EVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: PANCAKES What are Pancakes? Pancakes are flat, often thin or slightly thick cakes made in a frying pan or griddle using a a batter. Can be either sweet or savory. Traditionally, the batter is made with flour, egg, butter and milk. However, these days there are so many variations of pancakes. Though the description has the word cake, in reality pancakes are one of the oldest forms of bread known to mankind. Each country has its own kind of pancake. For some the batter may be more or less the same with a few changes or in some countries the ingredients may be totally different from the more famous American pancakes we know. Take for example Indonesian pancakes which are…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: WEST BENGAL CUISINE/BENGALI CUISINE Like many other Indian states, West Bengal cuisine is a popular cuisine all over India. Think of Bengali Cuisine and Rasmalai, Rasgulla comes to ones mind. Who can resist those sweet succulent juicy paneer balls? However there is so much more to Bengali Cuisine that those two sweet dishes I’ve mentioned. Patiently waited for the Bengali Cuisine to come as I so wanted to make the popular poppy seed curry or posto/poshto as its called in West Bengal. Thus, the recipe Aloo Posto. First Trip to West Bengal My first visit to this state was years back when hubby and travelled from Nepal to Siliguri and from there to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Mirik. Memories of our…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: UTTARAKHAND/PAHADI CUISINE Where is Uttarakhand? Known as the Land of Gods, Uttarakhand is situated in North India. Uttara is northern and khand is region, therefore the northern region. Separated from Uttar Pradesh in 2000, its an amalgamation of 13 hilly districts of Northern India. In fact, this scenic state is has various outdoor activities, many religious shrines, abundant in wildlife and home to the Valley of Flowers. Uttarakhand is divided into two regions Kumoan and Garhwal. Its neighbors are China (Tibet) in the north, Nepal to the East, Himachal Pradesh to the North West and Uttar Pradesh to the south. Some interesting facts about Uttarakhand The ancient language Sanskrit is its official language Known as DeviBhoomi or Land of Gods…
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Continue ReadingMY 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: 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: 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: 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: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: SIKKIMESE CUISINE About this Group: 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. Get to know 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…
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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…
