mayurisjikoni

A Himachali Curry Theme: Main Course with Gravy/Rice BM#85 Week 2 Day 2    The whole of India has so many varieties of curries that its really unbelievable. I'm guessing that if we tried out all the curries we'd probably need more than 200 days! Each variety then has a variation from state to state, region to region and home to home. As I keep on visiting other bloggers sites, I come across so many varieties that my bookmarked list is just getting too long.     Recently, for another group (Shhh Cooking Secretly) we had Himachali Cuisine as the theme and that's where I came across this wonderful curry made from two main ingredients, chickpeas and yogurt. I wanted to make this curry but the ingredients I was given made me choose another recipe. When I chose the main course with gravy or rice for this group, I knew that this curry would be one of them that I would surely try out. I am so glad that I did as I love anything that is yogurt based. Addition of simple ba...

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread#BreadBakers Breads with Preferments    When Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories  announced breads with levain, I was excited. Here was a theme that was going to push me to make my own sourdough starter. We were allowed to use other starters like biga, poolish, soakers, tangzhong etc. I left those options if only I failed with the sourdough.    Last year my brother in law from Nairobi had given me a bit of the starter from his batch. I brought it back to Mombasa and fed it till it was nice and bubbly. I tried making a sourdough bread and the mass of dough was just too unmanageable for me. The bread failed in a big (major!) way. The sourdough went into the fridge and stayed there for a few days. Took it out and used it a bit for pancakes.    After that it was forgotten! When I came back from India, of course I had to throw it away. A recent trip to Montreal and enjoying all the variety of sourdough breads was convincing enoug...

Coconut and Rum Theme: Surfing Through The Caribbeans BM #81- Week 1 Day 3    A Caribbean cuisine theme would be incomplete without a Jamaican dish. Whenever one mentions the Caribbean, Jamaica is what pops up in my mind and I hear its one of the few countries where a Kenyan passport holder can go to without prearranged visa :) A country that has a diverse population, the indigenous tribe, Africans, Indians, Europeans and Chinese. Under the Spanish rule it was called Santiago but after the British took over, they named it Jamaica. Some famous Jamaicans are Bob Marley, the reggae musician, Usain Bolt the sprinter, Chris Gayle cricketeer who plays for West Indies are a few I know of. Ian Fleming writer of James Bond novels, lived in Jamaica and used the island as a setting in his novels.    Jamaica is well known for its sugar, rum, coffee and yams. It is also famous for its jerk spice. Like the other Caribbean islands, the cuisine had a strong influence from the indige...

My favourite Country   When Anshie, blogger at Spice Roots  asked members of Bread Bakers  group to bake breads from Italy as the April theme, I was really excited. I love the country and Italian breads with all that olive oil, roasted tomatoes, cheese, bell peppers. I've been wanting to try out panettone for such a long time, so I got the opportunity to bake it for this theme.          Panettone bread is usually baked as a Christmas breakfast or dessert treat in Italy. Full of fruit and wonderful aroma of orange, its suppose to like a cake but with yeast. Panettone means pane de tono--- bread of luxury.Its believed that this rich Italian bread has originated from Milan. When yeast was considered a luxury item, this bread was baked only during important religious events.          Original panettone making process is long where the dough is allowed to proof for several days which adds to the fluffy texture. Fruits added to ...

IRISH FRECKLE BREAD#BREADBAKERS HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY       Isn't it wonderful to be part of cooking groups where one can learn not only about cooking about also about different cultures and festivals. So,though I've heard about St. Patrick's Day and know that the Irish celebrate it, I've till today never really bothered to find out what the festival is all about. So there I was sitting at the computer and asking Mr. Google all the hows and whys of this festival.      So my understanding is that St.Patrick's Day is celebrated by the Irish world over on 17th March every year.St.Patrick the patron saint of Ireland died on 17th March.He was not Irish but came from Britain. He was kidnapped by Irish raiders and lived in captivity for 6 years. He went back to Britain and came back to Ireland to preach Christianity.What began as a religious feast day in the 17th Century has evolved into a celebration of the Irish culture globally with parades, special music...