mayurisjikoni

Happy Father's Day     A lot of importance, praise, appreciation, love and thought goes into celebrating Mother's Day. However, I feel that Father's Day has definitely drawn the short straw! It comes, cards are exchanged, gifts are bought and Father's Day is over. I feel that dads, papas, fathers, aboos, all over the world are less appreciated. I know my dad didn't help my mum to change nappies, bathe us, clothe us when we were young but he did so many other things for us(my brother, sister and me).    From what I gather, I always cried when my dad would come home for lunch even though I fed before his arrival.  So while having his lunch with his right hand, his left hand would be busy pulling the string to my hammock like 'godiyu' so that I may fall asleep.  My dad had protected us and provided us with whatever we required for our daily lives, right from school stuff to things we need at home. He protected us to the extend that we didn'...

I did it my way!      Badshahi Khichdi is a humble khichdi that is turned into a more satisfying and delicious dish that is fit for a king. Not that the simple khichdi is not tasty. Basically this khichdi is made using split pigeon pea (toor, tuvar dal) and rice. The khichdi has some added vegetables mainly potatoes and brinjals(eggplants) and is tempered using onion, garlic, ginger, chillis and spices. However, I made this khichdi my way. I have tried to give it a more 'royal' appeal by stuffing the potatoes and brinjals with spices, chickpea flour and peanuts. This khichdi is usually served with spiced up yogurt, but since my preparation already has quite a few spices, I decided to serve it with plain yogurt. You may served it with spiced or tempered yogurt if you wish.      For our 44th #FoodieMonday#Bloghop theme,we decided to make a dish using Indian spices. So I decided to use my version of Gujarati Garam Masala for our #IndianSpicesSorted theme. Wha...

Anytime is bhajia time    During my visit to Dubai, I was fortunate enough to meet up with two fellow bloggers, Rafeeda, blogger at The Big Sweet Tooth  and Huma of Gheza e Shiriin whom I have known through blogging for a couple of years now. I was super excited as I was meeting fellow bloggers for the first time. These two ladies are so friendly and we chatted away till eventually I had to leave as my family was waiting for me. Wish we could have had more time together. When we met, it didn't even feel as though I was meeting them for the first time. It felt like I've known them for years. I can never forget that when I was new to the blogging world, Huma was the first one to invite me to be a guest on her blog. I was on the top of the world and so thrilled. Rafeeda has always been there to answer questions about blogging and suggestions in groups that we are a part of without hesitation. Hoping that this meeting will develop into a strong friendship. As I keep on mentio...

Amazing dal         Visits to India means eating out. While I still have to acquire a taste for most of the fusion food, like chinese dosa, served with sweet and sour sauce and all that, I do love eating the more traditional food and street food. My daughter's friend suggested we go to Nagarjuna, an Andhra restaurant in Bangalore. Kobe, a sizzler place directly opposite sounded a better option. However, I am so glad we went to Nagarjuna. The food was so delicious and its the first time I had a meal on a banana leaf. I've had food on the dried leaf plates and bowls but not on a fresh green banana leaf. I went for the traditional south indian thali. Dal, sabji, a mountain of rice, papad, yogurt, lassi, pickles and payasam. What I really liked was the palak dal. When we went the second time round, I tried another dish but we also ordered the palak dal. Since then I was itching to try out the dal at home and yes I did. Since then it has entered my weekly menu. Love the f...

Not Like Patel Samaj       Patel Samaj in Mombasa is very famous for its Khichdi, kadhi and shaak. The shaak or vegetable is made of potatoes and brinjals. The khichdi is made of rice and tuvar dal (split pigeon pea lentils). Its the most yummiest I have ever tasted. 30 years in Mombasa and the khichdi still tastes the same. Food cooked for the community always tastes the best. The whole meal is usually made by the men. Patel Samaj does have at least 4 to 6 khichdi programs every year. It usually takes place on a Sunday at lunch time. After the heavy meal, one wants to just take a siesta. Good way to spend a Sunday. The khichdi is usually a bit gooey with loads and loads of ghee. A kachumbar (salad)  made of onions, cucumber, tomatoes, cabbage and a dressing is served with the khichdi. Today I am going to share the recipe for tuvar dal khichdi and it is not like the Patel Samaj one. If you want to make it like Patel Samaj then you need to use lots of ghee or come dow...