mayurisjikoni

Kemcho? Avo maare gher. ( How are you? Welcome to my home)    March was when the Shhh Cooking Secretly group (started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes ) ventured out to cook some Gujju (Gujarati) food. The general misconception is that Gujarati food is sweet. Yes we do use sugar and jaggery but it has to be a balance of both sweet and sour. Modern times with much health awareness, many Gujarati homes do not use sugar or jaggery in their daily cooking.     The land of Lions and Legends has countless varieties of dishes. As a Gujarati I can make out from which region the food has originated. For example kadhi made by Patel Community maybe so different in taste and texture from the one made by a Shah. Besides the slight variations, Gujaratis are so proud of their ever popular snacks. Some snacks prepared are steamed like dhokra , muthias , arvi na paan, khichdi to name a few. Khandvi batter is cooked with no oil. Oil is used to smear on the surface to spread ...

BM#85 MAIN COURSE WITH GRAVY OR RICE        What constantly baffles me is when people who usually prepare meat and fish dishes cannot think beyond simple potato curry for vegetarian options or a simple pea pulao for rice options. I'm seriously hoping that all die hard non vegetarians will think of vegetarian world beyond potatoes.    When you're a member of a group like Blogging Marathon, there can never be a shortage of new dishes, new ideas or a twist to any dish. For the BM#85 one of the themes that members could choose was MAIN COURSE WITH GRAVY OR RICE . Indian Cuisine definitely does not have a shortage of how many types or styles of gravies or curries one can serve to Vegetarians. Simple potato curry to more exotic koftas can grace the table for lunch or dinner. Neither is there a shortage of the styles of rice one can prepare, right from the simple and humble jeera rice to an elaborate biryani.    For the #85 BM theme, we had 32 dishes whi...

Delicious Dumplings    A visit to Phoenix Mall, Bangalore is like a dazzling visit to Fairyland. Only thing is that nothing is free, you need oodles of money to buy whatever you want. I remember when I was studying in India in the 70s, nothing much was available and relatives and friends would have a long list of things they'd want us to bring for them from Kenya. Tables have turned, everything is available in India right from Rin soap to Audis. For a girl who comes from the supposedly second biggest city in Kenya, the malls are like paradise for me. Visiting Foodland is a foodie's dream but unfortunately everything from lettuce to wheat pasta is overpriced. Eating healthy is an expensive habit. Wonder why?? Healthy foods should be pocket friendly. Anyway we can argue about food prices world wide endlessly and get nowhere. Lets face it food is expensive.    Daughter and I were at the mall to catch a movie. Have you seen what PVR charges for popcorns??? For a handful ...

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...

MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON -SEPT 2017/SHH COOKING SECRETLY #80TH BLOGGING MARATHON THEME: PROTEIN RICH DISHES/ANDHRA PRADESH CUISINE DAY:25    Here's another recipe that I've combined for 2 different themes. Last for this event, promise;) Well, has to be as we are nearly coming to the end of our Protein Rich Dishes for the Mega Blogging Marathon. The other group that I'm presenting this recipe to is Shhh Cooking Secretly , started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes . From the month of September, the group is traveling round India state wise. No we're not on an actual journey (but that does sound good) but we're going to cook from different States of India. The first one is Andhra Pradesh. When Shobha Keshwani suggested this theme I was really excited as this will give me the opportunity to discover what each state is famous for. I no longer will associate South Indian cuisine as being the same in the south. There are variations depending on the States.    One th...