EVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: SIKKIMESE CUISINE As most of my regular readers may have noticed that through the Shhh Cooking Secretly Group we are taking each state of India every month and preparing a dish pertaining to that state’s cuisine. August was when the participating members cooked different dishes from the state of Sikkim. Sikkim, one of the seven sister states of North East India is situated in the lap of the Himalayas. The third highest peak of the Himalayas, Kanchenjunga can be seen from Sikkim. Sikkim was annexed to India in 1975. 11 languages are spoken in this tiny mountain state, English being the official language.Its the home to the second highest suspension bridge in Asia, Singshore Bridge, with a span of 198 meters…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #209 THINDI YENU What an interesting theme name you may be thinking. I too was completed intrigued by these two simple words. In Kannada yenu means what and thindi is snacks or tiffin. So its simply translates as What is for Snacks/Tiffin? Yeah! I now know a few more Kannada words 🙂 besides Namaskara and Thumba Dhanyanvadagalu. On a serious note, if hubby and I ever plan to stay in Bangalore for a longer period, learning Kannada would definitely be on my list. This interesting theme was suggested by Aruna. She wanted us to prepare any breakfast dish which is very much a part of Karnataka. As I was browsing through her blog Vasu’s Veg Kitchen, I came across a very interesting…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: RAJASTHANI CUISINE Rajasthan, The Land of The Kings, is dear to me as I’ve spent 4 years studying at a convent school in Mt. Abu. I’ve not seen the whole of Rajasthan but have been to Jaipur, Udaipur and Nathdwara. Aravalli hills is where with my friends I’ve climbed many rocks and seen fabulous sunsets. Its where we’ve walked around Nakki Lake, filled our school blazers with chana chor garam, ridden on horses till our thighs ached. It is where we always warned each other about tigers in the hills which might come up to the terrace when we slept outdoors during the hot summers. Whether that was true or not who knows. But I know that any strange noise…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : A DISH BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER H What is the A- Z Challenge? Well, we’re a Facebook group and every alternate month the participants make a dish with the relevant letter. The group was started in May 2018 by Jolly Makkar and Vidya Narayan. For the month of July we have to post a recipe using an ingredient that begins with H. This is one challenge where when I’m, making any new dish that’s not for any groups I’m part of then its goes straight into my draft file for later use. Before leaving for Bangalore, I had baked a Honey and Nut Cake. However, I just can’t find the photos and I don’t have time to bake another…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: PUNJABI CUISINE Land of the Golden Temple, land of lassi, land of golden wheat, the land of the five rivers that is Punjab. Its the area where first civilization flourished around 2500BC, The Indus Civilization. Punjab is named after the five rivers, “Punj” means five and “aab” means water in Persian. The five rivers are Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Sutlej and Jehlum. Sikhism was founded in Punjab. Guru Nanak Dev laid the foundation of Sikhism in the late 15th Century. Did you know that Punjab and Haryana share the same capital city, Chandigarh? I didn’t till I read up a bit about Punjab. A state of colorful festivals and dances, then food from that place has to be awesome. Punjabi Cuisine…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #201 JAMVA CHALO JI Any religious or happy occasion like Diwali, weddings, birth of babies, etc begins with kansar in a typical Gujarati home. Kansar varies from region to region in Gujarat. For most regions kansar is what we call lapsi. Usually broken wheat is boiled in water with jaggery.  However kansar that is made by the Patel community of Gujarat is totally different. We use either semolina or slightly coarse wheat and its steamed. Its then served with melted ghee and powdered sugar. The most important and vital ingredient in kansar is a bit of jaggery and ghee (clarified butter). These two are added as important religious items. It’s believed that jaggery and ghee has  purifying power. Just as we begin…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: ODIA CUISINE May is when participants of Shhhh Cooking Secretly had to find an apt dish from the Odia Cuisine with the ingredients given by their partners.Orissa as it was known before and now known as Odisha, is a state that I’d love to visit one day. When one talks of Odisha then Bhubaneswar and Puri , the land of Jagannath Temple comes to mind. Other reasons to visit the state is for the art and craft, the beaches, the wildlife and Kalinga Architecture, home to both the white and Bengal tigers, to watch Odissi dances and to enjoy the cuisine. Odisha borders four states, Jharkhand in the north, West Bengal in northeast, Andhra Pradesh in the southwest and Chhattisgarh…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #195 THIRD LETTER MAGIC My first taste of an absolutely tasty red Thai curry was in Bali when I visited it for the first time in 2017. The curry was served in a coconut shell.  As I had complained that I was not able to taste a veggie version of the Thai cuisine, my hubby’s best friend and his wife who live in Bangkok  made sure that I would not leave Thailand without tasting some good Thai curries. Just the night before we were to leave Bangkok, they treated us to a vegan restaurant called Veganerie at the Silom Complex. While they didn’t want to eat Thai food, hubby and I ordered Thai curries. I ordered green Thai curry with aubergine and…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: NAGALAND CUISINE Nagaland, one of the seven sister state is mountainous state bordering Myanmar in the east, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to the north, Assam to the west and Manipur to the south. Home to diverse indigenous tribes, their markets and festivals celebrate diverse cultures. I had no idea that the capital city of the state, Kohima, suffered heavy fighting during World War 2. Nagaland is one of the smallest states of India, but by no means backward. Literacy rate is 79.55% and the official language is English. Though the 16 different tribes may have different cultures, ethnic dresses and different languages, the official language unifies them as one. Majority of the people from Nagaland are Christians by faith. 20%…
-
Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: MIZO CUISINE The Seven Sister States have been a challenge where the cuisine is concerned. All these states depend on locally grown vegetables, fruits and herbs. So far we cooked from the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and now its Mizoram. Still got two more to go Nagaland and Tripura. The states we have covered so far tend to use quite a bit of meat for their everyday meals. Mizoram is no exception. Mizo Vawksa made from pork, Misa Mach Poora, made from shrimps, Paanch Phoron Torkari is a veg and non veg dish, Bai a dish whereby pork and veggies are mixed, Swahchiar a rice dish cooked with meat, fish or chicken. Koat pitha is popular in…
Top Posts
