Mutton Biryani!

The dish I always wanted to put my hands on but never felt confident of getting my fingers soaked.The idea of bringing out the original flavors and laying the right aroma on the table stopped me,then trying out my beginners luck on Fathers day gave me the recipe for lifetime.I have locked the process and I am ready for sharing it to all.This recipe gives you nice aromatic mouthful taste with right amount of spices,one can add Chili or more masala according to ones taste.
We start with Good quality of Basmati rice,I chose 'Indiagate' brand and soaked it for few hours.The essentials for pantry are all good quality whole spices(Cardamom black and green,Cinnamon sticks,Cloves,Whole black pepper,Bay leaves,Shahi cumin).Lets start with the recipe and the ingredients:
1)2 cups of Basmati rice

2)Red onion thinly sliced for deep frying
3)Ginger and Garlic paste for marinading mutton- four tablespoon
4)Star ingredient Mutton 1 kg
5)1cup Curd for marinading the mutton
6)Tomato pulp of two medium red Tomatoes
7)Fresh green coriander
8)Cooking oil for frying and and
9)Shan biryani masala(pakistani brand to look for)
10)Leaves of Mint for fragrance
11)Kesar/Saffron sprigs for soaking in milk
12)Diced almonds and raisins for garnish
13)Salt to taste

We start with lots of patience and time with deep frying our sliced onions in high flame oil.It should turn golden and little crisp as thats the perfect texture for it.Keep the fried onions aside.Next we start with frying our ginger garlic paste in oil with all whole spices mentioned,try keeping the amount balanced as no overpowering of one thing in there.Like four of each works for me(cloves,pepper cardamom etc)I would remind of marinading the mutton before hand with curd and rest of ginger garlic paste,salt so that its ready for sautéing.
We start with frying onions and tomatoes in the ginger garlic paste being already frying and then adding biryani masala to it.Two tablespoon of masala is good for the flavor.We expect the oil to separate and give us nice red masala consistency with bhuna(roasted)mutton.
We would boil the rice side by side and then keep it 3/4 done and strain it.Next comes the layering of rice and masala,with adding alternatively each and one after other in a baking dish where our recipe would go next level.Add lots of coriander and mint leaves.We add our deep fried onion too at this time on the top layer.Pour our Kesar(saffron) soaked milk all over the dish.Finally dress our dish with dry fruits and cover the baking dish with foil.
We will keep it in oven for half an hour at 275F Let the rice gets permeated with flavors and cooked to the desired quality and remain warm before serving.

The discovery of shan masala was a added bonus as it imparts all professional goodness to the recipe!
I would suggest eat the Biryani with raita and poppadums and keep writing back for reviews....

Pickle by chance!!

We shopped for groceries and ended up buying lots of vegetables.The idea of nutrition keeps ticking and we think of inducing all fresh food in our meals each time.This time cauliflower florets were too many to manage and I thought of pickling it with carrots and turnip,a pickle which I had at a punjabi house hold.This recipe is quick,tasteful and brings lots of fun on table.I would suggest having it with parantha(indian bread) and rice too.The whole prep takes few minutes and two days to mature for putting your fingers in.

yumm!

I would suggest to have the list of items before starting and then we are on:
1)Vinegar
2)Jaggery
3)Mustard seeds crushed
4)Red chili powder
5)Turmeric powder
6)Salt to taste
7)Ginger and Garlic paste
8)Florets of cauliflower
9)Diced carrots
10)Diced turnips
11)Green chillies if you like
12)Mustard oil to temper.(2 table spoon)


First step is to soak the jaggery(100g) in a bowl of vinegar for long so that it is dissolved in it completely.This is about one kg of pickle so all your veggies are cleaned,diced and blanched or else microwaved for seasoning.
For seasoning mix the turmeric(one teaspoon),red chili(acc to taste)and crushed mustard seeds(two table spoon) and salt in one bowl.Sprinkle all this mix of spices on blanched veggies.
We heat the oil and cool it add ginger garlic paste to let it brown and pour over the veggies and give a gentle mix.
Last we add the vinegar flavored with jaggery and stir for few minutes for uniform flavors.

The pickle is ready in two days for putting are hands in and enjoying with anything and everything.

Dipping sauce a must try!

Fond of Asian cuisine made me discover rasa Malaysia.com and then there was no turning back,loved the blog and I landed with a book from the library written by her.I love trying out Vietnamese cold spring rolls with rice sheets,so recipe for the dipping sauce for accompaniment is right here.I just love mix of peanut butter and soy sauce.I assure you that this mix will leave you licking your finger for last drop.

The recipe says,

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 can( 15 ounces) or 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk

31/2 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

11/2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

   

Place all the ingredients in the blender and mix until smooth.Dress it beside the rolls.I would be writing the spring rolls recipe next.

Thanks and keep licking!

A little green corner!

I have been very fond of greens from my childhood,it was a habit inculcated in me by my father..unknowingly his gardening routine somewhere left an impact and later on  realised that I would steal a space to make it green.Small twigs of aquaplants or succulents would reach my desk in a pot recycled by me.Strange enough it got me lot of peace looking at those mini creations.Little use of stones,coloured pebbles I would create a 'vivarium',this latest term means creating a little enclosed ecosphere of your own (aquarium is one example).

How about bringing a little imagination and creating one on your own. I found that we get great floating glass pots which are air blown into shapes and are conducive for  growing little ecosystems.'Etsy' is a great place to find them and one can order them from various combinations grown for you.Do try 'West elm' for the glass pots to cultivate one of your own.
I would say with the clinching spaces why not develop this art form of gardening.If you love Bonsai this idea would excite you too!

Fruity talk

I have been away for long and missed getting connected to all,new ideas keep pouring in and I am back to share my experiences.
Fruits are a big part of my diet and I feel they are natural elements which are complete in themselves(Nature candy).My daughter loves eating them and I love using them in unusual way,so I bring out my little inventions before you.

1)Pomegranate:I used it in chutney recently mixing it with coriander,green chilli,lemon juice and salt.
The grittiness of seeds adds a new dimension and try mixing it with chats and boiled potato.






2)Apple: I used square chunks in batter of muffins and adding little cinnamon powder brings out  more flavour. Grate apples to use like as in coleslaw.Even boiling apple and making puree is used well with pancakes.




3)Pineapple:Kids love eating it and they are fond of the juiciness of this fruit so why not to crush and mix with cake batter.Also try adding it as pizza topping with all veggies, the Hawaiian touch does magic. Try barbecuing it with mint marinade it tastes great.




4)Banana: I am sure banana bread is a try with all  the ripe ones,also try cutting it in pieces and pour caramel sauce to it.Making curry with raw bananas and yogurt indian styles is one version of mine.I would surprise you by saying that I even cook raw banana peel vegetable which tastes exotic.








5)Papaya:raw papaya salad is one of my favourites but going further I make a grated papaya chutney which is composed of all pickling dry herbs like fennel,onion seed and fenugreek seeds,add little ginger too.





6)Guava: I have tried a sweet vegetable of this fruit and it tastes great for kids,try making chaat of it with green chutney and chillies it tastes wonderful.Old people tell that directly burning it on gas stove makes it healthier.






I have shared mine do share yours I would love to have your thoughts on this.....

My favourite kitchen gadgets!!!!!

I have been an avid kitchen collector from my teen years,A strange acumen for kitchen's useful yet contemporay stuff.I would suggest my mother for picking up stuff and would love to try my hand on it.When I started my own kitchen with support of my hubby I collected certain things which made me proud to own them and flaunt them!!!

1)Chopping board-Would suggest bamboo one which is single cut and large...It has a coating which protects it from wearing down early.
Rectangular ones are more stroke friendly.

2)A bamboo salad bowl-Organic fruit and salad server and its earthiness is what attracts me most.They come with mixing spatulas and designed widely.

3)Olive oil press and dispense-This little bottle of suction I bought from 'Crate and barrel'.Its very handy and pours oil as wished according to measured oil in pout.I love it for vinagrettes and salad dressings.

4)Magnetic spice keepers-Got  these from 'Ikea' and proudly decorate my spice collection in it.I have sticked them on refrigerator and use them daily

5)Mini dip servers-Got these little ones from 'Bed bath and beyond' and are indispensible in my guest service.I love white porcelain for serving dishes, dips and salsas.They bring out bright radiant colours of the food
served.

6)Baking brush-A bristled brush of silicone in red is very handy for me in baking and barbeque,basting the meat is easy and so is for breads.It can with stand high temperatures of 425 degree farenheit

7)The wok-I got this mini wok from 'Marshalls' and it has a wooden handle thats just what i wanted.I have mastered my art of stir fry after owning this one.

8)Morter and pestle-Using this device is very ancient in india from ayurveda times but I own a small one with different design with large surface area which is unique of its kind,My hubby uses it for fresh cardamom grinding.The picture depicts the unique design which i mentioned so it has special place in my laboratory.



I tried to bring my kitchen stuff and shared my proud belongings with you,these members invite me everyday and i look forward to another day with more excitement in my favourite corner of house.

Raksha bandhan with Indian pannacotta..

Its been long time and I was looking forward to write this recipe of mine and what better day than festivity of 'Rakhi'.I had tried this Italian recipe with vanilla essence and my mind wanted Indian flavours to burst with first bite.I have redesigned the molecular structure of flavours by adding Kesar and dried rose leaves(adding gulukand is also great!!!)

For making this recipe we need to have-
1)One and half cup milk
2)Quarter ounce gelatin
3)One and half cup of Cream
4)Quarter cup sugar
5)10 sprigs of kesar soaked in little milk
6)Dried rose leaves(desi indian red rose) and pistachios for garnish

-We start with dissolving the gelatin in milk and keeping it for five minutes.
-Add cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring it to boil for few minutes.
-Then add milkgelatin mix in the boiling cream and give it another three minutes heating.
-Add the kesar which is already dissolved in milk.
-Cover the dish and chill for atleast 4 hours.
-Serve in small plates inverted from setting dish.
-Garnish with dry fruits and rose leaves.

Thai Temple-little Thailand in Tampa

My exploration in Tampa bay area took me to a temple named 'Wat mongkolratanaram' on a beautiful sunday afternoon with family.Its not a regular day of the week ,as here on sunday you find crowd of city rushing to taste the best food cooked by devotees to collect donation for the temple.Its a buddhist temple on the plam river side where the authentic thai food is served for a definite time (10:30-1:30 pm)

The food is home cooked,delicious and economical.We can find stalls serving from colourful desserts,Raw papaya salad,dumplings, banana fritters,wholesome pork and beef noodle soups(donot forget trying),coconut custard(must try),traditional curries with padthai and rice,eggrolls and even satay or barbeque dishes.The people like us need to carry cash as the place earns it as donation,so dont forget that!!!.Everything is good there and is really is....I found people coming from 10 -12 years for a great sunday brunch there .Its a success story of devotees for their sincere attempt to bring up their religion in foreign land.

The serene surroundings and sitting area makes it a must place for family outing.The temple also places a stall for selling Thai kitchen essential veggies,spices and produce for us to try our hand in kitchen with those wonderful recipes.Thats another way to bring traditions close to all those people who are unknown to rich traditions of eastern world....Right place where east meets west harmoniously.

Food is one thing which brings together people and all our sense organs are loving it!!!!

Wat Mongkolratanaram 5306 Palm River Rd. Tampa, Florida 33619
Phone : 813-621-1669 Fax : 813-626-8850

Tex mex in a bus....

 Living in texas for three years made me fond of mexican food and that made me search a local joint in Tampa ,this one is known to be the best serving Tacos,burritos,quesadilla and tostada place in Florida state.Well the place reminds us of a bus which is the kitchen and hence named 'Taco bus' .They have a tagline "Broken english perfectly spoken"

Try their tacos with veggie fillings and meats..they are fresh and juicy,the place offers lots of choices for vegetarians and their vegan 'steak strips' are recommended for first time goers.Veggie crowd can also try 'rajas con queso' which is roasted poblano peppers with queso fresco.

Non vegetarians can try their fish tacos(specially recommended) and chicken,beef,pork all other meats are available too.
Talking of drinks try pineapple water,tamarind water,cantaloupe and watermelon ones are seasonal.they are fresh and go well with the food.'hibiscus flower lemonade' is specially recommended.
The place is casual ,economical and open all 24*7 all days...try satisfying midnight hunger there.( can do that online too)
Location
913 E Hillsborough avenue
Tampa 33604
813-232-5889

New found love!!!!!

I had known him briefly before but this time I am hooked to his passion for food and advancement of culinary world.He is no other than Gordan ramsay,he is different and he is one person who sounds arrogant but is seriously sincere for his job.A footballer who turned out to be a great chef and restauranter and my new favourite watch.A scottish in origin,who is as easy with italian as with steaks and samosa too!!! Is it not amazing that he respects food with no bars and boundaries.His british accent and mannerisms are one unique thing to look out for.The idea of food for him is fresh,local produce,simple and single flavour served with fervour.I think we think alike....Well thats just to keep me happy.

He is one person who is 13 michelin star chef and is full of infinite energies.I love the way he loves his work and makes the audience feel passionate for.He tries to catch fresh produce and in that search he has travelled world to try out any and every thing,in one episode he was trying to bake bread in volcanic residue in south arctic circle,and was catching a 'puffin' bird  in Iceland to cook and he faced life threatening slip in cliff and was saved.

In series of 'Kitchen nightmares' he has helped the series of restaurants to revive and stand the tough times,that is one series which is interesting to watch out for...I love him when he is preparing Indian food with so much confidence and usually wins from other chefs...His fingers close the samosa ends with same finesse as any Indian chef would do.....so I am loving it!!!!

Cool gurukul....... Are parents listening ?

After long I am writing on a start up which any parent would rush for as it is a platform for all the modern day questions of a new parent who is entering the arena of the world 'school'.I remember when I was a kid it was a search but not the way now parents are going all over to put their child in best of the school and doing lot of brain storming to get into one of the schools where they think their bundle would open wings to fly in colours.
A husband wife team has come up with a fresh idea of putting an end to all your hassles and given you a detailed and clear ,school related internet answer 'Cool Gurukul'. Right now they are Bangalore based and guide you to areawise schools and their related information.Your answers to new age words and theories are right there.They would give the best of information and later on would be expanding to different levels to help you with admissions and forms too.

Every parent can log on and can even start forum thread for their discussion with other parent on what their thoughts and requirements are.Its opening an easy way out for all to get right first hand information at their door step...

Go and find lots of answers to your everyday topics like ....what is Montessori way of teaching? or what are International schools? or which board would be good CBSE or ICSE?

So be happy as you would be answered and would be helped with what you were looking for....
Visit at http://www.coolgurukul.com/

Microwave and its use in Indian Rasoi.....

I am born in times when the kitchen is no less than a laboratry and occupies a important place and different gadgets are there to help modern living.If your child watches 'Doremon' then the cat in that series gives gadget to help the male character and things are solved scientifically.I think Microwave is something which is new for indian cooking and we need to take a step forward and make it really work for us,not just heating or reheating food.
How about listing procedures which can make our life easy and quick.
1)Cooking rice without mashing (20 minutes are good)
2)Boiling tomato with water for puree
3)Taking out clarified butter(ghee) from malai,heating it for good 15 minutes and the seperation is non fussy
4)We can set curd with the help of microwave
5)How about getting onion fried for gravy,take oil heat and then add onions and let it get golden
6)For palak paneer,green spinach puree is quick after microwaving spinach with water and blending
7)Try extracting paneer when heating milk in microwave with lemon.
8)Try gajar halwa with easy doing grated gajar(carrot)with milk in microwave.
9)Blanching almonds to remove skin.
10)Roasting papad is my favourite.1minute and it is hasslefree
11)Roasting nuts like cashew without oil,so healthy way of life.
12)How about boiling potatoes it takes  5 minutes for washed and pricked potatoes.
13)We can even freshen our chips and biscuits in a minute
14)Try making bread crumbs with convection mode
15)Drying mint, fenugreek in 4 minutes and then cooling for 2minutes
16)For new moms or moms to be try warming baby milk and even try microwave bags for sterlisation.
17)Dissolving gelatin in 15-20seconds

I am sure all this would help in making things quick and one pot cooking could be possible with less utensils involved.Try inventing new things in your kitchen and share your original idea with all.
I have tried cooking veggies and I tell you with less oil  tastier dishes come out!!!!

Karva chauth and Traditional recipe....

Being an Indian wife I am celebrating  important day of my married life and cheerfully fasting all day for well being  of my husband.Its different and gives you immense pleasure for selflessly praying to God for best wishes.
I am excited and would end my day after moon shines in the sky and blesses us for another year.So festive mood and food go together.I would be sharing a traditional recipe to mark the day.
The recipe is common in Northen Indian households and is simple yet special.I am sharing a potato curry recipe which goes well with poori(deep fried wheat flour)The recipe goes for non garlic and non onion fasting ones!!!
Ingredients:
1)4 potato  boiled and peeled
2)2 Tomatoes finely chopped
3)1inch of Ginger scrapped and finely chopped
4)Green chillies sliced
5)Green coriander for garnishing
6)Dry masala powders-Hing(asafoetida 1 pinch),Turmericpowder,Jeera seeds for tempering,Dry Coriander tablespoon,Jeera powder 1/2 tablespoon,Red chilli as per taste,saunf(fennel)powder1/2 tablespoon,Amchur powder(dry mango)as per taste
7)Salt to taste
8)Desi ghee/Butter is preferred for cooking
9)Curd for thickening the gravy 1/2 cup

We begin with tempering in a kadhai  (pan).Add ghee and once hot add hing and jeera.Add all dry masala powders except amchur and into add tomatoes chopped,further add ginger,green chillies and roast the mixture till oil leaves onto the surface.Now we will add potates which we have peeled and break with our hands in kadhai.Mix the additions and then put salt.We would add water mixed with curd and let the  gravy boil for 10 minutes. For final touches add amchur powder and green coriander.
This goes very well with kaddu (pumpkin)ki sabzi , poori and kachori.This recipe serves two adults.
Traditional north Indian platter is incomplete without this recipe.So have a great day and remember good olden days of our grandmother cooking....

Food and hair fall control!!!

Being a mom I am sure lot of us face issue of hair fall and I am no far from it.After birth of my daughter I realised after few months that hair were going in bunch.Well how to fight hair fall in todays time,I am one of those who has got a cure after loosing precious tresses of mine.Few things would just fix all of us who are suffering from problem.A change in food and extra vitamins for hair would let us catch up with less fall.
1)Incorporate more greens like eating spinach and fenugreek,soaking fenugreek overnight  in water and drinking the extract helps a lot.

2)Eating egg whites and  even topical application on hair helps hair follicles.

3)Eating nuts like almonds,cashewnuts ,walnut also help get essential oils.
4)Drinking carrot juice and even eating raw carrots works.
5)Fish eaters are the happiest,baked fish dish a week is one of the best ways.
6)I have tried taking fish oil capsules daily as omega-3 fatty acids are the ones to be incorporated in diet

7)Any supplements with zinc and biotin has to be taken every day so mushrooms and oats help u with that.

8)Wheat germ juice and sesame seeds also are growth boost.
9) Applying curd into hair roots helps
10)Drink honey and tulsi water.






Hope this helps you all and even shampoos with fenugreek extract(himalaya)and repair damage serums are  good (dove).Have a healthy diet and good sleep......good hair are byproducts!!!

500 views!!!! Time to celebrate with shopping ideas..

I am a new blogger and with this new step of 500 views I want to share my dream places for shopping in Bangalore or anywhere,as lots of online portals for finding great deals.I think any young person on earth is on Facebook and that is another medium for new enterpreneurs to look for.I would list few of my personal favourites for shopping indian traditional crafts or apparels.

1)Fabindia-A great place to shop for lovely kurtas,stoles,home furnishings and even nice cotton kids wear which is my personal favourite.I love the blockprints and you find them on kurtas,curtains and dining sets.This time I did find lots of jewellery pieces which were to die for.Cute bangles for your daughter and even organic eatables are making their presence felt there.So make a visit if looking for ethnic classy stuff.

2)Anokhi-A brand which is rajasthani in origin but very cosmopolitan,I feel every piece of stuff is worth looking at.Gorgeous collection of homedecor and smart garments.Colour coded store attracts you to shop till u drop.
They do have kids cotton stuff and mini salwarsuits for girls are cutest in their place.Silk stoles and silk quilted jackets are their brand special,Do drop in and enjoy India going International.

3)Mother earth-The store which works on handicrafts of Varanasi and Puducherry .A collection of jute and silk bordered stuff dominates the range.Earthen touch and colours are attractive and pottery and lots of other home decor things make u go shopping.

4)Karigari jewellery from hyderabad-Every piece is unique and I personally love the pieces of their collection,designed for todays young lady its modern and contemporary.You can shop at yebhi.com for this brand.

5)Anek designs-The brand owned by husband and wife can be shopped for online at shopo and etsy and their personal website.Its different and unique in its own way,a new outlook to textile and colour use.

6)Mish mash designs-A place for kitsch,find the quirkiest and dark colours imbibed in things for complete bohemian designs.find bags,cushions in old world charm meeting todays world.
Lot more fun to catch at Matsya,Happilyunmarried,the Color caravan,India kitsch,Pitaara,Zilpika,Morataara..




Never ending list of todays market found online..genext shopping just a click away at portals which offer the best and one of a kind experience....

Simplest cheese cake recipe!!!

Few things bring smile on my daughters face and she finishes the whole slice with happiness,thats cheese cake

I love to experiment with flavours but our favourite is lemon.The lemon cheese cake is near to my heart as it has history to it,that was something my in laws enjoyed when we met first.My experiments with  food go way back as I started browsing new thing to be cooked each day with my mother.I donot like montony and hence new thing for new day,just a little bit difference makes me go excited.The recipe is simple and yet very nice to be done in a quickfix situation.So check out the ingredients and start cooking:

1)Lemon juice of three good ones 

2)Milkmaid tin(condensed milk)

3)A gelatin or jelly lemon flavoured or plain one

4)Marie biscuits packet

5)Butter 50 gms

6)Lemon rinds to be decorated and garnished

7)Cherry on top

So the recipe begins with crust formation of cheese cake.We take Marie biscuits and crush them in gritty texture and simultaneously melt butter in a pot.The crushed biscuits are  mixed with melted butter.Now we take  the service dish (ususally round glass dish) in which we set our cheese cake and put the mixture on the base.We press the mixture and  level it to a height uniformly and make a biscuit base.Keep it to refrigerate.This helps in setting butter and biscuit to good thick crustly thing.

Next we begin for upper creamier lemony topping ,We take our gelatin and dissolve it in warm water directly or indirect double boiler method (here we put gelatin in water in one pan and this pan is put in other larger pan with boiling water).Now once gelatin dissolved we add milkmaid , gelatin and lemon juice in mixer.Our aim is to nicely mix the three ingredients to good thick creamy mix.Now pour all this on biscuit  base and level it.

Finally all this goes in refrigerator for few hours, good if at least six hours.Decorate with lemon yellow rind or cherry and enjoy cold yummy soft cheese cake .....

Tips

• We could use mango puree for flavour too
• We could decorate with mint sprigs
• We are making no bake cheese cake
• Milkmaid makes easy go recipe as all sugar and milk incorporated there

Tandoori fruits with tangy sauce

I love fruits as their freshness and colouful presence adds an extra touch to daily dose.I try bringing all  seasonal ones as scientists say its right to include seasonal veggies and fruits in your diet, it equalises the needs like watermelon fulfills the need of water diet in summers and fights dehydration.So these days we do get anything and everything all year round but natural ones of particular times are essential to incorporate.Tandoori food is healthy be it veggies or chicken as least use of oil and right cooking technique turns it healthiest options to go for.So why not try fruits this way.Collect all your favourite ones but not banana and papaya.
Ingredients:
1)Pineapple chunks
2)Cantaloupe chunks
3)Apple chunks
4)Black grapes and Kiwi
5)Strawberries
6)Bellpepper all colours
7)Lemon juice
8)Honey
9)Green chilli and Mint paste
10)Salt(preferably blacksalt)
11)Tamarind extract
First we marinate the chunks of fruits with tamarindpaste ,honey,chilli and mint paste and salt.Honey's sweetness and tamarind's tangyness adds great flavours to evening snack time.
Then dipped marinated fruits are put on skewer and put in oven for roasting or grill.
We do that till they are golden shrunken  with blackened edges.
Serve hot with any tangy chutney and lemon juice over it.
Children would love it for its taste and colour,I' m sure mummies are happy too!!!!

Navratri-I am a Happy Puppy!!!

Puppies love to play, snuggle, eat and take nap...and I am one of those kinds on weekend.Weekend means soul food and enjoying the time to gear up for the week ahead.Since its Navratri time I take special care of being total Vegeterian and live pure eight days.I tell you this time is really different from other festive times as it brings lots of fresh and pious renewal to life.

My navratri days remind me of 'pooja' and 'havan' performed in celebrating the mightiness and strength of 'goddess Durga'..I being fond of Prasad use to wait for mornings to start my day with yummy God food.Some delicacies are specially meant for this time and are hearty ones.Use of Sabudana(pearl sago) ,potato, kuttu(buck wheat), peanut, fruits and Sendha namak(rocksalt) is more during these auspicious eight days.The idea is to have no use of cereals and pulses and have different flavours cooked particularly.The fasting time ends with feeding 8 girls in number and worship them as goddess.
So I would be sharing a Sabudana Vada recipe which can be consumed in vrat.
Ingredients:
1)Sabudana 250 gm
2)Potato boiled and mashed
3)Green coriander finely chopped
4)Green chillies two in number chopped
5)Sendha namak to taste
6)Singhara(Indian water chestnut fruit that is dried and powdered) flour for binding few tablespoons
7)Oil for frying
So we start with soaking sabudana in water after washing and let it go plump and translucent.Then we add boiled and mashed potatoes to it and mix well.We add chillies,coriander and salt .Adding singhara flour makes the mix bind properly.Check the consistency and would make balls out of it.Heat the oil and put balls one by one.Golden brown balls are taken out on serving plate.Great to enjoy with coriander chutney.
tips:
-Making balls clingwrapping them and storing in fridge for one hour turns then crispier while frying.
-Adding roasted peanuts to vada dough adds nuttiness

Thai style veg curry

My favourite cuisine is Thai and I like the use of Tamarind and Red chilli in their food to make it spicy and tangy.
The food is quite similar in taste to Indian and Chinese and is unique in its own way.I like to take the technique and put my touches to make a dish which is wonderful to have with soft rice,usually enjoyed with jasmine rice.
The flavours I try to infuse are going to make you want for more and anyone can change it according to your palate.

Few precooking things to do are:
-Soaking of tamarind and sieve the pulp for use
-Fresh coconut milk/dissolve coconut milk powder in water
-Peeling off garlic cloves
-Use of coriander stalks.
-Roasted peanuts

Ingredients:
1)Tamarind pulp 2 tablespoon
2)Coconut milk 1 cup
3)Fresh green coriander with stalks
4)Mix vegetables block chopped  (carrots,green and red bell pepper,baby corn,cauliflower,brocolli,tofu).
5)Salt
6)Honey one tablespoon
7)Red chillies as per your hot levels
8)Garlic 5-6 cloves and Ginger 1 inch
9)Basil for herb seasoning
10)Oil for cooking

We start with taking cloves of garlic,ginger, red chillies and coriander stalks and grind them to paste.Then we blanch our veggies that is put in hot water and then plunge in cold water immediately.We take oil in pan and add paste made then add basil and salt.Add veggies in this roasting paste and add honey and tamarind pulp.Add little water and let it boil for few minutes,then add coconut milk .We wont boil the curry for long after adding coconut milk.It is enjoyed with boiled rice and best tastes when served hot.Garnish with coriander leaves and peanuts.

In original thai curry use of galangal(thai ginger),kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass and fish sauce are essential ingredients but we have tried using our own ingredients and make out our version of curry.Try and enjoy!!!

Trip to Shivasamudram ,Sangam and Mekedatu

Last weekend we had one day trip with my husband and his team to list of waterfalls around Bangalore.Best List of lovely places for water lovers out there.We started our trip morning 7 and got breakfast packets.While going we enjoyed the lush green corridor of Bangalore and game of Dumb-charades,Well!We acted on funniest of movies and thoroughly brain stormed our knowledge on movies to make the boys loose, the game ended tie.

I didnt realise when we reached Sangam where the river Arkavati confluences with river Kaveri .The ride of beautiful round handmade boats called Parisal take us to other side of river.The boats are ones which I had seen in movie 'Roja'.Cute ride as water level not very deep and one could slowely reach the place of great natural beauty.The right place to experience water and take a relaxing dip to cool oneself.My daughter had a great time there in her diapers.She didnot want to come out and that made our trip memorable.I noticed people cooking marinating chicken and enjoying country style food,I tell you aroma was too tempting.

From there we head to Mekedatu ,Meke(goat) datu(leap).A gorge 3.5 km downstream drive from there all along the river course. It is a cascading waterfall gushing through a narrow gorge and flowing through a ravine of granite rocks and hence one of the favourite spots for people.There is a staircase taking you down there and mindyou donot carry food, monkeys follow you if u donot share your chips.We enjoyed the great gush of
river Kaveri and scenic view down there from rocks which were hot and shining.

We had our lunch coming back at a place right at entrance where hot fresh food made us recharge for further
journey to Shivasamudram falls from there.We take Malavelli route from there and it is 20km from Malavelli,lies in Mandya district and one of the majestic falls of Karnataka.There are Bharachukki(western) and Gaganachukki(eastern) falls which are must for real time experience. Shivasamudra was first hydroelectric power plant for Asia.The city of Bangalore was the first to get power in India.Is it not amazing??We enjoyed a local sour fruit and headed back to home and day was successfully closed with good night sleep.

Distance in kms-
1)Sangam 89 km from Bangalore via Kanakpura
2)Mekadatu 4km from Sangam
3)Shivasamudram falls 125km from Bangalore and 60km from Mysore

A humble request to all you people out there,Please do not leave plastic waste,we being educated crowd are doing lot of harm by throwing bottles and packets there and destroying our gifted natural wealth.......