April 01, 2009

Banana-Chocolate Muffin half loaf, Oatmeal-Raisin-Walnut-White Chocolate Chewy Cookies, Ugadi Pachadi/Bevu Bella and Thali!

Well....last weekend was very rainy, relatively warm but fun too. We did some usual shopping, cleaned up my veggie patch in the backyard and watched few movies. We are expecting 70F+ this weekend, might even scatter some veg seeds on the ground, it's not too early I hope!

Menu this week: I had baked a eggless Banana Chocolate Muffin loaf and few of my favorite eggless Oatmeal Raisin chewy cookies last week for this post before Ugadi last Friday. So here they are along with my addition of Ugadi festival thali (scroll down to see thali and recipes) since I had made those too! :D

Now, let's do some baking first!!
A slice of Banana-Chocolate Muffin Half loaf served with creamy butter for you:
Banana and Chocolate chips makes a great combination and very moist Muffins to have as a snack or for breakfast. I added 1/3rd cup sugar as I don't like vary sweet Muffins but you can use 1/2 cup sugar if you like as the recipe form a Betty Crocker book says. My kids ate the whole loaf within 2 days! :P

Banana Chocolate Muffin Half Loaf:
You must be wondering what the heck is Half loaf! I did too until I found the Half loaf pan in Amazon. It's a round loaf but half the size of a full loaf pan, as small as a smaller rectagular 8" pan. It makes a beautiful half round design on top of the cake or Muffin when inverted.

To bake the Muffin loaf:
You can see the Half loaf pan here. It's cute, something diffeent than usual. You can use 12 cup Muffin pan or smaller Loaf pan if you like, doesn't make any difference in taste and texture.

You need:
3/4 cup Milk,
1/4 cup Vegetable oil,
2 tbsp Yogurt instead of 1 Egg,
2 cups Plain flour (can use Wheat flour instead too),
1/3 or 1/2 cup sugar (depends on how sweet you want),
2 tsp Baking pd,
1/2 tsp Salt.
1 cup mashed Banana or use 2 large banana to mash coarsely,
1/4 cup semi-sweet Dark Chocolate chips.

To bake Muffin:

Heat oven to 400F. Grease or spray no-stick on a Muffin pan or a half loaf pan or a regular smaller loaf pan, keep it ready.

1. Beat Milk, Yogurt (or Egg) and oil by a whisk or in a mixer with beater attachment.
2. Stir in Flour, sugar, baking pd, Chocolate Chips and salt together and add all at once to the mixer, mix gently without beating too much, just until mixed. A bit lumpy batter is okay too, never beat too much until gooey.
3. Fold in coarsely mashed Banana to it and mix gently again, do not beat too much.
4. Pour into the Half loaf pan or small loaf pan or divide equally betn 12 muffin cups. Tap the pan gently to release the bubbles.
5. Bake for 20-25mins or until the top s golden brown and the center is baked well. Since Banana makes the loaf moist, it takes a bit than usual Muffins, test with a skewer in the center until it comes out clean.
6. Cool on the cooling rack, invert the Muffins and cool thoroughly to store in airtight conatiner or Ziplock bag.

Another look:


Oatmeal-Raisin-Walnuts-White Chocolate Chewy Cookies:
If you know me by now, you know I don't like desserts or sweets much. I would rather sit and munch on savory snacks than cookies or cakes any day. But if I had to choose one cookie to have, I would love this Oatmeal Raisin chewy (not crispy and crunchy cookies) cookies, which I adapted from a "Taste of Home" magazine recipe called "Grandma's Chewy Oatmeal Raisin cookies".
I love these with lots of Raisins and Walnuts personally but added White Chocolate chips for kids so they can eat them too, worked out well. I made huge cookies but you can scoop smaller portions to bake plumper and smaller cookies.

You need:
1 cup dark Raisins soaked in 1/3 cup warm water to soften them and then crush them gently.
1/2 cup vegetable butter flavored (optional) shortening, 1 egg, 1 cup dark Brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence. (adding 2 tbsp sweetened coconut will add texture too but optional)
2 cups Plain flour,1 1/4 cup regular rolled Oats, 3/4 tsp Cinnamon pd, 2 tsp Baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp Walnuts and 1/4 cup White semi sweet Chocolate chips or slightly crushed Chocolate squares.


To bake Cookies:

Preheat the oven at 350F.

1. Beat veg shortening, egg, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla, until creamy.
2. Add Plain flour, baking soda, oats, Cinnamon and salt. Mix well gently and add soaked Raisins with it's water, fold in until you get a big sticky lumpy dough.
3. Divide into equal portions as big as you want, roll gently to balls and flatten the top. Place them on a cookie sheet 3" apart and bake for about 18-20 mins. Do not over bake to make them too crispy. If the middle is a bit soft after about 20 mins, it's okay. They do cook a bit even after you take them out of the oven and becomes chewy when cooled.

Note: You can skip the Egg in the recipe, expect the cookies to be flatter without the addition of Egg like mine looks.
I ran out of Eggs for the first time in my life, can you believe it? I always add 1 egg to this Oatmeal cookie recipe! :P
Yummy chewy cookies are now ready to eat!

Logos and events list:


Banana-Chocolate Muffin Half Loaf, goes to Madhuram's "Egg substitute-Yogurt" event.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chewy cookies, goes to Srilekha's "EFM-Cookies" event.
I am also sending these Chewy white chocolate cookies to Poornima Nair's "For the love of Chocolate" event.
Hulianna, goes to Smitha's "Colors of taste-Flavored Rice" event.
I am sending yummy Mixed dal Ambodes to LG's "Meals on Wheels" event as my second entry as well.

Thanks to all of you ladies, enjoy hosting! :)

******************************************************************************************************************
About Ugadi/Hindu New Year festival:
As most of you know, we had our Hindu New Year last week. "Uga" means "era" and "adi" means "beginning", in Sanskrit. More info about Ugadi is here in detail. I usually don't cook anything special for Ugadi, but my grandparents grandly celebrate this day in India but this year thought I would add one more to our Shivaratri and Deepavali festival list. I even found a frozen pack of green (well..they were half ripe!) Mango slices to make Ugadi Pachadi. Kids got to learn about Hindu new Year and liked it, so it's all good! :D

A peek at our Ugadi habbada oota/thali we had last Friday:
Here is the menu; Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella, Karnataka style Hulianna, Carrot and Moong dal/Hesarubele Kosumbari, Mixed dal Ambode, plain Yogurt and Sabbakki Payasa/Sago Kheer/Tapioca Saffron Pudding for dessert. You can see all the recipes below.

Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella (Bevu for Neem/bitter and Bella is Jaggary/sweet) in Kannada:
Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella is traditionally served on Ugadi or New year's to start the day. It has mixed six flavors and tastes like mixed with Tamarind water and chopped green Mango for sour and tangy taste, Jaggary or sugar for sweet, Neem flowers or leaves for bitter, Green chillies or chilli pd for spicy and salt to represent life with it's various stages of joys and sorrows!

To make Pachadi/Bevu Bella:
Take a cup of Tamarind water mixed with 2 tsp thick Tamarind paste in a bowl, add enough salt, Jaggary or sugar, 1/4 of a Jalapeno sliced, Neem flowers or leaves if you have it (I added 1/2 tsp Kasoori Methi for bitterness, didn't have Neem), thinly sliced green Mangoes with skin. (I used frozen green Mangoes, doesn't have the greatest taste, fresh green mangoes are always better!) Mix and chill to serve.
Ugadi Thali recipes:

Karnataka style Hulianna/Tamarind rice:

1. Cook 2 cups of rice with 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp oil and enough water, spread it on a pan and cool.
2. Add 1/4 cup oil in a deep pan, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 2 tsp each Chana dal and Urad dal, few curry leaves, 2 red dry chillies and 1/4 cup Peanuts. Roast it until they are reddish. Now add 1tbsp white Sesame seeds and 3 tbsp dry dessicated coconut, stir for 1 mins.
(Traditionally these two, Sesame and coconut, are roasted separately and pounded together coarsely to add to the rice at the end when we are mixing Tamarind paste and rice but I make it the easy way)
2. Add 1 cup of Tamarind water mixed with 1 tbsp of thick tamarind paste, salt and 1 tsp Jaggary. Let it boil until it reduces to half, oil floats on top.
3. Add powdered masala to it, mix well and let it cook on low heat for a while. Now, Huli is ready.
4. Mix rice and enough huli until it's evenly coated, adjust the salt and serve. Serve plain yogurt on the side along with some Papad or crunchy Boondi or Sev snacks.

To make Hulianna masala powder:



Dry roast
2 tbsp Coriander seeds,1 tbsp Cumin seeds, few dry red chillies, 2 tsp Peppercorns, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, and few curry leaves until reddish, cool all of them, add 1/4 tsp Hing/Asafoetida and powder it until fine powder. Use it as much as you like to add to Tamarind paste to make Hulianna paste.



Kesari Sabbakki Payasa/
Sago Kesar Kheer/Tapioca Pearl Saffron Pudding:

1. Add 2 tbsp ghee to a deep pan, fry 1/2 cup Sago until they pop like popcorn. Add 1 tbsp Raisins and 1 tbsp slivered skinless Almonds, stir until golden and raisins are puffed up.
2. Add 3 cups pf milk (2% is okay) and simmer this for 30-40 mins until milk is reduced to half.
3. Add enough Jaggary or sugar to your taste, 1/4 tsp Saffron strands and simmer again for 10 mins.
4. When Sago is cooked soft and milk is like thickish, add 1/2 tsp Cardamon powder, mix and take off the heat.
5. Serve chilled or warm. Adjust the thickness of the sauce, should be like pudding or very thin.


Mixed dal Ambode:

1. Soak 4 tbsp Tuar dal, 4 tbsp Chana dal, 2 tbsp Moong dal, 2 tbsp Masoor dal, 2 tbsp Urad dal and 1 tbsp raw rice overnight, drain the water next day, add to a blender.
2. Grind this coarsely, place the thick dough in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 1"chopped ginger, chilli flakes or green chillies, salt, Cilantro, Curry leaves, few crushed coriander seeds, fennel seeds, Ajwain, Cumin seeds and mix everything well. Adjust the salt.
3. Heat oil to 375F or hot, take a small lump of dough in your hands, flatten and drop it in the oil.Repeat with others and fry until golden and cisp both sides. Drain on the paper Towel and serve.


Carrot-Hesarubele/Moong dal Kosumbari:



1.
Soak 2 tbsp Moong dal for 2 hrs and drain the water. Grate 3 carrots to a bowl. Add 1 tbsp Lemon juice, salt, Moong dal, chopped Cilantro.
2. Mix well and adjust the salt. You can add finely chopped red onion to this but I didn't add this time.
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 sliced green chillies, curry leaves. When they pop, add to the bowl with carrot.
4. Mix well and serve.


********************************************************************************************************************************************
Lastly, Movies I watched last week:


Goya's Ghosts
:
Most beautiful film to watch, saddens you but keeps you glued to the movie. It involves Roman Catholics, Spanish and French revolution. Francisco Goya, who was a painter for Royal family witnesses the life of a young Catholic (whose ancestors were Jewish) girl who was arrested for being a "Judaising" because she doesn't eat Pork. Tortured, manipulated and raped by a Spanish priest Lorenzo in prison for years, Goya and her family tries to rescue her but fail. What happens after that very interesting and tragic. Click on the link for the full story. Beautifully acted by Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman, a must see film if you can get it on DVD.
In Bruges:
Colin Farrell won the "Golden Globe" best actor award for this movie. It's about 2 hitmen who are hiding in Bruges after a killing. While killing a priest as his "Hit", Ray kills a little boy as well who was praying in the church, so he flees the country to Bruges. But the death of that child haunts him and tries to kill himself. In the end, when his own people want him dead, he wants live desperately! Anyway, he does get shot in the end and survives! JOY! :P

Two more additions!
Kids didn't have school on last Monday, so they went to "Monsters VS Aliens 3D" . It was good, as my kids said and they told me that in one the scenes in the movie, they say "We need our best scientific minds NOW, somebody please call India!" :D
I went to "Knowing" (Thanks for suggesting SJ!) in the same movie theater. Knowing was a surprisingly good movie, riveting and non-stop action/thriller. Gets a little silly in the end with Aliens and their "Akasha Vahana" (:D) ie aircraft sucking up 2 kids along with 2 Bunnies to "restart" the World but overall very entertaining movie to watch, loved it.

A very funny thing happened last Sunday, one of the joys of raising mixed culture kids in good old US of A with some Indian "Hinglish movie" culture thrown in!! :D
Trisha and I were relaxing on the sofa watching TV. I switched to Zee Cinema channel and they were showing "God Tussi Great Ho" (copy of "Bruce Almighty!") movie with Salman Khan, AB etc. Trisha suddenly says, "Mom, I can't believe they are calling GOD a great HO!!" and I just fell off the couch laughing. I never saw that coming and she was staring at me like I am a crazy woman!! ;D
(Indians living in USA know what she meant! Okay, I will tell you...."Ho" is an American slang for "Whore" here! She didn't know what "tussi" meant but read everything else in English and then to top it all, she asks me "is that the "Salmon" guy? He looks weird!" too!! I will surely miss her when she leaves for college in August! :P)

That's all this week, see you all later!

162 comments:

EC said...

You had a traditional and elaborate meal for the festival..hope u enjoyed it

Sumy Sunil said...

Asha Akka,

Very delighted that I'm the first person to chip in...hoorray....

The cookies look great….I could feel the smell piercing my nose…uuuuummmmmmhh…
And the muffins looks fabulous…..soft and yummy

The thali is colourful and pulliyogare rice…I love it for its pullippu…and sago payasam and vada is ultimate….Akka..you make me sit here and watch these pictures over and over again……….Great spread!!!!

Ummmaaaa

A journey called Life said...

Hello Asha,

I was looking for a recipie, when I chanced on your web site. This is to say thanks to all the wonderful recipies you post and the effort that goes into the presentation.

Aparna

Rachel said...

Seems like there is no end to pics being picked up!

Love the thali and the pachadi is very interesting.

sra said...

That was really funny, with Trish and God and Salman! I remember when my cousin came down and we took him to a movie, he couldn't understand something, some relationship, and we eagerly began to explain it and he said, forget it, it's alright, it's too complicated. Then, another cousin wanted to know how the hero and heroine in the song could change clothes so fast!!!

Finla said...

Wow Asha from were can i start all those dishes look so so yumm and love the loaf muffin clever idea to make them and they look so good and delicious cookies too.
When you are having a festival i am comming over there, wish i could eat a delicioous thali like that.
Will check out the link you gave for the site were they are stealing.
You saw movie , i too saw the pic. brugges, isn't the city beautiful, it is much more nicer in real, we go there atleast once a month or more as it is so close to our place, well exactly saying only 18 km from my place and in summer we go with bycycle. If you ever get a chance you should visit brigges as it is a medival city.

FH said...

Thanks EC, M, Aparna, and Rachel, enjoy! :)

LOL! sra, same q's here as your cousin too. They suddenly starts dancing and Trisha says "What the...? What happened? Why are they dancing?" ;D
Only "We" can understand the Bollywood, right? Phew! It's hard to explain to them that it's just entertainment, no real deep meaning to these movies or great acting! :P

SJ said...

look at that thali-I am moving to your place. Yea, the movie got a bit silly in the end-the black stones just burned a hole in my brain-took such a long time to understand!

Hahahaha...God is Ho! Hahahahaha....

Anonymous said...

Hello Asha,
The thali looks delicious.making me drool.

shalini

Priya Suresh said...

Dunno when this picking clicks gonna stop..Disgusting!

Very delightful food dishes..thali looks amazing, am just drooling over the sago payasam...Loaf n cookies looks gorgeous...gorgeous pictures!

Sharmila said...

Oh Asha! Your post is a veritable feast! Am making these eggless cookies next. :-)
And that thali looks so so good.

This stealing stuff is getting more and more depressing. What do we do? I too have had my snaps stolen a number of times ... and my whole site has been ripped twice.
I am very much against visiting these sites and increase their ranking ... but then we have to in order to know about their latest theft.
Wish we foodbloggers could do something about this.
Nice of you to keep us informed.

Raaga said...

lovely stuff... I have to try the cookies... they look so delish.

And the Ugadi thali looks so inviting. :)

VIDYA VENKY said...

asha,
ur thali looks gr8..was jus waiting to c ur post...muffins amazing so are the cookies..yummy

Finla said...

Came back to borrow your cookie recipe i am gonna make them soon. I have not ran out of eggs but have ran out of raising. But i will print the recipe and keep it for making them.

Vishali said...

wow Asha....love each and every dish.....i dont have words to say :D!

I will try the Karnataka style tamarind rice looks delicious...

Love the Banana Choco Muffin and Oat meal nuts cookies.

Tapioca Pudding ...OMG I am drooling :)!

Very nice festival treat....I am ready to attack everything ;).

kalpana said...

Sago Kesar Kheer looks yummy! i make thai version of sago dessert with coconut milk.Great thali as always asha!

salman..salmon..ho..my god..i can picture how you might have laughed..haha
you are really gonna miss her when she leaves for college.. :)

Lavanya Raj said...

Asha..I had a great feast scrolling up and down of this post..Lovely Food'S HERE..

Sara said...

Everything looks quite delicious, but what I really want is some of that banana bread!

Mojo said...

Well I learned something today.. For some reason I had Diwali connected to the new year. But then, I suppose every day begins a new year na?

I'd also never heard of a half-loaf pan. Who'd have thought? But what you did with it was amazing! I'm not sure it would have lasted the day around my house!

You have such a great talent for making me hungry... Never fails!

indosungod said...

Trisha, that is just so funny, you are going to miss her but she will be close by. Sometimes it is hilarious when they interpret stuff. That tamarind rice looks so good. It has been a big favorite from when I can remember. The muffin loaf looks tasty as well.

AnuSriram said...

The thali looks inviting! Pulihora, my all time fav looks lovely! Hope u had a wonderful celebration. Cookies and Muffins... Hmmmmm... Yummy! I can imagine how it spreads the aroma all over the home...

Deeba PAB said...

Well done on the thaali Asha, it's so well put together...delicious!! Am envious of your half loaf pan too; they do spoil you in the States!

Pavani said...

Hehehe.. thats funny.. My son just started "Nooooo" for everything, so I know its going to be fun seeing him talk english & telugu. Love all the dishes, I'm going to try the banana bread this weekend.

Suparna said...

Hi Asha,
Great to see ur Ugadi thali...yummy each dish looks so well prepared. The cookie seems really interesting too many lovely things go in it! can imagine how rich and yumm it would be :) lol...on the bollywood movie joke...Looks like u had a blast n feast for Ugadi! Enjoy maadi :)
TC

Lakshmi said...

Delicious looking Ugadi Thatte Ashakka. Thanks for sending Ambodes to my event. I will try huliyanna for sure!Muffin looks gorgeous too :)

FH said...

Mojo, Deepavali is just a fun festival with fireworks etc., signifying Lord Rama returning to Throne, "Triumph of good over evil" etc. Ugadi is THE New year for us, specially in South India! :)

Sandhya said...

I am feeling so proud about that comment in the movie for India!!
And I just cannot stop laughing on what Trisha deciphered from the name of the movie!!! Though she is much older but this one belongs to "Kids say the darndest things""
I am going back to your post to read the recipes , couldn't resist commenting on these two :-)

ms said...

hi asha,
kids say the darndest things!! That was hilarious. Your traditional spread looks scrumptious. Love the baked goods as well.

best,
ms

suvi said...

Oh what a feast asha! That sago kheer is awesome (and that reminded me to soak some sago for breakfast tomorrow - thanks!).

The plagiarism bit is scary, to say the least.

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Love the look of that banana chocolate muffin loaf. Thanks for the birthday wishes Asha, we've got beautiful weather today too but definitely not 70F. Enjoy it! ;D

suvi said...

OH I am seriously drooling over the thali!

Soma said...

Asha I feel scared comin ghere.. hehe u make my stomach tickle with desire.. those awesome delicious crystal clear pictures... just won't let me stick to my salads:-)

I fell off the chair reading the "Ho" & the "Salmon" guy ROFL...

Indian Khana said...

Hmm too had again ...ppl still taking pics after so much is written ! Well coming back to the feast...man it's look yummy....love the loaf....looks soft...and you manage to watch that movie?? Gosh it's a pathetic one...I saw during my flight frm SG to Bali....regret it later ;)...Have a gud week

FH said...

Yeah, Salman almost looks like Salmon, the Fish these days too! ;D

Priti, "God..Ho" film is the copycat movie of "Bruce Almighty"! I changed the channel after few mins and watched something else. Nothing is original in Bollywood movies these days it seems. Not good.

mona said...

Delicious Spread Asha, I especially liked the cookies, they look interesting. Thanks for sharing!

sunita said...

What a wonderful thali and loaf and cookies :-D...you do cook up quite a storm :-)

Deepthi Shankar said...

what a lovely spread for Ugadi .. i wud have come over :) :) Iam drooling over those cookies right now, they look just gorgeous

Ashwini said...

I love ur pictures... That was fun with god great Ho!!! Never evn thought of it.. kids are so smart...

Anjali Koli said...

Hi Asha I loved the ugadi oota and loaf.

Shame on khana khazana they should google to check atleast!

Hope you are able to get them to remove the picture.

Take care

Recipeswap said...

god- great ho.....that was funny I would have died laughing
Happy Ugadi!!!!!!a little late thou.
Thali as usual looks great,love the various colors happenning on the thali.
Muffin looks so good,I thgt it was a marble cake first.

Laavanya said...

Happy Ugadi Asha... love your thaali (when haven't I?) :) The muffin pan looks cute and different and you are so right abt banana & choc chips. Am a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies too but the last time i used a recipe which resulted in very salty cookies.. yours looks great and I hope to try it soon.

Bong Mom said...

Happy Ugadi Asha !!!

I love that Tamarind Rice, looks gorgeous and the ambodes too.
You make me hungry and I have only one spinach tortilla for lunch but I have Mushroom Olu and a Benas sabzi with it :)

Anonymous said...

Great Thali Asha. The muffin looks soooo tempting.. Every thing looks great.. Its such a loong time I had home made puliyogare.. its usually MTR these days.. Will have to try this one

Regarding the stealing did you complain at to the site administrators?

Smita said...

Lovely post Asha...Again you went all out and made so much and posted everything:) I am in awe of how you do it...Btw I have a book recommendation for you - Monsoon Diary by Shobha Narayan...I am in the middle of it but its lovely and I am sure as a foodie, you will enjoy it as much as I am enjoying reading it:)

Rajitha said...

that thali is simply amazing...and love tamarind rice..god! it has been ages..i have had some...i really should start to cook regular food!

Rajitha said...

and LOL on the 'HO' stuff huh...who would have thunk it that way ;)

Pooja said...

Traditional and delicious spread asha..Today is wednesday so eagerly opened to see what you posted...A feast to my eyes Asha..That piece of muffin loaf and cookies are so tempting..

veggie belly said...

everything looks so good! the banana muffin is partifularly mouthwatering! you are very talented :)

Vanamala Hebbar said...

wow lot of varities..which one have to eat now :D...looks so yummy...

Cham said...

Hi Asha,
Sad again to hear ur post has been stolen and even watermarked !
Do send a query here:http://www.khanakhazana.com/contact.aspx
People will never stop , I don't know why they "%$#$" for money !
The muffin, cookies are great goodies.
Love the thali, seems u had a great ugadi!

Margie said...

Yummy, yummmy, yummy!
You have a recipe for my favorite cookies here...oatmeal-raisin but with the walnuts & white chocolate chips added....extra yummy!

Asha, everything looks so good!
Thank you for another wonderful post!
Your family is so lucky to have such a great cook!

And, I know how much you will miss Trisha when she leaves for college!
Very funny about what she said!
I got a good laugh!

Margie

Arundathi said...

:-) Everything looks fabulous!!

Deepa Hari said...

Ha ha...that was funny...god ho and salmon.

loved all the dishes Asha...Wonderful feast as usual...Ugadi thali looks lovely...beautiful muffins and cookies..very inviting.

Just checked it...Sorry abt. that Asha..copying is getting worse these days...really scary.

FH said...

Thanks Cham. I will see if I can contact them without becoming a member there. Makes me so angry, she has even put "Khana Khazana" over our photos too!

Chutneytales said...

Wow..what a spread!You really had a superb feast..your family is so lucky!
I love the butter knife..it looks so cute :)
Enjoyed the salman joke...your daughter is very pretty...I saw her on your flickr last time.
Sorry about the stolen pics..There is so much plagiarism going around nowadays :(

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

Nice post Asha.Enjoyed reading. Your kids are absolutely FUN:)
Did I mention that my niece is Trisha too, but 6 yrs of age:)
That thali looks awesome. Yummmmm.Any plans of starting a restaurant???? If so, do lemme know:)
The banana chocolate half loaf looks so moist. Your kids finished it in 2 days, I would have done that in a matter of minutes:)
Good lord, If I keep commenting on each item( which I would love to do) you won't have time for anyone else's comments:)
Anyways...kudos to your wonderful work.You never fail to impress everytime:)

Beyond Curries said...

I'm ROFL reading the last para Asha. It's so cute! Trish might be an adult "legally" but it's so cute when they show their innocence. More than the HO, the Salman weird thing is cracking me up. I feel the same about Hrithik. I used to get beaten by my college friends for telling this.

Do you speak Kannada at home or english? Now my son speaks with me in Telugu only. I don't know what will happen later.

The half loaf pan is new to me too. I've seen muffin top (only) pans in some catalogues. I don't know whether you get these catalogues. They really have some interesting and funny things, and make me wonder how lazy can we become!

Thanks for the entry Asha.

Reg AI, I think Anoop and Megan are in trouble this week. Let's wait for the results today.

My husband saw Knowing last weekend. I was at home with my son. He said he liked the movie.

Unknown said...

Ugadi thali looks just wonderful, coclourful dishes and very well balance in taste and texture.
Not much of a baker but love the cookies.
LOL..about Trisha's words :)

Varsha Vipins said...

ROFL..!! Salmon guy n HO..my god..Hilarious Ashakka..:) Poor Trisha baby..lol..:P

The platter is making me bang my tummy..loved your clear yum pics.. Most of the names were greek to me..But uff..the looks caught me off ..tempting..:)That puliyodara rice kadai is cute..:) Muffins look moist n yum..I made a choc muffin last day..Yet to try banana muffins n bread..:)
Thanks for the great post akka..:)
hugs

FH said...

Madhuram, when we were in UK Trisha used to listen to us talking in Kannada but once she started the preschool, she never picked up Kannada. Now, she understands what we are saying but can't speak Kannada. But Tushar who is born here doesn't even try to understand it because he grew up speaking in English with his sis, so he never learnt to even listen to Kannada, except learnt few curse words in Kannada! My fault, HeHe!
Your son will be the same once he start school, he probably just stop answering you in Telugu eventually and speak only English! :D
It's okay to be that way as long as kids make friends and have good friendships outside home and respect our culture and us, kids will be fine no matter what language they speak if you ask me! :)

Pans; Amazon has amazing collection too, that's where I got this and few from FL Gourmet Kitchen stores.

Indhu said...

yummy yummy spread :)
loved the tamarind rice and totally gaga over the banana-chocolate muffin half loaf :)

Sujatha said...

It was hilarious ti read about the Ho & Salmon! lol.

Thali looks delectable as usual! Love the sago kheer, looks so creamy and perfect :)

Priya Sriram said...

Hi Asha! Wonderful spread of Ugadhi thali! :) Loved all the dishes! And I love all your pictures... lovely ones...
And that was really funny.. lol... I didn't expect that one!! :D

UjjU said...

Asha!!! Thanks to you. I made the pachadi too. Nodidra nanna blog nalli? Sabakki payasa color thumba chennagidhe :)

Manju said...

I soo loved that half loaf pan and im gonna order it as well. THanks! :)n you know im a fan of anything baked with banana in it..love the banan-chocolate muffin loaf and the chewy cookies are also great!Its almost lunch time now and the thali makes me wanna close my laptop and go n eat!!!

Ashwini said...

Awesome spread..Love that half loaf..Muffins and cookies looks delish..Love everything in ugadi thali..I am yet to post my ugadi thali..

Anonymous said...

Asha,lol and lol can't stop that till now..Trisha is very much intersting,not only for "ho" but for her comment on salman..!! Haha,Asha,you are so PROUD na ?
say my love to her plz
and to those who are in search of pictures and so on,disgusting and disguting !! Just get out of the place and behave yourself..dont know Asha,feeling very much helpless..people are strange and ugly sometimes..we cant help..Oh my..am I crossing the limits?
Ugadi thali looks fantabulous..esp the sago payasa and tamarind rice..I would love to try that one soon..And the bread tin,yes,i was astonishe dtoo..havent seen that one yet..
Thanks for the movie reviews..the first one i would love to search..Thank you Asha..enjoy.

Manasi said...

Thank U Asha, I owe ya! I signed up and left a comment on the stolen post and also emailed the webmaster.
I also fund images taken from One hot stove and many others i cannot place... :((

Parita said...

Hi Asha, first time on your blog, came in from Priya's blog, must say you have wonderful collections of recipes, Banana Choco muffin looks awesome and so do the Oatmeal Raisin Walnut cookies and the thali looks amazing.

Simply Spices said...

I had nice feast here....wow!each every picture and recipe looks great and yum!!!Thanks for visiting and leaving comment on my blog.!!! :)

anusharaji said...

salmon lol
i didnt know the ho part b4
n hey get me the itenerary of hawaii trip
vl njoy vicariously ;)
have fun sis

Mamatha said...

ASha,
ella nu tumba ruchiya gi kanutide, bayiyalli neeru barutide,
I brought dried neem flowers from india, so I mix bella aand neem flower during ugadi,
I prepared mavinakai chitranna, but huli illade nimbe rasa berasiddayitu

Hulianna battalu tumba chennagide elli buy madidri?

Mamatha

Nandinis food said...

Thali looks great and delectable! I want to eat those oat cookies because I always buy them at malls (in my home country).
I'm sorry to hear about the plagiarism. It's increasing nowadays at a higher rate.

FH said...

Mamatha, there is a website store called indouspalza, store is in New York. They send it quickly and efficient in dealing with customers. Google and try there! :)

Anusha, June 28th to July 6th, I will be off blogging in June! :)

Vani said...

Asha...Its always so much fun to read ur posts :)They are so full of Life n little stories n anectodes..!
Ugadi thali looks super delish..we also celebrate the marathi new year the same day (Gudi Padwa):)

And a big Booooooooooooo!! to people who steal photographs n contents from somebody else's blog..:P

Gita Jaishankar said...

Everything looks so delicious, I am drooling over the thali pics, what have you done :) I must definitely make that Ugadi pachadi, looks too yummy!

Unknown said...

Ha ha. That was so sweet of your daughter! I made a similar banana loaf for madhu's event and It disappeared in 2 days!! love the large cookies!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

Asha, what is this? I am just speechless seeing your LOVELY dishes..i am going to try mixed dal vada next time.. looks so good.

Uma said...

I never get disappointed when I visit your place. Lot of yummy treats wait for me every time! what a display of food! Thali looks so mouth-watering.

Meera said...

It's really cold here!!!Brrrr... I envy that 70 F.

Loved your loaf, cookies and especially Ugadi thali.

It's so sad to see someone stealing pictures like that. I too have come across some sites that are using my pictures. Just feeling angry.

Vaishali said...

Hey Asha, love everything but that Ugadi thali is absolutely gorgeous. I liked Goya's Ghosts, but I was completely swept away by In Bruges when I watched it a few months back. I even liked Colin Farell, who I usually cannot stand.

amna said...

hehehe that story about Trisha's comments was hilarious. Salmon!! Hahaha :D

And your tamarind rice look too yummy for words!

Shivapriya said...

Awesome. muffins and cookies looks great.

Its really true with kids raised here. I remember lots of funny things with my cousins.

Raks said...

Always you rock with your big spread! Great going:)

bee said...

happy ugadi, asha. trisha is funny.

Rajesh &Shankari said...

God & Ho- I am cracking up here..LOL! I really like the looks of tamarind rice, I might make it tomorrow :)

Divya Kudua said...

Wow..the Ugadi thatte looks awesome!!Our Ugadi was low-key this year as I had truck loads of leftovers from hubby's bday party.Made only a pineapple sheera and relished it.I've been sooo waiting to see your eggless banana muffin and cookie recipes ever since you told me about it.love the half loaf pan,pity we dont get such fancy items in India:-(.

Had a great laugh reading about Trisha's reaction to God Tussi..;-).Salmon..??hehe!!

Unknown said...

loved the thali..tamil new year is coming up and I hope to cook a elaborate meal..good one..

jayasree said...

One look at the chutney bowl at the flicked photo, I knew its urs. Did u write to them?

The ugadi thaali looks so tempting. All traditional and mouthwatering dishes.

Have bookmarked both banana chocolate loaf and chewy cookies.

chef and her kitchen said...

Everything looks perfect and especially the muffins look mouth watering..

Meeta K. Wolff said...

lovely spread! love the statement in the Monsters Vs. Aliens. I'll be going to watch it with Soeren!

SMN said...

Askka drooling over yum yum.. feeling like hvng some thali too :)

LifenSpice said...

Guess am the last one here! the Ugadi thali looks amazing..specially the huli anna..the kadai looks so cute too:)
Hope you had a nice festival...loved to read ur post, specialy the last part made me laugh too:)sure u will miss her when she's in college!

lissie said...

love the banana chocolate muffin! wish I was there to share the thali with you and family... :)

Archana said...

Wowie - that thali is yum !! Havent made hulianna in the longest time, will make this tonight. The half pan is really cute..and your cookies look great...thanks for your comments on my blog - will send it for the event...wednesdays are fun days reading your eagerly-awaited posts..God tussi great ho...' was just too funny !!

Beyond Curries said...

Yes, that was a close call for Anoop. Hope he sings better the next time. I think Adam is definitely going to make the finals and the idol too. But we can never predict anything after Taylor Hicks' win. He might be a good guy, but not definitely the best singer.

FH said...

Madhu, Adam is really good, can belt out any song beautifully. Yeah, Anoop is suitable for soft and sentimental songs but not an all rounder. Hope he gets a contract anyway and make some money at least!
Did you see friends from Chapel Hill in the audience? They were rooting for him, he seems to be a well liked kid at UNC! :)

Purnima said...

Asha, belated greetings of the season...my my..what a torture to keep looking at that spotless n neatly arranged thaali..i break my head over which 1 dish to make..n here u go into infinite dishes! Wow..loved all of it! The pan is very cute indeed, not sure, but dont get it here as well!The loaf sure looks cute n so do the super large cookies!

FH said...

Haha! Purnima, save your head, it's just smaller thali compared to my other thalis!
Good to see you back blogging. Did you read the last paragraph? I think you missed the best part of this post! ;D

Pavithra Kodical said...

Asha akka well spread thali.Thank you so much for posting hulianna gojju, my dad use to always pack that for me when i was in hostel.Hehe same pinch i also made sago kheer for ugadi :)

Muffin and cookies look yummy..i was laughing here reading about god tussi great ho(?)

Oh i forgot, i feel so bad when i always read your post about stealing photos.Why don't they feel ashamed of themselves to do such a job

Beyond Curries said...

The last line I meant about Taylor Hicks, but I guess it holds true to Anoop as well. Ya I saw his friends. Especially they were so supportive, nodding their heads in disagreement when Simon was commenting.

FH said...

Pavithra, thanks. I love Sago kheer! :)

Madhu, Taylor Hicks was the same too like Anoop, wasn't he? It would be fun if Anoop wins the AI like him! HeHe!

Srivalli said...

Thats really so bad Asha..feel sad that such lovely pictures of yours have been lifted and passed off as somebody!...when will there be an end to such nonsense....

your thali looks so yummy...love every dish that !...hope the week is going on fine.

KonkaniBlogger said...

Sad to know abt the plagiarism bit, there are so many sites, we wouldn't be knwing most of them, so its really hard to know. Lol at Trisha's questions, live entertainment for you at home :). Loved the whole spread, especially that Hulianna. We make the moong dal kosumbari same way too.

gtyuk said...

wow, what a feast we have here!!! don't know which one to read; like all of them, everything looks great.

the Banana Chocolate Muffin Half Loaf attracts me more (i'd love to do it for us ), seems easy and yummy with simple ingredients.

I haven't tasted the Ugadi Pachadi but the sour mangoes make me mouth water....slurp slurp!

the sago kesari is one my weak points, yummm, can smell the fragrance of the cardamoms here!

Funny anecdote of the "God Tussi Great Ho" hahaha, kids are kids, i love them for that!

Vikis Kitchen said...

U are a great home maker dear. That thalli meals looks so great. I am sure Trish will miss ur homely foods in the hostel. cookies and bread are so perfect. Cant control laughter on reading the last para:)

Malar Gandhi said...

Hope you guys had a great ugadi plus ugadi feast. As usual pictures are superb. Love ur presentation...just like star hotel. Yummm! Vadai, payasam, puliyodarai, pachadi...everything looks great and inviting.

Muffin looks prefect too...chocolate flavour, please count me in!:)

Archy said...

Ugadi thali is wonderful with all traditional recipe Asha.. I was not able to make bevu bella :( !!

Loaf an cookies look so gud, shall try eggless loaf !!

Madhu's cooking gallery said...

Loved the thali! All the dishes looks so delicious! sply love the ugadhi pachadi!

cookies, muffin all look super yummy!

Sakshi said...

I am drooling over the pic of tha Thali...wish someone would invite me to such a feast..I am falling in love with ur Trish gal...she is so hilarious..my son is also showing signs of "what's wrong with Indian guys" It's been only a year since we are here and he refuses to speak in hindi and when i tell him to do so he says what's the diff u speak in hindi I understand it and I speak in English u can understand it...we are done for now!!! All the while my husband giggles hearing this...

Keshi said...

I love fresh warm banana muffins with tea!

Happy New Year (Ugadi) to ya Asha! :) *HUGZ*

Keshi.

Linda said...

Gorgeous thali, Asha, Happy Ugadi to you and yours! :) That tamarind rice looks extra-fantastic. So does the banana-choco loaf/muffin... I might have to break out the flour to try that one. Just happen to have a few ripe bananas -- my kids won't eat them when they turn ripe!

Loved the T movie story -- have a great weekend :)

Vani said...

Thoguth I left u a comment but guess not! (found another Vani in the blogosphere while checking if I'd left u a comment. ANd 109 comments? how do u manage, Asha? Plus you make time to leave comments on others' blogs and cook up a storm too!
Yugadi thali looks great! pachadi sounds good - never tried that. only had bevu and bella (guess we like just 2 flavors of life, huh?)

vandana rajesh said...

what a spread asha. It all looks so good.

Viji said...

Lovely Thali Asha and the bread is inviting. Here it is raining (very unusual). Have a great day. Viji

Uj said...

That is an elaborate meal.. muffin looks yummmy...I have not tasted banana bread yet but with chocolate I might actually go for it :)Chewy cookies looks yummy I have choco chips will put them to good use soon:D.. I have made payasam with rice and sago but never with sago alone. My MIL makes it often and it tastes great :)
Loved reading about "Salmon guy" and Trisha's response he he he...
Shame to the person who copied your contents. When will this stop :(

FH said...

Sakshi, I was smiling at your son's response. That's exactly how it starts girl! :D
But it's okay as long as he respects us and not too rude. Kids are kids, better let them be who they are! :)

Vani, yes there is another Vani! :D
Bevu Bella is good enough, I didn't have Bevu at all, all tangy and sweet for me I guess.

Linda, time to get those banana in there, muffin is excellent! :)

Unknown said...

Belated Ugadi wishes Asha, loved the muffins, they look yummy though I am scared of trying such calorie rich foods. But I soon plan to coz kids are growing up and demand a variety on their platter. :)

Daily Meals said...

Thali looks moth watering Asha! Banana loaf and cookies look delicious...

TBC said...

Belated Ugadi wishes, Asha.:)
The thali looks fantastic and as usual, you have not disappointed. I like the sound of that pachadi. You are right about the mangoes we get here. They're pathetic. I have to try the pachadi though. Will drop you a line when I do.
Have a good weekend!

Unknown said...

Thanks Asha for stopping by! Do visit often :)
Cookies look yummy! Puliyogare looks great!

raaji said...

That a wonderful hearty meal i would like to have...Thats funny to see our kids say sth like that...

Bhawna said...

Ashaji, ur thaali is like always yummy. I love sago kheer. Ur the inspiration behind my lucknowi thaali. Trishna's commnent was really funny. ur right we miss them when they are not around.

Gayathri said...

mind blowing entries, hats off

Vibaas said...

First i was drooling at the yummy spread u have..then i was feeling guilty for never putting in so much efforts and then finally, i laughed my heart out on your daughter's question and comment. ROFL :D

Jaya M said...

Asha,
just one word for all that goodies "superb".....
happy ugadi to you too ..
hugs and smiles

Red Chillies said...

What a great spread Asha. The ugadi thali looks fantastic. I need to try the mixed daal aambode.

I am usually lazy and resort to MTR pulliyogere.
The cookies and loaf etc etc, so should have been my next door neighbor. Seriously!

FH said...

Haha!! RC, most of the time, I rely on MTR Puliyogare too. For Ugadi, I thought I will use my mom's Hulianna recipe for a change. Try Ambode, it's really tasty and almost like eating Adai!:)

Jamie said...

Asha, as always, it was a wonderful post to read. I especially like the part about your daughter asking about 'Salmon' Khan. I am a huge Hindi movie buff (going to watch Aamir's Ghajini tonight! I am so excited!). I always look forward to what you are reading and watching :)

Purnima said...

Ho Ho Ho..thats santas laugh for last para! Trisha- tks to u, we got an addon work in our vocab! :D LOL!

Anonymous said...

Hmmm....heaven Asha!

FH said...

Enjoy Ghajini, Jamie. I haven't seen it yet, may be they will show on TV in few months time! :)

LOL!! Good one Purni. didn't think of that Santa HO until now! ;D

Thanks HC, enjoy Sunday! :)

A_and_N said...

I could kill for some of this now. I'm on a no-carb diet due to end only tomorrow :(

FH said...

Hold on N, it's almost over! ;D

I don't think I could ever give up on Carbs completely, love the bread too much!

Unknown said...

loaf muffin or bread ;) but looks very very tempting....and the thali...simply superb...

Shionge said...

Hello Asha...came here for my 'free meal' this week kekekekek.... :D

Just to say hello for yet another wonderful week ahead :D

Yasmeen said...

Your post left me super hungry as always,the Ugadi platter looks so inviting:)

Dibs said...

Haha - That was really funny about Salmon Khan ...... now I can really understand the meaning of ABCD!! ;-))) I had once told a good ABCD friend that the latest hot movie in Bollywood was 'Jism'. The guy's jaw just dropped open ...that Bollywood has the guts to name their movies that!!! hahahhah!

Usha said...

LOL that is really funny about the movie title and your daughters interpretation of it :-) the thali looks awesome and the banana choc half loaf looks fantastic, I have never heard of a half loaf until now...will look for it at my local stores when I return :-)

Sum Raj said...

cookies looks soo tempting..also the rest...delicious..

Cynthia said...

I really wished I lived next to you :) I am serious. I know that I'd be well taken care of always.

Shubha Ravikoti said...

Awesome thali asha.... i dunno how u do it yaar u give so much information and write sooo well. Wish i satyed somewhere near u...:P

Shubha Ravikoti said...

About the stealing I have nothing to say and dunno wt can stop these people... I had so many incidents with me... first my whole blog was scrapped then someone stole my mehendi designs not once but 4 times... I am just fed up...

suvi said...

it is wednesday already in singapore, I am eagerly waiting for you to post your goodies :))

Lisa Johnson said...

Hey Asha! I'd never seen a half loaf pan before. What a cool idea!

And I want to see "Goya's Ghost" too. Looks like a great movie. I saw "Seven Pounds" last night. Great movie, but so bittersweet.

Meenal Mehta said...

Hi Asha ..great post, loved the Ugadi thali and i loved the "god tussi great ho " and comments on "Salmon Khan" ...priceless :)

Miri said...

That's a funny one about your daughter and the film title *chuckle*

The muffin looks delicious! have never thought of combining banana with chocolate...

Chitra said...

as usual,yummy array of recipes!!Lovely, drool worthy pics:)

Purnima said...

Asha..Trisha's view on Rahman's Award winning -- JAI HO!!! :D :D

Premyscakes said...

Awesome!!!! i dont have words to praise you. simply superb!!

FH said...

LOL!!! That's a good one Purni. I will tell her. Got to find a "Jai" now. Oh no!! Jai and Bee!! Bee will kill meeee! :D

Thanks to all of you girls, I appreciate all of your comments. Enjoy rest of the week! :)

Cilantro said...

Great reading the post especially the last part. Old tamil movies are Hindi for my daughter.She sometimes cannot differentiate between telugu and hindi....joys of raising kids here.
Lovely Ugadi spread. We make pachadi with all the different tastes but the procedure is different.

FH said...

C, I can understand that! :D
There are so many words in Kannada that I hear in other language which are "bad" words for us but very normal words for others.It always makes me smile to read some of those too. For kids here, it's lot worse! Haha!!

Linda said...

Asha, just stopped by to tell you I made your banana-choco muffin loaf. I made it in an 8x8 brownie pan, 15 min at 400. In addition to using yogurt for the egg, I used canned plain pumpkin for the oil. Came out fluffy and delicious -- probably a little denser than yours would be -- but still very tasty, no fat 'cept the choco chips, and can't taste the pumpkin!

Thanks for that yummy inspiration! :)

Mona said...

I had a banana nut muffin today :)

I love bissibeli hullianna! Also the sago looks delicious!

prajusha said...

Thali looks delicious..looks like u ahd a wonderful ugadi:)
Have a great long weekend..enjoy!

Navita (Gupta) Hakim said...

Hey Asha...thats exactly how I prepare my karela...coz hub hates it ....i love it though. love ur thalis as usual .:)

FH said...

YAY!! Linda, Pumpkin sounds like great substitute.I love Pumpkin spice and Pumpkin too, might try for Halloween this year. Yes, mine had tender crumbs and little tangy but variations are always good! :)

Roopa said...

Hey Asha,
I have been trying to visit your blog for quiet sometime now, after you had left a couple of comments on my blog... Your blog is just awesome!!! Moreso, the presentation and explanation of things... Very impressed....
Are you from Bangalore? I am from Bangalore...

FH said...

Hi Roopa, yes I am from B'lore, born and raised in Karnataka! :)

You are welcome to visit me, try dishes and ask q's whenever you can, I post on every Wednesday, once a week.

Rachna said...

Hey Asha, love your banana bread.... and your ugadi thali is looking so amazing, im drooling here.... "tussi great ho" bit just cracked me up!!!!

FH said...

HeHe!! Yeah, kids can be so funny sometimes! :)