Cooking&more

There was this family tradition we followed since I was a kid, and which me and my husband have continued with our children too and that is to cut a cake and eat it so we eat something sweet to welcome the new year.It has always been our my fond hope and belief that in so doing we are ensuring sweetness and joy for each and every moment for the rest of the new year. Optimistic much?? I guess so!!  Idealistic?? Definitely Surely in all the twenty plus years, of  carrying on this tradition, even I, a self styled incurable romantic and stubborn idealist should have realized that this trick doesn’t work, that you cannot bribe the fates with cake, that every year will bring its share of joys and sorrow, and as thousands of  internet memes going around, and the cynic in me say,  “ A new year is just a change in date and no big deal. Circumstances don’t drastically change because it’s a new year, and the resolutions (making resolutions on new years is so passé) can be made at any tim

The last time my in laws came to visit, my father in law  gave us  the best gift possible-the gift of health and well being!  He planted this holy basil plant in our yard. Holy basil also known as Tulsi  in Sanskrit, is the most revered plant in India, enjoying an exalted status as the consort of  Lord Vishnu . The plant has been attributed to have various medicinal properties so much so that having a Tulsi plant in your yard is considered akin to having a second medicine chest in your house.  I remember as a child, my mother giving us a herbal decoction with Tulsi leaves and other herbs at a the slightest hint of a cold, and more recently, when my own little girl was down with a bad cough my MIL plucked a few leaves from the Tulsi plant, extracted their juice, mixed it with a bit of honey and gave it to her for soothing relief. Also having a Tulsi in the yard is a bonus beauty booster as it comes in handy to fight dandruff or fix that pesky pimple!! So here are some home rem

Mung bean pancake (Peserattu) Mung bean or moong dal pancakes known as cheelas in hindi or pesserattu in telugu are an easy and popular dish in India. Many varieties abound, with whole or split mung beans and with or without filling. For our Saturday dinner, I chose to make them with split mung beans because they take the minimum effort and soaking time, and because I am lazy like that and because I would rather just read a novel or watch a movie with DH on a Saturday evening than spend hours in the kitchen preparing dinner  :) To make the pancakes (makes approximately 6 pancakes of 8 inch diameter each) Take  1/4 cup of rice to 1 cup of split mung dal Soak them in enough water to cover  Along with 3 dried red chillies and a shake/pinch of asafotedia powder (also known as hing this powder is easily available in Indian grocery stores. Its totally optional but I would totally recommend it) Soak for two hours-(this is where using split mung gives me a maj

Eggplant in cilantro gravy This is one dish that definitely took its time to get into my list of most-loved. I absolutely love it now, I love it for the soft on the inside crispy on the outside texture of the eggplants. I love it for the smooth creamy pungent flavor of the gravy, and most of all I love it for how absolutely insanely easy it is to make when compared to how impressive it looks when served at a party. The very first time I tasted this dish at a friends home, however, I did not quite fall in love with it. In fact, it was an affront to my delicate taste buds, which had hiterto been zealously protected from anything bordering on pungent. But the way it often happens, DH loved it and my dear friend gave me the recipe for it and it became a regular at our dinner table and slowly worked its way into my heart.  And the moral of the story is, if you don't like something the first time, don't give up on it, keep trying it and you may develop a taste for it.

It seems like it was aeons ago, I promised thee, gentle reader, a recipe for vegan cheese, and I know tis an ill kept promise, that hath been delayed in keeping, but what can I say. I accidentally deleted the pics from my phone and was waiting this long to make it all over again, and snap some wonderful photographs and post the recipe to my blog, however what with the daily grind and travelling between two states, enjoying  my kid brother's wedding festivities. The whole remake the cheese and take better pics got pushed to the back burner. But now I tell myself, enough is sufficient!!! Your readers are waiting for the recipe. Go share it with them, (and then maybe post the pics later???) So here gentle reader is my recipe for vegan cheese. Sourced mostly from this website http://www.landsandflavors.com/basic-almond-cheese/ And tweaked to reflect personal taste Ingredients Almonds 1 cup Garlic four cloves peeled Lemon juice  squeezed from 1/4 lemon 1/8 tsp bla

There are days when we enjoy cooking,  and there are days when it seems such a drag. You know,  the kind of day when you want to just make something super quick and easy, something that you can just put together without even thinking about it. Well a few days ago I  made just such a curry. It needs minimal effort and goes well with Rice,  Roti  or Naan.  You can even wrap it up in a tortilla To start with Take a Ridge gourd and cut into two halves or don't,  whichever way you like it Peel the ridge gourd, peel just the ridges,  and a layer of the skin,  keeping a bit of the skin intact.  Don't peel it all off as you don't want it to get too mushy as it cooks down This how it should look after peeling Slice it into juliennes like this Grab an onion and peel it Cut it into slices.. Not very thick as it won't cook well,  nor so thin that they disappear when cooking.( I  know you are proud of your onion slicing ski

For most people in India, the days between July and August are generally a busy time for most auspicious rituals are conducted during the Hindu month of Shravan ,  which falls sometime between these two months. One ritual associated with Shravan month is the exchanging of tamboolam. Married ladies give each other gift bags typically containing turmeric,  vermillion,  betel leaves and sprouted brown lentils( channa), signifying a wish for marital happiness and prosperity for both the giver and the receiver.  It is a fun ritual because you get to dress up in your best sarees and go and visit your neighbors and get to meet people,  but as the bags keep coming you start to wonder what to do with the endless supply of brown lentils.  Lots of times I  either make a curry out of them or I just boil them and have them with a little salt and tempering. We absolutely love having them both ways. However it gets tiring eating the same thing after  a while.  Last week DH's cousins