Wonder woman

My feminist take on Wonder woman: 

Hippolyta has refused to train Diana out of love. Now the time comes, when the Amazonian women are faced with newer weapons than the bows and arrows they are used to. The Queen gets a dose of realism that with all probability their shield is no match against the bullets. The entire island sets out to "engineer" new materials for Diana's shield. Maybe there is a volcano or two on the island? Maybe they even use the metal from Captain Trevor's plane. In the meantime, Captain Trevor is training Diana with a knowledge of "weapons deadlier than you can think of". Kind of a perfect amalgamation of the ancient wisdom with modern science. She gets a crash course in chemistry. Surely the word "formula" did not exist in Amazonian vocabulary. 

Rotimatic, Kapda aur Makaan

Rotimatic is a revolutionary new product that seeks to automate the hours of manual work needed to make rotis. Everyone in my family, including my folks back home are pretty excited about the machine, and look forward to owning it soon. I saw the Rotimatic in action yesterday at the Spring India festival in the Bay Area, and here are some thoughts:

First of all, the rotis tasted great. The Rotimatic makes a "ghadichi poli", which is a 3 layered roti, instead of a simple "fulka". I am quite surprised, and frankly quite impressed that the makers did not go for a simple fulka for the first version.

Secondly, the CTO of the company is a woman. Great job Pranoti! I am proud of you.

When I make rotis by hand, I knead the dough, cover it, and leave it alone for around half an hour. While I do this only because I have seen my parents/ others do this, I am sure there is some reason why people must be doing it. Maybe it makes the rotis stay softer the next day. Or maybe the way the bread dough "rises" due to microbial activity, there could be some beneficial interaction going on when you let the kneaded dough sit even when there is no yeast added. (Yeast only quickens the fermentation, idly batter still ferments without adding any additional yeast.) 

The version I saw in the demo kneads for each roti separately. Maybe in the future, there could be a "let a kneaded ball sit there" feature. Of course I mean for a group of rotis, not half an hour wait per ball per roti. 

Secondly, the machine requires 1.6KW to 1.8KW of power. I inquired with my rental apartment management whether a high power device would work OK with the current wiring. This is the reply:

Hi,

I’m following up with the question regarding the appliance that you are trying to purchase. Unfortunately our breaker for the kitchen outlets are 15 amps which will not be enough for the appliance. 

The moving parts, and the containers that hold the flour, water and oil are made of plastic. While the plastic used is food-safe and FDA approved (I scoured their website, but their FAQ did not say the plastic is BPA free), I try to avoid plastic in my day to day life, especially when food and heat are in picture. There is no way a machine that uses 1600W will not be emitting some heat onto the plastic parts.

The primary reason why I am interested in buying the Rotimatic is because I substitute the home-cooked rotis here with the store bought rotis or burrito. The rotis bought from the Indian store do not mention which preservatives have been added. (I am sure they do add some.) The burrito package lists a whole bunch of preservatives, leavening agents and other chemicals I have no idea about. When I am not eating the burritos, I am eating rice instead. However, every healthy diet recommendation out there asks you to limit your consumption of grains, and eat more fruits and vegetables instead. Maybe our reliance on grains is one of the reasons why India is a Diabetes hotspot. The steep price tag on the machine isnt making me eat any healthier. 

So all in all, I have to dampen my enthusiasm for the product for a while.