Cutting my Birthday Cake!

I had my birthday recently। And as you can see in the picture I am cutting my birthday cake. To visit my photo album on Flickr click here.

Job Cuts | Invest in Mutual Funds

Are you living in fear that your company might throw you out? Just follow these simple rules. There are two different times in life. One is Good Times and the other one Bad Times. When you are having a very good time with your life, be prepared for the bad times. You must have a plan on how to tackle the problem of any future job cuts. And the best way to do it is to invest a part of your monthly savings in a diversified mutual fund. It is wise to invest in an SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) rather than going for the traditional lumpsum investments. Follow the rule, which says that do not put all your chickens in one basket. That means, choose more than one mutual fund scheme. The best way to start is to visit your local bank where you have your savings account. Investing directly into equities is a risky move. You should avoid direct equity as it requires you to be well versed with the stock markets. When you loose your job look for another one. During this time you can fund all your monthly expenditure by withdrawing partially from your mutual fund investments.

Job Cuts | Where To Go Now?

I was upset when I heard about Jet Airways cutting jobs. And it all happened suddenly. Not only Jet Airways, but some other airline companies too are cutting jobs. I feel sorry for them and I know how it is like when you are out from such a good reputed company. Now, they will have to find a job again. Will they go for Airlines? I don't think so. Airline companies have now become very unstable. Sometimes they even run on heavy losses due to the sudden rise of the crude prices. My suggestion would be to look for a job in the hospitality industry like travel & tourisim, and the hotels. This industry is growing very rapidly and I have never heard them doing job cuts.

Fish Curry | Macher Kalia | The Recipe

This is how I cook my macher kalia (fish curry). Its so easy, just try it. Chop some onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Put them in a grinder. Grind them until they become a paste. Cut the fish into small pieces (as you like it). Then clean the fish under running water. Take a kadhai (large fry pan) and put some musturd oil in it. Heat the pan in a mild flame. Now drop all the fish one by one into the fry pan. Fry all the fish under mild flame until they get a reddish colour. Then pour all the paste on the fish in the fry pan. Stir gently and add some water if needed. Now add some haldi powder, salt, dhania powder, jeera powder, and chicken masala ( yes, you heard that right - I use it in macher kalia, interesting is int it). Again add some water and stir it. Now add some tomato ketchep sauce to it. Stir well. Now cover the lid and simmer it for 15 mins. After 15 mins, sprinkle a pinch of garam masala powder on it and quickly cover the lid and keep it till lunch (or dinner). To garnish, add freshly chopped green dhania patta on it. I sometime use grated cheese if there is no dhania patta near by. Believe me, I love to experiment with food. Next time I plan to add some chopped pepperoni pizza.

Spinach on Gandhi Jayanti.

Today was 2nd October 2008. And today was the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. So, the stock markets was closed. I had nothing to do. So, I thought it will be great if I help my mom with her cooking. Today, there was no non-veg item. I was searching for something to cook. I saw a bunch of spinach in the fridge. I took them out and decided to cook it in a very special way. Mom started washing it under running water. I got ready with a plate and a knife. After chopping it into small pieces my mom added some vegetables to it. Then in the kitchen she fried all the spinach along with the vegetables in a non-stick fry pan. Then she added some salt, pepper, haldi, and some more masalas. I saw a bottle of kasundi (mustard) in the fridge. I added some to the spinach. The mustard paste gives a good aroma to it. Finally, my mom added some water and covered the pan with its lid. After 20 mins its all done. At lunch we had rice, spinach, dal, aalu bhindi. Oh ya, the spinach....it was lovely. After lunch I had an apple which helped me to digest the musturd spinach.