"Holy cow!"

What would happen if cows got extinct, or maybe just disappear from the food chain?


I am not going into the reasons as to why or how such a thing would happen. But a few (a lot actually) things came up today while I was going through the aisles in my neighborhood store, that really brought out this question. Can we call it a boon to have cows, just to favor mankind for so many different reasons or else are they destined to be on this earth to be slaughtered for the love of flesh. More than half the population considers milk as the super power for strong bones and a healthy body and nobody even wants to disagree on that. Cow's milk is the main source of all other dairy products - cheese, butter, cream, milk powder, ice cream, condensed milk, evaporated milk, Formula milk, butter milk, ghee, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese and many, many more. 


Do you think you can live without making/eating those yumm sweets, desserts, appetizers or even without drinking the simplest milk shake? But at some point people will and can opt for something else if they don't even see milk on the aisle. I am sure the big brand names would come up with something like 'HULK' - gives you the power of milk or something named 'Just like milk-Just for you'. Since other animals are still existing in our story here, the options are still there.


We see the cow not just in the dairy section, but also on all other food products which contain milk or any other dairy product and we find the cow itself in the meat aisle. More than loosing all the dairy from the cow, if we loose the cow, it is the cow itself that we are going to miss. All meat lovers maybe can never find any other meat to replace the cow. They love this animal so much they produce and consume so much of it, never ending. The amount of meat consumed by this generation is way beyond how much our grand parents or even our great great great grand parents consumed. I am not going into the statistics of it, but I am positive it is going up, no matter even if the economy goes down.....hehehe.


Holy cow!, this animal definitely is a super power in this world. It's not going to happen suddenly, but gradually, slowly the time will come when this animal will disappear. And it is in human nature, for man kind will always go in search of an alternative. So be prepared...for a change................

Rava Dosa

You need
Rava - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Salt
Cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves - 5 (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 2 (finely chopped)
Pepper corn - 5 (crushed)
Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil

Method

• Mix together rava, rice flour, all purpose flour and yogurt with some water and bring it to the right consistency ( lighter than dosa batter).
• Add the cumin seeds, green chillies, curry leaves, peppercorns, Asafoetida, salt and mix well.
• Keep aside for at least 1 hour.
• Use the batter to make rava dosa.
• Make sure there are holes while pouring the batter on the tava to get the right look.
• Serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Simple sambar

A quicker easier way of making sambar for everyday cooking. 


You need

Vegetable (Okra/white pumpkin/yellow pumpkin/Green pepper/pearl onions) -1 cup (diced)

Cooked toor dal - 1 cup

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Methi seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Green chilly - 2 (slit)

Curry leaves

Tamarind paste - 1 teaspoon

Sambar powder - 1 tablespoon

Salt

Oil

Coriander leaves - finely chopped

All purpose flour (optional) - 1 tablespoon

Method

• In a deep pan add oil and splutter mustard seeds, add methi seeds, curry leaves, green chillies, Asofetida, vegetables and sauté for a minute.
• Add tamarind paste followed by water, sambar powder and salt and allow it to come to a boil.
• Boil until vegetables are cooked. Now add the cooked toor dal and mix well.
• Boil for about 5-8 minutes.
• If the sambar is too runny, mix all purpose flour with water and add it to the sambar.
• Garnish with corainder leaves and serve hot over steamed rice.