Shahjeera-Ajwain Square Parathas with Punjabi Egg Masala, Eggplant Galore: Rasavangi, Sampangi Pithlai and Kothsu with Okra-Yogurt Pachadi/salad

Hello friends, did you see the "Bollywood Ice Dancing" and in Winter Olympics on Monday by a US team, Meryl Davis and Charlie White who won silver? It was soooo cool and colorful! Jai Ho!! :)

Email scam alert to all of you:
I received an email last week saying that (with a fellow blogger's full name and her husband's name as well) they were robbed at gunpoint in UK while on vacation and they need money urgently to get back home. They asked me to help them sending about $1200 ASAP and they promised to return the money, I should trust them etc. Of course, I deleted it promptly. Then I contacted one of my blogger friends who advised me to change my password immediately and she told me that there is a big scam going on like this in India too! They hack an email address and sending the message to everybody this person knows using her name and her husband's name which is more shocking and confusing when you recognize this blogger's name. Some even collected the money to send it to help their friends in need only to realize that they have been scammed. I just wanted you to know this and be aware. Don't start sending money because somebody takes my name and send an email to you. Knowledge is power as they say! :)

Okay, back to business now:

Punjabi Egg Masala with buttered Shajeera, Ajwain and turmeric flavored square Parathas are at your service. A Punjabi fare today! :)
What more can I say? This is the easiest and yummiest Egg masala I have ever made to serve with Shahjeera and Ajwain flavored Parathas. What makes it special? I used "Punjabi Garam Masala" I made at home last month in this Egg masala. It really makes a difference, has lot flavor than just any regular old store bought Garam masala, you can make your own Punjabi Garam masala from here. I made the sauce in the Microwave (faster and less messy), but you can use stove top to make the masala too as I type in here. Vegetarians can use any mixed vegs or Veg Koftas to add to this masala instead of Eggs.

Hardboil 6 eggs, about 2 eggs per person for 15mins in lots of water on high heat. Drain all the water, fill the pot up again with cold water. This helps the shell to separate inside and makes it easy to peel the shell. If you put the boiled eggs with shell in the fridge overnight, peeling is even easier. Slice the Eggs halfway and keep them aside.

Punjabi Egg Masala:
1. Heat 1 tbsp Butter and 2 tsp oil, add 1 medium onion, finely chopped or ground, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, stir until onion paste is slightly reddish and soft.
2. Add 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, 1 tsp Paprika or Kashmiri (for color and heat) chilli pd, stir for 1 minute.

3. Now add 1 cup Tomato sauce, 1tbsp Coriander seeds powder and 2 tsp Cumin seeds powder, let it simmer for 15-20mins until sauce is thicker or oil shows up on top.
4. Add few tbsps of water to cool it down and add 1 cup 2% milk or lower fat half and half, adjust the salt, sugar (to balance the tangy Tomatoes) and chilli pd to your taste. Mix well and simmer.
5. When the sauce is smooth and thickish, remove from the heat and add 2 tsp crushed Kasoori Methi and 1 1/2 to 2 tsp of Punjabi Garam Masala, 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, mix well.
6. Add eggs to the sauce and let it sit for few hours or overnight in the fridge for best flavor.

All done! Slurp!! :)

My Shahjeera-Ajwain square Parathas with Punjabi Egg Masala goes to Srilekha's "EFM-Parathas and Gravies" event and also to Pari's "The combo event".

Shahjeera, Ajwain and Turmeric square Parathas: (Click to enlarge the pics)
As you know I keep on learning to make different kinds of folds to make Parathas, I just love the looks of them when they are done! Here, I added Shahjeera, Ajwain and turmeric to the dough and made the Parathas square. It's so much fun to eat them too! :)

To make square Parathas:
Mix 2 cups of Atta, 1 tsp Shajeera (Black Cumin seeds), 1 tsp Ajwain seeds and 1/2 tsp Turmeric, 2 tbsp of oil, mix well. Add about 1 cup of hot water slowly and knead the dough to a smooth and soft but not sticky dough. Divide into 8 or more portions, make balls, cover and let it rest for 1 hour or so.

1. Roll out a dough ball to a circle, brush with oil, sprinkle some flour. Fold as shown in the pics brushing oil and sprinkling flour to a square shaped folded dough ball.
2. Roll out gently again keeping the square shape, don't have to get a perfect square.
3. Cook on griddle both sides, take out on a plate, brush with little ghee or butter on top. Stack up the other Parathas on top. Serve ASAP with any gravy.

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Eggplant Galore II?!

Brinjal Rasavangi, Sampangi Pithlai and Kathirikkai Kothsu:
Yes! One of those "Galore" posts (Soup Galore, Idli Galore, Pumpkin pics, Brunch, Winter Munchies, XMAS treats, another, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Party snacks, Soupy week, JackFruit, Eggplants, Gourds, Plantains again. PHEW! :D), with loads of dishes but with delicious different tastes I have posted before! I have cooked all three of these dishes from a very authentic south Indian cookbook called "Dakshin Bhog" by Santhi Balaraman I have. It has really simple but traditional recipes. I had bought plenty of Eggplants last week, so I tried these 3 dishes from the book, LOVED the taste.

Rasavangi:
Here is another spicier Rasavangi I have posted before. Here is the simple but tasty version.
1. Cook 1/2 cup Tura dal with 1 1/2 cup water, keep aside. Soak small ball of Tamarind in 1 cup water and squeeze all the water, discard the solids. Cut slices of 3-4 Brinjals, wash in water.
2. Cook Tamarind water, Brinjals, 1/4 tsp Turmeric pd, salt, and cook until Brinjals are tender. Add cooked and mashed Tuar dal, chopped Cilantro, mix and simmer for 2 mins.
3. Heat 1tbsp oil+ghee, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 2 sliced Green chillies, 2 dry red chillies, few curry leaves, and add this to Rasavangi.

Sampangi Pithlai:
This dish supposed to be from Karnataka, probably a Iyengar or Iyer dish as Sampangi sounds Kannada and Pithlai is a Tamil word. This dal has little more spices than the other dals, taste great with rice.
1. Pressure cook 1/2 cup Tuar dal, 2 Drumsticks, 1 cup Green beans or Broad beans, 1/4tsp Turmeric with 2 cups of water.
2. Boil 1 cup Tamarind water, add 1 cubed Potato, 2 Eggplants and 1 Chow Chow,chopped, cook until soft. Add powdered masala, cook for 2 mins.
3. Add in dal mixture, salt, Chopped Cilantro, simmer and season with 1 tbsp oil+ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves, pinch of Hing, 1 red chilly.
Spice Powder: Roast these lightly and powder without oil.
2 tbsp coconut, 3 red chillies, 2 tsp Urad dal, 1 tsp rice grains, 6 Peppercorns, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 2 tsp Chana dal.

Kathrikkai Kothsu:
Another tasty south Indian dal with Eggplants and Moong dal! Add water as needed to thin the dal or add less to thicker dal, up to your liking.
1. Cook 1/2 cup Moong dal with 1/4tsp turmeric and 1 cup water. Keep aside.
2. Heat 1tbsp oil+Ghee, add 1/2tsp Mustard seeds, 2 sliced green chillies, few curry leaves, pinch of Hing. Add 2 small onions, sliced lengthwise, saute until golden color.
3. Add 3 small round Brinjals, cut into slices, 1 cup Tamarind juice/water, salt and cook until soft.
4. Add powdered masala, cooked Moong dal, adjust the salt and heat, a small piece of Jaggary, chopped Cilantro, simmer for few minutes and serve.
Toast these lightly and powder without oil:
2 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds, 1 tbsp Chana dal, 3 or more dry red chillies.
Serve with these plain rice, papad and a Okra-Yogurt salad.

My Eggplant Galore with Rasavangi, Pithlai and Kothsu goes to Anita's "Vegetable Marathon-Eggplants" event.

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Spiced up Okra-Yogurt Salad/Raita/Pachadi:
I love this salad or Bendekai Pachadi as we call it. You can eat this by itself at lunchtime, Summer days are the best to have this cooling salad or serve this as a side dish with nutritious dal. Great with Parathas too since it's spicy, has a vegetable and tangy Yogurt. It has all the goodness of Okra, Ginger, Garlic and Yogurt. Enjoy.

Whenever you use Okras, make sure you fry or saute them in oil first before you make a any Okra dish, nothing horrible like eating slimy Okras. Take 4 cups cut Okras for this dish. Whole Okras are washed first, dried and cut into 1" pieces. Add about 3 tbsp of oil in a non-stick wok, add Okra and saute until Okra pieces loses it's sliminess and looks reddish and separate from each other. If you have many, saute them in batches. Cool and set aside.

To make salad:
1. Heat 1 tsp oil, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 2 tsp Urad dal, few curry leaves, 2 green chillies sliced, 1 red chilly, broken. Saute until Urad dal is reddish.
2. Add 2-3 tbsp chopped Cilantro, take it off of the heat. Add to a serving bowl, cool. Add 1/2 to 1 cup thick Yogurt, 1 tsp roasted Cumin seeds powder and sauteed Okra to the bowl with enough salt and mix.
3. Take 2 tbsp water, add 2 cloves of Garlic and 1/2" Ginger in a pestle-Mortar and pound until they are mashed and squeeze the juice out into the Salad, discard the Ginger-Garlic solids.
4. Mix the salad well and serve at room temperature.

My very south Indian traditional Okra and Yogurt spiced up Salad/Pachadi goes to Divya's "Show me your salad" event.

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Movies I watched:

"Paa":

Well....I watched Paa last weekend (alone this time). I have mixed feelings about this movie. It reminded me of "The curious case of Benjamin Button" although story line is totally different. I thought AB Junior looked very handsome and mature in the movie. Vidya Balan looks beautiful and great actress as usual. I thought movie is bit of a drag, same thing stretched to a 2 hours unnecessarily. I still don't know where the name "Auro" comes from or what it means! I hated the "Potty" jokes, "bastard" "round round round" dialogues and calling his grandma "Bum" because she has a big behind and all this is from a 13yrs old! I can understand a 4-5yr old making potty jokes and also I hope kids in India don't start calling their ajjis and Paatis "bum" after watching this movie! :D
But I did enjoy the movie, did feel the sadness when the boy dies in the end. It's hard for me imagine that scenario as a mother of a (almost 15yr old) son myself. Movie is well made and I can say I liked it except few scenes, worth the time.

Everybody's Fine:
Heartwarming movie. An old and lonely widower, played by Robert De Niro, tries to get all his 4 adult children together at his home for Thanksgiving but none of them have the time or inclination to visit him. So he decides to surprise his kids by visiting them instead but each one make excuses that they are busy and can't spend much time with him, guides him on to the next child. They tell him that when they were kids he was too strict, pushy, expected too much out of them and that's why they preferred to talk to their mom than him. He says he didn't realize it but he just wanted the best for them.
When he gets robbed in the city on the way to his daughter's home and loses his heart medicine, he calls his empty home just to listen to his dead wife's voice on the answering machine which gives him some comfort and made me so sad. He has a heart attack on the way back to his own home, then his kids gather around him in the hospital, they talk but also tell him that one of his sons has died. He goes home and what happens after that is for you to watch! All IZ well in the end I should say, everybody's fine! :)

Book:
I am still reading or listening to David Sedaris's "Me talk pretty one day" , a collection of short stories which are autobiographical mostly,which are absolutely hilarious. I bought a collection of audio cd books of all David Sedaris's books and recordings of his live shows from Carnegie Hall. I am enjoying listening those cds now which is narrated by David Sedaris himself by his high pitched voice which makes you smile, some stories are "laugh out loud" funny and few uses lot of crude language too but supposedly a normal everyday southern vocabulary for his (NC born) youngest brother! :D
These are some samples of stories from "Me talk pretty one day".
Here are some funny but bit R rated quotes by him from all of his books.

Have a great weekend, hopefully we will see the Spring sooner than later! :)

My Summer Harvest 2009 with Ridge Gourd Masala and Ridge Gourd Chutney

Happy Sankranthi/Shankranthi/Pongal to all of you

Sweet beginning:
I made these with 2 Gits Gulab Jamun mix packs (funny ad) following the instructions. I never tried making Jamuns with scratch (with flour, sugar and milk powder etc) at home so far, may be one day I will try! My kids love these oval shaped Jamuns. I make less syrup with lot less sugar than required as we don't like the syrup too sweet and without any extra garnish. Jamuns soak up all the syrup and plump up. Usually round Jamuns are served in a katori/bowl floating in Syrup, sometimes garnished with Cardamom pd, grated coconut etc but we love it simple. Just pick each one up with a fork, gobble the whole Jamun is the way to go ie if I make them smaller!! :D

Well...
as some of you know, I started posting my Summer veggie patch from my backyard every August/September since 2006 . I take photos of them as I plant, sow the veg. seeds and I take photos of their progress through out the Summer. Usually we pull out all the plants and clean up for the Fall every year around September/October once the temp starts to go south.
Because I didn't blog since last July, here is my belated post of 2009 Summer garden post. I didn't buy any new Indian veg. seeds last year, used whatever I had leftover from the year before. Indian vegetable seeds are available here & here and here (for Curry leaves plants) and here for Asian vegetables to order if you are interested in planting the garden this Summer.

Here is the beginning with prepared veggie patch: (click on the pics to enlarge)
I start planting the little store bought plants at the end of May and sow the seeds only after mid June ie after the ground heats up a little to help the seeds to sprout. Some herb pots survived from last year re grew nicely like Mint, Chives, Balm Lemon and Rosemary. I bought more herbs to plant like Thyme, Thai Basil, Oregano, Garlic Chives etc.

In July and August:
You can see Japanese purple Eggplants, Okra, Cherry Tomatoes, Zucchinis, Broad Beans (sweet peas pods), Plum Tomatoes and of course, my pride and joy, Indian Ridge Gourds grown from seeds. Just 2 healthy ridge gourd plants which occupied half the deck gave me so many Ridge gourds that I went crazy cooking with them every other day which made my kids very mad and they now have a second new "kill that darn vegetable plant" plan right after my beloved Eggplants! Hahaha!!!

Indian Snake gourd (Padavala kayi), Cayenne chillies, Bottle Gourd, Prickly seedless Cucumber (Mullu Soutekayi), Amaranth leaves and more Ridge Gourds!! Unfortunately, I didn't get many Snake gourds until almost August and that too just two puny little things, I will post what I cooked with those later. Don't know why but I am finding it hard to grow Snake Gourds unlike other gourds. Cayenne peppers are beautiful to look at and get aplenty but not much heat or flavor. I prefer to grow Thai chillies or Tabasco chillies like I did last year. Those little ones are fiery and also I don't need too many of those to add to dishes to make it deliciously flavorful. I freeze Thai chillies for Winter to use to make chutneys.

September, time to clean up already!!
At this time of the month, my kids are literally tearing their hair out just looking at my collection of veggies because they know what's coming for dinner for days from now on until they are all gone and I am grinning from from ear to ear! :D
Did you see the identical conjoined twin Cayenne pepper brothers/sisters in the last photo?

Luxuriously grown Curry leaves plant:
Plant grows to up a tree in India and in Florida (because of the hot weather all year round) if planted this in the ground, so such luck for the rest of us in other states. (Here is a good YouTube video to watch)
It was a blazing Summer for us in NC this year. So this former 5" Curry leaf plant I potted last year has grown up to a 5 feet now! As soon as the temp. went up to 70F, we put the pot out on the deck. Now as the Fall temp dropped, it's inside the kitchen, still exposed to Sunlight but with minimum of 68F. I clipped off the top by about 5" to get the plant bushy and I am also using the bottom branches for cooking but very sparingly. We might have to re-pot the plant to a larger container next Spring. You can see the same curry leaves plant as it was last year, here.
Here is some info about how to grow and maintain Curry leaves plant. I read that USDA has banned or restricted all curry leaves plants in US! We used to get these little plants in Indian stores and from the (linked sites above) nurseries where I buy the Indian vegetable seeds.

Ridge Gourd Masala (Heerekayi palya) and spicy Ridge Gourd Chutney with my home grown Ridge Gourds, curry leaves, Tomatoes and cayenne red chilli peppers:

Ridge Gourd masala/Heerekayi palya:
Here is tasty Ridge Gourd dish to go with Dosas, Rice rottis or Chapatis. Palya is a Kannada word used generally for a semi dry masala dish with thick gravy and sometimes for dry dish as in potato masala we make for stuffing the Masala dosa.

You need:
3 or 4 fresh tender Ridge gourds (peel the ridges off with a peeler, wash and chop the veg into 1" cubes), 1/2 tsp Turmeric, enough salt, 1 Tomato chopped (I used 4 cherry tomatoes I grew), 1/4 tsp Tamarind paste, chopped Cilantro for garnish and 1 tsp ghee. Dry roast and powder these masala:
1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tbsp dry coconut, 2 tsp Chana dal (Bengal gram), 2-3 dry red chillies, 2 cloves and 1 tsp raw rice (to thicken the sauce).
Tempering:
2 tsp oil, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, few curry leaves, pinches of Hing (asafoetida), 1 onion, chopped,.

To make the dish:

1. Heat oil in a big kadai and add mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and add onion, saute until they are soft.
2. Add Turmeric, tomato, little salt, fry for 3 mins. Add all the Ridge gourd pieces, fry for 3 mins.
Add 1/4 cup water, cover the dish, lower the heat and cook for about 5 mins or until vegs are almost cooked.
3. Add tamarind paste and powdered masala, enough salt. Stir and cook for a while. Add more water only if needed since Rodge gourds have lot of water in them if they are fresh.
4. Adjust the spices, add cilantro and ghee, cook until you get thick sauce. Tastes better the next day. Serve hot with any of the bread I mentioned above.

Roasted Ridge Gourd and coconut Chutney:
I love this spicy chutney with rice rottis or you can it with plain rice topped with little ghee as well. It's a simple but tasty chutney I came up with this dish based on regular veg stir fry but made into a chutney. When you have about 7 to 8 Ridge gourds at the same time, you just have to get creative with recipes and cook multiple dishes with the same veggie!! Here is another one.

You need:

1. Peel the Ridges off of the 2-3 gourds, cut into cubes. Slice a few fresh green or ripe red chillies, 1/4 cup cubed fresh coconut.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp Coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tbsp Chana dal, stir for few seconds. Then add few curry leaves, 3 tbsp Cilantro leaves or 1 tbsp tender Cilantro stems, sliced chillies, coconut pieces, saute for 2 more mins until they get some reddish color.
3. Add Ridge gourd pieces, some salt, saute until gourd is soft and cooked dry. Do not cover to cook it but keep stirring until it's soft and all the water evaporates. Take off the heat.
4. Let it cool a little. Add everything to a blender with 1/4 tsp tamarind paste, some salt if needed. Grind these to a smooth paste. Try not to add water if possible. Take out in a bowl.
Season with 2 tsp oil, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp Urad dal, 1-2 dry red chillies and more curry leaves if you like it, let it splutter. Add to the chutney and mix to serve.

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Chicken curry with Yogurt;
from "Daily Musings" blog. Thanks for the delicious recipe Indo, loved it!
My kids love any dish with chicken. My daughter went back to college last Sunday for second semester of freshman class. As soon as I saw this recipe in Indo's blog last week, I thought I will make it for them before she left (had to make it with just some paprika for heat for kids without any green chillies in this dish although I know it tastes lot better with fresh green chillies added). We relished it of course with some plain rice and few Naans!

Movies:
I rented a animated movie called "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" which was really funny and enjoyable. Usually I prefer not to watch kids movies but after watching "Up", I am slowly warming up to the idea! :D
Another movie I watched and forgot to mention last week was "Men who stare at the Goats" which was hilarious. Highly recommend it to watch.

Books:
Btw, I bought a Kindle 2 reader from Amazon, loving it and it's so easy on the eyes to read books now and also kindle edition books are cheaper to buy and instant download too. But some books are collectible like these 2 below, so I still buy a few for my book collection. I downloaded all 4 books of "Twilight" series on Kindle though, even saw first 2 Twilight movies!! Beautiful romantic story, which girl doesn't want to be loved, adored and fought over by a Vampire and a Werewolf?! HeHe!! I can dream, can't I?

I read "Push" by Sapphire few months ago, which is made into a movie "Precious" now (which I love to see). Book is about incest and a young girl's struggle to survive. Book is shockingly disturbing to read but it IS "life" for some girls in this senseless cruel World with no support or choice. Makes you appreciate your own carefree childhood and teenage years!! When we were kids getting spanked on our backsides occasionally by our parents was a "real big tragedy" for some of us. We all should read this book if we really want to know what "real tragedy" is!!

Another book I read from Oprah's book club "Say you're one of them" by Uwem Akpan.
More heart breaking stories about lives of kids in Africa but wonderfully written which includes 5 short stories. I would say read both of them if you can take it but be warned! You don't wanna make yourself sad, get a headache and cry the whole day!

Okay, that's a long post (as usual!) for this week. No idea what I am going post for next week at all. Seems like my brain has frozen too these days along with icy cold weather!! Anyways, Y'all have a great rest of the week and have fun! :))

Two Kerala delicacies: Nenthrakkaya/Plantain Kalan with paprika Poori, Shrimp/Chemmeen Moily and a bonus Spinach and Feta pockets to go!

It snowed 6" here NC in one night on the 2nd of March with temperature plunging down to 11F at night, can you believe it?!
But we loved it, it was a joy to look at the powdery snow when the sunlight hits it. Such glorious sight, it feels good to be alive! A short lived joy though, it's all went back to normal now, although it's still a bit cold!
Hopefully, weather gets warmer now that we had the snow storm. I am really looking forward to Spring after what seems to be a longest and coldest Winter this year!
(Click to enlarge the snow covered photos of our front and back yard.)

What else is going on over here?
Well... Siri had a resolution not to shop for a week, to use up all the fridge and freezer food etc and she achieved that goal this week! Inspired by her, I have decided not to shop for 14days as well starting from last Saturday and I also want to try to detox myself by getting on a liquid only (Rasam/dal broth fast?!) plan one day per week! Can I do it? Time will tell, I will update you for sure! :D

As some of you know already, I am taking a short break from posting any dishes in my Aroma blog so I can have some time to read few books. I will be cooking as usual and posting here at FH once a week on Wednesdays though. If any of these dishes suits your events, I will gladly send it you. I have posted all the event logos on the bottom of the post, have linked to respective hosts and their posts as well.

Ever since I cooked for RCI Kerala, I have fallen in love with Kerala cuisine, always so simple, flavorful and delicious. I tried these Kalan and Shrimp Moily from a book called "The essential Kerala cookbook" by Vijayan Kannampilly. A very non-pretentious, soft bound book by Penguin Original with no pictures at all but recipes are so authentic, it feels like I am cooking from a grandmother's kitchen! :)

Nenthrakkaya/Plantain Kalan/Kaalan:
I love Plaintains. The kind I get here are from South America, so tough that I have to cook them in a pressure cooker to soften them unlike Indian Plantains which are lot tender and almost like cooking Potatoes. Anyway, here is a classic Kerala Kalan, delicious Palntains cooked in a spicy yogurt and coconut sauce.
I made some Paprika Pooris to serve with Kalan, which are a surprisingly perfect combo! Kalan tastes better the next day as the spices mingle overnight, just keep it in the fridge and reheat the next day to serve.

You need to cook these first in a pressure cooker:
3 Spanish style Plantains, 4 Shallots, chopped, 2 green chillies,sliced, 1/2 tsp black Peppercorns, crushed, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp Turmeric, 1 tsp salt and 1 1/2 cup water.
To grind to a very smooth paste:
Grind the first 4 ingredients with water to fine paste and add sour cream to get a smooth ground masala, keep aside)
1/2 cup fresh grated Coconut,
2 Shallots, sauteed until soft for 2 mins in 1 tsp oil,
2 tsp cumin seeds,
1/2 cup water.

1 1/2 cups Sour cream or Yogurt.
To temper/seasoning:
1 1/2 tbsp (use Coconut oil to be authentic) oil+ghee,
1 tsp Mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds,
few curry leaves,
1-2 red chillies,
2 Shallots, chopped.
Garnish:
Some chopped Cilantro, Optional.

To make Kalan:
1. Peel and cube Plantains to small pieces. Add all the "you need" ingredients up there in a pressure cooker along with Plantains and cook until soft.
2. In a pan, heat oil+ghee etc , add other ingredients as in the "temper" section one by one, stir until onion is slightly golden. Then add cooked Plantain into it and heat for 3 mins.
3. Turn down the heat, add ground masala to it and simmer gently for 1/2 an hour. Never let it boil, coconut paste might separate to make the gravy thin.
4. Once it thickens and smells good, add cilantro and adjust the salt. Take off the heat. You can reheat in the Microwave when you need it.

Plantain Kalan with Paprika Poori or Boori: (as Aparna told me to say, Malayalee style! :D)
Kalan with thinner gravy can be served with rice or as side dish. I made Pooris flavored and colored with some Paprika in the dough. Paprika gives them a great color without adding heat to the Pooris.

1. Add 1 1/2 cup wheat flour/atta, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp Paprika (just for color, sweet Paprika is not spicy), mix well. Add enough milk or water to make a very stiff dough, cover and let it rest for 20mins or so.
Heat oil to deep fry to 365F.
2. Divide into Golf sized or smaller balls. Roll each out into 4-5" circles 1/8" thick (you can use a 4" cookie cutter to cut the shapes) , gently add to hot oil. Press the top a bit with a perforated spatula until it puffs and flip the Poori, let it get golden and remove on a paper towel.
3. Serve with Kalan.

Shrimp/Chemmeen Moily/Molee:
Usually, I don't buy or cook Seafood at home although I love to order Salmon or crab cakes in the restaurants. But after seeing so many delicious Seafood dishes cooked by other bloggers, I have decided to cook a few Seafood dishes too. I bought a pack of large Shrimps and chose a Moily/Molee recipe from that Kerala book. We loved the flavorful gravy with some plain rice and kids were happy to have a non-veg as well! :D

To marinade:
20 large Shrimps, deveined and cleaned with tails,
2 tbsp Lemon juice,
1 tsp peppercorn, coarsely crushed,
1 tsp Turmeric,
1 Tsp salt.

To temper:
2 tbsp oil,
Few Curry leaves,
1 Onion, finely chopped,
1-2 Green chillies,sliced
1/2 Cup Tomato sauce.

Grind to a fine paste:
2 Garlic,
1" fresh ginger,
3 cloves,
1" Cinnamon,
1 tsp sweet Paprika,
1 tbsp coriander seeds,
1/4 tsp thick Tamarind paste,
2-3 tbsp water.

1 cup Coconut milk.

Some Cilantro to garnish

To make Shrimp Moily:
1. Marinade the Shrimps in lemon juice, salt, pepper and turmeric for 20 mins.
2. Heat oil, add curry leaves, finely chopped onion, green chillies, stir until soft.
3. Add ground paste and stir fry for 2 mins until oil shows up on top, do not burn the masala.
4. Add Tomato sauce, cook for 3 more minutes or until you get a thick sauce.
5. Turn down the heat, add 1/4 cup cold water and 1 cup coconut milk, simmer until the sauce is heated thru' on low heat.
6. Once the sauce hot enough, add Shrimp along with it's marinade, mix well. Cook gently until Shrimps turn pink, doesn't take much time to cook. Garnish with Cilantro.

Do not add Shrimps unless the coconut milk sauce is cooked thru' and smells good. Do not overcook the Shrimps once added to the sauce, they will be tough to eat.

Serve this Moily with plain rice, Aapams, Pathiri or Idiappam. Again, this Moliy tastes better the next day but equally delicious to serve right after it's made.

Spinach and Feta Pockets to grab and go/meals on wheels!
Last Sunday, we were lazing around watching movies when kids wanted some snacks. I had a can of Pilsbury Crescents in the fridge. Since I always have Spinach and Feta in the freezer (which are both kids' favorite), they wanted to make some quick Crescent pockets. These are very easy to make and delicious to eat. Spinach is fully cooked, so you can keep these on the kitchen counter for 1-2 days without a worry, ie if there are any left of course!! :D

You need:
1 can of Pillsbury Crescent, which has 8 triangles.
(Or you can use Puff pastry, Bread dough, Pizza dough,Phyllo dough sheets and or any crust of your choice. Oven temp vary depending on what crust you choose)

Filling:
2 cups Fresh or frozen Spinach, chopped,
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese,
pinch of salt,(Feta has salt, go easy on the salt)
enough Pepper,
1/2 tsp Garlic pd,
1 tsp dry Steak seasoning which has onion flakes, herbs and red chilli flakes,
To make:
1. Microwave Spinach with 1 tbsp water, witha pinch of salt or if frozen, without any water with salt for 5 mins or so covered until Spinach is cooked and almost dry. Cool it.
2. Add all the spices and Feta to cooled Spinach, mix gently. Do not break Feta too much. Adjust salt and spices to your taste. Divide the filling roughly to 8 portions.

Preheat the oven to 375F or as the Crescent can instructs you.

3. Open the can, lay the triangles on a cookie sheet. Take 1 portion of filling and place it on the widest part of the crescent ans wrap the dough around the filling lightly however you want and seal the edges.
4. Repeat the same with all others and bake for 15-20 mins or until they are golden. Excellent to eat right after baking and nutrius too! You can use Pizza dough or inbetween the Biscuit dough too instead of Crescents! :)

Here are the logos of each event I will be sending these dishes to;

Kalan, a Kerala dish along with poori, goes to EC of "Simple Indian food", who is hosting "WYF-Cuisine" event.

Shrimp Moily, goes to Divya Vikram of "Dil Se" blog's event "Think Spice..Think Peppercorns". This event is started by Sunita.

Spinach and Feta Pockets, goes to LG of "Taste of Mysore" blog's event "Meals on Wheels" and to Pallavi of "All thingz yummy" blog, for her event "Sunday snacks-Grab and go" as well.

Both Kalan and Poori and Spinach-Feta Pockets, go to Trupti of "recipe Center" for her event "Recipes for the rest of us : Picnic Eats" and this event is started by Ramki.

Thanks to all the event hosts, enjoy! :)

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Tried and Tasted from other blogs, thank you for posting these my dear friends! :)
Click on the collage to enlarge. In addition to following the original recipes, I added a few other veggies or spices to these dishes.

Mulangi sambhar, from Krishnaveni. (added a bit more coriander seeds, rest is the same)

Sabbakki Idli, from Lakshmi G. (Used 2 cups Rava to 1 cup Sago/Sabbakki, steamed in Dhokla stand instead of Idli stand)

Cauliflower Kurma, from Madhumathi. (Added Potatoes, Peas and Lima beans with Gobi/Cauliflower)

Dill chapatis, from Ashwini. (I added some spices to the dough and improvised, will post my version of Parathas next week)

Movies I watched:

Frozen River (Oscar nominated, beautiful and heart wrenching)
Priceless (French movie with English subtitle, good love story to watch to pass time!)
Religulous (Documentary by Bill Maher, another must watch if you are open minded enough to question the existence of "God" and "God's people"!)

Thanks for all of you who passed on few award last week to me, they are in my sidebar with your names. Hugs to all of you!

Have a fun weekend, see you next week! Purnima let me know that March 8th is celebrated as a "International women's day", so enjoy that too! :)

Goan Cuisine; Sorpotel, Alu Ambot Tik, Pulao, Sannas, Dodol

My sincere thanks to all of you who welcomed me back to the blog world last week, including many talented young new foodies I have met so far. It's my pleasure to be a part of this foodie community, let's keep it simple, clean and have fun sharing! :)

Note to event hosts.. if you see any dish fits your event in my blogs, do give me a nudge. I will gladly send it to you. Just that it's a bit hard for me to remember all the events and deadlines, so help me out!

This week I chose to cook few Goan dishes for my post. Goa being the smallest state in the west of India, it's a coastal area which is very popular tourist destination well known for it's beaches, churches and architecture among Indians and Panaji/Panjim as it's capital, Goan cuisine is very much influenced by Portuguese among the Christian community who are fond of pork,beef dishes and Konkan style menu among Hindus. Fish, coconut are few of the staples along with addition of Feni, Toddy, Goan Vinegar are used in much diversified cuisine of Goa. For more info about Goa, click here and here.

(I don't claim to be an expert in cooking or I don't claim that my dishes are authentic to any region in any shape or form. I just post what I cook at home, sometimes experiment by borrowing from cookbooks, bloggers or websites if I am not familiar with certain dishes, which I always link or give credit to the source. So if some of you feel that the dishes are not authentic enough, please bear with me and just enjoy the recipes! You can click on the photos to see the larger images.)

Few Goan delicacies I tried;
Pulao, Sannas, Pork Sorpotel, Potato Ambot Tik and a dessert Dodol/Dhodol:
I have visited Goa several times while I was in India but haven't eaten in Goan-Portuguese homes. I chose some of these dishes to try a Goan thali by referring to this website and few books that I have like Tarla dalal's with few changes in the recipes. Toddy or Feni is not available to me, so I skipped those.

How to make these:

Potato/Batata Ambot Tik:
'Ambot' means 'Sour' in konkani & 'Tik' means 'hot/spicy'. Combination and balance of these both makes a wonderful vegetarian or non-veg dish added to Potatoes or any other vegetable you choose or meat or seafood.
Batata Ambot Tik goes to sunshinemom of "Tonguetickers" blog's FIC-Yellow" event, Thanks for hosting S! :)

Cook 3-4 peeled potatoes until almost done, sliced into thick wedges lengthwise, drain water,cool them and keep aside. Add salt to taste. Some cilantro to garnish.
1/2 tsp tamarind paste mixed with some water.Grind these:
3 or more dried kashmiri red chillies,
1 tbsp cumin seeds,
6 peppercorns,
1/4 tsp turmeric,
4 cloves garlic,
2" ginger.

To season:
3 tbsp oil,
1 large onion, sliced thin.
To make it:
1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add onion and saute until soft. Add Tamarind juice, ground masala and fry, adding a bit of water if necessary until you see the oil on top.
2. Add potatoes, stir gently so you don't break them and 1/2 cup water if you feel it's very thick.Sprinkle Cilantro. Little bit of gravy is great. Serve with Sannas or Pulao.

Sorpotel:
Pork is used in this classic Goan dish, which is blended with various spices, Feni and vinegar has a wonderfully colorful red gravy. It's spicy, I cut down the chillies way down! Sorpotel has a Portuguese influence and often served with Sannas or rice on festival days. It tastes better after a day or two when the spices and meat get a chance to mingle.

1. Cut 2 lbs Pork shoulder into small cubes. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a deep pan, add pork cubes and stir fry until slightly browned, keep aside.
Grind these to a paste:
3 dry red chillies, 6 peppercorns, 3 cloves garlic,2" fresh ginger,2 tsp cumin seeds, 4 cloves, 2" cinnamon (Dalchini), 2-3 tbsp apple Cider vinegar (I chose this vinegar for it's fruity taste, can use any other, like Malt vinegar). Keep the paste aside.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil, add a cup of finely chopped onions, 2 green chillies until soft. Add ground masala paste, stir fry for 3 mins.
3. Add pork cubes, salt, 2 tbsp Feni (if you are using it), mix well. Add about 2-3 cups of water, boil, turn down the heat and simmer until oil shows on top, gravy is slightly thick.
you can use the pressure cooker which makes pork tender and quicker to make this dish too. Serve with rice or Sannas.

Sannas:
Now, these Sannas are look similar to our south Indian Idlis but in Goa they are made differently. It's batter is fermented with Toddy which gives it a tangy taste or you can also use 1 tsp yeast for fermetation, bit like Kerala Aapams. I don't have Toddy, so I made without it which came out fine except the taste of Toddy.

1. Soak 1 cup rice in water overnight. Drain the water, add to a blender with 1/2 cup coconut milk or grated coconut (add toddy now if you have it). Grind the rice coarsely like Rava/Semolina, likethickish idli batter.
2. Add (yeast now if you are using it and not Toddy),1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar, mix well and let it ferment for 4 hrs.
3. After 4 hrs, adjsut the salt and pour it into idli moulds and steam for 12mins just like idlis.
4. Take them out and serve. I am they are fluffy with Toddy or Yeast fermentation, for these were bit firm but great to sop up the gravy.

Pulao:
Also called Arroz Refogado, it's a simple Pulao to serve with Sorpotel, Vindaloo, Xacuti, Ambat Tik etc.You can add sausages or few veggies to make it more interesting. It's cooked in chicken stock but salted plain water will do as well or you can chicken stock cubes.

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil or butter, add few cloves, 1-2 bay leaves, few peppercorns, 2 crushed cardamom pods.
2. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric, stir and add 1 small onion,sliced. Saute until soft and slightly reddish. Add 2 garlic minced, 1" grated ginge, stir fry.
3. Add 2 cups rice, saute for a minute. Add 3 1/2 cups water (add salt)or chicken stock (skip salt). Boil first until halfway cooked and then cover and simmer on low heat.Stir to mix.
---I cook the rice first, let it cool and season it with above masala. That way, rice doesn't get soggy. If you are good at cooking rice on the stove top, go ahead and do it the traditional way.

Dodol:
Dodol is a dessert made with rice flour, coconut milk, jaggary,stirred until thick and leaves the sides of the pan like halwa and garnished with nuts.Takes a little time to make but aromatic, delicious to eat.I made a very little amount just to try.


1. Take a non-stick pan, add 2 cups of coconut milk (canned is fine), heat it on medium heat until hot.
2. Add pinch of salt, 1/2 cup or more jaggary or sugar to it, stir until it dissolves. Add few tbsps of grated fresh or sweetened coconut to it and mix well.
2. Pour in 3/4 cup rice flour little by little, kepp stirring. It becomes thick, and starts to leave the sides of pan when done.4. Pour into buttered dish.
5. Sprinkle chopped nuts like Cashews or Pistachios. When cooled, cut into shapes and serve warm or cold.

Another look of my Goan thali!!

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Check these out when you have time:
Spinach and Feta Cheese bread.
Urad dal masala vada with spicy dal dip.

Movies:
Don't miss "Gran Torino"! Clint Eastwood, as old as he is, can still hold the whole film on his shoulder alone! It's a amazing movie, loved it. I also learnt many many many "names" they call southeast Asians from this movie which I didn't know before too! :P

"Mamma Mia", and "Burn after reading" are two fun films I saw last week, rented from one of those "Red box", each film costs like $1.07 for 1 day rental. Hurray for me!! :D

"Slumdog Millionnaire" movie is based on the book "Q and A: A novel" written by an Indian author, Vikas swarup. I am planning to buy it this month.

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Here are few dishes I cooked last July from other bloggers before my kitchen was demolished. I am posting it now, one more list coming next week. Thanks for posting all these recipes, fellow foodies!

Quinoa dosa, from thetastetinkerer.
Kandi Podi, from Uma.
Mangalore chicken curry, Ranji.
Lima Beans Curry, from Medhaa.
Huli, from Ramya of Mane Adige.
Pacchi Pulusu, from Rekha.
Amaranth dal, from Anusha.
Black Eyed Peas Kurma, from Kribha.
Beans (originally made with Plantain stems) Kootu, from Srivalli.
Butter beans Subzi, from RC.
Rasam, from Sireesha.
Chole, Priti.

and now I am done! see y'all next week! :))

THUKPA with TS-JA, ADAS BIS SILQ with KHOUBIZ!

HUH? WHAT?! That's what you are thinking, I know! It was all "Greek" to me too until I tried these tasty dishes from Arunchal Pradesh and Lebanon! :D

(Some of you are waiting for a particular post, check out the links way below!)
Well..today I am taking you all to a culinary tour of Arunachal Pradesh as a part of RCI-North East of India, one of the lesser known states in North-east region of India, to have a delicious Noodle soup and salt Tea.
After we are done touring North-east of India, I thought I would fly you to Middle East and visit Lebanon to taste one of their soup and bread too! How does that sound? Pack your hungry tummies and let's go buddies!

Arunachal Pradesh, North East India:
North East India covers these states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Arunachal Pradesh in one of the states in North east of India I am choosing to explore and cook from. The name Arunachal Pradesh means "land of the dawn lit mountains" in Sanskrit. It is also known as "land of the rising sun" because of it's location in the easternmost state of India.
YAKS!!
Have you ever seen one before? There are plenty in Arunachal Pradesh and the local population uses it's sweetish milk for making Tea, cheese, Butter, Yogurt etc. Aren't they beautiful?

Most of the people living in Arunachal Pradesh are either of Tibetan-Burman origin or indigenous tribal origin, speak Tibeto-Burman languages and their cuisine is very much influenced by these cultures as well as China which borders the state. Most Arunachalis belong to 19 major tribes and 85 tribes, who has a tradition which is diverse and of rich culture, language and beliefs, including immigrant Bengali, Bodo, Hajong and Chakma and immigrants from neighboring Assam, Nagaland and other parts of India. The most major tribes include the Adi, Galo, Nishi, Khamti, Monpa and Apatani. Most popular festivals are Sangken,Solung,Nyokum,Longteyalu,Khan, Dree Etc which they celebrate with dance, song and food.
OPO, a fermented rice beer is made everyday in most homes and very much enjoyed by the people of Arunachal Pradesh!
The earliest references to Arunachal are found in the era of Mahabharata, Ramayana and other Vedic legends. Several characters, such as Princess Rukmini, King Bhismaka and Lord Parashurama, were referred to as people from this region in the Mahabharata. (Info from WIKIPEDIA.)


Thukpa with Ts-Ja are my two dishes for "Regional Cuisine of India", a event started by Lakshmi from "veggie cuisine" and Bhags from "Crazy Curry" blog is hosting RCI event this month choosing the beautiful region of North-East India. I am choosing Arunachal Pradesh to show case.Thanks for hosting Bhags!:)


Thukpa/Gya-Thuk with Ts-Ja!
These recipes (with my own few additions) come from "The essential North-East cookbook" by the author Hoihnu Hauzel and book is available at www.indiaclub.com.
Thukpa is a popular noodle-based soup with vegetables (or meat) in this region. The Buddhist Monpa and Sherdukpa tribes are more inclined to Burmese or Chinese influenced food and their popular dishes are Momos, Chowmein and Thupka. Oil and spices are sparingly used, chillies and ginger and sometimes fermented Bamboo shoots and fish are used for flavoring the soup.
This lightly flavored Thukpa was very tasty. Even my kids liked it, similar to American Chicken Noodle soup with loads of veggies. YES! You need a fork too for the Noodles!:D

Ts-Ja is a tea made of Yak's milk or it's butter, tea leaves and salt is added instead of sugar!! DO NOT ask me how to to pronounce Ts-Ja and DO NOT ask me whether I used Yak's milk and drank this salted Tea! Ain't tellin' ya! ;P
I am just giving you the recipe exactly as the book says they make this tea in AP! Have fun making it if you can find Yak's milk! :D

To make these:

To make 2 cups of Ts-Ja:
1. Boil 2 cups of water, add 1 cup Yak's milk or 1 tsp unsalted Yak's butter and 1/2 tsp salt.
2. Bring to boil again with 2 tsp tea leaves. Take the pan off of the heat.
3. Cover the pan and let it sit for 5 mins. Strain the Tea and serve. Enjoy!:)

Delicious Thukpa:
1. Cook 1 fistful of dry Egg noodles or Spaghetti pasta in boiling water with salt and bit of oil until cooked, strain, cover and keep aside.
2. Boil 5 cups of vegetable stock or chicken stock or water, add 2 cups of mixed vegetables of your choice, 1 garlic (my addition), 1 green chilly sliced and boil for 5 mins.
(I used 1 carrot, chopped, 1/2 cup Green beans chopped, 1 can sliced Bamboo shoots, few baby Spinach, 1 small Potato cubed, 3 tbsp Green onions,1 small tomato,chopped.)
3. When veggies are almost cooked, add 1 breast of chicken, chopped (optional), cook for 2-3 mins untilcooked. Take the pan off the heat.
4. Add 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tbsp Cilantro and pepper pd, cover and let it sit for a minute. Stir the soup, add cooked Noodles and enough salt if needed and garnish with chopped green scallions. Serve hot.


I am also sending Thupka since it's a one dish meal to Archana of "Archana's Kitchen", for her event called "One D", which is one dish meal event. Enjoy hosting Archana!:)
That's it from me for Arunachal Pradesh cuisine! :)

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Adas Bis Silq with Khoubiz from Lebanon are my contribution to "A.W.E.D.-Middle East" event which is launched by DK of "Culinary Bazaar" blog and being hosted by Siri of "Siri's corner" this month. We are visiting Middle East!! Thanks for hosting Siri, enjoy!:)


Lebanon:
Lebanon is a religiously diverse, mountainous country in the Middle East. Before the civil war, Lebanon was considered the banking capital of the Levant and was widely known as the "Switzerland of the East" due to its financial power. Lebanon also attracted large numbers of tourists to the point that the capital Beirut became widely referred to as the "Paris of Western Asia".
Gibran Khalil Gibran is known to be one of the world's famous writers, particularly known for his book "The Prophet", which has been translated into more than twenty different languages is from Lebanon.
The Lebanese Cuisine is considered to be a Mediterranean, basically Levantine Arabic delicacy consisting of a variety of fresh vegetarian recipes, salads and stews all seasoned with a flavorsome combination of herbs and spices, is considered to be a very balanced, healthy diet. "Mezze", which are appetizers and also a Lebanese parsley salad known as Tabbouleh are the most popular. (Info from WIKIPEDIA)

Adas Bis Silq with Khoubiz:
These recipes come from the author Tess mallos, with my slight changes or additions. Her comprehensive cookbook is called "The complete Middle East cookbook".
Adas Bis Silq is basically a vegetarian lentil soup with Sliverbeets or red chard greens as we call it in US and flavored with light spices, makes a delicious soup full of protein and fiber. I added some cumin pd for taste and used a bunch of my first ever yield of baby red chards from my own veggie patch. YAY! :)
Khoubiz is a soft Lebanese flat bread similar to Italian Focaccia or a thick Naan if you make them smaller, baked plain or with spices sprinkled on it, great for dipping or mop up the Lentil soup.

To bake spiced Khoubiz:



First, let's make the Lentil soup:
1. Soak 1 cup brown lentils or whole red lentils(whole Masoor) or Egyptian lentils as they are sometimes, in water for 2 hrs, then wash and drain it.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of water or stock or veg broth to lentils and Microwave for 10-12 mins on high or until soft but not to a mushy mess.
3. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan, add 1 shallot,chopped, 1 garlic chopped,fry until softened.
4. Add 1 cup of washed and chopped red chard leaves, 1 tsp Cumin powder, salt, pepper, 2 tbsp cilantro leaves, cover and boil for 3 mins.
5. Take the pan out of the heat and add 2 tsp lemon juice, mix. Serve with a slice of Khoubiz and lemon slices.



Now the Bread!
I have the cut the original recipe into half since we didn't need too many Khoubiz. Mine is almost like rustic deep dish Pizza crust with spices on it! You can sprinkle cheese on top too and eat like a snack, great for kids to munch on or with any soup.

To bake one big or 4 small round Khoubiz, you need:
3 cups flour, more or less,
1 1/4 tsp or half packet of dry active yeast,
1 cup water,
3/4 tsp salt,
1/2 tsp sugar,
1 tbsp oil.
Spice mix: if you like it spiced, sprinkle chilli flakes, Garlic pd, Sesame seeds, Onion seeds, mixed herbs etc or Zatar mix.
How to bake:
1. Mix yeast, 1/4 cup warm water(110F), sugar and let it foam for 5 mins.
2. Add yeast mix to a mixer bowl with 3 cups of flour mixed with salt gradually , 3/4 cup water, oil. Mix and knead well for 4 mins until you get a smooth dough. Add more or less flour as you need.
3. Brush oil on the dough, cover and let it rise for an hour or until doubled.
Preheat the oven for 500F.
4. Punch down the dough. You can divide this into 4 smaller round breads or roll into one flat round about 1/2" thick like Focaccia, make dents with your fingers on top of the bread. Place them on the oiled baking pan, cover and let it rise a bit for about 10mins.
5. Sprinkle the spices if you are using. Bake in the oven for about 10 to 15 mins or until golden on the bottom and slightly golden on top. Use your judgment for exact timing but don't let it bake too long.
6. Take out and cool on the rack. Slice into wedges to serve.

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Book and Movie?
I just started to read a book called "Tamarind Woman" by Anita Rau Badami and watched "Dances with Wolves" again last Sunday.
I was too busy to finish the book, what with all the kids' last 10 days of school activities, field day, field trip, pep rally, Trisha's NHS Induction ceremony, Tushar's Guitar concert etc. School ends on the 11th. YAY!!
More work for me cooking lunch for 3 people everyday during the summer break and all but still YAY! :D

Dishes I tried last week:

Bhinda Ni Kadhi from Coffee's blog.
Dabeli Masala from Trupti's blog.
Dabeli from Rricha's blog.
Phulko Luchi ar Aloor Dom from Sandeepa's blog.
Cheesy Dal bread from Sunita's blog. Used this (spicy Butternut squash stir-fry instead of dal)
Methi Shag Bhaja from Jayashree of "spice and curry" blog.
Thank you Prajusha, Sireesha, Jayashree and JZ for your awards. I always appreciate it! Remind me if I have forgotten to mention any of you! :)
A big hug to Anamika for passing on a very beautiful 'Arte y Pico' award (photo on the sidebar)! What a beauty!! Thank you Anamika.
I am passing this beauty to "Bee", "Happy Cook" and "Sig", my dear blog buddies. Enjoy!:)



Have a great rest of the week, see you all later!:)