EVENT:FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME:#188 IDLY MEDLEY What is Idli? Idli or Idly is a popular South Indian savory steamed cake which is usually made from rice and black lentils(urad dal). The batter is allowed to ferment overnight without yeast or other raising agents. Next day its steamed in a idli stand or in small bowls. Its a popular breakfast dish and is served with usually with a coconut chutney and sambhar. Sambhar is a lentil stew or dal, with some vegetables and spices added to it. The idli is soaked in the sambhar, topped with chutney and enjoyed. There are a variety of instant Idlis which requires no fermenting and can be made within 30-40 minutes. The most common one is made using semolina but these days…
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Continue ReadingEVENT:FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME:#187 DESI TWIST When this interesting theme was announced by Kalyani who blogs at Sizzling Tastebuds, I was a little confused. Do we cook a western dish with some desi twist to it or cook a desi (Indian) dish and give it a western twist. Fortunately she explained what she wanted us to do, give the Indian dish a western twist. Confused still?? I’m still frowning and thinking. However the recipe below will explain how I understood the theme. Coming to Kalyani’s blog, its worth a visit as she has many healthy and vegan recipes. Find some interesting egg free bakes too. When I had to decide what to make, my choice was limited to the ingredients present in my kitchen as soon I’ll…
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Continue ReadingEVENT:FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOPTHEME:#186 PLANT BASED MILK RECIPES What is all this hype about consuming non dairy products? Nowadays vegan cheese, yogurt, milk, spreads, cream cheese, etc are readily available in the supermarkets in the western countries. These all have been developed for people who follow the vegan diet. People who follow vegan diets do not consume anything that is made or comes out of an animal. So that means they do not consume normal or dairy milk and its products. While I personally still need a lot of convincing to become a vegan, I don’t frown or look down on those who follow the diet. Follow what your heart and mind says. What I find nigglingly irritating is that most airlines now presume that if your meal…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: MEGHALAYA CUISINE Megha means clouds and thus this North Eastern State is known as the ‘Abode of the Clouds’. True to its name, its receives plenty of rainfall. The state comprises of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Majority of the population are Christians. The neighbors are Assam to the north and Bangladesh to the south. The Nohkalikai falls near Cherrapunji is the highest plunge waterfall in India, 1115 feet. Till 1972 Meghalaya was a part of Assam. The hills have many caves which fast is making Meghalaya a famous destination for cave exploration activities. Meghalaya has many living bridges, roots that are old span waterbodies to form suspension like bridges. Coming to the cuisine of Meghalaya, the staple diet consists…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: RECIPE SWAP CHALLENGE THEME:RECIPE SWAP 5 Today’s recipe is for the Recipe Swap Challenge Group. What is this group all about? Initiated by Jolly Makkar and Vidya Narayan, every alternate month the participants are paired up. We choose a recipe to cook from our partner’s blog. The recipe can be cooked as it is or make slight changes. This is a great group as it allows me to prepare recipes that I’ve bookmarked or saved from fellow bloggers. My partner for this month is Sujata Roy, who blogs at Batter Up With Sujata. I’ve known Sujata now for quite a few years as we first met virtually through the FoodieMonday group. Since then we are members of other common groups and therefore get…
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Continue ReadingEVENT:FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME:#180 LOW CALORIE FOOD At the beginning of every new year most people (women more so) make a resolution to lose weight, eat sensibly and all the promises that go into making that resolution. I too have consistently made that resolution, gone gungho into the whole new diet exercise regime and have not lasted till February. Many articles in magazines, on the internet all claim that if you give up certain foods or drinks, you’ll automatically lose weight or if your drink hot lemon water, have lots of chia seeds, add cinnamon or black pepper to your water etc etc. There are so many different kinds of diet tips. There are so many different types of diets out there… South Beach Diet, Vegan diet,…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOOD BLOGGERS RECIPE SWAP THEME: JANUARY 2019 SWAP After a long lull, the gentle storm has come back. Food Bloggers Recipe Swap has been revived by fellow blogger Mireille who blogs at The Schizo Chef. If you’re looking for exciting International dishes, then her blog is the place to visit. Mireille decided that instead of just having the partners cook from each others blog, she mixed us all up. For example though I have to cook a recipe from Renu’s blog, Cook With Renu, she cooks from someone else’s. I’ve been partners with Renu before and had learnt to make bajra idli from her blog which is was an instant hit with my friends and family. If I’m inviting them home for a meal…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z CHALLENGE THEME : A DISH BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER E 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 January we have to post a recipe using an ingredient that begins with E. I decided to use eggplants. I could have used other ingredients like eggs, elephant yam but stuck with eggplants for one main reason. I make baigan bharta often as my hubby loves it. I serve it either with rotis or bajra rotla. When I had to decide a dish for this challenge I made up my mind that this time my…
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Continue ReadingEVENT:FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOPTHEME:#177 MAGIC OF FRESH METHI Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and a wonderful start to the new Year. As for me, I can’t complain about the start but it hasn’t been exactly very smooth. US visa application took hours to fill, somehow they have not managed to get their online application forms user friendly like the ones for UK or Schengen visa. I so missed the easy and direct Queen’s English on the forms. For me when it says entire transaction it means the transaction for all the applicants. But they have a different idea..pay individually! Anyway, tomorrow hubby and I will be making our to Nairobi for our visa appointment on Wednesday. I’m a bit excited, no not about entering the heavily…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: MAHARASHTRA CUISINE If you’ve ever been to Mumbai then you’ve definitely been to the State of Maharashtra and sampled a bit of the local cuisine, from seafood to street food. Vada Pav, Pav Bhaji, Tawa Pulao, Misal Pav, Ragda Pattis are the more famous street food options but Maharashtra has much more to offer. Many vegetarian dishes are similar to Gujarati dishes but they all have their distinctive differences. Wheat, millet, sorghum, lentils, vegetables, fruits, peanuts, cashew nuts are some of the basic staples in any Maharashtrian dish. A basic diet is usually consists of bhakri made from jowar, millet or wheat flour, a dal and bhaji. Here the reference to bhaji is vegetables. I personally love thalipeeth, sabudana khichdi,…
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