“I clearly remember that on the first day all children abused me in the class.The NGO gets financial help from NRIs as well as local people.  

It works by directly going to the slums where they help children by giving them extra classes in the evening, school bags, uniform, school fees, blankets and sometimes fruits as well as food items.Mr Jassi himself had donated `7 lakh to the NGO. The organisation helps the kids with education, food and clothing. The money was received by him as reward from various organisations for helping slum children. They had not taken bath in many weeks and were barefoot,” recalled Mr Jassi, 53, about his experience with the first batch of kids whom he helped in Sherpur.

With a modest beginning in 2003 at Sherpur town of Sangrur district, when he started helping children whom he saw collecting plastic a  mound of garbage on a cold winter morning, Mr Jassi today leads an NGO, Super ELF G2 Shri Guru Nanak Dev charitable Slum society. “Four of our girls from slums of Patiala are doing nursing diploma and one girl has done BCA,” said a proud Mr Jassi.

Mr Jassi usually prefers that any person who wants to help the poor kids  should come to the slums and donate books or food himself.His NGO now also orks in districts of Sangrur, Barnala, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali.The slum from where Mr Jassi started his journey, now has 140 children who have reached Class 12.The NGO, with 22 employee-cum-volunteers, has no office. “ Although my children are now doing fine in their lives, I want to die working for poor slum kids, “ said an emotional Mr Jassi.Chandigarh: Punjab electricity board’s linesman Bhan Singh Jassi is showing the way in self-less service in five districts by helping poor slum kids purse education and give up rag-picking. None of these children had any idea of classes or books. His daughter is now doing Maths (Honours) from Delhi University and his son is in Canada.Mr Jassi, who still works as a linesman with Punjab electricity board, has a son and a daughter.

An insane BBQ meal, this!3Enjoy Nopales! Nopal (cactus) is a very common vegetable in Mexico which tastes like gluey beans, slightly tart with a firm texture.AchioteAchiote is sometimes called Lipstick Tree and is made with crushed annatto seeds along with garlic, cumin, salt, black pepper, allspice, cloves, orange juice. As time went by, the Aztecs began to steam them, a technique learned from the Spanish conquistadores. Add rest of the ingredients and mix.Open husk and serve hot. Few dishes in the world boast of an ancestry like the tamale. Scoop out avocado from the peel, place it in a Molcajete or mixing bowl. Take out, keep aside. Lebanese immigrants moved to Mexico and they brought their famous technique of spit-roasted meat.

Using a fork, mash the avocado, but keep it chunky.Bring to a slow boil, cover, lower heat to maintain a simmer.Portions 2, time 10 minutes,finishing time 10 minutesIngredients200 gm ripe avocado, two small pieces or one big2 tbsp tomatoes, seeds and pulp removed,chopped1 tbsp onion, chopped1 tbsp cilantro, chopped1 tsp jalapeno, chopped1 tsp lemon juice  1 tsp olive oilSalt to tasteMethodCut avocados in half.Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air. Marinate pork for couple of hours or overnight.Steam for 45 minutes. Leave an inch margin at each side. Most top restaurants in Oaxaca will not even have Tequila on their menus! They serve only mezcal. This led to the birth of corn tamale, which could be packed for travel, warmed later and relished.2Experience a Mexican barbecue in a rustic ambience at 20 de Noviembre Market, meats served in flat bamboo baskets on paper, salsas in small disposable containers, warm tortillas on paper. Heat half oil in a pan, add garlic, sauté.Tamale4 portions (8 pieces), time 25 minutes, cooking time 25 minutesIngredients250 gm masa harina25 ml oil50 gm butter150 ml water½ tsp salt16 or 8 pieces corn husk or banana leaves240 gm pulled chickenMethodPlace husks in a bowl with warm water for 30 minutes. It was lovely to see this being made live, in Mexico City by Mexican street vendors!Masa HarinaMasa Harina is the traditional flour used for making tortillas, tamales, and other Mexican dishes.5 Relish Oaxacan Quesillo, the best cheese of Mexico, it is a bit stringy but yum. Add soaked chillies and achiote, cook for half a minute, add pineapple juice, orange juice and vinegar.Refrigerate until ready to serve. It means “dough flour,” because the flour is made from dried masa, a dough from specially treated corn.Traditionally, tamales were cooked by burying them in hot ashes, which made them crispy and brown from the outside with a soft, well-cooked filling inside. There are plenty of small mezcal producers in Oaxaca.’ Here are a few tips if you are visting Oaxaca, Mexico’s food capital. Cactus pads are best served grilled on a taco.Oaxaca trailsChef Vikas Seth, an IHM Mumbai alumnus, is known for his culinary innovation and has a palate of a well-eaten gourmand — a few virtues that he honed and enhanced during his stint at the Culinary Institute of America. Bring to boil, add salt. Serve with yellow, blue and corn tortillas.Mix masa, salt with warm water, add oil and butter, mix well.Remove chicken from pot, let it cool and shred with two forks into pulled chicken.Place two tbsp pulled chicken in a line through the middle of the dough. Add cumin powder, chipotle in adobo sauce, chicken and salt, sear it for a couple of minutes and add tomato puree and mix well.GuacamoleAvocados were first cultivated in Central America as early as 7,000 BC, though where exactly is still debatable. Tequila is also a type of mezcal made from only blue agave plant commercially, whereas mezcal is made artisanally from different varieties of agave. Heat grill, drizzle little oil, sear pork slices both sides, add onions along with pork. As the warring tribes grew, the demand of pre-making the nixtamal (corn) itself became  so overwhelming a process that a need arose to have a more portable sustaining foodstuff. This Quesillo cheese is similar to mozzarella though a bit saltier.Tacos Al PastorServes 2 portions, time: 30 minutesmarination: 4 hours to overnight,  cooking time: 30 minutes. Instead of lamb, well-marinated pork with Achiote and chilli is spit roasted, served on a warm tortilla with pineapple pieces, cilantro, chopped onions, lemon slice and salsa.Ingredients250 gm boneless pork , sliced into quarter inch1 tbsp achiote paste10 gm guajillo chilli10 gm chipotle chilli1 tbsp oil1 tsp garlic, chopped ½ tsp cumin powder½ tsp crushed black pepper¼ tsp cloves125 ml orange juice125 ml pineapple juice50 ml white vinegarA pinch Mexican oregano2 tbsp onion julienne1 tsp saltFor finishing4 pieces corn tortillas2 pieces romaine lettuce  4 pieces pineapple, peeled rapier loom and half inch thick sliced4 pieces lemon wedgesMethodSoak guajillo and chipotle chilli in warm water for a few of minutes. Mezcal tasting is also common and the Mezcaloteca Bar is the best place, but book in advance.Achiote is a shrub or small tree best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange red condiment used in lipstick.1See Mexican chocolate making, the ancestral way at Chocolate Y Mole La Soledad, 20 de Noviembre Market, where they wash Cacao beans, roast and grind with cinnamon and almond, then grind with sugar as per the client’s taste.Pulled ChickenIngredients250 gm chicken leg boneless  75 gm onion, sliced1 tsp garlic, smashed1 tsp cumin powder1 tsp fresh jalapeno, chopped1 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce3 tbsp tomato pureeA pinch of salt1 tbsp oilWater/chicken stock as requiredMethodHeat oil in a pot, sauté all ingredients together.

Feast on Chapulines (fried grasshoppers) with a flight of Mezcal, you can’t leave without experiencing this! Crunchy and salty Chapulines are a delicacy. Grill pineapple slices with a little pork marination, for garnish. Place tortilla on a hot griddle and cook for 30 seconds to a minute on each side. In my journey to Oaxaca Mexico City, and as a searcher of foodie experiences, I have also shared some tips for your travel to this beautiful land of chilli and rich history.— The writer is a chef and culinary director at Embassy Leisure and Entertainment Projects LLP (Embassy Group).  

Achiote paste is a thick deep red seasoning popular in Mexico, and is best rubbed on meats or tossed with vegetables.Blend into a smooth marination.Tear four husks to make 16 strips for tying tamales. Born into a culturally-rich family in Amritsar, Chef Seth is a multi-faceted chef, who has authored books for private circulation The Modern Indian Odyssey showcasing Indian food and a unique twin cover restaurant book on ‘Sanchez and Sriracha. It was a common belief then that the tamale sticking to the bottom of the pot was a sign of good luck, and would protect them on the battleground. Knead a minute.As a well-travelled chef with an innate understanding of culinary concepts and a strong passion for Mexican cooking, I travelled to Mexico to explore its intrinsic cuisine, and was I amazed at the depth. Roll husk and tie ends tightly with a strip of husk to secure. Remove the pit. Stir in cumin, oregano, crushed black pepper and cloves, and cook for a minute. Divide dough into small 20 gm balls. For best results, Achiote paste needs to be mixed with orange juice before use.Corn TortillasIngredients225 gm masa harina, ½ tsp salt , 150 ml warm water   MethodMix masa harina, salt and warm water to form a dough.The method of cooking “Tacos al pastor” actually is inspired by the Middle Eastern shawarma.  

It is then cooled, shaped and sold, or sold warm. Once cooked, take off grill, rest for a few minutes before slicing. A common theory is that they originated in Central America and were colloquially called “ahuacatl” meaning “testicle tree” by the Aztecs who bought it into Mexico. I am sharing the Aztec-style recipe, where the tamale is served cocooned in a corn husk.. The importance of guacamole in Mexican food is ascertained by the fact that it is the single dish that distinguishes a good restaurant from the rest, and of course, a good cook too! It was the first dish that the Spaniards took fancy to, and began spreading the word about the amazing “guacamole” they had while in Mexico.Leave ends open.Press each tortilla in a tortilla press or roll out between two pieces of plastic sheet until it is about two to three inches across and thin. Sauté garlic, onion and fresh jalapenos for a couple of minutes.Cook until the chicken starts to shred on the touch of a fork, about 20 to 30 minutes.Pat husks dry. Warm corn tortillas, add in the torn romaine lettuce, top it with sliced pork, seared pineapple and lemon wedges. It is quite versatile, and you can choose to add any filling — meats, vegetables or fruits. They even took the first few samplings to California in 1871. They should be about one inche indiametre.  

For long, the tamale remained a military food, and the reason behind women’s presence in the armed forces as cooks to make the masa for the tortillas and the meats, stews, drinks, etc.Fold in both sides, and press the seam together, ensure the chicken filling stays completely inside. Pre-dating corn by at least a couple of thousand years, tamale was first made by the indigenous tribes from wild “teocintle,” the ancestor of modern maize.Add in just enough water to cover the chicken.  Tortillas cool quickly, so keep them warm in a tortilla warmer lined with paper towels to prevent condensation. Take off heat.The mixture should roll into a ball without sticking to your fingers.Interestingly, little has changed in the way a classic guacamole is made today — which is coarsely forked avocados with onion, chilis and tomatoes with perhaps a sprinkle of cilantro and lime.Spread dough onto husks.

They seem to be hemmed in by their political beliefs. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley appears to spend more time fulminating over accusations of intolerance and the extreme victimhood of the Prime Minister than he does over the rising prices of pulses — which is a reality that no one can deny, not even Kher or whoever does the shopping in his household. Super ELF Others have not returned their awards but have put forward their discomfort or distress at the perceived atmosphere of “rising intolerance”.  

Part of this perception has been bolstered by the killing of writers and rationalists, where Hindutva rightwing groups have been the accused. And thereby hangs another miserable tale. Kalburgi is threatened and then murdered because he was against idol worship, then does another writer with similar views have the right to be frightened  For this people like Kher, a fine actor who has some remarkable work to his credit, have no proper answer. But it is not. That is the first reaction in the high-frenzy atmosphere of today. The Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur displayed the installation — a plastic cow suspended from a balloon — in an open area.  

India is tolerant, declared a well-known film actor as he led a protest march against the protestors.If all this was just Twitter talk or TV news hysteria, it could safely be ignored or dismissed.The writer is a senior journalist who writes on media affairs, politics and social trends. The cow on a balloon was offensive because it was a cow and cows are holier than holy at the moment. However, all things being equal, you still have the right to have an opinion and make a political choice. If scholar-writer M.And the rest of their perception has, in fact, been vindicated by the howling response of anger from the Central government and its supporters. What matters is who has done the killings or who has done the threatening.It is intriguing though to gauge the reactions of those who refuse to accept that India can possibly be seen as intolerant. After film star Shah Rukh Khan said that he felt there was intolerance in the air, Kher was careful to warn people not to send Khan to Pakistan. Because once you bring patriotism and nationalism into the argument, you can now send everyone who disagrees with you to Pakistan or, barring that, book them for sedition, as is the current fashion.This is because, ultimately in India, we are more tolerant of whatever comes out of Bollywood than we are of the views of some of our best writers, intellectuals and scientists. Perhaps Abraham Lincoln should have added to his definition of democracy what happens when people try to fool themselves.  It was been two months since a number of people, known and not so well known, from various walks of life, including retired soldiers, protested against a climate that does not allow free speech or a dispensation that goes back on electoral promises. Some have returned awards that they received for their writing, scientific work, artistic efforts, academic achievements, even bravery.  

It is fair to say, however, that Anupam Kher completely missed the point, whether deliberately or mistakenly. It fools no one that such words and actions are nothing but extreme acts of intolerance. Some may be less inclined towards Hindutva, some may have connections with this or that political party and others may not. They have a strong film connection.Tolerance of the intolerant or intolerance of the tolerant: Which is the battle being fought in India today Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje apologised to the artist after an art installation called the Bovine Divine was taken down in rage.And while in Rajasthan, renowned if sometimes controversial international sculptor Anish Kapoor also found himself on the receiving end of intolerance — two days after he was appointed to a cultural panel set up by the Rajasthan government, he was removed. However pro-cow activists — a new power group in India — misunderstood, took offence, called the police who took the installation down.Even worse is the fact that the plastic cow was later brought back out of storage and worshipped.Is that tolerance of intolerance or the intolerant ruling the roost We have reached a peculiar stage in India today — nurtured by years of political patronage, the “sentiments” of random groups of people now determine our cultural, political and social discourse.

Thus, for these people, it does not matter which political party runs various state governments.What they mean is that they are disturbed by the stated intolerance to their particular views or the views of others.At the crux of the matter though is a disingenuous misunderstanding of the word “tolerance” and a neat logical skip to pointing out how India is not intolerant. The fact that an elevated sense of outrage can so easily attack freedom of expression means that we are unable to combat the forces that want to take us to a closed society. Kapoor has made some scathing, uncomplimentary comments about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The sweeping nature of this allegation makes it untenable. The irony, the thought, the idea of the artist in naming his installation “The Bovine Divine” was completely turned on its head in the end. Now that actor Aamir Khan has added his own views to this, weighing in on the side of those who fear intolerance, Kher has sent him a few gentle tweets asking him what needs to be done. Whatever you say or paint or sing or show, there will be several groups of people ready to take offence.  

If a writer who supports Kalburgi is threatened with death on social media by a Bajrang Dal activist, what is that a sign of  And the removal of Anish Kapoor from a culture panel because he dislikes the politics of the Prime Minister, is that a sign of tolerance or intolerance The other argument against people who fear “rising intolerance” is that they are all stooges of the Congress Party and/or they are against the BJP. It is also foolish to publicly state that being a Congress lackey and being a member of the Left coalition is the same thing.  

That includes agreeing or disagreeing with the party in power. The artist, Siddharth Karwal, was trying to draw attention to the plight of cows eating plastic waste. In the larger sense, it does not matter whether the artist was talking about today’s cow politics or something else. This is something that followers and supporters of political parties have found hard to fathom in spite of democracy being our chosen form of governance in 1947, cemented in 1950.

The study further showed that larger the bubbles, the worse the wine will taste, according to the university researchers.

The author of the University of Texas study, Kyle S.It turns out the bubble formation process on styrofoam is completely different than on glass.According to the Cosmopolitan, researchers at Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas at Austin found that the type of bubbles laser weft feeder in a glass of sparkling wine can really affect the taste.The study found that the bubbles in more expensive, fine sparkling wines are smaller and therefore make the wines taste better quality.Christmas is right around the corner, and that means a lot of trees, tinsels, gifts, mistletoes, parties and champagne!  

It is inevitable that you will be drinking fizz out of a plastic cup at some point or the other.He added that if one ever resorts to drinking champagne from a Styrofoam cup, the bubbles will be fairly different. They also said that styrofoam is also to be avoided this party season.If you pour Champagne or other sparkling wine into a plastic cup, for example, the bubbles apparently stick to the walls of the cup quite strongly, which causes larger bubbles to form.And they discovered that bubbles form differently depending on the type of vessel the fizz is poured into. Spratt, found that bubbles also form differently in styrofoam.It turns out that using anything other than a traditional glass flute may negatively affect the flavour of the beverage.However, an expert warns that pouring champagne or any other sparkling wine into a disposable vessel can ruin its taste.

The owner of world SHJ-P Weft Feeder largest oil refining complex will also make low-cost and high-volume composite products like modular toilets, homes and composites for windmill blades and rotor blades."The ability to deliver exceptional strength (similar to or better than steel) at a significantly lower weight is a critical performance attribute of FRPs.  

The resultant rayon strands are spun into a thread, then woven into sheets and mixed with hardening resins to form the various components needed.New Delhi: Reliance Industries is investing in setting up India's first carbon fibre manufacturing unit to cater to aerospace and defence needs, the company said in its annual report. A composite is an engineered material made from two or more ingredients with significantly differing properties, either physical or chemical.Stating that it will focus on design and specifications driven markets and applications that have the potential to grant better returns, it said the focus areas include wind mill blades and parts for railways and metros, which have exacting standards of performance and safety (especially fire retardant).RIL said industrial 3D printing (especially with metal) is reaching an inflection point and the company has developed the capabilities to design and print a wide range of products using 3D printing technology - in both plastic and metal - from prototypes to functional parts.Reliance is developing new business verticals in the petrochemicals business to capture Rs 30,000 crore composites market and has plans to produce graphene, enhanced plastics and elastomers, fibre reinforced composites which can replace steel.  

"RIL expects the newly launched Reliance Composites Solutions (RCS) business to be the No.It had last year acquired the assets of Kemrock Industries to enter the composites business and is focusing on thermoset composites such as glass and carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymers (FRPs).Composites are used in a wide range of markets and applications: industrial, railways, renewable energy, defence and aerospace.Without giving investment details, Reliance in its latest annual report said it has developed capabilities for 3D printing of wide-range of plastic and metals products..Also on the radar are carbon wraps to rehabilitate/refurbish India's old infrastructure - bridges, buildings (for improved seismic performance) and pipes.

"RIL is investing in India's first and largest carbon fibre production line with its own technology - to cater to India's aerospace and defence needs as well as the specialty industrial applications," it said. Additionally, FRPs can withstand harsh weather, have a long life with minimal maintenance, are corrosion resistant and can be moulded into any shape," it said.One of the most common forms of composite in use today is carbon fibre. It is made by heating lengths of rayon, pitch or other types of fibre to extremely high temperatures in an oxygen-deprived oven."RCS will design and administer low-cost and high-volume products such as modular toilets and homes to support the Swachh Bharat Mission, disaster relief measures # and Housing for All programmes initiated by the Indian Government," the annual report said.