My li'l one turned one!!

A few weeks ago, my li'l one turned one :) One whole year of motherhood days for me(mostly happy moments and occasional low ones too)....we threw a small party for a few friends of ours...so was busy putting together some party decorations, somethings with a personal touch, like a birthday banner with  every month's photos of my li'l one's first year...and few other silly stuffs to make the party hall look colorful...

i guess I get this from my mother...to add a personal touch to anything and everything you do...and my dear hubby,the last man in the world to appreciate it.....okay, so you get where I am going with this, rite?
Anyway, the birthday party was great...we had fun...even my li'l one enjoyed it to the fullest ,except for the occasional screams when a balloons burst...she can't stand sudden loud noises...like a whistle from the cooker, or the vacuum cleaner or even the hair dryer....strange, huh?

okay, coming back to the cake, i guess that was the highlight of the party...we had been to a few b'day parties before, even one last weekend, and have always enjoyed a slice of the yummy b'day cake....and the hunt began for the cake...went to the bakeries in the usual places where we had seen the b'day cakes..but all had the regular white or chocolate cake with the theme you say...(for our li'l one we wanted a sesame street cake)...but we were pretty sure the b'day cakes we had eaten before were not mere white or choc cakes...they were much tastier than those...anyways, long story short, a few days before the party a friend of us (who had thrown a b'day recently) suggested to get the tres leches cake.....bhoom...what in the world is that? oh, my!! but luckily he also said where to find it....okay, that helps :)
 I consoled myself feeling, I am not the only one in the whole wide world who didn't know about Tres Leches cake..even the pioneer woman didn't have a much idea about it ..

here is more about it from the very talented pioneer woman
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/tres-leches-cake/

So, now you ask me why such poor pictures, even though we have a Nikon D-SLR with some XYZ lenses and all....aaaha...don't make go there...plz don't...

you'll have a good one :)

Tangy mango curry....yummmm......mouth watering :)

When i hear of manga curry( thats what  we call mango in kerala), i get the tangy taste in my tounge....mangoes are kerala's speciality..especially in the summer..we eat mangoes pretty much in its all stages...right from baby mangoes...we make kanni manga pickle(baby mango pickle)...raw mango, eat just like that with salt and red chili pwdr sprinkled on them....so many varieties of pickles made of mango...preserve mangoes in salt water to devour later in the year(yes, i am talking about the very 'uppu manga', squished together with sliced shallots,green chilis and a drizzle of cococnut oil, oh..its divine....yeah,the possibilities are endless..
So do give this a try...a tangy curry to go with white rice...

You'll need:

Raw Mango: 1 no (pitted, peeled and cut into small cubes
Onion: 1 no(nicely chopped)
Green chili:3-4 no(nicely chopped)
Ginger:a small piece(nicely chopped)
Coconut milk: from half a coconut (I use the Maggie coconut milk powder..easy breezy)
Chili powder: 1tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
salt:as per taste

For garnish:

mustard seed: 1/2 tsp
dried whole red chilli:2-3 nos
curry leaves: a few sprigs

How to make:


Mix the mango pieces with sliced onion,green chilis, ginger,turmeric and chili powder.Cook the above in half a cup of water and enough salt. When it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and add the coconut milk. Cook for some more time till everything gets blended well.
For garnish, splutter mustard seeds in a few tsps of oil, add whole red chili and curry leaves.
Yep...its ready :)

chunky tomato salsa

Don't you love fresh tomato salsa with your tortilla scoops...scoop full of spicy tangy flavor..yummmm, i love it...get a nice book, slouch on your couch with a bag of chips n a bowl of salsa, oh,my! what more you can ask for :)

We at home love spicy food...So though, most of the time we are contented with the "hot" store bought salsa to go with our chips, when time permits, we do enjoy the home made version of it, which is ever more spicier n fresh...always satisfying our taste palates :)

Very easy to put together, needing no special ingredient other than the regular ones you have in your veggie cripser.

You'll need:


Tomatoes: 3 nos (medium sized, finely diced)
Onion: 1 (medium sized, finely chopped)
Jalapeno chili pepper: 2-3 (ribs and seeds removed, nicely chopped) **
juice of one lime
Cliantro: 1/2 cup( nicely chopped)
Salt: as per required
Ground Cumin : a pinch (optional)

** You can spice it up or down by varying the no of chilies used.

How to make:


In a bowl mix together chopped tomato,onion and pepper.Add the lime juice, salt, chopped cilantro and  ground cumin.
Let sit  for an hour for the flavors to combine before you enjoy it with your chips :)

P.S: My hubby's make it more yummier tip- warm up the tortilla chips sprinkled with some cheese on it for a couple of min in the oven and then devour them with the salsa...hmmmm...i guess we are born to eat ;)

Fried Idli

Ever wondered what to do with the previous day's idli...here is an easy snack you can make out of it.
For those who don't know what idli is, here is something about Idli.
Its one of the common breakfast for us, south Indians. Very yummy n  healthy breakfast.
In our home, everyone loves idli, so we hardly have left overs..I make these fried idlis, if at all we are left with some..

You'll need:

Idli: 5-6 nos (each cut into 4 pieces)
Chili powder: 1tsp
Turmeriic powder: 1/4 tsp
Salt: a pinch
Oil: enough for shallow frying
Curry leaves: 2 sprigs

How to make: 
Mix chili pwdr, turmeric pwdr and salt with 2 tsps of water to make a thick paste. Marinate idli pieces with the spice paste and set aside for 15-20 min.
Heat enoguh oil for deep fry in a deep nonstick pan, and fry the idli pieces for 4-5 min or till its golden brown and crispy. In the left over oil, fry the curry leaves for the garnish.
Serve it hot with spicy ketchup or mint chutney...a quick evening snack :)

Pazham pori /Ethakka appam (Banana fritters)

When ever I make pazham pori, my li'l sis comes to my mind. b'cos its her favorite.

My achachan(dad) used to get us mid morning snacks when we are home (he still gets us those when go home for vacations)

He gets each of us our own favs.mine is dal vada, my li'l sis's is pazham pori.

Very yummy sweet snack,not much difficult to put together.

I have always felt that it tastes the best if we make it with fully ripened bananas.(when the peel turns almost black)

I get bananas these days for my li'l one, her fav breakfast mashed with cereal.

She loved this version of banana too.She claps when she likes things(being a 10 month old, i guess that is her only way of letting me know she wants more)

At the very first bite, she jumped and clapped...oh,yeah! she likes pazham pori

I hope, you too will like them :)

You'll need:


Banana: 2 nos (fully ripened)
All purpose flour: 2-3 tbsp
Sugar: 1tbsp
Salt: a pinch
Oil: as required for deep fry

How to make: 

Peel the bananas and cut them half.Slice each half lengthwise into 3-4 pieces.

Mix all purpose flour and enough water to make the batter. Add sugar and salt.

The consistency should be right enoguh to coat bananas when you dip them in the batter.

Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is bubbling hot, dip the banana pieces in the batter and deep fry them for 2-3 min on each side, until they turn golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel n enjoy it hot off the stove :)

Kaya Erachi (Beef with plantain)

Though the name of the dish sounds a bit weird, this one is a real spicy, tounge tickling, yummilicious dish. 
This is one of my all time favorites. I'm sure people from Kerala know what i'm talking about. 
Its nothing but beef curried in lots of Indian spices and plantain. In my home, we have more plantain and less beef in it( just enough to get the flavor of it). But for meat lovers like my hubby I add lots and lots of beef :)
My dad makes it at times, he says in the house, only he knows the right blend of it ...and he gives us all some to taste before the meal time right out of the stove top...steaming spicy kaya erachi....yummmmmm


I can go on n on about this curry n the tales about it...let's get the ball rolling with the recipe...


You'll need:
To cook beef:
Beef: 1 lb (cut into small pieces)
Ginger Garlic paste: 1tbsp

Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
Chili powder: 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tbsp

Salt: as required

For the dish:  
Plantain: 2 nos
Tomato:1 no (chopped)
Cilantro: A few sprigs for garnish
Onion: 1 no (medium size, thinly sliced)
Green Chili: 2-3 nos
Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
Chili powder: 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt: as required
Oil: as required


How to make:
Cook beef along with all the ingredients mentioned above.
Cut the plantain to small pieces and cook it with enough salt.
Heat oil in a pan and add oil. Saute onion and green chili till onion gets translucent.
Add chopped tomato and saute for some more time. When tomato gets mushy, add all the spice powders mentioned above. Cook this for 2-3 min and then add the beef and plantain to it.
Mix it all together and let it cook for 2-3 min, stirring in between.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Ta da...Gobble it down as such or have it with steaming hot white rice..enjoy!!

Welcome back with a smoothie

I know, it's been a while.I mean quite a while ;)

My mom always complains about my dad, someone has to keep pushing him from his back( at times its literally true) to get things done.And I can always relate myself to that, after all I a also a Capricorn like my dad...but, hey after all we have keep up our traits :)

Okay, so coming back to my lethargy, initially i blamed it on the so called "postpartum depression". I'm sure i wouldn't have even heard about such a thing if at all I had my li'l one back home in India.
My grandmother, who has 11 kids, 27 grand kids would definitely mock at me if I tell her about it.

My innocent li'l one(whom i blame these for anything n everything going wrong in my life these days) is almost one now.Don't you think its time for me to look for another lame excuse for my laid back attitude? I'm sure, it won't be hard for to find one ;)

We had a wonderful 2 months vacation back home in India. Still struggling to get things going here, especially with cooking, after enjoying 2 months of no cooking and only eating yummy days!

And of course TX invited us back with the scorching summer, which is really bad this time. Especially when you get back from Kerala,God own country where it rains and only rains during this time of the year.Oh, my! what a pleasant weather it was. Me and my li'l used to sit in our verandah, enjoy the heavy pour and the lush greens that dance in the rain.....Oh what a joy, Oh what a sight...... (this is from one of my baby's favorite cartoons)
I have to admit we see more baby TV than adult TV these days...i'm sure moms with a preschooler  in home would agree to that...these days, I hum rhymes, read Parents,Baby Talk, American baby and shop in the baby section....and I see all new mommies around me doing the same...so i guess, that is how its supposed to be (a good parent)

We get a lot of fresh fruits this time of the year, and got a couple of boxes of strawberries a few days ago, most of which we ate as such. By day 2-3, when they started looking not so fresh, i made this smoothie.
Here is the recipe:

You'll Need:

Strawberries: 8-10 nos (hulled and quartered)
Yogurt:  1/2 cup
Milk:      1/2 cup
Sugar:     1-2 tbsp
Ice cubes: as per required

Blend all the above together. Add more sugar as per your taste.

Enjoy your lip lickin' smoothie :)

P.S: yes,the book in the background is my li'l one's book of colors...see, this what I was saying earlier ;)