Today is Twosday

(Drumroll............)
Two years back, on this very day, I sat in front of this computer, and without much thought, started this blog. Seriously, I didn't even think hard about a name...I just typed in the first name that came to my mind and then went on to my first post. It's amazing how spontaneous those actions and words were.....these days, I edit and re-edit and then edit some more before I hit the Publish button.
Blogging has been a lot of fun.....It's changed me from someone who knew to cook exactly three dishes(sambar, rasam and tomato rice) to someone who can actually write about Banana raisin muffins and Mango bread (or was it marriage???)
For the first time since I started blogging, I came face to face with several fellow bloggers a few months back. That added a whole new dimension to this pass time because I now have faces to associate with the thoughts that I read. Speaking of fellow bloggers, I love reading all your comments....thrive on them, in fact. So, do keep reading and do keep those comments coming.
As for me, I am going to celebrate my blog's birthday by ordering take-away :-))

Spring onion and peas pulao

Spring onions are my latest craze...I mean, I've always liked spring onions....but of late, I've started adding it to a lot of dishes that I cook. The latest experiment in this series has been this pulao.

What you need:
Rice - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Spring onions - 1 bunch, washed and chopped(including the leaves)
Green peas - 1/2 cup
Salt
Cinnamon - a small piece
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 3
Green chilli - 2

Powder the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Take a large microwaveable bowl and heat the powdered spices along with a tsp of oil on high heat for 1 minute. Add the green chillies and chopped spring onions and heat for another 3 minutes or until the onions just start to brown.
Add the rest of the ingredients, stir well and cook for 8 minutes at 800 watts and then for another 4 minutes at 650 watts.
Let it stand for two minutes. Gently fluff with a fork.
Serve hot with any raita of your choice/pickle/chips.

Summer goodies #3 - Pavakka vathal

The title has probably made you wonder why Iam still talking about summer. Well, if you don't know it already, it's almost always summer in Chennai. A few unseasonal showers did give us some days of respite, but it is now back to the heat that Iam slowly but not very successfully beginning to learn to ignore.
Two hot summer noons is all that it took for these bittergourd slices to be dried to a crisp.

Here's what you need:
Bittergourd - 3 large ones
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste (add more salt than you normally would for curries)
Water - enough to cover the bittergourd

Chop the bittergourd into medium sized circles and remove the seeds and pith.
Add turmeric, salt, water and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until the water just starts to boil. The bittergourd should not get cooked.
Leave it alone for about 20-25 minutes so that the salt gets absorbed.
Drain off all the water.
Spread on a plastic sheet and dry in the sun until all the moisture evaporates and the gourd becomes hard to the touch.
To use, heat some oil in a pan and deep fry a handful of the dried bittergourd and serve as an accompaniment with rice.

Check out my Summer goodies #1 - Ela vadam and #2 - Microwave mango thokku.

Green peas and fenugreek leaves curry

Fenugreek (methi in Hindi, uluva in Malayalam, Menthyam in Tamil) makes a frequent appearance in Indian cuisine both as a herb and a spice. It has a characteristic odour and a slightly bitter taste. In my home, the seeds soaked in curd/buttermilk are used as a digestive aid and to cure an upset stomach. The seeds are also said to boost milk production in lactating mothers.
The curry that I have here today is a very simple yet flavourful preparation that goes well with rotis. The peas have been added to balance out the bitterness of the methi leaves. You can choose to leave them out.

What you need:
Fresh fenugreek leaves - 1 cup, chopped
Green peas - 1/2 cup (raw, cooked or semi-cooked)
Tomato -1
Onion - 2 medium sized
Ginger - a small piece
Garlic - 3 cloves
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Sugar - 1 tsp (optional)
Oil - 1 tsp

Add some salt to the chopped fenugreek leaves. Mix well and set aside.
Puree the tomato, onion, ginger and garlic.
Heat a tsp of oil. Add the puree to it and boil until the raw smell goes off.
Add salt, sugar, garam masala, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder. Mix well.
Stir in the peas. If you are using raw or semi-cooked peas, add some water and boil until the peas are cooked but not mushy.
Squeeze all the water out of the fenugreek leaves and stir it into the curry. Boil for 3-4 minutes or until the leaves just start to wilt.
Serve hot with rotis.
This is my entry to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

If anyone out there needs a good example to prove Newton's first law, they don't need to look any further. A little over a week away from the blog, and inertia has slowly but surely set in.
I've been racking my brain thinking of a good recipe for my "after-break" post.....but I keep drawing a blank. It's not that I haven't been cooking. We've actually been cooking up a storm for all the guests we've had over the last week, but there's just not been any time for photos or detailed write-ups. So, this post is going to tell you not about food, but about Me...Me....(thanks to a tag passed on by Medhaa)

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATER?
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?
A Prisoner of Birth

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Snakes & Ladders, Monopoly

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
Femina, Vanitha, Outlook, India Today

5) FAVORITE SMELLS?
Baby soap, baby powder, baby lotion

6) FAVORITE SOUNDS?
The sound of the sea

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Losing someone you love

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Puh....le.....ase.....lemme sleep some more

9) FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
Gangotri in Chennai, Panera Bread in the U.S ( I know Panera is not technically fast food, but its one of the places I really miss)

10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
Not decided....

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’
spend like crazy....

12)DO YOU DRIVE FAST?
Nope Iam a careful driver.....

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Never have, never will....

14)STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
Cool if Iam not caught in one.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
Oldsmobile

16) FAVORITE DRINK?
Grape juice

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
Read, read and then read some more

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yep....donno why so many people hate broccoli

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
Burgundy

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Thrissur, Calicut, Chennai, Jacksonville, Chennai again.

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Hate Sports

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
She writes a lovely blog

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
A clean floor....well, cleanliness really is a matter of perspective, isn't it???

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Sure

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night owl....I can stay up as long as I want to, but waking up is a different story altogether.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Not too fond of eggs....I eat them only if there's absolutely nothing else available.

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
My bed

28) FAVORITE PIE?
I don't have a favourite pie....I can tolerate apple pie but that's about it....

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Vanilla

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Not sure...

Medhaa has also been kind enough to pass on the Inspiration Award. She says it is for bloggers whose stories and recipes inspire us. Whether it’s to eat healthier, dive back into our past to conjure up something we ate as children, or just make the light bulbs in our brains go on with a new idea for a recipe. Thank you, dear.

Red spinach parathas

Red spinach is in a class of its own. Its taste (at least according to me) is unmatched by that of any other leafy green. These parathas that I've made have been stuffed with red cheera thoran (stir fried red spinach).

Parathas, curd rice and carrot raita

To make cheera thoran you need:
Red spinach - 1 bunch, washed and chopped fine
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds to it. When the seeds pop, stir in the chopped spinach and salt. Stir and cook covered until the leaves wilt and all the moisture is absorbed.

To make parathas u need:
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt
Warm water - as needed
Oil - a little

Knead all the ingredients together along with the cheera thoran to make a smooth, pliable dough. Let it rest for a few hours.
Tear out tennis ball sized pieces of dough and roll them out into thick circles. Fold the circle into half and roll out again. Repeat the process once more so you have a neat triangle.
Cook on a tawa drizzling a little oil/ghee over it if you'd like.

Serve hot with raita and pickle.

Notes: If you are serving the thoran with rice, season the oil with some urad dal and split red chillies along with the mustard seeds. Also add some fresh grated coconut to the thoran.

Off this goes to be a part of Srivalli's Roti Mela.

Summer goodies #2 - Microwave mango thokku

First off, I've got to tell all the Chennaiwasis that there's this new Italian restaurant you absolutely must try.....Osteria is at the Deccan Plaza in Royapettah High Road. Their food, ambience, service....everything is absolutely great.
The Samosa Factory in Anna Nagar is good too.....it's at the beginning of Shanti Colony....and is so small that you're likely to miss it unless you're looking for it.....but it definitely is something you should try out. They have lovely street style cocktail samosas with a crisp, dark brown outer layer.
I gorged on these during the weekend and also watched the new Indy Jones movie. If you are an Indy fan (like me), you will enjoy the movie. Like all the other movies in the series, this too is an edge-of-the-seat entertainer......definitely not the best Indy movie.....but fun all the same.

Okey....dokey......let's now switch on the microwave and make some thokku.....

What you need:

Large unripe mango - 2
Red chilli powder - 2 heaped tsp (adjust to your taste)
Salt
Oil - 8 tsp
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Jaggery - a small piece (optional)

Peel mangoes and then cut them into thin, uneven slices.
Pour the oil into a microwave safe bowl, add mustard seeds, cover and microwave for 2 minutes or until the seeds pop.
Add all the other ingredients....mix well and microwave on high power for 8 minutes. Do check on the mangoes halfway through and stir so that it gets cooked evenly. Crush lightly with a ladle. I like mine with a few chunks in it.
This stays good in the refrigerator for upto 10 days.

I'd like to thank:
Happy Cook for giving me the Rocking Girl Blogger Award
Jayasree for passing on the You Make My Day Award.

This is my entry to Srivalli's MEC Bottled.
Check out my Summer goodies #1 - Ela vadam