The fabric of India is interwoven with strands of several religions and we live harmoniously side by side.
India has the world' s 3rd largest Muslim population. Today is their festival of Eid -ul-Fitr, which is celebrated after a month long Ramadan fasting.
Our Muslim friends brought us some Eid food which was very nice as I did not have to cook dinner.
The is sweet vermicelli which is an Eid speciality. It is also called Sheer Korma.It is vermicelli cooked in milk and sugar, garnished with dry fruit.
Check out this website for an easy recipe HERE with illustrations
These are web photos but they also brought us chicken curry and rice similar to this.
For the Hindus today was the first day of a 10 day long festival in which the elephant god Ganesh is worshipped. This festival is most popular in Western India- the state of Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai (Bombay) but its catching up in other parts of India.
Special sweets , the favorite of Ganesh are eaten today and offered to him. Modak (photo above) is made with rice flour, milk, sugar and dry fruit etc. I have never had them though.
If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears,however measured or far away.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU (Walden)
We 've had a good spell of rain this evening, its cooler.
My knees and back hurt quite a bit and I get tired rather quickly.
My desktop problem corrected itself. Now my blog appears normal.
I subscribe to blogs by Bloglines and they are going to end services on Oct. 1st. I am looking for an alternative feeder. Can anyone suggest a good one? I have Google Reader but its too cluttered..
I have noticed that some bloggers don' t allow a RSS feed so you can 't follow them. They will get more blog traffic if they permit RSS feeds etc.
15 Fertilize my soul:
Hi there Amrita! Of course, it is a sad day in the USA, but I am glad that it is a happy day elsewhere. I love special dishes such as the sweet noodles, and those very interesting-looking sweets for Ganesh!
I hope your back and legs will feel better -- it could be the damp perhaps?
Hi Amrita, thanks for visiting my blog. I could suggest 'blogfrog' or 'blogcatalog'. Hope it helps. Hope your pains disappear. My back was not good today too! Blessings.
Dear Amrita,
We have a lot to learn from the Indians about how to live in balanced peace. Then, you are more experienced in the matter and also what happen when people do not respect each other.
I'm afraid Norwegians (myself included) have gradually become more skeptic towards muslims.
It was a nice gesture to offer you and your mother such delicate food, and likewise polite of you to accept graciously.
Oh, I have yet so much to learn, and I am already sixty. Will I be able to graduate before the final call comes up?
Praying that your aching must be stopped.
Aching makes both body and mind suffer.
Bless your God's Day, Amrita.
From Felisol
Interesting food not any I have ever tried.
Mu dear friends, Holly, Nicky, Felisol an d Glennis, thank you for talkin g to me.
Holly your visits are such a comfort to me. If you were on Facebook, I 'd bump in you as much as I liked. How about Facebooking Holly???
Dear Felisol, accepting our national diversity is just a part of our lives. We may not agree with each other 's religious be;liefs but socailly we get along and it also gives us an opurtunity to share Christ with others.
When eating with others we make it clear that we will not eat food offered to idols or chanted over- our non-Christian friends respect that and keep aside 'kosher ' food for us.
The sweet noodles are very easy to make. I think western people will like them. You can use full cream too.Its like a pudding
And i want to say tha t it was a sad day for us too Holly, remembering the tradegy of 9/11. The whole human race was a part of it in a way. Terrorism has no barriers.
In India hundreds have lost their lives , families destroyed at the hands of millitancy and extremists. There are battles going on in various states right now.
We are under threat from Islam, Communism Maoists-and all sorts of radical fanantics and our neighbours Pakistan and China.
Hi Nicky I will check out those websites. Google reader is too time consuming
Hi ladies I just posted a link for the vermicilli recepi, check it out if you like.
I use Google Reader... but I can understand that one might find it cluttered after Bloglines...
Another option is Google Bookmarks- but that does not give you the options an RSS reader will...
Wish you luck!
Amrita, Sheer Korma looks very yummy... I like sweet dishes. I make sometimes chicken curry, but it looks very different.
I read in some articles, that ginger can help in arthritis - I don't know only, if they meant dry or normal. In Poland we have many painkillers and medicines to treat it, but sometimes I think that - for example - people take too much painkillers in my country. There is problem of addictions.
Amrita, how wonderful that friends brought you a meal, and a delicious looking one at that.
The vermicilli sounds similar to our rice pudding with the fruit.
I hope you feel better this evening; my back and legs are troubling me also.
God bless you.
Islam and Hinduism are two of the world's most fanatical religions in the world. Christians find it hard to coexist with them for they are both fiercely independent and clannish in nature. It is a wonder that both religions can coexist in India especially since India and Pakistan have waged so many wars before. I can only sympathize with you and other Christian minorities in India. It's as though you are still struggling like the first century Christians of old. Thanks for the post. God bless you all always.
Looks very nice food Amrita. I think one of the few positive things Islam has given India is sumptuous delicacies. My favourite is biryani. I find it difficult to stop eating biryani once I start eating it.
Best wishes,
JI.
Wow! The food looks really good!
Question? Do you ever discuss religion with your Muslim friends?
Hi Reenie, I logged into RSS Feed Reader, but don 't know if it will run smoothly.
Hi Zimb, try the sheer korma, I am sure you will like it.
Yes, Mel you 've point there. Hinduism is more on the non-violent side although there have been many cases of vilence and communal rioting like the Gujarat riots. The Muslims are the violent in tolerant ones. But there are many moderate Muslims 3who are easy to get along with.
Hi JI biryani is my favorite too. I am sure your Mrs can rustle up a good one even there in the UK where chicken tikka is becoming the national dish.
Good question Ron, Yes we do discuss religion with Muslims. They accept everything about Christianity but desist from acknowledging Jesus as the Son of god. They say he is a prophet only. They don 't accept Him a s God. Only god can reveal the truth to our Muslim friends.
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