A lovely video I came Across You Tube!

A female called Archana who speaks in the Hasya kavi sammela on women who come here on H4. Its hillarious. I just wanted to share with all of you. Hope you like it. Do comment on it..:)

Archana is a popular poetess, singer and artiste who resides in the bay area.
Archana is a software engineer -a front end web developerby profession. She has worked as a consultant for companies and is presently, she is working for Tacit Software.She worked as a credentialed public school teacher in Fremont Unified school district for 4 years. She also was a eigth grade science teacher with Campbell Union school distrcit for one year. Archana volunteers to teach Hindi at various institutes in the bay area like I.C.C. (India Community center), Vidyabharti etc.

She presents this poetry "Naukri is tokeri" in the bay area Hasya Kavi Sammelan in April 2007. This poetry is a comedy depicting her experiences with the many jobs she tried, as an immigrant woman, trying to balance her job and family. Its really very funny and so humorous. When I came across this is just wanted to share it with you all. Hope u Enjoy it as much i did...:)

P:S - Note her version of ABCD... I was laughing uncontrolablely when I heard that hehehe...

Some other videos of archana are America , Hindi , Matrimony

I enjoyed each and every video and I just wanted to share it with all of you. Hope you like it. Do send me your comments. Her recitals of america and hidi really touched my heart. And the way she present it is so nice...:)

The recital on Matrimony is very good too..:) its really hillarious... hope u all like it too..:)

You can find more information and more of her videos on her website.

Iam adding one of her videos here... u can check her other videos in The links i have given above.Enjoy!

Hope u enjoyed the video. Do leave ur comments...:)

Recipe Today :Meeta's Achari Aloo

Thanks you all for your lovely comments on my previous post i.e : my 100th post.


I am so excited and happy for all the love that I recieved in the form lovely comments and wishes from all of you. It feels so good to know i have so many friends and well wishers...I hope u all enjoyed the chocolate and the halwa..:)

I am so happy and honoured that I wanted show my gratitude, in a small way that I can do. I know thats for any blogger its a thrilling moment when someone tries their recipe and comments on it. Hence I decided the rest of May I dedicate it to YOU. ( All the lovely fellow bloggers out there....)

Yes I decided that I am going to post my favourite recipes from other blogs that I like... along with a sweet note about the blogger and her/ his lovely blog. Yeah, its like a break for me after this hectic hundred. I just want to cook and try all the creative, unique and awesome recipes I have seen in other blogs and always wanted to try it out. But due to time constrain I cudnt.

Even now.... there are like hundreds of blogs out there and thousands of lovely recipes... cant make all so I will be going by mine as well my hubby's choice...:).

Today, I am starting with Meeta's Achari Aloo... from her kitchen to mine..:)

Meeta's Achari Aloo - From her Kitchen to Mine.

The minute I saw this recipe in Meeta's blog I was delighted. I was searching for this recipe say for more than an year but never actually tried to make it. U see I have to give work to my little brain to make something without a proper recipe. Hmm... Anyways y trouble urself when u get an instant recipe...;). You wont believe I made it the day meeta posted the recipe..... and the result was amazing.... it turned out awesome. Thanks Meeta for the lovely recipe. This is what I came up with...:D

My lunch platter for the day! with meeta's achari aloo, Italian green peas Salad, curd, chapati and tomato slices.

I made a few changes like adding extra tomatoes........I used lemon Pachranga pickle and traditional Mango avakai, (cut mango pickle) mixed them together and used that paste. The saunf and mustard seeds in the pachranga pickle and the tangy mango taste and spices in Avakai created a very good combination of taste. And the aroma was awesome.... ummm I can vouch for any pickle lover. its was too tempting.

Rest of the recipe method I followed as Meeta has suggested.Turned out nice.

Here goes the recipe : serves 3

Potatoes - 4 Russet

Roma tomatoes - 2 finely chopped

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1tsp

Red chilli powder - 1tsp (optional)

Turmeric powder - 1tsp

Onions - 1 finely chopped

The pickle chutney/sauce* - 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Pepper a pinch

Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Chop the potatoes into wedges and keep aside.

In a deep botton pan, heat the oil and add the jeera to it. Let it splutter for a while. Add the onions and saute well. Once the onions are transparent, add the finely chopped tomatoes and saute again for 5 minutes or so. Add the turmeric powder, Red chilli powder and mix well. Cook till the tomatoes are tender and become like a paste.

Now add the chopped poatoes and mix well. Pour around 1/2 glass of water and cook covered on medium flame for 3 minutes or until the potatoes almost cooked. Now, remove the cover and cook for another 2 minutes allowing the water to eveporate. Now, add the Pickle Sauce and mix well, coating the poataoes well. Add salt and pepper to the potaotes. Adding salt be careful. You already have salt in ur pickle sauce so better taste and then later add the salt to it.

Transfer to a nice serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Your Achari Aloo is ready. Simple yet so tasty..:)

* The pickle chutney is the sauce of the pickle that remain after u remove the pieces from the pickle. For this recipe, we just need the sauce and not the pieces. If ur making this using vegetable pickle, be free to add some pieces too for additional taste... enjoy!

Serve hot with Paratha/ Roti or naan. Enjoy!

Now About The Blog : "What's for lunch Honey?"

Isn't that what we r asked when our sweet hubby comes home for lunch? A very nice blog with a lovely name and even lovelier recipes and photographs. This blog is owned by Meeta as you all must knowing now (As I have already written her name like 6-7 times..hehehe). She is very sweet female, born in India - Mumbai and is presently settled in Germany with her partner a a lovely 5 yr old son. You can read more about her here.

Her blog has some amazing recipes and pictures. I love spending hours in her blog searching for new items and unheard recipes. She is the one who started the Monthly Mingle... if ur aware of it. She is a brilliant photographer and a great cook. Thank you Meeta for sharing your lovely recipes with us. To know more about her do visit her blog.

Thats it for today... I will be back again with another favourite recipe from another lovely blog. Thank you.

Its time to Celebrate! - Some Anniversaries and My 100th Post !

Hot & Lovely Sooji Badam Halwa and Ferrero Rocher for the Celebrations!

Yippeeee! Its time to celebrate with sweets and chocolates. I am so excited and happy that I wanted to share all my joy with my blogger friends.I have so many reasons to Celebrate today. They are...


1) My Brother-in-law and Sweet Vadine (Co-sister) celeberate their 4th wedding anniversary today. And this year its more special as they are celebrating with their little bundle of joy. How much I miss being in India, and enjoying with them. Anyways, here I am celebrating their joy. Many Many Happy returns of the day Anna & Manni.






2)My cousin Brother Arvind and his wife Suja...celebrate their First wedding Anniversary today. When I spoke to them in the morning, they were all out having a party..... I feel so bad I got left out. So, this is for them..:) Happy First wedding Anniversary... Wishing you both many more happiness in life.









3) Today I complete 100th post in this blog .Yes, I complete my 100th post with this one today :) and its not even a year since I started blogging. I am So excited. I really cant believe that I have made and posted so many things. hehhehehe.. well I should ask my hubby what he feels. Well so I am so happy today I wanted to celebrate this ocassion with you all.

Thanking all my fellow bloggers for all the love and appreciation you showed towards my efforts by leaving your lovely comments. Encouraging me to do more and more. Really all those lovely comments have got to me to where I am now... on my milestone 100.:)

Thanking my sweet Hubby "R" For all his love, affection, help, advice and encouragement in my cooking. He used to help me in the kitchen whenever I used to try something new and messy. Really appreciate all that. Thank you and love u dear.

Thanking my lovely family for all their appreciation support. My dad for eating all my experimental food... when he was visiting US... for encouraging me and correcting me. Love all your criticism and advice Dad.

My sweet mom in law for all her advice and ideas to improve my cooking. How I used to blog her with my recipe ideas on phone and she used to listen to me patiently and advice on it. Love u Amma.

Now this day to celebrate my joy I just wanted to make some nice sweet item. No grand lunch and all.....just the normal Roti, Bhaji and Salad with some sweet. Here is my lunch platter for today......

Roti

Papad Tomata nu Shaak

Sooji ka Halwa

Clockwise : sliced onion salad, Papad Tomata nu Shaak, Sooji Halwa, Roti , and leftover aloo bhaji.

I want to share the Halwa and the Shaak recipe with all of you today. Sooji Halwa is one thing I love to eat when it comes to non diary sweets. I am not a great Lover of sweets and so is "R", so making sweets is very rare at our place, Unless I am experimenting with some baking. I like this dish coz its not very sweet yet smells awesome and tastes delicious. This recipe with some alterations (I guess they add bananas) is given as prasadam (offering to god) in temples. I stumbled upon this recipe in Manjula aunty's site and decided to try this as I was sure this is one sweet item which will not lie in the fridge for days.... which happens with almost all other sweet items at our place. I have made few alterations to original recipe.

Sooji ka Halwa

To make this Halwa You need : this recipe serves 3

Sooji Rava (semolina ) - 1/2 cup
White Sugar - 1/3 cup and 1 tbsp
Whole Milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1 small pinch
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Sliced Almonds and and cashews (roasted in ghee)











Method :

Heat a pan and take some the water and add sugar to it. Keep stirring constantly. Add the milk to this mixture now. Heat this mixture until the sugar dissolves completely. Do not boil the mixture. Keep aside.

You can alternatively heat the milk, sugar and water mixture in the microwave for 2 minutes. Keep aside.

Now in a seperate pan / Kadhai take the ghee and melt the ghee on medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Now add the sooji to it and roast it on medium flame stirring constantly. Keep mixing till the sooji turns golden brown in colour. Be careful while doing this. If you leave the sooji of gas for long without stirring, there are chances it may burn. Keep stirring the sooji.You get get a nice aroma of the sooji cooking.

The roasted sooji reaching it perfect stage.

Once the sooji is ready add the hot water-sugar mixture part by part into the Sooji and keep stirring while doing this. After adding all the water, mix once and cook covered for 6-7 minutes.

Halwa in its cooking stage

When the Halwa seems to have cooked and taken in almost all the water off the gas. Dont make the halwa to tight. Leave it a bit soggy. Sooji has the tendency to absorb water while cooling down, so off the gas a minute or so before reaching the exact consitency u desire.

Transfer into a serving down and garnish with ghee roasted almond and cashews. You may serve immidieately or allow it to cool and serve.

Adding the milk adds more flavour to the halwa...:)

My Halwa's Celebration pic with Chocolates.

Relish your Halwa Cold or hot. Garnished with nuts. Do we need a celebration to eat sweets.. Naah ! ;) Enjoy!






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Papad Tomata nu Shaak ( Papad Tomato ki subzi)

I dunno the origin of this dish....whether its Rajasthan or its Gujrat, But I know onething...I really relish this subzi. I remeber having this once at my gujju friends place when I was in college. Her mom was a great cook. I used really love anything she used to cook. Guess it had immense love in it. They were jain so they used to skip many vegetables, and had so many different varieties of dishes. All the dishes I had at her house have a special place in my memory and in my heart. This is one of those kinds. I dont know the exact recipe as I never asked aunty for one. Come on... I was in college... who cooks when in college.... I never did :P. So just with some memories and some ideas i came up with this recipe. Hope aunty reads this and send me her exact recipe soon...:)

Close up of the shaak....yummy!

For this you need :



Papad (I used Lijjat) - 3 fried and made into small pieces
Tomato(preferably roma tomatoes) - 2 small
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1tsp
Sour Curd (yoghurt) - 2 tbsp
Besan (gram flour) - 1/3 tsp
Water - 1/2 cup
Salt (optional)
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies - 2 slit
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Sugar - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsp (only if yoghurt is not too sour ...mine wasnt)
Oil - 3 tsp











Method :

In a Kadhai or a pan take oil and add the jeera and green chillies. Let it splutter well. Now add the tomatoes and saute till tender. Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and mix well.

The shaak gravy cooking

Once the tomatoes are cooked well add the sour curd (yoghurt ) and mix well. Take water in a small bowl and add the besan to it and mix well. Now, add the besan water mix to the curds and let it cook for 2 minutes.

Papad Tamata nu Shaak ready and waiting to be transfered and garnished.

Now add the fried papad and sugar and mix well. See that the papad is soaked well in the gravy. cook till the curd starts boiling lightly and the gravy becomes a bit thick.Noe taste the gravy and see. Add salt if needed. U may not add salt as the papad already has salt in it. Remove from flame and add lemon juice and mix well. Transfer into a serving boil and garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves. This is a nice alternative when ur grocery shopping is pending.

Serve hot with Phulkas or Chapati...Enjoy!



So here goes my day today... with all celebrations and enjoyment. Too bad "R" couldnt come for lunch today and i enjoy my platter all alone. I hope to have a lovely evening with my sweetheart. Looking forward to it now.

Now for all my lovely fellow blogger friends... here is a sweet treat.... Dont hesitate to take one..:)








Enjoy your day and have a goodnight...:)

Upma with a twist.......and my new Blog design...:)

Let me tell u first that I am not a very big fan of Upma. Specially the plain upma that my mom used to make often for night (palaharam) light Dinner. I like my upma with vegetables...(if I really need to have upma...that it......if I can avoid it...well and good.) Thats my relationship with this food item. But after I got married, I really understood y my mom used to make this dish so often.... Coz its so easy to make.... and so tasty...(now I have started liking it.... coz its a comfort food..;)...)

As I said earlier plain upma was never my liking, so I always end up adding some or the other vegetables to it. This is one twist I have added to my upma.... I added some leftover soaked sago to it. When I started making it... I had no idea how it will taste....but believe me the outcome was nice and amazing. Thats y they call cooking the result of trial and error I guess..... sometimes these errors and trials give out such amazing results. So here goes my upma with a twist.

You need :

Semolina (sooji rava) - 1 cup

Indian pearl Sago (Sabudana ) - 1/2 cup (soaked overnight - soft and rubbery)

Red bell pepper - 1/3 cup

Onions chopped - 1/3 cup

Potatoes cubed - 1/3 cup

Salt to taste

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Green chilli - 2 slit

Curry leaves - few

Ghee - 1 to 2 tsp

Fresh coriander leaves

Method :

Soak the sago for an hour. After 1 hour sprinkle around 1/2 cup water over it and leave it overnight to soak. In the morning the sago should be soft and rubbery to touch. Keep aside.

In a big vessel, heat around 4 cups of water and bring it to a boil.

In a different pan take some oil and add the mustard seeds and alloe to splutter. Now add the green chillies and Curry leaves. (you may even add ginger if u desire.) Now add the onions and saute well. Once the onions become tender and transparent add the potatoes and red bell pepper. saute well. Once the potatoes are half cooked and the pepper is tender, add the sooji and the sago to it and mix well. Add salt. Stir once again.

Now , add in around 2 and a 1/2 cups of water tot the semolina. Remember this upma wont be dry.... it has to be a buit gooey.Keep stiring while you add the water so that no lumps are formed. If u feel the upma is becoming to dry add some more water... you want your semolina and sagoo too cook right?.Make the flame medium low and stir well to remove lumps. Soon your upma will be cooked.

Remove from flame, garnish with fresh coriander leaves and a spoon ful of ghee. Stir well and serve hot.

Serve hot with coconut chutney. Best when served as a breakfast. Filling a s well as very tasty.Enjoy!

This is my new blog design. Do suggest any changes and give me comments on how it looks now...better or worse.. Thank you...:D

Once again....Mysore Masala Dosa for dosa mela

Yes, I am a complete Late comer, or a tubelight. I didnt send my dosa recipe to the Dosa mela on time and then was so hesitant to send it. Thanks to Srivalli who agreed to accept by entry now.. as she is planning for one more round up.... Thank my lucky stars and Srivalli. Thank You.

So here is my entry for the Dosa mela. I have posted this recipe around 2 weeks earlier and I am just linking that post to this one, as an entry to the event. Here is the recipe for this lovely looking Mysore Masala Dosa... My style...! Enjoy and give me ur reviews :D once again...:D

Talking about Mysore masala Dosa...reminds me of Mumbai...yes Mumbai not Udipi or mysore from where this dosa actually originates.There are these 3 places in mumbai (ofcourse other than my house) where I relish dosas.Mumbai is where I first got introduced to this speciality dosa. I still remember the Dosa wala near my college... in VT (now CST) and his amazing varieties of dosas and uthappams. Wow! is the lovely thing I can say for it.He used to make so many varieties of dosas, spring dosa, masala dosa , special masala dosa, mysore masala dosa and special mysore masala dosa(which consisted of grated carrot, lots of dry fruits, raisins.beetroot, aloo bhaji, sweet and spicy chutney.... yummmm..) doesnt that bring water in ur mouth.... The special varieties in each had ghee and dryfruits in the masala.... too many calories rt? but amazingly tasty... hmmmm I really miss those days. We used to stand near the dosa stand and watch him make these amazing mysore masala dosas... which were always our favourite. I got a bit of idea of what all he used to add in it for the ultimate taste. Today after like 5 years of missing that amazing mysore masala dosa I tried to recreate the dosa walas magic in my kitchen, and I can say I was somewhat successful. The compliments from my hubby and his colleague and friend proves that. :) what say?

Another place in mumbai where I have relished dosa is the famous khau gali in Ghatkopar. There is this one dosa wala there who makes around 40 varieties of dosa. Its a small roadside stall... and if u visit this place in evening it is hell crowded with people waititng to be served. And the best part is his schezuwaan chutney that he gives with the dosa...its finger lickingly tasty. You get so many varieties there like sada dosa, butter sada dosa, spring dosa, chinese spring dosa, manchurian dosa, chinese dosa, schezuwaan dosa, palak dosa, paneer dosa, bhaji dosa and ofcourse the amazing masala dosa.... these are just a few names that I remembered and have tasted there. So next time u visit mumbai do visit the small roadside dosa stall in Ghatkopar and relish the amazing dosas.U can also relish the nearby stall's pani puri and frankies... they r worth a try too.

My delicious mysore masala dosa....with the filling..:) doesnt it look gorgeous

The third and the last place is one near Andheri station I dont remember the place well but it was in a small shopping complex.... just opposite the andheri railway station. I remember, once my dad took me and my friend there to eat and I can still remember the taste of that mysore masala dosa..... sweet as well spicy yummmm.... this is again a roadside stall... but it was so clean and nicely kept.... actually all the three stalls I refered here was soo clean and nice... I am as such very picky about the place where I eat and I can guaratee u this was heaven....so what if it is on the roadside??..

After eating such amazing dosas... who wud like the so called mysore masala dosa that they sell in the indian restaurants here in US?... hmmm I didnt.. I shud say I got disappointed everytime we went to a new restaurant and I ordered my favourite mysore masala dosa... which is actually masala dosa with some powder sprinkled on it.... hmmmm..... so in vain i thought the best way to tingle my taste buds again to this favourite dosa of mine is to try and make it myself. The recipe i have given below is my own recipe and I would love suggestions from other great cooks and foodies about what else can be added to this dosa to make it even better ofcourse other than dryfruits...:P..I know dryfruits will make it amazing... but I am trying to be a bit calorie conscious here girls..:P.

To make this dosa u need :

For the Dosa batter:

Raw rice - 1 1/2 cup

Idli rce - 1 1/2 cup

Urad dal - 1 1/4 cup

Methi seeds - 2 tsp

Moong dal - 1 tbsp

Toor dal - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method :

Soak the raw rice, idli rice, moong dal,toor dal and methi seeds together and the urad dal in a different bowl. Soak it overnight or for 7-8 hours. Grind the rice and the urad seperately and mix it together and keep it aside for 10-12 hours till the batter is fermented well. Add salt to the batter and mix well. Now, ur batter for making crispy dosas are ready.

For the stuffing:

Potato stuffing :

Potatoes - 4 boiled

Onions - 1 large

Mustard seeds - 2 tsp

Ginger - 1" finely chopped

Green chillies - 2

Garlic - 1 small pod (optional)

Turmeric powder - 2tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 3 tsp

Few curry leaves

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

the onion and potato filling

Method :

In a pan take some oil and put in the mustard seeds. Wait till the seeds splutter and then add the ginger and garlic and stri well. now add the onions and turmeric powder and mix well. Let the onions become tender and a bit transparent. Now add in the mashed potatoes and the salt.Pour in a glass of water and cook covered for 7-8 minutes or till the potatoes take in the water but yet remain a bit mushy.See that ur potato stuffing shouldnt be to dry.put in some lemon juice and mix well.Garnish with fresh Coriander leaves.

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Spicy Red chutney:

Red Bell pepper - 1 big

Dried red chillies -4-5

Garlic - 6-7 pods (i like more of garlic u can reduce the quantity according to ur taste)

Salt to taste

Capsicum and chiili spicy chutney

Method :

Soak the Red chillies in a cup in say 1/2 tbsp water. Chop the red bell peppers in small chunk and put in the blender along with the garlic and salt. Now add in the dried red chillies from the water and put it in the blender too. Blend well into a paste. Be careful while putting in the red chillies. I like my chutny a bit spicy, u may reduce the quantity again according to ur taste.Ur chutney is ready U can store this chutney for like 3 days and use it for plain dosa and idli as a side dish.

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Sweet red Chutney (sorry have no snap of this one.)

You need :

Tomato puree - 1 can (u may even grind in fresh tomatoes)

Salt - a pinch (my can already had some salt added to it)

Sugar - 4 tsp

Method :

In a small pan pour in the tomato puree and heat well, it the puree almost starts boiling. Now add in the salt and sugar and keep stirring.It can become a bit messy as the puree starts to boil. Lower and flame and keep stiriing till the sugar dissolves well. Your Sweet red Chutney is ready too. You can also use tamarind or any sweet sauce u get in shop to savethe time. But it tastes much better.

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Carrot Stuffing :

Carrots - 3 grated (Some other variations will be Raddish, cabbage, beetroot or maybe all mixed)

Fresh coriander leaves

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 1 finely chopped

Salt to taste

Chaat powder - 2tsp

Grated carrot

Method :

Mix the grated carrot, salt, chaat powder, green chillies and coriander in a bog bowl. Your carrot stuffing is ready.This is also a very good side salad for ur chapatis or rice.

The final assembly:

Now that we r ready with all the preparatory work and items, lets start making some mysore masala dosas. I have used a non stick pan to make dosa....:P well its a rather old one... not much like a non stick anymore... heheh yet it give me some best dosas.Try using a non stick dosa griddle or dosa pan, if ur trying to make this for the first time. You need some judgement and timing for removing the from the pan in one piece.:)...

Take a non stick dosa gridle and spray in some cooking oil and let the pan sit on the gas for 5 minutes. The tava shud be moderately hot (not too hot or too cold) for the dosas to cook well. The best way to judge if u pan is hot is to wet ur hands and sprinkle some water on the hot pan.. if the water sizzle for sometime and then vanishes... that means ur pan is right and ready for the dosa.. If the water just bubbles and vanishes immidiately, or smokes,u may want to cool ur pan a bit by sprinkling some more water on it.

Now take a laddle full of batter and pour it on the centre of the griddle. Take a round bottomed laddle and make small circles in the centre of the batter that u have poured. Now slowly and gradually keep increasing the diameter or ur circle and hence spreading the batter.See that u dont leave gaps in between.Even if u do so.. take some more batter and fill up the gaps. I will try to take a video next time and post it here.:)
Once ur dosa is ready, Pour oil or butter around the dosa and allow it to cook a bit say for 2 -3 minutes. when u see that the batter on the top is kind of dry. Put in 2 spoonful of the spicy red chutney and spread it well on the dosa as given in the picture above.leave it for a minute. Now pour in 2 spoon ful of the sweet red chutney as spread it the same way. Put a spoon ful of potato filling in the centre of the dosa and then top it with the carrot filling. With a spoon lightly mix up the potato and carrot. Do it with very light hands.... Do want to to tear the dosa right?see picture below.

The masalas after mixing.

I wanted the caroot to be raw and give its natural sweet taste so i wanted to add it raw.. u may even add it to the potato bhaji if u desire.Let the dosa cook till the edges become dark golden brown in colour. Lightly lift one side of the dosa to see if the base has become golden in colour.

Fold the dosa into half and serve hot with ur favourite chutney.This taste very good even without any side. Dosas r so easy and amazing to make once u master the art. I was a person u could never make a dosa without tearing few to pieces.hehe... But I guess experience and dediation towards the thing u want to learn perfectly...gets u there where u want to be..Now I can make nice and lovely dosas....:P

I served it with Vaishali's amazing avacado and tofu chutney...which u can see in the pic. I first thought i will post the recipe here in this post, but i think this post have become too lenghty and posting the delicious chutney recipe here is an injustice to it. So i will be dedicating a new post to the Amazing avacado and tofu chutney. I will post my experience with the chutney there,till then relish my mysore masala dosa and give me ur amazing comments...:)

Serve hot however and where ever u like. No side required as such But will go amazingly with a subtly chutney.

Moong dal dosa & an Award

This dosa is an instant choice when I feel like eating the lovely tasting Adai. This is made of moong dal which takes very less time to soak compared to the traditional adai, which is made by soaking rice, toor daal and chana daal overnight......and hence can be made without any prior prepaprations.It tastes no less than the Adai....Enjoy this lovely recipe next time, when u dont have much time in hand.

You need :

Washed moong dal ( yellow lentils) - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 3
Fresh Coriander - 1 cup
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 2 tsp
Ginger finely chopped - 3 tsp
Oil for shallow frying


Method :
Soak the washed moong dal for 1 to 2 hrs. Once they r soaked well...put them in a blender. Add in the other ingredients except the oil and make into an almost fine paste. Leaving it a bit coarse gives nice texture to the dosa. Once ur batter is ready, Ur ready to make ur dosas.

Heat ur tava or gridle well and apply a sppon oil to it orelse u may also spray oil to the gridle. Now, put on ladle full of dosa batter on the tava and spread it into a big circle. Pour oil along the edges and turn over once one side is cooked. Cook it just like a normal dosa till it is golden brown in colour. Enjoy ur lovely moong daal dosa. This dosa tastes best with Allam Chutney (ginger chutney).

Serve hot with any chutney.enjoy!

Another Yummy Blog award!

I was so surprised to see another yummy blog award for me. Today, my friend and fellow blogger the lovely Vaishali forwarded me "The Yummy blog award". Thank you so much Vaishali. I really appreciate it. So here it goes...:)

One more lovely and shiny award for me. Isnt it beautiful? Thank u so much....and keep visiting my blog.

Thank you so much.

Celery Soup!? or mixed Veggie soup

I started this one as a celery soup but didnt like the plain colour and added up some more veggies for the colour.....I like my soup too be nice and colourful. Doesnt it look pretty? Well call in veggie soup or any other soup... but yet for me this is a basic celery soup recipe. I kind of adore this soup and the vegetable celery for the flavour it gives. This is a very very easy soup

You need:

Celery - 3 stalks finely chopped
Red bell Pepper - 1 medium
Sweet corn - 1/4 cup
Mixed vegetables ( I used stir fry veggies) - 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Salt to taste
Olive oil / Butter - 3 tsp
Oregano - 2 tsp
Crushed red chilli - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish



Method :
Boil some water and put in all the vegetables in it one by one. Let them come to a slight boil. See that the vegetables are just cooked and not overcooked or mashed.
Add the herb and salt. Top with some butter / olive oil and mix well. Garnish with fresh corinader leaves and serve hot. This low fat, tasty and nutrious soup is our family favourite. Whenever our dinner is not decided... we always go for this as our choice.Serve it in ur favourite soup bowl with some nice salad. Garnish with crushed red chilli of u desire.

Serve hot as a dinner. Serve with nice Salad. Enjoy!

My First MEME

This is the first time I have been tagged for this lovely MEME by my lovely fellow blogger Friend Roopa .
Thank you so much Roopa. Here goes my MEME.



1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE? : Tashan...The Ishtyle, The goodluck, and the Phormoola.....uhhmm uhmm.... hehhe I have no comments for this movie.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?? : First Among Equals - Jeffrey Archer

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? : Carrom Board and Ludo/Snake & Ladder

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE? : Femina, Indoor Outdoor

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS? : Smell of the first rain, Jasmine flower (Mogra), Petrol (The smell u get in indian petrol pumps),

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS? : Baby Laughing or making sounds,Kenny G saxophone music,
Wind chimes.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? : When taken for granted, When misunderstood, when I miss my loved ones, being home alone.

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE? : I plan what to do the whole day. Generally I never do what I plan at that time of the day... Yet I think of it without fail. Habit I guess...:P

9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE? :
In USA : its Chipotle and Subway and yeah sometime Taco (I can hear -"not at all healthy"...:P)

In Indian : Jumbo Vada paav, KunjVihar / Tip Top (near thane station) and any chat stalls ont he road.

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME? : Hmm, will leave for the elders to decide.... my dad and my amma-appa (MIL & FIL).

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’ : Okie. Tellme how much is lots first?... So that I can decide my choices that way.... By lords grace I think at present we have lots compared to so many others. So I would wish that I should be able to live a life full of love, joy and a comfortable life that I am living right now.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST? Iam still on instructional permit. But I do drive almost everyday...ofcourse under the guidance of my hubby.... and yeah I get lotsa shoutings (often)...Yet havent gone out of control though....(I am fast under speed limits :D) .....wait till I get my license ....heheheheh...

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? I used to until my hubby fought with it and threw it away in a corner in our living room.... Hmmm... I miss u doggy.....:(


14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? Cooooool.... thunderSTORMS are scary.... eeewww..

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Well I never had a car of my own.... If I can call my hubby's car as mine.. then its a Nissan Maxima..... Would want to own a Beamer...:D ..If only desires were fullfilled that easily.... hmm :P

16) FAVOURITE DRINK? Mango Frooti...fresh and Juicy, Home squeezed fresh orange juice.

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD : I have lotsa time.... but I dont do anything worthwhile with it...... so guess my answer would be "Do Nothing..." :D

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? : Yes, I like it... and I make sure R eats it too...... hehoo huahaha ( that was a Rakshas's laugh..).. Believe me it has lotsa vitamins.....y waste it rt?

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? : Maybe Burgandy.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN? :
Indian : Born in Chennai , Nagpur, Mumbai, Hyderabad.
USA : Cleveland (Ohio), Los Angeles (CA).

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Cricket...(influnced by family...grrr) , Have taken interest in golf nowadays...:D

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? A very lovely female...got to know that from her blog and ofcourse her MEME... guess we have similar tastes and likings.... Just know her from a few weeks.... Would love to know more. Thanx for this Roopa.

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?A box spring.... and under that carpet.

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?? : Yes...not only this... I want the same family, same set of friends, everything dicto..... Now, tell me is my wish granted? :D


25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? : Ooooooooowwwwlllll... Wt do u think? Can u guess?

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?Hmmm I cant decide.... Maybe both..well depends..:D

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? The patio in the evening

28) FAVORITE PIE? : I am so sorry I really dont like Pies.

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Butterscotch and Chocolate.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?...Lets wait and see

I am tagging these people : Enjoy!



Notyet100hub of Asankhana

Coffee of Spice Cafe

Aditi of Peepinmykitchen

Manasi of A Cook at Heart


Well its not a compulsion for anyone to do this MEME.... But i Would be happy if u do it and pass it on just for the sake of fun.....and "Foodswomanship" (hmmm didnt get a better word to rhyme with sportsmanship....hehehe) Enjoy!