Move over, tuvar dal
In most South Indian kitchens, there are the Big Four dals or paruppus – tuvar (tovarai), urad (ulundu), channa (kadalai) and moong (payaru). In the north, they have masoor as […]
Category Archives: Organic living
A cure for dog dandruff
If your dog badly needs this, run out right now and locate a palash tree! The flowering season is almost over for this year, and the flowers are ready to […]
Old stones: My trusty kalloral
Also known as an aattukal, the kalloral or wet grinding stone used to be an indispensable tool in every south Indian home. Then there was the flat ammi kal, which […]
How to attract clouds: in two easy steps
Step one: Put out the solar cooker Step two: Give up on lunch. Enjoy the water instead.
Effective micro-organisms and garbage enzymes
A few months ago, I attended a talk on Zero Waste by Vasuki Iyengar, one of the founders of Soil and Health, a composting solutions company. I already have a […]
The branched papaya
Papaya trees usually have no branches, there’s just the one tuft of leaves on top, with the flowers and fruits dangling below. And in all the papaya trees I’ve seen, […]
Flower pot dustbin
Recently, my twenty-year old plastic dustbin finally split it two and there was no way to salvage it any more. This is my kitchen waste dustbin I’m talking about, which […]
Miracle flour
What can’t you do with kadalai maav? Let me think. Maybe you can’t blow up the house; although it’s so gassy, you can probably find a way. You can’t build […]
Much water and a little sunshine
I’m sure everyone on earth is sick of rain right now. But where I come from it’s still a matter to cheer about, so I’m going to go ahead and […]
Green warriors
In an earlier post, I wrote about my attempts to live a plastic-free life. I felt, and still sometimes feel, like I was struggling alone against the entire system. But […]
The Long View 