Tushar Mangl

It’s all over the news and its flying! Open the papers and its there, switch on the tv and its there, read a blog and its there too! It is surely getting its fair share of attention but there is not much we have to fear- atleast not when we are at home. I think that’s the best place to be under these circumstances. And yes! I welcome the one week ban in schools and colleges. People are wary of each other and everyone is suspicious. But who can blame them? The nature of this disease builds up the fear in people. A beeline for masks was seen at all chemists and selling them at double the market price was definitely not welcome. Spirit of Mumbai- I say! Taking advantage of people in times of need and desperation. So many deaths were reported but only if the news reporters would have highlighted that the patients were victims of various diseases which is why they eventually succumbed to swine flu, not everyone would have lined up at the hospitals for a test. Hospitals- ironically the...

Prep: 20 minutes Bake: About 40 minutes Makes: 6 servings Shortbread Crust ½ cup butter, softened ½ cup light brown sugar 1 ½ cups flour 1tsp grated lemon rind Lemon Topping 1 ½ cups granulated sugar ½ cup lemon juice ½ cup water 2tbsp corn flour 2 eggs 2 tsp grated lemon zest Glaze 1/3 cup butter 2 cups powdered sugar Green and orange food colouring ½ cup water Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F). Grease 9-inch square baking tin 2. Prepare short bread crust: In large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour and lemon rind until well combined .Pat mixture evenly into prepared tin. 3. Bake crust 15 minutes, or until golden .Cool in pan, on wire rack. 4. Meanwhile, prepare lemon topping: In 2-litre saucepan, mix 1 cup granulated sugar, lemon juice, water and corn flour until well mixed. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1-2 m...

Prep: 30 minutes Makes 10 servings 1 small (about 200g) sponge cake (from any bakery) Vanilla custard made from ½-liter milk and packet custard powder ½ kg each chopped mango and sliced kiwi fruit 1/3 cup sugar 1 ½ cup heavy cream, whipped Additional fruit for garnish 1/3 cup sherry or other cooking liquor Build trifle in large decorative glass bowl: cut cake into even chunks and cover the bottom of dish uniformly. Sprinkle alcohol to moisten cake pieces (or use diluted fruit juice). Top with mango slice and then layer of custard. Repeat layers of cake, kiwi fruit and custard. Top with whipped cream and garnish with fruit. Chill 2 hours.

Prep: 30 minutes Bake: 20 minutes Makes: 10 servings Pastry 2/3 cups butter 2 cups flour 4-5tbsp water Filling 250g cream cheese or hung yogurt (low-fat) 2 tsp lemon juice 2tbsp sugar 1 cup green-fleshed melon, sliced 1 cup orange –flashed melon, sliced (replace with green and orange fruits such as kiwi and peaches or apricots) 2tbsp apricot jam 1. Grease a 9-inch pie dish. 2. Cut butter into flour until it resembles small peas (do not mix).Sprinkle in water a tablespoon at a time .Gather pastry into ball. Shape into flattened rounds and roll out into small puris. Fit in 9-inch pie dish. Crimp edges. Chill for about 30 minutes. 3. Cover the pie dish with foil and bakes 20 minutes at 200°C.uncover and bake for another five minutes 4. Beat together cream cheese, lemon juice and sugar. Pour into baked pie crust. Decorate with fruit. Melt some apricot jam and pore over to glaze.

Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 1 hour Makes: 8 servings 4-5 medium potatoes, (cuts in medium thick slices, with skin) ½ a head cabbage, cut in wedges 2-3 onions cut in the wedges Cherry tomatoes 2 carrots (cut in slices) A small broccoli (into florets) 100g butter (softened) Salt, crushed black pepper & dry herbs (of your choice) 1, preheat grill of medium heat before prepping vegetables. 2. Butter a Large piece of heavy duty foil and place vegetables on foil (or thread thought seekhs). Sprinkle with salt, pepper and pats of butter. 3. Butter another large piece of foil and seal around edges very securely. 4.grill for 30 minutes, run and grill 30 more minutes or until done

Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 15 minutes Makes: 4 servings 1 spring onion, finely chopped 4 fat garlic cloves, crusher 3 celery sticks, finely chopped 1tsp saunf 1 red chilli, finely chopped 3tbsp olive oil 1/5 cup white wine 750g mixed fish such as sole and surmai, raw shelled prawns, mussels 4 medium tomatoes, chopped 3 small tejpatta Put the spring onion into a large pan and add the garlic, celery saunf, chilli and olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes Stir in 1 liter boiling water and white wine. bring to boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Cut the white fish into large chunks. Add to soup with the tomatoes and tejpatta. Continue to simmer gently until the fish has just turned opaque. Add the prawns; simmer for a minutes, then ass the mussels. As soon as all the mussels have opened (discard any that haven’t),season soup and ladle into bowls to serve .

In context to the article published in all leading newspapers today about a law which has been put in place allowing a Shia man in Afghanistan to deny food to his wife if she refuses to have sex with him(legalizing rape in marriage) is another act of folly committed by the puppet government of Hamid Karzai . Some of other disturbing clauses are the guardianship of a child to his father and grandfather with women playing absolutely no role as if she is a surrogate mother. Third Clause is that a women has to ask her husbands before she can work The law seems to be deeply prejudiced against women and incurs a great amount of pain and suffering on women, wives in particular. Muslim women are already subjugated by men all through there life be it by a father, husband, father in law, or even her own son. It seems that these people do not view women as human beings. They treat them with contempt, hated and this objectification of the opposite sex is really worth condemning. These me...