Did you know......... some interesting facts (Part 1)

A zebra is white with black stripes.
All the planets in our solar system rotate anticlockwise, except Venus. It is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
Hummingbirds are the only animal that can also fly backwards.
Insects do not make noises with their voices. The noise of bees, mosquitoes and other buzzing insects is caused by rapidly moving their wings.
The cockroach is the fastest animal on 6 legs covering a meter a second.
The word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent".
The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning it's head are the rabbit and the parrot.
A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
The whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.
A hippopotamus can run faster than a man.
India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
'Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia' is the fear of long words.
Didaskaleinophobia is the fear of going to school.
Phobatrivaphobia is a fear of trivia about phobias !!
It is impossible to lick your elbow. ( We know you gonna try this !!! )
A snail can sleep for 3 years. ( wow, lucky chap eh ? )
The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start
In 1883 the explosion of the volcano Krakatoa put so much dust into the earth's atmosphere that sunsets appeared green and the moon appeared blue around the world for almost two years.
"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.
Twenty-Four-Karat Gold is not pure gold since there is a small amount of copper in it. Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.
Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.
Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Say no evil ).
55 per cent of people yawn within 5 minutes of seeing someone else yawn. Reading about yawning makes most people yawn.

Mojito shoe by Julian Hakes

London architect Julian Hakes has designed a pair of shoes with no foot plate. Called Mojito, the design consists of a single piece that wraps around the wearer’s foot, forming support for the heel and ball. The foot naturally forms a bridge between the two. The product is made of carbon fibre, laminated with rubber on the side that touches the floor and leather on the side next to the skin.

Fried fish

Ingredients:
 
Fish fillets (any fish): 4 (200 grams each)
Fresh yeast: 3 grams
Milk: 2 tablespoons + 1 cup
Refined flour: ½ cup + 6 tablespoons
Corn flour: ½ cup
Baking powder: ½ teaspoon
Salt: To taste
Egg yolk: 1
Oil: To deep fry
 
Method:
 
Sprinkle a little salt on the fish fillets.  Dissolve yeast in two tablespoons of warm milk. Keep it in a warm place.

 Add salt and mix.
Mix together half cup of refined flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt well.  Add egg yolk to the yeast mixture

and mix.  Add this mixture to the flour and whisk.  Add milk and continue to whisk well to make a thick and smooth

batter.  Cover and rest it for one to one and a half hours to ferment.
Heat sufficient oil in a deep frying pan. Roll the fish fillets in the remaining refined flour.  Shake away excess

flour.  Dip them in the batter and deep fry in hot oil till golden.
Drain and place them on an absorbent paper.
Serve hot with tartare sauce.

Amritsari Fish

Ingredients:      
 
Fish fillets (preferably surmai)
1½ inch long fingers: 600 grams
Red chilli powder: 1 tablespoon
Salt: To taste
Carom seeds (ajwain): 1 teaspoon
Ginger paste: 2 tablespoons
Garlic paste: 2 tablespoons
Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon
Gram flour (besan): 1 cup
Oil: To deep fry
Egg: 1
Chaat masala: 1 teaspoon
Lemons, cut into wedges: 2
 
Method
 
Take the fish fingers in a bowl.  Add red chilli powder, salt, carom seeds, ginger paste, garlic paste, lemon juice,

gram flour and mix well.  Set aside.
Heat sufficient oil in a kadai.
Break an egg into the fish mixture and mix.
Put the fingers, a few at a time, into the hot oil and deep fry till almost done.  Drain and place on an absorbent

paper.
Deep fry again just before serving till golden and crisp.
Drain and place on an absorbent paper.  Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Shammi Kabab

Ingredients:
1/2 kg - kheema (minced meat)
2 - eggs (beaten)
6 tbsp - gram dal
6 tbsp - oil
2 tsp - cumin seeds
4 to 5 - cloves
6 - green cardamoms
2 - onions (finely chopped)
15 cloves - garlic (coarsely pounded)
2'' piece - ginger (coarsely pounded)
6 to 8 - green chillies (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
3 tsp - red chilli powder
3 to 4 tsp - coriander powder
a handful of coriander leaves (finely chopped)
oil for shallow frying
salt to taste
 
 Method:
Clean and wash the kheema.
Wash and soak the gram dal in water for about 30 minutes.
Heat 6 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom vessel, add cumin seeds, cardamoms and cloves and saute for a couple of seconds.
Add finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies.
Saute on a low flame till onions turn transparent.
Add the washed kheema, gram dal (water drained out), turmeric powder and salt to taste.
Mix well.
Cook after covering with a lid that has some water on top of it, so that the kheema does not stick to the bottom of

the vessel.
Cook on a low flame, stirring at regular intervals till the kheema and the dal become tender and the water dries up.
Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and coriander leaves.
Saute for a few minutes.
Add in the beaten eggs and mix well.
Heat oil on a tawa.
Make round thick tikki-like kebabs and shallow fry them on a slow flame till golden on both sides.
Serve hot with onion kachumbar and mint green chutney.

Gingery Fish Kababs

Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds - raw firm fish (surmai)
3 tbsp - minced fresh ginger
4 cups - fresh pineapple in large chunks (or substitute canned pineapple chunks)
2 cups - pineapple juice
1 tbsp - cornstarch
2 tbsp - light soya sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons - white vinegar
2 - garlic cloves, crushed
1 - large red onion, cut in wedges
 
 Method:
In a small saucepan, dissolve cornstarch in pineapple juice.
Add soya sauce, vinegar, garlic and ginger.
Simmer until slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Let cool.
Add fish and pineapple to sauce and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Thread fish, pineapple and onion on skewers.
Place on a hot grill (or under a broiler) until fish is done to your liking.
Serve with rice.
Heat marinade and use as a sauce over fish and rice.
 

Reshmi Kabab

 Ingredients:
2 lbs. of Chicken (boneless)
4 medium Onions
2 Eggs
1 (2"-piece) of Ginger (Adrak)
8 cloves of Garlic (Lasan)
1 bunch of Fresh Coriander/Cilantro Leaves (Hara Dhania)
1 tsp. of Cumin Seeds (Zeera)
1 tsp. of White Pepper
1 tsp. of Garam Masala
Salt (to taste)
Lemon (for garnish)
Spring Onions (for garnish)
 
 Method:
Mince the chicken well. Gring the onion, ginger, garlic, cilantro/coriander leaves, cumin, white pepper and garam

masala together. Add the egg and salt and mix well.
Shape the grounded chicken into long sausages, put on skewers and cook over charcoal fire or in rotisserie until well

tender.
Garnish with onions and lemon before serving.