Peanut Garlic Spice mix

My mother-in-law's Peanut Garlic Spice MixEveryone's kitchen has some secret ingredient to grab the show. Today I am sharing with you all one such spice mix my mother-in-law taught me. This secret spice mix recipe has some basic and minimum ingredients which can turn any curry memorably delicious! My MIL makes it before hand and stores in refrigerator for later use.This post has been sitting for a long time in my drafts and deserved to be published earlier, my bad!Source: My Mother-in-LawCuisine: South Indian, AndhraIngredients:1 cup roasted peanuts/chanakkayalu5-6 garlic cloves/vellulpayalu10-12 curry leaves2 tbsp cumin /jeera/jeelakara2...

Read more »

Our Breakfast on a Lazy Sunday!

French toast with a glass of orange juice and fresh nectarinesEveryone has those lazy days 'quota' at least once in a while if not often, knocking at our door. Probably sleeping overtime makes us feel more lazy and specially if it is weekend without plans (no traveling) or late night sleep or watching movies. This is a day when we ought not feel to do anything. On such moments I miss India badly, if I don't feel anything to cook, i can simply go for the street food that is readily available and fills your stomach and makes you wanting more cuddling in that comfy cozy sofa. At times I feel my feet forcefully dragging me into the kitchen and...

Read more »

Ginger Peach Muffins

They were over so soon that I was ableto take photo of these leftover muffins next day!My Farm picking has indulged me in many new and different recipes. I loved cooking and serving the new recipes and each one is close to my heart. This ginger peach muffins I made for adorable Yash (my friend's kid) on his birthday. You must have seen him in the farm picking photos I posted previously. I found this recipe very fast, simple and easy.Ginger Peach MuffinsSource: Virtual CitiesCuisine: International ~ AmericanPrep time: 20 minsBaking time: 25-30 minsServes: 6-8 peopleIngredients:2 cups flour½ cup sugar2 tsp baking powder½ tsp baking soda½ tsp...

Read more »

Homemade Orange peel scrub

I know this post is not related to cooking. Its all about giving a breathing spa to your skin. Yeah, I am talking about ex-foliating your skin. Dead skin cells, tanning etc can effectively be got rid off by using ex-foliating scrubs. However, one should not use the scrub daily to ex-foliate. If your skin is oily you may need once a week. For more drier skin once a month is more than enough.We all know that citrus fruits have some medicinal values either taken internally or used externally on our skin. One such use is making scrubs out of their dried peels. Do not throw away Orange, lemon or lime peels. Dry them out thoroughly until...

Read more »

Red Currants Mini Tarts

After spending an exhaustive but enjoyable day at farm picking, my home was filled with fresh fragrance of berries, peaches and currants. But I remained stuck on how to use the whole bunch. World wide web was at rescue for me and soon I started browsing different recipes using my farm picks. And I am really happy that I was able to visit Delicious Days for one such incredible recipe I am blogging today. Red Currant Mini Tarts Source: Delicious DaysCuisine: International CuisinePrep time: 20 minsBaking time: 30 mins, Serves: 4-5Ingredients for crust:1 cup all purpose flour¾ stick (6 tbsp) cold butter¼ cup icing sugara pinch of saltIngredients...

Read more »

A day at 'The Farm' picking

Things have been really hectic this month with lot of festivals and celebrations going on. I am late in posting about the farm picking we went 3 weeks back. We and our friends family along with their two adorable and fun loving kids went to the farms near Chester in our neighbourhood. I really had incredible time picking the best of raspberries, blackberries, red currants (lucky to get hold few of them!) and juicy peaches.I am sharing some of pictures from Farm Picking, enjoy!DH trying to get hold of some blackberriesYash: "Let me see how many currant did we pick, Didi!Can you see me in the back holding a box of berries!"Raspberries on its...

Read more »

Through my lens ~ Peaches

"Through my lens" is a new series of food photography. An idea to portray beautiful things I indulge in every day life and share the moments with my friends and visitors to my blog. This series will primarily focus on food and things related to it. I clicked some peaches we plucked from 'Pick your Own Farm' .Peache wedges ready to be freezed......About photo: taken in bright sunlight beaming on the peaches, without flash.Camera: Sony Cybershot DSCP100-5.1 megapixelEnj...

Read more »

Super Fast curry recipe ~ Boondi Kura

Boondi Curry! Am I sounding weird? no in fact I am not!!! you read it right I am talking about Boondi Kura/Curry. I was lucky enough to taste this wonderful recipe at my cousin sister's place in Vizag. The curry was moist and tasting so delicious. I never in my dreams would have imagine that we can make curry out of Boondi.Boondi or Boondhi is a Indian Snack. There are two varieties sweet and salted variant called Khara. To prepare boondi, Gram flour batter is made into small balls using a ladle with holes. These balls are then deep fried in vegetable oil.To make boondi Laddu (indian sweet)fried boondi is then dipped in sugar syrup. Plain...

Read more »

Varalakshmi Vratham 2008

Varalakshmi Vratham 15th August 2008Varalakshmi Vratam was celebrated on 15th August and I know I am late in posting about it. As you all know I have already blogged about my last year's Varalakshmi Vratam puja and shared some photos with you. Varalakshmi vratam is widely celebrated across southern states of India., Andhra pradesh and Karnataka. This festival falls on the friday before Full Moon day Pournami/ Poornima in the holy month of Shravan/Sravanam.Lot of preparation go in to perform this puja. I am briefly describing about the puja vidhanama here in the hope that it helps those who are new to this puja, newly wed and married women...

Read more »

Perugu Potlakaya ~ Snake gourd in home made yogurt

Perugu means Yogurt., Potlakaya means Snake gourd, together Perugu Potlakaya. Snake gourd is called as Potlakaya in Telugu, podalankai in Tamil, Padavalanga in Malayalam, Padavalakai in Kannada and Chachinda in Hindi.This is a healthy vegan recipe, quick to make and needs nothing much than few Indian seasoning items like mustard seeds, cumin seeds, blackgram dal and few curry leaves. I make this curry when the snake gourds are in season. We can also make using 'frozen Potlakaya'. I like to have this with Sambar or pappu charu along with company of hot steamed rice. This is very commonly prepared in South India, some add grated coconut and...

Read more »

A Sweet note on Raksha Bandhan

Rakhi with akshintaluRaksha Bandhan is a festival celebrating the bond of affection between brothers and sisters. The day when the siblings pray for each others' well being and wish for each others' happiness and goodwill. As the name 'Raksha Bandhan' suggests, 'a bond of protection', Raksha Bandhan is a pledge from brothers to protect the sister from all harms and troubles and a prayer from the sister to protect the brother from all evil. Raksha Bandhan was on 16th August 2008. The festival falls on Sravana Poornima (full moon day of Sravan month) which comes generally in the month of August. The sisters tie the...

Read more »

Tri-colour Salad

I wish all my desi readers a very Happy Independence day! "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new…India discovers herself again."- Jawaharlal Nehru (on Indian Independence Day, 1947)I have many cherished moments as a kid when we used to assemble in our school grounds and sing "Jana Gana Mana...." our National Anthem. We used to get lot of chocolates and sweets on this day at school. I remember my father brings home these small flags we can tuck on our uniforms. Coming home after the flag hoisting...

Read more »

AWARDS -- Awards -- awardzz !!!!!

Past week was a great one! We went to farm picking, a good break from the usual routine. Weather was cool and pleasant and we picked lot of raspberries, black berries, red currants and peaches. I will be blogging about the time we spent at farm picking and also some great recipes I made from my farm picking!Blogosphere Awards: I am very much excited to show you all the awards I have received in past week/month. I know I am very late in doing this, but its never too late!! Yummy Blog AwardUsha of My Spicy Kitchen, my new friend in TIA and fellow foodie. She awarded me "Yummy Blog Award", I am so happy that she thought of me and my blog to...

Read more »

Paneer Bhurji

Paneer is often referred to as Indian Cottage cheese and there are numerous way to cook them. Paneer is a type of cheese. It is the Indian name for cottage cheese. Paneer, unlike other cheeses, Paneer has not been matured and it is rather bland. It is a high protein food; it is often substituted for meat in many vegetarian entrees of Indian cuisine. It is commonly used in curried dishes. Paneer is quite easy to make at home.How to make paneer at homeBring 1 Gallon/3.5 liters of fresh whole milk to the boil. Add 2 table spoons of vinegar or lemon juice or curd and stir well. Put aside. After the milk has curdled, wrap it in a clean muslin cloth,...

Read more »

Healthy Zucchini Soya Cakes

Healthy & Tasty Zucchini and Soya cakesSummer is here and so are the garden fresh veggies and herbs sizzling around in everyone's backyard. Well I don't have a backyard!! but can always count on endless supplies of garden fresh beauties from our local farmer's market. I believe in buying the local produce, so that you can help reducing the growing fuel use. A little effort goes a long way to curb global warming. And to top it homemade breads, pies and ice creams are a bonus to get the taste of homemade goodies. Last week I bought some Zucchini and thought of grilling them, but instead ended up making cakes with them. When Sia of Monsoon...

Read more »

Everything about Sourdough

Sourdough StarterRemember two weeks back I blogged about Cherry Rose Rolls on my blog, In my post I promised I will be posting about sourdough. These days I am hooked to Rita Davenport's 'The Sourdough Cookbook'. This book has some incredible and yummy recipes for all, from breads, rolls, twists, biscuits, muffins to pancakes, waffles, cakes, cookies & brownies and main dishes too! Awesome, isn't it? I am drafting some of the goodies from her book in my blog.The story of SourdoughFor centuries, sourdough was a mystery. According to one historical account, sourdough was discovered in the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs, about 5,000 years...

Read more »