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Kangsoi or Chamthong

How to make kangsoi or chamthong, Manipuri staple vegetable stew? There are two styles I make. One with oil. Traditionally it used to be without oil. Without oil is what one should take if there is fever. With oil:   - cut some garlic, onion   - sizzle in oil, don't overheat the oil or char the garlic/onion   - Add chopped vegetables (mostly green - beans or even leafy ones), potato slices. ginger and green chillies   - Stir it for a couple of minutes   - Add water, enough to submerge the vegetables. Too much water will reduce the taste of the soup.   - Add turmeric powder, optionally a bit of pepper/jira powder   - Add salt.   - You can add any other vegetables that require less cooking after boiling the other vegetables for a minute. E.g. cauliflower or spinach can be added after boiling others for a minute.   - You can boil without pressure, in which case, boil for about 7 minutes.   - Or, close pressure cooker lid, but switch off jus...
Recent posts

Hot bath or cold bath?

I tried googling up and everyone seems to suggest each one to have plus and minus of its own. Though I agree with them, I don't agree that you can choose any one as you wish. I'm telling from my experience. Experience tells me that if one is going to spend (being physically present) the day in a temperature (avoiding the term weather because one can sit in a temperature controlled room) reasonably warmer than the room temperature, a warm bath is what I will recommend. Example, a typical Chennai or Madurai summer without air conditioner or cooler or an outdoor activity in Bangalore summer. If one is going to spend the day in a temperature reasonably colder than the room temperature, a cold bath will help. Example, a winter in Bengaluru or native place Manipur. Why? On a hot day, I feel more sultry after a cold shower. Similarly, I don't enjoy coming out of a hot shower in a cold weather. It makes me feel more chilling. On the contrary, body feels good coming out of a warm sh...

My experience of Malnad Ultra 2019

[Update from 2021-edition]: 2020 edition was cancelled due to covid-19 pandemic. I went for the 2021 edition where they kept only two distances 50k and 80k. I ran the 80k and won the race which saw less competition, again due to the pandemic situation around the world. I had been longing for a mountain trail ultra marathon for a long time. There aren't any in India, specially in the south, except for the CTC events such as Javadhu hills and Yercaud (Severoy hills). I couldn't participate in Javadhu hills due to lack of time. When I had time, they stopped all sport events due to the unfortunate event of Kurangini forest fire. That accident has left deep scars in our hearts. The same year, Malnad ultra started. I heard of Malnad as a beautiful place from Sv (wife) as she had done GMC (Great Malnad Challenge) twice. Ashok Thiruvengadam, a cyclist and runner enthusiast, with a good soul and poetic heart, enchanted me about Malnad Ultra. Deepak Mhasavade, my cycling team-mate, ha...

A slushy attempt at 12 hours Bengaluru Endurance Run 2019

Just jotting down for the lack of time to write a nice blog :-) Finished a crazy race yesterday. 12 hours Bengaluru Endurance Race 2019 ( https://www.facebook.com/events/589577574846300/ ) After the hypes around the beauty of Malnad Ultra, I wanted to experience it. So, I registered. But they put a qualifying criteria. I had to do either two marathons or an ultra no less than 75 km. I didn't have even a single marathon in the one year period they expected. I didn't have the enthusiasm to run two marathons just to qualify. So, I looked out for any ultra race. I didn't find any. So, I registered for Bengaluru Endurance Run 2019. Later, I discovered that Malnad Ultra would accept even if I logged my own run in garmin or strava and shared the link. I decided to run the Bengaluru Endurance Run anyway. I had to decide on a hard 6 hours run or easier 12 hours run. 75 km in 6 hours would be too risky considering that I hadn't been running at all. The only ultra I ran was...

Family trek to Kumara Parvatha

What: A two day trek to Kumara Parvatha from Kukke Subramanya temple. When: 23rd and 24th December 2018 Who: 31 people, including 14 children, of which 4 are aged 7 or 8 years. Distance: 1.5 km to the start of trail. 4.4 km till Bhattara Mane, 675m elevation gain 5.5 km from Bhattara Mane till Kumara Parvatha peak with a gain of about 870m elevation gain. The distance will vary a bit based on how one selects the trail - some small steep sections had easier and longer alternate trails. How I started trekking I had never written a blog on trekking. So, I will include a long journey to my treks and our family trekkers group. I had climbed a few small hills in my childhood on the cheiraoba (Meitei new year which is usually either lunar calendar new year or the nakshatra calendar new year around start of spring). But we never considered those as treks. Fast forward to college and then job. My Trigent office took us to Antara Gange caves, which seemed like a trek or ...