Ginger Pickle

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Simple but healthy, tasty and instant pickle. My daughter and me will eat it like sabji than pickle. We eat it with paratha, chapati, rice, upma and the list goes on. Some times just like that!!!

Here are the ingredients,

Ginger - 1/4 kilo

Lime juice - of 4 to 6 medium

Salt to taste

Red chilly powder - 3 to 4 tbsp

Haldi - 1 tsp

Sugar - 2 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp, heat the oil and let it be cool

Soak the ginger in salted water for half an hour. Clean the skin and cut into thin long pieces.

Add in a glass jar with all other ingredients. Check the taste. Keep for an hour for immediate use. Try to preserve in the fridge as it may spoil if kept outside.

Keep smiling,

Plain green biryani rice

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi all,

When I prepared this rice few weeks back, my daughter was like "wow mamma, only chicken pieces are missing in this" She was happy to have this rice after many months.

After coming to India, as I stopped preparing non veg, I totally forgot about this rice. As I have told before, my daughter loves to take rice for her lunch box, I am learning to make varieties. And suddenly this rice came in my mind. When in UAE, I used to make this rice  with  chicken or meat curry.

Now a days,  once a week, this rice is in her lunch box.

Here, I prepared plain with one small potato. If you want you can add Soya nuggets in this.

Coming to the recipe,

Any long grain rice - 1 cup, washed and kept aside.

Onion - 1 cut into long thin slices

Bay leaf - 1

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Water to cook the rice

For grinding,

Fresh coriander - 1 small bunch or 1 cup

Green chilly - 2 to 3 as per your taste or depending upon chilly

Ginger - 1" piece

Garlic - 1 small bulb, peeled

Jeera - 1tsp

Cinnamon - 1/2" piece

Cloves - 3

Cardamom - 1

Put all these in a grinder and make it into fine paste.

Heat oil in a cooker or kadai (I prefer cooker). When hot, add onion and cook till brown. Now add bay leaf and the ready paste and fry for 5 minutes. When you start getting aroma add rice and salt. Fry for a minute. Add water till the rice level. Close the lid and give two whistles.

You open the lid and the aroma will take you  in another world!!!

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,

Polished wheat halwa (ಗೋಧಿ ಹುಗ್ಗಿ ) for new year!

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Starting my first post in this year with traditional sweet called Godhi Huggi or polished wheet halwa. This is the heaviest sweet which is common in most of the functions in North Karnataka. It is not for weight watchers, as it has lot of dry fruits, jaggery and cups of ghee in to it. And its like, some medicines have instructions written  "not to drive when you take the medicine". You will feel drowsy and lazy after you have this.

Again, one of my favorite sweet.

Here is the recipe,

Polished Wheat : 200gm (Available in Indian store)

Chana dal - 4 tbsp

Jaggery - 200gm, powdered

Cardamom - 4 to 6 crushed

Nutmeg powder - 1 tsp

Poppy seeds - 4 tbsp

Dry desiccated coconut - 1/4 cup

Salt - 1 tsp

Ghee - 1 cup

Water depends on the wheat.

Soak the wheat overnight. In the morning, soak chana dal for an hour or two. Mix wheat and chana dal in a cooker with double the water of soaked wheat. Give 10 to 12 whistles. Yes, wheat takes time to cook. Once cool, open and check the wheat, I mean, take one seed in the hand and press it. If it breaks into pieces then its done. Otherwise you have to grind it to coarse paste.

Once this is done, add powdered jaggery, salt and 1/4 cup ghee and mix well with hand or churner. Keep it on medium heat to boil, keeping in mind to stir in between. once it starts boiling, check the sweetness of the dish and if you feel you need more sweet add some more jaggery(because, it has different taste always, depending upon the sugarcane)

If you feel the sweet is fine, add salt, poppy seeds and coconut. Mix properly and allow it to boil for few more minutes. Now add cardamom powder and nutmeg powder with 1/4 cup ghee. Let it boil for 10 minutes with stirring it often. 

The sweet is ready to eat with more ghee on the top with some spicy chilly and sandige.

Wishing everyone a very happy, prosperous and beautiful new year.

Keep Smiling,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Tried and tasted by Nivedita
Hi All,

WISHING EVERY ONE

A

VERY HAPPY

AND

WONDERFUL

NEW YEAR

MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE AND LETS WORK HARD TO KEEP THIS EARTH GREEN AND BEAUTIFUL!

Keep Smiling,

Yeh doulat bhi lelo....(ये दौलत भी ले लो ये शौरत भी लेलो)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Got confused with the title!!

My brother and me are a great fan of Jagjit Singh. We always enjoy listening to his gazals and sing together. My brother remembers all his gazals and sing without any mistakes. He has a huge collection of Jagjit Singh's gazals.

During our school and college days, we always used to wait for his next album. Now also we enjoy the same way.

Why I am writing all this?? Because, last night we went to Jagjit Singh Live in Concert, here in Pune.(Yes! I am in Pune for Christmas Holidays!) It was first time for me!(my brother never misses his concerts in Pune) I was so excited to see Jagjit Singh! It was like a dream come true for me! I never imagined I will get a chance to attend his concert and that too with my brother!

I was in different world for those three hours. Even though we could not see him from close! we could feel his voice in the air! There were big TV screens fixed in three corners. It was an open area and very cold. It was like a heaven, listening to Jagjit Singh's gazals under the open sky with moon and stars, in chilled weather. Then came the Vada pao and hot cup of tea!

The best part was, me and my brother were guessing his next gazal and we were testing our memory by singing the next line before Jagjit Singh will sing!! All the times my brother sang it perfect.

And when Jagjit Singh started the gazal "Hoton se Choolo tum",  every one started to sing with him, In between  he stopped singing and enjoyed our singing! I enjoyed this also very much.

Even his people who were on instruments are very good. He gave each of them a chance to play the gazals on their instrument(there was a guitarist, Flute player, Setar player and Tabala player.) Jagjit Singh looks the same how he was 15 years back, with same smiling face and same enthesuasam when singing.

He finished his concert by singing 'Laari rappa...'

Last night was unforgettable one for me!

Keep Smiling,