EVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #244 SNACKMANIA FoodieMonday/Bloghop Theme Many countries are still under lockdown or curfew while some are planning to open up malls, restaurants, shops but with limited people allowed in these places. This week Renu who blogs at Cook with Renu, suggested that we make snacks which can be stored at least for two weeks if not less. Truthfully, most snacks in my home don’t last beyond two weeks besides chevdo. Snacks With families at home with this Stay Home Be Safe that everyone in the world is practicing, more food is consumed. Especially when you have kids at home, they constantly need something to snack on. For many its not easy to get fresh fruits and vegetables all the time. So most of…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #243 LITTLE CHEFS FoodieMonday/Bloghop Theme As many parents find themselves and their kids at home because of the worldwide spread of Corona Virus, parents are taking this opportunity to introduce their kids to other skills than those learnt in the classroom. Cooking and helping around the house are some of them. Bearing this in mind this week’s theme suggested by Priya is recipes that kids can put together either partly or entirely by themselves. For this theme I’ve chosen to make the ever so easy Pineapple Slush. Memories….. While I don’t have little kids in the house and didn’t want to ‘borrow’ neighbors kids because of the social distancing, I had to think about 25 year back! Why, well I had to…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #242 MASALA DABBA What is a Masala Dabba? Masala is the word that refers to spice in the Indian Subcontinent and dabba is a tin. Every Indian household wherever they may live, be it in India, US, UK, Australia, Europe, Africa, etc will have a tin where spices that are used regularly are kept. Just spooning them out from the masala dabba or tin is so much easier than opening and closing individual spice jars or bottles. What my Masala Dabba contains Depending on which part of India you come from or which community you belong to, the spices in the dabba will vary. For example my sister in law is married to a Kashmiri Brahmin so her masala tin has Kashmiri…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #240 COOKING WITH RICE Rice Storage in Olden Days Long ago, the time of my great grandparents and grandparents, rice was stored in huge earthen pots (that could easily fit a man in it) for the whole year. Back then rice was a seasonal crop and there were no facilities to vacuum pack them or store them in plastic bags. The huge pot would have a hole just about 4-5 inches above the bottom part which would be closed off with a scrunched up cloth. Whenever, rice was required, the cloth was removed only a bit for the rice to pour out. My aunts, at both the paternal and maternal villages would store the rice in a smaller tin or dabba so…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: 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: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : A DISH BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER M My Choice is Mangalore Cucumber The vegetable vendor who comes to our Bangalore apartment complex thrice a week does not fail to bring Mangalore Cucumber. I would look at it, pick it up and then put it back. One day decided to buy and try out a dish with it. Asked the vegetable vendor how to use it and he replied curry. Just as well there are so many recipes on the internet and I chose to follow Cherie’s recipe. Also known as Thouthe Kodel, the curry turned out so delicious that I was wondering why I’d not used this fruit as yet. What is Mangalore Cucumber? Known as Mogem in…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #236 HUMMUS TIME What is Hummus? An integral part of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Cuisine, Hummus is a dip, spread or sauce that traditionally is made from chickpeas, lemon, garlic and tahini. Made into a smooth paste or sauce depending how its going to be used, hummus these days is readily available in the supermarkets. The Main Ingredients are: Boiled Chickpeas, the white variety Garlic Olive oil Tahini Lemon juice seasoning Its that simple to make hummus. So why buy ready made ones which have preservatives and artificial food additives? How to use Hummus? Spread on sandwiches, wraps, burgers Drizzle as a sauce over meat, chicken, fish, etc. It tastes really good with roasted vegetables and quinoa. Replace butter with hummus…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #235 BEST FROM WASTE Best from Waste: A much required but hardly ever discussed topic. How can we reduce kitchen waste? Our Grandmothers and Mothers were a frugal lot, hardly ever passing off anything as waste when it comes to kitchen waste. What do we mean by kitchen waste? Its not all the wrappings that come with your food but green waste. Watch any cookery show and you will see chefs peeling away thick layers from a fruit and vegetable and throwing it away, trimming food to make it appear perfect, and in the process wasting food. Have you noticed how a huge chunk is cut off from carrots, cucumbers, beetroots, tomatoes… that’s not called trimming! Trimming means cutting a thin slice…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #233 NUTRI BREKKIE FoodieMonday/Bloghop Group This week starts off with some healthy breakfast options by FoodieMonday/Bloghop group. Sujata who blogs at Batter Up With Sujata, suggested we make breakfast that is healthy, not sweetened with any sort of sugar if possible. Sujata’s Sattu Appe which is made from roasted chickpeas along with oats, semolina and spices is a good healthy way to begin the morning. You could also serve her veggie filled Cornmeal Oats Soya Idlis for breakfast. FoodieMonday is a group of 12 enthusiastic food blogger who prepare a dish for every Monday based on a chosen theme. Through this group, not only have I learnt a lot more about different regional cuisines from the members but we tend to hold productive discussions…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: A- Z RECIPE CHALLENGE THEME : A DISH BEGINNING WITH THE LETTER L My Choice for L is Lemongrass When it comes to the letter L, one can be spoilt with the number of ingredients one can use right from lemon, lime, lima beans, lentils, licorice, lettuce, lady’s finger, long pepper and the list can go on. In spite of all those choices, I chose to use lemongrass. The slightly lemony and strong fragrance of lemongrass is my favorite. Why am I focusing on Letter L? Frankly, its all because of the challenge set by the group A-Z Recipe Challenge, whereby each month we take a letter and make a dish using that letter. The name of the ingredient used should begin with the…
