craftsman style home has 1600 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths, a two-car garage, garden style bathtub, and is listed at $129,900.

If your pocketbook allows for a more expensive home, a home on the river or a few blocks away from the ocean could be a good option if you’d like to keep the price below $500,000. To live on the ocean, however, count on spending a half million or more.

One home currently listed for $399,000 is just one block from the ocean. The fun, eclectic house features tile stairs, built in shelves in the living room, a glorious wraparound deck, and new roof, new paint, and storm windows and doors throughout.

If you live one block from the beach, how would you spend your free time? Walk to the pier with a fishing pole for some fresh seafood for dinner. Bring a towel, comfortable chair, lots of sunscreen, and a good book to spend an afternoon soaking in the rays. Or if you’re an early bird type, walk to the ocean with a basket to collect sand dollars and conch shells for your craft projects or shell collection.

Fresh seafood is always an option in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Whether you prepare it yourself as a resident or if you dine at one of the numerous restaurants that specialize in seafood, crab legs and shrimp are always available. However given the recent oil spill in the Gulf, talk to some locals about what to watch for before you voraciously eat from the ocean’s bounty.

Gulf Shores offers one of the most beautiful ocean fronts in the nation and it’s good to know that just about anyone can make their home in the affordable, fun area.