Semiya Payasam – (Sweet Kheer made with milk and semolina garnished with ghee roasted cashews and cardamom)

Many incidents in life are special to each one of us on account of either the people, the places or the event itself. Festivals are a major part of my childhood memories as the significance of these festivals almost always make an impact on you. All hindu festivals teach us to be good, to uphold [...]

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Badushah / Balushahi – Sweets for Anubhavati Second Bloggiversary!!!

  Two of my  favorite sweets are Badushah and Jangiri. Its a very strange pick as one of them is extremely sweet and dripping with syrup, whilst the other is very moderate in its use of sugar, flaky and dry. Yet I love these two contrasting sweets and enjoy them immensely. Badushah was a sweet [...]

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Omapodi / Sev.

  I am guessing the name itself is derived from the main ingredient that differentiates this fried snack from its other variations – Omam/ Ajwain. Omam is an excellent aid in digestion and a cure for low appetite and colic and flatulence. Omapodi is a delicious snack in itself and also aids as a main [...]

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Karaboondhi – Cripsy Fried Spiced Besan Balls.

One of the most easiest snacks to make, yet requires sleight of hand and knowledge of a few tips as its tricky. The only tricky part being the consistency of the batter. Runny batter results in “boondhis” with little tails. A batter which is too thick would not even fall through the holes and not [...]

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Deepavali Special – Madras Mixture.

  Every year Deepavali has been a special occassion for the entire family to get together and celebrate the festival of lights. These days, there is a lot of TV involved, but when we were little kids, Deepavali was getting up early in the morning and having oil bath and then wearing new clothes and [...]

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Navarathri Golu – 2010 & Significance of Marapachi Dolls.

This year, I have my second daughter is who just turning one this month on the 24`th, so planning for Golu was something  I had postponed to the very end of the day!  I had all the paraphernalia out and I was wondering If I was really out to put myself through monitoring the little [...]

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Festival Neivedhyam – Uppappam – (Spongy Balls of Rice & Urad Dhal spiced with chillies and ginger and shallow fried in oil.)

Nei Appam and Uppappam are always welcome preperations in  my mothers home. Somehow there is always an extra servings for the savouries, than the sweet version. Since I have a 6 year old, I always assumed she would like the sweet version, and so had soaked for Krishna Jayanthi, some rice for grinding and  making [...]

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Rich in Flavour – Quick Jackfruit Payasam – Neivedhyam for Avani Avittam.

As always mentioned, I have an eternal love affair with the jackruit. I simply love the aroma it brings and the sweetness of the fruit revealed in its aroma. Everytime I visit Chicago, I make it a point to buy these juicy bulbs and enjoy them back home, simply eating them and getting back to [...]

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Thiruvadharai Upperi – Vegetables steamed and spiced with coconut chilli paste.

The complimenting Neivedhyam for Thiruvadharai Kali would be the Upperi or rather a version of select steamed vegetables, spiced generously with ground coconut and green chillies.  The Upperi as I remember is a combination of various tubers and roots that are combined and cooked to get the most delicious preparation. I remember as a child, [...]

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Festival Neivethyams – Thiruvadharai Kali.

Thirivadharai Kali is one of the most simple of all the neivethyams. It is made with the everyday ingredients available in the pantry. It is also a very healthy option for snack as its made out of rice thats beaten, dry roasted and then steam cooked. Jaggery which is the other ingredient is also a [...]

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