Awards Galore,two MeMes and an Event-full month!!

My dearest blogger friends have passed a shower of awards on me and I am happily showing them off.Here they are-

Bharathy of Spicy Chilly has passed on the Blogging friends forever award


The following rules apply to this award:
1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 of them followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I'd like to pass on this award to these blogging friends-

Seema of My Randap
Purnima of Fantasy cook blog
Notyet100 of Asankhana
Sowmya of Creative Saga
Aartee of Nalabagham

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Bharathy has been kind enough to pass on 3 more awards to me..thank you dear!!

Best blog dart thinker

Beautiful site award


Brilliant Weblog award


Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere. Here are the rules to follow:

When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.
Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’.
Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

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Kitchen flavours has passed on the 'Wylde Woman Award' to me.


The rules of this award are:

1.You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post

2. Link back to this blog site http://tammyvitale.typepad.com/ Tammy can go visit all these wonderful men and women and remember the Purpose of the Award: To send love and acknowledgment to men and women, who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy. It's been a blessing and an inspiration to meet all of you through your wonderful blogs.

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Sowmya of Creative Saga has passed me the Good Job award,thanks dear!

I would like to pass all these awards to

Divya Vikram of Dil se

Cham of Spice club

Dibs

Illatharasi

Purva

Priti

JZ of tasty treats

Ranji of rbcuisine

LG of taste of Mysore

Veda of Iyengars kitchen

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Suma of Suma's cuisine has tagged me for a MeMe-7 facts about myself

The rules of the tag are-

(a) List these rules on your blog.

(b) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.

(c) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Work - I have worked as a TMO-transaction monitoring officer in Allsec technologies for a short span,my first job.

Education - B.A(English Literature) in Ernakulam,B.Ed and M.A in English in Chennai.

Friendship - I believe in friendship and have lots of friends in my life whom I can bank upon anytime and I love that.

Relationship - Each relationship in my life has taught me new lessons and I have loved every phase-being a daughter,a sister to a wife,a daughter in law and I am enjoying it.

Internet - Started my www love when me and my friends got into the world of chatting,it was an obsession;-).Then slowly,it came down to only checking mails and now again obsession-obsessive world of blogging!!

Fitness - Never bothered about being fit and thin..but now,I don't have a choice-I recently went on a strict diet-exercise regime and lost 10 kgs,still maintaining my ideal weight!!

Dreams - I dream a lot and hope that my nice dreams always come true and nightmares never do!!
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Another tag from Suma-

The rules of the MeMe are the following:

Pick up the nearest book.

Open to page 123.

Find the 5th sentencePost the next three sentences.

Tag 5 people and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

The nearest book that I could find was Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin.

1.These were not to help the troops on the ground,though they did have that effect.
2.They were to fool ground-launched missiles.
3.The manual said to deploy one every five seconds.

I would like to tag these MeMe to-anyone who's interested-Please take up the tag gals-if you haven't already-thanks!!

With August,I complete 6 months of joyous food blogging.To be honest,I never thought I would come this far.When I started,I wondered how my favorite food bloggers managed to come up with so many nice and interesting recipes one after the another.I had my doubts as to how long I would be able to post with the same enthusiasm as my first post.But I've been proven wrong and I am so happy about it.I look forward to this so much and I can easily say this has become an integral part of my life now.All thanks to you dear bloggers who have given me encouragement and appreciation.Thanks folks!!!

August has to be the month which saw the least number of posts from me.Just 15,including this one.When I started,I thought I will post anywhere between 10-15 posts a month.I have posted more than that every month,but this month is different.I should admit that I've been a bit lazy(;-)),is that allowed..;-)??I was trying to finish off posts from my drafts,but thats just an excuse.I've been logging in daily and spending too much time blog-hopping rather than blogging myself!!If not for the events going on,I don't think I would have posted even 15..!!Of the 15 posts this month,13 have gone to events..yup..so imagine if there were no events..??!!Lol..;-).So thanks to you people who conduct lovely events month after month..love you guys..you rock!!

Three cheers to all of us food bloggers..!!!

Vegetable Kurma with Idiyappam

I had some leftover beetroot slices remaining from the salad and was wondering what to prepare with it.It wasn't enough for a stir fry nor I had the mind to throw it away.While I was thinking of a side dish for Idiyappam,thought why not make a kurma out of it!I have never made kurma before,though I do prepare curries with mixed vegetables.Searched the fridge and got some leftover carrots(!!)too and sliced up one potato and there I have the ingredients for a kurma!Usually I make batata vaag or stew with idiyappam so was quite apprehensive when I served to hubby.He was surprised to see a new combination and loved it!!

It tasted great and was onion-garlic less and oil-free too,perfect on a fasting day.I called up amma and told her about this,she was very happy to note down one more curry without onion and garlic which she can prepare at home.It tastes great with chapathi too.

Vegetable Kurma

Ingredients

Chopped vegetables-I used half of a beetroot,half of a carrot and a small potato
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Green chillies - 2
Coriander leaves-a handful,chopped
Clove - 2
Whole peppercorns - 2-3

Method

Cook the veggies in a pressure cooker till soft.
Make a masala of grated coconut,green chillies,coriander leaves,clove and peppercorns.
Add this to the cooked veggies,add enough salt and let it boil.
Lightly mash the veggies and simmer till the kurma becomes a little thick.
Serve hot with idiyappam or chapathi!!


I would like to send the combo of Idiyappam with Kurma to http://masalamagic.wordpress.com/ who is hosting this month's WBB and the theme is Combi breakfast!!

I would also like to send this to Sunita for this month's Think Spice-Think favorite!!The spice being Clove which imparts a great taste to this Kurma!

From your blogs # 2 !!!

Bookmarking is a tool that we bloggers use to the ultimate,at least I do;-).There are so many recipes that I have bookmarked,I have lost count now!I am always amazed at the yummy stuff that you bloggers post and tempted to try them immediately.I am trying to arrange the bookmarked recipes and include them in my daily cooking.I was very happy when I assembled some recipes and posted it last time.I am back with some more recipes from your blogs,here they are!!!


Raaga's Cream of Carrot soup - I am an avid reader of Raaga's blog.I like her style of writing and her posts are more than a recipe,they are more like her way of sharing her different experiences.In this post,she reminisces about her summer vacation and how she learnt her basics of exotic cooking with a dear aunt.I simply loved this soup,mainly because it is healthy,what with adding carrots and potatoes.It is very easy to make,takes only about 10-15 minutes to whip up and it is tastes simply superb!!I had it with some shallow fried croutons,yummy!!!


Seema's Mallige Idli - Recipe Junction is a blog which I stumbled upon during my initial days of blogging.I love the spread she has there and have been tempted a lot by the variety of goodies that she has posted so far.She's inactive these days,but she has an array of recipes to last till she comes back with another post!!Do come back soon,dear blogger!!I tried her Mallige idli last week.I have been tempted her pics and the softness of the idlis,which she so nicely put across.The idlis were very soft,I served them with coconut chutney.


Maya's Jam cookies - Now,I don't think I need to give any introduction to the person behind Konkan world.I visit her blog regularly for amchi recipes and like her no-frills method of posting.While I was browsing her blog some time back,I chanced upon the baked stuff that she has posted.When I saw the Jam cookies post,I decided that's the next cookie am gonna bake.Mine didn't turn out to be as pretty as hers,but tasted superb!!


Soumya's Eggless banana bread - Blogging has given me many friends whom I feel I instantly connect with.I think Soumya is one such person.We first conversed about the Zebra Cake which we both posted and have blog-hopped each others blog ever since.Made her banana bread during Ashtami,it came out too good.Thanks Soumya!!


Meera's Cucumber Hullel - Another favorite amchi blogger whom I regularly visit.It won't be fair to call her an amchi blogger,since she posts recipes from a variety of cuisines.Hullel is a dish which I made often but of late had not made.Her post gave me the required push and hubby was surprised when he saw this on his plate.Since both of us enjoy salads of any kind,it was a refreshing addition.

Thank you folks!!!

Celebrating Krishnashtami with Boondhi Payasam

Wishing you all a very happy Krishnashtami!!!

I wanted to publish this post yesterday,but I also wanted to take pictures of Krishna and the naivedyam.Hence the delay.If there is anything called a favorite God,I would surely say Krishna..mainly because-I grew up with Him!!!Yeah..no kidding,my house and Krishna temple share a wall and we have got a direct view to the temple from our kitchen!!I count myself and my family among those lucky few people who have got this great boon.So krishnashtami was a main festival for all of us.At my place too,we used to fast the whole day and appa conducted pooja,naivedyams were offered and all of us,including cousins and relatives used to have food together.

In the temple however,the pooja was conducted during midnight as Krishna was supposed to have been born during that time.We kids used to attend that pooja too.There was an "Akhanda Sapthaham",which is non-stop chanting of bhajans starting from morning till midnight,too.I was a part of that too.In fact,this ashtami is the first time I am staying away from all that.Every year,some how by that time I manage to be in Ekm.

So I decided to celebrate ashtami in my own style yesterday.I arranged a small corner in my pooja room with Krishna idols,offered naivedyam,and conducted a small pooja.I made a Boondhi payasam for naivedyam.Since it was the first time I was making it,and because of the divine aroma coming from it,I was so very badly tempted to have a taste of it!!But I resisted and waited till the pooja was over and then had a taste.It tasted great,a little too sweet for our taste buds,but I guess Lord Krishna would have loved it!!Hope He keeps showering His blessings on us,like He always has!!

Boondhi Payasam

Ingredients

Boondhi or 6 laddoos broken into crumbs - 1/4 kg
Sago - 1/2 cup,cooked
Coconut milk-thin milk - 2 cups
Coconut milk-thick milk - 1/2 cup
Milkmaid - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Saffron - a pinch

Method

In a thick bottomed kadai add the thin coconut milk and cooked sago and let it boil.
Keep stirring till it boils and then add the sugar and boondhi and cook again for 2 minutes.
Add the milkmaid(the quantity of sugar and milkmaid can be reduced if you don't want too sweet a payasam)
When it starts thickening,add the cardamom powder and saffron(soak the saffron in a few tbsps of hot water)
Add the thick coconut milk and switch off the flame.
Garnish with some more saffron and serve hot.
And yeah,do remember to offer some to Krishna before having it!!!





Boondhi payasam goes to Purva and Priti who are hosting the Festive food event.This month's theme being Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chathurthi.

Ghee roasted bananas

My appa is a great cook..yeah am not kidding!!Even though he does not cook the normal fare(btw,he does that too when amma is not well!!),he whips up amazing desserts.By desserts,I don't mean the stuff thats exotic,but what is made for festivals or special occasions.He makes excellent godu phove-sweet poha with jaggery and banana halwa.In fact,when he feels like making the halwa,he'll buy the ingredients himself on a saturday and will chop the dry fruits and keep everything ready.On sunday,after lunch,he'll start preparing the halwa and the smell is just divine.He is quite generous when it comes to adding ghee and dry fruits,so the smell is inevitable!!!Halwa is made in bulk and some of it is cooled and stored in air tight containers in the freezer.Someday,I'll take pictures and post the halwa recipe.

Which brings me to todays recipe.Nendrapazham,or banana was a main fruit in our house.As kids,we were supposed to finish our share of this banana.While my bros finished off their share without any problem,I always twisted my nose and tried to avoid it as much as possible.I loved the yummy curries made with this banana as the main ingredient and some deep fried goodies made with it but I somehow couldn't bring myself to eat the fruit as it is,or boiled.Appa came up with this recipe(even though this cannot be called as a recipe) for making me eat it.I loved it and how!!I don't think anyone can resist having it..yummy bananas roasted in ghee and sprinkled with sugar!!

While searching some blogs for this month's MBP,I was dumbstruck when I saw exactly this dish with the same name in Nags blog.I just couldn't believe that one of my favourite dishes is some one else's too!!I decided that its time for my dear roasted bananas to feature in my blog!Thanks to MBP and thanks to Nags!

I followed the same method as Nags,only thing,I added a big pinch of cardamom powder as a final touch and it tasted great,almost like a fried banana halwa!!

I am sending these to Aparna for this month's MBP-Fruit fare.

MBP was started by Coffee of Spice Café, and involves searching through blogosphere for a recipe and cooking it up based upon the theme chosen by each month’s host.This month's MBP is hosted by Aparna of My diverse kitchen and she has chosen”Fruit Fare” to be this month's theme.The pretty logo has been designed by her kid daughter.

Last but not the least,Wishing you all a very Happy Janmashtami/Gokulashtami!!

Ginger Lime Sherbet

Summers holidays during childhood brings back a flood of memories whenever I think about it.How the last exam was written in a super fast motion so that we could go home and enjoy our holidays non-stop for 2 months!!We had a small gang of about 5-10 kids and starting from the very next day,we had these “tournaments”- chess,cards,snake&ladders,name-place-thing-animal etc etc.There were cricket and shuttle matches too,but we preferred these indoor games.On one such summer,our uncle got us a gift from Abu dhabi-a video game.This was during 94-95,and house hold video games were just entering the market.I would be lying if I said we didn’t do our show off!!!The house was always full,with kids from neighborhood and we proudly displayed our much prized possession.It was so much fun!!

Amma never had a spare second during that time coz we,monster kids demanded food,snacks mainly at every possible opportunity.Amma made snacks in bulk,but it used to get over in no time.Lemon sherbet and cut mangoes featured in our 11 am snack time.While making the sherbet,amma asked me for help with squeezing the lime juice and I hated it that I was supposed to help but not my brothers!!Poor amma,she used to grin and bear my complaints..I used to threaten one of my younger cousins,Pramod,to join me so that we could finish the work fast.

One day,both of us were squeezing the lime,while a cricket match was going on.Both of us had finished one glass each and were on our next round.We were watching the match and Pramod couldn’t contain his excitement when Sachin hit a six and our lime juice glass went flying…all our fruit of labor lying on the floor.By the time we took a cloth and wiped it,it had left a nasty stain on our red oxide flooring.That was the last time I took his help!!

Whenever I squeeze the juice for sherbet,I am reminded of this funny incident.Amma and I had a good laugh when I reminded her of this.Now,when I buy lime in kilos and squeeze the juice,I realize how much trouble amma went through..!!After sherbet,it was time to make lime peel pickle,more of that in my next post!!

Ginger Lime sherbet

Ingredients

Lime juice – 1 cup
Sugar – 3 cups
Water – 1 cup
Dry ginger/Chukku/Shunti – 1 small piece(about 50 gms)
Cardamom/Elaichi – 4-5

Method

In a thick bottomed pan,add the sugar,water,shunti and elaichi(crush the shunti and elaichi a little).
Let it boil,keep stirring.
Simmer for about 10 minutes,till shunti and elaichi impart a nice smell.
Strain immediately and keep aside till it cools down to room temperature.
When it is cool,add the lime juice and mix well.
Pour into a bottle and store in the refrigerator.

Making Sherbet

Pour 1 tbsp of concentrate and add water/soda to make refreshing lime sherbet!!

You can also add a tbsp of Nannari syrup(available in nilgiris) for that store bought sherbet taste.

I am sending this Ginger lime sherbet to Simple Indian Food for AFAM-Lemon.

Kukka Humman # 3 ~ Potato Curry

Yet another Kukka Humman from me!!I hope I have clarified your doubts regarding the name of this curry through my last post on kukka humman!Even though this is one humman I make often,somehow this one has featured last on my kukka humman trilogy on this blog.If not for Valli's Curry mela,I don't think I would have blogged about the other two.

As I've mentioned before,I started cooking only after my marriage.Since hubby's from Mangalore basically,my cooking style is a good mix of Kerala Konkani cuisine and Mangalore cuisine.People have often asked me whether I prefer their cooking to ours.Now how can I answer that?I love my amma's cooking,something which I grew upon.Whatever style of cooking I follow,is thanks to her.Whenever hubby has asked me to cook a particular dish,ma-in-law has come to my rescue.And to be really frank,I don't really believe in 'our' and 'their' style of cooking.I cook what appeals to our tongue,whatever cuisine it be!

Hubby too,loves this fusion cooking where he gets to eat the best of both worlds!!Yellow kukka humman,as he calls this curry is one of his favorites of the lot.I make this to pair with chapathi,appam and idiyappam.It is a jhatpat curry and requires very less ingredients.

Kukka Humman # 3 ~ Potato Curry

Ingredients

Potatoes - 3,boiled and mashed

Tomatoes - 2,chopped finely

Haldi/turmeric - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves,chopped - 3-4 tbsp

For the seasoning

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2,finely chopped

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Hing/asafoetida - 1 tsp

Method

In a kadai,prepare the seasoning with oil,splutter mustard seeds.

Add the curry leaves and green chillies,fry for a minute.

Add the tomatoes and coriander leaves and fry till the tomatoes soften.

Add the mashed potatoes,haldi and salt to taste.

Add required water(about a cup) and let it boil.

Simmer for 5 minutes,or till the curry starts thickening.

Add the hing and switch off the flame.

Serve hot with chapathis,appam or idiyappam.

Kukka Humman is another one of my entries to Srivalli for her Curry Mela.

Thingalavrya Kolmbo~White bean Sambhar

Ok,I agree the name's a bit difficult to pronounce,but hey its just a delicious curry made with white bean.Thingalavro is white bean and Kolmbo is Konkani word for Sambhar,isn't it simple?;-).Pulses are a great way to introduce protein in your diets.In fact,while I was on my diet,I was asked to eat different pulses/sundal made of pulses whenever I felt hungry.As it is,I like only brown and white channa sundal and I didn't want to lose its taste by eating it day in and day out.That's when hubby took over the charge and bought home almost all the pulses he could ever lay his hands on.I sat in between piles(packets) of moong,kulith,thingalavro and channa of course,thinking how I am gonna eat all that.The only option I had was to make these pulses tasty so that I somehow was able to start liking it.

Since pulses are not a regular fare at my amma's place,the only option I had was to follow ma-in-laws footsteps.She is very meticulous about this and prepares dishes out of various pulses on different days of the week.Fridays are channa,saturdays are kulith,mondays are thingalavro,so on and so forth.I slowly started introducing it in our menu too and I found myself liking it.I prepared side-dishes instead of sundals so that I could pair it up with chapathis and rice.Hubby was all the more happy coz he simply loves any kind of pulses and is very happy when he sees it on his plate,for lunch or for dinner.

I got this recipe from ma-in-law the last time we went to Bangalore.I don't think I have ever heard of this or tasted this dish before.I secretly do think that its her own creation(konkani bloggers,correct me if I am wrong!).Whatever it is,I think its a great creative and innovative dish.Whoever could think that Sambhar could be made using pulses..??!!


Thingalavrya Kolmbo ~ White bean sambhar Ingredients

Thingalavro/White bean - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Tomato - 1,chopped into cubes
Coriander leaves - 3-4 tbsp,finely chopped
Sambhar powder - 2 tsp

For seasoning

Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method

Soak the bean overnight or for 6-8 hours.
Wash well and cook in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes,till well cooked.
Add tomatoes,sambhar powder and salt to taste.
Let it boil,add coriander leaves.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Prepare seasoning in a pan with oil,splutter mustard seeds and add jeera and curry leaves.
Add the seasoning to the curry and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rice!

Any curries made in blogosphere this month are invited to the Curry mela hosted by dear Sri!

From your blogs!!

Blogging has given a new dimension to my cooking.Earlier,it was just regular cooking and maybe once in a while,during the weekend or so,I prepared something special,but thats it.Now,if I want to prepare something special,I just have to search the blog world and Lo Behold!!I am presented with so many ideas that I get confused.Sometimes,I find myself preparing certain dishes only for the blog and sometimes I cook keeping the events in mind.I have found out that I am very patient too,for a person who couldn't care for anything in the world while presented with a dessert bowl,I have become much more patient.I make sure I have taken proper snaps before gobbling it up.Why only desserts..anything and everything is first photographed then eaten!!Hubby has also started asking whether I have taken pictures before touching his food,poor thing!!

If not for blogging,I don't think I would have ever cooked this,this or this.Somehow,I feel much more confident now.Especially when I try dishes from your blogs,I feel it has already passed the test and there won't be any mishap.I feel great to be trying something which has been tried and tested in your kitchens.

So let me present today,yummilicious dishes I have prepared from your blogs!!



Shilpa's Nankatayi - I've been bit by the baking bug and I am loving it!!First it was cakes and now cookies.I have decided to move to healthier alternatives and am thinking of baked dishes and grilling next.But for now my version of Nankatayi.It was yummy,but somehow I didn't get the milky white colour.I think I baked a tad too little more than the specified time,but they were delicious nonetheless!!


Shilpa's Simple egg cake - Another one of Shilpa's masterpieces.The first cake that I ever tried making was her Dates cake and needless to say its a super duper hit.I recently tried her simple egg cake and as usual it came out great.I tried it in my MW using the convection mode.It was over the moment it came out of the oven.So I couldn't take pictures of the slice as it got crumbled badly.We loved it and I am definitely gonna make this again.


Srivalli's Ulli Sambhar - Now,I don't think I need to give any introduction to our dear blogging queen.I am always amazed at her creativity and her passion for blogging.She blogs daily and its a treat for all of us.Do check out her Dosa Mela,Roti Mela and MEC cooking series.Also,Curry mela is going on right now and check out her Food blog list too.I tried her Ulli sambhar with idli and it was superb.Three cheers to you Valli!!


Raaga's Bread pudding - I first came upon Raaga's blog when I saw her blog feature in Hindu's Foodbytes.I had seen her blog before but started following it religiously after the feature.I like her style of blogging-bindaas and no frills.She gives a clear cut picture of the dish and the recipe and she makes the most difficult of recipes sound child's play.Been thinking of making this pudding,the day it was published but never got the chance.Me and hubby are both bread fans and we like eating our bread plain,toasted,with butter/jam or bread usli.Finally chanced upon some bread slices and made this pronto.Only difference is,I made it in the MW.


Sailu's Tutti Frutti cookies - Sailu has done blogging easier for all of us with TOI.I think its a brilliant idea and hats off to her for coming up with it.I tried out her Tutti frutti cookies and they came out excellent.I made one batch and gave it to hubby's friends-they couldn't believe it was home made,all thanks to you Sailu.Again,my cookies didn't look as pretty as hers and I didn't get the required colour,but still I am very happy that I tried and came across such a yummy recipe.

Thank you all of you my blogger friends..!!!

Kukka Humman # 2~Potato Curry

First let me assure,this is a vegetarian curry,some of my blogger friends mistook my last Kukka humman post to be a non-vegetarian curry since kukka means an animal in their language;-).A typical example of "ek gaun ki boli,doosre gaun ki gaali!"meaning,a spoken language in one place is a swearing language in another.Sorry folks,I had not given a proper translation of Kukka-potato in my last post which led to all this confusion.

In Kerala-konkani,Kooka is potato and Sappoor kooka is small potato.Whereas,in Mangalore-konkani,batato is potato and kooka is small potato.A small confusion,right?Don't bother-just enjoy and relish whatever we can make out of those,after all"what's in a name?"

As I said,there are different varieties of 'humman' ie curry we can make out of potato.There are at least 4-5 varieties that I know of and this one's a favorite in our family.My brothers favorite actually,he can survive on just this humman and pej forever.In fact,during his short sojourn in Chennai with me,I used to prepare this almost every other day and he used to finish it up without complaining!.He never complains about anything actually,a non-fussy eater,there are only very few dishes that he dislikes.

I remember,amma used to make this for dinner along with pej,because pej was gobbled up silently only along with this humman.We three(my elder bros and me) used to have dinner together and there was not a single day when we did not fight during dinner.Appa always said we three should be seated separate but that never happened!Those were the good old days.Btw,me and my one elder bro still fight..;-)(the one who made cake..)!!


Kukka Humman # 2

Ingredients

Potatoes - 3,medium chopped into cubes
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp(you can also use chilli flakes)
Salt to taste

Method

In a kadai,pour oil,let it heat and splutter mustard seeds.
Add the chilli powder and stir.
Add the cubed potatoes and stir well.Add salt to taste.
Add enough water to cook the potatoes(about 2-3 cups).
Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Serve hot with pej or rice,tastes great with both.

Kukka Humman # 2 also goes to Srivalli's Curry Mela

Mooga SaarUpkari~Moong Curry

SaarUpkari,as I've mentioned before is the easiest Konkani curry you can whip up.In fact,this one used to be my hubby's and his friends' staple when they were leading their bachelor lives,my hubby being the main cook.Its surprising actually to think of my hubby cooking,coz the only time he ever ventures into the kitchen now is when I am out of station or not well.I keep pestering him to cook up something for me..hope my wish comes true one day,;-).


I should give him due credit for giving me the recipe and proper instructions while making this though.SaarUpkaris are made using pulses,almost all of them.I feel this is the best way to introduce pulses in your daily menu as this requires very less effort to prepare and it is healthy too.While my google search for moong,I was quite surprised to see moong bean is widely used in Chinese cuisine!I have seen moong sprouts in noodles,but never knew it was part of their cuisine.

Mooga SaarUpkari tastes excellent with pej/kanji as well as with matta rice,for lunch.Hubby's friends liked it with puttu too,I have somehow not tried that combination as I have to have kadala curry with puttu and nothing else.

SaarUpkari goes to Srivalli's Curry Mela.

Mooga SaarUpkari

Ingredients

Moong bean/Payaru/Green gram - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic cloves - 5-6,crushed
Red chillies - 2,broken into pieces

Method

Soak the moong beans for 3-4 hours.
Cook in a pressure cooker till done,it should not be mushy.
Add salt to taste.
In a pan,add oil and let it heat.
Add the crushed garlic and red chillies.
Stir for a while till the garlic gets cooked and evenly browned.
Add it to the moong and mix well.
Serve hot with rice,pej/kanji or puttu!!

Gobi Manchurian

Chinese food had always been Fried rice and Gobi Manchurian for me.Earlier it was due to the lesser choice,we vegetarians had but now it has become an ultimate favorite(it always was!).I really don't mind having Gobi manchurian as a starter as well as main course!!When hubby asks what I would like to order,I say Gobi manchurian as starter and Chilli Gobi as side-dish and he always wonders if both are same!!I love those crunchy and crispy manchurians which make a yummy yummy dish.


Amma makes yummy chilli gobi with fried rice.In fact,that was the only thing I knew to make before marriage coz we used to cook this together almost every weekend.I am sure after my disastrous tea,anything would taste great;-).Hubby was mighty impressed the first time I made this along with fried rice.He had called a friend home for dinner and when I set everything on table,he was looking very happy!!Got a great compliment from his friend when he asked-"oh you guys ordered out is it?".Since this is deep fried,it finds its way into our menu only once in a while.We prefer the No-Fry version when we feel like eating this.I recently made this along with Leftover fried rice and the combination was too good.Do try it when you feel like indulging in home-made Chinese food!!


Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients

Cauliflower - 1,cut into florets
Wash the cauliflower well under running water-in a pan,add boiling water and salt and soak the florets in it for about 5 minutes.Drain and remove-keep aside.
Onion - 1,chopped into cubes
Capsicum - 1,chopped into thin slices
Garlic - 4 tbsps,chopped finely
Ginger - 2 tbsps,chopped finely
Spring onions - 3-4 tbsps,chopped finely
Green chillies - 4 tbsps,chopped finely

Soya sauce - 2 tbsp
Green chilly sauce - 2 tbsp
Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Oil - as required(for saute-ing and deep-frying)
Salt to taste

For the batter

Maida/Flour - 1/2 cup
Cornflour - 3-4 tbsp
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
Red food colour - 1 pinch(if you dont want to add food colour,you could also use red chilly powder)
Salt to taste

Method

Prepare a batter with the ingredients adding enough water to resemble a bajji/pakora batter - not too thick not too thin.
In a kadai/wok,heat enough oil for deep frying the cauliflower.
Dip each floret into the batter and deep fry till golden brown.
In another kadai,add 2-3 tbsp oil and add chopped onions,capsicum,green chillies,ginger and garlic chopped.
Saute for about 2-3 minutes.
Add all the sauces-soya sauce,green chilly sauce and tomato sauce,and vinegar.
Mix well and add the fried florets.
Add salt if required.
Keep stirring till the sauce coats well on the gobi.
Add chopped spring onions and serve hot!!

Jihva for ingredients a.k.a JFI is the brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi.Indira started this event to showcase the natural ingredients every month and undoubtedly it is one of the most popular food blogging events among the food bloggers.

Dear Sia is hosting this months JFI and the theme is Soya.Chinese food is incomplete with Soya sauce and so is this dish.So Gobi Manchurian is off to Sia's JFI-Soya.

Chocolate Yogurt Cake

Its been a while since I baked a cake.The Zebra cake was quite a mouthful,literally;-).Both of us are not so fond of sweets and somehow I don't relish eating the stuff which I make,so its difficult finishing off one batch.But I had to make this cake..mainly because I haven't posted it on my blog despite it being the first cake I made!!I should say it is a fool-proof cake.I mean,it was a success when I made it,what more proof do you want,;-).

Lakshmivanni,my co-sis,sent me this recipe when I asked her for an easy-successful-delicious-no fuss-very forgiving cake recipe.When I went through the ingredients,I felt it would work out fine.I did not have an oven then and I tried it at a friends place.It came out superb and was over in a jiffy.It does not need any frosting too,it tastes great fresh out of the oven,MW in my case!I remember,we just couldn't wait for the cake to cool down to invert on a wire rack.We cut the cake and had it from the bowl in which it was baked.It got crumbled,but who cares!;-).It has a very moist and melt in your mouth texture and the best part according to me is,even after adding 2 eggs it absolutely does not have an eggy taste.Hubby just couldn't make out whether I added eggs or not..!!

Vanni recently made muffins using the same batter and it has come out wonderful.So it makes a great recipe for Chocolate muffins too!!



Chocolate Yogurt Cake Ingredients

Butter - 2/3 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Eggs - 2
Maida/Flour - 1 1/4 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Cocoa powder - 4 tbsp
Curds - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Method

Mix butter and sugar well,till fluffy.
Add eggs one by one and mix well.
Mix vanilla essence and curds to this mixture.
Sift together maida,cocoa powder,baking powder and baking soda.
Add the flour-mix 1 tbsp at a time to the wet ingredients and mix well till you get a smooth batter.
Pour the batter in a greased MW bowl and bake at 80% power for 8-10 minutes.

For the icing

I used a fudge icing for this cake.Cut the cake into two horizontally,apply one half of the icing evenly over one layer.
Place the other layer on top and apply the other half over this.
I placed few gems over the cake and stuck some crushed nuts on the sides.

Update - Srivalli has announced a Potluck party to celebrate the anniversary edition of her Microwave easy cooking series.This month's theme is MEC-Potluck party.Prepare anything in your MW and send it to her,lets have a party folks!!!I am sending this cake since,making/baking a cake was the first thing I learnt to prepare in MW,after re-heating of course;-).