Misc

Cats Do Control Humans, Study Finds

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Washington, July 13: If you’ve ever wondered who’s in control, you or your cat, a new study points to the obvious. It’s your cat. Household cats exercise this control with a certain type of urgent-sounding, high-pitched meow, according to the findings.

This meow is actually a purr mixed with a high-pitched cry. While people usually think of cat purring as a sign of happiness, some cats make this purr-cry sound when they want to be fed. The study showed that humans find these mixed calls annoying and difficult to ignore.

Pista Choco Roll

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Ingredients :
For the Pista Choco Roll
¼ cup powder sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp chopped pistachios
2 drops rose essence

For the Khoya (mava) :
¼ cup powdered sugar

Method:
For the Khoya (mava) :
Heat the milk in a non-stick pan on a high flame till it comes to boil.
Continue to boil and keep on stirring continuously till it becomes semi-solid.
Keep it to cool.

For the Pista Choco Roll :
Combine the khoya and powdered sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and cook on a slow flame.

Green Chutney

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Ingredients :

Pudina, fresh coriander equal ratio
Green Chillies according to taste
5-10 gms ginger
Lime size jaggery
Lime size tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil, Cumin seed, Hing For seasoning

Method :

Grind all the above ingredients raw.
Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and hing when the oil is heated.
Take it off the flame and pour on the chutney and mix well.
Serve with Samosa, Dosa, Rice or can be used in making bread sandwich.
Nutritious and delicious.

Mutter Paneer Masala

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Ingredients :

250 gms fresh green peas
300 gms paneer
3 nos clove
1 tsp cumin
5 nos cardamom
1 stick cinnamon
100 gms chopped onion
100 gms tomato
50 gms ginger garlic paste
1 tsp red chillie powder
½ coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
75 gms curd
Salt to taste
A pinch garam masala powder
Oil for frying
25 gms coriander leaves

Method :

Make a Puree out of tomato in a blender.
Take oil in a frying pan and add cumin, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.
When they crackle add chopped onions and fry till golden brown.

Pepper Chicken In a Coconut Gravy

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Ingredients :
2-2.5 pounds of chicken cut into pieces
3 tbsp of pepper powder
3-4 flakes of garlic paste
A small piece of ginger paste
Some dry coconut
unsalted butter
A few sticks of cinnamon.
Some cloves
A few cardomom seeds
2 small tomatoes
2-3 tsp coriander powder
2 Medium onions
1 tsp chilli powder
A little haldi powder
1 tsp cumin seeds powder Coriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste

Method :
Smear 2 tbsp of pepper powder and salt on the chickenpieces.
Pierce the chicken pieces with a fork and let the chicken marinate for a few hours.

Dhania Chicken

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Ingredients :

1 kg chicken
2 large bundles dhania leaves
1 bundle pudina leaves
3-4 large onions
2-3 ginger-garlic paste
3-4 green chillies chopped fine
1/4 kg curd
3-4 tsp dhania powder
1 1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method :

Mix half the curd, red chilli powder, and salt and marinate chicken in it for 15 minutes.
Saute the onions in a vessel little oil till transparent. then add the ginger-garlic paste and saute.
Add the green chillies, dhania and jeera powder and mix properly.

Udaipur voted world’s best city in travel poll

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Udaipur, July 13: Udaipur, known as the “Venice of the East”, was voted the world’s best city for travellers in 2009 in an online poll by Travel + Leisure magazine, trumping last year’s winner Bangkok.

The island of Bali in Indonesia topped the Galapagos to be named best island in the annual poll, in which casual and laid-back destinations prevailed.

Magazine readers also voted Bushmans Kloof Cedar Mountains, in South Africa, as the world’s top hotel while Singapore Airlines grabbed the best airline award again.

Meet the girl whose ‘rear view’ captivated Obama

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Sydney, July 12: The girl who appeared to have caught the eye of US President Barack Obama and that of his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy at the G-8 summit in Italy has been identified as a 17-year-old social activist.

Mayora Tavares shot to fame overnight after a photograph depicting Obama seemingly looking at her bottom while Sarkozy also appeared to be taking in the view was published on news websites across the globe.

Jackson ‘This Is It’ waxwork on show in London

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London, July 11: A waxwork of Michael Jackson made to mark his planned “This Is It” London comeback concerts went on show in the British capital.

The US singer, who died on June 25, had been due to play 50 gigs at London’s O2 Arena from July 13.

The depiction of Jackson at Madame Tussaud’s waxwork museum shows him in his prime in a classic performance pose, matching the “This Is It” concert posters.

Only Queen Elizabeth II, who has been replicated 20 times by Madame Tussaud’s, has been depicted more than Jackson.

Nearly 11 mn Indians holidayed abroad in 2008

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New Delhi, July 11: Nearly 11 million Indians vacationed abroad in 2008 as compared to 9.78 million in 2007, the Lok Sabha was informed.

Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed said in 2006, about 8.34 million Indians holidayed abroad, while the number went up to 9.78 million in 2007.

The figure jumped to 10.65 million last year, he added.

As for foreign tourist arrivals, these had risen between 2006-08 but had declined this year.

From 4.45 million in 2006, the numbers had gone up to 5.08 million in 2007 and to 5.37 million in 2008.

Boondi

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Try this interesting sweet dish made with sugar and gram flour!

Ingredients :
250 gms gram flour
a pinch of soda bicarbonate
¼ cup powdered rice
5½ cups water
oil for deep frying
4 cups sugar

Method of Preparation :
In a pan, heat the sugar and 4 cups of water.
Let it boil and simmer until the syrup is of medium consistency.
Remove from fire and allow it to cool.

Blend together gram flour and 1½ cups of water.
Mix the powdered rice and soda bicarbonate.

Almond Chocolate Fudge

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Ingredients :
150 gms sweet thick cream
200 gms chocolate powder
50 gms almonds, chopped
100 gms khoya, grated
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanila essence

Method of Preparation :
Take a pan and melt the butter first.
Add chocolate powder and sweet cream mix gently.
Add almonds also.
Grate khoya and mix well.
Mix 1/2 tablespoon vanilla essence.
Grease a tray and put the mixture.
Allow the mixture to cool and cut the pieces.

Butter Chicken

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This dish is among the best known Indian foods all over the world. Its gravy can be made as hot or mild as you like so it suits most palates.
Ingredients :
1 kg chicken
1½ cups thick curd (dahi)
2 tbsp ready-made tandoori chicken masala
Aashirvaad salt to taste
pepper to taste
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp garam masala
Drop of red food colouring

Gravy
1½ kg tomatoes
3 tbsp ginger (adrak), sliced thinly
1 green chilli, sliced
3 tbsp butter or oil
2 tbsp fenugreek leaves (methi)
2 tbsp full cream

Method of Preparation :

Breakfast Fruit Shake

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Rich in iron, calcium and multi-minerals, this shake is an ideal, complete breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 cup Bananas (sliced)
2 cup Strawberries (sliced)
2 cup Pineapple or Papaya (chopped)
1 cup Apples (chopped and peeled)
1/2 cup Ice cubes
1 tsp Honey

Procedure:

In a blender blend on high speed a combination of bananas, strawberries, pineapples, papayas, apples, ice cubes and honey.
Blend till smooth. Have it in or as breakfast.

Malai Kofta Curry

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Ingredients :
4 potatoes
1 cup milk cream (malai)
2 tbsp cashew nut paste (with water)
½ onion
¾ tsp ginger and garlic, chopped
2-3 green chillies
¾ cup tomato puree
¾ cup all purpose flour (maida)
½ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
½ tsp red chilli powder
Oil for deep frying

Method of Preparation :
Make a paste with onion, ginger, garlic, and green chilli.
Peel and boil the potatoes. Mash them.
Add some salt and red chilli powder to the milk cream.
Make a liquid paste with maida and salt.

How to kill a mosquito?

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1st catch it alive then tie the legs then do gud gudi in stomach, and when it laughs catch its mouth and pour a spoon of poison finish.

Turtles block runway at New York airport

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Moscow, July 10: Several flights have been delayed at New York’s Kennedy Airport when some 80 turtles blocked one of the runways, a media report said.

Officials believe the turtles were probably looking for their mating partners amid the spawning season, the New York Post reported.

Collisions between turtle and plane are quite rare, with only five such cases have been registered at the airport from 2000-2008.

“It’s not unprecedented, but it doesn’t happen a lot,” airport authority spokesman John Kelly told the newspaper Thursday.

Fluffy and Fido fly – new US airline for pets

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Washington, July 09: Life isn’t easy for pets that keep a busy schedule. There are visits with former members of the household who have moved far away.

And sometimes pets have to meet up with their families when they go on vacation or attend an occasion away from home. Soon there will be a new airline in the US to meet the needs of these busy animals. Pet Airways will fly strictly pets – the only people on board will be the pilot and a flight attendant who will be dedicated exclusively to the comfort of the precious freight.

Recession linked to heart attacks, murders, suicides: Study

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London, July 09: A rapid rise in unemployment can be linked with more heart attacks, suicides and homicides but a drop in the number of road deaths, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal.

The study by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shows that a 3 percent rise in unemployment is associated with a 2.7 percent rise in heart attacks among men aged between 30 and 44 years old, an increase of 2.4 percent in homicides and the same rise in suicides in people under the age of 64.

Burger King says sorry to Hindus for offensive ad

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Washington, July 09: Burger King, which runs a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants in more than 70 countries, has apologised for running an advertisement in Spain that offended the Hindus.

“We are apologising because it wasn’t our intent to offend anyone,” Denise T Wilson, spokesman of Burger King said.

The statement came after the Hindu community demanded the company to apologise for running an advertisement which its leaders said were offensive to their religion.

Singapore woman on trial for letting husband cane her son 100 times

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Singapore, July 07: A Singapore woman has to stand trial for allowing her husband to cane her 10-year-old son with 100 strokes as punishment for lying, media reports said Tuesday. The 39-year-old woman, who was not identified to protect the boy’s identity, could be fined up to 4,000 Singapore dollars (2,745 US dollars) or jailed for up to four years or both.

The court was expected to deliver its judgment later this month.

The husband, 39, hit his step-son with two tied rattan canes on his buttocks, arms and back, the online edition of Straits Times newspaper said.

Jackson fans spot ‘his ghost at Neverland’

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London, July 07: Michael Jackson’s fans are flooding the Internet with messages after allegedly spotting the singer’s ghost at his Neverland Ranch in a live TV programme last week.

A shadow resembling the King of Pop’s figure was said to have been seen on a wall in the star’s former home during CNN”s ”Inside Neverland”.

The figure was later alleged to have walked across the corridor, rushing quickly from left to right before vanishing, reports British tabloid The Sun.

Chicken Pockets

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Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup – flour
1/2 cup – butter
1/3 cup – cream cheese
1 – egg yolk
salt and pepper
For the Filling:
1 cup – finely chopped chicken pieces
1 – onion
1 tbsp – parsley
1 tbsp – olives
salt, pepper and mustard to taste
mayonnaise

Method

1.Combine flour, butter, cream cheese, egg yolk, salt and pepper. Chill.
2.Roll out and cut into 2” squares.
3.Spread a tsp. of filling on each square, pull corners together and seal.
4.Place on an ungreased baking tray.
5.Bake at 200°C for 12-15 mins. till golden brown.
For the Filling:

Cheese Pops

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Ingredients:
3/4 cup – butter
1/2 cup – sifted flour
1/2 cup – water
2 – eggs
3 tbsps – grated cheese
2 tbsps – minced onion
1 tsp – salt
1/4 tsp – pepper
1/2 tsp – mustard

Method

1. Heat water together with butter till the water boils and the butter melts.
2.Add the sifted flour, and using a wooden spoon, beat well over gentle heat till it forms a ball. Take off the fire.
3.Add the eggs, one by one, beating very well.
4.Add the grated cheese, minced onion, salt, pepper and mustard.
5.Shape into small balls.
6.Deep fry in hot oil. Serve hot.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo

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Serves 4

Preperation Time 30 Minutes

Contents
Potato

Ingredients

18-20 small-sized potatoes
Oil to deep fry
5-6 dried Kashmiri chillies
2 cups of yogurt
½ tspn of cardamom powder
1 tspn of dry ginger powder
2 tblspns of fennel powder
¼ cup of mustard oil
A generous pinch of clove powder
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt to taste
½ tspn of roasted cumin powder
½ tspn of garam masala powder

Method :