Mumbai has a very active bird watching group. The Navi Mumbai Naturalists (Namunas), led by Julius Rego go to a new trail every Sunday. Saru and I join them as often as we can. I am not a morning person, but this is the one day of the week when I don't mind waking up early. It is great to be outdoors in time to see the sun rise. I love being outside with the cool breeze and the active birds. Here are some images from last month.
These were taken near the JNPT police station in Uran.
Long Tail Shrike - Nicknamed as Gandhari because of the black patch near it's eyes. This is a common bird we see all the time, and I have been wanting to photograph it. Few weeks back, I saw a very beautiful, fat and plump Shrike in the bushes close to us, but my fat and plump husband didn't have the camera ready. I shot this at Uran just after it finished bathing. Some birds take a bath by rolling on early morning dew on leaves. It is fun to watch them. 
Common Stonechat (Female)
I was trying to shoot a Hoopoe and this bird came and sat on a branch next to me and posed without any inhibitions. I got some lovely closeups. It is such a cute bird with beautiful eyes.
The pond there was full of ducks....mostly Northern Shovelers (Males are beautiful with a dark green head and white breast, females are brown and nondescript). There were also a few garganeys and spot-billed ducks.
Waders in the sky
There were a lot of waders in the grasslands. Once in a while, they would all collectively take off and form patterns in the sky. It is a defense mechanism to ward away predators. 
These were taken at the mangroves in front of our building.
Shikra
These days, we can hear birds chirping all the way in our bedroom, so we went to the mangroves in front of our building to see what the hoopla was all about. We saw hundreds of pied starlings,but they were too far to photograph. On the way back, we saw this Shikra sitting on a tree branch. I took some record shots and slowly inched towards it from its back and was able to get closeup shots. 
Flock of Great Egrets
One day we noticed a few painted storks in the mangroves, so went to look at them. They flew away, but the pond had hundreds of egrets. These are so common that you ignore them, but Saru took this postcard shot with their reflections .
Little Brown Dove / Laughing Dove
It was time to go to work and we were hurrying back home when I spotted this Spotted Dove. I took a very quick shot while Saru dragged me home not realizing that this would be the best picture of the day.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sunday Morning Birding in Mumbai
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tasty Salads - Really?
If you are a salad person, you are going to like these salads.
If you are NOT a salad person, you are going to LOVE these salads.
I am NOT a salad person. I never ate salads until I moved to the US. Even there, I stayed away from them for a couple of years. It was only when I joined work and would go out for business lunches and dinners that I started eating salads. I hated them, but I didn't want to look like an idiot . Exact same reason why I started drinking wine....but somehow that was not so hard to get used to :)
A month ago, Saru and I attended an Isha Yoga class. They talked about the importance of eating uncooked food and made us lunch with a spread of salads. Both Saru and I were shocked at how tasty the food was, so we promptly got the recipes. We have been making these salads for a month now and absolutely love them. They are so delicious that we cut our rice intake to half. It feels so good to eat these nutrient rich, colorful and tasty salads. Some of the ingredients and combinations may puzzle you, but I guarantee that they taste great.
1. Carrot Salad
Ingredients: 4 medium sized Grated carrot, 1 handful of sprouted green grams, 1 small finely chopped capsicum, 4 spoons of grated coconut, lime juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, coriander and curry leaves.
Method: Mix all of the above. Heat a spoon of oil and season it with mustard seeds (Tadka). and a pinch of grated ginger Add the seasoning to the vegetables and mix it very well.
Tip: Leave out coconut if it is too much trouble. Use half of the US style large capsicum.
Comment: My first reaction was - how will carrots and sprouts go together? Trust me, they do and taste awesome.
2. Beetroot Salad
Ingredients: 2 medium sized beetroots, 1 handful of soaked groundnuts, 1 small finely chopped capsicum, 4 spoons of grated coconut, lime juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, coriander and curry leaves.
Method: Mix all of the above. Heat a spoon of oil and season it with mustard seeds (Tadka) and a pinch of grated ginger. Add the seasoning to the vegetables and mix it very well.
Tip: Soak a handful of groundnuts for a few hours. Apparently soaked groundnuts are more healthy (and tasty too) . Leave out coconut if it is too much trouble. Use half of the US style large capsicum.
Comment: Betroot, lime juice and soaked groundnuts combination is too good. We were as surprised at the taste and you will be when you make this.
3. Cucumber Salad
Ingredients: 2 finely chopped cucumbers, 2 small chopped tomatoes, 1 small finely chopped capsicum, 4 spoons of grated coconut, lime juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, coriander and curry leaves.
Method: Mix all of the above. Heat a spoon of oil and season it with mustard seeds (Tadka) and a pinch of grated ginger. Add the seasoning to the vegetables and mix it very well.
Tip: I added some yogurt to make it like raita. Leave out coconut if it is too much trouble. Use half of the US style large capsicum.
Comment: Betroot, lime juice and soaked groundnuts combination is too good. We were as surprised at the taste and you will be when you make this.
4. Ash Gourd, Bottle Gourd Salad
Same procedure as cucumber salad, but leave out the capsicum.
6. Snake Gourd Salad
I know, you must be thinking - "how can raw snake gourd taste good!" It does and I challenge you to try it. Preparation is the same as that for cucumber salad.
7. Pumpkin Salad
Procedure is the same as that for carrot salad.
I use my food processor to grate the vegetables, but hand grating achieves a finer texture and is more tasty. For the recipes that require chopped vegetables, chop them as finely as you can. The more the vegetables get covered with salt, pepper and lime juice, the tastier the salad is. The good folks at Isha Yoga told us that it is easier to wake up early in the morning if you eat a lighter meal with salads. I find that mostly true.
I am NOT a salad person. I never ate salads until I moved to the US. Even there, I stayed away from them for a couple of years. It was only when I joined work and would go out for business lunches and dinners that I started eating salads. I hated them, but I didn't want to look like an idiot . Exact same reason why I started drinking wine....but somehow that was not so hard to get used to :)
A month ago, Saru and I attended an Isha Yoga class. They talked about the importance of eating uncooked food and made us lunch with a spread of salads. Both Saru and I were shocked at how tasty the food was, so we promptly got the recipes. We have been making these salads for a month now and absolutely love them. They are so delicious that we cut our rice intake to half. It feels so good to eat these nutrient rich, colorful and tasty salads. Some of the ingredients and combinations may puzzle you, but I guarantee that they taste great.
1. Carrot Salad
Ingredients: 4 medium sized Grated carrot, 1 handful of sprouted green grams, 1 small finely chopped capsicum, 4 spoons of grated coconut, lime juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, coriander and curry leaves.
Method: Mix all of the above. Heat a spoon of oil and season it with mustard seeds (Tadka). and a pinch of grated ginger Add the seasoning to the vegetables and mix it very well.
Tip: Leave out coconut if it is too much trouble. Use half of the US style large capsicum.
Comment: My first reaction was - how will carrots and sprouts go together? Trust me, they do and taste awesome.
2. Beetroot Salad
Ingredients: 2 medium sized beetroots, 1 handful of soaked groundnuts, 1 small finely chopped capsicum, 4 spoons of grated coconut, lime juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, coriander and curry leaves.
Method: Mix all of the above. Heat a spoon of oil and season it with mustard seeds (Tadka) and a pinch of grated ginger. Add the seasoning to the vegetables and mix it very well.
Tip: Soak a handful of groundnuts for a few hours. Apparently soaked groundnuts are more healthy (and tasty too) . Leave out coconut if it is too much trouble. Use half of the US style large capsicum.
Comment: Betroot, lime juice and soaked groundnuts combination is too good. We were as surprised at the taste and you will be when you make this.
3. Cucumber Salad
Ingredients: 2 finely chopped cucumbers, 2 small chopped tomatoes, 1 small finely chopped capsicum, 4 spoons of grated coconut, lime juice, salt, freshly ground pepper, coriander and curry leaves.
Method: Mix all of the above. Heat a spoon of oil and season it with mustard seeds (Tadka) and a pinch of grated ginger. Add the seasoning to the vegetables and mix it very well.
Tip: I added some yogurt to make it like raita. Leave out coconut if it is too much trouble. Use half of the US style large capsicum.
Comment: Betroot, lime juice and soaked groundnuts combination is too good. We were as surprised at the taste and you will be when you make this.
4. Ash Gourd, Bottle Gourd Salad
Same procedure as cucumber salad, but leave out the capsicum.
6. Snake Gourd Salad
I know, you must be thinking - "how can raw snake gourd taste good!" It does and I challenge you to try it. Preparation is the same as that for cucumber salad.
7. Pumpkin Salad
Procedure is the same as that for carrot salad.
I use my food processor to grate the vegetables, but hand grating achieves a finer texture and is more tasty. For the recipes that require chopped vegetables, chop them as finely as you can. The more the vegetables get covered with salt, pepper and lime juice, the tastier the salad is. The good folks at Isha Yoga told us that it is easier to wake up early in the morning if you eat a lighter meal with salads. I find that mostly true.
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