Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Got tadka?

By Vasudev Ram



This post is just for fun.

Was browsing the PuneStartupJobs Google group and saw this job ad:

http://groups.google.com/group/punestartupjobs/browse_thread/thread/f5d10abd9d4d2524#

, titled: "Do you have the tadka in you?"

(Note: I am not endorsing the ad or company in any way.)

Thought it was a funny / catchy title. For non-Indians or those who don't know much about Indian food, "tadka" is basically a (technique of) tempering or spicing of foods, in particular, of dal / daal (*) dishes, which are a staple food in India. Here are some links about tadka:



dal-tadka-recipe

tadkadaal

Chaunk

(Chaunk seems to be another name for tadka; interesting, didn't know it before.)

(*) The Wikipedia article about dal, linked a few paragraphs above, says that it is a "generally bland stew". That's not too accurate. Depending on how it is made, it can be quite spicy (that's the whole point of the tadka, after all) and tasty, or it can be bland (only if no tadka is used, which is mostly only done for invalids). In fact, here is a Google Image search for 'dal tadka':

Check out the pics, go taste some dal tadka, then decide whether it is bland :-)

Wikipedia articles can often be wrong! Something to keep in mind ...

- Vasudev Ram - Dancing Bison Enterprises
Twitter: @vasudevram

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