Time to be Honest! :)

Hi Lovely Ladies, all of you have been so kind and encouraging to me in my journey of blogging. I fall short of words to thanks each of one you to have been there and as a moral support and praying for me and my family. There's a good news that I would like to share with you all. S has got a Promotion n transfer to Bangalore :) and I am so glad that I'll be back to where I belong.

We have to relocate within a very short period of time. I am very nervous, there's so much to do in so less time.

I would take some time off sometime towards the end of this month and will keep you informed about it. I will def. keep posting recipes in the meantime.Please stay in touch and do forgive me for my vanishing acts ...lol I feel like am advertising for some vanishing cream :)

Let's talk of awards now:

1. Pavithra Kodical has shared Kreative blogger award with me, big hug and heart felt thanks dear. (I've done the meme for the same in my ealier post)
2. Sushma Mallya has generously passed on The honest scrap award and the Scrumptious blog award Thanks a ton dear am so humbled :)
3. Lata Raja, Shri,Parita sweet heart of friends too have shared the honest scrap award with me. Thanks a lot dearies.

THE SCRUMPTIOUS BLOG AWARD...

It is the Scrumptious Blog Award -a blog award given to sites who:
Inspire you Encourage You
May give Fabulous information
A great read
Has Scrumptious recipes
Any other reasons you can think of that make them Scrumptious!

Thanks again Sushma, you are a sweetheart :) I would love to share this award with all my blogger friends who have been so warm and encouraging! Please feel free to pick it up ladies, I get my inspiration from you all and each one of you deserves it ....:)

The Honest Scrap Award:

This award comes with the following rules:

I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it

I must list 10 honest things about myself

I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.

I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers and list their links

I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

Here are 10 honest things about me..

1. I connect well with kids, I am good at teaching little kids. Thanks to my elder sister for recognising this ability in me, she says am very creative in teaching the little ones :)

2. I apply God's Kumkum everynight, if I happen to forget I'm sure to get a scary dream and wake up screaming ;)

3. I am a very spiritual person and have conversations with God, I strongly believe that he listens and answers in his own way :)

4. I've recently given up non-vegetarian food.

5. I dont like deep fried eats :) :) No, not for diet purpose and stuff! from my childhood I dont like things like chips, bhajjis, bondas, samosas :) I dont like them just like that ;)

6. I am a very patriotic person. I love my country and get tears in my eyes when I watch any programmes about soldiers and their bravery , like Lata Raja I too get very emotional each time the national anthem is sung.

7. I truly believe in conserving water, electricity and recycling.

8. I enjoy anything connected to art from music, dance, painting, theatre ...

9. I love to cook. Simple food pleases me the most

10. I wouldnt have tried my hands in baking if I had'nt been doing my rounds in the blogsphere.

It would be extemely difficult to name just a few of them for this award. Please feel free to pick your awards lovely ladies. Sparing a few minutes to read the posts in the blogsphere and leaving a line or two in the food blog itself show how honestly you all ...rather we all have become a close knit group or rather like a family. Do take your award and write 10 things about yourselves.

Thanks

Keep the inspiration on!

TC

Red Pumpkin Bajji/Kattu , Capsicum Potato Masala/Sukke

Most of us must have been fussy eaters during our school and college days. I was one of a kind a museum piece;) I was a fussy eater plus a very poor eater also. I never ever bothered to taste and relish the authentic delicacies that my Amma used to prepare, on the contrary I used to live on bread-jam and biscuits. It’s only after getting married and moving away from my parents did I realise the value of the authentic food and crave to have Amma’s home made dishes. Nevertheless, she’s a darling and keeps me updated with all her recipes as she’s just a call away :)

Today’s recipes are:
Red Pumpkin Kattu
Capsicum and Potato Masala/ Sukke


Pumpkin Bajji/ Kattu

Ingredients:
¼ kg Pumpkin- washed, peeled, cubed, cooked
1 small bowl of grated coconut
2-3 Red chillies- Roasted
A small piece of tamarind
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Grind the grated coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind into a fine masala paste using little water.

Next add the cooked pumpkin cubes to the masala and grind together to make a blended paste of the coconut masala and pumpkin.

Empty the pumpkin –coconut paste into a vessel. Add salt, and mix well.

In a tempering pan heat a teaspoon of oil, add mustard seeds, when it begins to pop add curry leaves leave it for a few seconds and take it off the flame and pour it over the pumpkin-coconut paste and mix well.

The Red pumpkin bajji/kattu is ready to be served with rice or roti


Capsicum and Potato Sukke/Dry Sabzi

Ingredients
1 large Capsicum, deseeded and chopped into bite sized piceces
2-3 Medium potatoes, washed, peeled, cubed
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 Sprig curry leaves
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil

For The Masala:
1 small bowl grated coconut
A small piece of tamarind
2 red chillies
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Urad dal
1 tsp Coriander seeds

Method:

Pressure cook the capsicum and potatoes and set it aside.

Heat a little oil and roast the red chillies, urad dal, coriander seeds. Take it off the flame and let it cool.

Coarsely grind the coconut, tamarind, red chillies, urad dal, coriander seeds, and turmeric powder with a little water.

In a wide mouthed vessel mix the masala and the cooked vegetables add little water, sugar, salt and give it a nice stir.

Cook it on medium flame and bring it to a boil, once it comes to a boil switch the flame off and temper it mustard and curry leaves.

Mix it well and the Capsicum and potato sabzi/ sukke is ready to be served.

Hello! I'm Back

Hi Friends,
Thank you all so much for your prayers and good wishes. Things are brightening up at the home front :) My brother is feeling much much better and is on the road to recovery. After taking a second and third opinion from doctors, my brother N was advised complete bed rest and was on medication and strict diet as he had to loose some weight.
N seems to have been very strictly following the doctors advice, he's feeling better. At the moment he doesnt require surgery, doc says that after another 15 days of rest and medication he'll decide what has to be done next. We at home feel that he's getting and looking better :) and hoping that the surgery will be ruled out:)
I must say a million thanks to all of you to have given the moral support and good wishes :) am greatful to you all.
I promise to come up with a post very soon :) I love you all and thanks again :) :)
God Bless
Rgds
Suparna :)

Taking Some Time Off ....

Dear Friends,
Sorry for announcing a break again, but I would'nt be blogging/ visiting your blogs for the next few days.As my brother who had been suffering from a severe back pack pain from the past few days has been advised to undergo a surgery :( we are yet to take a second and third opinion on this. I just am not able to concentrate on anything let alone cooking or blogging :( so friends I'll see you all when things are better.
I love you all and will miss you very dearly.
Take good care of yourselves,
God Bless

Aloo Posto and Moong Dal ki dal

Aloo Posto

Moong Dal ki Dal

Dals are so easy to work with, the variety of dals like moong, masoor, toor …are so easy on receiving the experiment that is done with it. It blends in any spices and masala you put into them. I am sure all of you would’ve experienced the same.

When bored of making the same tadka ( tempering) dal, we ladies put on our enthusiasm caps and are all ready to mix and match the spices and various things that can go into the dal. Oh ya, I know we are not limited to mix n match our dresses alone ;) Now coming to today’s recipe of dal. There was a stock of Moong dal crying for attention from several days!! (God How can I be so bad!!) so I thought to shower some attention on the poor sidelined Moong dal :)

This recipe just happened… it wasnt pre-planned, I pressure cooked the moong dal , glanced at my spice rack and just got started. S these days wants rice almost for both meals and I love my rotis :) So wanted something to go well with both…here ‘s what I cooked:

Ingredients for Moong Dal ki dal:

Moong dal- 1 cup, pressure cooked with just enough water, mashed and set aside
Onion- 1 medium, finely chopped
Tomato- 1 medium, finely chopped
Green chilies- 1 finely chopped or 1 tsp red chili powder
Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp
Turmeric- ½ tsp
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 2 tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a vessel, put cumin seeds and wait till it splutters.

Throw in the onions and fry till translucent. Now put the green chilies and ginger garlic paste and fry for sometime.

Next add tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes until the tomatoes turn mushy...

Spoon in turmeric power, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt mix well so that the spice powders coat the mushy mixture. Add a few spoons of water if it gets too dry.

Fry for sometime until the rawness of the spices fade away.

Add the mashed dal and mix well. Taste and adjust accordingly.

Add some water to the dal and mix well again and bring it to boil.

The dal is ready to be served hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Note: If you prefer your dal thick add less water, and if you like it the regular runny way add water accordingly.

Aloo Posto:

This dish is one of the simplest ones to prepare and the taste definitely makes one over eat ;) The first time I tasted aloo posto , I found it strangely nice :)
The posto(poppy ) paste has a strange rawness to it inspite of cooking, which is very close to the taste of peanuts.

Aloo posto is nothing but potatoes cooked in poppy paste. The minimal use of ingredients throws the limelight completely on to poppy seeds.

I’ve made posto several times and in 1 or 2 different ways, referring to many blogs and magazines. The difference is negligible though :) Today I made the posto referring to this blog. It has some authentic Bengali recipes do check it out.

The aloo post was too good, hearty thanks to Sudeshna :) I blindly …err…with my eyes wide open(LOL) followed her recipe and instructions. So here goes….

Ingredients for Aloo Posto:

Moong dal- 1 cup, pressure cooked with just enough water, mashed and set aside
Onion- 1 medium, finely chopped
Potato: 4 medium sized
Poppy seeds: 3 tablespoons ( I roasted them)
Nigella seeds: 1 teaspoon
Green chili: 3, finely chopped
Turmeric powder: ½ teaspoon
Mustard oil: 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Method:

Make a soft fine paste of the poppy seeds and set it

Cut the potatoes into small cubes

Heat oil in a wok over low flame, add the nigella seeds

Throw in the potatoes along with the turmeric powder, green chilies and salt

Pour in about a cup of water and let the potatoes get half cooked

Add the poppy seed paste and cook till the potatoes are well cooked

Pour in water if necessary

TC and Happy week ahead!

3 Awards and a Tag :)

Hari Chandana has passed on 3 wonderful awards which comes with a tag. It's a great feeling to be awarded, I appreciate the encouraging gesture Hari :) . Tags (meme) was something which I used to enjoy reading in others blogs...now that I've done it myself , it seems fun :) Thanks so much Hari. I've tagged 13 (sorry rules are made to break aren't they? :)) friends and request them to accept the awards :) and also request them to tag 8-10 (feel free to pass on the encouragement) people and keep the chain going :)

The meme for Kreativ blogger is here. The other two wonderful awards has a tag attached :) so here I go.....sorry abt the alignment :(

What is your current obsession?
Eating Healthy
What are you wearing today?
T-shirt and trousers

What's for dinner?
Roti, double beans sabzi.

What’s the last thing you bought?
Flowers

What are you listening to right now?
Kailash Kher's song - Saiyyan

What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Hari Chandana is one of the youngest food bloggers I’ve known. She’s very enthusiastic and has shared some authentic recipes. She’s an amazing artist too. As a person she seems to have an aura of happiness :)

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Dehradun/Shimla

What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Cotton Tees, Jeans, cotton chudidars, facial wet tissues, hankies

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Dehradun/ Mussorie/Darjeeling/ Mount.Abu/Shimla….. Himalayas

Which language do you want to learn?
Would sound weird ;) I have this fascination to communicate with animals and birds :)

What’s your favourite quote?
I’m not sure if it’s a quote ….these are the magical lines which keeps me going :)
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cant change;
The courage to change the things I can…And
The Wisdom to know the difference.

Who do you want to meet right now?
Guruji Shri Shri Ravi Shankar

What is your favourite colour?
BLUE, pink, yellow, maroon.

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?
Jeans, all T-shirts

What is your dream job?
Would like to render service to an animal rescue centre and old age home

What’s your favourite magazine?
Good Housekeeping, Prevention, Femina

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
At the moment nothing ;)

What do you consider a fashion faux pas? (Faux pas mean error in etiquette.. )
Bindi with jeans/trousers
Not being comfortable in what u r wearing

Who are your style icons?
None

Describe your personal style?
Simple

What are your favourite movies?
Jab We Met, Life is Beautiful, Sound of Music, Jungle book, Sherk

What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?
Kajal/Perfumes/chap stick

What inspires you?
Compassion, Prayers.

What do you try to cook when you have cooking blues (When you feel real lazy to cook some thing)?
I prepare vegetable khichdi :) It’s as simple as fill it (cooker), shut it forget it ;)

Give us three styling tips that always work for you:
Keep it Simple
Mix and Match
On a ‘Bad hair day’ lightly oil your hair or apply combing serum and tie it up

What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?
Never faced this situation ;)

Coffee or tea?
I love tea at any given time of the day. I dont mind coffee too.

What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Read, Listen to music, watch cartoon shows :), call up family/friends

What is the meaning of your name?
Suparna is another name of Goddess Parvati. It is also the name of Lord Vishnu himself. It is one of the many names given to Lord Vishnu’s divine Vehicle Garuda, the eagle. Suparna also means leaf.

Which other blogs you love visiting?
I love visiting all the blogs

Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
Rasagulla.

Favorite Season ?
Rainy season.

Respond and rework – answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. Then tag eight or ten other people.

I am replacing the "Tea or Coffee?" to "What Kitchen gadget would you like to own? Which is the one gadget/utentsil without which you just can’t work?

I would like pass on the awards and tag to:
Sushma Mallya
K
Usha
Varunavi
Rajeshwari
Nithya Praveen
Viki
Smitha
Chitra
Vani
Parita
Srilakshmi
Shri

Please accept these awards ladies :) and keep the chain going :)

A wonderful Award :)

Hema, Smitha, Ammu, Sushma Mallya, Srilakshmi, Shri and Chitra have generously passed on the award ‘Kreativ Blogger’ to me. I whole heartedly thank you for considering me for this award. It’s a huge encouragement …and it’s fulfilling feeling to share and encourage.

This award comes with the following rules:

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers (it’s tough as all are creative in their own way :))
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated

Now coming to the 7 things about me…
1.Lizards scare me to death :) If I happen to see lizards I get nightmares and wake up screaming for days….
2.I love kids and their innocent questions :) so I chose to be a Montessorian
3.I am a big movie buff :), I love music and listen to it even when cooking (I feel I cook better that way).
4.I love to read short stories by Indian authors. The simplicity of language and expression is unmatched. I love reading childrens’ books like comics, chandamama, folkstories, Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, etc.
5.I am a religious person. I start my day with an elaborate puja including chanting several mantras.
6.I am a good mimic but my performances are reserved for my husband alone.
7.I love donkeys :)….LOL ya that’s true, they are such lovely creatures, always underestimated for their work :(. On the way to my weekly temple visit is a washer men’s colony. They tie their donkeys outside their houses. Their innocent looks and beautiful eyes are so cute. I love to click their pictures :)

I would love to pass it on to many more than just 7 friends including the ones who have passed on the award to me :) but as they have already been nominated I’d like to pass it on to some more of my lovely Kreativ friends. Instead of 7 nominations I would like to make it 10 so here they are:

1. Aquadaze
2. Ann
3. Sadhana and Muskan
4. Priya
5. Sangeeta
6. LG
7. Gita
8. Deesha
9. Sushma
10. Priti