Krishna Jayanthi Recipes

Happy Krishna Jayanthi to all of you..... 

Recipes

1. Baked Uppu Seedai (Savoury Seedai, Also called as Cheedai)

2. Baked Vella Seedai (Sweet Cheedai)

3. Vella Aval (Sweet Aval, Poha made with Jaggery)

4. Ellu Boli (Sesame Boli)

5. Unniappam (Appam)

6. Chakkara Pongal

7. Medhu Vadai

Kerala Sadya Recipes - Onam Special

As we celebrate Onam this week (Thiruvonam on 29th Aug 2012), I thought I will compile a page in an effort to showcase the items that are served in Kerala Feast. Many of this is true for a Tamil Feast as well. But they are not all applicable.

The banana leaf is usually used to serve Kerala Feast. The top portion is used to serve different curries and bottom side is used for rice, sambar, snacks, payasam etc. The leaf usually used should be the end leaf (nuni ela) with the smaller end on the left of the person sitting in front.



The order of serving 

On the top from right to left - Kichadi, Pachadi, Thoran, Mizhukkuparatti, Avial/Kootu, Achar(Pickle)

On the bottom payasam at the right corner. rice in the middle (with parippu, sambar, nei etc), on the left corner - banana chips, sharkara varatti, pappadam, pazham

I have a lot of recipes in my blog. But still not the complete collection. I will update the page as and when I post all the recipes. 

Want to read more? Looking for the recipes to fit the Plate... Click on this link to be taken to an array of Traditional Kerala Feast Recipes

Race for Life - Cancer Research UK

Hi Friends

I am running a 5K Run called Race for Life on June 20th. Funds raised goes to Cancer Research UK.

Events like Race for Life are vital in funding Cancer Research UK's life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. By sponsoring me now you can help more people survive cancer.

Last year was my first time and I raised £448. I am running in Memory of my mother. Please do check my Just Giving Page. No amount is small (Seriously, even if you feel like adding £2, Everything adds up). Together we can fight Cancer....

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/roshnichandrasekar2012

I thought of posting this in my blog as I thought it will help me reach a wider audience. If a few of of you decide to contribute, it will go a long way... Even if you do not feel like monetarily supporting the cause, do wish me Luck!

Love
Roshni.

Vishu Celebration and Menu

Iniya Tamil Puttandu Nal Vazhthukkal!! (Wishing you all a Happy New Year)
Vishu Ashamsakal!! (Happy Vishu)





Chittirai is the first month of Tamil Calendar, hence this is Tamil New Year. Vishu is a spring festival in Kerala. It falls on the first day of the month Medam. This is not New Year in Kerala. Kerala New Year is in the month of Chingam (Aug-Sept) during which Onam is celebrated.

The two most important aspects of Vishu are the Vishu Kani and Vishu Kaineettam. Vishu Kani is the first sight that you see in the morning of the Vishu day. The lady of the house sets everything up the previous night. Then on the morning, she wakes up early and lights diya in front of the Kani. Everyone in the house walk with closed eyes and come see the Kani first thing in the morning.



Lot of things go in the Kani. As you can see, we are doing the Kani in the western land. So not all traditional stuff feature in the kani. An important item is the Konna poo. (Due to unavailability I had to make do with some other yellow flower). Lot of fruits and vegetables are kept. Typical ones included banana, jackfruit, mango, cucumber. Rice and Toor dal are also kept. Gold, money etc are also added in to show prosperity. Traditionally all these go in a vessel called Urali. You can see a small version of it in my Kani (Toor dal is kept in that in mine). All these are presented in front of Lord Krishna.



Elders give younger ones Kaineettam (money). That is something all the kids look forward to.



Now to the important part for us!! The food..... A big feast is prepared. This is my humble attempt to recreate the yummy food.



Menu for the day : Avial, Vazhakka Thoran, Vendakka Mizhukkuavarati, Parippu Kari, Mambazha Pulisheri, Sambar, Rasam, Pavakka Kichadi.

I will present to you the recipes for the above in the coming days.

Pongal Celebration

Hope you all had a great Pongal celebration. I just wanted to wind up our Pongal Celebration with a small post in the blog about our celebration. No recipes in this post.

We moved to UK from US 1.5 years ago. We ended up buying a house within a few months. That is the beginning of this wonderful journey. We have made some good friends with a few of our neighbours. My little one has friends of his age to play with. We do a potluck dinner atleast once a month. Mostly if there is a festival, we make our dinner based on the theme of the festival. In the last few months, we celebrated Navarathri, Deepavali, Halloween, Karthigai, New Year and Pongal together.

Navarathri we had Golu at our place. Deepavali we did a huge celebration with crackers, dinner at A's house, movie (Velayudham). Halloween our friend P decorated her house in spooky theme. Karthigai we did dinner with lamps and all at our place. New year was at A's house with 80s themed costumes.

Now coming to Pongal, we had a traditional south indian lunch at P's house. P's husband went all the way to London to get ourselves some Vazha Ilai and Karumbu. It was all worth it at the end.  Me and My friends P, A and H all made a few dishes each and look how beautifully it has all come together. Does it not too good when it is served on a Banana Leaf? Its been ages since I ate in a Banana Leaf. It adds a special taste to food.

It was cute seeing the kids sit on the floor and eat from the ilai. The adults also had lots of fun and a yummy meal. It was like a wedding gathering in India. The guys were dressed in Veshti and ladies were all in sarees. Even the kids were all in traditional Indian dresses.

Menu for the day: vendakka kichadi (thair pachadi), beetroot kichadi, manga sweet pachadi, avial, beans curry, carrot with moong dal curry, mango pickle, ulundu vadai, pathir pheni, paruppu, sambar, rasam, appalam, thair, venn pongal and chakkara pongal.

My friend P drew this Rangoli.

Arusuvai Kurippu - Recap 2011

When I started blogging in November, I was not sure how this will unravel. I started posting some recipes and I started getting a lot of feedback from my friends. That was a great encouragement. Some of them tried the recipes that I posted and gave me feedback. When I get up in the morning, I check the comments to see all the feedback. It makes my day.

Then I moved to the next important step. I visited a few blogs. I was amazed by the effort all the lovely ladies have put into their blogs. I was humbled - the variety in recipes, the photos, the presentation. I have made new friends in the blogging world in this short time. I am sure there are a lot of beautiful sites yet to explore. That is what 2012 is for. I have created a bloglist for the websites that I have found. Do visit those pages for some amazing recipes. I learnt a lot of recipes in all these websites. Have tried a few and have bookmarked a few for making soon.

One of my friends suggested to check out various events. I have made my start by sending my posts to a few events. Hoping to do a lot more in the coming months.

Most Popular Dish (based on page views) in my site is Vatha Kozhambu.



The recipe which became an instant hit (it is fast becoming the most popular) is Methi Malai Mutter. It is my favourite recipe (and my husband's as well) in the blog so far.



New to others - I make the Vermicilli-Semolina quite often and it is almost a quick breakfast in our house. I got the feedback from friends that it is totally new to them. Many tried and liked it a lot.



My favorite photo in my blog so far is in Rava Kesari. The reason is mainly cause, I was just going to post the other photo in the link. But my husband thought this was a good one. I posted it and every time I see that photo, I am tempted to make Kesari



For recipe that I learnt from other sites - I can name a lot as I have looked up ratio and combination of different items in many sites. But the one recipe that was totally new to me was the Spiced Nutella Hot Chocolate. It is so addictive. In the last few weeks, I have enjoyed it every Friday. It is so sinful, cannot enjoy more than once a week :-) I learnt it from Puja's website. She has a lot of recipes that I have bookmarked.



Events that I am looking forward to participating (missed out last year)
Blog Hop Wednesday by Radhika 
Indian Cooking Challenge by Srivalli

As I mentioned before, I can name a lot of blogs that I have found and love. I just have to name a few here.

Rajani's My Kitchen Trials - She was one of the main inspirations for me to start this blog. We have cooked together in our younger days. I was not a great cook at that time, mainly cause there were other cooks better than me. She has a beautiful website and some wonderful recipes.

Priya's Priya's Easy N Tasty - Just look at the number of dishes in her site. It takes a lot of effort to be consistent. She has lots and lots of yummy recipes. And she encourages me a lot with wonderful comments. Also check her bloglist. I found quite a few good sites there.

Revathi's Kaarasaram - The best photos and presentation of food. I sometimes keep looking at the photos for 15-20 min before even I start reading the recipes. Lot of interesting recipes and history of food.

Sarah's Vazhayila - You all know my love for Kerala food by now. I think I do not need to look any further than Sarah's website for super delicious and authentic Mallu food. Her presentations are also amazing.

I have met a lot of new bloggers in the last couple of weeks. Sorry that I am not mentioning you all. I have made a list here and I check everyone of your recipes every day.

Looking forward to documenting my favorite recipes, learning new dishes, participating in events, making new friends in 2012. Please do continue checking my blog and more importantly, keep the feedback/comments/suggestions coming. I love hearing from you all.

If you like my blog or you feel like encouraging me, please follow me. Add comments! :-) I will know about your blogs as well that way. I look forward to meeting new bloggers.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I am linking this post to Best of Year 2011 Event by Srivalli

Methi Khakra

Methi Khakra recipe is a dedication to my mom. She is a tamilian who lived in Gujarat till she married my dad. Though she loves Tamil, her first love was Gujarati. When she married my dad, she moved to Kerala. She adopted the new home as well. She learned the language. She used to make a lot of Kerala, Tamil and North Indian dishes at home.

In Kerala it is difficult to find a Gujarati speaking person. When we go to the Padmanabha Swami temple, usually she runs into some Gujarati speaking family. She gets super excited. And always gets into a conversation with them, giving them tips of a localite!!

Every time she made Rotis at home (which is almost everyday), she used make Khakra for me and my brother. We used to call it Biscuit Chapati. I made this Khakra today and the way my son enjoyed it, I really remembered the fun days with my mother. Miss you :-(

The method of making starts like that of Methi Roti. You have to just toast till the right hardness

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour 2 cups

Methi leaves 1 cup (I used half a big bunch), finely chopped

Ajwain 1 tsp

Chilli powder 1 tsp

Cumin 1 tsp

Turmeric 1 tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Hing a little

Oil 1 Tbsp

Method of Preparation

1. Take all the ingredients in a bowl

2. Mix by adding water little at a time to make dough like for Chappati. Split into 12 small balls. While making I felt I should have split into smaller balls. Cause to press down on the whole surface was difficult with bigger roti.

3. Roll each ball into a circle like you do to make regular rotis. Make very thin roti to get crispy Khakra. Prepare all the balls and keep it in a paper towel or kitchen counter.

4. Put each one in the tawa and press down with a towel. I heard there are presses available in India. Never used them. Make sure that the roti does not puff up.

5. Turn to the other side and do the same. Keep pressing till it get nice and hard like a Khakra.

Enjoy the guilt free snack with a cup of tea!!

Intro

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for visiting my page. The big question is - why am I writing this blog?

1. Every woman seems to have her blog.... Could this be a reason for me to have one?? I wonder

2. I read a few blogs over the last few months for recipes and got inspired.

3. Third and most important reason - I look up recipes online, read recipe books, talk to friends/relatives and sometimes make up my own as I go along. Sometimes it comes good. The sad part is I never can recreate it cause I do not remember the recipe. So this is my 'Samayal Kurippukal' (Cooking Notes).

4. Writing a blog might inspire me to try different stuff that I may not usually do. I love cooking. But I hate doing same thing often. I like variety.

5. I used to work for the last 10 years and am taking a break from work. This hopefully means more time to cook.

Hope you enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy cooking stuff and posting it. I am sure my husband and 2 year old son (who i will refer to as Kandan) will enjoy the new recipes. Please add comments about how you like the recipes and do mail me your photos - arusuvai.kurippu@gmail.com

Roshni