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Sunday, August 31, 2008

MANGO MILKSHAKE FOR THE GRAND FINALE

GRAND FINALE

Some time in the month of July I came across the NaBloPoMo website. I found it very interesting that Eden Marriott Kennedy started NaBloPoMo in 2006 as some kind of a joke because she'd failed at the NaNoWriMo. She says in her blog that, “I decided that if I couldn't write a novel in thirty days, at the very least I could post on my blog every day for a month.”.

These were the very lines that inspired me to take on the NaBloPoMo challenge in July.

I started blogging everyday from the 15th of July but I was not sure whether they would consider 15th of July to 15th of August a month. So I continued blogging in August. I thought I would be able to easily post on my blog everyday, but there was trouble in paradise…..

Both my girls were down for 2 weeks in August, and getting to my laptop was getting more and more difficult, but I didn’t want to give up…not yet.

I continued posting everyday. It was getting stressful for me to post everyday as my blog has 80% recipes so it was difficult to think, cook, click photos while nursing my 5 year old and 10 month old baby back to health. What kept me going was the thought that I had taken this as a challenge and I didn’t want to give any excuse, so I used to sit up until late into the night and type. I wouldn’t get up till I finished on my post.

I didn’t want to give up and by god’s grace I have come to the end of the challenge. I want to thank God to help me sail through all challenges in life. I then want to thank my kids, my husband and my maid without whose help and support all this wouldn’t have been possible and I want to thank you Eden for helping me and people like me take on challenges sitting in the comforts of their homes and make them believe in themselves and achieve the unachievable. To make people believe that when there is almost no limit to how far you can go in what you are doing. "The sky is the limit".

A big thanks to all my friends in Blogosphere who went through my posts everyday and encouraged me with their wonderful comments. Thanks girls, “You’ll kept me going I must say.”

And I must say this has been such a fulfilling challenge for me, so I want to end my challenge with an exotic drink and that is the thick Mango Milkshake. What better way to end it than to toast to this achievement with a drink made with the King of fruits – The mango.

MANGO MILKSHAKE

Ingredients

I used the tinned Mango pulp here

Mango Pulp (1 lb mango pulp) -1 tin

Milk - 5 cups

Sugar – 2-3 tbsps

Method

Put all the above ingredients in the blender. Blend until smooth.(As shown in the picture on your right, it is a close up of the texture of the Milkshake inside the blender.) Keep this refrigerated and serve chilled.

This is a thick milkshake, but if you don't want it too thick, you can add some water or some more milk to the milkshake while blending it

Saturday, August 30, 2008

DUM ALOO & AN AWARD

I am coming towards the end of the NaBloPoMo challenge. I am already in a celebration mood.

I would like to post this recipe for the NaBloPoMo theme of the month “HOT”. There were many “HOT” recipes that I posted in August but this is definitely an ode to the theme.

Dum Aloo is perhaps one of the most exotic and liked potato gravy dish in India. This dish has its roots in the North of India. Its "Fast to Cook and Good to Eat”

DUM ALOO

Ingredients

Small potatoes – 15 -20

Medium sized onions – 2

Tomatoes – 2-3

Ginger - A small piece

Green chilies - 2

Cardamom pods - 1-2

Cloves – 1-2

Cinnamon sticks – 1-2

Yoghurt - 1/2 cup

Garam masala powder - 2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 2 tsp

Red chili powder -1 tsp

Salt to taste

Freshly chopped coriander leaves

Oil for deep frying the potatoes

Method

Boil the potatoes. Peel them and prick the potatoes with a fork. Fry the potatoes in hot oil till they turn slightly brown. Drain and set aside.

For the Dry Masala

Powder the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks. Add in the Garam masala, Coriander powder, Cumin powder, chilly powder and salt and blend it all once in the dry mill of your blender.

For the Wet Masala

Grind Onion, tomatoes, Ginger, chillies into a fine paste. Add in the dry powders and blend once.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add in the cumin seeds and the dry and wet masala mixed paste and fry till the oil separates. Now add in the fried potatoes and some water and cook on a low flame covered with a lid. Keep opening the lid every 5 mins and give it a good stir without breaking the potatoes. This is to ensure that the masala coats and enters the potatoes well.

In the blender just blend ½ cup of yogurt once, so that it doesn’t have any lumps. Pour this inside the potato gravy and mix well. Add enough water to cover the potatoes and Cook on dum(steam) for another 10 mins. Simmer till the gravy is thick for about 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with Chapathi/Poori/Nan or Rice.


Sowmya of Creative Saga and LG of Taste of Mysore think that I have done a Good job with my blog and have honored me with the Good Job Award.

Thanks Sowmya and LG for encouraging me with this award.

I would like to pass this award to Purva and Priti, I sincerely feel they are doing a good job hosting the Festive events.

Friday, August 29, 2008

COLD, CRISPY AND TANGY....AN ODE TO THE KING OF RAITAS - BOONDI RAITA

I would like to send this for Sangeeth’s Eat healthy- Calcium rich event, as everyone knows that Yogurt is an excellent source of calcium. In fact, yogurt does milk one better, because its “active cultures” help digest the naturally occurring sugar (lactose) in milk. Everyone knows that a child suffering from Diarrhea is asked to abstain from milk, but it is advisable to eat yogurt when u suffer from diarrhea.

COLD,CRISPY AND TANGY....AN ODE TO THE KING OF RAITAS –

BOONDI RAITA

I could easily make a statement that Boondi raita is one of the most popular raitas. The "King" of raitas. This savory raita, is cold, crispy and tangy and what can be better than that. For those who don’t know, Boondi is a crispy gram flour savory, similar to rice crispies. You can buy boondi from Indian stores and alternatively you can make it at home.

To make Boondi at home

Ingredients:

Gram Flour (besan) – 100 gms

Chilly powder – 1tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil to Fry

Method

Mix the above ingredients with water to a creamy pouring consistency. In a wok heat some oil. When the oil is hot, reduce the flame. Now take a draining spoon and hold with your left hand over the hot oil and with your right hand pour the batter over the spoon and ensure that you don’t drop in one place but move the spoon all round while dropping, you will see that small balls of batter are getting fried in the oil. Keep the flame low and keep frying until the balls are golden and crisp. Remove with a strainer and place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Your boondis are ready.

Ingredients

Yogurt – 2 cups

Boondi – 1 cup

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Red chili powder – 1-2tsps

Chaat Masala – 1-2tsps

Finely Chopped coriander leaves

Method

Use thick cold yogurt. In a bowl add the yogurt and stir well till the mixture becomes smooth and fluffy. Add salt (be careful while adding salt as boondis also have salt), Cumin powder, 1tsp of red chilly powder and 1 tsp of chaat masala and mix well. The chaat masala adds the tanginess to the raita. Add ½ cup of boondi and mix gently. Keep refrigerated. When it is time to serve, you will notice that the Boondis have become soggy, this is how many people like it. But I like mine with some crunch to it, so before serving I add one tablespoon of crunchy boondi and garnish with some freshly chopped coriander leaves and sprinkled with some red chilly powder and chaat masala powder. Serve boondi raita chilled.

Tips: If you feel that the boondis are set with the yogurt when you pull out from the fridge, then u can add some more yogurt in and mix gently with a spatula, to loosen it up.

Some people like to add in the boondi at the time of serving. But I beg to differ, the boondis must be soggy(soaked in the yogurt), so when you put one spoon of this tasteful raita in your mouth not only do you get some of the soggy boondis but also the crispy ones. So I top up the raita with a spoonful of crispy boondis at the time of serving. Enjoy this raita as a side dish or meal accompaniment.


I would also like to send this for Sunita’s Think Spice….Think Cumin event as I have used Toasted Cumin powder in my recipe.


Thursday, August 28, 2008

SOYA CHILLY TIKKA


SOYA CHILLY TIKKA
I never actually liked Soya dishes very much although it is very rich in protein and good for health. But Soya Chilly Tikka hooked me to Soya and made me crave for more….
This dish can be had as a starter, it can be had as a snack or as a side dish, a meal accompaniment. You will enjoy this Soya delight anytime.

Soya Chilly Tikka - Sukanya's Musings

Ingredients
Soya chunks 2 cup
Onion - 1 (medium)
Capsicum -1
Tandoori Masala Powder – 1 tbsp
Red chili powder -1 tsp
Coriander powder -1 tsp
Cumin powder -1 tsp
Garam masala -1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Corainder leaves for garnish
Lemon - 1
Oil
Method
Boil soya chunks for about 5 minutes with salt. Drain by passing through a colander. Rinse in cold water and then squeeze the soya chunks to remove the water. Take a big bowl. Add the soya chunks, then add Tandoori masala powder (you can make it fresh, recipe in my blog) or you can buy it from the market(It is available in India stores), Red chilly powder, Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Garam masala, Ginger paste and salt. Mix well as shown in the picture. The soya chunks must get completely coated. Allow to marinate for about half an hour to one hour. You can even marinate it overnight in the refrigerator and make it for the afternoon lunch. The longer it marinates the tastier it gets.
After marinating…..
In a wok take some oil and deep fry the soya chunks as shown in the picture. It should be a nice reddish-golden color.
Remove and set on Kitchen towel to drain excess oil. Once all the soya chunks are deep fried.
The next step would be Chop the onions and capsicum into thin long strips.
In a non-stick pan, take about 1 tsp of oil, add the onions and sauté until transparent, then add the capsicums until they are done. In the end, add the soya chunks and mix well. Serve on a platter as shown garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves and a wedge of lemon. You can squeeze some lime and relish these delicious soya chilly tikka.
I would like to send this entry for Sia’s JFI –Soya event.



Wednesday, August 27, 2008

CARROT PUDDING(GAJAR KA HALWA)

CARROT PUDDING (GAJAR KA HALWA)
This is one of the most favorite sweets of Indians no matter which part of India people belong to.
Carrot Pudding or (Gajar ka Halwa) has also been epitomized by our Bollywood film stars.
The hero will tell his mother, “Maa, mujhe tum apne haathon se banaya hua gajar ka halwa khilao na”.
The melodramatic Maa(mother) with tears in her eyes will say, “ Beta aaj maine tumhare liye gajar ka halwa banaya hai”.
So many movies have Nirupa Roy telling her reel sons, “beta gajar ka halwa tumhe pasand hai na? aaj maine tumhare liye gajar ka halwa banaya hai”
I used to wonder how come Dharamendra, Amitabh, Shatrughan and all the bollywood heroes like only Gajar ka halwa, when there are 1000’s of sweets to choose from….
I don’t know what’s the relation between mother’s and son’s and gajar ka halwa, but I guess gajar ka halwa or any dish made by your mother with love holds memories for every child.
Gajar ka halwa is not so easy to make as it involves a lot of back and shoulder breaking stirring until you see the moisture disappear. So every time we dunk into that bowl of homemade gajar ka halwa, we know that there is the biggest X-factor in it “LOVE”.
I will share with you 2 versions of the gajar ka halwa one made the traditional way and one much easier made in the microwave. The traditional version doesn’t have khoya but I have used khoya in the microwave version. My mom makes fantastic gajar ka halwa without using condensed milk or milk, only carrots in sugar syrup and that tastes awesome too, that could be considered as a third version.
I made a lot of gajar ka halwa as I was expecting guests at home. But you can reduce the quantity to ½ of the proportion that I have mentioned in my recipe.
Ingredients
Carrot -2 kgs grated
Milk -2 cup
Sugar – 1 cup
Condensed milk -1 tin
Cardamom powder - 1tsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Cashews – 1 tbsp
Pistachios cut into thin slivers - 1tbsp
Silver leaves(Chandi ka warq)(optional)
Method
Peel, wash and grate the carrots. In a wok add the grated carrots, milk, sugar and cardamom powder and cook until the carrots are soft. Then add one tin of the condensed milk, mix well. Check for sweet, if less, then at this point you can add some more sugar. As Condensed milk is also sweet I added only 1 cup of coarse sugar, but if you are using Fine sugar or Castor sugar you may require more. Add sweet as per your choice, some like it very sweet, some like it just right and yet others like it less sweet.
In a small pan, melt 1tbsp of ghee and add the cashew nuts, fry until golden and pour into the halwa. Mix well. Keep stirring and stirring and stirring till you see that all the milk has been absorbed by the carrots.Be careful don’t let it catch the pan as it will become black and not taste good. So, there is no choice left but keep stirring. Once you see the mixture has become totally dry and left the sides of the pan, you know the gajar ka halwa is done.
Serve hot or cold garnished with Toasted pistachio cut into thin slivers and silver leaves.
GAJAR KA HALWA (Microwave version)
This is the easier version as it doesn’t involve too much of stirring. I have added almonds in this recipe instead of cashewnuts. You can add raisins, almonds, cashews and pistachios or all in gajar ka halwa . It is your choice.
Ingredients
Carrot -1 kg grated
Condensed milk -1 tin
Milk -1 cup
Almonds (peeled and cut into thin slivers)- 1tsp
Cardamom powder - 1tsp
Khoya grated - 1 cup
Method
Add the grated carrot, condensed milk and milk in a bowl and keep on high for 12–15 minutes.
Then add almonds (peeled and cut into thin slivers), Add cardamom powder and grated khoya. Put in the microwave for another 7 minutes. See if done else can keep for some more time.(depending on individual microwave). Your Gajar ka Halwa is done without much of back breaking and shoulder breaking stirring. Remove and Garnish with grated khoya and nuts.


I would like to send this for EC’s Colour in Food Event
For the orange color of the carrot halwa


I would like to send the Gajar ka Halwa also to Purva’s Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi Festive Food event as the halwa has milk and milk products


Tuesday, August 26, 2008

GINGER ALE

GINGER ALE

If you love ginger ale, try making your own at home. Homemade ginger syrup is mixed with club soda to make fresh ginger ale.

Ingredients

Peeled fresh ginger - 2 cups coarsely chopped,

3 strips lemon peel (about 4 inches each), yellow part only

1-1/2 cups (about) sugar

3 quarts chilled club soda

Ice cubes

Method

Place ginger, lemon peel, and 4 cups of water in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer at a low boil, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.

Add sugar, stirring constantly, and continue to boil until reduced to about 3 cups, another 15 minutes.

Place a fine wire strainer over a large bowl. Pour in ginger mixture to separate solids from liquid. Discard the lemon peel. The strained cooked ginger pieces may be reserved for other uses (good with vanilla ice cream or yogurt), if desired.

Cool the syrup, pour into a glass container, seal tightly, and chill at least 1 hour until cold or up to 1 week.

For each 16-ounce serving, mix 1/4 cup ginger syrup with 1 cup cold club soda and pour over ice.

Additional ginger syrup and/or sugar may be added to taste.

Can serve12 servings

WYLDE WOMAN AWARD

WYLDE WOMAN AWARD

Srilekha of Me and My Kitchen, Kitchen Flavours and EC passed 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 Tammy can go visit all these wonderful men and women.


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.


Srilekha and Kitchen Flavours have passed it to almost all the bloggers, its truly amazing how you girls did it!

So I pass this award to all my friends and fellow bloggers who have been visiting my blog, teaching me new things and encouraging me with their wonderful comments. It's truly been a blessing and an inspiration to meet each one of you'll through your wonderful blogs.

Monday, August 25, 2008

KHICHDI VADA

KHICHDI VADA
I had made Khichdi (Also known as Pongal down south) and a lot got leftover, since we are not supposed to eat leftovers on festival days(It was Janmashtami the next day), we couldn’t finish eating it the next day and the khichdi was kept in the refrigerator.
Rice has become so expensive these days in Singapore that I didn’t have the heart to throw the khichdi, it was so tasty.
So on Day 3, I took out the khichdi and invented this new recipe Khichdi Vada,
You can make this with plain leftover rice also. The khichdi already has some spices, as it is already cooked and ready to eat, so when adding the salt etc, taste and see how much is required.
Ingredients
Leftover Khichdi /Rice – 2 bowls(Can serve 2 people)
Gram Flour – 1 cup
Bread crumbs – 2 tbsp
Onion – 1 medium size
Ginger paste – ½ tbsp
Green chillies- 2 finely chopped
Red Chilly powder – ½ tbsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Freshly chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
Method
In a bowl, Take the khichdi, add all the ingredients and mix well. Khichdi is usually soft and overcooked so the texture is a bit gluey unlike Pulao rice etc. This vada can be made with slightly overcooked rice only as that can be mashed to mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Heat oil in a frying pan and when the oil is hot, drop small balls of the batter, while dropping spread your fingers so they drop unevenly and look shapeless, this makes it more crispy. Fry the Khichdi vadas till golden and crisp on a slow fire. Remove and drain on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Serve hot with green chutney/ coconut chutney or tomato sauce.
Believe me the vadas were so tasty that no one at home could believe that it was made from leftover khichdi.
This taught me a lesson that its not necessary that we must throw leftover food, we can always make something so interesting that no one would be able to guess what it was just like in the Comic I had made earlier.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

GOKULASHTAMI AND APPAMS

I had done the Neivedhyam of the Appams on Gokulastami day. In south India Appams are specially made for Lord Krishna. I would like to send the Appams to Purva’s Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi Festive Food event

GOKULASHTAMI AND APPAMS

Gokulashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna. The festival is called in different names as "Krishna Jayanti", "Janma Ashtami", "Krishnaashtami" , "Gokulashtami", and as "Sri Jayanti".


Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day of the dark half (Krishna Paksha) of the month of Shraavana in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatram is ascendent. The Hindu calendar being lunar, these two events the day being the eighth of the waning moon (Krishna-paksha Ashtami) and the Rohini Nakshatram being ascendent may overlap for only a few hours.

In such an event, the festival may be celebrated on different (but successive) days by different people, depending on their local or family traditions.The festival falls sometime in the months of August/September of the Gregorian calendar.

(This info courtesy Wikipedia)


Read more about the story of the birth of Lord Krishna by clicking on the below link

http://www.aryabhatt.com/fast_fair_festival/Festivals/Gokulashtami.htm


Lord Krishna was born at midnight. So we celebrate on the both days, i.e the day prior (in anticipation of his arrival) and the next day(celebration of his arrival). Since this year Gokulashtami was celebrated on 24th Sunday so preparations started in my house on the 23rd Saturday itself. Krishna is my little one’s most favorite diety, as I keep telling her of our little Krishna’s leela’s(You can read some of the Krishna Leela’s under the Mythology section in my blog.)

On Saturday evening, I drew Maa-kolam outside the house (picture on the left) and in front of the altar at home(picture on your right) and all over the house I drew tiny feet of little Lord Krishna entering all the rooms from the entrance to my home. This This symbolizes the entry of the infant Krishna into his foster-home and also amma says at 12.00 am the lord will walk into our house. I also made sweet appams.

The appam is made without tasting, I chant Lord Krishna’s name while making. Only after I do Neivedhyam(offer the lord) can we taste it. Here is the recipe of Appam;


APPAM

Ingredients

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Rice flour - 1 cup

Grated jaggery – 2 cups

Cardamom – 4-5 pods

Ripe Banana –

1

Oil for frying

Method

Mix the wheat flour, rice flour and jaggery well, ensuring that there are no lumps. The jaggery must be completely dissolved. Mash

one banana and add to the mixture. Pound the cardamom pods, remove the skin and powder the seeds a bit coarsely and add to the mixture. It will be in the consistency of the dosai batter. Now use the Appakarai/ Paniyaaram moulds. Pour oil and once the oil is hot, pour the batter with a spoon into the hot oil.Once the side is done, turn over and fry on the other side, then with a

chopstick(picture on your left), poke into the appams and remove them from the oil, Place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil and serve hot. I usually make a lot and keep in the refrigerator and enjoy it the next day also. Cold appams also taste great.

I bought the Cheedai, Murukku and Thattai from outside (since I could’nt make so much at home). Traditionally all this is made at home down south. Luckily since my ghee was over, I made fresh ghee at home. I also made fresh butter with some cream for my little Krishna(as you can see in the picture on your right). I served it all on a mini platter in little stainless steel utensils borrowed from my daughters playthings. I kept a grand feast for the lord, appam, cheedai, murkku, thattai, Aval(poha, beaten rice), vellam(jaggery), yogurt, milk and freshly churned white butter.

On Sunday we celebrated Gokulashtami by joining the ISKCON group at the Sivan temple at Sungei

Kadut.The altar was decorated very beautifully with flowers and fabric and other decoration items. On your right is a picture of the altar.

It was beautiful, the priests chanted the holy mantras and bathed the idol with Panchamrit which comprises of Gangajal (water from the holy Ganges River), milk, ghee (clarified butter), curd, and honey

pouring all these from a conch shell. After this bath the idol of the infant Krishna was placed in a cradle. We chanted the Lords name, sang and danced and swung the lord in his cradle and ate divine prasada alongwith Panchamrut.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

TOMATO OMELETTE


I would like to pack this tasty and sumptuous breakfast to WBB–Combi Breakfast hosted by Masala Magic
TOMATO OMELETTE
I had about 2 ladles of leftover dosa batter, so I decided to make Tomato Omelette. Tomato Omelette is a spicy pancake. This is one Omelette that is made without eggs. This dish can be rustled up quickly for breakfast or on a day when you are lazy to cook.
Tomato Omelette is usually served with a slice of bread. You can either place one Omelette between two slices of bread or eat it with one slice of bread spread with butter.
In my recipe I use some rice flour also, so it won’t be sticky and easy to spread on the tava (flat pan)
Ingredients
Gram flour (besan) - 2 cups
Rice flour – 1 cup
Left over dosa batter – 2 ladles (optional)
Onion – 2 medium size
Ripe Red Tomatoes – 2
Ginger – a small piece
Green chillies - 4
Chilly powder - ½ tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Asafetida – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Freshly chopped coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
Oil
Method
Mix the gram flour, rice flour and dosa batter with some water. Put in a mixie/blender, this
batter, one onion chopped, one tomato chopped, ginger chopped, 2 chillies and the Cumin powder, chilly powder, asafetida and salt as per taste. Blend all this well into a fine paste. This ensures that the batter doesn’t have lumps and also the essence of the onions, ginger, chilly and tomato have entered the batter. This also ensures an even mixture.
Now chop the other onion and tomato into small pieces and add it to the batter. Also chop the other 2 chillies into small pieces and add to the batter. This you won’t grind, as when you make the Omelette you want to get some pieces of onions and tomatoes to bite upon. Add the finely chopped fresh coriander leaves and mix well.
Now take a tava (a flat pan), Heat on medium heat and pour 1/2 teaspoon of oil into it. Spread it evenly. Pour one ladle full of this batter onto the pan. Cook until you see the sides turning golden. At this point flip over and cook on the side. Once it is golden on both sides. Remove from pan and serve. This is eaten hot with a slice of bread, tomato sauce and green coriander chutney.

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