A Belated Happy New Year A belated wish is better than none, so a belated Happy New Year to all my friends, family and followers. I’ve been on a no blogging much required vacation. Sometimes its truly relaxing just to turn your mind off from blogging and any blogging related activity. Hubby and I were supposed to spend Christmas and New Year with my son, daughter in law and her parents. We were on our way to Bali when we received a message from my son that Elodie my daughter in law had met with a motorbike accident. The remaining 4 hours of flight were stressful as we had no idea what had exactly happened. On landing at Denpasar, Bali, we had to head…
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Continue ReadingMerry Berries Berries in true sense are not the berries we all know… strawberries, mulberries, raspberries, blackberries etc. These in the botanical world are known as aggregate fruits. Berries are fruits produced from a single ovary. So in botanical sense tomatoes, cucumber, eggplants, bananas, pumpkins, melons are berries. Did you know that grapes too are berries? Yes they are. However for our FoodieMonday/Bloghop #123rd theme, Berries we meant berries that we normally know. We had to prepare something using berries. Berries are small pulpy and often edible fruits. Before food was cultivated, berries were gathered by primitive men as a source of food, many animals feed on berries. It’s probably presumed that during prehistoric time men may have sampled berries that animals consumed to…
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Continue ReadingThose Tiny Spices Make All The Difference It’s really amazing how addition of small amounts of spices can make a dish taste so different. Every Indian household has it own spice (masala) box or dabba (tin) which we use for our everyday cooking. Some spices like turmeric powder and red chili powder will be standard in any spice box. The variations come with the other spices. Don’t get me wrong, all the spices are used all over India but in some cuisine some spices are used in a larger quantity than others. My spice box has the typical spices that will be found in the masala dabba of most Gujaratis. Mustard seeds(rai), Cumin seeds (jeeru), fenugreek seeds (methi), carom seeds (ajmo), turmeric powder (hardar), red…
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Continue ReadingTeam Love For the past few days the weather has completely changed in Bangalore…its chilly cold and rainy. It could be due to the cyclone Ockhi that hit Kerala.Unlike homes in the western world, there is no central heating system so one has to wrap up pretty warm. I hate wearing a sweater as I find them too itchy so come evening and I wrapped myself in a shawl and topped with a thick bed sheet. After that didn’t want to budge even a millimeter. Hot water and hot milk becomes one’s best friend. It also meant that I didn’t want to have my usual smoothie for breakfast. I wanted something hot that would warm up the body. What better breakfast treat is…
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Continue ReadingCOLD DAYS = SPICY DRINKS Bangalore cannot make up its mind weather wise. Its cold sometimes and hot over days. We are in the winter month and its not as cold as it used to get some years back. However, I’m not really complaining as I’m enjoying the weather. Yesterday was one of those chilly days and just the right time to have a hot comforting drink. Usually a hot cup of spicy tea does the trick. However, I made Pumpkin Spice Latte to ward off the cold. A hot drink cupped in our hands and watching a ‘girlie movie’ was a Sunday well spent. The coldest weather I’ve ever experienced is 0°C in Chandigarh and at Lake Louise, Alberta. Both experiences were totally…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: 119TH – UDUPI CUISINE RECIPE: UNDI/ RICE DUMPLINGS Undi/ Rice Dumplings is a famous Udupi breakfast dish. In fact it is also known as Pundi Gatti or Oondi. Basically, rice dumplings are steamed and served with a chutney or sambhar. Sometimes coconut oil drizzled over it is enough. It is a simple, healthy, gluten free, vegan breakfast to enjoy. Rice rava or coarsely ground rice flour is available in the market to make this dish but I decided to make it with soaked rice as I read that the dumplings or undi turns out much softer. However, feel free to use readily available rice rava to cut down preparation time. Memories A visit to Phoenix Mall, Bangalore is like a dazzling visit…
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Continue ReadingSo comforting On 4th Nov 918 kg of khichdi sets Guinness World Record. 125kg rice, 45kg moong dal, 6.5kg salt, and several kgs of millet and barley was used to make this khichdi at the World Food Event in New Delhi cooked by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor with the help of a 50 member team. Check details here. Khichdi very much originates from the Indian Sub Continent. Its basically a mixture of rice and lentils cooked in water with salt and turmeric powder. That’s the basic khichdi that most households cook whether they are poor or rich. Its considered one of the most healthiest food, filling, comforting and nutritious. Depending on the regions khichdi is made with a mixture of different kinds of lentils, rice and…
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Continue ReadingDifferent kinda pancakes I love making pancakes. They can be healthy, sinful, comfort food, easy to make and most of all truly delicious. What are pancakes? Sometimes known as griddle cakes, hotcakes or flapjacks they are round, often thin flat cakes made using a starchy batter which may have added milk, butter, eggs, fruits, vegetables etc. There are many varieties of pancakes the world over right from the Indian uttapam to Dutch Baby, crepes, dosas, Chinese Scallions, Crumpets, Johnny cakes, Blini and so many more. Pancakes are served at different meals, depending on where it originates from. Some are served as breakfast, some along with stews, curries or meat/fish and vegetable preparations. Like Injera from Ethiopia is usually served with a variety of stews. Why…
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Continue ReadingFusion Rules Whenever I’m asked if I prepare a lot of fusion dishes..the answer is never a clear yes or no. Sometimes unknowingly I’ve prepared fusion as I replace ingredients of an original recipe with ingredients that I get here. So like hung curds replaces cream cheese, mayo gets replaced by yogurt, fresh herbs get replaced by coriander or mint, tortilla gets replaced with roti etc etc. However there are certain things I’m still a bit vary of trying say like a sweet and sour veg in a dosa (don’t find that appealing) or say using the bhaji of pav bhaji to replace a pasta sauce. There are certain original tastes I like just the way they are. However, I’m still open to trying out…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #114 DIWALI What is FoodieMonday/Bloghop Group all about? Its a group of like minded food bloggers who challenge each to come up with some innovative or traditional dishes based on the theme decided. As Diwali is just round the corner, we decided on the Diwali theme. As you’ll know no festival world wide is complete without food. I decided to make my all time favourite masala farsi puri. A bit more later on about this delicious crispy snack. What is Diwali? Diwali is the most important festival which is celebrated all over India. Popularly known as the Festival of Lights, it is a festival that stretches over 5-6 days for most communities. Also known as Deepawali, Dipavali it is celebrated by…
