EVENT: MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON#92 THEME: A-Z FLATBREADS AND MORE – INDIAN FLATBREADS What is Mega Blogging Marathon? Well, its a group of bloggers who get together to post a dish for 26 days according to the chosen theme. For more details check out the initiator Srivalli’s page here. For this theme we had a choice of 3: 1. A-Z Indian Flatbreads that are not made using batter e.g. like rotis 2. A-Z Indian Flatbreads using batters e.g. dosa 3. A-Z International Flatbreads. I decided to opt for option number 1. India has such a huge variety of flatbreads to offer that are made on the stove top, in the tandoor, in the oven, under the grill or fried. Its going to be a challenge to…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON#92 THEME: A-Z FLATBREADS AND MORE – INDIAN FLATBREADS What is Mega Blogging Marathon? Well, its a group of bloggers who get together to post a dish for 26 days according to the chosen theme. For more details check out the initiator Srivalli’s page here. For this theme we had a choice of 3: 1. A-Z Indian Flatbreads that are not made using batter e.g. like rotis 2. A-Z Indian Flatbreads using batters e.g. dosa 3. A-Z International Flatbreads. I decided to opt for option number 1. India has such a huge variety of flatbreads to offer that are made on the stove top, in the tandoor, in the oven, under the grill or fried. Its going to be a challenge to…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME:146TH BREAD RECIPES Breads have become such an important part of our daily diet, be it for breakfast with some butter, jam, eggs, as a sandwich for lunch, with our soups and sometimes some curries. As a snack we enjoy freshly baked rolls, buns, or snacks made out of bread. Bread is a versatile food. There have been several controversies out there indicating that bread is bad for health. I guess its only bad if you’re overeating. A couple of slices is fine. Today’s theme chosen by Kriti who blogs at Krispy Kadhai, is bread. Sometimes I like how members think. So Priya asked as to whether we have to bake a bread or make anything using bread? So that opened up a…
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Continue ReadingKemcho? Avo maare gher. ( How are you? Welcome to my home) March was when the Shhh Cooking Secretly group (started by Priya of Priya’s Versatile Recipes) ventured out to cook some Gujju (Gujarati) food. The general misconception is that Gujarati food is sweet. Yes we do use sugar and jaggery but it has to be a balance of both sweet and sour. Modern times with much health awareness, many Gujarati homes do not use sugar or jaggery in their daily cooking. The land of Lions and Legends has countless varieties of dishes. As a Gujarati I can make out from which region the food has originated. For example kadhi made by Patel Community maybe so different in taste and texture from the…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: CUISINE FROM CHHATTISGARH RECIPE: BAFAURI Bafauri is a healthy, steamed snack from the state of Chhattisgarh in India. This delicious snack is made from chana dal and simple spices. Usually it is enjoyed as a breakfast or evening snack with some chutney. Theme: For the month of January the Shhh Cooking Secretly group is sharing dishes from the state of Chhattisgarh. Renowned Religious Place Chhattisgarh literally means 36 Forts. This central eastern state was formed by separating the Chhattisgarhi speaking southeastern part of Madhya Pradesh in the year 2000. The north and south part of the state are hilly and the central part is covered by plains. It is believed that Lord Rama along with his wife Sita and brother…
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Continue ReadingBack To Normal Routine Its after a very long time that I had a very relaxing holiday. Relaxing means no cooking at all, no blogging and just lazing around doing what I want. I slept, I read, I walked a bit and spent quality time with my eldest son, daughter in law and her parents. Visiting Bali was a truly a surprise for me. When I use to see postcard pictures of Bali, blue seas, sandy beaches it was not really on my wish list. When you have sandy beaches and blue sea and sunshine in your backyard, Bali was not that alluring. I think if my son and daughter in law had not decided to settle there, hubby and I would probably not have…
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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 ReadingLand of the Dawn Lit Mountains As I had mentioned last month, The Shh Cooking Secretly group started by Priya Suresh of Priya’s Versatile Recipes is traveling round India state by state. Not physical travel, but cuisine wise. For the month of October participating members had to come up with dishes that are popular in Arunachal Pradesh with the given secret ingredients. This state wise cooking is opening up a whole new world of cuisine for me. I’m learning new names of dishes, new ingredients and different cooking methods. Food in Arunachal Pradesh in general does not have much oil unless its a fried dish and they depend largely on ingredients grown or available locally. People of Arunachal Pradesh love their meat and bamboo…
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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…
