OK OK..without informing the absence,also instead of giving recepies,what in the world she is writing in a cooking blog..I can hear you all saying that..but I felt I want to share something with my readers after a long time..while browsing I read something like this from a blog,so I decided why dont I write something about my life in my own blog..After reading this I hope you will understand my long absence..I hope( if time permits :) ) I will write more and give some madurai style recepies in next year..
Most important decade of my life(2005-2010)..Lot of things happened..Lots of fun..Lots of ups and down...Let see how?
2005:Most important year of my life.Got married to Senthil in January,Most wonderful person in earth.Started my marriage life in
Albany,NY in a single bedroom apartment driving a ford taurus.Got pregnant in march,totally unplanned,Which drive both of us crazy for a little while until Adarsh born in December.We had a bunch of good friends they really taken care of me during pregnancy.Adarsh looks exactly like me,being an young age mom(I am 22 @ this time), Thankfully my mom was with me at the end of my pregnancy.She guided me each and every step.I love you mom!you are my role model!
2006:Nothing Special happened this year.We moved to two bedroom apartment and bought a brand new Honda Accord.Went to las vegas just me and Senthil leaving adarsh with my mom,the best vaction I ever had.I felt like I was in dream land.My mom went back to India,that scared me a lot,how am I going to take care of this 5 month old baby that is my biggest concern,God gave me enough Strength to overcome the little hurdles I got day by day.Finally I started feeling little matured at this stage.My brother family came to US.We all celebrated Adarsh first
birthday in a party hall with the bunch of friends.Beautiful memories!
2007: Important year in my software career.I joined as a java consultant in NYSDOH.We bought a brand new individual home in Mogappair,Chennai.Went
to India for house warming cermony,and showed My Adarsh to everyone in India.Went to London for a vacation.
2008:Work work work kinda year..Being a consultant I worked really hard..but it paid off..we saved a lot..which made us to bought a brand new home in clifton park,NY with a pretty good down payment..we felt like we have achieved something in life at this year..we love love loved our new home..Being lived in a apartment for three years moving to a brand new house is a great feeling!
2009:Lots of ups and down filled year..Beginning of this year my contract at NYSDOh got ended..so I was at an transistion period for three months..This is very common in a consultants world..But it scared me..I started writing on this beautiful cooking blog..which I loved so much ..I got a NYS state job as an IT specialist in programming as permanent employee,which I am completely NOT statisfied by this job bcoz its very less pay than what I got before...but the world is recession at that time..So I said to myself whatever happens in life is
good..God has a plan..But I really enjoyed at this time..Wonderful team..Got lot of good friends at the state..They are all very kind and fun..We almost furnished our home at this year..Home started looking lovely!
2010:Wow what a great year! We went to Florida for a long 10 day vacation!Bought our Second brand new Toyato Highlander 2010..
Joined in LTI as a java consultant again..Ready to take the stress and heavy work load..Worked as a consultant to GE..Totally a new world..Tiring yet rewarding job..When I touched the Thomas Edison desk where he discovered a lot.. at the research center they kept it for display..I cried literally at the moment..Who in the world have those oppurtunities(ofcourse those who are all working in research center have that ha ha..)..Working in Edison office(GE) is such a great experience My Consulting company LTI is wonderful..Thier holiday celebration is unforgettable event in my life..There are almost 100 varities of food and cocktails in the mansion...Most of them I never tasted or enjoyed in my life.Danced at the party for the first time with my Senthil.Most wonderful party I ever had in my life..Senthil joined as a state consultant after 9 years of work at IA system..A huge career move for him..Celebrated Adarsh birthday in a grand manner!A sucessful and a pleasent year!Financially a very good year too!
All these years what I have learned from life is its a transistion,move
according to god's plan..Take the challenge and try to win on
that..Accept the changes.... Lets see what is in store for me for the next decade(2011-2015)..I am ready to take the challenge and move according to god's plan.
Finally don't think I am philosopher..there is a philosopher sitting
inside me I was trying to pull her out of the shell by writing this to
the world!
Have a fun filled New Year!
Shrimp Thokku
The reason for the long gap is absolutely my laziness...I can say some lame excuses like the thing happened in the past few days like our Long nine days Florida vacation..My Dad's Visit..But I wont..see how nice I am ..ha ha..
Watching a game,Eating a Non veg,Having some beer is the perfect Sunday for my hubby Senthil..So most of the Sundays I will make some some non veg items..This Sunday I made this thokku.. Even though if for any reason I couldn't able to make non veg,he will have his beer even with pasta and watch the match..If I said like 'Senthil pasta wouldn't go with the beer..he used to laugh at me and say 'how come you know? the reason is I don't drink beer..These are all common things right ha..ha..
You need
Shrimp- 1 lb
Onion-2 big(finely chopped)
Tomato-3 Medium(finely Chopped)
Ginger and Garlic Paste-1 tbsp
Chili powder-2 tsp
Coriander powder-3 tsp
Garam masala powder-1/2 tsp
Oil-2 tbsp
salt as per taste
For Tempering
Zeera-1/2 tsp
cinnamon-1/2 stick
bay leaves-2
cloves-2
Method
In a wok add the oil add the items for tempering,when it started browning,add the onions and fry it until it changes to translucent.
Add the Tomatoes and fry it until it is completely mashed up.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and add all the powders and salt and fry it until the oil oozes out from it.
Now add the Shrimp and one cup of water and close it with the lid and cook it in a medium flame for 20 mnts or until the desired thick consistency.
Garnish it with cilantro!!
It taste great with the curd rice
Drumstick and Brinjal Puli Kulambu(Spicy Vegetable curry)
Last saturday I was little bored so I went to the redbox and took the Julie and Julia movie,guess what I just loved that movie.Its an Inspirational and true story.Its all about the girl and her passion about the cooking.Julie who used to live in top of the pizzeria store in Queens,NY.She also had a full time job in Goverment Agency.Being tired of her daily routine,she wants to do something different,other than cooking she doesnt have anything to do,She wants to write a book,but she thought its not that easy,so her husband gave an Idea why dont you start a blog,so she started a blog about Julia child(an american cook famous for her French cooking)recepies,she started cooking all her recepies and started blogging about it.In the beginning she didnt even got a single comments,when the time runs her blog became very famous.She too became very famous after an editorial interview.She is no longer living in the top of pizzeria,she is a famous writer now.I even saw her blog its wonderful. There is also another true story about Julia Child(an american cook famous for her French cooking),running behind the movie.Totally it was an awesome movie,I wish everyone of my blogging friends should watch this movie atleast once,I bet you will love it.I enjoyed each and every scene of the movie.If you have already seen this movie please do comment about it.This is the url of Julie blog,http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/.
Puli Kulambu,is nothing but a kind of stew made with vegetables and Tamrind juice.Its one of the very tasty dish in Tamil nadu,India.It is little spicy dish,but you can adjust spiceness according to your level.Actual recepie dont need any milk,but adding the milk will definetly enhances the taste.
You need
Onion-1 (medium Finely chopped)
tomato-2(small finely chopped)
brinjal-2(small slited lengthwise into four)
drumstick-4-5 pieces
shallots-4-5(crushed into pieces)
garlic-4-5(crushed into pieces)
dry chillies-2(crush it into 2-3 pieces)
sambar powder/kulambu milagai thool-2-3 tsp
tamrind-a lemon size(squeeze the juice out of it with 1 cup of water)
boiled milk-1/2 cup
For Tempering
sesame oil-2 tbsp
mustard seeds-1 tsp
zeera seeds-1 tsp
methi seeds-1/2 tsp
hing- a pinch
curry leaves
Method
In a kadai add the oil and all the items for tempering,when it starts splutter add the dry chillies,garlic and shallots.fry it for few mnts
Now add the onion and fry it until it is translucent.Add the tomatoes fry it until it becomes like a complete paste.Add the sambhar powder and salt.Also add the drumstick and brinjal,fry until the oil seperates from it.
Add the tamrind and some water to it and allow it to boil for 5-7 mnts/until the vegetables cooked completely.
Now add the milk and allow it to boil for 2-3 mnts.
Alu Mutter
Wish you a very happy pongal by dear friends!Especially during these festival times I usually felt like that I am missing India.In my hubby hometown they usually celebrate it in a grand manner.My father in law will be the chief chef of that day.He will make very delicious pongal ,Whenever My hubby describes me about this pongal it makes me drool a lot.I also made the pongal this time in my own recepie,it was good.My hubby said it was excellent,but I dont want to ask him to compare with my father in law pongal.I definetly know that his pongal will be the best.Between there is no relationship between the pongal and this alu mutter.
This alu mutter is made with very simple ingridients and its very easy to make too.Chappathi and this simple alu mutter your dinner is rescued.
You Need
potato-1 lb(boiled and cut into cubes)
onion-1 big(finely chopped)
tomato-2 medium(finely chopped)
chili powder-1-1+1/2 teaspoon
coriander powder-1+1/2 teaspoon
turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon
garam masala powder-1/2 teaspoon
oil-1+1/2 tbsp
cashews-5
cooked peas-1 cup
salt
kasthoori methi-1 teaspoon(optional)
coriander leaves
Recepie
In a kadai add the oil and add onion fry until it is translucent,then add the tomatoes and cook it until it is completely mashed out.
Add all the spice powders,salt and fry it until the oil seperated from it.Grind this along with the cashews.
Bring boil to this mixture add the potatoes and peas,simmer it for few seconds.
Finally dress it up with some kasthoori methi and coriander leaves.
viola Enjoy!!
Okra(Vendaikai) Mandhi
Its a Chettinad speciality dish.Most of us think the chettinad dishes are famous for non vegetarian dishes,but there are whole lot of awesome veggie dishes in chettinad cuisine.This is one among them.Being a big fan of spice and sour foods.when I first tasted this dish at one of my friends place I became a fan of it.you can use any veggies to it even some dhals.I love this dish made with fresh okra.My mom used to say If you eat okra then you will be good at your math.I hate to eat okra when I was a kid,because of some kind of slaminess in that veggie.But now I started loving it lets hope I will be a math geneius in one day ha..ha..
This goes well with the simple dhal and plain rice with appalam on the side.
You need
okra-1 lb(cut it into medium round pieces)
small onion/shallots-3-5(cut into medium pieces)
green chillies-5(slitted lengthwise)
tamrind-big lemon size(take juice of it)
turmeric-1/2 tsp
rice flour-1 tsp
sesame oil-1+1/2 tbsp
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
zeera-1/2 tsp
curry leaves
salt
Method
In a kadai add the oil and add Mustard,zeera and curry leaves.when it starts spluttering add the onions and green chillies.
When the onion turned brown add the okra and fry it for 5-7 mnts.
Now add the tamrind juice,salt and turmeric.Add some water Let it boil for 4-5 mnts
Mix the rice flour with water and add it to the gravy.Simmer it for 2-3 mnts.
Now its ready to serve!
Spinach Kootu
Happy New Year to you all!I am starting this year with a very simple recepie.
Kootu is one of the fundamentals of Tamil cooking...Whenever if you go to any parties/Marriages you will see this kootu..Everyone will have thier own recepie of making kootu..Mine is little time consuming but the end result will make no one resist to eating it..I love Spinach,I think I said it in many post..But thats true not only Spinach all the green Leafy vegetables..You can have this with either rice/chappathi.
Thing you Need
1.spinach- 1 bag
2.toor dhal/Moong dhal-3/4 cup
3.turmeric-1/2 tsp
4.salt
5.oil-1/2 tbsp
6.mustard seeds-1 tsp
7.zeera-1tsp
8.dry chillies-2-4(split it into half)
9.shredded coconut-1 tbsp(optional)
10.shallots/small onion-3(finely chopped)
11.garlic-1 pod(finely chopped)
Recepie
Cook and Mash the dhal along with salt and turmeric and keep it aside.
Cook the Spinach in a microwave high for 8-10 min with very little water.(by cooking the spinach in the microwave it will retains its color and freshness).
In a kadai add some oil and add the mustard,zeera,drychillies,garlic,shallots fry it for few mnts.
Add the Mashed dhal and spinach with the water then close the lid and cook it in a medium flame for just 2 mnts.
If you want you can finally top it of with the shredded coconut.
Spicy egg curry
Hello gals...I am back with lot of enthu..I really missed you gals a lot,I am telling this from bottom of my heart..Now I decided I dont want to loose you all...I hope you gals will understand how hard its to blog daily with a kid with a full time job and house full of chores...So I planned to manage my timmings..I decided to allote some specific timming for the blogging..So I have alloted one hour per day..
Letz talk about the hot topic in town "FLU"...The flu started with my son then to me and then to my hubby..Eventhough we all had very mild symptoms we stayed home for the whole week..It was wonderful..We had lot of fun by watching lot of movies..What else we can do when everyone in the home is doing fine with no work..We dont want go out of the house...because the flu may get severe...so we stayed home until it is completly cured..
Did you guys watched the next Iron chef?..I am obsessed with it...I am glad that chef Mehta was in the final two...I really enjoyed the episode of five course Indian meals..I was little disappointed when chef Garces won that episode instead of chef Mehta..
Letz talk about this spicy egg curry/thokku..This goes well with everything chappathi,rice,parotta,curd rice,even with rasam rice..This can be prepared in no time..If I dont have any vegetable my option will only be this curry only..When it comes to egg I like half boiled very much..It taste so good when you have it with parotta chalna and half boil egg on the side..
From your Pantry:
1.Onion-2(finely chopped)
2.Tomato-3(finely chopped)
3.Ginger and Garlic paste-1 tbsp
4.green chillies-3
5.Sambar powder-2 tsp
6.oil-2 tbsp
7.sombu/fennel seeds-1 tsp
8.Boiled egg-6(cut it into halves)
Method:
Add the oil in the kadai add the sombu and onion fry it until it is translucent.
Add the G&G paste to it..Fry it until the raw smell goes off..
Add the tomatoes and fry it until its completely mashed up..Add the sambar powder and salt to it. add 1/2 cup of water and close the lid for few mnts..
open the lid and add all the eggs and close the lid and put it in a low fmae until the masala mixes well with the egg..
Viola you are all set with quick fix meal..
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