Venn Pongal.

Venn Pongal is a traditional south indian speciality that I have grown up with.  It`s the main Naivedhyam or offering for Pongal – the harvest festival celebrated in the month of January in all parts of Tamil Nadu. Pongal is basically rice and moong dal cooked to perfection and seasoned with ginger, pepper and cummin. [...]

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Succulent Gulab Jamuns.

Gulab Jamuns should probably be one of the most popular and easy to make sweets with the current variety of mixes and fast fix instructions. There are a myraid of brands which offer the Gulab Jamun mixes, like Orkay, MTR, Gits, Ashirwaad etc. Some how my favourite has always been Orkay and Gits. Since Gits [...]

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Instant Creamy Strawberry Milk Shake.

My favourite store Trader Joe`s had such a lovely huge box of fresh Organic Rose Red strawberries, t hat I could simply not resist picking up a box. My daughter me and keep popping now and then in to the kitchen and eating these delicious fruits. Suddenly S wanted to know If I could make [...]

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Madras Masal for Poori (Potatoes simmered in a besan gravy with ginger and chillies)

Madras Masal is probably the name I have heard people referring to this side dish and so the name stuck. Many hotels in Chennai like Woodlands Drive-In, Balajee Bhavan, Saravana Bhavan, Arya Bhavan etc, serve Pooris strictly to go with this Madras Poori Masal. This probably a watery version of the “Sago” that my friends [...]

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Soft Fluffy Pooris – Comfort Foods!!!

Pooris are a favourite everywhere. My husband loves pooris and would welcome the idea If I could fnd a way to make it for him everyday!!! Pooris are a part of my childhood, as they are special sunday tiffin preps. Sunday evenings, with piping hot pooris and masal and a cup of coffee….They were also [...]

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Amma`s Easy ‘N’ Colourful Vegetable Pulav.

This was the Vegetble Rice that my mum used to make on those special sundays for lunch. Sunday mornings would be normally filled with strict timelines as all of us would want to have our oil baths and water would some times be restricted to specified times in the summer. A filling lunch of Amma`s [...]

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Easy Coconut Chutney for Idli or Dosa.

I always love the Coconut Chutney served with Chinna Vengaya Oothappam at Murugan Idli Shop at T.Nagar and also the thick coconut chutney at Saravana Bhavan and Balaji Bhavan, both at T.Nagar. I always wonder, whats the secret ingredient that these people add to the chutney, that some times even without the requisite seasoning, it [...]

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Rose – Vanilla Marble Cake.

Wednesday was the surprise baby shower of one of my close friend, so I had voted on  making an eggless cake. There was this bottle of Organic Gulkhand that I had bought at the Global Foods store that was beckoning to me for a long long time.  I had wanted to make a Falooda, but [...]

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Rose flavoured Sno-Cones.

My daughter always enjoys Sno-Cones from the time she had it in the Ozarks ….Her favourite place of course had to be My Grandpa`s Farm on the Katy Trail,which I have already spoken about at lengths in my previous post. Today was a particularly hot day and she wanted to have it – So I [...]

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The Scenic Ozarks…..Lunch, Dams & a lovely Dinner!!!

There was this trip that we went in Spring last year to the Ozarks….It was my first spring trip ever in the midwest and I was in no way prepared to see such colours and spring flowers….There were hues of purples, reds, pinks, yellows, whites and what nots in the lovely highway 54W  from St.Louis [...]

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