Quirks and a Jal Jeera

I do not think i have any quirks....i think they are known as having a personality..a unique one albeit...but to call them quirks in my opinion would be taking it to far. When my buddy Raaga tagged me to bare 6 quirks of mine...i thought why not lay it out...so that everybody can let me know...it is true..i am not quirky (people..this is what i want to hear...)

1. I talk to myself. Actually i should say i HAVE to talk to myself everyday. If we have too many guests or i have too much going on..i excuse myself..go to the bathroom and talk to myself for an easy 10-15 minutes. I need that 'me' time with 'me'. Usually the talk is not some problem solving high funda talk...actually it is usually mundane crap...sometimes fantasy!!...but i need a mirror and i need to talk to me.

2. I am an night owl. I actually have 3 blocks of times that i get sleep..one is around 11:30..the next is around 1:00..the last chance is 2:30...if i miss any of them...i do not sleep the whole night. I can function normally the next day despite of no sleep...but i pretend to be tired..no marks for guessing why!! I usually do a night-out every month...i really like it actually.

3. I am extremely reserved in person. I talk a lot over the phone and also get to an easy repartee online...but when i meet in person..i am tongue-tied for easily half an hour to an hour. I think if i meet my blog buddies i may open up in half an hour..but when it is strangers or worse co-workers..it takes me forever to open up. In my first job it took me 6 months to open up to people...it is a different story that those guys were begging me to go back to my shy self a year later :D

4. I get very irritated when things are color co-ordinated. It drives me nuts when all things match (except on kids)...you know..ur purse and stuff matching..or ur curtains matching your decor..it makes me very annoyed..i really don't now why...but i get a lil snippy!

5. I hate...really hate caves. I always feel that the rocks are going to fall in..the cave entrance will be shut and we will suffocate and die. I have no problems with death to be honest..i just don't want to suffer.

6. I am quite messy by nature. Once in two months usually..i get into this habit of super-cleaning. I then for a week go ahead and make jeeves life miserable by stalking him around the house to make sure he keeps things in place 'neatly'..by that..as per my standards. After a week..it is hello! slob-world :).. But no matter how my home looks anytime..my sink is always spotless! I am obsessed with keeping my sink super clean and get really irritated if there is a cup lying there for more than 10 mts. I make sure to wash and clean my sink religiously everyday!

I would like to tag the following:

1. Laavanya ..you gotta have some quirks..i am dying to know..
2. Namratha ...the baker got to be a little nutsy right :D
3. Nags ...the new bride can let her hair loose here
4. TBC ..i am sure she has many...much more than 6..but it is a pity..she will not do it...i kinda know :(
5. Richa ...would love to know the nut in you!
6. Swati ...she should have plenty to share ;)

Hope you girls take it up..if you don't... i understand..just lack of plain good manners right!

The Meme rules --
Link the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules in your blog.
Describe 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs to inform them of having tagged them.



It was a few days back when Sia of the gorgeous blog Monsoon Spice announced MBP- street food and i thought damn...for me street food is chat!!..and i am not too fida on alu right now :(...then a few days back i saw a yummy Indonesian street food recipe in Veg news..got all excited and made that..only to realise it was an MBP!!...so here was my quest for a simple and easy recipe...totally fitting into my life-style and i stumbled on this .(The only change in my recipe was i substituted splenda for sugar.)What made it even more sweeter is that it has tamarind!! so another entry for the nicest...kindest...wonderfullest (not even a word..i know) person in the world..Ms.Sigma Sreedharan :) who is hosting JFI-Tamarind ..so see Sigma...here are 2 entries (total) for ur event and Sia..here is an entry for your MBP - Street food too...i am waiting to publish the soup recipe..waiting for some event to unload it for :D

Bad picture and a chutney for JFI

So when you guys take bad pics of food what do you do?? I basically still save them in the hopes that they will look better in time :D..but seriously..my thought is hmmm...maybe i am being picky now..perhaps in the future i may lower my standards and like it. Does this happen ...no!..but i still blog and put the pic in..coz i am a foodie not a photographer. I do look at pictures taken in many blogs with awe and try to make..yep..i only try to make a resolution that next time i will spend a wee bit more time on pics and it's surroundings. But, anyone who knows me is aware that it is just a momentary thought :D..i still land up on click..click..click non stop for a few minutes..then dive in for the food.

This chutney was made months ago...i still kept the pics in the hope of liking it better...but i am still yet to change my mind. But...JFI is here, the theme is tamarind and one of chicks whom i really like a lot (actually a bit nervous of....to tell u the truth) is hosting it...yep! it is the babe who blogs in Live to Eat ..so i fished it out and am sending it to her...coz. i am on to cooking some wacko food these days ...but i cannot not participate in an event held by her...so here it is Siggy





Ingredients:

Red Cabbage - a big chunk
Green chillies - 9-10 (yeah..i like it hot)
Garlic - 4 cloves
Tamarind - lemon size (soak for 30 mts)
Salt - to taste
Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal,Chana Dal - 1 tsp. each
Red Chilli,Whole - 1
Oil - 1 tbls, 2 tsp.

Method:

1. Saute the cabbage,green chilli,garlic in a tbls of oil..till the raw smell of the cabbage goes.
2. Add the tamarind soaked in water...and dump it in the blender to make the chutney. Do make it chunky...smooth..really defeats the purpose...as usual...a hand mixer will be better..grrr....
3. Add the above to a bowl..stir in the salt.
4. Heat 2 tsp. of oil...and do tadka with the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and red-chilli...and plop it on the chutney.

I ate this with dosa...would be good as a side with rice too. Jeeves refused to touch it...and it defeated the darn purpose of this chutney...as i wanted him to eat the red-cabbage...oh well!!

L & L Shrikhand

I love Winter..honestly..then followed with Fall then Spring and then really i don't like it..but it just falls in place...yep! talking about Summer. And now that Spring is upon us..i can see all my neighbours scurrying around..planting flowers, veggies...going insane with the mower and just making that darn yard beautiful. Now..usually this does not bother me much..because by nature i am really indifferent to what others do...but this year my front yard is horrible. It was never a sight to behold..but this time it has taken itself personally to the next level. I think i have got weeds enough to fill 10 lawns..so instead of flowers on the flower bed..i got weed people..and nope..this is the garden variety ...pesty crap..don't go get crappy ideas..sheesh!. So i have this Monday chalked out to pull the weeds out...and keep it clean. Nope..i am not planting any flowers..it will look barren..but it will be neat and that is enough for me. Now..you may think Monday!..why did she choose that day? Well..on Monday i officially do not workout..yesssr..it is my official break day...the other days...i pretend that i need to workout..but postpone things long enough to make it late and do a miserly 15 mts or postpone it to the next day with a solemn promise that i will get it done by am!..yeah! i can see that working out (roll eyes)

Anyway...warm weather calls for a cool and refreshing desert and i know there is a million Shrikhand floating around..well...here goes one more to the list. I wanted to make it low fat...and please sub low fat stuff to 'normal' counterparts if you are those lucky chicks who do not have hippa-hips ;)

Btw....L&L stands for Lite and Luscious ;)




Ingredients:

1. Fat free yogurt - 1/2 carton
2. Fat free sour cream - 2 tbls (for a bit of tang)
3. Part skim ricotta cheese - 1/2 cup
4. Splenda - 1 cup,i used 1.5 cups..because the dude loves insane level of sweet
5. Cardamom - 1/2 tsp.
6. Almonds - 20

Method:

1. Strain the yogurt,sour cream and ricotta in a mesh strainer lined with paper towels in the fridge for 4-6 hours. Place a paper towel on them then place a plate with some cans of beans on top of the yog-sour-rico mix to weigh it down.

2. Mix the splenda and the cardamom and keep aside.

3. Take the strained yog-sour-rico mix..add the splenda-cardamom to it and mix it gently...till well incorporated.

4. Refrigerate till you are ready to eat.

5. Before serving..you can top it with some nuts..i had almonds that day...so it was the lucky winner...personally...pistacios would be better.

Note:

1. If you get fat-free ricotta..u can use that in place of part-skim.
2. I like using splenda in cool desserts...feel free to sub for sugar....

This is off to Easycrafts who is so sweet to let me post this really really late entry. She is hosting this month's Think Spice event that was started by Sunita .

Cream Of Mushroom Soup

When i was a kid when i wanted to do something which my mom did not want me to..her answer would be....do this in 'your' home...how rude huh!!..when i wanted a puppy..i got this answer..when i wanted to enter the puja-room when i had my periods (gasp!)..i got this answer....so now when i have my 'own' home ;D..i have added another set of rules. I only cook what we both like..so i refuse to make something that only jeeves likes...but i do at-times make something i like..coz afterall i am the person cooking it ;). But..these rules have taken a toss when i am watching what i eat...i prefer to make things that he likes and i don't..this keeps me away from sampling the no-no food. So..in my kitchen..mushrooms..brinjal..okra and arbi are the kings..atleast for a few months.

For the MBP i decided to make mushroom soup and i got it from a good
buddy's blog. i love her blog..coz the food looks delicious..and i have tried few of her recipes and they were awesome. I also like that there is no fancy ingredients...and are recipes that i usually would make in my kitchen too. I did make some changes...so will be writing the recipe here..but for her recipe..you can go
here




Cream of Mushroom Soup:

Ingredients:

Mushrooms (shitaki) - 1 pack (i used frozen organic ones)
Garlic: 1 pod
Water: 12 oz
Veg Bullion cube: 1
Butter: 2 tbls
Onion: 1/2 cup, diced
Red chilli flakes: 1 tsp.
Heavy Cream: 12 oz
Rosemary: 1 tsp. (dried)
Chives: 2tsp.
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a pan, add the butter and when it melts add the onions,garlic with salt,red-chilli flakes,rosemary,pepper and saute till the onions are soft.

2. Add the mushrooms in and cook till the water evaporates (coz i used frozen) and then add the water and veg. bullion and cook in medium flame for 20 minutes.

3. Cool this mixture down and blend with with heavy cream to a smooth texture.

4. Return this to the pan and simmer till the soup is heated through.

5. Ladle the soup to a bowl and sprinkle with herbs...i used dried chives...

Notes:

I think having a hand blender would make my life so much easier...i know sig, tbc, richa..after buggin u chicks for reco....i still did not buy it..i am going to buy it soon..

This is off to:

Raaga of The Singing Chef who is hosting MBP-Soups and Salads .

Madhuram of Eggless Cooking who is hosting Your recipe rocks series .

Sai-Bhaji...my way!

The first time i tasted sai-bhaji was in school. We used to have a monthly event in where each grade 6-10th would be assigned a month..where they would get food from home and sell it in school for generating money to be used for the hostel run by our convents for children in their boarding school. The purchase was an accident and to be honest..the bhaji was pretty bad. I was pretty pissed on losing my Rs.5 to an inedible dish..but oh! well..i threw it out. i was off this bhaji for a while. When someone would say sai-bhaji..i would gag..seriously!! it shook me to the core ;D...but now as i am an adult who is obsessed with food..i decided to give it a go few years back from a recipe in Deccan Chronicle. The bhaji was delicious and i have to say it does feature quite regularly at my place.
Now...i just follow the guide-lines of the bhaji..but add in couple of ingredients i have at home..instead of shopping for it. Jeeves is hardly at home..and i think i am refusing to go to the grocery stores..as the freshly baked bread keeps calling my name..so i do make do with what i have at home...and the bhaji received the same treatment.

Here is the bhaji my way...as Ina Garten would say 'with the volume turned up'..just kidding :)



Ingredients:

Baby Spinach - 1 10 oz bag
Lima Beans - 1 cup
Asparagus - 1 bunch (dispose the extremely woody part)
Green beans - 1 cup
Peas - 1 cup
Brinjal - 1 cup
Onions - 1
Tomatoes - 2 diced
Chana Dal - 1/2 cup (soak for an hour before cooking)
Tamarind - small lemon (need not soak it prior to making the bhaji)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp.
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Oil - 2 tsp.
Salt - as needed

Method:

1. Grind the ginger and garlic to a paste. (i use a mortar-pestle)

2. In a pressure cooker..add the oil...then the cumin seeds..then fry the ground ginger-garlic paste...add the onions and fry for a few minutes.

2. Add the rest of the veggies..tamarind,salt, chilli powder,turmeric and saute for a few more minutes...the add the chana dal..2-3 cups of water and pressure cook this for 12-15 mts.

3. When the pressure cooker cools down...open it and mix the bhaji well so that the whole thing comes together. Adjust for salt and serve it with rice..rotis or bread.

The original sai-bhaji in the recipe called for Spinach..Khatta palak (can use gongura),Brinjal,Carrots,Potatoes,Gavar-beans as the veggies....

On a diet...here have some cake!..and Chole masala powder

Seriously....what is it with people who want to stuff your face with food the minute you announce to them you are on a diet. It seems a switch is turned in their warped mind that says 'Must break their diet'- (do incorpotate a robot sound when you read this)....so the dear zombies..flock around you with goodies...cakes..chips...cookies...clamouring that you eat them..insisting..'just take one piece..it is really nothing!!...well..unfortunately it is. I have thought about this at large (yep..nothing better to do) and among hosts of possiblities..these two are garaunteed to happen...

1.One...the minute you eat..ur mind plays dirty tricks on you and soon you are on cake..chip and a big ass land...

2.The person who offers you the food relentlessly will come back to bite you in the butt in a few days by declaring moderation is the key...and how we must learn to say 'no' to food...

Guess what...you are safe if you keep saying no!..it can be quite annoying to both the parties..but it is the best bet...atleast for the dieter...
I think the more i am on a diet...the more i seem to notice all the ads that involve food..and i am so thankful that i am a vegetarian...the chicken mcnuggets...kfc...taco bell beefy something..does absolutely nothing to me...but when i am driving..seeing someone drinking a frap..can make me lose control. i have seriously...closed my eyes and eaten chole-bhature virtually!! ha ha..i have to say ..it tasted pretty pretty awesome :)

So..coming to chole bhature...nope..no recipe for it...i am totally hooked on making Chole-Masala from scratch. I got this recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor's website and i have to say..i have been adding it to any northie curry that needs garam masala. The ingredient list is long..but i am quite sure that majority of us have it at home. If you do not have a spice or two..ignore it or sub it...but ladies not more than one or two...you really cannot start subbing 50% of the recipe and call it chole masala :)




Chole Masala:

Ingredients:

1. Jeera - 2tbls
2. Coriander seeds - 3tbls
3. Cinnamon - 2 inch stick
4. Cloves - 8 to 10
5. Cardamom (black) - 1
6. Ajwain - 1/2 tsp.
7. Peppercorns - 60 (don't go counting..put a tbls!)
8. Kasoori methi - 1 tsp.
9. Nutmeg - 3
10.Pomogranite seeds - 2 tbls
11.Bay leaves - 8 to 10
12.Red chilly (dried) - 8 to 10
13.Mango powder - 1 tsp.
12.Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp.
13.Black salt - 1 tsp.
14.Salt - 1 tsp.

Method:

1. Dry roast 1-12 and let it cool.
2. Add 13-14 to the above and grind to a fine powder.
3. Store and use....how simple is that.

I know some of you will complain and say or think i am nuts to give a list of 14 ingredients ..but honestly...you guys should have 90% of it with you. In the past i did sub black salt with jal-jeera powder!!..use ur discretion :)

All i say is Thank You

Well..it was a couple of months break..and a couple is all i took. I really missed blogging...and more importantly i missed the interaction. I think though i am still not done with what i took the break for...it is getting impossible for me not to blog. But before i come up with an entry and a lot of yak-yak from me..i want to say is THANK YOU to each and every blogger who was so sweet and kind and made it a point to comment and let me know that i am loved and wanted me to come back. I really appreciate it...makes me realise..that virtual bonds are as good as physical ones :)


I do want to thank a few people on a more personal level coz they did give me some cool awards and it is funny...i have not met any of them...but i feel really close to them and thinking about their entries or their names bring a smile to my face..that is friendship in my opinion.


Sig gave me the You make me smile award and trust me honey...you make me smile all the time too..and make me nod my head so many times in union with the rants :) I also love the emails we exchange..where I more than you rant quite a lot ;)



Nammu passed on the Nice Matters award and the Excellence award to me and all i can say is it takes one awesome person to know another ;)...but really...i can never stop drooling at her creations and being amazed at her baking talent...also the jokes she sends me on and off :)

I also want to thank 3 awesome girls...TBC,Laavanya and Sra.............who did not give me any awards :( ..but with whom i have talked or emailed in the 2 months break and it really made me realize how much i missed that friendship.

I really hope i do not have to take a break from blogging and none of you fabulous bloggers in the foodie sites do too :)