Best of 2010

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Its always good to keep a track of our past. You can learn not to repeat the mistakes. You will know how to improve yourself. Sometimes you will feel proud with your work. Sometimes, it makes you laugh. Many times your past brings lot of memories, good and bad.

But this post is only for my cooking skills and my experiences in the kitchen. Its about my best recipe, my worst experiment  food...

I want to thank Valli for hosting this event as it allows us to look back in to the last year happenings and the best part is here we are the Judge for our work.

Here comes my list:

First I would like to judge my best 5 recipes of the year.

Ohh, its really difficult to judge myself. I have selected the best 5 recipes from my (All) BEST recipes:

1. A queen of blood meets rice and white milk!! accid...Feb 03
2. Complan Pedha and Horlicks (or Boost) Pedha in Mic...  Aug 23
3. Biscuit Poli for Holi  March 5
4. Tomato Rasam Cubes July 22
5. Tawa Fried Paneer Tikka Aug 4

First time tried in my kitchen:

My first bake - Chocolate Cookies Aug 5: Yes!! I started baking at last. It was my dream to start baking and I did it.

Carrot and Orange Halwa  June 21 : It was the first time, I took risk to do something which I never did before.

Pineapple Chutney in M/W Sept 16: It was just delicious and I was happy to get the taste what I had guessed it before making it.

Tomato Rasam Cubes July 22 : This is my baby, which proved that I have a creativity in me.

Biscuit Poli for Holi  March 5 : This again is my experiment, which made my kids to enjoy the traditional food in a new way.

Apple Rasam! March 15: I never thought I will cook this some day.

Two best meals of the year:

Full meals ready(ಊಟ ತಯಾರಿದೆ) Feb 22

Brown rice,green veg curry and brinjal fry! Feb 14

Recipes with different names: Some times I become poetic and get some funny or different names for my recipe. Below are the recipes with some funny names:(But the taste is not funny..)

C.C? K.P? S.C OR C.C again!? What's there in A nam...Feb 04
Dal roti khao, Prabhu ke gun gaao!!!
They all met in a kitty party!!! to unite into one...

 Best dish(es) of the year

Tomato Rasam Cubes : This dish was selected for "Best 30 recipes of the year 2010" :-)

Tri Colored Chapatis and Tomato Chutney! June 24

Falafel Sandwich (Indianised) : This got second prize in a blog for sandwich contest :-)

One more best thing happened in this year was, I wrote two stories! I always knew I can do it as I have already written many poems, but never thought of finishing a story. This year, it happened. 

The boy who never listened!: I tell this story to my daughter to keep her away from dangerous things.

Urad Dal Vada, Repentance :This is the first story I wrote and I sat in the night till 3 to finish and I did not feel tired at all! :-)

Now, coming to my favorite one: Preparing food from other blogs. I really enjoy a lot to follow the recipe from other blogs as it brings us close. I got many food remakes, and each recipe was followed to the max. accuracy. But I am giving only few links here:

Rice flour Poori and Chilli Gojju(Food Remake)

THIRATTUPAAL(Milk and Jaggery sweet) (Food remake)...

From Priyas Kitchen to My Kitchen(for T&T)

Microwave Chocolate Cake and the saga continues!!!...

Magic of Sindhi Rasoi(Food Remake)

and the list continues.., 

In my blog click "Food remake" and you will get all the recipes tried from other blogs.

 Coming to the best clicks of the year : I am not a professional photographer, neither I have a good camera. Reasons apart, I love to click the photos of my recipes and these are my favorite ones:

• 
  

There were some failures too, I hosted 2 events which were flop.

There were hits, where I hosted many events with lot of entries. 

I think I should stop here or else I will write of the whole blog in one post :-)

As per me, I never believe in making resolutions on new year. But I remember about last year that I would wish to learn baking this year and I did it.

Click  Best of year 2009 for the  best of last year 2009.

This time I am thinking of trying Continental, International food. Wish me luck. 

I will be here with more experiments in 2011.

Sending this to 

 Valli's Best of Year 2010 event. 

Keep Smiling,

Broken Bangles game(ಬಳೆಚೂರು ಆಟ) for Forgotten Indian Games

Tried and tasted by Nivedita
Hi All,

One more game for my event! This was also one of our favorite game. This does not need anything other than broken bangles and ground. This was the Girl's Game! but even boys used to enjoy it with us, as we girls enjoyed playing Goli aata( Marbles)! I have tried to explain it with pictures. 

And, and, as now a days, we do not allow children to go out and play in the mud, I have given a new way of playing it, with the help of pictures. 

I hope, after going through the details you will say, "hey yes, even I too played it!!!"

Come, lets play the game!

Collect the old bangles and cut in to pieces. We always used to take elder's help for this. 

Share the pieces into almost equal pieces in to two players.(even you can make 2 groups and allow one person to guess at one time)

Dig 3 holes in a soft ground, as shown in the photo.

First time, let one player go and stand in a place where she can not see the holes. And another player should hide all or few bangle pieces in any one hole and close all the three holes with loose mud.

Now, the other player which is hiding will come and it has to guess in which the bangles are hidden!!! If the guess is right then that group will get all the bangles and it will be repeated the other way round. If first player looses all the bangle pieces in first game only, either she should guess it right on her turn or she can hire few pieces from other player.

The game will continue till you wish or one player goes on loosing by wrong guessing. 

Now, when I think about this game, it won't look so interesting, but at that age, we have enjoyed it to the most.

Now, coming to this age, we can make our children play it without bangles and mud. My daughter enjoyed it when I played it with her.

I used the sand in an empty saree box and used my daughter's hair beads as bangle pieces!!!

Here are the photos :

This is going  to my event  Forgotten Indian games!! (Edited and re written), ... 

Keep Smiling,

Chakka Vachhi for Forgotten Indian Games!

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I was wondering, which game I will start to post with for my event "Forgotten Indian Games". I had kept 2 games in my draft. But this one came first in my mind to post.

This is one of the all time favorite game of everyone. Now also it is played in villages. I am not sure about cities. 

You can start playing if there are 2 people to play and can start without much preparation. Do not get confused with the title of the game. It is a pucca Dharwad - Hubli language and we call it by this name only. Once you go through the post you will know the game, and I am sure you all know this game and each state has its own name for this game.

First let me explain about the tools or what we need for this game. It is the cheapest one with more fun.

You need one square board,(we used to take a wooden plank from the kitchen, which was used while eating food to keep the plate) or even the dark  floor is also fine.

 4 tamarind seeds,

This is very interesting step to prepare these seeds and turn these in to dice. Those days, we did not had dice and tamarind seeds was the easiest and cheapest way to get. We used to get seeds from the kitchen and everyone who wants to play has to sit with one seed. Dip it in the water and start rubbing one side on rough stone to remove skin of one side to make it white. This way, the seeds would stay longer without breaking.

One more way was to keep it straight and hit directly on it with hammer to cut into to 2 pieces. It was difficult for children and it used to break after 2 -3 games, the seeds would have been gone.

There was demand for these seeds also, we used to fry these seeds and eat.

chalk piece, 

4 set of 4 small things which can be fit into small squares.( let me call these as coins)

Here small things means, 4 same type beads, buttons, grains, stones, match stick, which you can keep on the board and move them easily.

Two to four people can play this game. The game is more fun if there are full 4 members.

Draw 5 X 5 equal square box on a wooden plank or square board or on a floor with chalk piece.

Draw diagonal lines as shown in the photo. The board is ready to play.

all the four people sit in front of each diagonal.and keep your coins in the diagonal square. That is your house.

The person who is starting first, has to drop the four seeds on the floor and see what he got! (Do not consider the counting first time, it is for God!!! Funny no? that was how we used to play )

Next time what he gets, according to that he has to move one coin. Then the second one will play and move his coins (in the right direction). Like this way that one coin has to pass all the outer squares then enter the inner square. He is the winner who takes all his coins first in the middle diagonal square. Every one has to use all his coins and take to the middle square.

Fun in this game is, when one player has moved his coin to a particular square, and the second player also reaches the same square, the second one will hit the first coin and send it to its house. That coin should start all over again to reach the middle square.

Now coming to Chakka and Vacchi terms.

When we throw the seeds, we get both the faces of the seeds. the white and the black. On that we decide the numbers.

1 white face and 3 black face the score is ONE and we call it as vacchi, it is the lowest score here.

2 white face and 2 black face, the score is TWO and we call it as doni.

3 white face and 1 black face , the score is THREE  and we call it as teeni

4 white face,  the score is FOUR and we call it as chakka

4 black face, the score is EIGHT  and we call it entu, it is the highest score.

 I know this is little longer post~ but I have tried to explain it  as much as in detail I can. I hope you all might have understood the game and I am sure, even you have played this game with different name.

Feel free to comment if you find any mistakes in game rules or language.

This is going  to my event  Forgotten Indian games!! (Edited and re written), ... 

Keep Smiling,

Forgotten Indian games!! (Edited and re written), Event Announcement!!

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,
Hurray!!! I am here with my first event!!

I took a long time to  re write this! My older post(Fogotten Indian games!!!!!!!!) got very supportive responses. But I was lazy to take it in to action.  And I was not confident enough to held an event all by myself. But the support I am getting from you all has given me that courage and confidence to do this! I am really very much excited and feeling like as if my first movie is going to release!!! Now I can empathize what actors go through before their movies releases!!! 

My first event is going to be on blog! I hope you all will support me and participate , which is totally away from cooking. So, relax and take some time. This is all about the games, we used to play during our child hood. I want all of you to relive your child hood  by remembering the olden games and playing with your kids.

In the child hood, we used to stay in a chawl. (Many houses together in a big compound, or one big lane having houses built either side of the road.) I had many friends and there was no one to stop us playing the whole day during summer vacations. We used to play many games, which are totally disappeared now a days. Lagori, Halpi, Vattappa, sarbadgi, muttata, hide and seek(stop), kabaddi, gilli dandu, aali guli mani, kuntata, bali churu(broken banlgles), Chakka vacchi, playing house house game with kitchen set and dolls, kalla police(thief and police), dum sharara, goli, writing our own script and playing the dramas.(I do not know the English names for the games, sorry!! These all are Kannada names!) I still do not remember many games.

That included, stealing pickles from the kitchen and then sharing and eating.

Collecting the ingredients for making Chigali(made up of fresh tamarind, jaggery, chilly powder, lime leaves, salt and few more!!). Then making small balls of chigali, sharing and enjoying the spicy, tangy, lemony and salty taste.

Preparing mehandi at home and applying in the evenings.

And not to forget, educational games, like writing names of four things from same alphabet, memory game, Antakshari!!!

Just a thought came in my mind!! Why we can not post all old games one by one, trying to explain it with photo(if possible) !!!
(image from here)

Simple rules to participate in the event,

1. Post any forgotten,old Indian game (If possible with photo). Explain the game and try to share maximum information you have. 

2. I will appreciate if you can place the logo in your blog.

3. Send me an email to nivedita(DOT)mt(AT)gmail(DOT)com,(nivedita.mt@gmail.com), "Forgotten Indian games" as a subject,  by March 31, 2010 with the following details,

Name :

Your Blog Name :

Name of the game :

url of your post :

Picture(if any) :

4. You could send any number of entries.

5. If any archived posts are there, please update and repost it to link back to my post.

6. Please link back to my announcement. 

7. Non bloggers can send the details to my mail.

From My side,

As this is my first event, I will try to finish up the work and come up with event round up by April 15th or before.

Start Playing!!!

(I hope you all will not disappoint me!)

( I have read more than 50 times in a preview before going to publish it!)

Keep Smiling,

Kitchen Mishaps!!!

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Is there any one who learnt cooking before messing up the whole kitchen, self painting your face with flours or burning poor vessels!!! I really feel very bad for the vessels in the kitchen, these are our victims which tolerate all our crime on them. But may be even the vessels will feel happy if our food turns out good, which is not regular for new bees.(hey, just for fun)

Sending it to Kitchen Mishaps - Event Announcement! by Malar Gandhi of  Kitchen Tantra - tease your palate. 

I do not believe in PRACTICE MAKES MAN PERFECT!!   NO! Because no one is perfect in this world.

But  FOR SURE, PRACTICE BRINGS MAN NEAR TO THE PERFECTION.

So Girls, do not loose your hope if you are not getting success in the beginning.

Now coming to the title, I started thinking about my funny, bad or very bad experiences or mishaps. But these are not funny to sit and enjoy the reading.

As I told before, first thing I learnt to make was  Upma. When I learnt(at the age of 7) and started making it, first it was always either more watery or was half cooked with raw onion smell. But as the days passed I learnt to make it tasty and edible.

Next I remember is to make Jowar rotis. I really do not remember how many rotis I might have wasted either while patting it or frying or cooking. But I learnt it after very long time practice.

And then comes the TEA. I always used to get scoldings from my uncle(Father's brother), because he never liked my tea. Either it used to be like hot water or it used be more sugary or some times like only plain milk!!

My most worst mishap is with sago kichadi! It becomes like rubber always. Now also, if kichadi comes out perfect, its like a celebration for me.

Then comes the rice preparations, Till 6 months back , I always got scared to make any type of pulao, bath, biryani!It always turned out to a disaster. No one liked my rice as it was always bland without salt or any masala. But as my daughter loves to take rice for her lunch I forced my self to learn more of these dishes and now I can make variety of rice!

Now a days my most disaster food is baking the cake. My cake always turns out like a stone!!! or comes out with dark burnt ring on the edge. Or my cake is never cooked.

But!! I do not have any pictures taken when these mishaps took place. 

I hope you will visualize the photos and read it. Sorry!

Keep Smiling,

Best of year 2009

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi all,

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY of OUR RELATIONSHIP

IF YOU WANT ALSO,

I WILL NOT COME IN YOUR LIFE AGAIN!

GOOD BYE

from Year 2004

Five years back I got this message in my cell on 31st December at 11.45 pm. First, I did not understand, as it comes screen by screen. Then when I read twice I understood the meaning!

Years just fly  and sometimes we feel we are standing in the same place from many years and sometimes we feel that the year got over so fast!

And the year 2009 went very fast for me!

This year (2009) was special for me in many ways(good and bad). Me and my husband had to take few tough decisions for children and their future. I decided to move back to India for good for my daughter's education. And I was waiting for this! But it was difficult for my husband and my daughters as they are more close with each other and it is tough to stay away from each other. Praying to God to reunite us as soon as possible.

After coming to India, again I joined college! This was the best thing happened as I needed some change like this.! Thanks to mom, who took care of my lil one when I was in college.

This year, I started to post my recipes in my blog which was my dream from one year! And the blogging opened many doors for my experiments. I got many good friends here. Three cheers to blogging.

So coming to Srivalli's event, I am just posting few things happened this year in my blog or with my blog!!

I want to thank Srivalli, for encouraging us to stop and look back our success and failure. It will show us the correct direction to move forward.

1. My first post was : At last I am here!!!!! 

2. Top 5 recipes of the year from my blog:

1.Chapatis and guessing game remixed for the event

2.Jowar rotti ball(ಜೋಳದ ರೊಟ್ಟಿ ಉಂಡಿ)

• 
• 3.Aloo Pattice

• 4. Jowar flour ball(ಜೋಳದ ಮುದ್ದೆ)
  

5. Veg. Juice Pulao

3. Best recipe prepared from other blogs :
Haryanvi Thali

Palak Dal

4. Best Meal of the year :

Mutton Biryani

Meals dal and white kidney beans

5. Best dish of the month :

Antina Undi(Dry fruits laadu)

6.Best post or picture for each month or year:
Sweet Coconut Rice

Fresh Coriander tokku(chutney) and Award!!!

Hottt chilly chutneys

Tomato and Garlic Rasam(Tili saaru)

When I went on checking all the posts in my blog, I was really surprised, because I never thought I will be able to post so many recipes!! I was happy when I re read all the comments, I felt little sad, when there was no comment at all for many posts! And to tell the truth, these comments only make me happy and encourage me to be here in this blog world. 

There were many posts, which no one read!!! But honestly, no complaints! just my observation.

As I have started the blog and following the blogs this year only, all the blogs are new to me! 

I want to thank all the friends here for encouraging me and supporting me with their sweet comments and sharing their awards with me!

Cooking resolutions for the Year 2009! :

I am very bad in keeping my resolutions! That too I never keep new year resolutions. I do not need new year for resolution. But I am planning to learn some baking! 

These are only few things I could bring in one post! 

Sending this to Srivalli's most awaited event Announcing the "Best of year 2009" Event!

It is totally only about my blog and its contents. If my internet connection permits me to do some work, this year,I will come up with part II about my all blog friends, or else I will do that in the next year.

Keep smiling,