Yes, Coffee. On. My. Hair

I've been reading a lot on the internet, about colouring hair with coffee, or using coffee on your hair to simply make it look better, and I thought, "Gee, why not". The coffee Pat brought back from Brazil over two years ago STILL occupies place in my freezer, so I decided to give it a go.

One word - AMAZING! Now, I don't know if its the quality of the coffee, or the effects of caffeine on hair, or just the placebo effect in my head -but it worked! The second try, my hair fall  significantly reduced, and my hair is shiny! I love! But here's where I get honest and say, at least for me, there was almost zero effect in terms of hiding greys (yes, I'm 28 and have a few, I might as well get used to admitting it).

So the simplest procedure that works for me is simply poring a tablespoon of hot water over a teaspoon of coffee grounds, rubbing this onto my scalp, and conditioning the rest of my hair as usual. So soft and shining :)

Good luck in case you decide to try it out (As long as your hair is brown), and do let me know...

Cabbage stir-fry

This one goes out to my friend Angana who has been pestering me for "less oil wala recipes". Her lament is that Indian vegetables are not very easily available outside of India (oh well...) so here comes a series of recipes that can be prepared in record time, have a whole lot of optional ingredients, and a lot of flexibility...

SO here's the Cabbage stir-fry

Ingredients
1) 2 cups chopped cabbage(green) (substitues: chopped brussell sprouts, chopped red cabbage, chopped iceberg lettuce chopped chards)
2) 1/3 cup chik peas (chana), soaked and steamed. (substitues: green peas, red beans, black beans, garbanzo beans - pink beans, or any legume)
3) 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander powder
4) 1 teaspoon paprika/red chilli powder
5) Juice of half a lemon
6) 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
7) 2 teaspoons oil
8) salt
9) chopped cialntro (optional)

Procedure:
1) Blanch the main vegetable (put in boling water for 2 minutes and remove from heat)
2) In a pean, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds.
3) Add the legume and stir for a minute.
4) Add the main vegetable, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water, add the salt and cover
5) cook for 3-4 mins on low heat
6) Add the red chilli powder, coriander powder and stir.
7) Add lemon juice and cilantro just before serving