This was a cold weeked with a little bit of sunshine here and there and I was in a mood to cook something special at home. My husband loves capsicums and my daughter hates them. So I had to make someting for a bit for both of them. So here goes…
As a kid, I remember I would simply hate having Idlis for breakfast. In my opinion an Idli is simply a blob of plain dough steamed , with no inherent taste of its own. Ocassionally, I would force one or two down my throat by smothering them with sugar and ghee. As a teenager, my childhood preferences was still fresh in my mind and Idlis simply eluded me!!! A year in to hostel life, and I was yearning for home made hot steaming idlis with
My daughter is always a sucker for Idlis and loves it in any form. So I make a lot of the mini bite sized idlis for her for a quick breakfast option. These mini idli moulds are so amazing as they transform an otherwise mundane dish to something so exciting and allows a lot of creativity. I picked these little moulds the last time I was in India.
INGREDIENTS:
Idli Batter.
Mini Idli Moulds.
Oil to Grease.
3/4 cup Curd.
Cane Sugar.
PREPARATION:
Sending a bowlful of Idlis to Srivalli for her event – Kid Friendly Event – Kids Delight – Wholesome Breakfast.
The complimenting Neivedhyam for Thiruvadharai Kali would be the Upperi or rather a version of select steamed vegetables, spiced generously with ground coconut and green chillies. The Upperi as I remember is a combination of various tubers and roots that are combined and cooked to get the most delicious preparation. I remember as a child, when Thiruvadharai was around the corner, I knew a trip to the local crowded vegetable market at Ranganathan Street would happen pretty soon. Since the monsoons would have just finished, it would be a herculean task, just to walk in that crowded street. My friend would quip light heartedly that all one needs to do, was to stand at the beginning of Ranganathan street…the crowd would pull you to the very end!!! That said, one would hardly look forward to a weekend trip here, coming back with bagfulls of tubers and vegetables. Nevertheless, it had to be done…every year unfailingly, until, one day Madurai amma was convinced about buying it from the vegetable man, pulling his own cart, quoting his own fancy price.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup chopped Raw Banana.
1/2 cup chopped Potatoes.
1/2 cup chopped Kavathu Kazhangu.
1/2 cup Flat Bean/Avaraikka slit in to 1 inch square pieces.
1/2 cup Koorkai / Chinese Potatoes
1/2 cup Mochai / Valor Lilva.
1/2 cup Sweet Potatoes.
1/2 cup fresh coconut.
4-5 green chillies.
2 spoons of coconut oil.
Turmeric.
Seasoning:
Mustard, Curry Leaves, Hing.
PREPARATION:
It`s always a challenge making little treats for kids when they come home from school. It is also very important to combine in a meal, health and good taste. At home, any requests for junk food like chips etc are always entertained only combined with health foods like fruit, vegetables or dry fruits like raisins, dates etc. This time ,during Halloween my daughter wanted a special multi coloured toast, depicting fall colours…so this was a quick idea that flashed my mind. She loves chocolate hazelnut spread and pineapple jam, so hey why not combine both together for a quick breakfast???
INGREDIENTS:
2 Loaves of toasted whole wheat bread.
One scoop of Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread.
One scoop of Pineapple Jam.
PREPARATION:
HINT:
Use your creativity and make as many variations as possible. As far as this dish is concerned, sky is the limit. I have listed a few options below:
This is one of the first of my entries to Kids Delight event at Srivalli`s blogpage SpiceyourLife.
Thirivadharai Kali is one of the most simple of all the neivethyams. It is made with the everyday ingredients available in the pantry. It is also a very healthy option for snack as its made out of rice thats beaten, dry roasted and then steam cooked. Jaggery which is the other ingredient is also a healthy addition to this simple and wholesome preparation.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of raw rice.
1/4 cup of raw moong dal.
1 cup of Jaggery grated.
3 cups of Water.
Ground Cardamom Powder.
Handful of Broken cashew.
1/4 cup of Fresh Coconut.
PREPARATION:
Every year, the month of “Marghazi” is of very special significance as it heralds new beginnings, the new year, the music season in Tamil Nadu made redolent with the myraid performances of senior music stalwarts in the various halls, Vaikunta Ekadasi, and of course Thiruvadharai. When I actually embarked on the significance of this day I found so many different versions, all of them confluencing on the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva.
This festival occurs on the day of the Arudra star in the tamil month of Marghazi, and is of course of special significance to Lord Shiva. This day also marks the auspicious time for Arudra Darisanam – of Lord Nataraja in the Saivite temples all over Tamilnadu. This celebration is marked by abhishekams to Nataraja and his consort Sivakami during the full moon night, and worship services such as the Deepa Aradhanai to Natarajar amidst the chanting of sanskrit and tamil hymns and the waving of lamps, in the pre-dawn hours, when the moon still shines bright, an enactment of the dance of Shiva, and a grand procession through the processional streets.
Although there is a shrine to Natarajar, in virtually all of the Saivite temples in Tamilnadu, five of these are considered to be the Pancha Sabhais or the five cosmic dance halls of Shiva. The five dance halls are:
The Hall of Gold – Kanakasabha at Chidambaram,
The Hall of Silver Velli Sabhai at Madurai,
The Hall of Rubies – Ratnasabha at Tiruvalankadu,
The Hall of Copper – Tamrasabha at Tirunelveli and
The Hall of Pictures – Chitrasabha at Kutralam.
The usual Neivethyams that are offered to Lord Shiva are Thirivadharai Upperi & Thiruvadharai Kali. The postings will follow in the later blogs.
After my really long blogging break, my daughter really started missing my unforeseen delicacies that I make at home for her now and then. She has become so used to my blogging that this morning when I made her a peanut butter nutella sandwich and passed on her little pink plate, she threw a quizzical look at me. “Mom” she queried, “Arent you taking a picture???” I could`nt help smiling….”No sweety”, I quipped….go ahead and have your sandwich…She had been wanting to have my eggless cakes in a long time. So this afternoon, I decided to surprise her with a Zebra Cake, which I know had been making its rounds in the foodie blogsphere. I guess the name really hit off with her, I decided, as she came back for second and third helpings….
I did not have dark chocolate, but I generously used Hot chocolate Mix, specially made and packaged in tin containers, for the holiday season, that I found at Costco. I guess I can say that it was delicious and spongy, at the same time not too sweet. We all enjoyed it with a hot cup of tea and saved some for snack the following day.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups All Purpose Flour / Maida.
1 3/4 cup Whole Milk .
1/2 cup Oil.
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cup Sugar ( Preferable a little more than 1 1/4 and a little less than 1 1 /2!!!)
1 tsp vanilla essence.
Cocoa Powder / Dark chocolate Powder / Ground Bournvita as needed.
1 Tsp Baking Soda.
1 Tsp Baking Powder.
PREPARATION:
Sending this cake to SHOW ME YOUR CAKE event hosted by Divya of Dil Se. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful and prosperous new year.
It has been a very busy break for me, having another baby after 6 years!!! I have almost forgotten the simple and joyous , yet difficult times of having a newborn in the home! Sleep times and wakeup calls are completly regulated by her and so are the schedules of the rest of the day. Yet, when I see her face, calm in her sleep, a smile now and then, I realise its worth every pain I have gone through…a million times over!!!!
Last night I was browsing the aggregator, and found Srivalli`s posting for MLLA – 18. And I realised that I had the perfect yet simple post for for her event!!! Steamed Jumbo Peanuts….Memories of this goes as back as when we were little toddlers and Madurai amma used to steam them in the cooker for us to have when we get home in the evenings. It would always be a pleasure to sit with my siblings, chat up about the happenngs of the day and catch up with each other.Summer vacations are never complete without all the cousins, sharing a plate of steamed peanuts!!!
INGREDIENTS:
Raw Jumbo Peanuts.
Water
Salt.
PREPARATION:
Sending loads of steamed peanuts to MLLA – 18`th helping event at Srivalli`s Cooking4AllSeasons, brainchild of Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.
Of our darling princess, our second daughter….A baby does bring with it tremendous responsibilities and pressures, albeit very sweet and fulfilling. I will be on a short blogging break of course, nevertheless, less the good times flow.Thank you for all the wonderful words of encouragement and understanding.
See you all very soon.
Shoba
Deepavali always brings in festivities and goodness to an already vibrant occassion. Preparations for Deepavali would start at least a week ahead of the festival with all of us pitching in for the making of the various sweets and savories all overseen briskly by Maduraiamma. She would keep ready large aluminum tins, washed and dried in the sun, for storing the various savories and sweets that we make for this yearly festival.
On the other hand, sweet shops like Surya Sweets, Sri Krishna Sweets. The Grand Sweets and Snacks, Suswaad, etc have brisk business during this festive season stocking up on specialty items for people to buy and enjoy. One such store that makes amazing “Thattai” has been Surya Sweets in Abhiramapuram, Chennai. Their Thattais are amazingly big, thin and crisp and just right to munch with a glass of tea as an evening snack. This was taught to me by a dear aunt!!!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of Rice Flour.
1/8 cup of Urad Flour. (Slow roast Urad Dhal in a dry kadai until it turns light brown and emits an aroma. Cool and grind to a fine powder in a coffee grinder or mixer and sieve).
1 Tsp Maida/ AP Flour.
1 tsp salt.
1 Tbsp Butter.
A handful of Chutney Dhal/Pottu Kadalai/ Daliya.
Hing.
3/4 spoon Red Chilli Powder (or as per taste).
10 curry leaves torn.
Water to bind the ingredients.
PREPARATION:
Anubhavati -Tastes from my kitchen 