South Indian Meal

Made beetroot stem upperi (Dry beetroot stem side dish), pavakkai kara kari (Dry spicy bitter gourd side), vellaripazha (ripe cucumber) sambar (indian lentil based curry). Since, I had already made so much, thought I'll also fry some papads / vadams as a treat. We never fry papads, prefer to microwave them.

Took this a step further, and made it a proper south indian plate meal (South Indian Thaali), with mango juice on the side. Of course, it is missing a few things, but I liked the picture.



What do you think? A nice start to the month of September!!!

Flowers

I've been wanting to buy some flowering plants for a while now. Actually from after visiting my sister who has a very beautiful patio with an assortment of lovely flowers. That inspired me to get some for myself.

Finally, went and bought hibiscus & rose plants. The hibiscus bloomed today. Just wanted to share the excitement!!!

Isn't it a lovely color?

Real Food Daily

Had lunch at Real Food Daily a couple of days back. Nice restaurant, ambience and a very interesting menu. It's vegan cuisine. And a vegetarians delite. They use oraganic products. The portions were huge though. Take a look at their site - http://www.realfood.com/. I recommend a visit.

Dream Parade

We visited Disney Land in March 08, with my sis, bro-in-law & cute little niece - to celebrate my birthday actually. And I got the cutest pink leopard from build-a-bear as a present!!!

My niece enjoyed some of the rides, and meeting the disney princesses. She also enjoyed the Parade of Dreams.

My husband & bro-in-law had company in each other to do the "scary" rides, while we sisters watched them.. It was great to have my sis around - we kept each other company while the guys did their stuff... :)

The highlight of the trip was having dinner at 'Ariel's Grotto' and meeting all the Disney Princesses - for adults and kids alike!!!

Click the picture to view the full album.

Gokulashtami

Gokulashtami has always been a special festival for me as it is to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. This year, I made the usual preparations of uppu cheedai, vella cheedai, thenkozhal & vella avil for naivedyam. Here's a picture of the offerings -



Happy Gokulashtami to you all!!! Will post my mother's recipes for these dishes at The Fragrant Kitchen soon.

Another one

I created another blog he he he .... I have so many recipes to post, so I think it will be better organized in a separate blog rather than put them in this one... :)

Usually, when I cook, I concentrate on the flavors & aroma. If you think about it, the first taste of any dish is not when u put a bite in your mouth, but when u get that whiff of smell when u open the pot or serve the dish.

I asked my family for suggestions to name the blog. I wanted it to be something about cooking, about me & "my" cooking... The word that jumped to their minds was aroma / flavor with respect to my kitchen. Hence, the blog is called The Fragrant Kitchen.

I will be posting one recipe each day with or without photos. Jump in and start cooking :).. but beyond all that Happy Eating!!!!

What's cooking?

Well, over the last few days, I find myself getting back to the groove! I haven't been cooking all that much for various reasons... but now I am back... :)

I tried 2 of the 3 neer dosai recipes - and both were really good :)... It was so nice to make and enjoy one of my favourite dishes. Apart from that I also made mysore bondas - once again a favourite. These items were on friday and saturday.

Then on monday I made a sauteed spinach & garlic rice which was delicious (so my husband said), tuesday it was channa masala & chhapathis, and today rice & methi dal... I have surprised myself.

Why am I posting about all these dishes, that too without the recipes, you wonder.. Wonder no more - recipes shall come over the next week or so... I need to make the same dishes again, make a note of the measurements & take pictures... I usually don't measure and cook - so this is also going to be a learning experience - and pray God that it is a 'fun' learning experience!!!

So, coming soon are these delicious dishes which can be cooked in under 45 mins - yes, that's right, including the preparation (not the soaking time) time! I shall check the time too when I make them next... :)

I have a few other recipes - I should call them ideas for dishes or dishy ideas - running around in my head.... Looks like I am going to be cooking up a storm!!!