Reaching Out

What I have here is a Shadow reflection of my hand in the water standing on our cemented tiles in the backyard!…the texture of the concrete tiles is what give this picture a distorted appearance.I liked the tree branches popping in on the right but wanted to avoid the water pipe on my left , unfortunately, trying to take a picture of my own reflection without getting the other objects in the frame turned out to be hard. The abstract quality of the picture is what pleased me.

Different Facets of Dew Drops

I am very particular about my subject...and hence it is very rarely that you will see me roaming around searching for something to take a picture of...but this morning a casual visit to the backyard helped me meet my subject....it was lying in front of my eyes...waiting to be captured...a beautiful pressed leaf with dew drops sitting on it...as if a few crystal pearls were balancing on the surface just to catch my eyes...I couldn't wait...I ran in to get my hubbys camera and got some pictures!..

Windows Live Writer!...Im lovin it!!

My husbands New Year present turned out pretty good. A lenovo Laptop was not something I had in mind, I mean for that matter I was not expecting anything, May be that is why it turned out this good.....anyways I have been more active on the blogging front now...watching TV, cooking, cleaning and blogging...pheww...multitasking big time!...and I just cant stop admiring this tool Windows 7 has...its called Windows Live Writer...and its amazing how it works...I have configured it to my blog and I type the matter on it and click publish!...Voila!...in a matter of seconds my matter is published on my blog. It not only saves a copy of every blog that I write, it has features to add pictures, videos and links and even photo albums. Best of all it gives you the ability(limited, not like your other photo processing and editing tools) to edit pictures as you insert them, including the ability to watermark them....Cool ha!

Pav Bhaji

The way to man’s heart is through his stomach and that is precisely why I prepare this dish very often. Very popular among Mumbaites, this dish is also a hit with my husband. Growing up in Mumbai, he loved eating dishes like Pav Bhaji, vada pav, bhel etc. Though I am personally not a big fan of this dish, I enjoy it when well made. One of the tricks to making good Pav Bhaji is getting the (masala Pav Bhaji Powder) from Mumbai(ask your friends/relatives who live in Mumbai or are making a visit to the city). I learnt this particular dish from my mother- in-law. She is very good at preparing it, but thanks to her I get one of the best Pav Bhaji Masalas from India. So lets see how this goes…..

Ingredients:

A pack of Pav (Indian Bun)- available at most Indian grocery stores ( breakfast rolls can also be used as a substitute in absence of Pav)

3-4 medium sized potatoes (boiled and mashed)

2-3 tsp cooking oil

2-3 Tomatoes finely chopped

1 big onion finely chopped

2-3 green chilies finely chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1-2 tsp Pav bhaji Masala( available at most Indian stores)

1/2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp Lemon Juice

little coriander leaves for flavor

salt to taste

( can add veggies like carrots, peas and green bell pepper to add more nutritious value to the dish)

Method:

For the Bhaji(Gravy):

Boil the potatoes and mash them well. In another pan, heat some oil. Then add the onions first and sauté them till they turn golden , now add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell of the paste disappears. Now add the tomatoes, green chilies and fry again for some time, till the tomato cooks well and a puree like consistency is formed. You can add some salt at this stage. It will help in cooking the tomatoes much faster. Next Add all the dry spice powder and add some water and cook. Now add the mashed potatoes and try to mash the gravy as you stir, the potatoes and tomatoes should be mashed well by now and should form a think pureed gravy. Add more bhaji masala if needed at this stage. Once it is almost done add some butter and simmer for sometime till the butter melts and blends well with the gravy. Now turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and Coriander leaves and mix.

Pav( Indian Bun):

Take a flat bottomed pan and heat it. Cut the Pav in half, starting from the white sides of the pav any which way you like. Now smear some butter on the pan(or you could just use a few drops of oil) and toast the pav on both the sides. Serve hot pav with some Hot bhaji(gravy/dip).

for some extra flavor sprinkle some finely cut onion and a few drops of lemon juice on top of the Bhaji. Enjoy Mumbai Ishtyle Pav Bhaji!!!!!

Rava (Semolina/Sooji) Vadas

During my college days I hardly entered the Kitchen….it was one of those things….Mom thought that I had to do what I had to do in college , study and hang out with friends.

My Mom is an amazing cook…during her healthy days, she was known for her cooking skills…You name it and she can make it…her recipe diary is going to be my inheritance from her…she would throw these huge parties for 30-40 people at home…and then plan her menu so delicately keeping in mind every guest…it was just plain fun watching her do all this.Knowing her…everyone wondered what I would do,after marriage…would I turn out to be like her…ha  ha…I still do not know…but from what Iv heard…some of her cooking skills have rubbed off on me…though I consider myself a novice in this area.

I love to cook but more than that I love to experiment and I study my guests well before they come in order to make sure they don't just eat, but enjoy their meal well.

One of my snacks that is always a hit with my guests is the Sooji Vada. I got this recipe from Mom…but when compared I still don't think it turns out as well as hers,but there is no harm in trying , is there?

I have decided to add recipes to my blog, may by be this will be my recipe guide some day .Will also create a new blog for it later on…but for now….lets serve up some hot vadas.Amma this one is for you ;)

 

Ingredients:

Medium Sized Potatoes 4-5

Sooji/ Coarse Semolina  2 cups

Plain yogurt- 1 tbsp

Hing/asafetida- a pinch(optional)

Curry leaves, Coriander/Cilantro leaves, Green chilies- finely chopped

Finely grated coconut- 1 tsp (optional)

Salt to taste

Method:

Boil the potatoes and mash them. Now add the Semolina, remember, the semolina should be equal or more in quantity to the mashed potatoes. Too much potatoes and less semolina can result in the vadas absorbing excessive oil. Now add all the other ingredients and mix to form a batter adding little water, enough for the vadas to take a firm shape. Too much water can lead to two things, one, you will not be able to give the vadas a firm consistency, two, again it will absorb a lot of oil. Keep aside for 20-30 minutes.

Now heat some oil in a pan for frying, when ready fry the vadas till they turn golden brown in color, always fry in medium high heat setting to make sure the vadas get cooked inside as well as outside. If the batter sticks to your hand as you drop it in the hot oil, you can wet your hands very lightly before making balls.

Can enjoy it as is or like I recently learnt that it tastes very good with some green mint chutney too, thanks to Abhi!