SoCal still rules my mind and heart

Just been a year in SoCal and I am so attached to the nature, the coast, the busy life with "Who has time for you" attitude! I wonder how.... I swore that I shall never fall in love with any other city than my all time sweetheart, but now congested, Namma Bengaluru. I left the place with teary eyes and landed in the BIG world here in SoCal. Like every human who needs some time to make acquaintances, learn about the land, culture, weather, etc., I too took my own time, mind you, my own time!!! ha ha...



In a short period of time, I made thick friends, one to be a special mention, who is a few years older than me, but the same as me in attitude, nature, courage, hobbies and so on and so forth. It miss them(Her and kids) indeed everyday here. I learned so many things from her, as she has seen quite a portion of the world in her 8 yrs of married life and 2 kids :O

Few things that i learned from her are
1. Have a polite approach, but not be feared of anyone even in your first attempt
2. Talk with everyone, Don't be choosy in talking to people. You never know, the weirdest looking creature could be the best one at heart :)
3. Try everything and anything. Don hesitate! (some limits plzzz!!!)
4. Be on your own - married or unmarried, Have your own set of friends
5. Do not get attached to materialistic things (Like Flat screen TV, your wardrobe (of course filled with trendy dresses that you bought and never wore ;) ), etc)
6. Be ready to support and stand by your better half in any situation.
7. Give and take. Give with all the love, you shall get back equally for what you gave - That's so true



The few months spent with them are memorable one. I had gotten back to my college days of teasing, giggling, commenting on every other person on road (esp the fellow men/women of my country who would behave as if they are the ones here!), roam around and find things out for yourself at any time of the day - Yes even at 10pm when its supposed to be a not so good time to venture out, we went shopping, in fact hunting for the best bargains... :D.

The numerous visits to Costco, Kumon, Randy's, Ross, Donut Den, Forever21, Kohls, JC Penny, Leap and Bound, Arnold, Indian Store (The one with 80's style clothes still hanging with a big board called "SALE" which nobody bothered to browse through!!!!)



Still freshly in my mind is the visit to Newport beach and Seal beach for whale watching and then enjoying snow ice cream @ Snobiggie resp., Amazing times... Summer is always fun to be in... Considering the barbecue parties around the pool in the cool pleasant weather beyond 6pm, the everyday fun with all families of the apt community with most of them enjoying the water at the pool, the endless plans (executed most of them though!) of road trips.



Learning was always there in the last 1 year, for obvious reasons. My lifestyle changed, my thinking changed, my cravings for jewelry (Gold, diamond) dint cease but for sure decreased and yes my mind turned towards other things which were not very important until then in life - like cosmetics, perfumes, tons and tons of clothes, clothes according to the season/weather, handbags, more than enough pairs of sandals, some of which were not even worn after a trial session @ the store :O



I don't exactly miss "Little India" in Artesia 'cos I have never enjoyed being there on that street where you can spit, litter and dress in salwar/sarees, cross the road anywhere other than the Ped Xing marked area.. Talk Tamil/Telugu/Hindi mixed with English. ( Mind you, Telugites never spoke any other language other than their own and NEVER did I hear someone speak using appropriate words in English :: So patriotic to their nation .. oops, to their state you see!); but I feel sorry that I won't be able to watch Bollywood movies on the first day of release in Big screen, won't be able to snatch a pack of jaggery or mustard as i wander the biggest serving grocery store in SoCal. Neither would I be able to choose from the Indian cuisines for Lunch/dinner like Udupi palace, Rajdhani rajasthan Cuisine, Woodlands for dinner, Standard sweets for chaat and the unforgettable "Sukhadia sweets" who had the oldest range of sweets in SoCal!!! ha ha ha.. Yes, all the stale food that they serve earns them revenue.. And that's why they are open on Monday when the entire (read it as ENTIRE) Little India is closed.


Another place I really wish I was born in is "Palos Verde" - every time I visit this piece of land, it reminds me of how God designed land and sea and his way of architecture is indeed above/beyond Human thinking/ideas. I shall Post a picture of it for you to understand what the place is like... It has no menace like the general public littering or being very loud and noisy. Only the localites come in and enjoy the sight and sound ( the silence) of this place.

All in all, the second best place after Bangalore to live - Yes, i still love Bangalore the most.


Will write about the road trips in my forth coming posts...

Tc,
N:Astro

Memorable, tearful, March 9th 2011

Heylooo....

Don't get me wrong just by looking at the title of this post.... I say, tearful cos i am not mourning here for any loss, but in fact v emotional about achieving something here....After a long gap, i must say.

On the eventful day of March 9th, i collected all my courage, energy, prayers, wishes, blessings from both parents, sister and in-laws, of course, needless to mention my sweetheart too and stepped out of the house, after a good lunch of Rice, rasam and appalam... I felt drowsy in fact but the nervousness in me held all the dizzy feeling one will have after a sumptuous lunch.

As, i was tensed, my hubby drove to the DMV - you must have got the hint of what i am gonna write about next!
We had an appointment at 3.30pm and we were in time. By 2.45 i reached the DMV, submitted all essentials and was asked to bring my car , park in test area and wait until the inspector took over. At this time, my hubby was supposed to disappear!!! oops, be out of sight!

There came the officer to inspect my vehicle and asked me to operate the car, as he ordered one by one. Lemme go the same way.

1. Checked my temporary Class C license

He asked me to turn on the ignition, but not to start the vehicle unless specified. And then went on to ask me to

2. Turn on ur right blinkers, then left blinkers.
3. Keep ur foot on the brakes
4. Apply parking brake or hand brake
5. Honk the horn
6. Switch on Low beam and then high beam
7. Wipers to be turned on and then off

The next moment he was inside the car and instructed me to drive as he would tell. I agreed and asked him back, if i can ask u to repeat in case i dont understand at the first instance.
He smiled and said, definitely yes.

We went ahead driving out of the DMV, and thud, no no i dint slam onto anything but there was too much traffic in the nearby intersection and i had simply rushed into it without waiting for some more time.
Anyway, all was well, nothing critical. I had 15 mistakes to be forgiven - i mean the small ones like not looking at intersections , etc.
Any critical mistakes, then a BIG token to fail me immediately. No mercy. After all its SoCal yaar...
The inspector was a polite person indeed and very calm. He was very clear in the direction, as to where i must turn and where to park.
The area near DMV was well planned to conduct the tests i guess. "n" number of stop signs and cramped roads with parking on both sides. So all these made me feel that i m driving inside a film studio!!!
He asked me to parallel park my car and then take reverse, drive reverse at a strecth for half a mile, without either pulling out of parking lot or touching/going very close to the curb.
i did it. And then he asked me to do an angle parking in the DMV parking lot. I never dare to look at the test sheet that he had with him.
Finally, after i properly parked my vehicle, the much awaited golden words came from his mouth.

"Alright, u drive well, So you passed the test" and there i was elated, joyous, happy, proud, smiling, had this gr8 sense of achievement.

Hey i never told you where was my dearie right... Oh my dearie was standing in the queue to take another appointment for behind the wheel test, in case i failed to achieve this time!!! I ran up to him and hugged him . He found out from the happiness that thrived in me.

You must be thinking, what a hubby, who doesn't believe his wifey. Its not that he never believed me; had he not believed then he would not have taken all the effort to teach me driving with perfect rules in the ruthless roads of SoCal, within a month's time. Almost.... 45 days, every evening i was forced to take the drivers seat.

Finally, I am so glad that i could make it. Now i feel that i am worth something in this new place. I feel independent.

The following day went on with Dokhla party at an Indian store. All were praising me for hitting the target at the FIRST attempt, that is unusual. Thanks to Mom and God for all that I and my hubby prayed.

For all those who wanna take the driving test, please do not rely on the driving classes that are offered for a humongous rate. Have faith in your family members. Practice until u r confident. And watch all the youtube driving test videos. Learn hand signals, be familiar with all the parts of your car. Do not violate any signals during the test, do not over speed. All the best of luck.

tc,
N:astro

Wackiest Vaangi bhaath

The title should not scare you for the fact that its is certainly not a crazy stuff. Just the name rhymed and i titled it so!

Bhaath - means variety rice. I was introduced to this term only in Karnataka. Any rice meant Bhath - vaangi bhath, tomato bhaath, menthya bhaath, bisi bele bhaath, what not? uff.... The list is endless.

I hate this vege "Eggplant, aubergine, brinjal, garden egg". Oh, hold on. They are all the same. You call them in which ever way you love, i just cannot tolerate the sight of it! Yes. But i had to use them and do something new for my hubby who is a complete opposite in this thought. He loves them.

So, i thought lemme get my hands washed off by cooking something simple. I have used MTR vaangi bhaath mix here.

Also, you can substitute the above said mix with home made masala.

Masala :
1. Fenu greek seeds - 5 tsp
2. Pepper corns - 10
3. Cumin seeds - 3 tsp
4. Red chilly - 10
5. Coconut - grated 3 tsp
6. Sesame seeds - 1tsp

Dry roast all the above ingredients and blend them into a coarse powder. Store them in air tight containers for future use. This can be used for any of the above said bhaath, along with the dish specific vegetable.

Vaangi bhaath ingredients:
1. Egg plant - 3 - sliced into 1 inch long slender pieces
2. Onion - 1 small finely chopped
3. Tomato - 1 small finely chopped
4. Curry leaves - 5
5. Cooked rice - 1 cup
6. Above said bhaath powder or MTR mix - 2 tsp
7. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
8. Cilantro - finely chopped
9. Salt to taste and oil for frying
10. Mustard, cumin seeds for seasoning

Heat oil in a wok, add the seasoning stuff and go on with onion, curry leaves and egg plant.Roast them until oil oozes out of egg plant. Add tomatoes now. Cook till soft. Add salt, MTR mix, turmeric and cook for just 2 minutes. Sprinkle water onto this cooked stuff and add rice slowly by stirring the mixture. Stir it well such that the mixture and eventually color are equally spread across.

A simple Raita would do with this as an accompaniment.

tc,
N:astro

Vegetable paneer snack

Please refer "Paneer wrap" for the cutlet. Thats the main stuff here. I prepared it with the left overs from "Paneer wrap"!!! And, lo, i got a lot appreciation.

Take the left over paneer stuffing and make them into small pan cakes and shallow fry them, with a drop or 2 of oil.

Take a zucchini. Slice them into round shape. Put a pancake on top of it. Add few chopped vegetable like red/yellow bell pepper. Splash lemon juice and oregano on it.

Lo, what an invention , isnt it?!

tc,
N:astro

Restau type "Kadai chicken"

Its a side dish, which goes well with either Roti or flavored rice such as pulav, jeera rice, etc.
This contains few pieces of diced vegetables too! They in fact add that zest to the dish.

Lets go about it now.
Ingredients:
1. Onion - 2 finely chopped
2. Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped
3. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
4. Chicken - 1 lb cut into 1 inch cubes (boneless preferred)
5. Bell pepper - 1 diced
6. Cauliflower - 5 florets diced
7. Yogurt - 2 scoops
8. Garam masala - 1 tsp
9. Whole spices - Shahi jeera - 1 tsp, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, etc. each 1 or 2
10. Chilly powder - 2 tsp
11. Green chilly - 5 slit
12. Salt to taste and oil for frying
13. Lemon juice - 1 scoop

Clean the chicken and marinate it with salt, garam masala, 1 scoop of yogurt and slide it into your fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a wok, add whole spices. Let the flavor come out. Add onion and green chillies. Fry them for 5 minutes. Add the raw vegetables, except tomato. Fry them till they are cooked. Drop in tomatoes. Cook them well, before you start adding chilly powder, salt. Add rest of yogurt too at this stage. Now, drop the marinade into the mixture on flame. Pour a glass of water and allow it to cook for 25minutes or until the chicken is tenderly done.
Splash the lemon juice all over it and serve hot.
Cilantro can be also sprinkled.

oops, forgot to take a picture of it!

tc,
N:astro

Kiddo's Favo "Paneer wrap"

This one came just out of a mixture of vegetable thoughts!!!

Yes, you might not believe, but i did this out of permutations and combinations of ingredients.

Wraps are the final product of 4 sub divided items. Chapathi or Roti, plain or flavored Spread, Freshly sliced veges and of course the tikki or the cutlet which makes it further more tempting to cook :)

Chapathi :
1. Wheat flour - 2 cups
2. Oli - 1tsp
3. Salt to taste

Mix them with enough water (1:2 - water : dough ratio) and make this into a stiff dough that is kept aside for at least 330 minutes for fluffy chapathis.

Spread :
1. Butter or Mayonnaise - 50 gms
2. If butter, then choose to add any finely grated vegetable into it, to make it flavored!

I used plain butter this time. Would love either zucchini butter or garlic butter.

Vegetables:
Let them be as colorful as possible. Let it be a mixture of onion rings, bell pepper - you got infinite colors in them, Zucchini slices, Potato wafers (Raw would tatste good, believe me), tomatoes sliced, etc.

Cutlet :
1. Carrot - 1 finely chopped
2. Cauliflower - few florets - finely chopped
3. Onion - 1 finely chopped
4. Tomatoes - 1 finely chopped
5. Paneer - crushed using a blender
6. Potatoes - boiled, peeled and mashed.
7. Oil for frying
8. Salt to taste
9. Garam masala - 1 tsp
10. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
11. Chilly powder - 2 tsp
12. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Heat 3 tsp of oil in a deep pan, add cumin seeds. Allow it to splutter. Add onion, ginger garlic paste. Fry till soft. Add carrot, cauli, tomatoes and fry till they are cooked well. Now add the garam masala, chilly powder, salt and cook well. Dont let it char.

Now, throw in the crumbled paneer and mashed potatoes and cook till the raw smell emanates from it. Let go off the raw smell and end up with well cooked delicious mixture. Add a dash of lemon juice for sourness, if preferred.

Let the mixture cool. Take a small amount of it and make a ball out of it. Later flatten it into a cutlet.

Take one roti, apply the floverd/plain spread, place some fresh vegetables, Put on a cutlet. Fold the roti and have it at one go like my hubby!
touch wood......

tc,
N:astro

The Kannadiga's Maduve sweet "Chirote"

This sweet is very different from the ones i have eaten usually. I was introduced to this dish, during my classmate's wedding, when we were studying our bachelor's degree. Yeah, she got married very soon in life.

I initially was apprehensive about allowing the server to keep a Chirote on my banana leaf, cos i was already full and my Saree wasn't giving me enough space to stuff any more items! But my fellow student was quick enough to ask them to serve one on my plate, as it is "The Most Yummy" in her book of sweets. And then, no marks for guessing what happened - I fell in Love with it.

Now, that I am married, after so many years (lol!), i was explaining my hubby how I got intro to this special dish and How I went onto observe that every Kannada wedding (Maduve) had one at the end of the feast.

Having a hubby with sweet tooth means catering to his taste at least once in a week with a new sweet item. So, this week I came across a similar kind in one of the websites and decided myself that I would prepare Chirote.

Here is how I went about. There are 3 ways to make the final product, I would suggest the third one, cos it does not allow the stuffing to spill out. Rather minimal amount of stuffing peeps out, when you roll.

This sweet has 3 parts - Poori with a filling, Sugar and milk

Ingredients:
1. Rava or Semolina - 3/4 cup
2. Maida or All purpose flour - 2 1/4 cup
3. Oil - 2 tsp and for deep frying
4. Salt - a pinch
5. Sugar - Powdered
6. Cardamom - 5-6, powdered along with sugar
7. Butter - 100 gm
8. Rice flour - 2 tsp
9. Milk - 1 cup

Part 1:
Sugar - Finely powder it with few cardamom.

Part 2:
Milk - You can either use plain milk or Badam (Almond) milk

Part 3:
Poori - with stuffing.

Mix all purpose flour, Semolina, oil, a pinch of salt and enough water to make a stiff dough which can be further rolled, without any extra moisture.
Keep aside for about 15-30 minutes.
Now, get back to doing the filling mixture. Take butter and add rice flour to it. Whisk it nicely, to make a soft, smooth creamy filling.

Now, take a portion of the dough and roll it into a chapathi/roti, which is as thin as possible. Apply/Spread the butter filling onto it. The thinner the filling, the better the outcome!
Similarly, do it for 3 more chapathis.

Part 3 - Method 1:
Now, sandwich all the chapathis, such that every chapathi has a surface that is coated with butter. Its like chapathi, butter on top, chapathi, butter on top, so on till you reach the 4th one!
Now, roll these into a cylindrical shape and seal them at the ends.
Cut them into cross sectional 1 inch pieces and roll them yet again, to form a poori. Make sure that the filling does not spill out.

Part 3 - Method 2:
1 chapathi with butter on; roll it into a cylinder. Next chapathi with butter on. Put the 1st cylinrical roll on the 2nd chapathi, and roll them together! Go ahead with 4 chapathis, doing the same. end with a roll.
Now, seal it at the ends and cut them into 1 inch pieces and roll them again into flat chapathis.

Part 3 - Method 3 :
Do the same as in method 2, but do not cut them into pieces. After sealing the ends, just roll the entire sandwich into a big chapathi and cut it into squares approximately. The squares should be of a palm size.

Deep fry them in oil.

How to eat these.
Take a fried chapathi, crush it into pieces, in a bowl. Add sugar powder onto it. Pour some milk - can be either cold milk or warm. Allow it to soak for a couple of minutes and relish the dish!

tc,
N:astro

much awaited Spinach chicken

I love greens - unlike so many in this world. Since i love it, i keep stuffing the same into my hubby's list of "likes" in food category. He is supposed to eat them, cos he cant cook for himself anything like what i do; or even nearer to it. No self praise here.

This time, i did not decide and pick ingredients to cook this. It just fell in place. I had stocked up a bunch of Spinach and yesterday my hubby picked a pound of chicken to make kebabs. But as i said, i love stuffing my likes on him!!!

Here is how I went about it.

Ingredients:
1. Spinach - 1 bunch
2. Chicken - 1lb
3. Onion - 1 cut into cubes
4. Tomatoes - 1 cut into big chunks (Rather use baby/Cherry tomatoes)
5. Potatoes - 1 cut into cubes
6. Green chillies - 3 slit
7. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
8. Garam masala - 1 tsp
9. Red Chilly powder - 2 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Caraway seeds - shahi jeera - 1tsp
12. Oil for frying
13. Ginger garlic - 2 tsp (Freshly chopped or paste)

Clean Spinach and boil it in a cup of water. Cool and blend it to smooth consistency.

Marinate the chicken with garam masala, half the total amount of salt, red chilly powder for 15 minutes.

In a pan, add 2 tsp of oil, allow the caraway seeds to splutter by adding them. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, potatoes and roast them to slightly brown. Add tomatoes and fry. Now add the chicken marinade and cook it for 3 minutes by turning the pieces so that they are evenly coated/roasted.

Now, heat another pan, add the spinach paste and allow it to cook for 5 minutes parallely. Turn off the chicken mixture and slowly add all that into the spinach paste. Put on the lid and allow it to cook until the chicken is soft and succulent but well cooked. This will take about 20-25 minutes. You can keep the mixture on heat for 5 more minutes to drain the excess moisture if required.

tc,
N:astro

Humble Zucchini Yogurt Dip

I love this vegetable. I cannot be reminded of any other vegetable so humble, elegant in its nature. I am praising it because, its one such vege, which can mold into any dish, without bringing any great change to the dish's flavor. The texture is so gentle, but not juicy, which makes it much easier to cut them into any desired shape and it shall not add any extra moisture to the dish.

All said and done about Zucchini, the king of vegetables, in my opinion. Lets move onto the actual stuff that holds zucchini in it. This time, its a dip. I have found that people here are so crazy about chips and dips! Lol.

All set to go now.

Ingredients:
1. Yogurt - 2 scoops
2. Salt to taste
3. Pepper - 5 corns crushed
4. Zucchini - 1 finely chopped
5. Parsley or cilantro - 1 tsp finely chopped
6. Green chilly - 1 finely chopped

Whisk yogurt until a smooth consistency is reached. Add salt, pepper, finely chopped cilantro, green chilly and mix it well. Now add zucchini and finish off with a pinch of chat masala if you like it.

Carrot kheer - my style

Simple - elegant - yet tasty.
This is what i can tell about carrot kheer that i made.

Ingredients:
1. Carrot - 3 grated (Would suggest you to grate it in a mixie)
2. Sugar - 1 cup
3. Cardamom - 2 powdered
4. Milk -1 cup
5. Water - 1 cup
6. Cashew nut or walnut or almonds - roasted in ghee (clarified butter)
7. Ghee - 2 tsp

In a heavy bottom pan, add 2 tsp ghee, fry the grated carrot until the raw smell is completely gone. Add 1 cup of water and allow it to cook until soft. May take 5-7 minutes. Blend it till smooth paste using a blender.

Now, boil milk in another pan. Add the sugar, cardamom, smooth paste and allow this to boil for just 3-4 minutes. When you are able to smell the aroma, add cashew and turn off the gas. Cool it for an hour and serve or serve hot.

tc,
N:astro

paneer pakoda, just in time

I never realized that i could use the left over things from fridge to dish up some good evening snack stuff.
The previous day, i had prepared few onion rings dipped in gram flour. And the gram flour batter remained a little. To use this up, i add some garam masala (Any garam masala or chat masala or even pani puri masala!!!) to it an dipped few 1 inch cubes of fresh store bought paneer into it and deep fried it till golden brown. To my surprise, the paneer was tender and succulent in the middle of the fried batter. Just in time for a snack with tea/coffee.

Was appreciated way too much!

one way to prove, Old is gold!

tc,
N:astro

cold coffee... in just a minute

Yes, You heard me right... In just a minute.... Don you dare think of placing an order in Starbucks!

Its just made at home.

Milk - 2/3 glass
water - 1/3 glass
instant coffee powder - 1 tsp
sugar - 2 tsp
ice cubes - desired number and shape

I have an ice tray that produces heart shaped ice cubes! So, its always a pleasure to use them, let it be cold coffee, just a mixed bowl of fruits or rose milk.

Take a glass, fill it with milk, water, sugar and add coffee powder. I am talking about chilled plain milk here. Dash in few ice cubes and lo, here u go.... avoided the pain in your ass 'cos of travelling to a nearby Starbucks.

tc,
N:astro

tea time snack, bhakarwadi

This is a Marathi dish.. I know, i m not great at handling such heavy projects... That day, i wanted to send some home made delicacies to a close relative of ours. I decide, i shall send something thats dry and does not mess up during the courier.

Instant thought in my mind was Bhakarwadi. I was sure she would not have even heard of it, let alone taste it. With no second thoughts in my mind, i took up the project by a small research of 10 minutes. Though i did not have the essential ingredient - poppy seeds, i still decided to make do with sesame seeds alone.

Here is the recipe.

All you need
1. Wheat flour - 1 cup
2. Gram flour (Besan) - 2 cups
3. Green chillies - 5 finely chopped
4. Ginger - 1 inch finely chopped
5. Fresh coriander - a handful finely chopped
6. Red chilly powder - 3 tsp
7. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
8. Cumin seeds - 3 tsp
9. Grated coconut - 1 cup
10. Sesame seeds - 100gms
11. Salt to taste
12. Sugar - 5 tsp
13. Oil for frying and making dough
14. Asafoetida - 2 pinch
15. Tamarind pulp - 1 tsp


Start with the dough.
Mix wheat and gram flour with 50ml of oil, 1 tsp of salt, a pinch of asafoetida. Use required amount of water, spoon by spoon, to ensure you finally end up with a very tough dough.
set aside and get back to making the filling for the dish.

Dry roast Grated coconut, sesame seeds, green chilly, ginger, fresh coriander and cumin seeds. Cool the mixture and blend them to a fine powder. Add red chilly powder, a pinch of asafoetida, salt needed, sugar, tamarind, coriander powder. This needs a very little water to make it into a paste that will not ooze out of the place where its stuffed.

Take a big enough chunk of dough and roll it to a pan cake shape, with a rolling pin, to an inch thick. Keep a hand full of the filling and try to roll the dough into a flute like shape, but very very tightly. Cut this flute into an inch thick pieces and deep fry them to golden brown in oil.
Dry the excess oil on a tissue and ready to go now....You can store in an air tight container and save it for a week's time!


tc,
N:astro

Summer cool spl "Vendhaya kanji aka Thengai kanji"

This one is especially during summer - those harsh sunny sweaty days, where body heat considerably increases thus affecting the normal functioning of the system - dehydration. When u excessively sweat or feel dry, then go for this cooling kanji, which has no chilly in it; Though it can be taken with either pickle or chutni as an accompaniment for those who cant stay away from spicy food.

This one reminds me of so many things in the past. I used to run away from the very sight of this dish, saying it tastes "Yuk", unaware of the goodness that it carried. Now, when i fell sick due to excessive feast during the first week of my marriage, this one came to my rescue - guess who prepared it for me? U get no points for guessing - my mom in law! cool... right.... yeah, like the dish, she too is one cool of a woman!

Simple, yet so elegant.

Ingredients:
1. Rice - 1 cup
2. Garlic - 5 cloves
3. Salt to taste
4. Coconut milk - 1 cup
5. Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp


Take a pressure pan, add 1 cup rice :2 cups of water, finely chopped garlic, fenugreek seeds. Cook this for around 3-4 whistles, till it gets mashed and looks like a kanji - porridge. Now, into this mixture, add a cup of coconut ilk and little water according to your needs. Dash in the salt to taste.

Enjoy this either with sugar or as it is, with any chutni or pickle.

tc,
N:astro

double spicy "Pepper Mutton fry"

As the name suggests, the main ingredient is pepper here! I have purposely named it this way. This is an easy recipe. And a healthy onee as it involves lot of pepper and a very little red chilly powder(If desired!).

Without much writing, there it goes.

All you need:
1. Mutton or lamb - chopped into 1 inch cubes - 1 lb
2. Pepper corns - 30
3. Garlic - 1 pod ( around 10 cloves)
4. Turmeric - 1 pinch
5. Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
7. Shallots - 20
8. Tomato - 1/2 finely chopped
9. Lemon - 1/2 (juice extracted)
10. Whole garam masala - 2 bay leaf, 2 clove, 2 star anise, 2 inch cinnamon
11. Salt to taste
12. Oil for frying
13. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp


Pressure cook the mutton with water, and whole garam masala added to it; add a pinch of slat and turmeric. Cook it for 6 whistles.
The stock if remains in excesses can be slightly seasoned with fennel seeds and taken as soup, which i tend to do. Else, keep the stock as less as possible. Use it while cooking this recipe.

Cut shallots into half.Crush the garlic and pepper into a coarse paste.
Heat oil in a wok or a pan with a wide mouth. Add the whole garam masala, cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. Add garlic pepper paste, shallots and onion and fry them till they are soft. Add tomatoes and cook it for 5 minutes. Now add red chilly powder and a little of the stock. Let t cook for 2 minutes. Its time now to throw in the meat and salt. Allow it to cook until the stock evaporates leaving beside, just the right amount of gravy. Add the lemon juice and serve it. It will go well with dosa, chapathi and rice too.

tc,
N:astro

sweetest of sweets : Puran poli / Obbattu

All these days i would just imagine myself doing Puran Poli and indulging in all of them on my own without offering it to anyone! In fact, used to keep dreaming about it all through my college days when most of my classmates used to bring these after Ugadi festival. And, lo, You got it right. I snatch it from every possible person and eat/hog them!

A very sweet memory of this dish is that my friend Vara, made all the effort and spent a day in making these delicacies for me - specially and brought them to college. And i took them to a cricket ground, so that i can avoid those "Evil" eyes on my stomach's capabilities and the passion that I had for these yummy sweeeeeet chapathis. Those days are still fresh in my mind. What friendship....lovely...And as days/years passed, we got married and moved on to different places in the world.

Here is the recipe.
1. Plain flour - 2 cups
2. Turmeric - 1 pinch (Poli's if desired in Yellow color)
3. Salt - 1 pinch
4. Rice flour - 1 tsp
5. Semolina (Rava) - 1 tsp
6. Oil - 3 tsp
7. Split chickpeas (Channa dal) - 1 1/2 cup
8. Jaggery - 2 big blocks
9. cardamom - 10
10. Sugar - 5 tsp
11. Oil for shallow frying and dipping fingers


Boil the channa dal till it is firm but completely boiled and soft.It should be mashed when u apply little pressure keeping a morsel between thumb and forefinger.
Now, when hot, dry the dal on a paper towel to remove any possible moisture from it. Grind it to a fine powder. Put this powder in tava and add jaggery to it. Keep stirring, so that the mixture becomes a paste, since jaggery melts when heated.

Powder cardamom and sugar. Need not worry about the skin of cardamom. it will get crushed, when ground with sugar.
Add this to the channa dal mixture. Mix it and allow it to cool.

Mix plain flour, rice flour and semolina with salt and 3 tsp oil. Make it into a soft dough.

Make a ball of the sweet channa dal mixture and another ball which is half the size , from the plain flour dough. Grease a butter paper or any plastic paper with oil and also grease your fingers. Place the plain flour ball and press it into a pan cake and place the sweet ball and pull the outer pan cake such that it covers the sweet ball. Now press this into a thin layered chapathi. Heat the pan and cook it on the pan with a tsp of oil. Cook it until slightly brown on either side.

Enjoy it for a cup of tea, as an evening snack.

Note: Make it in the size of a palm, so that you can just lift it off the plate and have it with ease. Its easy to make in smaller shape, as well.

tc,
N:astro

Lamb Biryani - seems I have beaten Adi's Tandoor

I wonder how could my hubby tell this "Oh dearest, this is the BEST of all Biryanis i have ever eaten; You rock; You have certainly beaten Adi's Tandoor"! I cannot believe it. I agree he appreciates every dish i cook, let alone this. Even if its a humble idli or dosa, he makes it a point to make me realize that my efforts have not gone waste. I get appreciation much more than what I expected and for what reasons I expected. I am lucky, i must say. Touch wood.

I prepared this, very quickly, of course all credits to my SWEETHEART hubby, who helped me sail through the chopping and cleaning (lamb and other vegetables) session in no time. He chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic. Cleaned the meat and did whatever possible he could do except venturing into the real cooking. I am grateful to him for equal effort.

Here is the recipe

1. Lamb - 1 lb (just for two of us)
2. Rice - preferably Basmati - 2 cups
3. Shahi Jeera - 3 tsp
4. Cardamom - 5
5. Nutmeg - 2
6. Mace - few pieces
7. Cinnamon - half an inch
8. Bay leaf - 1
9. Oil for frying
10. Ghee or clarified butter - 3 tsp (for greasing pan)
11. Onion - 2 finely chopped
12. Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped
13. green chilly - 5 slit
14. Ginger garlic fresh or paste - 2 tsp
15. Garam masala - 1tsp (I use Shan mutton masala)
16. cilantro - 1 bunch
17. Lemon - 2 sliced
18. Salt to taste
19. Milk - 2 tsp
20. Food color - 1 pinch
21. Yogurt - 1 scoop
22. Turmeric - 2tsp


Marinade a pinch of salt, 2 tsp of lemon juice, yogurt and a pinch of turmeric with the lamb and keep it aside for an hour. Wash and soak rice for an hour too.

Take a large mouthed vessel and add 5 cups of water to it. let it boil. Add a tsp of shahi jeera, a cardamom and bay leaf. Add few drops of oil and salt, such that the water is salty. Now put the soaked rice into it and cook the rice to 50%. Remove from fire and use a colander to drain the rice.

Now, heat oil in a heavy bottom pan ,rather a pressure cooker, add cardamom, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, shahi jeera and cloves. Roast till hey emanate the flavor. Add in the chopped onion, ginger garlic paste and fry till the onion is slightly brown. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chilly and cook till soft. Add chilly powder, trumeric, garam masala, salt and fry. Add cilantro and little lemon juice to it. Add the marinade into this and pour 2 glasses of water. Pressure cook this for 6 whistles! This is a must, cos, the meat will only then be cooked till soft.

Now, open the cooker and let the mixture boil to a thick paste.

Take a oven proof pan, grease it with ghee and layer it with rice and this thick mutton gravy alternately.. On top, make suer there is a layer of rice. Mix the food color with milk and pour it on the top layer. Place lemon slices and bake this for 30 minutes on 300 degree Fahrenheit.

Serve it hot with raita. One part of Plain yogurt mixed with 3 parts of water , a pinch of salt and garam masala sprinkled will do the magic for an accompaniment!

Have a great Biryani time.

tc,
N:astro

quack quack quack.... I love the species

This is my new found interest. These birds are cute.... Especially the young ones.... I do not have the courage to buy living ones or patience to go behind them take care and roam around doing their chores!

So, I chose to settle of these lovely tiny yellowy reddy, wide mounthed, quacky wacky creatures - yep, ducks and ducklings... Oh, the name itself brings so much happiness in me. :)

I still remember, when talking to my then fiancé (Now hubby!) about the things i liked. This one just fell in place for both of us and we could not believe that we both were very fond of these birds and what they symbolize(Every bird symbolizes a peculiar characteristic). This one does not bring great fortune, but loving a duck means "You are trying to be happy on the surface, but deep inside , you are struggling to meet the requirements to stay afloat".... Oh, what a thought. We both had the same understanding of duck.

But, in reality, people think it symbolizes "Honesty, Simplicity, Faithfulness , Light and Being ready to take on a job that is given - forever ready". This aside, I just found out in an article that a Yellow rubber duck represents "Peace" to Jewish people!

Oh my, how many things i was unaware of. I am happy to know that these creatures are not left behind, in spite of being very sensitive and shy. When I write this, i am reminded of the days spent with my sister. She used to work in a site, where they had pool and a herd of ducklings. Everyday, we would sit down to make sure that we discussed what happened to them, how did they respond, what they ate, how they swam, what not! during our free time. Lol... I feel so funny now. But it was very sad to know that these creatures were dead in a few days' time as they were not taken care of properly. :((

I simply love them. I am posting a picture of the rubber ducks that I have collected till now.

tc,
N:astro

Yummy Chocolate blacberry Cake

I messed it the first time, i tried to bake. I got feedbacks like "I know what is this, its called Halwa na?"... Uff.... I was tired of hearing/getting such comments from my hubby's colleagues.... I felt like just kicking them!

Anyway, it is my mistake, cos i did not bake a cake, but a halwa! :(

Now, I made my mind up and used the ingredients in the right way. Here it goes....

All you need:
1. All purpose flour - 2 cups (250gms)
2. Powdered sugar - same amount as flour
3. Cocoa powder (unsweetened) - 2 tsp
4. Butter - 100gms
5. Cooking oil - just to grease pan
6. Almonds - slivered - 1 fist
7. Black berries - 5-6 fresh, cut into halves
8. Baking soda/powder - 1 tsp
9. Pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp
10. Eggs - 3


Beat the eggs, butter and sugar. Blend them well. Add flour into it, and keep blending it. Add cocoa powder, baking soda and vanilla extract and blend it without any lumps. It is quite tedious if you plan to do with a ladle manually. Use a hand blender if you have one.

Once blended, add the chopped nuts (Not only almonds, you can bring in any nut, except coconut!!!) and the fresh berries in to the batter. Grease the oven proof pan with cooking oil and pour the batter into it.

Place it in the oven at 400degree Fahrenheit and bake it for about 30 minutes or till a spoon/knife comes out clean when dipped into it.

Serve it hot or cold as you like. This is more of a tea cake. You can even make icing with butter, sugar and cocoa powder with orange or lemon zest.

tc,
N:astro

Jeera Rice - 2011 New Year's eve Menu - Item 2

I learnt from an article that Jeera rice is a great accompaniment to Malai Kofta, since this dish is easy to cook and Malai Kofta takes most of your preparation time.

So I decided, after being exhausted by cooking Malai Kofta, that i shall prepare something very simple, even if it meant plain white rice!!! My sweetheart jumped as soon as he heard Jeera Rice. So, not to disappoint him, i ventured into this one too.

I have always cooked this rice in a rather simple, not very tasty manner by mixing cooked white rice with season cumin and cilantro. But this way, the rice will not be completely flavored by the Shahi Jeera used.

The simplest of all variety rice is this. Go on and try it out. A spicy gravy would go well with it.

Ingredients:
1. Rice - 2 cups (Basmati Rice would prove better)
2. Shahi Jeera (Black cumin or Caraway seeds aka) - 3 tsp
3. Salt to taste
4. Cilantro - 5 strands - finely chopped
5. Lemon sliced - 2
6. Oil - 2 tsp
7. Milk - 1 tsp
8. Food color - 1 pinch


Clean and wash the rice and soak it for 15 minutes. Take a big vessel, with a lid. Add oil, season it with shahi jeera and cilantro. Fill it with 4 cups of water. The ratio of rice and water is 1:2.Bring it to boil. Add salt to taste. Now add the soaked rice. Put on the lid and allow it to cook till the rice is fluffy and soft but not mashed. Now turn off the gas. MIx the food color in the milk and pour it on top of the cooked rice. Place lemon slices on it.

Its DONE! ready to serve.

tc,
N:astro

Malai Kofta - 2011 New Year's eve Menu - Item 1

I have always heard that dishing this up is a tedious process and the scary part is "Not everyone (Especially, a newbie)can make the kofta, in the right texture, without kofta crumbling into pieces either while deep frying or in the gravy". But I decided that i shall definitely try it, to make my first New Year post wedding, a special one. Do or Die situation!

I was amidst preparation using paneer and vegetables, i heard the calling bell ring! Lo, to my surprise it was my sweetheart at the door, who came in screaming that they had let him go soon to celebrate New Year!

Now, getting back to the Kofta and Malai, this is how I prepared it.

Ingredients:
1. Paneer - crumbled - 1 cup
2. carrot - 2 - finely chopped and boiled
3. Beans - 10 in # - finely chopped and boiled
4. Potatoes - 3 - boiled and mashed
5. Chilly powder - 3 tsp
6. Pepper powder - 1 tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Milk - 1 cup
9. Onion - 1 finely chopped
10. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
11. Tomatoes - 1 finely chopped
12. Cilantro - 1 bunch finely chopped
13. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
14. Oil - for deep frying and cooking gravy


Take the vegetables and squeeze the water out of the boiled vegetables. They should be as dry as possible, so that the Kofta comes out properly into any shape (Oval, Round or bullet). Mix the crumbled Paneer, mashed potatoes and the squeezed vegetables; add 1 tsp of chilly powder, pepper powder, salt to taste. Roll them on a tsp of all purpose flour to make sure there is no moisture left on it.

Now make them into balls, deep fry them in oil until they turn golden brown. Keep them aside.
Now lets make the Gravy. Heat oil in a wok, add onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes and fry until they are soft. Add the rest of the chilly powder , 1 tsp of turmeric and salt to taste. To avoid getting charred, use a cup of water. Let it come to boil. Turn the gas off and let this mixture cool. Blend this mixture to a paste.

Heat the wok, add a tsp of oil. Allow a tsp of cumin seeds to splutter. Add the paste to it and let it come to a boil. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes. Add 1 cup of milk to it. Aloow it to cook for a couple of minutes. Now, just before dropping the Kofta, sprinkle the chopped cilantro and a pinch of garam masala. Turn off the gas.

Kofta will absorb the gravy even without being cooked. Allow it as it is for 5-10 minutes before serving!

tc,
N:astro

Blogging it late, I Cracked the test!!!

In my last post of 2010 year, I had written about how it meant when i was declared failed at the driving test. But i decided, the very next day I am not letting this go this way. So, i got up very early on the 31st of December and joined the queue in the DMV office. Waited in the queue for an hour(Of course, my ever supportive hubby too accompanied me :) ) and took the test once again.
This time, i did not leave even a bit of chance to take me for granted. All I did, was to solve as many test papers I could, ranging from year 2000 to year 2010 test papers, that were posted online the whole of previous day - the day I failed. It gave me so much of energy and enthusiasm to crack it. I was brushing myself, all through the waiting session.

I Briskly walked to the counter and took the paper to start answering. All i did, was not to repeat the mistake of answering every question by just glancing at it. I went through the questions word by word clear this time and decided to mark the BEST option out of the 3 choices given. This way, i could mark most of the answers with patience and by understanding the situation as stated in the question. Also i had skipped those questions for which i did not know/was unsure of the answers. After finishing all other questions, i came back to the ones that I had skipped. Re read them , imagined myself undergoing such situations and marked the answers which I thought were close to true.

And submitted my paper for grading. My hubby was just trying to meet eyes with me, to ask, how confident I am with the test this time. I simply nodded my head, as to "I am good!" and there the grading officer came with a bland sentence "You passed, your temporary license is attached; apply for driving test"....Oh my Gawwwd.... I was waiting to hear this from 2 days..... Uff, now, relieved from the tag of being failed, i moved out of the office, running to hug my sweetheart! He was too delighted
as much as I was.....

Happy ending.. Oh, not yet, I still have to give my driving test.

Wishing myself good luck, yet again,
Successful gurl forever!!!

Tc,
N:astro

Hurray! Its 1-1-11

Its yet again a new year, with new resolutions, new hopes(Rather hopes renewed!), new wishes and everything new, except hubby! lol.... Just kidding....

This being my 1st new year after wedding makes it much more special and enjoyable. I am very glad that I could celebrate this occasion with him,by cooking a romantic dinner on the New year's eve, which included "Malai Kofta", "Zucchini Paratha" and "Jeera rice"; on the New Year day, by baking "Chocolate Blackberry (Not the phone but the real berries!) Cake", from scratch; visiting Temple by driving for 4hours, which is actually an hour from home; making "Guacamole" for corn chips; evening "Masala Chai" with "Paneer cutlet"!!!

I cannot go back and imagine having made so many dishes and accumulated so many appreciation from Him and also from a hell lot of true friends, through social networking. I said, i shall blog this and make it more memorable and Lo, here I am trying to pen it down to save it for further years to come. Also, after so many months of my marriage, I got so many second looks in the temple for the attire that i had draped and the confidence that I carried to carry that dress. :)) (The funniest part is, my hubby was keeping an eye on anyone who stared at me!)ha ha ha....

This year has been a truly wonderful year on the very first day itself - That is 1-1-11. Thank God, its the same in both the countries' date formats!

Will post all the recipes that I made (Specified) during these two days with photographs.

Happy New year 2011 to one and all....

tc,
N:astro