I'm The Star - My First Event

Believe me when i say i have been waiting for the Last day of Feb :D..I wanted to announce this on the last day & have been tempted to so mid-way..Feb is indeed the month of 'Love'...With the Valentine Day fever, i am sure,we have seen the prettiest heart shaped balloons, heart shaped chocolate boxes, bright shining red gift packs, decorations..right :)

Corn Muffins - Spicy & Savory!

This is my first Daring Baker's Challenge #1 and I was quite apprehensive on what the challenge would be.. i am taking my baby steps towards baking & in the new found enthusiasm, went ahead & joined it and later was apprehensive on what would i have to do.. can i pull it off!! So, when this challenge came through, i was thrilled :).. Bcoz it was like the first step..to start of a little slow & over a period of time, learn more & get adventurous..

Re-posting Corn Kebabs for an event & an Award

This has been a long pending post.. One i have to re-post the dish for an event & thank people for the lovely award.. So here comes the post finally! This Corn Kebab was one of my very first entries in this blog.. This is one of my favorites & i am sending this to...

Chilli Chocolate Truffles

This is my first time with Taste & Create and am paired with Corina of 'Searching for Spice'. She is a seasoned blogger with a great love for cooking..you could a lot of dishes inspired by Master Chef series! Her recipe catalog has a huge list of things & being a vegetarian, i narrowed down on vegetarian, desserts & pasta's.. I was so confused on what to choose..there are many things, i would like to try.. Finally i decided on ' Chilli Chocolate Truffles'. I love chocolates, but have never tasted chilli in truffles, thought i should give this a try! 
The truffles melt in your mouth & there is a light tinge of spiciness that it leaves behind..this is def the best way to express how it tasted :D.. you must know by now, that it is very difficult for me to describe a dish verbally ( I feel guilty, that i own a food blog ;))

Choco-chip Biscuits

I just completed one leg of the marathon & have been posting only Rasam recipes right! That's been a comfort food undoubtedly...a new discovered cooking joy for me has been 'Baking'! I have few old recipes of baking basics.. ya my periamma & amma have tried their hand in this and i managed to get the details in their recipe books.. so every time i find a cookie, shortbread or cake recipe..i know i want too try it & if it includes chocolates..almost immediately :)
More than cakes, biscuits are something i do often..why do i prefer them, if you ask..well the reasons are ...for one its helps me curb my cravings, S loves them & there is no overdose of deserts! During the marathon, when i saw these chic-chip cookies by Suma, i knew i had to do it..She has an amazing list of eggless bakes & i want to try all of them.. So, here's the beginning!

Mochai Rasam/Avarekai Saaru

Today being the final day of the marathon, i choose Mochai or Avarekkai Rasam. This rasam is very famous in Karnataka.. I am sure you must have heard of Avarekkai saaru..In the month of April-may, averakkai becomes the 'in thing' in the veggies market! You get them as whole, or you just get the mochai ( seeds), and the skin is thrown on the roads ( the part i hate the most..grrr)..Some people believe it wards of the evil eye & some believe that it makes a good meal for the cow :)..
The variety of dishes they make using this are immense.. they use it in upma, in sambhar, as side dish for chapati..in akki roti's. My periamma makes the most amazing Mochai saathamudu and i love to just drink it! So i thought this would be a good way to end the final day of Rasam Marathon :)..I was just hoping i would find a packet of these and glad i found packet of Surti Papdi lilva in the frozen section.. Ya thats its fundu name.. so do grab a pack & enjoy this rasam for a change :)

Instant Rasam/ Kili Molaga Rasam

For the sixth day of the Marathon, i choose Instant Rasam, also called as Kili Molaga Rasam.. Kili means pinch; Molaga mean Chilli, so it means making a rasam, by using less ingredients quickly :)..There are days am sure, when you don't want to cook!! You don't want to prepare something elaborate, just fix something coz you are hungry or when you are tired and need an instant fix ( of course, there is maggi :)), but if you have a family like mine..which believes rice is the quick and best fix, then this rasam comes in handy..
When my periamma told me about, i was quite speculative about it...i was like what?? its just going to taste like puli thani! (tamarind water)..but was pleasantly surprised..it is definitely a little different from other rasam's but good.. i just don't know how to best describe the taste.. guess you need to try it out :)

Garlic/Poondu Rasam

Today for the fifth day of the marathon , i choose Garlic/Poondu rasam. This is an absolute favorite. Amma makes it so well, i could keep having it all day long! I generally make this on weekends & since this is a long weekend, combined with marathon, i am having a field time :). 

Mysore Rasam

Today, for the fourth day of the Marathon, i choose Mysore Rasam. I have no idea, why it is called so..and i have also noticed that this recipe varies across all households :).. It amazes me sometimes, that a simple dish can be done in so many different ways..I guess, it has been been modified as per each household's taste.. as long as it tastes yum, i am not complaining!
This is the recipe done in our house. My MIL does this and i have learnt the same from her. Its simple, light and very tasty!

Kollu/Horesgram Rasam

Today, for the third day of Marathon, i choose Kollu or Horsegram Rasam. This is an extremely healthy gram, which is said to have medicinal properties! This helps with weight loss too.. Amma would do this often and she would insist that i am going to be super active like a horse ;), if i had that.. As i prepared this, i just remembered all those and couldn't help but smile and miss those days...

Lemon Rasam

Today, for the second day of Marathon, i choose Lemon Rasam. As a kid, i wasn't fond of Rasam.. strange right! I was okie with Paruppu Rasam but i would run if i saw rasam rice, in fact rice for that matter.. i preferred tiffins :).. Over a period of time, i have developed a taste..rather a strong taste for rice based items and i am in love with sathamudhu saadham :)..Learnt this mild tasting rasam from my periamma.. What i love about this rasam is, its tangy twist..yup! the lemon adds the zings & gives a very different distinct flavor!

Seeraa Rasam

Today is my first day of Valli's Blogging Marathon and i choose 7 days of Rasam or Saathamudhu! Its one of the most comforting dish and is pretty simple to make :)..Konjum saadham (rice), saathamudu & karamedu and you can see me happy for the rest of the day.. i guess food does that to me!!
This week has been lousy with respect to food!! We went to a Thai restaurant and Pad Thai was soggy & sad..the next day we tried a new indian restaurant..food was not great either..i hate it when dine-outs are a disaster and when we got back, i was more than happy to fix us with this simple rasam!
Rajiamma, my granny did the best version of this.. i guess some people have the kai man am (the skill of making the dish perfectly)! Something light, filling and perfect when you are sick too.. the light flavors just soothe you..so off to Seera ( nothing but Jeera) Saathamudu..

Lemon Pickle - Pressure Cooker Method

I love pickles, but not a fan of Lemon pickles.. i am a Mango loyalist :D..S loves lemons and here we get really big ones.. Drizzle a little salt & chilli powder, he can keep having them raw all day!.. So, i thought will make pickle at home but the procedure for doing this is elaborate & you need to dry it ....I hardly get sunny days in summer here, so forget it now! Then i saw this recipe in Priya's blog and i knew, i just had to make it!
It's different bcoz its the Pressure cooker method and it tastes really great..i love my mangoes, but i have started liking lemon's too now :)

Ginger-Almond Biscuits

I have been planning to bake Ginger biscuits for a while now..dont know why i have been putting it off..In blore, there's a famous bakery called Butter Sponge, where you would get amazing biscuits , the likes of Nankatai, Kesar, Cashew, Khaara & ginger biscuits! So every time, mom went to DVG road, i would get packets of all of them :).. after school, i would get two of my choice biscuit with bournvita. How i miss that now :(
When i saw Kalyani's Magic Mingle, i loved the idea of putting together something, using the magic ingredients! I decided to join the group & Kalyani was sweet enough to accommodate me this very month.. my magic ingredients being Ginger & Almonds!!! I love almonds, but not a great fan of ginger... but the minute i saw ginger, all i could think of ..was Ginger biscuits!! What better time to bake them :)
There are so many recipes of Ginger biscuits...there's cookies, snaps etc etc..seeing all of them, put together what ever  had in my pantry.. Result : Totally worth it! The magic worked :D

Ginger - Almond Biscuits

50th Post - The Award!

It is such a pleasant surprise, truly didn't expect anything when i just came to check my blog today :), But yay! i got the 'Liebster Blog Award' from Poonam of Kande Poha :).


A

Its seems surreal.. as i mentioned in one of my old posts.. less than a month back, i had no clue whatsoever what an event means in a blog, how to you make friends out here or what an blog award is!! I have been planning to write a blog, taking awful pictures of anything i cook,been collecting them and driving S up the wall :D.. Ya, i don't let him eat till i click & then i want to know immediately, how does the dish taste..good enough to post, what do you think i should next..blah blah!!

Vazhakai Poriyal/ Raw Banana Curry

Raw Banana(Vazha is banana & kai means raw) Karamedu or Poriyal is one of the easiest things to make. You could prepare so many dishes of them..be it chips, bajji's, different types of karamedu..gosh!. 
I noticed that i have been constantly rambling about how i will soon get back to blogging..but have never been able to implement it :(.. A lot of things has kept me occupied.. travel, shifting to a new place and blogging unfortunately took a back seat..I am sure i am the ' Forgotten Fossil' of the Blog world :D, but its never too late to get back right.. atleast thats what my mom s been telling me :) n here i am with a revamp of an old posted recipe..

Re-posting Soups!

Re-posting two of my Soups entries to Kalyani's  'Soup it Up - Kitchen Chronicles' hosted by Nupur

Mutter Paneer in Peanut Gravy

This is my very first blog hop and my partner for this blog hop was Surabhi. Surabhi is someone who is very passionate about cooking & this reflects from her posts. She is one of my first friends of the blogging world, thanks to Radhika of Tickling Palates :). I was a little confused as to what to choose as the 'Star dish', either i bake something or prepare something else. 
Finally, i choose Surabhi's Mutter Paneer in Peanut gravy, coz i could relate to her recipe story ( yup! every recipe has a story to it), but in this case, roles were reversed. I love Paneer & S is not such a big fan, he prefers veggies more and loves peanuts! So, i knew, this was what i would prepare..its easy,quick & tastes great...

Mutter Paneer in Peanut Gravy

Paneer Sandwich

I am in a mood of quick-fixes! Just posted about a chat & now posting about a sandwich. I love breads and like to try different combinations as a filling for sandwiches. One such simple filling, is that of paneer. If you love paneer, just like i do, then this is a super simple,tasty one :) 

Paneer Filling

Bhel Puri

Chats are an absolute delight :)..Blore has a very good variety of chats & you can find them, almost everywhere! When i came here, it took me a while but i did manage to find a good Chat place..yay!! ;)..but when you get the sudden cravings pang..or when you just want to have something tangy & tasty..Bhel puri is our home quick -fix :)

Bhel Puri

Another click :)

Bhel Puri

Capsicum Masala Rice

The best part of variety rice it is over in a jiffy.For me, i get to sleep an extra 10 minutes, coz i know this is going to be done soon & i am not going to get late packing. The reason why i like this variety rice is, bcoz of the color! I love bell pepper , they make the dish so colorful..I am a very fussy & a choosy eater, you must have guessed! so colorful platter def makes a dish more appetizing and if veggies go in, during the process, what harm right :P. Secondly, there is hardly any oil in this preparation!!


Learnt this recipe from Sanjay Thumma, The vahrevah chef. In fact, S told me about this, he used to do this during his bachelor days and told me to try this. Sanjay is a good chef no doubt, but i would avoid his show mainly bcoz he talks soo much!!Hmmm..i am doing the same now i guess ;), so directly to the recipe. ( Pls see i don't regret seeing the show now, thanks to this recipe :P)

Capsicum Masala Rice

Pumpkin Puli Kootu

This Pushnikai(White Pumpkin) Puli (Tamarind) Kootu is an absolute fav in our house! I love white pumpkin and this had a nice mixture of lentils, peanuts & tamarind and tastes good with both rice & chapati :)..amma would prepare this often and i prepare this whenever i get white pumpkin! 

Pumpkin Puli Kootu/ Pushnikai Puli Kootu

Its healthy, nutritious and easy to make...

Mangalore Bajji

I have no clue as to why this called so...despite the name, i love this one. This is also called Maida Kunuku, curd bajji! My paati would do this for me every time, i went to visit her or whenever i really felt like eating something nice :).. she knew what i was hinting at :D..We would not have a stock of maida at home, (its not healthy soo...mom's command), so i would just go get a lil stock from shop & come! I was missing my home and thinking about everything ..then decided i would do this..

Mangalore Bajji/Maida Kunuku

Another click...

Its this soft, that it actually melts ;)

Vermicelli Pulao

Vermicelli or Semiya Upma is a good option of Upma but S doesn't like it and its boring to only cook for myself. I had this packet for some time now & was wondering what to make, when i remembered i could make Pulao.My MIL prepares this for my nephew as he likes this a lot & so i recreated the same..its definitely a must try!

Vermicelli Pulao

Another click...

Paruppu Podi

Am back with Podi's again :).. Well, starting of the month, i prepare these so that it comes in handy month long! Paruppu (lentil) podi is one of my favorites. Its also called Kandi podi or gun powder (strange name...right??) and is an andhra speciality. The best i have tasted was in a restaurant called Bheema's, which is in tirupathi, near the bus stand. The avakkai pickle and this podi with rice is such a comforting food...cant describe it :D...They add garlic in it, i guess but at my place we do the non-garlic version. Had jotted this recipe down from IL and it is a keeper...

Paruppu Podi/Kandi Podi