mayurisjikoni

Assam - The Red River State    November is when the Shhh Cooking Secretly Group visited Assam. Assam is a state in the North East of India. Its strategic location makes it the 'Gateway to the Seven Sister States of North East India'. Assam's history goes way back to the ancient times, having been mentioned in the Mahabharata, was known as Asham during Aurangzeb's time and the British developed the tea estates  during the British Rule. Assam is well known for its flora and fauna and the famous tea estates. Assam itself has nearly 500 varieties of orchids. Its also known as the state of the  Red River due to the presence of the Brahmaputra. Its a state rich in culture and traditions. Coming to the Assamese Cuisine, Assamese are by and large non vegetarians. The staple food is rice. Their food is not too spicy or oily but is still rich in taste. They make use of naturally growing herbs and vegetables which is used in making fish and meat dishes. Most of the dishes prep...

Healthy Greens     "I believe that the only true religion consists of having a good heart". By Dalai Lama    A friend sent me this on WhatsApp and it got me thinking.  All religions basically want you to be good, forgiving, compassionate, loving, humble. If one follows some of this principals then that equates to a good heart. However, in reality we all are human beings and falter somewhere or the other. We all want to be the best or good. Achieving this goodness is difficult. It does not come to you automatically. One has to really work hard at it, be mindful and practice being good. Yes, practice. Practice not to do harmful things. Practice not to say hurtful words. Practice not to get angry. Practice not to hurt someone's feeling. Practice not to be disrespectful to another human being. Practice to care for someone. If one is able to keep these principals in mind and practice it everyday step by step, the heart feels good, content. Automatically you feel good...

Amaranth Flatbread#BreadBakers Healthy Start  Happy New Year to all the members of the wonderful, wonderful group Bread Bakers. I'm so glad to be part of a group where we learn so much about not only different breads and techniques but get to know each member more through their blogs, culture and festivals.   Pavani of Cook's Hideout wanted us to begin the new year with some healthy breads. A great theme Pavani, can't wait to check out what other participants have baked. I decided to use amaranth as my healthy ingredient. I made Amaranth Flatbread for the first time and it turned out so good. I'll probably use that as a pizza base or make a focaccia next time. I made an apple salsa to go with the flatbread and the family enjoyed it as a starter with some wine.   Amaranth is not a grain but rather a grain like seed. We use the green leaves to make curry or a dry vegetable coupled with egg plant or lentils. Amaranth or rajgira as its known in Hindi is used to prepare fo...

Navratri celebrations      Its amazing how different states of India celebrate Navratri. Some with poojas and havans, some by laying out different types of miniature dolls depicting the Gods, demi Gods, animals and people. For Gujaratis its all about garbas and dandiya raas. I miss the small familiar community celebration that takes place every year at the Patel Samaj in Mombasa. This year I'm in Bangalore.     Years back when I was in Bangalore with my daughter, Navratri passed by without much happening. The highlight was a pooja in our society Club house and then Dussera celebration. However, Navratri celebrations have taken on a whole new meaning. As HSR Layout gets more developed, we saw lots of decorations and more temples celebrating the festival. A Durga ma pandal and the whole street was lit up making the area look so beautiful and festive. We've just moved to a new home and the society had organised a garba night on Saturday. Chaats and sweets were serv...

MULTI GRAIN GARLIC NAAN#BREAD BAKERS       A healthy take on naan   As much as we all love naan with our curries, naan is made from refined flour (plain flour, all purpose flour) which is not that healthy. During the process of refining the flour, the husk and bran, the most nutritious part of the wheat grain and rich in fiber is removed. What is left the white part which is carbohydrate, without any vitamins or minerals. Bleaching chemicals are used to make the flour more white. Consuming white flour on a regular basis along with sugar is bad for the body. Weight gain, insulin resistance and diabetes may result in over consumption of white flour. In order to enjoy naan but in a more healthy way, I make it using multi grain flour. I make my own mixture at home as we don't get it in the shops here. I use about 8 different grains to make my multi grained flour. I use this flour daily for rotis and parathas. The recipe for the multi grain is given below . When Karen of ...

Ekadashi     Once in a while Ekadashi dates confuse all the Hindus. One such Ekadashi is the Devshayani Ekadashi which was on 8th and 9th July this year.Some observed the fasting on 8th and some on the 9th. Shayani literally means sleeping. Its believed that on this Maha Ekadashi ( great eleventh), Devpodhi or Devshayani Ekadashi Vishnu falls asleep on the Sheshnag (cosmic serpent) in the cosmic ocean of milk. Its believed that Vishnu sleeps during the four holy months of Chaturmas. This holy period coincides with the rainy season. It also signifies the beginning of penance, rituals, poojas, parikramas and making a conscious effort to advance oneself in the religion aspect. That does not mean that during the rest of the year, one does not practice all this. Its just that more attention is given towards religious progress. To read more about this Ekadashi go to this site .    Fasting is a way to discipline the body and mind. It will take me a while to discipline both...