Monday, June 23, 2008

My Eggzacting Routine

As it turns out, I’m on a losing streak right now. Well, the word ‘streak’ here has nothing to do with the pace of my losing, because the pace is excruciatingly slow, but if I’m losing, I’m winning, because I am talking about weight.

My day starts at 5 a.m. My class starts an hour later and it’s no holds barred. “How much today?” demands the trainer, and I reply, not entirely oblivious to the other people around. The ‘much’ refers to the number of grammes I’ve lost since the previous day, and if I haven’t, the discussion moves on to what I’ve eaten the previous night, how much oil it was cooked in, and whether my bladder and bowel are clear. Whatever I say I’ve eaten is met with a raised eyebrow or a whoop of horror depending on the mood, and my requests/assertions that I will weigh in only once a week go unheard.

By this time, the others around get into the act, probing, analyzing, sympathetic, eyebrows raised or whooping in horror, as their predispositions might dictate. Gyms, by their very nature, have always been places to discuss figures, bodies, ailments, hormones, pimples, thyroids, hemorrhoids and other things biological, but the daily inquisition is a novel experience. All my exercising life, I’ve been told not to weigh myself everyday, here it’s the contrary. It also has to do, I suspect, with the trainers having to divest their wards of a certain number of kilos for their incentives to kick in, but maybe I’m simply being uncharitable and over-imaginative. My trainer’s face now hovers over every meal and morsel I have and I admit it has made me more vigilant than ever, and for that, I give thanks. Apparently, everyone in the gym has lost tonnes, even at their age, so why can’t I do it? Even as I, and you, ponder such questions, I present you with a recipe which I resorted to in the fond hope that it would be tasty and not too sinful.


As it happened, I ate three of them after breakfast (when I start cooking) and two of them for dinner, helas!!! My plan was to make patties and store them in the fridge to toast on the griddle as and when I wanted to eat them, but my assistant at home said, “Finish it off, ’ma, the batter won’t be any good if you put it in the fridge.” I didn’t argue, as they refused to form patties in my palm but did so in hers, and I didn’t want her to leave before I could deal with them!

Eggs, boiled, cooled and shelled - 4
Chickpea flour/gram flour/besan - 3 tbsp
Onion - 1, chopped
Coriander - a handful, chopped
Green chillies - 3, chopped
Garam masala - ½ tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - v little

Crumble the eggs and mix everything else with them till you get a fairly dense dough - it shouldn’t lose shape when you fashion patties of them. (My assistant says the best way to do it is on a plastic sheet, a la vada batter.)

Put them on an oiled griddle/tawa and cook on either side till brown. Dribble a drop or two of oil off a spoon around the patty if necessary. This could take a while, and still taste of raw chickpea flour after you think they’re finished, so experiment with one first, taste it and then proceed.

I am sending this in to Sangeeth's Eat Healthy - Protein Rich.

I'll sign off by saying that I condemn the rampant and brazen plagiarism we're hearing of and seeing in the blogosphere, be it a large organisation that thinks it can get away with anything, a smaller one that thinks it can intimidate bloggers into silence and helplessness or just another blog like yours and mine that lifts pictures and posts to use, even without having an obvious commercial objective.

34 comments:

  1. Wow.. you've got to report how many gms you lost each day?? That is too much! Congrats on the weight lost so far and here's to many more kilos :)

    That egg cutlet looks so good...

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  2. Oh I know i know my fight with the weight is a endless fight.
    There was a time when i was so heavy and then went for a diet and lost 15 kg. And i have to say I weigh myself everyday to my hubbies displeasure. He goes on telling me i should not do.
    Good luck with the fight with the bulge

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  3. He asks how much you lost everyday?! What kind of trainer is he? Torture master, mental and physical? ;D

    Well...patties look yum, eat and be merry. Quit that Gym and lose the trainer and walk briskly everyday whenever you can. Don't need no stress around us and he is a big one!:D
    Kerals.com has 2 of my photos, there is no way I can e mail them to ask them to take them off. It's frustrating but trying to deep breathe! OOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!HeHe!

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  4. Congratulations on losing, but I hope you reward yourself with something yummy occasionally!

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  5. though the gym might help the case of maximum convexity, i think daily weighing & obsession in this matter may be counter-productive ;)

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  6. oh my! that does look delicious!!..btw. can't you tell the trainer what you lost in private...sheesh...it sucks that everybody gets to hear ur progress...but good for you that you are losing the chub :)

    and i am with u on the plagarism issue and worse of all..no remorse over the ill-deed!!..

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  7. ur routine sounds inspiring.. i just sit here feeling fat and doing pretty much nothing about.. waiting to start work so that the walk atleast will do me good :) good luck with urs.

    and yes, i am soo trying ur patties :)

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  8. OOh Now I wouldn't be too comfortable someone asking me about the "grammes" I've lost!!!
    Anyways I am comfortable look at those yummy treats...

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  9. Good luck with the "losing streak". May you lose some more. And me too.:)I have come to the conclusion that weight loss is largely a mind thing. Train your mind about food portions and food tastes and half the battle is won. The other half is exercise!
    The patties look quite good.

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  10. Phew that's torture Sra!! I don't seem to lose weight after my gym but I do lose inches....hehe!! If I had a trainer like yours, he'd be totally disappointed with me :)

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  11. Hi sra,First time at ur blog.U have nice and lovely blog.....Congrats on weight lost so far....
    The cutlet looks so good and delicous

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  12. Laavanya, thanks. Too much indeed!
    Happy cook, I lost 19 kg too, have put on a few kilos back, will be happy losing only those, tho' I'm aiming for more! I weigh myself everyday too, just don't want to report to the trainer!
    Asha, the trainer's a she! She's okay, when she's not asking me questions, and I HAVE lost 2 kg, so she (or I) must be doing something right! :)
    ET, oh yes! That's when those grammes come back on :)
    Richa, I think so too. But it helps to be vigilant.
    Rajitha, I know, but in gyms, it's open season, looks like.
    Nags, it's a pretty strict routine, I feel quite virtuous after it's over.
    Rachel, I've decided to tell her I haven't weighed myself!
    Aparna, thank you. Don't think my portions are bad, must be the metabolism (now where have you heard that before? ;) )
    Jyothsna, I've lost inches too, but somehow kilos seem to be more valued. I, for one, look for kilo loss myself.

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  13. The patties look scrumptious......not sure your trainer is going to be happy if he sees it, though....

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  14. Sra, losing grams everyday can be killing!! Challenging isnt it!!
    The cutlets look yum!!

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  15. These cultets look fantanstic, Sra!! Congrats on the weight loss!! :)

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  16. hehehe...looks like ur 'trainer' is making u work hard Sra..:) the patties look delish and mouthwatery!

    Hugs,
    Siri

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  17. Good on you for going girl! My special trick for weight control is to avoid carbs at dinner time. Good luck!

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  18. More power to you for taking on that kind of exercise regime. I hate having such discussions.

    The patties sound protein rich and I will definitely try them.

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  19. WOW, someone is really determined to get in shape... How about a before and after pic, you can photoshop the face out if you want :) Good luck with reaching your goal soon...
    I can't get myself to go to the gym at all, but the good news is that weather is getting nicer here, so hopefully I can get a nice outdoor routine going soon...

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  20. Oyy! Just worked out, am super hungry and I see this. Looks delicious, sounds healthy, what else could one ask for?

    Haa haa haa ... I love that crazy butt post, you're a nutcase! :)

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  21. wow, I love your exercise schedule. what I don't like is the interrogation by the trainer about your food, loss of weight! but you're really doing a great job, Sra! I wish I could do that too!

    those cutlets are so beauties. Yummy.

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  22. Sireesha, welcome! And thanks. Looks like you and I were commenting on my blog at the same time.
    Jayashree, she certainly won't be happy, will probably assume I deep-fried them!
    Swati, challenging indeed, and I dislike challenges, however bad that might sound.
    Kalai, thanks, thanks.
    Siri, I enjoy the workout, not the questions.
    Mallika, yeah, I know that - it's still such a struggle
    Cynthia, hi! I told her today it's becoming too public and we will discuss my weight only once a week.
    Sig, hmm ... my face is the best part of me, relatively speaking :)
    Kaykat, yes, so I've been told!
    Uma, I told her no interrogation, and she said C'mon, this is a gym - LOL!

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  23. poor u... thats why i turned our home into gym;) i had enough of this gym-ing business;) he he he...
    very little oil means how much??? LOL... sorry sra, but i just can't help but pull ur leg :D

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  24. Sra,
    its good at least you are trying to reduce .Good Luck.
    personally I feel more calmed when i do my regular Yoga sessions .
    Patties look so deluctable , try adding bread crumbs , mine works great when I need to hold that Patties .Many Kudos to assistant for giving such tips .
    Hugs and smiles
    jaya

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  25. Looking at the photo can add calories. And if one is tempted to eat more than one.... I shudder to think. ....now u know why i didnt join a gym ;)

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  26. Hi, I think this is my first visit.
    Thanks for the recipe. Sounds really yummy! And nutritious. And all the best with your 'losing'. I think a lot of people are rooting for you to keep 'losing' :)

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  27. Sia, er ... little {big grin}. Actually, you have to control the flow of oil from the spoon, just dip it in oil, and let the stuff trickle off the spoon.
    Jaya, I've tried Yoga, not much success with calm or thin!
    Vidya, LOL!
    A & N, welcome, and thanks.

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  28. Its a very cool blog you have here.Came here thro the comment from my blog.Started of with one post and ended spending more than an hour reading all the posts.
    Good one Sra.

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  29. Seems the constant weigh-ins are too much pressure, would be for me, anyway. (But then, I have never taken kindly to martinets. ;/) Everyone's body is different; some will retain water one day but shed it the next, depending on what you've eaten the last 24 hours.

    Love your patties, Sra. Though you probably wouldn't finish them in the oven considering your hot climes, I'd pop them in to avoid adding extra oil to heat that raw flour taste away.

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  30. Sumi, thank you, that's flattering :)
    Susan, she's a martinet with a smile, just the kind of pressure I need, I think. I just gave up my conventional oven for a convection MW and haven't learnt how to work it yet ... I would consider using the oven.

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  31. hehe I know you have a beautiful face Sra, but since you are determined to hide it from us I was just giving you an alternate option... :) I was hoping the before and after pics will give me some motivation.... I have already gained back the few lbs I lost this year.. :(

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  32. Sig, I just got measured today, big inch losses here and there, but not too many kilos gone! Maybe three months later ... :)

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  33. All the best, dear Sra! Good luck with the regimen. Does daily weighing actually work? I have seen days when my weight has peaked by 6lbs in the morning and gone by afternoon! :(

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  34. I check my weight once in 5 years. All the best to you!

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