Dandiya Raas Celebration

We'd waited a whole year for the Dandiya Raas (stick dance)...this year it was held at the IPA in Rimba.

EPA. EEPAAAAA! The IPA

Mark was stuck in a long queue at the Doulos, so we were a little late and missed a few dances.

The clap-clap dance

The celebration was attended by celebrity Lindsay Lohan...

Oklah, oklah, just her lookalike.

Though the orang putihs are seriously good at this!

There were plenty of hot chicks...

Piweeet!!

I meant Ankit's hot chicks. Erm.

We arrived in the middle of this dance..

...and shortly after, there was a pooja, after which everyone was given some prasad.

The prasad: Raisins, nuts and rock sugar

Snippet of conversation:

Mark: Looks like I'm not the only chinese here.

Me: Looks like I'm not the only indian here.

Mark: !!!

Then the boxes of sticks were brought out.

After this point, the picture quality goes pretty downhill but at least still a little visible.

From this (Ankit's camera)

To this (my phone's cam)

Very lawa baju!

After the first dance, there was a break for dinner. Mark left to go back to ubd, and CP and I weren't hungry (after Cikgu Jalilah's open house), so we went back to the hall to wait. And take pictures...

With the banner and sticks

Of ourselves.

Of our fingers. Jobless.

By the time the next dance started, a lot of people had gone home, probably because it's Sunday night, but still enough to dance :) Halfway through CP escaped from the ring and took pictures :D

The one and only dancing lungiman!

Me dancing with Manu's mom

Very Hyper Guy in the maroon baju!

Me and Very Hyper Guy

Survived Very Hyper Guy :D

The guy in the yellow baju seemed a bit scared of the sticks

The pink arrow guy can shake his head while dancing some more!

Amazing how no one got hurt with so many hyper people and sticks flying all over the place. Well almost no one. Ankit accidentally stomped on my bare foot halfway through :-( The last 2 toes have been declared missing.

Keeping my feet safely away from Ankit...

Ya, ya I've got tiny eyes, get over it :P

Dancing away long after I'd collapsed into a chair

Many tanks to Ankit for his nice pics :-)

How to make Kuih Mor (She bakes, she bakes!)

I usually don't cook for fun - the dishes and ingredients can sense my incompetence in the kitchen and I can hear them sniggering behind my back. This time, inspired by Ratatouille, I gave it a shot :)

Anyone can cook!

It's a monumental event when I, the undomestic goddess, attempt to bake Kuih Mor, with the recipe stolen from the blog of a girl named Serene. The kuih mors on her blog are professional models. Mine look like stray cats in comparison :P Anyway fold up your lungi and tuck it in securely, here's the recipe, lungi ishtyle.

KUIH MOR

Ingredients:

1 kg plain flour
454 grams of ghee (minyak sapi)
1 egg yolk
icing sugar (about 300 to 400 grams to coat the little balls)

Method:

1. Fry the flour in a wok (pan) on medium heat. That means you just flip the flour around in the wok so that it doesn't burn. No oil or anything. No, I don't know why, just follow lah. Then let the flour cool. Oh ya, preheat your oven to 190 degrees C. And I set the heating thingie to top and bottom.

2. Mix in the ghee and egg yolk and knead, knead, knead.

Kneading in progess...

3. Then roll out little balls of dough and place them on a baking sheet on your baking tray. My first batch were a bit too big...should be slightly larger than a marble.

Not-so-little balls

A trayful!

4. Bake for about 30 mins.

5. While they're baking, sift your icing sugar in a large bowl. I didnt have that sieve thingie, bought one the day after. but this did just fine. The icing sugar is for you to dip the baked balls in.

Pink!

6. When the oven goes DING, remove the cookies.

7. Cool for a minute. Then put them in the icing sugar, coating each one well.

This was my first batch. If I'd gone on this way, it might have taken a week and a half to finish. The stupid dough seems neverending.

Shows no sign of reducing even after 2 batches!

So this time I got smarter and made more balls per batch.

See? :) (slightly burned though

When they're cool, put them in little airtight jars, I got mine for 90 cents at Utama. Ribbon and hearts optional, from photoshop.

And give them to someone you sayang =)

Disclaimer: Batteries not included. Meant for educational purposes only. Times approximate. Try at your own risk. Apply only to affected area. All models over 18 years of age. I'm not responsible for anything that goes wrong while you cook. Fire is hot. Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure to perform. Ovens are hotter. Human hands can burn. Terminator is just a movie. This is a sibeh sibeh SIBEH high calorie dish. Prolonged consumption can result in fatty liver which means you should be very nice to your siblings in case you need them to donate some liver.

Huff + Puff!

Agnes and I went to the hill thingie next to Sheraton on Wednesday after months of inactivity. Yeah, I've been living in BSB forever but I've never been there before, so took pictures like a very sakai tourist hehe :)
Anyways, these are for Rasheed and Alan, will take more soon!

The starting bit of the hill after walking a little way up.

*Tour guide voice* To your right, you can see...uhh..I think it's Terrace Hotel (last time Ang's Hotel). I'll double check this evening if I go again hehe :-) The lady in the picture is actually the nurse who lives with her hubby and kids upstairs...the family that loves cats...remember or not?

This is the view on the left.

I think it's Sheraton's parking lot. So unobservant. Anyway you can see the after-school traffic hasn't changed!

Up the neverending hill

Halfway up...

Nearly there

The reddish building is Pusat Belia so you have some idea which part of Bandar this is :-)

The peak at last!

Separuh mati and still trying to act cute :P

Heheh...taking pics as if I'd climbed Mount Kinabalu :) But it felt like I'd climbed to the moon, could barely smile! The sign behind me says Protected Place...got a picture of a man running away and kena tembak. As if people can run away, by the time we reach the top, moving 2 inches is already too far!

Really had to drag myself up, so out of shape! Kept seeing people disappear into the corner, but was actually too exhausted on Wednesday to walk just 5 metres across to see where they were going :P

Going where?

Yesterday I wasn't so tired so I lurched over to the corner to see what was there..

Cheh...the next hill

I suppose it leads to Tasek Lama. Don't know what I was expecting, Alice in Wonderland's rabbit hole or what :P~

On the way down

Nearly out..with Agnes zooming ahead

And that's it..managed 2 hills on Wednesday and 3 hills yesterday...today see how lah :-)

Happy Independence Day!

So proud of myself for

a) Remembering! *thanks to orkut, you just can't miss it*

b) Learning how to use photo filters though I overdid the centre :-)

c) Getting the colours right :D

Hmm...looks a bit like Italy World Cup fan or not?!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!