Invasion of technology in our lives..

..daughter sings,’ 1 2 3 4 5, once I caught a fish online‘

When virtual has become more real…. … She was about to go to a birthday party at bowling place, and she explains to her dad,’its a real bowling place, not the bowling you do on your phone’. Husband has a bowling game on his phone.

..when in doubt, you can always google, says the 6-year-old.

..that black book that is not a book, what is it that Daddy reads? A Kindle! I should just be grateful that she is more excited at the sight of her real books.

.. Can you just pause the TV while I go and get something. Husband records loads of programmes. Watching him pausing whatever he watches, she has developed a fascination for it. One day I mentioned that when I was her age, we did not have TV, and she was stunned – she couldn’t imagine a time before TV.

In fact when I look back, I find that quite amazing as well. So many gadgets that I can’t live without today, was nowhere in the scene just a few years ago. I did not have a mobile phone until a few years after I started working. There was a time we used pagers at work. And today, if I leave my phone at home accidently, I actually feel uncomfortable. So much so that one of my to-do things is to ask my cousin to get me a sim card so that I can have a working phone as soon as I land in India.

People talk about feeling liberated without their phones ringing.. but for me, I find being connected comforting. Knowing that if any of my loved ones need me, I am just a phone call away. For that, I shall forever be grateful for the invasion of technology in our lives..

Paneer Pinwheels – Recipe Variation

As I had promised, I did try to make Paneer pinwheels with wholemeal flour – atta. I only had multigrain atta, so I just used it, but I am sure even the regular flour should be fine.

Here’s how it turned out.

The taste – it was different, but nice different. The pastry was crisp, not flaky. More like Bhakarwadi rather than puff pastry- but that was to be expected. For me, I might use this method more as it is far healthier than the puff pastry. And it tasted just as delicious on the whole. And easier to rustle up. Just use chappathi atta!

I had planned to make a stiffer dough, but ended up with softer dough. I was too lazy to correct it, so went ahead and made it. Thankfully, it still turned out delicious! It was a little more delicate to handle, but a few minutes in the fridge was enough to sort that out.

Ingredients

For the pastry

Whole meal flour – I cup( I tried with scaled down ingredients)

Water – to knead- I did not measure, I’m afraid

salt to taste

For the mixture. I used the same amounts as I used for the earlier version. Just made stuffed paranthas with the remaining mixture.

Paneer – One store bought block- 9oz approximately

Oil – 1 tsp

Turmeric – 1/4 tsp

Red Chilli Powder – 1/2 tsp or to taste

Chat Masala – 1/2 tsp

Amchoor – 1/4 tsp

Salt – as per taste

Corainder leaves – a handful, chopped

Green chutney – Enough to spread lightly on the pastry.

For the pastry, combine the flour, water and salt and knead well until it comes together in a nice firm dough. Mine went a little softer than I wanted it, but it did not really matter much in the end.

In a little oil, lightly saute the paneer with all the ingredients mentioned. This time, I just added the green chutney to the mixture – laziness, that is me! Keep aside for to cool down.

Roll out the dough. Brush a tiny amount of oil, fold it and roll it out again. I used very little oil, but I am sure a little more oil would taste better. I did this about 3 times. Had my dough been stiffer, I could created more layers. Once the layers were done, spread the paneer mixture evenly, and roll it up, firmly but gently. Seal the ends with a little water.

I had to put mine in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before cutting the roll into equal sized pieces, Place them on a greased baking tray and bake them for about 15 minutes at 400 deg F or until golden.