Acknowledgements!

During my undesired and indefinite absence from blogging, my dear blogging friends went out of their way and passed on a few awards, and I am basking in the welcome glory. This post, which is long overdue, is dedicated to acknowledging them.

Kitchen Flavours passed the Wylde Woman Award to me here. The rules of this award are:

1.You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post.
2. Link back to this blog site http://tammyvitale.typepad.com/. Tammy can go visit all these wonderful men and women and remember the Purpose of the Award: To send love and acknowledgment to men and women, who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy. It's been a blessing and an inspiration to meet all of you through your wonderful blogs.

Srilekha of Me and My Kitchen also passed the Wylde Woman Award to me here. I would love to pass this to every single food blog I have visited even once, because each and every blog has helped me learn new things, and also brightens up my day with the food photographs:D. It truly is a blessing to be able to meet and make new friends every day through their wonderful blogs.

Dershana of The Footloose Chef has passed me the Blogging Friends Forever award. Indranee of Mistress of Spices also passed the Blogging Friends Forever award.

Rules of this award:

1) Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award, 2) 4 of them followers of your blog, 3) One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world, and 4) You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I would like to pass this on to: Adam, Easy Crafts, Priyanka, Valarmathi, and Anjali, who lives in Michigan.

EasyCrafts of Simple Indian Food tagged me. The rules for the tag are:
(a) List these rules on your blog.
(b) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
(c) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Here are the 7 facts (I am being very honest):

1. I am short-tempered, and get angry for very silly things
2. I am very picky and choosy about certain things, for instance, putting things back where they were taken from, cleaning up
3. I hate being late for meetings, parties, appointments, movies
4. I can never say NO to someone, if anyone asks for things, even if I may need it at the time, and if I ever do say NO, I start feeling guilty about it, and tend to apologize for no reason
5. I usually pass the blame on situations or people when things go wrong, and can easily find excuses to shun responsibility
6. I am obsessed about being perfect, doing things perfectly, and therefore, never happy with the way I do things or the way I am
7. From all of the above, you can easily guess, that I have very few close friends!

I am tagging: Priti, Purva, Sripriya, Kitchen Flavours, Sowmya, Usha and Divya

EC also passed me the Brilliante Weblog award. I have received this before. I would love to pass this award to:

Dee, Dershana, Sunshinemom, and Sangeeth
Sireesha of Mom's Recipes passed the Good Job award. Vibaas of Delectable Vegetarian Recipes also passed the Good Job award to me.

I would love to pass this to:Deesha, Cham, Sujatha, Madhavi

Priti of Indian Khana wished me a speedy recovery and passed the Perfect Blend of Friendship Award. I would like to pass this on to:

Priti, Vaishali, Nags, Suma, and Sireesha

Festive Mood, Awards, and MeMe

Ever since my dear friend Priti of Indian Khana announced the Festive Food Event along with Purva of Purva's Daawat (another dear and new friend from the food blog world), I have been elevated to a festive mood. This is the main festival season too, with Rakhi, Krishna Janmashtami, Navarathri, Ramadan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra lined up one after the other (If I have missed any, please forgive!).

Though I intend to post a sweet dish made specially on Raksha Bandhan and submit for the first FF event: Rakhi – Thread of Love, I could not help but think of Aviyal, the quintessential part of Kerala cuisine and festive occasions. Any feast is incomplete without it, and so would have been my little spread on Sunday, if I had not made the Aviyal in the picture:

Now, before get to the recipe, let me warn the Aviyal purists that this Aviyal does not have yam in it because I did not have yam at home at the time I decided to make it. Also, I used yellow pumpkin! I know, it sounds ridiculous, but then, I have grown up with Aviyal, and each time I have it, I am reminded of the story I have heard of the cook who just chopped all remaining vegetables after a feast and made Aviyal with them. So, that is exactly what I did with the vegetables that were leftover from last week in the fridge, and in a very simple way!

To make the Aviyal in the picture, you will need:

Veggies:
Plantain - 1 (I do not peel the skin)
Carrots - 1
White Pumpkin - about a 150 gm piece
Drumsticks - 1 large
Beans - 4-5
Longyard beans - 4-5
Bitter Gourd - (shocking?) - 1
Snake Gourd - 1 medium length
Green chillies -2
Curry Leaves - 2 strands
Ginger - finely chopped - 1tbsp (optional)
Garlic - 2 cloves (optional)

Note: All vegetables can be cut into long rectangles.

For the base:
Coconut - 2 cups - grated
Curd - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp (Use Coconut Oil for the best taste)

Method:

• Boil the vegetables except garlic in a pan with 2 cups of water and salt to taste, adding the hard ones first, and the soft ones later
• Grind the coconut, curd, turmeric and jeera powders into a coarse paste (not too fine)
• Once the vegetables are evenly cooked, add the paste and curry leaves and mix well
• Allow to simmer for 2 minutes, adjust consistency (gravy/ dry) with water
• Pound the garlic and add at this stage and mix well
• Add the oil on top (Neyyi Nanakkuka), and remove from heat

Serve hot with rice. We have this with chapathis too.

Awards

*Swati of Swati's Sugarcraft and Purva of Purva's Daawat have passed me the Brillante Weblog premio-2008 award. Thank you so much, girls. This means so much to me!

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere. Here are the rules to follow:

• When you recieve the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.
• Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
• Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’.
• Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

I would like to pass this to:

Cham of Spice Club

Nupur of One Hot Stove

Priya of Akshayapaatram

Sra of When My Soup Came Alive

Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons

Sunita of Sunita's World

VP of Vegetable Platter

*Priti of Indian Khana has passed me the 'Rocking Girl Blogger Award.' Priti is a rocking blogger herself, and I am so humbled by her gesture. Thank you, Priti :-)

I would like to pass this award to:

N of A_and_N at Delectably yours, (A, if there ever is a Rocking Boy Blogger award, I'd pass it to you, but you see, I'd never receive it in the first place!)

*SriLekha of Me and My Kitchen has passed two awards to me: "Beautiful Site Award" and "Best Blog Darts Thinker Award."

Thanks a lot, SriLekha, I am truly blessed!

I would like to pass these awards to:

Adam of Baking with Dynamite

Dee of Choos & Chews

Kevin of Closet Cooking

Laavanya of Cookery Corner

Lore of Culinarty

Nags of Edible Garden

Sia of Monsoon Spice

Sireesha of Mom's Recipes

Suganya of Tasty Palettes

Vaishali of Holy Cow!

MeMe

Pragyan of Sorisha - Cooking at Pragyan's and Priti of Indian Khana have tagged me with The Booky MeMe. I have done this before, but I so love to read, and want to do this again!

The rules of the tag are as follows:

Pick up the nearest book, Open to page 123, Find the 5th sentence, Post the next three sentences, and Tag 5 people and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

Nearest Book: Journey of a Master, Swami Chinmayananda. The Man, the Path, the Teaching, by Nancy Patchen. Central Chinmaya Mission Trust. (Bought it this weekend, and currently reading)

The three sentences after the 5th sentence on page 123:

1. Then joining hands, they circled the lamp three times.
2. After the ceremony, the parents of both the bride and groom escorted them to Poothampalli House, Manku's family home.
3. Upon entering the home, Manku scattered grains of rice over the threshold; then she was received with honour with the lamp from the prayer room by Kouchi Narayani, the eldest woman of the household.

I would love to pass this MeMe to:

Clumbsy Cookie

JZ of Tasty Treats

Mathew of Ambrosia

Purnima of Fantasy Cooking

Sukanya of Hot N Sweet Bowl

Whew! This is one lengthy post. I need some rest after this!:-)

Tagged with a Booky MeMe

Swapna of Crafts and Cooking has tagged me with the Booky MeMe. The rules of the tag are as follows:

• Pick up the nearest book
• Open to page 123
• Find the 5th sentence
• Post the next three sentences
• Tag 5 people and acknowledge the person who tagged you

The nearest book is always far away in my case, because almost all my books are lying in cartons under the bed (as mentioned in my First Tag). The books I have bought from here are inside my cupboard, away from my curious and adventurous toddler who loves to tear up pages of any book she can lay her hands on.

Anyway, back to the MeMe. I run to my cupboard, grab the book I am currently reading, turn to page 123, count up to the 5th sentence, and read the next 3 sentences, which happen to be:

1. Peita had put up heroic resistance and performed a stunning one-woman show in technicolour and stereophonic sound without the aid of loudspeakers.
2. 'I will not return, not on my life.
3. Everybody mollycoddles and pampers Eddie. ...'

From: 'Ravan and Eddie' by Kiran Nagarkar
Book: The Fiction Collection, Volume 2 (20 years of Penuin India)

I would like to pass this to:

A_and_N of Delectably yours,
Bhags of Crazy Curry
Dee of Ammalu's Kitchen
Simran of Bombay Foodie
Vaishali of Holy Cow!

Happy Friendship Day to all:-)

Pal Payasam, and Tagged Again!

I decided today that I would celebrate a month of blogging with Pal Payasam (Milk Porridge?). I generally avoid preparation of sweets at home (my standard special-occasion sweet or dessert is semiya/ vermicelli payasam), and this seemed to be the tastier alternative, though time-consuming!

To make the Pal Payasam in the picture, you will need:

Rice - 2 cups
Milk - 5-6 cups
Ghee - 3 tbsp (I love cow ghee, especially in sweets! If you are health conscious, use less ghee, or a healthier alternative - I wouldn't know what, though :-( )

If you pre-cook the rice, and use the cooked rice in the payasam you will require less milk. However, the taste and flavour of the payasam is best if you use only milk to cook the rice. The 1:2 ratio of rice:water will not work here. The type of rice depends on you - boiled or raw rice, brown or white or basmati rice, etc. I have not tried it with all varieties either, so I cannot comment. I suppose (and hope) you could make this with all varieties too! But, make sure you have enough milk to cook the rice in it, as rice varieties differ in time taken to cook.

Cashew - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Cloves - 1 tbsp
Cardamom pods - 1 tbsp - crushed
Sugar - 1 cup (OR to taste, I do not like too much sweet and try to restrict the use of sugar!)

Method:

• Heat ghee on low flame in a pan and roast the raisins and cashews and cardamom and cloves, and keep aside
• Wash the rice really well, soak in warm water for 30 minutes
• Boil milk in a heavy bottomed pan, and when it begins to boil, add the rice and stir well
• Keep on low flame and leave to cook uncovered with every-5-minute-check-and-stir process until the rice is cooked and soft (just grab a spoon, dig a few grains of rice out and chew)
• Add sugar and the ghee with the roasted mixture, and keep stirring slowly for about 5 minutes on low flame
• Remove and keep aside to cool, half-covered

Serve warm, or chill and serve later, depending on your choice of hot or cold dessert

Tagged Again

Rekha of Rekha's Kitchen has tagged me. Thank you, Rekha! I have already done this, you can read through my answers.

Chembu/ Arabi - Buttermilk Sabji, and Tag 2

Ever since I read this post by Sunshinemom, I have been wishing to lay my hands on Arabi (Taro corms/ Colocasia / Chembu in Malayalam/ Chemadampa in Telugu), and post this recipe.

Vegetable shopping is reserved for weekends at my place and I had to be patient. This recipe is a variation of my mother's; she makes it a full-fledged gravy curry with coconut as a base, while I like it without the gravy, or rather semi-dry, if I can call it that. In my version, I also omit the coconut.

To make the Arabi Sabji seen in the picture, you will need:

Arabi - washed (better scrubbed with a vegetable scrub brush) - 1/2 kg

Buttermilk - 1/4 cup (Not the very thin buttermilk got after adding water; just blend 2-3 tbsp of fresh curd with less amount of water for 3-5 minutes and separate cream on top, if any)

Green chilly - sliced - 1
Ginger-Garlic paste - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 1/2 tsp
Methi/ Fenugreek seeds powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/4-1/2 tsp (per taste)
Coconut - grated - 1/2 cup (optional)
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method Without Coconut:

• Steam the washed arabi in a steamer (or along with rice, if using rice cooker) until knife-tender (I always use a knife for this purpose!) and leave to cool and dry
• Peel the skin, and cut into slightly thick circles, and mix the pieces in the buttermilk with salt
• Heat oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, toss in the curry leaves, green chilly, ginger-garlic paste, and turmeric, jeera, methi powders
• Roast the powders on low flame for a minute, and add the vegetable in buttermilk
• Keep stirring on low flame until semi-wet/ dry, without separating
• Sprinkle the pepper on top and leave on hot stove until serving time

Method With coconut:

• Grind the grated coconut along with turmeric, jeera, methi powders
• After tempering mustard seeds in oil, and adding curry leaves, green chilly, ginger-garlic paste, add the coconut paste and stir well
• Add the steamed, peeled, and cut vegetable into the paste, mix well and leave covered for 3-5 minutes
• Finally, add the buttermilk (if you wish to have more gravy curry, use 1/2 cup buttermilk), and stir until slight boil on low flame, without the buttermilk separating
• You can add pepper at the end to the curry

Serve with rice, chapathi

Wait, there's more! I have been tagged twice in the same week.

Rashmi has tagged me.

Before I get to the Qs and answer them, the rules for this tag are as follows:

"At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 or 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers."

1.What was I doing ten years ago?
A. Studying in college as a second year engineering student!

2. Five things on Today's "To do" list
A. Decide what to make for breakfast tomorrow, Organise daughter's room and cupboard (again!), Call a friend, Read the recent copy of Outlook, and Publish this post!

3.I am addicted to :
A. Rice, I can't sleep without eating a little rice at night!; Checking my email, orkut, and this blog atleast twice a day

4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
A. Travel the world, buy books and read, and put rest of the money in a bank

5. Places I have lived:
A. Kannur, Muscat, Trivandrum (if stay in hostel for 3 months is living!), Hyderabad, Mumbai

I would like to pass on this tag to Bharti, Illatharasi, Purva, Valarmathi, and Vegetable Platter.

Another Gourd and Curd, and Tag 1

Hmm, I can't seem to be getting enough of gourds, and they seem to be perennial vegetables here. This time, it is bitter gourd that gets the honor, although I have mentioned before that I am not very fond of the vegetable. However, R loves bitter gourd, or Karela (Hindi), and prefers to have it every Sunday at lunch.

I will slightly digress here, to address the tag, else I will forget! A_and_N has tagged me, and I would like to pass this tag to Priti and Swati. Responses at the end of this post.

Getting back to the bitter gourd, I guess we all know that it is a healthy vegetable, and recommended for diabetics. To prepare Bitter Gourd with Curd, you will need:

Bitter Gourd - cut round as below - 3-4 cups

For marination, grind the following into a paste:

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilly - 1
Ginger - peeled and chopped - 2 tbsp
Garlic - peeled - 4-5 medium sized cloves

Also, salt - to taste


For seasoning -

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Hing/ Asafoetida - a pinch
Oil - 3-4 tbsp

Final step - 3 tbsp of fresh curd

Method:

• Mix the bitter gourd pieces with the paste and salt and leave aside for 15-20 minutes
• Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan and temper the mustard seeds and curry leaves along with asafeotida
• Lay the bittergourd pieces slowly in the pan and cover the pan
• Let this cook for 10 minutes on low flame
• Take a flat ladle and turn over the pieces, and leave to cook for another 10 minutes, covered
• Turn off the flame, add the 3 tbsp of curd evenly on top of the cooked vegetable and spread with flat ladle on top
• Leave the vessel on the hot stove, until time to serve

Serve with rice

Tag Time

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?

Sarkar Raj (We are AB fans! Before this, Bhoothnath)

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?

Selected Fiction - Manoj Das

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?

Monopoly

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE

Outlook, The Week, Outlook Traveller, Vanitha and Arogya Masika (Malayalam)

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?

Smell of earth after fresh rain, Amma's food-Sambhar, Neyyappam (Vishu), Aviyal (for Sadya), Vegetable Biriyani, Sardine fish curry, etc...

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?

My daughter singing 'Are You Sleeping' in the bath tub, her payal which lets me know what she's up to and where she is in the house!

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

When you know someone's lied/lying to you deliberately!

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?

What to make for breakfast and tiffin for my daughter!

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

Chat bandi/restaurant, and McDonald's at times

10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? Ans. Not sure...

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY

Travel the world, buy more books and read, and put the rest in a bank

12) DO U DRIVE FAST? Ans. No, I am scared to drive!

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Ans. No

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? Ans. Scary

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Ans. None of my own!

16) FAVOURITE DRINK? Ans. Mango/ Orange juice

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD

Read all the books I have bought and learn painting

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Ans. No (I don't eat broccoli)

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Ans. Brown (Brunette!)

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?

Kannur, Muscat, Trivandrum (if stay in hostel for 3 months is living!), Hyderabad, Mumbai

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Ans. Tennis

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

A_and_N: The most delightful cooking-inclined newly wed couple I have come across:-)

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?

Currently, 8 cartons of books lying unpacked, because of lack of space in Mumbai apartment

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?? Ans. Yes, taller
25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? Ans. Morning Person

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP? Ans. Neither!

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX? Ans. At Home...

28) FAVOURITE PIE? Ans. Apple Pie

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR? Ans. Chocolate

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

Priti