Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Booky MeMe

Passed on to me by fellow hosteller, cook n confectioner extraordinaire - Arundati....

The rules:


Pick up the nearest book


Open to page 123


Find the 5th sentence


Post the next three sentences


Tag 5 people and acknowledge the person who tagged you.


For a book-worm like me, it is more difficult to settle on a book, since I have more than one at hand..so ,as I commented to Arundati, after a game of eeny meeny miney mo, I got my hands on Tibetan Folk Tales by Frederick and Audrey Hyde-Chambers.


Page 123 - the Story of THE MAGIC BAMBOO


.....And so......



The three sisters' movements were like an improvised, graceful dance, as they
leapt, ran, and kicked to keep the shuttlecock aloft. Nyima, the youngest, gave
a despairing yell, realizing that she had kicked the shuttlecock towards the
dense bamboo grove. Her two sisters joined Nyima as she struggled to part the
bamboos in an effort to find the shuttlecock.




It is now my turn to pass it on to...


Sripriya, Shreya, Sagari, Hetal and Notyet100... Hope you guys have'nt already done this..






The Magic Lamp of Luck....



My blogger friend notyet100 has passed on the MAGIC LAMP OF LUCK to me...

The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.
And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred,
Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere. We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all!


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1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.


2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!


3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and
Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List


.4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!


1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-Happy Life 108-My Discoveries 109-Strangely Out Of Place 110-Rooms of My Heart 111-The Paper Vision 112-Luxurious Retreats 113-Reef 114-Weekend Snapshot 115-Blessie's Finds 116-Confessions of An Army Wife 117-My Pooch Life 118-Five Martini Lunch 119-TIPS FROM THE TRAILER 120-PoeARTica 121-STAY AT HOME MOM 122-Rantings of a Woman 123-Sjtl's Weblog 124-Turn-u-Off 125-My World in My Own Word 126-Shawie 127-A New Saga 128-Janeth Vicy's Life Journey 129-Simple Reveries 130-Berry Blog 131-Touts4u 132-My So Called Life 133-La Vida es Hermosa 134-Speedcat Hollydale Page 135-mangosteenskin 136-Choc Mint Girl 137-Of Colors And Styles 138-Pinaymama's Diary 139-My Life's Rollercoaster Ride 140-My Life...My Journey! 141-Bonoriau 142-Jenny and Belle 143-Read My Mind 144-A Sweet Taste Of Life 145-Shopping Blog 146-Precious Moments 147-Feydakin 148-Hot Shit Form Here 149-A Mother's Simple Thoughts 150-Daily Ramblings Rendezvous 151-Miss Moneypenny's Comical Posts Undercover 152-My Precious Niche 153-FunFierceFabulous 154-Colorful World of Shiela 155-Me,myself+2 156-Ozzy's Mom 157-Let's talk about MJ 158-Great people make us feel we can become great 159-A Family Man 160-Just the way it is... 161-In Depth 162-Attitude, the ULTIMATE POWER 163-Are You Grateful? 164-Complain Complain Complain 165-My Little Black Pot 166-Notes By Marvic 167-Aku Pelukis 168-Jiwasintetik 169-Foster Me Up 170-Life: Thoughts & Inspirations 171-The Callalily Space 172-Mommyhood and Me 173-Bits and Pieces 174-La Place de Cherie 175-Through The Rain 176-Blogfixes 177-New England Lighthouse Treasures 178-Chez Francine 179-Tsinay 180-Hailey's Domain 181-Hailey's Beats and Bits 182-My So-Called Life 183-PinayWAHM 184-Rusin Roundup 185-Sweet Temptation 186-Lynn's Chic Spot 187-Kai Kriye 188-LiLo n StiTcH 189-Lights and Shade 190-Easycrafts 191-Ideasmoney 192-My creations 193-Sukanya-hobbiesandcrafts 194-My Kraft 195-http://adamarjuna.blogspot.com/ 196-The Working Mom 197-My Touch Of Heaven 198-Her Name is N.O.Y. 199-Fida Abbott 200-Hesitant Wife's Blog 201-Blogging For Fun 202-Paint Your Life 203-Spicybugz World 204-Colin From Life 205-Ramblings of The Phat 206-AngelBaby from Your Caring Angels 207-Creative Saga 208-Indian Khana 209-Me and My Kitchen 210-Mom's Recipies 211-Mom's Cooking 212-Cooking Station 213-Simple Indian Food 214-Rekha's Kitchen 215-SuperNova & SweetPain 216-My Sweet Haven 217-scrapbook newbie 218-http://www.miyyahatkertas.blogspot.com/ 219-funfliffy 220-AyangLina 221-A Room of Crazy Scrapper 222-srikars kitchen 223-Purva's Daawat 224-Recipe Center 225-Veg Inspirations 226-Little Mermaid 227-Meendum Santhipoom 228-Ranji's kitchen corner 229-En Vittu Virundhu 230-What's on the menu? 231-Dancing in Midlife Tune 232-Meme Me 233-Tasty treats 234-Mummy Diaries 235-notyet100hub 236-Jujubs Creative Corner 237-Crafts and cooking 238 - YOU Next!


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Am passing on the Magic Lamp of Luck to Arundati,Cindy and Sagari


Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Potato Masala - 1 filling, two preparations





Potato Masala

Potatoes - 1/2 kg (Boiled, peeled and crushed)

Onion - 2 large (sliced)
Green chillied - 3(slit)
Ginger - 1 inch (sliced)
Tomato - 1 (optional)
Curry leaves - 2 stalks
Coriander leaves - chopped (a handful)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Heat oil, splutter the mustard seeds, add the sliced onions, ginger, curry leaves, green chillies . Once the onions have turned golden, add the turmeric and chilly powder and fry well. Now add
the tomatoes and add the crushed potatoes until coated well. Add salt to taste. Pour a half glass of warm water and keep the lid on till the potatoes go realy soft and the whole masala belnds in well. The final result will be semi-dry. Take off the stove and sprinkle the coriander leaves.

Malsala Dosa

Heat the tawa, add a few drops of ghee or oil, spread the dosa batter and keep a lid on top to cook the dosa. I prefer to fry both dises and then add the masala. If the lid is kept on , you can cook both sides at the same time. Add a tbsp of masala on the middle of the dosa and fold in half.
Masala Dosa is ready.

Potato Bondas

Prepare the batter to dip balls of the masala in.
Besan/ kadala maavu/ powdered channa - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida .- 1 pinch
Jeera - 1 tsp (dry fried )
Mix all the above ingredients in water till the mix coats the spoon smoothly, but doesn't run. (drip off)
Roll the potato masala into lemon-sized balls.
Heat a wok/deep bottom pan , add enough oil for deep frying . Dip the masala balls in the batter and drop in the oil. Deep fry till golden brown.
Serve hot with tomato sauce, pudina chutney etc....

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Hummus (Chickpea dip) - Tuesday Toot




Anyone who is familiar with Hummus making will be wondering what there is to toot about...aah..but my hummus is made absolutely the tedious way..hence the toot!!!

Hummus is an absolute must in Middle Eastern cuisine. It is a great dip, and can be great combined with the various salads, kebabs, and other meat preparations.

Hummus is absolutely vegetarian and made predominantly from chickpeas (white kadala). Now a days it is very easy since there are canned chickpeas available. The next essential ingredient needed is tahina or paste made from white sesame seeds. (ellu /til). Yet again, tahina is also readily available in the market.

Despite all this wonder why I made mine from scratch? Simple..just to see if I could..!!!So this is how I made hummus..

Chickpeas dried - 1 cup
Soak overnight, wash and drain and cook them till tender.
Or drain 1 1/2 can of chick peas

Sesame seeds - 2 tsp
On a non-stick pan, dry-fry the sesame seeds, keep shaking or stirring to roast evenly, dont let them brown.

Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Garlic - 1 clove, crushed and minced
salt - to taste

Add the sesame seeds, salt, garlic and 2 tbsp oilve oil and grind to a paste. Now keep aside a few whole chickpeas for garnish and grind the rest. Mix well.

Lemon juice - 3 tbsp (or according to taste)

Add the lemon juice, the chickpea paste and another tablespoon of olive oil and blend well. (Take note that from 4 tbsp mentioned, we had used only half that)

Garnish with the whole chickpeas, olive oil and a spinkling of paprika powder.

Superb with fried chicken or kebabs.

My First Award - Blogging Forever Friend Award



This award has been passed on to me by notyet100

These are the rules for passing on the award...

1. Only 5 people are eligible for this award

2. 4 of them followers of your blog

3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world

4. You must link back to whoever gave you this award.


I would like to pass on this award to

Arundati of Escapades

Sagari of Indian cooking

Hetal of Isha's Kitchen

Jigyasa and Pratibha of Pedatha

And finally, passing on this award to

Joanna of Applique today whi is in the US and is a new reader to my blog.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Corn-flour garlic chicken (dry)



This is a dish that is strictly my own experiment.

Boneless chicken - 500 gms
Butter milk/ beaten curd - 1/2 cup
Garlic paste - 2 tsp
Crushed pepper - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Cut the chicken into strips approximately 1 by 2 inches. Add the rest of the ingredients and keep aside to marinate for half an hour.

Corn flour - 2tsp
Dried herbs - oregano, tarragon (optional)
Salt - a pinch

take the chicken pieces from the marinade and evenly coat the corn flour mixture. Refrigerate for 10 minutes for ease in frying. add oil in a shallow frying pan and wait till it is hot. I used about 1 tbsp of oil.Shallow fry the pieces until the chicken is evenly brown.

Take the pieces from the oil and add the left-over marinade to the oil. Reduce till the oil comes on top and coat the fried pieces. THIS STEP MAYBE AVOIDED FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE CHICKEN CRISPY.

Garnish with spring onions and serve hot.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Rasam - without using rasam powder



Tasty, spicy, tangy...rasam is a favourite with most people I know.. Of course they may prefer to have the rasams hot, mildly spiced, liquid alone, pulpy or without sieving the aromatics out, like I do...

There are so many varieties like tomato rasam, pepper rasam, lemon rasam etc.. That is a speciality of the tamilian community..In kerala, rasam is made with tomatoes mostly. And that is the only version that I am confident with.

I have tried many ways of making rasam and have hit upon a fail-proof method. And since I do not add any ready-made rasam powder, the result is fairly pleasing at all times. Before I arrived at this recipe, my experiments left me at the mercy of the rasam powders which never used to yield the same results.. sometimes the same brand would give a different taste and were not very reliable.

So here goes.. I do not usually use cooked dal or dal water in my rasams. Unless i have already got some precooked dal at my disposal. This method ensures a good taste without the dal.

Tomatoes - 2 large ripe (crushed well)

Jeera - 1 tsp
Pepper corns - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 6-8 cloves

Lightly dry fry (ie, without oil)the jeera, pepper and coriander seeds , add the garlic and coarsely grid or mince them.Add this to the crushed tomatoes.

Boil the above in 2 cups of water, with a pinch of turmeric and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder.

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp (dry fry lightly)
Tamarind pulp - extracted from a lemon sized ball (or ready made 1 tsp)
Asafoetida - to taste
Salt -to taste
Sugar/ jaggery - 1/2 tsp

Once the ingredients are joined well in the boiling rasam, garnish with chopped coriander leaves (absolutely compulsory)

Switch off the stove and temper in coconut oil with ;
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 stalks
Red chillies dried - 2

Add a spoon of ghee for added flavour . Enjoy with hot rice, just off the stove

Monday, July 21, 2008

A visit to the Qutub Minar







It has been a very lazy ten days for me with regard to blogging... Not that I did not have anything to post, on the contrary, I had made and photographed a few dishes, but did not have the time to post them.

Since we went this weekend to visit th Qutub Minar, I thought the photographs of the trip would be of interest..a break from the usual recipes and craft...

Guess no explanations are necessary..

Loved the entrance archways and the brilliant masonary, though sadly there is not much of it left ...wonder what the original structure would have been like, when the ruins alone are so awe-inspiring and majestic....

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Parippu (Dal) Vada


`My mom makes the bestest parippu vadas ' . I remember telling this to a lot of my friends..They were so popular, that I remember her making them in huge tins to take to club functions and such. And if there were parties at home, this was an item everyone would ask for.

These vadas have a starring role in many of my sweet memories..my mom's dad used to love these too..whenever we landed in his part of the world. which was often, he would buy us hot, paper-wrapped vadas from a shop in the junction. Of course, at home there was Mattemma always ready to make us her own lip-smacking tasty vadas too!!!

My dad's dad was more inclined towards payasams and fruits and anything sweet, but parippu vada was his favourite too...there it was mainly made during the Vaavu celebrations..

One of my most favourite memory is of me, my brother and my cousins cursing the rain
which prevented us from going out to play, and suddenly ,........the lovely sounds of the vadas being dunked into hot oil , and the most beautiful aromas of frying vadas and coffee waft to our nostrils...a few minutes later, there was only the sound of the heavy rain on the roof and all of us with contended smiles on our faces...

So any time it rains, I have this yen to have a parippu vada with coffee and if I do manage it, I always think that I have that same old silly grin on my face...)

Thur dal/ split chana dal - 2 cups (soaked for 4 hours)
Onion - 1/2 of a big one (cut for mincing/ or cut finely)
green chillies - 2
Curry leaves - of 1 stalk
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Asafoetida powder - 2 pinches


wash and drain the soaked chana dal. In the dry grinder, put the onion, green chillies, curry leaves and ginger and mince them..dont let then grind too fine into a paste. If satisfied, take it out and put in a bowl for mixing. Now add the dal about halfway in the jar , then mince again. Dont use the speed switch, use the pulsing switch so they are just coarsely ground.. some of the dal can be grond fine, some coarse and some can be left whole. That way, the consistency of the vadas will be perfect. Alternately, you can use a mincer to push through the dal and the others and that will make great vada mix too.

Add the salt, chilli powder and asafoetida..mix well so that everything is evenly mixed. Heat enough oil in a wok and bring it to boil. Take lemon sized balls of the vada mixture, smooth well and then flatten between your palms . Ease slowly into the hot oil..make sure there is no water on your hands or the hot oil will splatter.

When one side starts to go golden brown, turn the vadas to fry the other side.
Enjoy with piping hot coffee ...

Monday, July 7, 2008

Mutton kheema with mushrooms


This recipe came out really well..I usually make mince with green peas and potatoes, but I got these really fresh mushrooms and decided to make a few changes in the recipe.

Mutton mince (kheema) - 500 gms
Onions - 2 (cut very fine)
Celery - 1 stalk(cut fine)
garlic - 3 cloves (crushed)
Tomatoes - 2
Tomato ketchup - 2 spoons
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder 1 1/2 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2 (sliced)
Mushrooms - 200 gms(sliced_
Pepper - crushed - 1/2 tsp
Oil (1 tbsp)
Salt to taste

Heat a wok, heat oil, add the onion, garlic and green chillies sliced.

Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder ( if mixed with water and made into a paste, the frying will go better) fry till the oil separates.

Now add the mutton mince and mix well. keep stirring to fry it very well.

Then add the tomatoes and celery Put a lid and let the tomatoes soften.

Now add the garam masala powder, tomato paste, mushrooms and pepper powder. keep the lid on, add water if required. I did not want it too watery.

Once the oil comes on top, it is done.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Superb with rice and raita or rotis.

Sewing - the result


I finished sewing the dress for my sweety... I am not displeased with the results.

for a first attempt at sewing, I think it has come out okay ..and it got an airing too..when we went out to celebrate her 2nd Birthday..

The simplest of designs..and creative use of lace to hide some flaws rather than just a design.. I always love it when things have multipupose...ha ha..

Friday, July 4, 2008

Water colour and Acrylic on paper



Another effort with the endlessly fascinating form of Ganesha. The soft colours have been done in watercolour and the bolder ones with acrylic.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Art attack!!!




This is a painting I did for my brother's room. I had just a few days and a large area to fill..

This was done with acrylic..am not fully happy with it..but for something doen in a rush, it is okay..

This is one situation I hate to encounter. When I do something, I just hate to be rushed off my feet...but this couldn't be helped...

So, I owe my brother another work..hopefully I'd be able to make him happy with my next effort..Love u ...