EVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #216 VIJAYADASHAMI TREATS What is Dussehra or Vijayadashami? Its Monday and today’s recipe is a super delicious Almond and Chocolate Halwa. Dussehra or Vijayadashami is a festival celebrating the victory of good over evil, in North and East India. Lord Rama beheaded the ten headed demon King Ravana who had abducted Sita. Sita was Lord Rama’s wife. The word Dasha means ten and Hara means victory. This important Hindu festival coincides with the culmination of the nine days celebration of Navratri. Vijaya means victory and dashami here refers to the tenth day of the lunar calendar. For most of the south, east and north east of India, this festival marks the end of Durga Puja. How is Dussehra or Vijayadashami celebrated? Tomorrow is…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: TAMIL NADU CUISINE A bit about the group: The month of September was when the Shhh Cooking Secretly Group visited the state of Tamil Nadu. This group is where members get together to cook a dish on the decided theme. We are paired up and we give each other two ingredients to cook with. This group was started by Priya of Priya’s Versatile Recipes. It was so difficult to pick a particular dish from this exciting cuisine. Before I can enlighten you with the popular dishes from Tamil Nadu lets get to know a bit more about the state. Facts about Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu is situated in the most southern part of India. The capital of this state is more…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #212 LET’S CELEBRATE FALL RECIPE: KETO PUMPKIN MOUSSE Why Keto Pumpkin Mousse? For the fall theme, pumpkin just pops up in the head and I’d always wanted to try pumpkin mousse. I personally love how easy it is to make a mousse and its so delicious, fluffy and light on the stomach. Th idea was to use coconut sugar but had to deviate from that idea and make a keto friendly. I have a couple of relatives and followers who wanted to see an easy keto dessert. So I thought let me try Keto Pumpkin Mousse. Also pumpkin is pretty keto friendly. Now before we go into the recipe for Keto Pumpkin Mousse I have to share with you my first fall…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #210 ULTA PULTA RECIPE: BOMBAY MIX/ NAMKEEN CHOCOLATE BARK Bombay Mix/ Namkeen Chocolate Bark is tasty, unique & different . Get the slightly salty, chilli, sweet & crunchy taste all rolled into one. The namkeen or Bombay mix adds a bit of the saltiness and spiciness to the the sweetness of the chocolate. So go on, try something totally different to nibble on. It goes down well at gatherings or parties. What is Namkeen/ Bombay Mix? is fast becoming a popular snack option world over especially with some beer. You can buy a variety of Namkeen or Bombay Mix at any Indian Grocery Store. There are so many different varieties that are available.Namkeen or Bombay Mix is the generic name given to…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #205 MITHAI MEIN TWIST RECIPE: CHOCOLATE PHIRNI Chocolate Phirni is a twist to the classic phirni. Phirni is traditionally made from soaked and ground rice cooked in milk and sugar. Spices like cardamom, nutmeg, saffron are added along with some nuts. To give a twist to a traditional Indian Sweet, I have added both milk and dark chocolate to a phirni recipe. The Group: FoodieMonday/ Bloghop It is so nice to be back to FoodieMonday/Bloghop Group. I’ve missed a few themes in the past few weeks because of traveling and a wedding in the family. Indian weddings means a lot of work, preparing for traditional rituals, taking care of guests, making sure everything works seamlessly. Also and fun time meeting up…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #201 JAMVA CHALO JI RECIPE: KANSAR – PATEL STYLE Kansar – Patel Style is an important, simple and yet very delicious sweet dish that is prepared during important ceremonies and festivals. It just needs four basic ingredients, semolina or coarse wheat flour, ghee, jaggery and powdered sugar. Importance Of Kansar Any religious or happy occasion like Diwali, weddings, birth of babies, etc begins with kansar in a typical Gujarati home. This dish preparation varies from region to region in Gujarat. As we begin Diwali celebrations kansar is made and offered to the deities. It is also offered to Ganeshji on the day of pre-wedding ceremonies. For many communities in Gujarat kansar is what is offered to the bride and groom to…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #200NOTOUT I joined FoodieMonday/Bloghop in March 2016 when their #31st theme was Fusion Thandai Recipes. I remember I was really struggling to figure out what to prepare for the theme and also how will I portray myself as a new member. What I found very quickly was that the members of the group were very friendly and helpful. Today we’re on our #200th theme and I’ve come a long way, more confident, have improved on how I write my blog posts, how I take photographs of the prepared dish, learnt about other Indian cuisines and also know the members and a bit about their families. Many old members have left and new ones have joined. With some its now a lasting…
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Continue ReadingEVENT:FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME:#190 MINICAKES RECIPE: THANDAI MUFFINS Thandai Muffins baked with thandai spice mixture make a delicious treat for the Holi Party. Both kids and adults love them along with chilled thandai drink. Eggless, these muffins come together in no time. Bake them a day ahead, they stay fresh for a couple of days. Just before Holi, I had baked some thandai muffins to share with my neighbors. The recipe did not make it to the blog on time for Holi. I kept it in the draft file thinking that I’ll use it next year. Yeah, I know its a long time to keep it, but I’m quite good at storing stuff 🙂 FoodieMonday/Bloghop Theme When Preethi suggested a few themes for the #190, I opted…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: MANIPURI CUISINE Search for Manipuri on the internet and you’re going to learn about some herbs and vegetables that are not commonly found in the market. The reason being that Manipuri cuisine depends largely on the seasonal ingredients. Have you heard about jelly ears, water spinach, roselle leaves, bitter beans to name a few? I hadn’t known that they existed till I was reading up on Manipuri Cuisine. Use of hot chillis is common as opposed to garam masala in the Manipuri cuisine. Manipur is known as the Jewelled Land because of its natural beauty. The numerous hills and peaks means that one has to consume food that provides strength and agility. Staple diet consists of rice, vegetables and fish.…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: HEALTHY WELLTHY CUISINES THEME: 60 HWCG #TwistWithBiscuitHW Twist with biscuits is an interesting theme as its so easy to include biscuits or cookies into making a quick dessert. Everyone on the group was wondering what to make. Some suggestions came along like using savory cookies or biscuits for bhel, or a no bake cake etc. I had made up my mind to make an easy dessert recipe as its really dear to my heart. Mind you, I’m eagerly waiting for the biscuit bhel recipe. My eldest son did his Hotel Management and Administration from a Swiss Hotel Management School. When he came home after his first semester, his fingers had so many cuts. Being a mother, my heart hurt that his fingers were hurting.…
