MY BEST, MY WORST AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN – 8 YEARS AS A FOOD BLOGGER Since I began my journey as a Food Blogger, my Blogging Anniversaries have come and gone without much celebration or pomp as it usually gets shadowed by new Year Celebrations. As a matter of fact, I started blogging on 2nd January 2012. As some of you may know, there were a couple of reasons I began the blog: A place where family and friends could access recipes world over To create recipes and jot them somewhere, recipes that I learnt from my dear mum, my mother in law who we fondly call Nunu and my aunt, my kaki to me. Having stopped working as a teacher, I had to put…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: UTTAR PRADESH CUISINE Where is Uttar Pradesh? Formerly known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, presently Uttar Pradesh is state in North India. One of the most populace states about 200 million, the capital city is Lucknow. Its north neighbors are the state of Uttarakhand and Nepal, Bihar to the east, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the south east, Madhya Pradesh to the south and Rajasthan, Haryana and the National Capital territory Delhi to the west. Uttar literally means north so literally means north state. Mention Beneras, Ganges, Taj Mahal and almost everyone knows that these famous tourist places are in Uttar Pradesh also known as UP in short. Allahabad in UP is famous for hosting the most visited…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #224 DUE SOUTH WHAT IS MAHARAGE YA NAZI/ RED KIDNEY BEANS IN COCONUT SAUCE Maharage ya nazi is a popular Swahili dish which is made from red kidney beans, very simple spices, tomatoes and coconut milk. In the Kiswahili language maharage is red kidney beans and nazi is coconut. However, you must be wondering why I’m introducing you to the Swahili dish Maharage Ya Nazi or Kidney Beans in Coconut Milk. Well, read on and you’ll find out why that was cooked in my kitchen today. Group Theme For this week the FoodieMonday/Bloghop Group theme was suggested by Kalyani who blogs at Sizzling Tastebuds. The theme was Due South. In other words, Kalyani wanted us to cook a dish from any of…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #223 What are Ambode/Masala Vada? Ambode are masala vada made from chana dal with a few other ingredients added. Also known as Masala Vada or Dal Vada, Ambode is a famous street snack in Karnataka. Ambode is also served as a tea time snack with filter coffee in many homes. Besides chana dal (chickpea lentil) being the main star of this crunchy, crispy, mouth watering snack, chopped fresh dill, fresh coriander, onion, curry leaves, rice flour, green chillis, ginger and a bit of coconut is added. All these different ingredients makes them taste so different from Vatidar Bhajia which are quite popular with my family as a tea time snack. I took the liberty of adding a tablespoon of urad dal (split…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: TRIPURA CUISINE A bit about the group: November took Shhh Cooking Secretly group to Tripura, where I got the opportunity to make a mosdeng, Phantok Mosdeng/Brinjal Mosdeng. This group is where members get together to cook a dish on the decided theme. We are paired up and give each other two secret ingredients to cook with. The group started by Priya of Priya’s Versatile Recipes.is an interesting way to know other food bloggers and try out dishes beyond one’s comfort zone.Other members have to then guess the two secret ingredients till we share the recipe link. Its a fun group and along the way have made some good friends. Where is Tripura? Tripura is one of the Seven Sister States…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #221 MOONG MAGIC What is Paniyaram? Paniyaram, Paddu, Guliyappa, Yeriappa, Ponganalu is simply a steamed batter made in a mould. Usually a batter of rice and urad dal is poured into the paniayaram pan or appe pan(aebleskiver), covered with a lid and allowed to steam till done. Made either sweet or savory, paniyaram is usually served as a snack any time of the day. The savory ones are served with some chutney and or sambhar. Usually made from leftover idli/dosa batter,however these days a variety of lentils and other grains are used to make this lovely crispy on the outside and soft in the inside snack. My first time to enjoy painiyaram was at Farzi Cafe, Bangalore, where paniyaram was served in…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #220 GOURDS ARE BEAUTIFUL What is Karela Nu Shaak? Karela nu shaak is simply a side dish or sabji where chopped karela or bitter gourd is stir fried till done. One can cook it with potatoes or cashew nuts. I chose to prepare it with cashew nuts and raisins. After the karela are cooked, jaggery is added to make it into a delicious, lip smacking sweet and bitter shaak, sabji or side dish that is usually enjoyed with hot rotlis or phulkas, any other sabji/shaak and tuvar dal. I’ve used the description of karela nu shaak as delicious and lip smacking. These are the words that hubby uses to describe it. He loves karela or bitter gourd and I’m not a fan…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #219 WINTER VEGGIE AFFAIR Did you miss a FoodieMonday/Bloghop post last Monday or like me, you were busy enjoying the Diwali festivities? Because of Diwali FoodieMonday/Bloghop members took a holiday, but this week I’m back with Matar Ka Nimona for another exciting theme, Winter Veggie Affair suggested by Sasmita. Keeping winter in mind, fresh and green fenugreek is available in abundance at the moment in India. This gives me the opportunity to use it in almost all the curries I make. What I like to make soon is Sasmita’s Fenugreek/Methi Mushroom Curry as I usually don’t add fresh methi. French Beans also are at their freshest and tender too. Its the right time to try out Sasmita’s French Beans Fry in Mustard…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: TELANGANA CUISINE A bit about the group: October took Shhh Cooking Secretly group to Telangana, where I got the opportunity to make Attu Tunukala/Tunaka Koora. This group is where members get together to cook a dish on the decided theme. We are paired up and give each other two secret ingredients to cook with. This group was started by Priya of Priya’s Versatile Recipes. Other members have to then guess the two secret ingredients till we share the recipe link. Its a fun group and along the way have made some good friends. A bit about Telangana Telangana is the 29th state of India, formed after separating from Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Hyderabad still remains the capital for both states. Situated on…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #218 DIWALI DHAMAKA As the theme suggests, FoodieMonday/ Bloghop group is already in the mood to celebrate Diwali. Fellow bloggers or should I say friends, decided to cook something that we would normally make during Diwali, the festival of lights. This time I decided to make Magas as its called in Gujarati or chickpea flour fudge. What is Diwali? Diwali is the festival of lights, the victory of good over evil. Read more about Diwali here. What does Diwali mean for me? For so many years hubby and I have been alone for Diwali as our family members live in all different parts of the world. However, this year its so different. For one, we’ll be celebrating Diwali with hubby’s mum, my…
