CLICK METAL: Spice Rasper - My last minute stint

Here goes my entry to CLICK: March 2008 (Metal) event hosted by Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi. First I thought this event is not my cup of tea, but then the very next thought "mainu kee farak painda hai". :)

Shahi Turai / Ridge Gourd in Poppy seeds and CashewNuts Gravy

I read quite a few blogs by other south indian ladies where turai or ridge gourd or more commonly known as peerkankai in tamil.. was very common in their style of cuisines, but somehow it was never so common with my mom , all i remember is she used to make some podi (powder) out of it, will have to find out how it is made. Well my freshest memories of turai are the days in Delhi during my Grads when the dear dabba walas had only three favourite veggies, lauki, turai and tinda and how to forger potatoes. Well since those days i used to hate this veggie, just couldnt gulp it down thanks to the way they used to make it...

Kiwi, mint n Apple Punch - my fruit cocktail

Well as i was patrolling the blogs for something different to post for Sig's MBP - Mixed Drinks an event started by Coffee’s The Spice Cafe's MBP, I was planning to come up with some cool martini cocktail, or maybe some beer cocktail as I am lately inspired by Shatbhi basu and her show on NDTV Good Times, but somewhere i was not convinced coz i knew being a teetotaler i will not b able to give the best of descriptions to those cocktails and will not do justice as an entry to the event (well now that i have tried making the beer cocktail - bucking bronco, i will surely post it someday), then i suddenly bumped into this wonderful juices blog which gives you this wide pool of ideas for juices, smoothies shakes that i was just bowled over, and here i go.. my entry to MBP - Mixed Drinks, am really glad she extended the date.

My punch is adapted from the apple-kiwi-mint-juice from Juice and Smoothie Recipes posted by Venom. I have made some alterations to make it the tangy best.

Dahi bhalle or dahi wade or thaiyir vadai

Holi is one time for celebrating the different hues of life, then why not food. Well i remember from my childhood days when after a tiring day of holi the evenings were a treat as a holi special dinner. We used to visit my dad's best frens place and a few of my frens place which had a similar menu - puri, or pua, chole, sevaiyaan, dahi wade etc but all were lip smacking in their own way. So i thought of trying out my hand in dahi wade or dahi bhalle(as in punjab) or our very own thayir vadai from down south.

The best snacky item or a side dish i can think of in summers or for some lunch or dinner. Well thats because it was my mom's mandatory item in her menulist in all the specially hosted dinners by her. So here we go.. my version of dahi bhalle..

Balanced Breakfast - Missi Roti, Kuku Omelette and Fig Shake

This post goes as an entry to Mansi's Balanced Breakfast WBB#20. This would include Missi Roti served with Kukuye Sabzi ( Iranian Herbed Omelette) and Fig shake (anjeer with dry fruits). Well, if a post by me comes without some story to start with, umm doesnt sound really normal. Garg was born in Iran and has spent his kindergarden years there, so from his rememberances comes Kukuye sabzi, an iranian omelette, which unlike other omelettes features the "add-ons" more than the eggs. And missi roti being one of the very common quick food in Punjab and Rajasthan, so from my yesteryears in Delhi and his Punjabi roots comes the Missi roti, a roti made with a combinatino of wheat flour (atta) and Besan. This is best suited with sarson ka saag or dal palak or likes as side dishes, it can very well become an easy option for an healthy breakfast, besan being full of proteins.

Rang Barse !! - to Gujia ho jaye

" La-Ilaha ki bharke pichkari

Khwaja Piya ne mukh pe maari,

Shyaam ki mai to gayi bal bal haari,

kaisa hai Piya Subhaan-Allah.."

Holi khelen padh ke bismillah

La-Ilaha-Illallah.." (Mosque inscription talks of Holi Harmony)

Nombu Addai

Come March and my family was after me asking for my postal address to post the 'nombu shereda', the sacred yellow thread so that they can send it down to me for 'kardiyaar nombu' which this time came on 14th March.
Well for those who belong to the non TamBrahms (Tamil Brahmins) section and wondering what is this, well its an important festival for the tamilians, well well I feel a way easier way to explain this is that its the Tamil counterpart of Karva Chauth, the day a woman prays for the well being and long life of her husband in remembrance of the Satyavan-Savithri katha.
So Nombu adai is a dish made on the ocassion of 'Karadiyar Nombu'.There are two version of it, the vella adai(sweet) and uppu adai(salty). Here goes the recipe, may this helps a few newly weds next year [:)].