Memories the Essence of Life ~ Best of 2012!

It’s again that time of the year when you take a moment to ponder on what’s been and what’s to happen. As cliched as it may sound, the year again passed off very quickly. One of the main changes was my boys going to primary school, with it came so many changes that we had to take care of. With so many projects that they were given, which quite literally meant I sit up doing those work. It has been quite challenging and quite depressing as well, as I always end up doing the work at the last moment.

On the blogging front, I have been quite active in Spice your Life!, with Blogging Marathon keeping me going. I have literally racked and tortured my brain to come up with themes that were challenging for my members. More than my own challenging themes, I have been left with a sense of awe, seeing how well they came up with different recipes, meeting the theme requirement.

I started the year with the usual Sankranti special recipes, then went on to do some Melas like Chocolate Mela, Kabab Mela,, Indian Thali Mela, Cookie Mela, 30 Minutes Meal Mela which has been so wonderful. I had infact planned to make an eBook with the Thali Mela details, which is a work in progress.

I ended up doing Party Menu themes, which were so appreciated and asked for more.  In July, my parents left to visit my brother. That almost squeezed the interest I had in making anything new. I had to really struggle to meet my BM requirement.

With all the pressure I felt with no cause, I was determined that I should do Navratri Pooja for all ten days. So along with doing BM, I was planning for elaborate menus for the ten day long pooja. On the whole I was so happy that I finally managed to make it.

While all these were happening, on health wise I faced enforced bed rest twice this year. I had to really come in terms with these unexpected emergencies and forced to realize how we take the life so easy. I was determined that I should make the best of every moment. I started doing things that I might otherwise never do, as I never give time for those things. I was feeling so much better, knowing I had enjoyed life in the process.

On the whole, it’s been a year of perceptive inner thinking, making me want to look at things closer and find more meaning for doing what we are doing.

I do not have loftier things for next year planned. I would again want to take time to spend in every aspect of my day, filling it with things that make sense and meaning. Plan and make dishes that I have always wanted. I actually like the way I plan my BM, going through lists and arriving at recipes that meet the theme and also makes me more creative. That way I end up trying out all those bookmarked recipes, always forgotten.

I am never good at making resolutions. I always think, make a resolution, and break it at the earliest. So why even waste time wanting and planning to do something that I might never do.

However, being disciplined and systematic is something that’s innate to me, so will be doing whatever that will give me more experience and enjoyment in the process.

Here’s wishing all my readers a great year ahead and I hope to bring and share more joy from my Kitchen. 

As always this is for my Best of the Year 2012 Event.

Memories the Essence of Life ~ Best of 2011!

There are times when you think days are flying and times when you think time just doesn't move. Luckily I haven't felt the latter for a while now. I am not sure if I should be glad or sad over it. The last twelve months have been one hectic period and I have not found time for doing many things. I know it sounds such a routine thing. I have always said if one wants to find time, one can surely. True, maybe I just didn't want to find that out myself. I have made sure I have been busy with more than what I can handle most times.

There have been times when I felt that I wasn't spending enough time with my kids. I try my best to spend as much time as I could manage. Well I know they will surely complain when they felt we are not spending time with them. We take them to park, spend evenings watching movies, I have had them help in cooking at times, helping me with small things that they can do. At the same time, this is the period for us to work hard, meet our goals, make much more of this life then just living everyday life! So sacrifices in certain areas are expected to happen.

Sometime during the last days of 2010 I thought to myself that I should really make an effort to be more active in Spice your Life! and decided to do a Marathon for 30 days. The group that joined us were so interested that they wanted me to continue, though with a theme. Since doing 30 days was just out of question I decided on a weekly marathon. Finally we settled around a pattern of doing 14 day marathons, making sure my other group's activity Indian Cooking Challenge, doesn't get affected by this. Through Blogging Marathon, I have come to know many bloggers and enjoy a close knit community that helps out and reaches out so much.I have been really proud for having got together a group that is so free in sharing knowledge, experience and much more. A big thanks to all my friends who had joined me in Blogging Marathon.

I did Breakfast Mela, Sandwich Mela, Condiment Mela, Soups and Salads Mela and Snacks Mela. And the entries that came my way surely fits us for many years to come!

As I was really busy with Blogging Marathon in Spice your  Life!, I tried hard to be regular in posting here. The highlights would that I managed to observe Navarathri this time and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It really gives one a disciple that's required. After that came Deepavali and for that again I enjoyed making new dishes. Learning traditional Indian snacks and sweets and making sure I record it, gives me great happiness.

It is said life is always a mix of happiness and sorrow. While on a global front, we did see many calamities and casualties, on the blogging front we lost a dear friend. Though I never met Jayasree, it always felt as if we always knew each other. On a personal front, I lost my maternal grandma recently. She was the person behind many of the traditional recipes that are featured on this blog. Amma learnt from her and she passed on to me. Amma always said she can never make those dishes as good as her Mom.

Life goes on and we surely make sure to get involved in many things to forget things that depress us.

As always I have lots of plans to execute in the coming year. I am optimistic that at least having goals gets one to be focused.

Ultimately it all boils down to the fact about, not how much and what all we did. What really matters is if you gave your best efforts and hanged on till the end!

Give your best, rest will take care of itself!

Each year passing, I sit back for a while and think back how it was and I always know I can vividly remember each day passing. There have been few years that passed into oblivion. I know it has been a significant year. I met my childhood friends and it was such a nostalgic time, there is nothing better than meeting your friends you knew so many years ago. When I spoke to them over the phone last year and met couple of them, I knew life has come round a circle. This year I met about thirty of them. We have planned for a bigger group next year!

Also finally I thought I liked a tag line for the blog. "Memories that churn food and Tales". For the records I posted about 277 recipes on Cooking for all Seasons and about 220 in Spice your Life!

I appreciate the support that is shown by the visits and emails. This space if I had wanted it to be just a personal record for my kids, I would have kept it a private one. I enjoy the interactions that happen on this space with my readers, so look forward to reading them.

I wish all my readers a great year ahead!

Bansi Rava Bath | Indian Sweets

Sometimes I end up thinking I shouldn't follow something just for the heck of it. Well it's been a long year to come to that state of mind. When same day last year, made me think that I ought to follow a tradition because I am so used to it, made me think otherwise. It's been a long year, but a year that will forever remind fresh in mind because of the many incidents that happened.

Come to think of it, I remember each year with the major events that took place. Guess all of us do that. But some years don't feature much in mind because nothing significant happened. The year that passed was most memorable in ways I can't get to explain well. You loose some friends, you gain some. The sadness that grips when you think of those times, makes it worse. Life goes on...

I cherish the friends I got back. I met my friends from school. What more can one ask than meeting those people with whom you spent your teen years. Those wonderful moments of innocence itched on mind, gets you feeling so touched. I even got back in touch with my college friend. So it's been pretty good.

Amidst all the confusion that seem to prevail for ever, I finally decided I am not going to make a stuffed paratha. Sometimes not following a tradition makes it all the more fun. Moreover I have exhausted all the ideas I have, well not really but for now I guess. 

Though for now I thought I will share this Sweet made with Bansi Rava. I love the way Bansi Rava tastes when made this way.

Ingredients Needed:

Bansi rava - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 & 1/2 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Water - 3 cups
Cardamon powder

Garnishing : Cashew Nuts, Raisins, Almonds,

Method to Prepare:

Heat a pan with 1 tsp ghee, roast all the nuts. Keep aside.

Add another tsp of ghee, roast the Bansi Rava till it comes out non - sticky. Remove and keep aside

Heat the pan with water, bring to rolling boil. Add Sugar and let it dissolve.

Then add the rava little by little so that lumps are not formed.

Simmer and cover with lid so that Rava cooks well. Add all the garnishing ingredients. Top it with remaining ghee.

Have a great weekend.

Memories the Essence of Life ~ Best of 2010!

It is that moment in the year when you sit back to think of what has passed by through the year. I was keen not to forget to announce this event and many got back saying how wonderful it is to do this recap. I agree, when you look back you see all these twelve months passing by in front of you in a visage.

When I read back on what I wrote for 2009, I seem to be struck at that point. But let me now talk about things that didn't happen. It is going to happen, but let me talk about things that did happen and left a mark on my memory.

I wanted to do a similar one on a personal level not connected to food as this year was remarkable in many other ways too. I could do one in this year in passing. I was so moved doing it as it touched on some important things that happened. Every year you are bound to see good and bad, it is said you learn from your mistakes, cherish your happiness. Don't dwell on the bad things, you are not going to get anything out of it. That has always been my policy and I am not going to change it now.

On the food blogging front, I have posted about 82 recipes, some classics and some new. And yes this year has been good in many Food related fronts, including being part of this blogging community.

January saw me hosting my favorite recap of MLLA event. I started and ended Year 2009 with this event. I am happy to have good friends like Susan.

February saw me Basic dishes. I did a diet Program

In March I met bloggers from Chennai through IndiBloggers and was awarded Best Culinary Post - Avant Garde Bloggies Awards for Gulab Jamun. Then of course it was the festival occasion of Ugadi.

April celebrated 3 years of blogging and I had Thanda Mela on the occasion.

May saw me preparing some traditional breakfasts for my sils. And I also released a Kindle version of my e-Book.

June saw me getting more involved into Microwave Cooking, where I announced of 365 days of Microwave Cooking.

July saw me posting on How to make Rasam in 5 minutes which by the way seems to be the most asked question. What followed in this month were a series of Microwave dishes.

August saw One Million Visits to the blog and some yummy treats to celebrate too.

September celebrated Vinayaka Chavithi special, while Ganesh is the remover of bad doings, it seems very fitting.

October had me flying to SFO to attend the BlogHer Food 10 conference. I was a panel speaker on Food Diplomats and Cuisine Ambassadors. It was a trip of a lifetime, very memorable for a Food blogger to meet and represent India on an international level.

November celebrated Deepavali.

December saw me celebrating Terra Madre Day getting back to Baking and of course meeting my blogger friends.

Indian Cooking Challenge members grew and we did many interesting challenges

Each and every post lingers leaving a lasting impression in mind. I so look forward to the year that is coming and hoping to blog more.

A very happy new year to all my readers who take time to read my blog and get me going. If there is anything that you feel should be done in the coming year, leave a comment will try to target it.

A foodie's Gastronomical Adventure!

Thank you everybody for the anniversary wishes. It was interesting to note that so many were fond of the food in Delhi and few asked me more about what we eat. To be frank, with just three days, it wasn't just enough! Since I have been hearing about handful of dishes from hubby dear, I made sure I eat them all. Still was feeling so sad that I missed quite a few!

Like I had Moong Dal halwa in Bombay, and he was telling me that it is so famous and sought out that ought not to miss it. I was looking forward to dig into the exquisite taste that hubby dear ends up portraying. To our disappointment, we were told that its a winter sweet and gets prepared only during Nov and Dec! How strange!

So in the end I didn't eat Alu Parantha, Paneer Tikka, Samosas, Bendi Masala, Shrikand, the list is quite endless! But what I did taste were some of the finest Kachoris, Dhoklas, Shahi Paneer, Naans, Dal Makhani and two different types of Lassis, the yummiest of all! I have come to the conclude that a sweet creamy Lassi is the only way to end a grand feast or even a simple comfort meal to go to the next level.

With the food we eat, I was sure that I was going to pack more kgs to self. But hubby dear assured me that with the schedule we had packed in for 3 days was sure to burn all the calories that I might pack in. He was so right. I walked longer than I had in the past 10 years. I was really exhausted the first day. Plus the weather was never like what we expected it was so hot. We were told that it saw the highest in many years.

Now let me enjoy these dishes virtual once again.

Amritsari Chur Chur Naan with Chhole Masala and Dal, Boondhi Raita and Onions with Green Chutney.

Since it was a small joint, I had the pleasure of seeing the chef at work.

Two people were making the Naans, while one person was just there to pack, pack it with loads of butter and making it chur chur meaning, Naans that are tore.

The Chur Chur Naans were stuffed with Paneer. So there was a huge pile of dough and balls are ready to be made, while the stuffing was next to the dough. On getting an order, the chef would quickly get the naan dough, flatten it and press the stuffing and close it again. Dip his hand in water/oil? stretched it and place it in the hot Tandoor that was burning away. Within minutes the Naans are cooked.

He then passes to the butter Master, who is ready with his bowl full of butter. First he pounds it with a hammer, then with a ladle tipped with a cloth, he dabs it into the butter and scoops a generous amount of butter over the naan. Then he quickly claps in to make it all soft and massy.

I was showed how to eat the chur chur naan with the dal and Chhole. The dal and Chhole is limited and you got to manage with what you are served.

Take a spoon, scoop the chhole or dal and with a piece of naan, get your hands together so that the naan gets drenched with the gravy, dip into the raita if you want, else thrust into your mouth..enjoy!.

In between, you got to eat the onion julienne that are garnished with green chutney. Not sure how one makes, but that chutney was yummy. Next bite is the Boondi Raita. Though the curd was bit sour for my taste, it did add to the overall fantasy.

Believe me just seeing and learning how one has to eat and enjoy, I didn't even notice where my Naan disappeared! Its a gastronomical delight I tell you. If you guys haven't tasted this, then please do the next time you visit Delhi!

For evening snacks we stopped in Roshan Di Kulfi, to munch on Kachori and Kulfi. I resisted the offer to have Falooda, I don't really prefer vermicelli.






For dinner we went to Bikanerwala's to eat Shahi Paneer, Dal Makhani with Butter Naan. Both the gravies grant you nirvana for sure! They sure kept up their prestige by being the most yummiest dish I ever had. Plus my favorite pickled onions. Oh how I wish I could make these. Do any of you know how to make these Onions?


Another surprise was the Mango pickle, I guess its typically north Indian way of making pickle, as it was so different from what we get in south. And there again those Onions with Green chutney!





We washed all this with a delicious Lassi.

Thus ended our day One.

We had booked a toured trip for Taj, we stopped on the way in a South Indian Restaurant to have breakfast. Imagine eating a south Indian food after going all that way. But the masala dosa with Sambar and Coconut Chutney was very delicious, unbelievable! Though the Potato Masala was more as a north Indian variety, it added good taste.

For lunch at Agra, we stopped at Hotel Amar Yatri Niwas. We ordered for two thalis, but after seeing what our neighbor got, canceled and ordered only one. It was too much for two of us. The thali came with 4 pieces of Naans, a bowl of ghee rice, with four different gravies! One with Potato, Mixed vegetables, Paneer and Dal. It was like an endless feast all finally to be sweeten by Gulab jamun.

Circumstances or situation forced us not to have dinner. But even otherwise after that heavy lunch we may not have had one!

Since the next day was Sunday we wanted to lazy around the hotel and not venture out. Unfortunately the hotel we booked in had only south Indian breakfast to offer!

Grudgingly I told hubby dear that I will not have any more S.Indian food. So after our shopping in Karol Barg, we stopped in Bikanerwala (Karol Barg) to eat Kachori, the softest Dhoklas paired with pickled green chilies. I tell you those green chilies though served as side, were just so delicious. That is if you can say delicious to a spicy chili! Though I eyed were feasting on the array of snacks loaded on the pantry, I resisted the urge to grab a samosa. Imagine stuffing like Paneer, chhole, sandwich etc in a samosa! Mind boggles!

We again had a lassi, this time Kesar Lassi. It was good, though not as good as the other Bikanerwala's (PaharGanj) or as cold. anyway it was something!

I didn't take pictures of these, so just enjoy reading them!

After all this, we couldn't think of proper lunch and called it a day!

I agree with all the foodies who have fallen in love with Delhi's food, it is the place for one to go enjoy Food!

Anniversary Trip to Delhi ~ Memories of a Foodie in action!

I finally ticked the only place I longed to visit since I can remember. Of course there are many more places that I want to visit. But Delhi somehow tops that list. It was the place I was to start my married life, a place that sounded all so promising and exciting. A city where I was sure I would enjoy the place and food to my heart's content.

Being so far away from family and kin was tough for both families to decide. And hubby dear finally decided to relocate. Leaving his job and the place he came to love, landed in a city he loathed for various reasons, to make it his home.

Whether the city endeared itself to him or not he feels at home because he has a family here now. It is hard to compete with a place one grows up in or the place one grows to love!

Though I have never shared our anniversary here, I thought I should this time. This year marking a milestone and yes making an effort to celebrate the 10 short years that we spent together. Where did all these years run? Yes I have memories of each one itched well, but hubby dear wanted to make this even more special by taking me on a surprise trip to Delhi.

He did everything in secrecy knowing we have a long weekend this month. Though its not yet the date, we can't always choose the day right. So it was decided we would make the best and celebrate the whole month. He arranged with his sister to visit us this weekend so that we can take off for three days. Nobody knew where we were going. He ensured he kept it all secret, except slipping out the name to me once. He covered it again well. So till the last moment I wasn't sure where we were going.

I know I literally shocked Amma when I called her to inform that we landed in Delhi. For me it was like visiting a place I have always only imagined. Hubby dear took me to all the places he enjoyed, feeding me the food that he always talked about endlessly. I enjoyed every single moment of our short 3 days trip.

I clicked pictures of every single thing. The food, place everything was great. Of course it was very crowded for my likes. But then you can't expect it to be anything other than that right.

The food part was fabulous. Since our trip involved lot of walking, I was sure I was going to burn out all that extra cream and fat that went into the food

We even managed to visit The Taj Mahal. Its only natural for one to fall in love with!

Seeing the place through the eyes of a person in love, makes you love the place more. If only we are blessed with many lives to live in all the places we want. Such wishful thinking!

Oh the many dishes that I tasted. If only those chefs were kind enough to share all those treasures with me. I couldn't decide which was far more superior, the Amritsari Paneer Chur Chur Naan or the Bikanerwala's Dal Makhani or the luscious Lassi. Down to all meals, every single dish was most enjoyed!

Chur Chur ka Naan was everything that I have been hearing about for the past 10 years. It was your melt in your mouth, making you experience each bit that you take in. And what more can one ask when its stuffed with Paneer, dipped in a chhole gravy. I never realised when that whole plate got over!

Three short days are never enough to enjoy enough but these memories are enough to last me a lifetime. We made a pact that our next visit would be more lively with our kids in tow.

I am so happy sharing this with my readers and friends. I hope to write more in detail and not bore everybody on board on my trip. Check back on my Journey called Life, if this interested you further!

A revisit to Kala Chana Aloo Sabzi ~ Black Chickpea Potato Gravy with pictures!

The day was sunny and all, not the gloomy mornings of last week. Though I had plans to wrap my morning chore well ahead to have an early start, it again failed! And after my late night discussion with Athamma, which went way beyond 12.30 in the night, we have plans of cooking something new every week. Yaay! Discussions like such with Athamma is always bound to be interesting. And I managed to make her remember few authentic recipes.

Sunday was fun, if you think cooking only Maggi is! Kids are so fond of Maggi, that given that for all meals they happily eat without any complaints. How I really wish they treat all else in the same eye. I really wonder what Maggi has that caught these toddlers fascination. I was never a Maggi lover, though I won't say no for Top Raman. But then even that Amma used to give me very rarely. I tried hard to avoid this for Konda, was successful to some extent. But with the boys, its so hard. Chinnu is so excited saying that word out. He with his sturdy and composed way of saying out words, makes sure he gets it out clearly and correctly that he wants Maggi.

So when he skipped his dinner on Saturday and refused to eat his favorite Poori, hubby dear suggested that I at least try Maggi, to at least feed him something. I was thinking maybe he is feeling under the sun and won't want it but I was wrong. He was as excited as always on hearing the word Maggi. Would you believe it, when one morning that I made Maggi for Konda, the maggi was all done and eaten. But on waking up, he came running to kitchen and asked if I made Maggi, cos he smells of Maggi! Well Maggi sure has its fan club strong.

Finally I made Maggi for their breakfast. Why wasn't I surprised when all 3 of them rhymed to say they wanted it again for their lunch? Guess I knew it all along. Since we used up everything on stock, I had to go shopping and got a whole lot more to last us few more days. Plus, I did my vegetable shopping after a long time. I was happy having my entire week's menu all planned, at least in mind. Because it changed the very first day itself! But then plans are bound to change right. Though the thought that I have fresh vegetables stocked makes me feel happy. And yes, the changed menu today gave me another post for my lunch box series!

Enough of my rambling, guess what, I finally got around making Kala Chana Aloo Sabzi with Pooris, that too for our Sunday breakfast. I was only too glad that Chinnu, Peddu were distracted enough to let me click few pictures of it finally and update the post!

I promise to be back with some recipe, hopefully! Until then, heres wishing you all for a great week ahead! Hope my US readers enjoyed their long weekend!

A Trip to Tirumala Temple!

A trip to Tirumala Tirupati takes planning. Its not only a place I love visiting but also happens to be my parent's native place. So you can imagine my joy going back there every time. As I child, I remember traveling with parents to grandparents home. For us a visit to the temple is a must atleast once a year, if not more than that. And Dad used to take care of all the arrangements. From what I remember it wasn't so crowded as it is now. And it used to more of a resort than anything else. The cool weather with the lovely cottages and less crowd. it used to be a trip worth looking forward too.

View of the Waterfall from Tirupati on way to Tirumala

The times when we didn't visit the temple, I used to satisfy myself going to the terrace of my grandparents home and gaze at the Gaali Gopuram that is visible all over tirupati. Though we visit the temple frequently, I never get to click all the pictures to my heart's content nor end up posting it. This time, since I wanted to make sure I did! Since we booked the tickets much earlier, we didn't realise that Ganesh Chaturti was on Sunday. So when we knew, we decided to start back early from the Tirupati to be on time for the Ganesh pooja.. Both on the trip up and down, we saw huge Idols of Lord Ganesh being taken for the pooja.

Alipiri ~ Welcome by Garuda

We started here by 10 am. On the way I stopped hubby dear for couple of pictures. We reached Tirupati by 1.30 pm, had out lunch at Hotel Bliss. Then moved on to Alipiri, the starting place for the car route. It was drizzle a bit and we could see the beautiful waterfalls. The beautiful Garuda standing erect looks too awesome! I could also see the Gaali Gopuram, which is en route by the walking path. Years ago, on my only trip by walk, I remember stopping there for solid 30 minutes to rest. It was still so fresh in mind, the entire 5+ hrs that we took to climb the stairs. The steps from Gaali Gopuram are really too steep. This time round, we stopped to click some pictures too!

View from the Second Hill

Posing en route!

The weather so magically changed from being to chill to foggy. along the way I even clicked pictures which reflected on the side mirror. We reached Tirumala by 3.15 or so. Since the Darshan was booked for 3 pm, we went straight to the counter place. The place was comparatively low, the next day being the Vinayaka Chaturti. After a long time, we went using the Sudarsanam Token, which on regular days might taken more than couple hours for one to get Darshan. This time it took about nearly 2+ hrs. It wasn't the usual pushing and pulling experience. It normally gets very crowded near the Maha Dwaram.

Lord Venkateshwara Temple

After the darshan, we stayed over the night and returned by early next morning! Stopped on the way to click pictures of the beautiful waterfalls.

Waterfalls on the way back

And you can't miss the naturally formed Garuda in the mountains!

Natural formation of Garudu in the mountain

Gaali Gopuram

Lord Anjaneya ~ on the way down

The beautiful huge status of Lord Anjaneya is on the way down. Its also situated in the place used by pilgrims who walk to the temple.

More pictures to follow in my journey called life!

A trip to remember!

Recently I read somewhere about the pursuit of happiness and what averted impression we tend to have of our of bygone holidays. We end up thinking and remembering them to fun filled and exciting! Yes, we tend to forget the misery we undergo and all other things, years later what we remember is only the joy we think we felt. Yes I know this being true for our vacations too. I spend most times worrying about the kids not eating, jumping around the car when hubby dear is trying to catch up the miles, worrying that the kids are running around so much that for sure they won't sleep in the new place. All these happen, we go through it, yet when the days come to end, we miss the fun we had along the days! And later on, we end up longing for another vacation!

Our 3 days short trip to Anantapur, came to end so very soon. But we sure enjoyed meeting the family again. Kids loved meeting their cousins and playing with them. Especially with the boys remembering so much, they end up asking so many questions! The long drive covering about 420 kms was fun. The kids were so excited, we planned to have an early start, yet made it late. Surprising we were able to reach much ahead than we thought. In between we had a halt for breakfast, as always the boys didn't eat much. We packed for Chinnu and he ate on the journey. He sure knows his priorities. He played maximum on the sliding board and with the sand that covered the lawn. Knowing so well that we will not forget his breakfast. I had in store a never ending supply of gems, chocolates and other treats. Well I thought it was after all a vacation for them to indulge in these.

We reached my sil's place late afternoon, on time for a late lunch which was Uggani and Chilli Bajji. As usual the Uggani that I get to eat in Anantapur is different, which I enjoyed so much. The entire family clan were meeting up for the house warming ceremony of my second sil. It was much too exciting to see the work in progress. Infact some pending shopping was scheduled for later in the evening, for which I happily enlisted my services, though I hardly know the place. My Bil's Rakhi sister S, was helping them in the entire shopping and the work involved. She was just an enthusiastic person, voluntarily taking all the work load and seeing it being done successfully. Her enthusiasm was surely infectious, that I couldn't but offer my helping hand, entrusting the kids to their aunties.

We divided the task on hand into two, giving one list to my BIL and the rest to ourselves. She said the trip will involving going to the old town. I said I was game for anything. I almost forgot my camera! The trip was an eye opener with so many wonderful new things. We drove past crowded market place where new roads were being laid out. So you can see muddy, cramped roads all over. This didn't deter any of the happy shoppers on the road.

First we went to pick up Roses. Since it was almost evening we couldn't get many to choose from. Yet they were so pretty! We walked further down the road, with Coconuts all piled up, with so many innumerable things all waiting for the shoppers to buy. We were buying Betal leaves, Flowers, Diyas, Diya Threads and many more. I am sure I was looking so very comical, hanging around with my camera on, with on lookers giving me that funny look. I didn't care, I told S that I have a greater task of recording my day. She sure was amused.

We landed in a shop that sold all these Ayurvedic stuff and I came about some wonderful things that are used for infants. I saw these weeds and knew it was Vertiver, I remember Amma making a biryani with the water. I picked up some for her and also clicked so many pictures of these herbs and plants that are given for babies.

We walked through unbelievably narrow stretch to reach the other end. I seriously can't still believe I actually crossed that stretch. S was so swift even with her heals. I know I always have two left foot! But thankfully no mishap happened, we got back with all the things shopped and ready!

Kids hardly missed me what with playing with their cousins. Finally after dinner, we all sat for a mehendi session. Gorintaku or Marudhani on the hands and feet always symbolized special occasions at home, but its been upgraded to the borrowed tradition of the north by applying henna with the cones. My niece is quite good at it and very obliging applied for the entire family, including Peddu and Chinnu. While Chinnu wasn't patient enough to have it through the night, Peddu very diligently had his hand upright through the night, so much so that he has a beautiful shade of red by morning on his hand!

The day just flew with the pooja and loads of guests coming. I never realized we could do so much in such short time. In the evening, the kids wanted a Bachhon-ka party with Pizzas and Burgers. The kids sure had lots of fun.

Sunday saw us getting ready for the trip back home. My SIL got up early to have our lunch all prepared and packed. She made her signature Colour Rice, Chicken Pulusu and Potato curry for me. We started back pretending to go for a merry round the city, as Athamma stayed back for a week's vacation. We had a halt for lunch under the same place we had from our previous trip. We were really happy the trip back was quick and event less.

Since we are on our own, its been quite hectic. I may not cook anything new until next week. But would surely share my lunch box recipes that are in store!

Hope you enjoyed reading our adventures! Have a great week ahead!

What's in my pantry? ~ Menu Planning!

OK, this post must be the most impromptu of all! I must have gone nuts you think, well I am not sure. You see I posted my Menu Planner, et al but even when I did plan, I never came around posting it. I actually think hard every Sunday to ensure I have a menu planned so that I don't' get up all worried. Sunday nights are always long, infact the days are so long!

So having something clear in mind helps a lot. And of course I have endless list of recipes that I still have to prepare. Saturdays are mostly saved for the book, though I have hardly worked on them for the past 3 weeks. I should surely write on the progress, at least to make myself get to it more clearly. The other day, I had a reader call me to ask when the book was going to be ready. I was really so touched by her concern.

Today being the 3rd, I am still up not ready with my monthly groceries. So I thought I might as well plan on something that I can make and clean up my pantry. Though there are certain items that get really over by end of the month, there are few other which never seem to get over. We normally stock rice, but other flours I get every month.

Our monthly grocery includes, wheat flour, APF, Millet flour, Lentils and legumes. plus the many spices. For a change I thought I would raid the freezer and see what I have up there!

The freezer is really an amazing space, everything gets dumped in there and forgotten!

Whenever I think of the fridge, I remember Daddy saying that Amma actually tests the Shelf life of things by storing them in the fridge and happily forgetting it! And for all I know about her, she never stores cooked food.

So when I peeped into my freezer, I found the following:

Kabuli Chana (garbanzo bean) - 1 kg
Black Chana - 1 & 1/2 kg
Sabut Dal - 1/2 kg
Wheat Rava - 3/4 kg
Bansi Rava - 1/4 kg
Whole Moong dal - 1 & 1/2 kg
Almonds - 1/2 kg
Cashew nuts - 250 gms
Amul Milk powder - 1 kg (god knows why I got this, I actually wanted to make chocolates!!)
Grated Coconuts about 4 whole
Dry ginger powder - 250 gms
Cashew + almond powder - 1 bottle
Masoor dal - 1/2 kg
Dried peas - 1/2 kg
Milk - 4 litres!
Jackfruit seeds - 10

Masala powders like Amchur, Pepper chicken masala (that I never used) and an array of few more, which I don't want to look at right now!

Custard powder, Icing powder (I hardly ever bake, but always wanted to have these handy), Jelly mix, Condensed milk.

I started freezing milk as I found it really tough making Paneer at drop of the hat. Konda has this habit of asking for paneer as and when she likes. So freezing them was the best option. The moment she asks, I can make paneer and give her. But to still have 4 liters left is just too much.

And veggies -
1 kg of beans
quarter kg of fresh carrots and some 100 gms of carrot from a two weeks ago shopping
1 quarter kg of fresh cabbage, that hubby dear got a week ago (obviously it may not be so fresh now)
2 Radish
2 drumstick
and many more....

In my kitchen shelf's..

quarter kg of Soya beans, yeah even after that Soya bean korma we still had something left!
Beaten Rice - 1 + quarter kg
Plus many more which I find hard to take notes

The list was astounding! Gosh do I really need all these things. And I hardly peep into the freezer most of the time.

Apart from these, I normally have ingredients handy near the kitchen. Those includes the things that are used everyday. Maybe I will have to replace some of it.

But the menu for this month will surely include ingredients from the above list! My grocery list is surely not going to include any of these.

Now comes the second part. I will have to "discover" new recipes that include these, can I have some suggestions? Would surely love to try new ones.

I just remembered about the milk! I had planned to make paneer tonight, hoping to prepare the long forgotten Paneer Butter Masala, but Athamma beat me to it. She had made a dish with it, knowing that its becoming very hard for me to prepare dinner with the kids becoming so very naughty!

She made a new dish, she called it the Paneer Korma. Hubby dear is against converting traditional things into unconventional dishes. But if you guys want it, shall post it. Of course it was just too delicious, since yours truly tasted it!

Now coming back to the original thought, if you guys have experienced similar raids to the freezer would love to hear the story. And if you are up to sharing what you found in it, are welcome to leave a trail in this post!

A post without a picture is not something I like, so I leave with our Sunday breakfast. It was supposed to have been our Saturday dinner. But something came up, so postponed to breakfast. Again something else came up, so finally had it for lunch. But I made it for the kids for their breakfast!

It was Kal Dosa with Arachiveta Sambar, and Amma's Podi nothing can beat this!


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Finally my discoveries this weekend....came across these blogs, thought I would share with you all!

This super talented lady with some multiply blogs to her credit!

And this relatively new blogger called the Chettinad Fiesta

Thats all for today, wishes for a happy week ahead!


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The memories of a Cooking Marathon!

Challenges are something I can rarely resist and that's exactly what I took upon myself along with my colleagues. For our company's anniversary, we were asked if we would like to cook the lunch for the entire company. We readily agreed as it was sounding so exciting and I really wanted to see if I can scale upto it! It was barely 10 days before and the cooking committee as we called ourselves, met and requested volunteers. Another dozen came forward, we met to get their thoughts on the menu. We agreed at a menu and formed teams which would handle the individual dishes. We later saw that the menu was almost the usual ones.

We had plans on including one dish from each Indian cuisine. We finally decided we would choose dishes that I will be able to scale up easily. I didn't want to risk making something entirely new, so choose the dishes from my blog naturally. While I was discussing the menu with hubby dear, on hearing the menu, he teased me saying in the end you can say for clarification visit our blog!

Initial on the list were Veg Cutlets, Paneer Butter Masala, Channa Masala, Veg Pulao, Mango Lassi along with few more dishes. So we had it changed to Assorted Veg Fries along with Paneer in the same way I make Onion Fries. Dal Makhani with Masala Puri, Coconut Puloa with Gutti Vankaya. Finally to be served with Chocolate Milkshake with Chocolate shavings, Konda's favorite!

All of us were so excited with the menu. But there were some apprehensive thoughts on the Coconut Pulao. So I even had a mock session with Coconut Pulao and Gutti Vanakaya as these are traditional Andhra dishes. Well the fact that the lunch box was wiped clean proved it to be a hit combo. The entire lunch planning was handled just like any other projects we do. But I seriously realized it requires more project management skills!

I was eternally tensed wondering if the quantity would suffice. I wrote down the list and quantity and iterated with Amma couple of times. We literally walked through the list, taking examples of how we cook and how much is needed. Amma usually never goes wrong with scaling up to huge numbers. She was happy that I have at least some of her skills. I was more elated when she finally said "very good ra, you got the quantities correct!" I felt like a 5 yr old being patted on getting the Maths right!

We had the list allocated to different people responsible for getting them together. Amma was most particular that we buy the raw peanuts and roast it at home. She infact offered to roast the Poppy seeds and Sesame seeds for the Gutti Vankaya. Since it was her specialty dish, I knew how much particular she was on getting it rightly! I had all the dry masalas all ground the previous day. I can imagine the hard work the people have to handle when they are catering to huge crowd!

The previous day I ran through the entire list of ingredients we needed. 7 Kgs of rice, 7 kgs of Atta, 20 lits of milk, 3 Hershey's Chocolate Sauce bottles, 1500 gms of Chocolates, 10 kgs of Onions, 10 kgs of Tomatoes, plus 1001 different ingredients. We had the milk boiled and sweetened the previous day and it went into the cooler. Since I was making the Brinjal Curry more like a Nune Vankaya, we had the brinjals all washed and dried.

We met the team the previous day and went through the entire process again. The team that was assigned to make the Veg fries, said they don't know how its prepared. I assured them that we can handle it. All of us planned an early start. As things would usually happen, I couldn't sleep the entire night, Peddu was having a running nose and wouldn't just sleep. As I had to prepare lunch for the boys. I was up early. But I had a great relief hearing that Konda was having a day off and I need not worry about getting her ready for school.

Hubby dear kept the boys busy while I was getting ready to leave. I thought I would slip off without the boys noticing me, but Peddu saw me and asked where I was off too. He asked if I was going to "oppice", on nodding yes, he called me close to give me a peck on the checks. Oh Sweet! I didn't need any more wishes for a sweeter success!

At office, I was happy to note the work was already on the way. By the time the entire team landed, we were in full swing. What a team work it was! Each and everybody, though some were novice in their experience, helped a lot in getting things done fast. We were dot on time as planned, which cheered us all a lot. Everybody were running around between the two rooms that were occupied.

We sent our helps up and down couple of times with last minute requests. I had a quick running around to check on each teams making the Veg fries and Masala Pooris. After okaying the proportions, the poori team rolled out a stupendous number of nearly 300+ puris. Since the team had few beginners learning, some came out as churis but on the whole those were really some awesome pooris I must say! Each and every dish had a roaring applause and everybody said they eat more than what they normally do.

The top most sold out dish was naturally the Chocolate Milkshake with Chocolate Shavings. Would you believe it was such a hit that it never got captured in any of the pictures!!! I normally beat it in a mixer, but this time added condensed milk to make it thicker which naturally enhanced the taste. In the end we used a blender to get everything set. Finally the chilled milkshake was topped with Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Shavings. It was whipped out completely when the last few not getting their share. And most of the cooking team not even tasting it. I had to make it again in the evening. After all after working so hard for the event, they can't be missed on their dessert right!

The next one was Veg fries, with corn flour, besan, amchur and seasonings, all deep fried. There was no dispute to this being a favorite one! We added Potatoes, Okra, Onions, Baby Corns, Cauliflowers and Paneer! Of course no feast is complete without Paneer right and we had a our share of Paneer fans.

All the dishes came out exceptionally well. Yeah except Coconut Pulao. I had a mishap with this, though we finally had a saving grace somehow. I planned to make it the usual way I do, but later realized that when cooking for more people, the method adapted has to be different! I normally roast the rice and then add water. But since the vessel was huge, it got heated up the moment it was on. and however much of coconut milk I was adding it was getting evaporated and I couldn't find water handy. Finally I managed to add enough water to get it cooked. But it wasn't the finer coconut pulao that normally gets done. But I guess with Gutti Vankaya and Dal Makhani being so exceptionally good, this sad state of Coconut Pulao was not noticed! or so I concluded.

Our colleagues made us feel proud by going in for second and some third helpings too!

Would I do it again? Yes surely its such a different experience seeing people flocking around the table and coming back for a second helping. Feeling good eating a good feast! And yes if I am lucky to have such a team doing everything that's not assigned to them, with the sole intention for the day to be a success! Some felt we were crazy but I can only remember Amma telling me that this would be such a wonderful learning experience for me! After all challenges are meant to be that right!

Chime Chime Chime...

Chime, Chime, chime went the clock from the neighbouring church. There was a reflex reaction from me, counting the number of times the bell was ringing. I needn't have, I knew it was 9 'o Clock, but still I just counted, there are always these things that I do for the heck of it. You won't catch me doing it at 8 'o clock, Ok. At that time, I would be in a hayward spot having a need for two more hands! Anyway the clock that goes out every hour was an addition that the church across our house got a year back, I think. During the initial days, we were flushed at the clock going chime chime, specially if I was getting my boys asleep. They would immediately sit and look at me with a grin on their faces. I again have to push them down to lay down. Over the period, we got used to the sound and then it just disappeared into nothing. I guess many things in life are like that! In the beginning things look too huge to manage, then you get used to it and then it just mingles into your life. This kind of analogy is helps at times right.

After every hourly ring, a psalm is read out. Since we could hardly hear what its said, we arrive at our own things. The moment I hear it, say at 7 o' Clock, I say to myself 'Valli, its time to stop dillay dalling around, you got to get that cooker going hiss if you want to get Konda's lunch box out and yeah go wake her up.' At 9 o Clock, it goings something like "Hey lady if you want to make it on time to office, now is the time' At 9 pm, hubby dear would tell the boys, 'See they are asking you to be good boys and go to bed on time, lets pack to bedroom'. Then came a point when the temple across the road started playing Suprabatham early morning. After many such days, I happened to discuss this to hubby dear and he was referring to our earlier discussion on the church bell and how disturbed we were. And playing Suprabatham early every morning, will be equally disturbing to others, he said. But guess what we don't hear it anymore. Either they stopped it or we stopped hearing it!

Well coming to something else, I wanted to keep up tradition and make stuffed parathas as on this day, but came home and saw that hubby dear had other plans. He took us for dinner to our favorite restaurant, said he was wondering what to gift me. I said there is no other greater gift than this special dinner!

PS: Thank you all for your support on the previous post, will get back on that soon! Appreciate your support and thoughts, will plan to do something on that!

Right now my mind isn't working well enough to post a recipe, will be back tomorrow with something interesting I hope! Afterall it isn't everyday that I turn older!