Guest Post - 57 : Raw Jackfruit Dum Biriyani - A Special Recipe for International Women's Day From Bharati

Happy Women's Day To All of You Dear Friends! 

Today, I am with a guest post from my sister Bharati. She is the one who gave her Fruit Halwa recipe & Interview for my guest post series started in 2010 March. You can read her interview here. Some of her recipes in this blog are Aapam - Thenga Pal & Coconut Milk Noodles .

Ingredients :

To Cook Raw JackFruit :

1. Raw JackFruit 

2. Turmeric Powder - A Pinch

3. Salt - 1/2 tsp

4. Water - Needed Qty.

Deskin the Raw Jackfruit. Cut into cubes. In a vessel, take water. Add turmeric powder & a little salt. Allow the cut raw jackfruit to cook until soft. Take care, it should not be overcooked. Drain water & let it cool.

For Marinating :

1. Whole spices (cloves, Cinnamon, StarAnise, Maraatti Mokku) - 1 No each

2. Curd - 1/2 Cup

3. Ginger garlic Paste - 2 tsp

4. Green Chillies - 3 Nos (Slit Vertically)

5. Fried onions (fry thinly sliced onions to crispy golden brown) -1 tbsp

6. Red chilly Powder - 1 tsp

7. Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

8. Biriyani Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp 

9. Coriander leaves - 1 tbs 

10. Pudhina leaves - 1 tbs

11. Oil - 1 tbsp

12. Salt - To taste 

Marinate the cooked raw jackfruit with all the given ingredients for marinating. Leave it aside for 2 hrs. 

For Rice :

1. Basmati Rice - 400 gms

2. Water - 750 ml

3. Whole spices – (Cloves, Cinnamon, StarAnise, Maraatti Mokku – each 1 small piece)

4. Fried onions (fry thinly sliced onions to crispy golden brown) - 1/2 Cup 

5. Few Saffron threads mixed in 2 tbsps of milk.

6. Oil - Needed Qty

Procedure :

1. Cook soaked basmasti rice in thick bottomed vessel with a little oil, whole spices & salt. 

2. First remove & drain half of the 40% cooked rice. Spread in a plate. Cook the remaining rice to 60% & drain. Spread this in another plate. 

3. Take a big wide mouthed vessel or Biriyani vessel. Spread 2 tbsp of oil at the bottom . 

4. Spread the marinated Raw Jack fruit at the bottom. Top it with 40% cooked rice, fried onions, coriander leaves, a tsp of ghee, a tbsp of saffron mixed milk . 

5. Now, spread 60% cooked rice, fried onions, coriander leaves & a tea spoon of ghee & a tbsp of saffron mixed milk. 

6. Close it with a lid tightly. Paste the rim of the vessel with the chappathi dough.

7. Keep this vessel over a preheated tawa & let the flame be in high for 2 mins, then medium the flame. Above the lid, place some weight like a big vessel filled with water to make dum cooked biriyani. Let it be on the stove for 45 mins. 

8. Remove & keep it as such for another 10 mins. Then remove the lid. You could see a fluffed rice emanating a very nice flavour.

9. Serve hot with raitha.

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Guest Post - 56 : Today's Guest - Yashodha

Today we Yashodha from "Yashodha's Kitchen" is with us. She holds a MCA degree. She is a classical dancer. Her interests are cooking, crocheting, knitting, crafting and decorating. Now let us hear from her..

Nithu's Kitchen : Introduce yourself Yashodha.

Yashodha : I'm Yashodha Anbuchelvan. My official name is Archana. I was born and brought up in Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram) which comes under Nagai district, Tamilnadu. I have finished MCA. 

Nithu's Kichen : What are your interests?

Yashodha : I'm a classical dancer who won lot of prizes and medals in the district and state level inter-college competitions. I was mad of it, but after marriage I'm not practicing. My interests other than cooking are crocheting, knitting, crafting, decorating, etc.

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about your family.

Yashodha : I'm from pure vegetarian family, but I had started non- vegetarian habits from my friends circle. I was in joint family - I, thatha, paatti, Appa, amma, 2 chitthappas , 2 chitthis and 2 brothers. There was no partiality between three of us with our 3 dads and 3moms. Touch wood. We 3 are treated as same until now.   I'm missing my family members.  We couldn't express our love in words.
 I got married on 2008 and came to USA with my soul hero Mahen. I'm grateful to the God and my parents to give such a wonderful, understanding, nice human as my better-half. We are blessed with a cute baby boy. Our prince name is Nandhu who is 2 3/4 years old now. 

Nithu's Kitchen : How did you get into blogging world?

Yashodha : I'm not working, so I thought that I was sitting ideal like useless. It made me depressed. My husband asked me, "Why are you thinking like this. You are working inside the home and I'm working outside the home." though I won't get convinced. As I said earlier, I have crocheted few things. My husband asked me why do not you sell these stuffs. For that purpose I have started crochet blog. I was not satisfied with that blog. I thought of doing something better than crochet blog.  I like to experiment stuffs in my kitchen. All of the sudden, I thought why don't I start blog in cooking. First I was scared, later my husband and my friend Nithya boosted me. With their support, I came to blogging. After I entered to the blogging world, I realized that everyone in this blogging world is very nice.
I have to thank my friends, family members and blogging friends for encouraging me by posting comments. I would like to say my special thanks to my husband for his full support, Nandhu(my son who is also allowing me to do so) and Nithya shankar who is the one always give suggestions to each and everything in my blog. She is not a blogger but reader. 

Nithu's Kitchen : Share us one unforgettable moment in life.

Yashodha : As like most of the girls, I don't know cooking before marriage. But I'm lucky to get nice cook as my husband. I still remember that day, one morning I woke up and was like crying. "Mahen, I want to eat pongal but I don't know how to cook. He said, go, brush and have bath. When I came out from the bathroom, there was pongal and coconut chutney sitting on our dinning table. I thanked him very much and realized his love and care."
Later, I learnt cooking from my husband, moms, paatti, mil and family members. Learning never ends.

Nithu's Kitchen : Do you have any unforgettable cooking experience.

Yashodha : After my marriage, first time I cooked "aracha kuzhambu". For that kuzhambu, main ingredient to thicken the kuzhambu is chana dal. But I forgot to add and the Kuzhambu was watery. Though I did not get any negative comments from my in-laws, my moms kid me for my forgetfulness. Mahen said "Hey Atchu, they don't know how to cook without chana dal. That is why they are kidding you with jealous. Don't hear their words." Even though I didn't cook a tasty meal that day, Mahen's positive words made my moms happy.

Nithu's Kitchen : What recipe do you have today to share with us?

Yashodha : I would like to share "Indian style spicy carrot pancake"

Ingredients :

For carrot curry :

1. Shredded carrot - 3/4 cup

2. Beans - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)

3. Onions - 1/3 cup (finely chopped)

4. Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp

5. Turmeric powder - a pinch

6. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

8. Fennel powder - 1/4 tsp

9. Sugar - 1/4 tsp

10. Salt - as required

11. Oil - 2 1/2 tbs

To grind :

1. Ginger - 1 1/2 inches

2. Garlic - 1 pod (large)

Carrot Curry Preparation :

1. Grind ginger and garlic into a smooth paste.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add onions and salute until it turns golden color.

3. Add ginger garlic paste to the onions. Fry until raw smell goes from ginger garlic paste.

4. Add garam masala and turmeric powder to the onions. Garam masala powder should not get burn. If you need little water, add to the curry.

5. Add lemon juice, red chilli powder, fennel powder, sugar and salt to the mixture. Fry for 1 or 2 minutes in a medium flame. Switch off the stove.

6. Add carrot & beans and mix well.

7. Carrot curry is ready and keep it aside.

For Batter :

1. Besan flour - 1/2 cup

2. Rice flour - 1 tbs

3. Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

4. Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

5. Sugar - 1/2 tsp

6. Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

7. Milk - 1/4 cup

8. Luke warm water - 1/4 cup

9. Oil - 3 tsp

10. Salt - as required

For Garnishing :

Cilantro - 1 or 2 tbs

Batter Preparation :

1. Add besan flour, rice flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix well.

2. Add oil to the luke warm water.

3. Add water and milk slowly to the flour mixture. Mix thoroughly for 1 or 2 minutes to make the smooth batter. There should not be any lumps.

4. Add lemon juice and mix well.

Carrot Pancake Preparation :

1. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F.

2. Grease the pan with oil.

3. Add both carrot curry and batter into a mixture.

4. Pour the mixture into the pan and keep the pan inside the oven for 10 - 15 minutes.

5. Carrot pancake is ready. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Make them into pieces.

6. Carrot pancake is spicy main entree for breakfast/dinner. Serve it with curd and sliced raw carrots.

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you Yashodha for this delicious recipe. It was nice to have you here.

Yashodha : Thank You Nithu.

Friends, If you are interested to be featured as Nithu's Kitchen's Guest, please drop a mail to nithuskitchen[at]gmail[dot]com.

Guest Post : 55 - Today's Guest : Menaga

Today, we have Menaga from Sashiga. Menaga lives in France and holds a Masters degree in Mathematics. She is such a talented person. She is interested in painting, embroidery, tailoring and cooking. She is a Tamil Food Blogger and hence the interview with her is in Tamil. Now, let us hear from her..

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன்: உங்களை பற்றி நம் நண்பர்களுக்கு சொல்லுங்களேன் மேனகா.

மேனகா: நான் கணிதத்தில் முதுகலை பட்டம் பெற்றுள்ளேன். எனக்கு சொந்த ஊர் பாண்டிச்சேரி. எனக்கு பெயிண்டிங், எம்ப்ராய்டரி,ப்ளவுஸ் தைப்பது, புதுவிதமான சமையல் செய்வது ரொம்ப பிடிக்கும்.

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன்: இவ்வளவு திறமையான ஒரு பெண்ணை வலைதள நண்பர்களுக்கு அறிமுகம் செய்வதில் எனக்கு மகிழ்ச்சி. நீங்கள் செய்த பெயிண்டிங் அல்லது எம்ப்ராய்டரி வேலையின் புகைப்படத்தை எங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்து கொள்ளலாமே.

மேனகா: எம்ப்ராய்டரி,பெயிண்டிங் ஒர்க் எல்லாம் இந்தியாவில் அம்மா வீட்டில் வைத்திருக்கேன். அதனால் அவற்றின் புகைப்படங்கள் கைவசம் இல்லை. இப்பொழுதுதான் கொஞ்ச நாட்களாய்,என் கீழ்வீட்டு ப்ரெஞ்சுக்கார பாட்டியிடம் ஸ்வெட்டர் பின்ன கற்றுக் கொண்டிருக்கிறேன். என் மகள் ஷிவானிக்காக பின்னிய உல்லன் குல்லாயின் புகைபடத்தை உங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்து கொள்வதில் எனக்கு மிக்க சந்தோஷம்.

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன்: உல்லன் குல்லாய் மிகவும் அழகாகவும், நேர்த்தியாகவும் உள்ளது மேனகா. உங்களுக்கு வலைப்பூ தொடங்க வேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணம் ஏற்பட்டது எப்படி ?

மேனகா: நன்றி. என் வலைப்பூ சஷிகா-வை நான் தொடங்கியது தற்செயல் என்றே சொல்ல வேண்டும். என் தோழி ஒருவர், வலைப்பூ தொடங்குவது பற்றி கேட்க, எனக்கும் ஆர்வம் ஏற்பட்டு, நானும் சஷிகாவை ஆரம்பித்துவிட்டேன்.

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன்: உங்களுடைய முதல் சமையல் அனுபவத்தை பற்றியும், உங்கள் சமையலின் முதல் ரசிகர் பற்றியும் சொல்லுங்களேன்.

மேனகா: நான் எட்டாவது படிக்கும் போது, முதன்முதலாக ரசம் செய்ய கற்று கொண்டேன். அஞ்சறைப்பெட்டியில் இருக்கும் அனைத்து பொருட்களையும் என் ரசத்தில் பார்க்கலாம்! என் அப்பாதான் என்னுடைய சமையலுக்கு முதல் ரசிகர். நான் செய்யும் ரசத்தை, ரசித்து ருசித்து உண்டுவிட்டு, அருமை,அற்புதம்னு என்று சொல்லி ஊக்கப்படுத்துவார். அவரிடம் இருந்து பெற்ற பாராட்டே எனக்கு சமையலில் ஆர்வத்தை ஏற்படுத்திவிட்டது.

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன் : உங்கள் சுட்டி மகள் ஷிவானி பற்றி சொல்லுங்களேன்.

மேனகா: அவள் இந்த செப்டெம்பரில் தான் பள்ளிக்கு செல்ல போகிறாள். அவளுக்கு இப்பொழுதே உணவு வகைகளின் சுவை எல்லாம் நன்றாக தெரிகிறது. நான் சமைத்த உணவு நன்றாக இல்லையெனில் அவள் சாப்பிடவே மாட்டாள். அதனாலேயே நான் சமைக்கும் போது சற்று கவனம் எடுத்தே செய்கிறேன்!

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன்: உங்கள் வலைப்பூ பற்றிய செய்திகளை முன்னணி பத்திரிகைகளில் பார்த்த நினைவு இருக்கிறது. அது பற்றி சொல்லுங்கள்.

மேனகா: என் வலைப்பூ பற்றி ஆனந்தவிகடன் வரவேற்பறையிலும்,தேவதை,லேடீஸ் ஸ்பெஷல் (ஆசிரியர் கிரிஜாம்மா மற்றும் தேனக்காவிற்கு நன்றி) இதழ்களில் வந்துள்ளது.

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன்: இன்று எங்களுடன் நீங்கள் பகிர்ந்துக் கொள்ள போகும் பலகாரம் என்ன?

மேனகா: இன்று நான் கல்கண்டு வடை/ Sugar Candy(Kalkandu) செய்முறையை பகிர்ந்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.

தேவையான பொருட்கள் :

முழு வெள்ளை உளுந்து - 1 கப், கல்கண்டு - 3/4 கப், எண்ணெய் - பொரிக்க

செய்முறை :

உளுந்தை 3/4 மணிநேரம் ஊறவைத்து, தண்ணீரை வடிகட்டி, தண்ணீர் விடாமல் நன்றாக மைய அரைக்கவும். அரைக்கும் பொழுதே, கல்கண்டு சேர்க்கவும். மாவு தயார் செய்தவுடன், ஒரு வாணலில் எண்ணெய் வைத்து, காய்ந்தவுடன் வடைகளை தட்டி போட்டு, எடுக்கவும். சூடாக பரிமாறவும்.

குறிப்பு: வடையை எண்ணெயில் தட்டி போட்ட, சிறிது நேரத்திலேயே திருப்பிவிடவும் இல்லையெனில் கருகிவிடும்.

நித்துஸ் கிச்சன் : நன்றி மேனகா. உங்களை பற்றியும், உங்கள் வலைப்பூ பற்றியும் எங்களுடன் நீங்கள் பகிர்ந்துக் கொண்டதில் எங்களுக்கு மகிழ்ச்சி.

மேனகா: நன்றி நித்து.

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Guest Post : 54 - Today's Guest : Padhu

Today, we have Padhu from Padhu's Kitchen. She works from home and manages her family and job well. She is a mother of two lovely kids. Now, let us hear from her...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.

Padhu : I am a very creative person, healthy conscious with lot of interest in yoga and a mother of 2 adorable children.

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your hobbies and interest?

Padhu : I am a person with varied interests, which made me venture into various fields like waste management, art & crafts, Beauty, cooking, Yoga, blogging, web designing etc. I started my first website healthbeautytips.net in early 2007 which focuses on how to look gorgeous from head to toe using natural ingredients. I love to do embroidery, painting and gardening in my leisure hours. I have conducted hobby classes for women and children and summer camps for kids. In the below picture, you can see one of my paintings and few soft toys I made.

I am into vermi composting in a small way and have my own composting unit at home. I never use chemical fertilizers or pesticides in my small garden but convert my kitchen waste into manure .I have even published a post on how to change kitchen waste into manure in my website here. I love listening to movie songs and reading self development books. My favourite book is Dale Carnegie “How to influence people and win friends”. I like ethnic Indian clothes and jewelry and love dressing up and going out with my family.

Nithu's Kitchen : How you balance your job and blogging.

Padhu : As I am working from home, I am able to adjust the timings to suit my needs. I always make it a point to spend time with my children when they are back from school.

Nithu's Kitchen : How do you relax yourself?

Padhu : I am an early riser and enjoy my long morning walk. That keeps me fresh and active the whole day. I enjoy listening to melodious movie songs.

Nithu's Kitchen : When did you start to cook? Who taught you the cooking?

Padhu : I started to learn cooking after my engagement from my mom and Perima. I learnt all North Indian dishes from my aunty who has spent a major part of her life in North India.

Nithu's Kitchen : What made you to start a blog and when did you start it? What inspired you to start a blog?

Padhu : I started my blog Padhu's kitchen on July 2009. The whole credit of starting this blog goes to my children. They enjoyed my dishes and appreciated me so much, that in order to please them I stared cooking a variety of dishes. I wanted to maintain an online diary of my recipes, so that it will be useful not only for them but also to others who want to learn cooking and try out new dishes .

Nithu's Kitchen : Who is your best critic?

Padhu : My daughter is my best critic. Only if she gives a thumbs up, will I publish that recipe in the blog.

Nithu's Kitchen : What is your family's favorite food?

Padhu : My family loves all vegetarian Indian food.

Nithu's Kitchen : What cuisine does your blog focus?

Padhu : My blog focuses on Indian Vegetarian food .It also has traditional recipes, festival recipes and cooking basics. I have a special series called “How to” which focuses on cooking basics.

Nithu's Kitchen : What do you have today to share with us and why did you choose this specific recipe?

Padhu : Today, I am going to share Mango rice with all your readers. I chose to share this recipe, as mango is in season now and also it can be done in a jiffy. You can use left over rice also for this.

Ingredients needed :

1. Mango finely chopped – ½ cup

2. Cooked rice -1 ¼ cup

3. Oil -2 tsp

4. Salt as required

For the seasoning

1. Mustard -1/2 tsp

2. Bengal gram -1/2 tsp

3. Urad dal -1/2 tsp

4. Turmeric powder –a pinch

5. Hing – a pinch

6. Green chilli -1

7. Red chilli -1

8. Curry leaves - little

9. Roasted peanuts or cashew nuts – 2 tbsp

Preparation :

1. Cook rice in such a way that each grain is separate. Add a tsp of sesame seed oil and spread it on a plate to cool.

2. Cut mangoes finely or grate them with the skin.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add hing, bengal gram, urad dal, red chilli, green chilli, turmeric powder and curry leaves.

4. Then add finely chopped mango and sauté till it becomes soft. Add needed salt .

5. Mix rice gently to the above. Add roasted peanuts and mix well

6. Serve with papads or chips.

Serves 1

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you so much Padhu. Enjoyed talking to you.

Padhu : Thank you Nithu for giving me the opportunity to be your guest.

Friends, If you are interested to be featured as Nithu's Kitchen's Guest, please drop a mail to nithuskitchen[at]gmail[dot]com.

Guest Post : 53 - Today's Guest : Viji (My Mom) ; Guest Post Series Completes One Year Today

Today, this guest post series completes one year. I started this series on March 8th, 2010 on International Women's Day and my sister was the first guest here. I take this opportunity to thank my sister, mom and all my friends who gave their guest posts and helped me to run this series without any break for the complete one year.

We have my Mom with us today. She was already here once on Mother's Day, 2010. You can read about her here.

She shares a recipe for Plantain Fry (Vazhakkai Varuval) :

Ingredients :

1. Vazhakkai - 2
2. Rice flour - 1/2 Cup
3. Corn Flour - 1 tbs
4. Red chilly powder - 1.5 tbs
5. Salt - Needed qty
6. Oil - to fry

Procedure :

1. Peel and cut plantain in to thick rectangular pieces.
2. Throw both the flour along with red chilly powder and salt on the cut vegetable.
3. Sprinkle some water.
4. Mix them all together.
5. Heat oil and fry till crisp.
6. Serve with rice as side dish or with tea as evening snack.

Guest Post - 52 : Today's Guest - Cooking Foodie

Today, we have Cooking Foodie from 365 days of eating. She is from a Gujarati family. She holds Masters degree in Engineering. Let us hear from her now...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.
Cooking Foodie : Born in a food loving Gujarati family, I grew up on scrumptious meals cooked by my mother. On occasion my father would step into the kitchen to create a masterpiece. Education was important too and I got a Civil Engineering degree from University of Mumbai. Later I came to US to get my Masters degree in Civil Engg. from University of Florida. That is also where I met my husband. US also opened my eyes to a whole new world of food and drink. It was not just Amul cheese and Wills bread but artisanal cheese - more than I can eat and artisinal loaves which I have grown to love, all different textures and tastes. I also started cooking more cuisines here and expanded my knowledge of food and processes.

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your interests?
Cooking Foodie : I love to watch food network and I love to eat out and do so often.

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about your blog.
Cooking Foodie : I started my food blog cookingfoodie.blogspot.com to chronicle my mothers recipes and my own. I crossed a 100 followers and I am thankful to each and everyone of them for their support and encouragement.

Nithu's Kitchen : What was the first dish you made.
Cooking Foodie : I always loved food and my first dish was onion bhajji which I made because I didn't want to eat the roti sabzi mother had made. After that there was no looking back. Everytime I didnt want to eat the food cooked (pretty rare) or planned, I would make something I liked, usually a snack or a non-traditional item.

Nithu's Kitchen : During your early days of cooking, what was your speciality dish.
Cooking Foodie : Pizza's were my specialty back then :)

Nithu's Kitchen : What do you have today to share with us?
Cooking Foodie : Pesto Pasta Salad is a simple summer salad. This salad has simple ingredients and can be made in a jiffy. Some pasta shapes are easier to coat than others, I used farfalle, bow-tie pasta as they are better in this dish. For some saltiness, I use feta cheese which has a bite and goes well with the basil notes of the pesto. Cherry tomatoes are little bombs of flavor. They have the concentrated taste of tomato in each small bite. Buy the snack variety and preferably organic as they will be eaten raw.

Ingredients :

3 cups pasta, bow-tie pasta preferred
1/2 cup basil pesto
1 cup cherry tomatoes, split in half
1/3 cup feta cheese crumbled





In a large pot boil about 9 cups of water till it comes to a rolling boil. Add salt and pasta and cook till al dente. It should take about 8-9 minutes. Drain the pasta, place in a large bowl and add the pesto to it. Toss well to cover evenly. Add the tomatoes and half the cheese and mix well. To serve sprinkle some cheese on top and enjoy!

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you so much.

Cooking Foodie : Thanks Nithu.

Guest Post - 51 : Today's Guest - Preetha

Today, we have Preetha from Preethi Bhojan is here with us. She owns couple of blogs. Now, let us hear from her about her blogs and her interests...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.
Preetha : I am the youngest of 3 siblings, and had all the pampering and the privileges that come with it. I earned a degree in Textile Technology and worked in the apparel export industry for seven years, mostly in Chennai. After my marriage I moved to US, enjoying the life to the fullest with my husband.
Our family is associated with the Shivanjali Trust, and are devotees of its founder Swami Shanthanand Saraswathi.One of the things that I love is the frequent food melas that we conduct at our house to raise funds for the free hospital run by the trust.

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your interests.
Preetha : When working I did not have anytime to think of anything other than my job. Oh yes, I am little workaholic, constantly running behind the export samples from one end of the city to another. Now that I have plenty of time, I started doing simple craft work mainly to keep my little home pretty and to keep myself busy.I am writing all my funny experience and the things I am enjoying here in my other blog, http://funanddreams.blogspot.com

Nithus's Kitchen : How your love for cooking started.
Preetha : I love cooking. In fact, I wanted to join Catering course after school, but ended up doing Engineering course.
When I was in India, although I never cooked a full course meal, me and my sister always help my mom in the kitchen. And My mom never missed an opportunity to cook a feast!
In India, of course we have enough religious occasion at regular intervals, each of which had its own special menu. Whatever cooking I learnt, I learnt by being a sous chef to my mom and aunty when they cook for these occassions.
Thank God, whatever I learnt helped me a lot when I moved to a new world, in-law's house.That's the first time I cooked a full meal,got a good appreciation.

Oct 2009, was the first time, I started to know more about the food blogs. That time I never imagined that I would have my own space. After 6 months of a hotel living, when we moved to an apartment, I was thrilled to have a full size kitchen. Love towards cooking increased a lot. I started exploring the web a lot and tried many new recipes. I then realized that I need to keep a log of the recipes that I was trying out and my experiences with them. That's how Preethibhojan was born.

Nithu's Kitchen : What dish do you have today to share. Why did you select this dish today.
Preetha : I would like share a recipe, which I learnt from my Mom, easy Tomato Sambar. This is one of her special dish, whenever I cook this, always feel that I am missing her. It is the best side dish for Idli and Dosai.This is very easy and quick and does not need any cooked dal.

Ingredients :

Tomato Medium size -- 3 nos
Chilli powder -- as per taste
Salt -- as per taste
coconut (fresh or dried) -- 6-7 tbs

To fry :

Chana Dal -- 2 tbs
Urad Dal -- 2 tbs
Dry corriander seeds -- 2 tsp
Dry chilli -- 4-5 nos *
Oil - 1 tsp

For seasoning :

Mustard seed -- 1tsp
asafoetida - 1tsp
Oil -- 3-4 tsp
Fresh curry leaves and Cilantro -- few
Dry chilli - 2 nos

Method :

1. In a pan add a tsp oil and fry all the 4 ingredients, till the both the chana dal and urud dal turns to golden color.
2. Transfer them to another container and let it cool.
3. In the same pan, add a tsp of oil again and saute the tomatoes for 3 - 4 minutes untill the the tomatoes are tender.
4. Grind the sauted tomatoes in the mixer.
5. Transfer the mixture into a sauce pan and turn the heat to medium. Add a cup of water, chilli powder and salt to taste and bring it to boil.
6. Meanwhile grind the fried mixture, coconut and some water and make a paste.
7. Add this coconut paste mixture to the tomato, and boil it for few minutes.
8. Thats it Yummy Sambar is ready.
9. To add more flavor season the sambar. In a pan, heat the oil add the mustard seeds, once it starts to cracle add the 2 dry chilli, and the asafoetida.
10. Add this mixture to the sambar and garnish with curry leaves and cilantro.

Guest Post - 50 : Today's Guest - Nidhya

Today, we have Nidhya from Aaha-Oho is with us. She worked for a Banking Industry while she was in India. Now, she is settled in US and a happy home maker. Let us hear from her about her blog and her interests now...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.
Nidhya : I am an engineer with MBA in Finance and HR. I worked in the banking industry when I was in India. Here in US, I am a homemaker, as my visa doesn't support any form of work.

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about your blog.
Nidhya : My blog is a few months old and I started blogging in order to develop my interest towards cooking and record my recipes to show especially to my mom, who still couldn't believe that I could cook. I learnt a lot of new recipes, cooking tips and techiniques from my fellow blogger friends, which puts me in a mood to cook everyday and share it with the world. Just like most of the blogger friends, I too started cooking after my marriage. I never thought I could cook so well until my husband scored me 10 out of 10 from day 1. Thats how my interest towards cooking heightened. He is very supportive and encourages me with his everyday critics. Also, he is the one who chose my blog's name.

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your interests apart from blogging.
Nidhya : I knit my winter scarves (a beginner), practice yoga four days a week, enjoy dining out, sample several cuisines and love pencil drawings in which I am into most of the time. Shopping is one other thing I completely disappear every now and then. Also I am health conscious and a big fruit fanatic.

Nithu's Kitchen : What do you have today to share with us. Any specific reason for selecting this dish today.
Nidhya : Hot Peppery Mushroom Fry. Mushrooms are new favorite to me. This was such an easy fry and a big hit at home, as me and my husband loved the peppery flavor in every bite. And i thought my fellow friends would love to try it out and enjoy the simple flavors, like we did.

Ingredients:
1. 8oz Button Mushroom
2. 1 medium Yellow onion (chopped)
3. 1tbsp Black pepper (whole)
4. 1tsp Ginger (minced or paste)
5. 1tsp Garlic (minced or paste)
6. 5-6 Curry leaves
7. 1tbsp Coriander powder
8. 1tsp Garam masala powder
9. 1tbsp + 1tsp Oil
10. Salt

How to :

1. Heat 1tsp oil in a skillet and roast the pepper corns until it starts to pop.
2. Remove from heat, let it cool and coarse grind'em.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet, add onions, saute until tender, then add ginger and garlic and continue sautéing until raw smell disappears.
4. Then add the sliced mushrooms along with salt, saute for a min and cook with lid closed until tender. (Let the mushrooms cook in its own water.)
5. Now add the coriander powder and pepper powder and saute for 5-6 mins.
6. Add the garam masala powder and curry leaves and saute until mushrooms start to brown.

7. Switch off and serve hot with roti or steamed rice.

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you Nidhya. Enjoyed talking to you.
Nidhya : Thanks Nithu.

Guest Post - 49 : Today's Guest - Bharati

Today, we have my sister Bharati with us. She is well known to you all. She had been here few times. To read her recipes and know more about her, go here, here and here.

Bharati shares a recipe for a tasty Elephant Yam Fry.

Ingredients :

1. Elephant Yam - 1

2. Onion- 2

3. Tomato- 2

4. Garlic cloves - 4

5. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp

6. Sambar Powder - 1 tsp

7. Chilly Powder- 1 tsp ( adjust to your taste)

8. Coriander Powder- 1 tsp

9. Garam Masala Powder- 1 tsp

10. Salt- required quantity

11. Curry Leaves- few

12. Oil- required quantity

13. Coriander Leaves- required quantity

Procedure :

1. Cut the elephant yam into cubes.

2. Add turmeric & sambar powder along with half of the required salt to the yam.

3. Marinate well. Keep it aside for 10 mins.

4. Pressure cook the marinated yam for one/ two whistles just enough to cook the yam.

5. Pour required quantity of oil to the pan & fry finely cut onion for one minute. To that add the cut tomato pieces & fry nicely.

6. Then add the cooked yam to this onion tomato mixture along with all the powders & remaining salt.

7. Mix well & add curry leaves & crushed garlic cloves to it. If needed, add one or two spoons of oil so as not to stick to the pan.

8. Roast the yam nicely.

9. Garnish it with coriander leaves & Serve.

Guest Post - 48 : Today's Guest - Mina

Today, Mina from Authentic Vegetarian Recipes is with us. She lives in UK. Her love for cooking started when she first tried Rasgullas from a cookery book. Her blog is a vegetarian blog. Now, let us hear from her.

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.
Mina : I live in a small village about 12 miles north of the famous Cambridge in UK. We moved here about 6 years ago because my job moved to Cambridge from London. We liked the idea of moving away from the hustle and bustle of London.I have been married for 35 years and have two sons.

Nithu's Kitchen : How your love for cooking started?
Mina : I have always worked full time and cooking used to be a chore I hated coming to after work. When I got married, I could only cook the basic simple food like curries and chappatis. MY dad was a diabetic so a lot of the food I had learnt to cook was healthy but simple. I got married to a guy who loved his spicy fried food, his nastas like jalebi and gathia, puris , theplas, undhuyu shak etc. which were all dishes I wasn’t good at making. I bought my first cookery book called Adhunik Pakshatra which was in Gujarati from an Indian shop in Wembley and remember making rasgullas for the first time. They turned out great and my love affair with cooking food started. However, I did feel very inadequate as my parents and in-laws were very good cooks. To be fair to them, they took a lot of pleasure in teaching me to cook and often my mother in law would pass on a cooking tip to me and ask me to keep it secret!! Both my father and father in law were very good chefs and used to cater at weddings in East Africa.I had always wanted to write a cookery book and now really wish I had written down some of the traditional recipes my dad and FIL used to cook. I wish that I had taken some videos or photographs when they were cooking!! I suppose I was too busy in other things and it’s too late now as both of them have passed away.

Nithu's Kitchen : What made you to start a blog?
Mina : I started blogging quite by accident!! I was following a blog written by a colleague who was in Japan. He used to blog everyday about all the unusual things he saw in Japan and I suddenly thought why not blog about the food I make everyday.

Nithu's Kitchen : What does your blog focus?
Mina : My blog focuses on traditional vegetarian Gujarati recipes. My first few recipes are not written well and do not have photographs. However, pretty soon, I had followers and looking at everyone’s blogs, I developed my style of writing recipes. I noticed that some recipes were good and I understood them because I was Indian but foreigners looking at Indian recipes would need more instruction. That’s when I started including the step by step instructions with photographs. The editing and loading photographs does take a lot of time but the compliments I receive make up for the effort.

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your interests.
Mina : Apart from Blogging, I like to travel. The job I do involves a lot of travelling so I tend to include some holidays with work as well. We’ve been to some wonderful places and I wish I knew about blogging then as I could have written so much!! The family travels to Orlando at least once a year as we own a home there too. My kitchen in Orlando is equipped with all the ingredients for cooking great meals and I love making farsi puris, dhoklas, somasas and curries for friends and family when we are there. It’s great place to get away to when the weather is bad in UK. I am also a Committee member at my son’s school and love helping out with the events they hold. It’s a great place to make friends and share ideas and recipes too.

I am a great fan of Indian music of any kind ranging from Hindi, Punjabi or Gujarati - from Garbas, bhangras, bhajans to old bollywood songs. I am a big fan of the BBC Asian radio and listen to it when I am cooking as it seems to calm me down and I don’t mind being alone in the kitchen as I feel I have company.

Nithu's Kitchen : What dish do you have today to share with us?

Mina : I'm sharing the recipe for Briyani today.

Ingredients for 4 servings :
2 cups Basmati Rice
1 cup Mixed Vegetable (brocolli, baby carrot, peas, sweetcorn and red peppers)
4 baby potatoes
1 Onion
4-5 Fresh Green Chillies
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp Cinnamon and cloves ground powder
3 cups of tomatoes ( I used tinned tomatoes)
2 tbsp Cooking Oil ( I used sunflower oil)
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
half a cup of peanuts, cashews and almond mixture

Method :
1. Wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes or more if you have the time.
2. Wash Chop all the vegetables into small pieces.
3. Wash and boil the baby potatoes in their jackets.
4. Chop the cashews and almonds in halves.
5. Roast the peanuts lightly and remove their husks. This can be done in the microwave. I cooked them for a minute at a time for 3 minutes.
6. On one cooker hob, start to cook the rice.

7.On a second cooker hob: Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and stir for about half minute. Then add onions and cook them for a couple of minutes.
8. Add fine chopped tomatoes.

9. Now add the salt, chilly powder, turmeric and the cinnamon and cloves powder.
10. Once the tomatoes have cooked, add the vegetables and the nuts to the mixture but not the potatoes.
11. Peel the baby potatoes, cut them into halves and lightly brown them under the grill using a small amount of oil. The idea is to make them look like roasted potatoes. So you can fry them or toast them in a frying fan as well if you prefer. Once ready, leave aside to add to the biryani.
12. The rice and vegetables should now be cooked.
13. In a baking dish, make a layer of cooked rice. Top this with a layer of cooked vegetables. Add some of the roasted potatoes to the vegetables. Cover the vegetables with a layer of rice. Finish with a layer of vegetable and roasted potatoes.
14. Cover this dish and transfer it to the oven on a medium heat – 150 degrees for 20 minutes.
15. Once ready, garnish the biryani with slices of onions and lemon and some fresh green chillies. 16. Serve the vegetable biryani hot with raita or khadhi.

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you so much Mina.

Mina : Thank you Nithu.

Guest Post - 47 : Today's Guest - Roshan

We have Roshan from Roshan's Cucina is with us today. She is a freelance research writer. She is interested in health, food, gardening, etc...Let us hear from her now...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.

Roshan : My name is Daisy Roshan Nash. I am a freelance research writer and a mother of two. I live in Kochi.

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your interests.

Roshan : My interests include reading articles on health, food, fitness, social and political issues. I am also interested in gardening, home makeover and trying out new recipes.

Nithu's Kitchen : What made you to start a blog.

Roshan : I had a wish to publish a recipe book when I resigned my job (I was working in the ad dept of an English publication until my second child was born). Somehow it didn't work out....probably because I was busy with my freelance job and my infant baby. Now that my younger one has started his play school, I started a blog to record and share my recipes.

Nithu's Kitchen : Share us one unforgettable experience from one of your holiday trips.

Roshan : It was when we went to Munnar. We had stopped on the way at a resort which did not have a well laiden road. We had to reverse the vehicle down the hill to get to the place. The first time, a person at the resort directed my hubby. Later we went out to visit places and

returned at night. It was pitch dark and half way we felt our car was slipping away b'coz the place to be parked was slightly towards the right and we were reversing to the left. In no way my hubby could control the car since the dry grass was pulling down the vehicle when it was in brake also. Finally I managed to get out of the car with the kids and took a stone from nearby and placed it behind the wheel. Then I called the person at the resort who made arrangements to pull the car up. He called three men and tied the car with a rope and pulled it up.

Nithu's Kitchen : What dish do you have today to share with us. Why did you select this dish.

Roshan : I would like to share Kashmiri Paneer. Paneer is an ingredient liked by all and I consider all Kashmiri dishes to be exotic as is the place.

Ingredients :

paneer – 200 gms

tomato – 4

curd – 3-4 tbsp

chilly powder – ¾ tsp

salt – to taste

black cardamom – 2 or green cardamom – 3

bay leaf – 2 small

ghee - 2 tbsp

Ingredients not in the original recipe :

Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Sugar – ½ - ¾ tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Onion – 1

Garlic – 3 cloves

Method :

1. Cut the paneer into 4 cm long x 2-3 cm wide slabs.

2. Chop the tomatoes, onion and garlic and puree it with the curd.

3. Heat oil in a frying pan and add the ghee and vegetable oil. Deep fry the paneer pieces till light to golden brown (may be fried in batches). In the original recipe, the paneer was fried till it turned almost black. Drain the fried paneer pieces and place it in ¼ cup water or milk.

4. To the remaining ghee + oil add the bay leaf and cardamom and fry till the aroma comes out. Add the pureed tomato and curd mix.

5. Add the chilly powder and salt and let the puree boil for five minutes. Add pepper powder and sugar. Check taste and add more sugar and pepper if needed.

6. Half cup water may be added if the gravy is too thick. Add the fried paneer pieces and simmer for ten minutes.

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you so much Roshan. Enjoyed talking to you.

Roshan : Thanks for the opportunity. Nice talking to you too.

You may be interested in :

Other Guest Posts

Side dishes for roti

Guest Post - 46 : Today's Guest - Usha Nandini

We have Usha Nandini from Nandini's Food Page is with us. She holds Bachelors Degree in Mathematics. She is interesting in photography, music and healthy foods. Let us hear from her now...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.

Nandini : I’m the good & only daughter to my parents, mother of two cute kids and wife of a loving husband. I completed Bachelors degree in Mathematics.

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your interests?

Nandini : Some of my interests are health foods, reading novels, snapping some shots of surroundings (food also, of course) and listening to music.

Nithu's Kitchen : What cuisine does your blog focus?

Nandini : I mainly focus on Indian cuisine. However, I adopt dishes of other cuisines.

Nithu's Kitchen : We have always appreciated your lovely clicks. How you got this interest in photography.

Nandini : Thanks. I have always admired photos of nature while surfing the net. I’ve always taken shots of the nearby environment. Initially when I started blogging, I used to shoot ordinary flash pictures with my camera. But after a while, I felt insatiable with my snapshots. Then I experimented taking photos without flash and the results were, of course, quite impeccable.

Nithu's Kitchen : What made you to start a food blog?

Nandini : To be exact, my husband suggested me to start one.

Nithu's Kitchen : Have you encountered with any interesting kitchen mishap? If you have a story please do share with us.

Nandini : Hmm. Yes, I did. When I was in my mom’s house during the holidays, I was making seedai for the first time. My parents were outing at that time. I was a bit nervous in deep-frying stuff. I had rolled the little balls out of the dough and put them in oil for deep-frying. The seedais burst, jumped out of the kadai and I ran out of the kitchen screaming for my life. When the mishap got over, I tip-toed to the kitchen very hesitatingly with my husband armed with stainless steel lids. Instead of the seedais, the kitchen got fried and sloppy. It was a very indelible experience.

Nithu's Kitchen : What dish do you have today to share? Why did you select this particular dish today?

Nandini : I’m sharing pumpkin pulao today. Pulao is one of our favourites in my house. This pulao is a microwave version. It was one of the biggest hits in our house. All of us had the pulao finished for lunch. I must confess that my face was beaming with satisfaction.

Ingredients :

Basmati rice - 1 1/4 cup

Yellow Pumpkin - 3/4 cup (chopped)

Carrots (big) - 1 (grated)

Sprouted green gram - 2 tsp.

Sprouted fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp.

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.

Green cardamom - 2

Cloves - 4

Cinnamon (1 inch) - 2

Green chilies - 4

Ginger - 1 inch

Salt (to taste)

Oil

Onions - 2 (thinly sliced)

Method :

Wash basmati rice for 4-5 times and soak in water for 45 minutes.

Grind green chilies and ginger and keep aside.

Add oil, onions, cumin seeds. cardamom, cloves and cinnamon in a microwave-safe dish.

Microwave high for 4 minutes by stirring in between.

When the onions change color add ground chilies and ginger.

Microwave high for a minute.

Add pumpkins, sprouted fenugreek, carrot and green grams and microwave high for 2 minutes and stir.

Discard the water and add the rice and salt.

Add 2 1/4 cups of water and close the dish with a microwave-safe lid partially with a small gap on one side.

Microwave high for 10 minutes.

Stir gently and microwave low for 15-19 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

After 3 minutes, mix so gently that the fragile rice shouldn't be broken.

Enjoy with your favorite raita.

Nithu's Kitchen: Thanks Nandini for the unique pulao recipe. We had great time talking to you.

Nandini : Thanks Nithu. It was a pleasure sharing my experience with you.

You may be interested in :

Other Guest Posts

Cauliflower and Peas Pulav

Spinach and Peas Pulav

Mint and Black Channa Pulav

Peas Pulav

Guest Post - 45 : Today's Guest - Rachana

We have Rachana from Veggi fare is with us today. She is originally from Rajasthan but brought up in Kolkatta. Let us hear from her now...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you Rachana.

Rachana : I was born in Rajasthan, India, brought up in Kolkata, India and am presently living in Munich, Germany with my husband. I am the eldest of the 3 siblings and am very close to both my brother and sister. I am a Commerce graduate and also studied Fashion Designing and worked for a year before marriage. I am a homemaker now and do some voluntary work.

Nithu's Kitchen : What does your blog focus.

Rachana : I am a vegetarian - and so is my blog, as you can make out from the name! In addition, I often try to do healthier versions of traditional recipes.

Nithu's Kitchen : When did you start to cook.

Rachana : I took to cooking late, but then with a passion. My mother was (and still is) a big supporter of letting us find things out by ourselves - so she never gave us detailed recipes - while this made life slightly difficult sometimes, it also woke a sense of and love for experimenting and figuring stuff out - something that helps me no end now, when I am thinking up recipes for my blog.

Nithu's Kitchen : Share us one unforgettable cooking experience.

Rachana : One such incident, which I will never forget... After shifting fro Kolkata to Munich, I wanted to make a kadhi for the first time. I knew roughly how it was made, but didn't know the ratio of the gramflour to the buttermilk. I called up my mom and asked her the ratio, she didn't tell me the ratio purposely and said, "I should figure it out myself". After giving it a little thought, I tried something out, and the kadhi turned out to be really good. After a few hours, my mom called up to inquire about the kadhi and explained why she didn't tell me anything about the recipe. I guess, that made me.

Nithu's Kitchen : What do you have today to share with us.

Rachana : Today's Chyawanprash dish is one I have seen my mom making often, but never got from her the exact recipe and measurements. And it also turned out to be pretty good!

Ingredients :

500 grams - gooseberries (amla)

600 grams - sugar (may increase upto 750 grams)

3/4 tsp - clove powder

3/4 tsp - cinnamon powder

1 tsp - cardamom powder

3/4 tsp - black pepper powder

1/4 tsp - nutmeg, grated

1 1/2 tsp - dried ginger powder (saunth)

25 - 30 strands of saffron

edible silver foil to garnish

Method :

Put the gooseberries in a pressure cooker. Add enough water to cover the gooseberries and pressure cook them for 4 whistles/ring or until the gooseberries are soft. Drain the water and remove the seeds from the gooseberries.

With a mixer, puree the cooked gooseberries.

Add the pureed gooseberries in a large cooking vessel and add the sugar to it.

Place the vessel on a medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil under constant stirring.

When the sugar melts, add the spices and mix well.

Cover the vessel and reduce the heat to low and let the mixture cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful, the mixture splutters a lot!!!

When the mixture thickens a little, do a saucer test, (as you would when making jams). If not ok, then bring the mixture to a boil and check again.

Fill the conserve/jam in a sterlised jar. Cover the lid when the jam is completely cool.

Shelf life of this jam is 2-3 months.

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you so much Rachana. We enjoyed talking to you.

Rachana : Thanks Nithu.

You may be interested in :

Other Guest Posts

Kiwi, Apple and Raisin Chutney

Ripe Mango Chutney

Guest Post - 44 : Today's Guest - Amritha Kalyani

Today, we have Amritha from AK's Vegetarian Recipe World is with us. She holds MBA degree. She lives in San Diego. She is interested in learning different languages. Let us hear from her now...

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about you.

Amritha : I am a happy house wife, came to San Diego in Dec 2007. Its almost 3 yrs now and slowly got used to the living. I am an MBA ( Fin) graduate from Chennai, India. I did my schooling in various parts of Tamil Nadu. Worked in Chennai for 3.5 yrs in a Bank and moved to San Diego after my wedding. Life is good in US but I always miss family. Would love to go back anytime I get a chance to :-)

Nithu's Kitchen : What are your interests.

Amritha : I like to learn new languages. This, I developed after coming to US. I never paid attention to this interest back then in India. But after coming here, I had lots of time to develop such interests. Initially I knew only English, Tamil and Hindi. Now I know Telugu and Kannada. Presently, I am learning Chinese . This is my latest interest. I love this interesting language. I started to learn this few months back when we went to China. I was forced to learn Chinese because we dint know how to ask for milk and the products were all labelled in Chinese. It was very hard for us. Only then I realised the need for it. Now I have come to a stage where I can communicate about myself, my requirements etc. in Chinese :-) I love gardening too. I am slowly experimenting as I dint have a garden till now. Now I have enough time gardening and its my latest passion. I would like to give a small information to all our friends here.. If you are travelling to any new country, learn some basic words that are used in our daily lifestyle. It helps a lot in communicating with those people.

Nithu's Kitchen : Share one unforgettable incident.

Amritha : My first cooking experience: This is very sentimental to me. My first attempt into the kitchen was when I got engaged to my husband. My mom forced me to do something and you know if we ever try anything for the first time in the kitchen, it would be a sweet dish and that too the easiest one. Yes! It was rava kesari. My first attempt was pretty good. It was a thursday and I am a great devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba. So my mom said we would distribute this as prasad in the temple. We took the kesari to the temple and I was so lucky that day as they were giving anna dhanam (Feeding the poor ) in the temple. The priest in the temple told me to take it to the dining hall quickly as they were just going to start their dinner. I served upto 15 people with my kesari and the most touching moment for me was that every one came to me and appreciated the kesari. I felt as though God himself ate my kesari and gave me such compliments. :-)

Nithu's Kitchen : How did you get the idea of starting a blog?

Amritha : It was November end 2009, my cousin Maya was talking to me about writing blogs. Initially I was not sure because I dint know if I could write so many recipes. But she encouraged me and made me start this blog. I couldn't write much last year as I was not so keen and frankly I was busy till June 2010. After July, I wanted to continue blogging. From then I am posting entires and I try to participate in as many events as possible. I should thank my cousin first who made me write this blog and of course my husband who has been my support throughout. He has been my biggest strength and best critic for my dishes. My parents and in-laws are all great supporters:-) I get lots of recipe ideas from them.

Nithu's Kitchen : What dish do you have today to share with us. Why did you select this dish.

Amritha : Vermicelli Pulao. I started this blog in the name of my grand moms. I got this vermicelli pulao recipe from my maternal grandmom. So I wanted to post this dish for this guest post as a dedication to my grand mom.

Ingredients :

Vermicelli - 2 cups

Mixed Veggies - 1 Cup cut lengthwise

Onion - 1 Small cut lengthwise.

Salt - to taste

For seasoning :

Oil - 1tbsps

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 8

Preparation :

Cook Vermicelli like how we cook pasta. Boil water in a pan, add salt and a tbsp oil. When it starts to boil, add vermicelli and let it cook till it becomes tender. Drain the water and keep vermicelli aside.

In a pan, heat oil , add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chilli . Add onions and fry till it caramelizes. Now add veggies, salt and cook till veggies become tender. Sprinkle water when necessary.

When veggies get cooked, add vermicelli and mix everything well.

Vermicelli pulao is ready. Its slightly different because of its process. The taste actually varies slightly. If you need, you could add bay leaf when you are seasoning. It add more flavor to the dish.

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you Amritha. It was pleasure talking to you.

Amritha : Thanks Nithu.

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