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...

MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON -SEPT 2017 #80TH BLOGGING MARATHON THEME: PROTEIN RICH DISHES DAY:23    I t is believed that there is no super food in the Indian cuisine like sattu. What is sattu? Sattu is simply flour made from roasted chickpeas (brown ones) or chana as we know it. Its different from besan atta. Besan atta is made from raw chana dal whereas sattu is made from roasted ones. When protein powders were not available or made, olden time wrestlers, soldiers and body builders would have a glass of sattu mixed in water. Sattu is very rich in protein, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium and a good source of carbohydrates too. Sattu drink is famous during the hot summer days as it not only refreshes the body but energizes you. Sattu is good for kids, elderly people and pregnant women too. In some parts of India sattu is made from roasted barley, millet or corn.     I love this amazing energy packed powder. It can be used in ladoos, to stuff littis for litti chok...

Venturing out to try something different    Yes, its Monday (so soon) and can you believe it we are into the 6th week of the 2017. Time flies. For our 78th theme on #FoodieMonday #Bloghop we decided to go regional with #RegionalCuisine. As soon as the theme was decided I knew I wanted to try out a cuisine that I've never done before. So it had to be the Eastern part of India. I guess having made baked yogurt and rasmalai doesn't really count. I decided on Litti Chokha from the state of Bihar. Well, some say that its also from Uttar Pradesh. What made me choose Litti Chokha? Two reasons, one being that my son in law is from that state, well now Jharkand which was a part of Bihar once upon a time and my neighbour Priya as she comes from UP and makes litti chokha.          What is Litti Chokha? Well, its a traditional snack from the state of Bihar. The litti is made from wheat and stuffed with a filling (pitthi) and roasted over coal, cow dung or ...