At some point shortly before the pandemic I discovered that my phone kept track of my steps. I had had fun with pedometers before but never carried them consistently. Or they stopped working. In their heyday they were even among the give-aways at trade conferences, something that a vendor might put their logo on, like a pen or pen drive. Later when things got fancy with Fitbits and smart watches, I went digital in the sense of counting as I walked and noting every 100 on my fingers. Only I’d do paces as that was easier to keep count. Home to vegetable market – 300 paces. Deonar depot to home – 600 paces. If I recall correctly the young cousins in the family even started a spreadsheet to keep a daily tally and compare notes. Heady times!
Lady Like: Mackenzi Lee enthralls again
In Books on 12 June 2025 at 8:00 pmWhen Khiyali introduced me to Mackenzi Lee via The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, I was shall we say, not quite ready for the Age of Enlightenment. If the title had not already raised my eyebrow, the first page made me almost fall backwards in the bookstore. But it quickly became one of my favorite novels to recommend especially to young people. So my excitement by the announcement of her latest work of historical fiction, Lady Like, was eclipsed only by Khiyali’s. Her review follows. As luck would have it, I got the chance to tag along on a visit to Shibden Hall, the home of Anne Lister, and to walk around the hills of Halifax and see the view from Beacon Hill. A quote from Anne Lister’s famous, voluminous diaries, appears in the front
Back to the book. Over to Khiyali:
I’ve long been a fan of Mackenzi Lee’s Gentleman’s Guide series. So when my mother revealed that she had acquired an advance copy of Lee’s latest, Lady Like, I jumped at the chance to take a look. The book begins promisingly with a quote from renowned lesbian diarist Anne Lister, and it delivers.
From sapphic Shakespeare to burgeoning self-determination, the novel is at once cozy, exciting, and cathartic. It retains elements from the Guide series – delicious queer romance, delightful sentence structure, and exciting dialogue – and it felt significantly more lighthearted. This is not to say the stakes are low – far from it. Our heroines encounter terrifying, heartwrenching, but ultimately adventurous challenges on their way to the future. In brief, Lady Like serves up all the feels. Snuggle up with it and a sweet treat this fall, and let me know what you think.
Kañiwa Dosa
In Recipes on 24 September 2024 at 8:00 pmLest it be said that I left any grain untried when it came to the dosa … kañiwa is the latest grain, to be soaked, and ground into dosa batter. I have actually had the grain on the shelf for a while, thanks to my friend Lisa. One fine day she just asked if I could use it … presumably she had bought it but never got around to using it. A similar fate was to befall me, until yesterday.
I decided to pour the entire packet – only one pound, after all – into a bowl to soak for dosas. Just before adding water curiosity got the better of me and I scooped out half a cup to cook like rice. As expected, it cooked just like rice and tasted good too. I am not sure I managed to chew every grain though. Kañiwa is tiny! Half the size of quinoa, according to nuts.com. “Both quinoa and kañiwa have a delicious nutty flavor, although kañiwa is slightly sweeter than quinoa. Additionally, kañiwa has a slightly crunchy texture, while quinoa is fluffy and soft.” (Tilde added for consistency (and coolness.)) I didn’t detect any crunch after cooking.
I added an equal amount of minapappu aka urad dal or black gram and soaked it overnight. I forgot until the next evening but the upside of this sudden fall weather is that it is cold enough that the extra long soak was ok. I ground in the evening. The next morning it had risen impressively in spite of the cold weather. Wow!
On the pan, the kañiwa dosa fluffed up and even bubbled. Now I realize I should have taken photos of the finished dosa. Too late as they are all finished as in eaten up. Perhaps I will be back with pictures next time I make them. Not sure when or if I will come across kañiwa again, but when that day comes I will snap it up and whip it into dosas without delay!
Here is what it looks like in the field. Image source: Wholesome Harvest.
Ask Amma 