A Kitchen Scientist with a White-rat Hubby!!!

...am back...and moving...

2012-01-11T02:24:00.000-08:00

.... its been reallly really long time since i have posted anything here...almost 3 yrs!!! Phew !! Had too many other things to prioratize, you know..had 2 more kids post the last time i typed in here, so was very busy with kids and family...even had to give up my job.

Now, on a fresh start, on a new space...

changing my blogger username from "the kitchen scientist" to " a teflon frypan" Y the name ??

in here....

http://ieatonline.blogspot.com/

see you there!!

Salads n appetizers...party made eazzieee....

2009-04-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

Back to blogging....on a " guest-appearance" basis. Just happened to come across the Kraft foods website sometime back, trust me...its got tonnes of really simple and quick-fix recipies.

Had a dinner party for a couple of my husband's Philipino friends some time back, so decided on a menu that would be "less-hot" on their tastebuds. Went for a salad n appetizer treat.

Once the chopping is through, the work is 75% done.

To start off,

1. Sliced Baguette and Dipping Oil

Make it :

Mix Italian Dressing with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and crushed dry chillie flakes in a shallow bowl.
Serve with sliced baguette.

2. Light Tuna Dip with Crackers

Make it:

Mix drained light tuna meat with light mayo and Thousand Island Salad Dressing.
Add a dash of ground pepper powder and salt to taste.
Decorate with sliced olives, and serve with crackers.

3. Sweet and Tangy Sausages

Make it:
Cook the sausages and cut diagonally into half.
Mix hot and sweet barbaque sauce, garlic powder, and a bit of strawberry jam in a wok.
Add in the sausages and let cook till the sauces thicken and generously coat the franks.
Serve hot, garnished with seseme seeds and cashewnuts.

4. Macaroni - fruit -veg - salsa

Make it :
Mix cooked macaroni with light mayo, bit of fresh milk, sugar, a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add to it, cooked green peas, corn and slit grapes.
Serve chilled.

5. Ginger beans

Make it :
Cut beans into half.
In a wok, add in any any soup mix of your choice (I used the maggi veg mix) , chopped ginger , sweet chillie sauce, water and beans to it.
Let cook the beans in the mix till thick.

6. Easy nugget stack

Make it :
Onto a toothpick, stack a slice of cut cucumber, fried chicken balls, tomato wedge and shrimp.
Done!

7. Quick Nachos

Make it:
Arrange potato chips on a microwavable plate. Top with chopped tomato, onions, green pepper.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese and some salad dressing powder/ paprika powder.
Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes till the cheese is slightly melted.
Serve immediately, garnished with corriander leaves.
This was a hit!!!

8. Chicken - dil - salad

Make it:

Shread cooked chicken to thin pieces.
Mix freshly chopped, carrot, red and green pepper, salad leaves.
Add to it Ranch salad dressing, and serve over freshly chopped cabbage, garnished with dil leaves.

9. Main - course :
Beef stir-fry

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil
3 beef burgers cooked and cut
1 cup cooked chicken
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp grated fresh root ginger
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 cup brocolli florets
Baby corn
1 packet Maggie Veg Soup Mix
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sweet chillie sauce

Method:
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add ginger, garlic, onions and saute for a minute.
Add in the sliced beef, chicken meat and the veggies.
Add to it the soup mix, soy sauce, chillie sauce, salt and pepper.
Mix together and cook till done.

10. Mushroom rice pilaf:

Ingredients:
3 tbsp margarine or butter
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1-1.5 cup cooked basmati rice
Green peas
Soya sauce
Pepper powder,salt
3/4 cup sliced almonds
Raisins, chopped cashewnuts, corriander leaves to garnish

Method:
Melt margarine or butter in a wok, fry the mushrooms, add in the cooked rice and green peas.
Add the soya sauce, pepper powder and salt to taste. Mix well
Garnish with sliced almonds, cashewnuts and corriander leaves.

11. Mix n Match desert - my patent product

Does this need a description ???..just mix in whatever you see in the snap...it was something, that i had whipped up with whatever i could lay my sight on.

One ladoo, one jilebi, a roll wafer, a tsp of cherry filling, with whipped cream and couple of coloured corn flakes. The filipinos really relished the ladoos, but the whole platter as such was a bit too sweet for them.

And finally, the green room....my work station during the whole process....

The list is loooong..but the over all effort is real less.
Chop, mix and serve !!!

You are in for a real compliment..whipping up all this in just about 2 hrs !!!

Merry Christmas.....

2008-12-23T00:16:00.001-08:00

Warm wishes to you all for a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year....

Each year Christmas is the time to be making cards and calenders, Shyane was the sole model ..and now...he's got a company..his little brother..Sergie..6 months old now.

Majboos in detail..

2008-11-11T03:15:00.000-08:00

Wow! it really felt great to read the comments and to know that some of you still have not forgotten me....really made my day....

As to the queries from some of my fellow bloggers..esp for recipies of the previous post...well, that baking stuff are all there in the links I have given. The dough mentioned is really a quickfix type...and we just need to shape it up the way we need it out to be.

For fatayers, make a small ball of the dough, flatten it using the rolling pin, keep the filling of your choice, be it chicken, meat, veggies, cheese or labnah zatar as i have done..close over the edges and seal by pressing it with the egde of a fork...

Majboos can be prepared in two ways..or rather, this is how I do it....(learned it from my maid who was working in a Kuwaiti home previously..now that is one real advantage, of having run-away maids..we can learn arabic cooking well! )

1. Cook the whole chicken (with the skin) with sufficient water to fill it up..with spices..cinamon, cardamom, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, cumin and salt...till tender.

Then remove the chicken carefully from the stock apply ginger - garlic paste with turmeric slightly in the inner side, and rub tomato paste all over ...both ways..outside and inside..and straight to the oven to brown.

(tip : tomato paste gives a quick brown effect to the chicken)

Rice part : Take 3 cups of rice (1 cup for 2 medium stomachs!)..fry it in 2-3 tbsp of butter for a few minutes, and pour double the quanity of stock to the rice and cook till done. I usually dont take exaclty double the water..say for 3 cups of rice, i would go for 5 cups of liquid to cook it up so that they do not get overcooked. Strain the stock to keep all the spices away from the rice..but its up to you to leave it in or not.

One advantage of this means of cooking majboos is that this is perfectly oil free cooking. The fat from the chicken itself gives a good flavour to the rice...Add a pinch of turmeric and salt too to the stock while the rice is cooked to give it more colour...but again, a disadvantage for the spicy tongue..this will taste kinda bland..so, go for the next technique:

Clean the chicken well, rub it it marinade - paste formed by mixing chillie, turmeric, corriander powder, ginger garlic paste and salt on the in and out, stuff a boiled egg into the chicken for some surprise to your folks, n stitch close the bottom of the chicken with needle n thread.Leave it for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute in little cooking oil, chopped onions, ginger, garlic, and again add the masalas as above with some chicken masala if required, and fry the chicken in the oil till almost done. Transfr the chicken to the baking dish with tomato paste rubbed over it, and brown in the oven at high.

Cook rice in the gravey, but we need to add water here, but keep in mind to add sufficient water depending on the amount of rice taken.

Usmania rice is prepared as the same as above second method, but the only difference is that we use chicken pieces instead of whole chicken..and the rice is more tastier as it is cooked in the masalas.

Long time no see...a dream come true, a disater and a long due regards to all..

2008-10-29T03:58:00.000-07:00

Hello all....

It's been long long time since I have made a post here....my blog was almost on the verge of Rest-ing in Peace..while yesterday, was a "Dream-come-true" day for me, and I cant help showing it off!

Yes..I baked my own bread!!!..yeaaahhh...!!!!..eurekaaa

For no God known reason, was I always pulled back from trying it out...but deep within was this serious desire to do it...and going on for months now...and finally yeah...!!!!! (my! I am all still excited about it. )

I know..i know... baking is not a great deal for many out there...but for me, it was a giant leap!

After many search clicks on bakes, buns n breads..in various blog sites, net.. emails n questions to couple of experienced bakers.."why do we use this kind of yeast, why not the other?..should we do like this..why not like that??? and....finally decided on this simple recipe from Arabic Bites, and bingoooo !!!

Am I not really greatful for this less timetaking procedure .... more details here.

I truly recoment this to all new starters and impatient ladies like me, who needs to get "things done now!" ..not patient enough for the dough to rise, then punch it down..then rise...then overnight..hummm.
I made no variation in the quanity mentioned in the recipie..so, it was a big ball of dough after it has risen...and the end-products were.....

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.....

....

...

Oooh llaaa llaaaa..I am soo happy..I could do it!!! (please excuse if you feel my excitement silly..but again as I said..this was definitely a giannntt leapp for me!!!)

For the quanity taken here...you get 5 pizzas, 6 fatayers...about 15 rolls and a challah..(not neatly pleated though) all medium sized. But again, when the dough is done..what shape it takes is all up to you. You are the boss..so play around...and mess aound with it.

Fatayer (arabic word for pies)- Labnah-zatar.

Peanut butter-cinamon-jam-roll. All in one!

This is what I felt looked the most cute...looked like flower buds to me...tip of the dough after slicing for the rolls...was in truth, the leftover, but finally came out to look the best.

Making cookies for the first time was also a great accomplishment for me. Did this over the last weekend. That's homemade strawberry jam filled in some of them. Courtesy to all jams goes to Viji of VCuisine. Never knew jams are so easy to prepare unless I saw her posts. thanks Viji.

Assorted vanilla cookies. Recipie adopted from Viji again. Followed the same quantity.

Tiny cookie flowers..this is all that I have got to show...the by-product was right all gone (courtesy : hubbie-bie and junior 1) even before I got to take a snap of the small cute flowers.

Oh well..I am again going back to my yesterday session...this was one sight that I had longed for a looong loong time ... the fatayers blowing up in the oven. It was a heavenly sight for me.

And now for some what was prepared while I was at home...enjoying my 75 days maternity leave.

Chicken majboos....whole chicken cooked in water with various spicesn browned in the oven and rice cooked in the same water used to cook the chicken.

Shrimp Fajita, cooked shrimp with sauted onion and capcicum with my additonal touchings of corm and green peas.

Flower puffs, with spring roll pastry sheets..didnt come out well as you see.

Usmania....chicken here, a single pot meal...rice cooked in the same pot after preparing the curry. Arabic dish.

First trial with puff pastry sheets..had nothing to keep in as filling, so it was just leftover cabbage thoran from afternoon lunch, and hence the name...Cabbage-Thoran puff.

And a few which was taken long back...(while I was carrying, that is) but never got itself up on the blog then...

Paachoru..(sorry I forgot from whose blog I had taken the recipie ) Rice cooked in coconut milk...sorry again, I forgot the exact measurements and what else I had used.

Masala peanuts...done in MW...which you have seen in many of the blogs...

Purple (plum) jam from Viji of VCuisine

And now again...going back to my yesterday experiments...done while the dough was raising...

These white pretty lovely angelic melt-in-the-mouth sweets were my ever favourites from childhood..Meringues....happened to read some recipies which looked like.."aah, this is sooo simple to do...why not give it a try....beat egg white till fluffy, add sugar n essence ..again beat, and bake....easyyyy...was i not happy to get such a simple thing to doo....

and...

...

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......

.......

look how it turned out to be....
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Oooh My dear holy God!!! am I not the least ashamed to be showing it out in public to all the master-chefs reading this post !!!!..naaaeeehhh

aah, well anyways,....every valley has a rise n deeep falll...

later today, did i see this link here.....my! this is not as easy I thought it would be.

Aaaahhh..so much of the cookery side...

and now..for all those who had the patience to reach uptill here...

I am posting you the link to my orkut album where I am very much around...and my family....

http://www.orkut.com/Main#AlbumList.aspx?rl=mo&uid=12583494853894044697

so, even if this blog reaches its coffin again...you will find me in there, always live!

Thanks and cheers and warm regards,

Lots of lov,

Sona Santhosh - the kitchen scientist

After a break, from hibernation...

2008-03-13T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hi ladies,

its been a long time since i have jotted down something here, thanks to all for your regards...it really means so much to me!!

Had a nice time in India with parents, in laws and relatives..Shanye had a great time too...

Me running 6 months now.....here is a snap of me n kid taken last weekend.

Gave myself a new luk with hair cut shortttt. Shayne is turning 3 next month. He's begun to speak more words now, but the "fill-in-the-blanks" kind of way....with just the basics, we need to fill in the connectors.

Know what, he manages Sa Re Ga Ma too !!! (to repeat that is..)

I am right here, alive ... !!!!

2007-12-24T03:02:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
.
Its been some time since I have made any new post...was literally afraid if my blog would just die down!!!

.
Honestly, was not in the least of mind frame to be typing out anything. I am running 2.5 months now. Had two rounds of "vaaal" today(in malayalam..hee hee)..or vomiting, that is....
.
I am very much depending on the tablet "Navidoxine"..to help me through....takes it almost daily...missed it yesterday night, and hence the vaaaalll during office timings tooo..... Luckly, for me, things are always the other way round. Usually, pregnant women tend to have morning sickness, while me..here is fine in the mornings, provided I dont take even a drop of water, till I reach my office.
.
I am very much into "Evening Sickness!!!...and its getting really cold too here, so am very much on my couch, all cuddled up in my comforter...and with a bad bad cough, to make things worse.
.
As was with my first child, I have started having this "no no" towards drinking water. GOing more for watermelons as substitute. And hey, I need your advice. Is it mut that I should drink milk????
.
I know its silly to ask,...but honestly, I have been a dairy hater from scratch (I dislike milk, never even bother to look at yougurt, butter, cream, cheese...except for ice creams). Previously, for my first pregnancy,I was with my mother, so had no way but to have milk, with some added powders to camouflage the smell..but now, it me alone here, ...so...just cant set myself to take a glass of this white thinghy and have it by myself!!!.
.
I told mummy that I vomitted each time I drank milk, and she suggested..moleae, atleast eat some milk powder!!! (was she jokin???).
.
I keep a pouch of flakes, the healthier variety... in my bag, and keeps munching it in between, and that too without milk. Just like that. I have got my excuse anyway..I say I will drink milk, after 3-4 months, once my vomitting and stuff subsides..(hopefully!!!!).
.
As for other happenings, well....we had a cooking event, which by no other choice, I had to host, for my husbands college Allumini Ladies Forum. Had just very less time prepare, so went for very very simple cooking....and in the end, I came up with 10 different foodies...
.
1. Palak thoran, prepared in MW,
2. Purle Jam in MW, courtesy Viji of VCuisine
3. Pasta Coleslaw, original version from Ashajee
4. Pickled eggs
5. Potato wedges in MW
6. Todd in a hole, something I had posted sometime back
7. Corn flaked mixture, also from Viji
8. Fruit - cake Kebaks
9. Assorted bun pizzas
10. Mint and fruit ices...phew!!!, wasnt I flattttt tired after all these!

Thats me, and my spread....I have already started to blot up !!! (As if, I was slim, before!)..

Well folks, bye for now..happy Christmas, Happy New Year....

We are going to Indian by mid of Jan so, most probably, my next post will be after that....Catch ya all later....

Lov lov and lov,

Sona

My favourite side dish, my favourite snack....

2007-11-11T03:36:00.000-08:00

and the reason why they are my favourites??..coz they are most easiest of recipies i have ever come across...

Super fast Ginger-Tamarind Chutney:

All you need is chopped ginger, onions, green chillie, a tsp of chilliepowder, jaggery syrup, curry leaves, salt to taste and thick tamarind pulp.

Scoop all of them into a mixing bowl, and mix wellllll....thats it....no power, no gas !!!, all manuall....

Not going in for th exact quantity of the stuffs, as its truly upto our own descretion. Need it more hot, add more chillie, more "tinghy", add the tamarind, want it more sweet, addmore of the jaggery syrup. All up to you...

(Jaggery syrup is prepared by melting it in water, over the stove and stirring in between. Prepare more and can be kept for long in closed bottles in the freezer)

Moong-Dal Treat:

This is something that I learned from my MIL. A superfast snack, u can have with tea, and its healthy too !!

Take cooked Moong dal in a bowl, add jaggery syrup, fresh coconut, and a pinch of salt . Mix well, and off to serve...pretty easy isnt it?

Both my favourites go straight to the Powerless Cooking Event
by An Easy Cooking Blog.

The Ginger - Tamarind Chutney goes off the Think Spice, Think Ginger Event hosted by Sunitha of Sunitha's World.

Fantastic Four, and What's in a Name MEME...and an update : I am pregnant....yuppie!!!

2007-11-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

Bharathy of Spicychilly has tagged me for the Fantastic Four, and ever known Asha-jee of Foodie's Hope for What's in a name MEME.....and its been sometime now, so better not to keep it for long. So, here it is....

4 Places I've lived:

Suprisingly, these four places starts with the same word...."K"

1. Kochi : Where I was born and brought up

2. Kothamangalam : 4 years there doing my Engineering

3. Kottayam : Couple of months after my wedding (that's where my husband hails from)

and finally, my present K

4. Kuwait....where next, Kenya ????...naaeeehhhh

4 Job's I've done:

1. Interior Designer. Honestly, felt like having a break after 4 long techi years...so went straight and enrolled for this diploma course. Our job training was after our final exams for one month..but I just liked what I was doing, so much..gave a special request to my institution to start my training right from my study hols..and was I not really glad, that when all my other batchmates got one month training under any reputed architect, i had it for 3 months..and a permanent posting later on too!!

Some clippings of my work at that time:

2. Civil Engineer with my usual site visits and inspections under the false name of a Marine Engineer. (Let the client just never happen to know, when they showed me a huge pile of drawings, and a hell-lotta techi names falling from their mouths, and the only thing I cud remember was "My my..I have heard all these names somewhere......". Nothing more than that. But surviving on very cooly with the grateful assistance of the supervisor there who is also from Kerala, so which drawing he says is fine and can be approved, is approved by me too ..!!!!..

Thats me at work....Posing among things, which you just dont even know what its called, but calling yourself a specialist in it ....its exciting, anyways !!!

3. Aakri- (Junk ) Collector:

Something, which is way too associated with me...junk stuff!!! Find something interesting, and it goes straight into my Aakri-box. Might stay there for years, but God alone knows when it would come handy, and in what form.

This is my latest addition....found these curtain samplers dumped near a garbage bin, while on our way after shopping, walking to where our car was parked....Passed by it with my eyes fully glued to it, and with some eye contact, Santho knew exactly what I meant! Turned right back, and brought home, as much we could carry. (It was late night at that time, glad no Bengali's saw me, collecting things which are their default properties). Am I not the least ashamed to write about it!!!

These are some roles they do now for me...a bow or a fabric base for my flower vases, pin up tie for the curtains, cushion back for our bedroom couch....

4. Photographer (at heart..nothing professioanl). Learned about Macro and stuff through various communities in orkut, while was free in office about a year back, and thats how it all started. I usually carry my camera with me always in my bag, and click click click...then and there, a file on my desk, plaant nearby, rubberbands, ...

...and these below are may ever favourites....
.

still feel like laughing at the wordings.....
. ...and this, especially because, I found it at Santho's worksite, who was showing me around the whole stretch of the desert where they are laying underground pilelines for oil, and was sooo boasting all the way to glory of the works they were doing, their equipment .... but my eyes stayed on this particular one...

I silently asked him..."Santho, do you provide the road markers and signages too ?

"EEEVERYY SINGLE THING!!!"...came the proud reply.

"So, this is urs too ?....Excellent!!!!"..I pointed this to him, and trust me, u had to see the look on his face!!

4 Favourite Places I 've holidayed

1. Ooty

2. Munnar

3. Kodai

4. Thekkadi

4 Favourite Foods:

I remember while were on our family trip to Velankanni, with my parents and brother, the waiter came in to get the order for dinner..my father, didnt even have a look at the Menu, but just straight at him and said

"Ome MB, one CB, one EB, one VB"..thats it!!

The waiter just couldn't make head or tail of what my father was saying....and my dad laughingly answered..

"One Mutton Biriyani, one chicken biriyani, one egg biriyani and one Veg biriyani!!!

My my, biriyani,...under whatever be the head, they are my ever fav's...

4 Places I'd rather be...

1. Naturally, back home after a long days work...esp when its real busy busy in the office

2. Right in this water above..thats my fav. beach..trust me its sooo shallow, u go even 20-25 mts into the sea, the water is just till your waist. Thats where we spend our friday mornings, me and my kid learning to swim...and our flat is right behind the yellow buildings in the snap.

3. My husband's place in Kottayam with all the lush greenaries and rubber treea around. For a person born and bought up in a huzzle buzzle busy city, this is always a refreshment!

View from the balcony, during the rain....

Shayne, amongst the rubber trees...

4. Any land of buddhist architecture...china, bhutan, nepal..so sooo....

..and finally, 4 bloggers, I'd like to tag...

1. Viji of VCuisine

2. Shn of Mishmash

3. Jeena of Jeena's Kitchen

4. Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures

What's in a Name MEME

I have no middle name, so just going for S-O-N-A, that's me!

S - Silly,...I can come with the silliest of excuses for a work not done on time, an errend forgotten, and hubs baptised me as "Silly Excus-O-mani"

O - Optimistic. Always. Trusts to the core, that whatever happens in life, will in one form or the other, one day or the other, will be always for our good.

N - Nostalgic. Can spent hours thinking about past events, old friends, school n college lives.....hummmm

A - Ambitious. Else not, I just wouldnt exist in this blog sphere. Cooking was something which was just not something to do with me, and look what I am doing now......

And the best part again..tagging....

S - Shella, of Kitchen Art

O - One Hot Stove author, Nupur (no much blogs and names with O, here)

N - Nags, of For the Cook in Me

A - A Cook @ Heart, Manasi.

Happy MEME, pretty ladies......

Heard so much about Egg Roast, what about Egg in a Roast ???

2007-11-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

You got what I meant, isnt it ??? Give a break dearies...not goin in for too much words.

Wanna have a peep into the green room, look right below.....

Pop mustard seeds in oil, saut onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves till golden brown. Add in little of the powder variety - chillie, turmeric, coriander, and egg/chicken masala powder. Add just a little bit of water, keep closed for a couple of minutes...and just follow the images above. That's it. Do not forget the tastemaker - salt, folks.

(I added some tomato puree too, as it was a bit too hot !!!).

Off it goes to the WBB Omlette event by Kanchana of Married to a Desi. The mastermind behind the WBB's is none other than Dr. Nanditha, of Saffron Trail. Looking forward to the next ...

Triple Nut Sweet

2007-10-31T03:39:00.000-07:00

Have been seeing all the various types of sweets overflowing in various blogsites, especially in regard to the events and festivals....and was like.."Ooh my... shouldnt me too be a part of all the fun??....But I have never made any sweet of any kind myself. So, for a long time now..had been raiding various blogistes for something which I thought is possible my me too...and finally, well settled in for the Butternut Squash Halwa by Viji of Vcuisine. (Click here for the recipie) . Trust me, she is a real specialist in jams, halwa's..sweets...infact anything. I dedicate these flowers to you Viji...happy journey !!!

honestly, I was soo thrilled to see the halwa take its form in the Microwave, but the quantity was very less to be served to about 7-8 craving mouths (ourselves and our relatives who live in the rearby flat), so had to think of something to increase its volume..

So, this was how the final presentation looked like....

Triple Nut Flowers....Crushed CashewNUT Stigma, ButterNUT Squash Style and PeaNUT Petals !!!.

Other shapes : Halwa Cresents: Took a small ball of the halwa, flattened it with the fingures, placed few cashew crushes in the centre, and folded close, to get the cresent shape.

Halwa Roll : made into cylindrical shapes, and rolled in cashew crush.

This entry goes to the JFS : Diwali. Happy Diwali, Dassera and Halloween. Ofcourse, the sweet doesnt have anything to do with halloween, but being the month of october, thought better put up something relative to pumpkins too.

Rice sticks (served upside down??) and weekend in the sea...

2007-10-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

Rice - Sticks ....it was the first time I was trying this out, and the first question that came to my mind seeing the perfectly white colour of the cooked sticks was....."Oh, my have these sticks been bleeched or tossed in Ujala (the common brand of Super-white, fabric whitener.... available in India) . The colour was way too bright!

Cooked the sticks in water, adding salt and for an Indian touch, added cumin seeds too..it did give a distinct flavour and taste to the sticks, believe me ....

Usually, pasta's are served with the toppings on top....but what if you start thinking the other way round ???

Large serving of veggies below, and the noodle on top .... life is boring without variety, u agree...???

UPDATE : This image goes straight to the Click Event by Bee with this month's theme being noodles.

My ever handy veg-mix :

This particluar veg mix of mine, has been a great time saver for me, and the best, last weekend.

All those on the right is sauted in oil, with ginger, garlic, soya sauce(the thicker variety, lest the mix gets soggy after a while) , tomato sauce, chillie sauce, dashed with salt, pinch of sugar and pepper . Thats all its about.

But, its applications are really various.

Mix it with cooked basmathi rice, u have your instant fried-rice

Mix with Noodles...ur mixed noodles..(addition of non is at your discretion)

Stuff inside a bun, make a sandwich....go on, and play with your own ideas ....

Each time i prepare my veg mix, I usually make it in large quantity, and go with any other variation the next day......and wasn't I really glad that I did !!!

The noodles was had for Thursday dinner. Fridays, Santho goes to play cricket in the mornings (God alone know what time he leaves...I will be way too asleep to keep track)

And on his way back, he gave me call and said "Sona we are going to beach today..get ready, Sandeep and family will be there too !!!)

I was like ..."Oh my God, what do I prepare ???..going to the beach without my contribution of food is the least think I can think off. Rest was all ?><)*^$##@@%)@#%%.

Arabic Sandwich:

Took Kuboos bread, applied a layer of light-mayo, layered the mix, topped with chopped chicken meat slightly fried in oil, with pepper and salt (boneless chicken meat is also an ever present thingy in my freezer... u never know when, what comes in hand!) . Top it with ketchup, roll over and in a foil. Khallaasss .

Fresh Salad

Thankfully, had my maid this weekend so off she was with the chopping of the veggies for the salad plate.

Well done Anita, u did a good job, and quite fast too !!!
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Potato Wedge :

.Chopped as shown without removing the skin, dashed some salt, pepper and chillie powder onto it..straight to the MW till tender, and deep fried.

Shrimp Curry:

Sorry, I dont have a good snap of it, just managed a closeup, as and way it was packed hot in the casserol.

U find a really class recipie and snap of shrimps here, by dear Mishmash. I didnt have the time to wait that long to get the roasted effect, neither coconut chunks.

...and finally, this was my contibution to our this weekend beach-day out.
Marinated fish, and Kappa (Mallu's all time fav...sponsored by Anu...Sandeep's better half)

Thought I would share some of our personal moments with my co-bloggers....

This one is from our last weekend break with family n friends....

Below is one such, during last month, also with Sandeep, Anu and our cousin Ajo..not to forget our littleman Shayne !
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The one below was a couple of month back, after we relocating our flat to this place called Mahboula, which gives us the greatest luxury of a peaceful beach just at walkng distance, and a sea view from our balcony!.. So every friday morning, is learning time...for me..Swimming !!!..Now, trust me, late 20's is not that late to start to learn..better late than never. Myself and my 2 and a half year old Shayne are learning swimming together...and Eureka!!..last week I floated by myself !!...yuppieeee!!!

From yours to mine, the modified versions, and a Salad Dinner.

2007-10-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

My husband informed me that we will be having the parents of one of his friend coming over for dinner, and it was his closest collegue from college, so I need to serve them well. Condition was "No experimenting on them, please..they are in their late 50's, one of them is diabetic, and the other is having cholesterol..so you have to careful with the ingredients, Sona".

So, as a proof to him that I will not make this couple my white-rats, next day showed the blogged links of these dishes below. They are tried and tested, so are fool proof. My first thought was to go the Diet Food Event, see if any posts had come up, but couldnt find what I was looking for then..(will wait for the roundup). So, gave a try , and could very well serve them, a Salad Dinner !!!

Prepared this Mushroom Noodle soup, by replacing chicken with mushrooms from this recipe, by The happy cook, of My Kitchen Treasures, all the way from Belgium. I used vegetable stock cube for my soup.

Pasta- Coleslaw, from Foodie's Hope, of dear Asha. Click here for recipe. I made the addition of cooked macroni, and raisins to it, to make it similar to the ones servred by Pizza Hut (forget KFC for a while!), used low fat milk, and Light Mayo. Did not add vinegar to this, as it was in hand for the ones below.
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Simple cucumber salad: Cucumber sliced very thin, mixed with white vinegar, garlic powder, dry parsley , sesame seeds and salt to taste.
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Tabbouleh, an Arabic Salad, with finely chopped parsley, onions, tomatoes, and baked to crips, arabic pita bread (kubos), mixed with extra virgin olive oil, white vinegar and salt to taste.

Warning : Add the bread pieces just before serving, lest it gets sogged by the moisture of the veggies. (Learned from my own experience. Prepared it few hours before my guests arrived, and by the time it got served, it was all soggy...hummmmmm)

The salad tastes best when the bread is really crisp.

Mixed Raita : Low fat curd (shop bought), mixed with chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, baby corn, pomogranade seeds (a few), finely chopped dates, and cilantro leaves.
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Saffron Rice: Fry various spices...cardamom, pepper pods, cinnamon, cloves, cumin seeds, mace in butter, fry the rice too, and cook with exactly double quantity water with salt to taste. Add saffron strands to low fat milk, and mix with the rice, to get the required colour. Serve by decorating it with with fried raisins, cashewnuts and onions.

Naadan Kozhi curry, the Kerala Style Chicken....from Seena of Simple and Delicious, except that I added tomato as puree instead of pieces, and added a 4-5 table spoons of cashewnut paste too, to make the gravey really thick. You find the recipie here.

Easy custard, which even a policeman can make. Tapioca custard powder, mixed with low fat milk, and few strands of saffron added to the milk, to get a mild yellow colour. Boiled, cooled and off to set.

At first glance, it looks very much similar to custard prepared by the regular shop bought powders. Yet, in taste, this was different.

Didnt have the time to play around much with it, so decorated the same way, as you would have seen earlier in one of my posts...

Cut the set custard in triangles, laid a slice of mixed fruit jam over it, and what you see above on top, are my "flopp" choco-curls !
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Hope you all enjoyed my spread. The guests enjoyed too !....Happy cooking...

Usually, the cookery events in the blogsphere merrily decides, what we need to cook. That was exactly the case, which made to use saffron for the rice and custard, so off it goes to the Think Saffron Event., hosted by Sunitha.

But, as far as diet food is concerned, it was just the other way round. Had the meal prepared, and later did I realize..well..i can sent it off to Hima of SnackORama too !!!

Two birds in a shot!

Ceyaa..catch you later !!!

Easy Pancake, and assorted Bread variations !!!

2007-10-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

My mom used to make this easy pancake, to feed our hungry stomach's after school...mixing Maida (flour), one egg, sugar amd milk to form a loose batter, and make them as dosa's on a flat tava. Sorry, no snaps of it..but there's something very similar done by Jeena here..
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This still remains a fav. of mine to date, so had it made for an evening snack. As usual the story, the batter bowl still remaind unfinished, so the next day..its variations begin to take form.
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Type I : Bread Toast :
Cover the bread in the batter, and off to a non-stick pan to toast, lightly spraying the pan with cooking oil. Cut as triangles.
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Type II : Bread Sticks :
Added seasame to the pancake mix, coated it over...and thats where my slim slim vermicilli came to action!
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Broke it down as tiny pieces and cover the bread with it. Off to shallow fry, with crushed sugar on top.

Type III : Bread Kunaffa :

Cut the bread as squares, to the panckae mix, added some instant coffee (didnt have cocoa powder, or anything related to chocolate at that time, but wanted to give it a choco-touch..so settled in for coffee, something similar atleast...)

...that's it....my Bread Kunaffa !!!...trust me, you see all those delicious looking sweets in the market...go wondering how in the world are they done....but, a little bit of observation, interest and creativity...you can come up with something entirely new by urselves, even with the simplest of ingredients..with the least effort too !!!!

Hope you all liked my extra simple snack...great way to fool your kids n hubby !!, and guests too!!!

Kunaffa ???..are you sure ???

2007-10-18T04:27:00.000-07:00

Id was in the air...and still is (see the needle on the clock nearing 2 pm, and it was time to leave the office for the whole of last month, hummm.....got to wait 3 long hours more till next year, same time......till then, Ramadhan,.....I miss you!!!)

All the stores and markets will be piled up with sweets, and one think which I noticed, apart from Indian sweets, you see a lot of Vermicilli in use(the thinnest of the lot) .

I remember, my previous manager, Dr. Ward, who was a Briton, trying to explain to a guest who was also from UK, about Arabic sweets, and calling them "sugar-strands!!".

Apart from the regular use of Vermicilli in Kerala as in Semiya payasam, or Uppma....their use was very much limited, till I came to see all these sweets over here.

So, this is one such ***** I prepared, with the sole aim of using Wards' so called "sugar strands",which I had purchased not knowing exactly what to do with it, except the determination that it will not end up in a bowl of milk as Payasam!

Clue 1 : http://www.flickr.com/photos/nescafe/254186513/

Clue 2 : http://www.flickr.com/photos/adventuressheart/424168483/in/photostream/

I presented it to a friend of mine, who is in Kuwait for over a decade, and she was at first glance "Oh, you know to make Kunaffa, Sona!!!...can you give me the recipie, please...."

Reply : "Kunaffa ????...so..sooo..."

Any guess guys, whats my kunaffa is all about ???....

Till then, see you on Sunday, as its weekend here Friday and Saturday.

Pizzas-de-assorted !!!

2007-10-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

Craving for Pizza ????...craving for some fun and excitement in your lab ???
There you gooo !!

These are my mini-pizza's, but without the usual pizz base...
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Too lazy to bake the base, alright, there's the burger buns for your rescue...!..An easy readymade softy pizza base,..just slice a bun into two, apply tomato/pizza sauce onto the base, and let your creativity fly with the ingredients!!!
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Pizza No I : Egg Pizza ...heard that before?..I haven't...

Sliced quail eggs, with chopped spring onions, dash of salt and pepper, scraped cheese ....

straight to the Microwave on 40% Power for 2 minutes (per Piece)

Pizza No II, Sausage Pizza (for a Pepperoni effect)

I dont have to say more, should I ???

Pizza No III, ...Extra-Spicy Super Supreme (my version, that is !)...a total mix ...chicken "scraps", mushroom, baby corn, bell pepper, tomato, anything that i could lay my hand on...with a lavish dash of pepper, and dry-parsley.

and finally, my true baby...A Fruit Pizza !!!.....

....never have seen one in any other blogs, so just takes the default patent for it...

All the veggies and non's get replaced by grapes, tiny pieces of mango, pinepple, apple, banana...see the difference..its lovely!!!

now thats what experimenting is all about, after all !!!

This is my contribution to the MEC -Snacks. Hope you all liked by Quickie Pizzas.

UPDATE: I am sending this also off to the Leftover Tuesday's event.

Spaghetti nest, for a rest....

2007-10-07T01:19:00.000-07:00

Jai and bee of Jugalbandi has come up with this interesting photography event with this month theme being Eggs. At first place, the thought goes to egg inside a nest, but where in this desert-country-flat building of mine, as I gonna find some hay straws and stuff???

Well....there was no choice to that, but I could rather come up with something, similar to a nest!!!

First things first...NO LOGICAL THOUGHTS ON THIS SNAP PLEASE!!!

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Anyone out there, if have wondered,..gosh!..how did that bird land up with such huge an egg....hee hee...look closely at the eyes of the bird. Think a mother bird to look at its egg that way???...Naaeeehh ..!!

Its an intruder!!...

.The mother quail is right after me, for stealing her other baby eggs for the omlette event, the brainbaby of Kanchana, of Married to a Desi...cruel me!!

Hope the images just speaks the preparation.

Usually, I cook spaghetti the whole pack with salt, ginger garlic paste, soya sauce and chillie sauce, a portion of it is added with sliced veggies and stuff, as a veg-version, couple of days later, it goes with non'es, to be served as a mixed plate.

As always the story, a portion of the cooked spaghetti gets left behind, not the least sufficient to make a serving, and hence this time, ended up as shown.

Curl the spaghetti around a wooden fork onto a paper cup.( I used two cups together for better stability), spread it a bit to fill in the cup, place a boiled quail egg in the centre, sprinkle pepper powder on top og the egg and the nest, cover the edges of the cup with cilantro leaves..and off for a presentation!

Keeping the mother bird next to the egg, or an intruder ....is all upto you.

Thats the pack I had used, the heart-healthy, whole grain wheat organic brand, and hence this post also goes to the WYF-Diet Food event by Hima of SnackORama.

At this point, I go back to our childhood Christmas time, when we make cribs at home...many years back, one of our older cousin brother used to make one for us, and he used to cut patches of a green grass from our "neighbour's" backyard, for the original look for the crib. ..

Years passed, he left to the Gulf, and it was upto me and my brother to do it. By that time, our father passed a law of the crib to be placed in our home-patio, not outdoors, ..as our dogs(3 of them!!) , to our greatest horror, very merrily used to make the grass bed their "mattress" each night, and Mother Mary and Baby Jesus would be at different poles of the garden!!!

So, the crib took it place from then on indoors, the green gress gets replaced by straw, next year it is replaced by paper scraps, and the next year..its just green felt paper to lay the small figurines !!!

One of my brothers' friend had come home the day we were making the crib, and commented "Ohh, your Jesus, is laid on paper!!!...ours is on Plywood"!!!

Here, from a twig-straw nest..the egg gets laid on a Spaghetti nest............. Happy nesting!!!

Update : This is also my entry to the Presto Pasta Nights event, by Ruth of 4everykitchen.

does this look like a hard burnt cookie with a cream n jelly topping???

2007-10-03T00:07:00.000-07:00

well....not exactly !!!!.. can call it a "Dal-cookie" if you need to...

Our ordinary "Paripuvadai" but served, with a difference !!! ....atleast, at first glance, the on-looker gets a suspicious look on their face, "what is this"????

A south indian preparation of moong-dal soaked in water for a couple of hours, and ground coarsely in the blender, mixed with chopped green chillie, curry leaves, onions , salt to taste...and off to fry.

(i dont think onions are a part of their original recipie..but as I didnt have an exact recipie to it, just went forward to give a try..but what I have learnt from this trial, is to better keep away from onions or shallots as the dal takes more time to cook compared to the onions, and the latter has the chance to get burnt. Few of my vadas did get burnt too, and had to dispose it.

Refer the images for the "slightly burnt effect" of the onions)

Vadai's are not anything special, as a south-indian snack, but with a difference in presentation...they are special !!!
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I served it with a small spread of chutney(I used mango chutney, as it was already available in my freezer, so didnt have to make it all over again) on the top, and ketchup too (again for a difference!)

For the mango chutney, grind raw mango along with coconut scrapings, green chillie, ginger, cumin seeds, shallos , salt to taste and a touch of water.
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I quote my Office manager here ...

"Anything that is right, but doesn't look right...is not right...

but...

anything that is not right, but looks right.....will be considered as right!!!

U get what I mean??...Thats it!!..Mine was not the right recipie, but it looked good, and hence got the compliment "Good" too !!! Thats all thats needed to make my day, and it did !

I am sending this over to the TCI Event on Tamil Festival foods organised by Viji of Vcuisine.

2 dozen posts in a month!!..yuppiee..presenting, The Mighty "Kappa" had a great fall....

2007-09-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

The Kappa Remake (Tapioca or Cassava Root) , or rather..the greatest injustice to the royal kappa..from its mighty place from a main dish, to a noble side server!!

Its really surprising, how physical distances of just a couple of kilometers even within the same region, brings about such drastic variations to taste and modes of preparation of food.

My husband hails from the district of Kottayam, which is more agricultural in nature. Almost every home in this region will have "Kappa's" in their backyard, and hence is an inevitable part of the main diet, usually as the main dish, along with Fish-curry.

Bharathy, of Spicy Chillie, who also hails from Kottayam has a very detailed description of the making of the fish -curry here. Thanks Bharathy, it saved me a lot of effort in tying it all out!!

Myself, on the other hand, is from Kochi, the bussiieee-urban city bout 80 kms from Kottayam, where our homes just get the barest luxury to have "sample cultivations", ie, just one item each of plants..if ever one is interested in gardening or cultivating own crops, this is!!!

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So, kappa's are all purchased from the markets, as far as "Kochi-nivasi's" are concerned, this item just stays as smaller servings, along with "Puttu" for breakfasts. (or atlest, thats how my mom used to prepare it).

I had purchased a pack of frozen Kappa and prepared it as a "Special -homeward bound-treat" for Santho, last weekend, which was consumed with the greatest of pleasure!

The same menu was served twice, but got not a sign of rejection..but again, few pieces of the boiled kappa was left behind, which looked too unworthy (as of my thoughts!!) to be served as a main server, and hence..readily settled down for a remake , by chopping it into pieces, and the rest is what you call....the "demobilization" of the "crown prince"!!!

Pop mustard seeds in oil, saut together chopped onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves...add in the powders (chillie and turmeric) , the chopped kappa's, salt to taste in little water, brought to boil till it attains a thick consistency.

There was a can of green peas in my freezer, which I had opened the previous day, so what was left went straight in too, and the can to the bin, of course!

This was served with Chappathi for dinner...very well knowing what would be the exact comments to come out from my husband.

I know most bloggers, who say about the appreciation they get for their dishes, but here I am who is the least ashamed to boast about the "distressed look" that my hubby had on his face, to see their royal "Kappa" in this state, all chopped to pieces!!!

.He had no other choice, but to have it. "Gosh, how can you ever do this "..was what was in his mind. But for me, it was just a warm treat, a taste going back to my mom's kitchen...and once again, taking me back to my...principle "Of girls to learn cooking not from our mothers, but from our mother-in-laws!!!" This is a proof to it"..Hummm, will it be injustice to say so???..or rather I will put in this way.."Girls better learn cooking from that person, whose food your husnabd likes the best! (that's better , isnt it?)

...atleast, I like the way my mom cooks, so had a great dinner!

This is also my entry to Nandita's Leftover Remake Event.Hope she accepts it, as I am one day late for submission.

Grapes Kebab, stuffed Grapes...stretched out grapes..you name it..

2007-09-25T03:02:00.000-07:00

Knew that there was an event coming up on Grapes, but had lost track of it...and somehow, just landed up in the blog Swad of Swapna..and there it was!!..Grapes..Grapes..Grapes. I had prepared this dessert to post for the same, but had not got the time to prepare the presentation, and kept in lagging behind, and to my surprise..gosh!!!..today, is the last day for submission....

So, got a quick presentation done, and its still 1: 25 pm, noon..here in Kuwait..so, still on time..better late than never !!..(As usual, my true self...always late!!)

So, this is my simple, quick grape dessert ...a slight change in the order of arrangement and presentation of dessert, makes a world of difference.

Usually, with fruits on board the dessert plate, they tend to land on top of the custard under the head " Fruit salad", alongside with any ice cream of your choice. This time, I wanted some change to it...and there was born, my fruit kebab. Its not my patent baby thou..have seen it here and there, quite a number of times..but it was the first time I really tried it out.

Using 6 inch bamboo skewers, pin all the sliced fruits together..grapes, apple, pineapple, banana, orange...whichever is available. Roll the skewer in condensed milk, then in dessicated coconut....chill for a couple of hours....and off to serve!!!! Easssiieeee...

I tried adding in a piece of Galaxy chocolate too..(but it just wouldn't stay ....breaks off). Can pin in a cube of cake piece for a change, if you want..I didn't have any at that time, hence not on my fruit kebab.

The Kebab was served with a scoop of strawberry ice-cream, and a slice of custard topped with a thin slice of (can you guess what it is.....hee..hee...its just strawberry jam!!!)..nothing official about it, and my "so-so" chocolate curls. Peeled the edge of a chocolate (I used one from my kid's Galaxy choc-box....and very heartly, finished the leftover) using a veg peeler.

This dessert goes out to the "Fresh Product of the Month" event organised by Marta of Chemcookit

MW Basic, Entry II @ Avial and Weekend Lunch

2007-09-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

My second entry to the MW Basic event.....the making of a typical kerala vegetable side-dish, "Avial". It basically consists of all sorts of vegetables, steamed and mixed with a coconut paste/chutney and cooked for a couple of minutes.

While preparing Avial (0r any dish which involves different vegetables that require diffrent levels of cooking time) in a MW, the only thing which we need to keep in mind is the arrangement of the veggies.

As shown in the picture above, arrange the "tough" veggies - yam, potatoes, raw banana, drumsticks, radish, ....all around the outer edge of the MW safe bowl, and the "less tougher" ones like okra (lady's finger), tomato, pumpkin, beans, brinjal, cucumber, ivy gourd, green chillie...all to the centre of the bowl for even cooking. No need to add water. They will cook by itself!

Power: 70-75 %

Time : 4-5 minutes. (Keep for some more time if they are not tender yet. Do not change the power setting.)

For the coconut paste, grind together..coconut scraping, garlic, ginger, cumin and baby onions coarsely in the grinder with just a couple of teaspoons of water.

Add the paste to the cooked vegetables, salt to taste, and keep back in the below setting.

Power: 70-75 %
Time : 2-3 minutes.

Give about 5 minutes standing time . Mix 1 tbs of cooking oil. Avial is done!

A portion of the coconut paste was left behind...didn't have the mind to throw it off..and hence used it to make this tomato-curry...which was my "all time favourite", right from childhood..as its is not hot or spicy, at all. This was done on the stove, simultaneously as the avial was taking form in the MW.

Boil few tomatoes, onions(sliced the way you like...I prefer to cut both as thin circles) in water along with some green chillie, salt and turmeric powder.

Add half a cup of yougurt to the coconut paste, give one run in the mixer to blend it properly, and add to the cooked tomato and bring till boil, or infact, just till bubbles start to form. Do not over boil, lest the coconut and yougurt gets churned.

Pop mustard seeds in oil along with red chillie flakes and curry leaves (a few), and pour over the tomato charu-curry, and mix well. That's it!

just go ahead and have it striaght hot with rice.

That's how I presented the weekend lunch for Santho (hubby), who comes home from work to have lunch. No, not that I dont go for work, of course I do!!..but, I get the luxury of a 2 day weekend (friday and saturday), while he, likle most other private company staffs, gets just one day and a half.

So, last saturday lunch platter was so laid in front of him with rice to be taken along with Avial, Tomato-charu-curry, carrot thoran (just similar to my previous post on Spinach(Palak) thoran, and hence not taking the pain to type the making once again) and cucumber salad.

But guess what...all I got from him was a " Hummm, oookkk" !!

"Whattt, I had prepared all these, fresh and served straight from the pan..and not a single word of appreciation!!!!!...Mmmyy!!..

"Ooh, well....I know how to cheer him up.....

......push the rice aside a bit, and lay this yummy thing just next to it !!!

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That is all what's needed to make his day !!!...happy lunch, deary!

Microwave basic @ Palak Thoran

2007-09-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Seasons has come up with various events on Microwave cooking, and this month, its on MW basics. With my just few basic knowledge in this regard, decided to go for it..and as someone , some where..would have said...."things are best explained when done using an example", this is my first entry to the event..

Making of Palak Thoran in MW.

Now the term "Thoran" is one universal name for the side dish prepared for meals, especially rice in Kerala cooking. The basic ingredients just remains the same, only the master-veg keeps changing..be it carrot, beans, cabbage..and here, its Palak.

I purposefully went for Palak, and only prefers it cooked this way in MW, as the stove cooked one just seems to get too soggy once its done. And for all those out there, who are not much good fans of Palak, (just with the lame excuse that it gets sogged up once cooked, inspite of its all healthy aspects)..this is the Full-Stop to it!!!

Ingredients used here:

Palak - 1 bunch

Oil - 1 tbs

Onions - 2 small

Grated coconut - 3-4 tbs

Garlic, green chillie, curry leaves, turmeric powder, salt (as per taste)

The general skeleton of all cooking, remains the same..be it on stove, or in MW.

The 3 basic elements which needs to be kept in mind while cooking in MW is

a) Power

b) Cooking Time

c) Standing Time

and once we get a flavour of the above seetings for each kind of dish (naturally, in course of time, and by trial and error!!)...Eurekkaaaa, we are done!!!!

Back to Palak,

Step 1: Heat the oil.

The main advantage of using MW is that it just requires very little oil compared to stove cooking. Max 1-2 tbs.

Power - High.

Time - 30 secs...always. Needn't go for more than that.

Do note, keep the cover of the dish (MW safe bowl, of course) closed.

Step 2 : Add in the basics

Mustard seeds, onions, garlic, green chillie and curry leaves to the heated oil and mix well with the spoon. MW it in the below setting, again as usual, with the cover over the bowl.

Power - High.
Time - 1 minute.

If using large quantity of onions..say 3-4 , keep for 1 more minute, till you see the light sauted look and colour on them. See image below.

Step 3 : Add in the master veggies

Now add into the sauted mix, the chopped Palak, little turmeric powder, grated coconut and salt. Mix well. Do not add any water!

Once the vegetable is added, (which ever is being used), always keep in mind to reduce the Power-level. Keep it around 70-75 % only, and with increased cooking time.

Power - 75%

Time - 3-4 minutes.

Do mix the ingredients once in between the cooking process...(and see that the salt is as per your taste ). Just press the Stop button, take it out, mix and place it back. Don't worry, the power and time setting, will not be affected, even if you interrupt in between, unless you cut off the power supply.

Once the set time is up, leave it on for a couple of minutes...called the Standing time, because the cooking process will be still on...say, leave it as such undisturbed for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, you can finish off washing the other dishes, chopper boards, and cutleries!!! Once you are done..the curry is done too.

Take the dish from the MW, and be very careful in lifting the lid up. We do have the tendency to peep into the bowl to see if it cooked, but get the hot steam land hot straight right on your face!!! Raise the lid in such a manner that it opens towards you, blocking the steam from yourself.

Here you are, with my Palak thoran, which is cooked in very less oil...not the least soggy, and taste much better tooo !!!

Enjoy...try it out, and let me know how it went.

Cheers,

Sona..the kitchen scientist.

Todd-in-a-hole, and its leftover version

2007-09-23T04:42:00.000-07:00

This is my entry to WYF - Snacks Event orgainised by Hima of SnackORama. Most of you bloggers would have seen this post earlier,..its just that I had to pick it out from a line of dished which was posted out together in one post, and made as a one single post for the event. Sorry for the repetition..

Drill-in a hole in the centre of the breaf, place over a flat bottom non-stick tava, spray in a light spread of cooking oil, fill in the hole with omlet-mix (beaten egg, chopped onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper powder) wait till its cooked, and flip over....that's it!!...A snack with a difference!!

The cicle cut-outs from the bread slices, get toasted and is served the next day with dried oregano (zatar) in olive oil...but, all up to you, to choose the dipping.

WBB #15, Entry3: Veg-subji..the Egg Comforter

2007-09-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

The egg-white protects the yolk from "chill, chill...just chill" and keeps it comfy...but what happens when the white itself fells cold???

Not to forget the clauses, that this egg was born to a Kuwaiti-mother-hen (the desert breed), and has been kept in freezer that chills up to that level of temperatures than it could ever imagine.

Go ahead, get the eggis some cover...!!!

I hope now you get what the name stands for ..

Another of my leftover remake.Trust me, what ever I prepare tends to stay to the highest level of simplicity in ingredients, to maintain the highest level of easiness in accessing these accessories during the making, so as to make up for my highest level of laziness in typing it all out!!!!....Hoooffff

This Subji had in it, cut-pieces of cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, green peas..sauted in oil with ginger, garlic(a lotttt), green chillies, pepper,salt and turmeric powder. Khalllaaas....done. Nothing more, nothing less. (and of course, mustard seeds as a "Default" starter ingredient in any mallu recipie..same here.

And I suppose, I dont have to speak out much as to what happened to the little bit that was left over. Make few slits on the egg. cover it with the mix, coat in bread-crumps, and off to fry.

Now that is one great treat to the egg-white for protecting the yolk soo mindfully, from the harsh world outside.

(Tip of the day : The work is more than simple, if you use a Quail egg instead of an ordinary one..as its much easy to manipulate. I got soo bugged up trying to coat a huge egg, that I lost all my interest in this making, and took a snap of the done byproduct, just because I had to put in lot of effort to see that the finished egg stays as one piece. )

This is my third entry into the Leftover Remake event behing hosted by Nandita of The Saffron-Trail.

Not to forget..have it hot...with ketchup, ofcourse. Enjoy!!

Meen pollichathu...the NRI version !!!!

2007-09-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Have you guys ever wondered what would be the inner feeling of a fish, who is aware that its going to turn into a fry?..a chicken, waiting for it to be broiled in a rotiserrie ......oooouuuuuhhhh!!! (not the way to start a food blog..isnt it...I am being devilish!)

Saw the post by Nags and Mishmash on this recipie, and had been longing to try it out ever since..but alas!!..just didn't have the basic infrastructure to go forward with it...you neither have a Karimeen(Pearl-spot), nor the plantain leaf (vaaya-ela)!!

You can never even think of a "Meen pollichathu" without these. But as it was Onam season all in the air for Mallus lately, and as a famous quote goes for all keralites..."Ullathu kondu Onam polae"..(just to mean -Make the best of what you've got), decided to experiment with the next best available resource....the only fish that was available in my freezer(dont know what its called)....and ofcourse, Alluminium foil !!!! (Thats what experiementing is all about, isn't it).

(You make a decision to do something, and nothing's gonna hold you back!!!!)

I had no idea how its gonna turn out to be..as I didn't know for how long I should grill the fish and so, to be on the safer side, followed the recipie by Mishmash, of grilling the fish after lightly frying in oil. (Atleast, the fish will stay cook, and be still edible..if my attempt turns out to be a bumper flop).

Here is my version of Meen Pollichathu, with a twist...!!!

(God bless you, Jack and Rose....!!! I am sorry I had to do this to you...but, thats what cooking non-veg is all to mankind)

Event host...anyone????

2007-09-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I have got few interesting themes, which can be hosted as Blog-Events. Being a professional working 9.5 x 5 hours a week, a mother of a highly naughtly pranky young man aged 2 and a half ,and to add to it, my very limited experience of a mighty "one week" into blogging, I'm very much afraid about the time and professionalism that I can commit to blogging.

So..is anyone out there, willing to host the Events. I have got two suggestion.

1) Fuddie-Flowers (make flowers from any veg or fruit, and post it ...as simple as that..dont have to cook a peny !!!)

2) Laptop Lunch: Came across this term from an other blogsite, and found it quite interesting. Its all about quicky-easy lunch packing. For grown -ups, or kids as well. Will be a great blessing to working women, esp those with school going kids !!!

So, any volunteers out there???

Awaiting eagerly for your feedback...

Cheers,

The scientist

(Sona, that's my name)

Mix n Match

2007-09-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

Update : Entry to Presto Pasta Nights , 36...though its an older post,straight to you, Ruth..hope you like it !!!

Also, Entry No.2 to The Leftover Remake Event hosted by Nandita of Saffron Trail. Was in a real surge to have some pasta, or noodles ( I can have them at anytime of the day...breakfast, lunch, or dinner ....pasta had been my ever-favourite from childhood, and still remains the same), just to find littlebits of each type in the packets.....

It was a firm decision that day to finish all the little bits and pieces hanging on in my shelf and refrigerator for quite sometime now...and all they go, straight together in to the pan...off to boil....

It was just a "one-in-a-meal". Or rather, I would call.."three-in-a-meal", because, on close scrutiny, I found the ingredients have all gone as the multiple of 1x3.

Pasta - 3 types,

Veggies - 3 types,

Non's, Sauces and not to mention , the usual taste makers...(pepper, garlic, ginger)..also as threes!!!

......and hence was served on the plate with a bowl of soup, my this megamix...and knowing exactly what my husband would ask (" Now what have you baptised this as?")....replies..." The 5 x 3 Treat !!

WBB # 15, Entry No 1: Remake of a Remake...

2007-09-09T22:51:00.001-07:00

This is my first entry into WBB # 15, hosted by Nandita of Saffron Trail . Kuboos (Arabic Pita-bread) is the most common type of bread found here in the Middle-East, the make varying from country to country. We usually have them for dinner, (I prefer the whole-wheat one purchased from the bhakhala nearby ..never have bothered to make one myself), but a few from the pack just get leftover everyday. Being a person who just doesn't like to waste any food, and also a follower of " Best out of waste" norm, this is how the breads turn out the following day..

Now the Kuboos is done...a bit of the Chillie-Kuboos ( a close relative of Kothu-Porotta, who is too familiar with you guys) again stays behind...and what with that???

All right....there it goes as Remake version II, as a stuffing...(click on the jpg image if the text isn't clear evough to read...I try to keep my words as less as possible...too much text bores me up)

....and take my word, Your hubby just wudn't guess even in his wildest dream, what has gone inside...Enjoy !!! Hope you all liked my redo's.

My Cookbook

2007-09-09T02:26:00.000-07:00

Nags of "For the cook in me" has come up with an interesting event, for showing off our cookbooks, our recipie tutors...and trust me, I did feel a bit ashamed at myself, for not having one yet!!!...and so, I had to make a presentation myself!!!

Honestly, the thought of even purchasing one has never even passed by the side of my brains. I was just comfortable with the various cookery shows that come up on tv (ofcourse, i did have a log of which channel, what show and when...while I was in India....and carrying, and due to some complications, cudn't go for work..so my only option was to lie down on ths sofa and watch tv!!) and the various articles that come up in the magazine "Vanitha", which every Keralite woman would be familiar with. I used to cut down pictures of recipies from it, and stick it in a diary of mine....and that was my so-called cooking guide. Nothing more than that!! ...but now, I have got much greater things happening in life!!!..

I have come across these beautiful cookery blogs.....(it all began with Viji of Vcuisine, just because I saw that she too is presently in Kuwait and a with a casual email to her..many thanks to Viji, for inspiring me to start a blog of my own) and the events that many hosts. Such events were really new to me, and this is my first participation in one such!!

I also take this oppurtunity to show my greatest appreciation to few fellow-bloggers, esp mishmash, for the class presentations, Jeena of Jeena's Kitchen for the step-by-step photo-journal of each recipie, Nags, who inspired that we can very well highlight our own traditional homemade foods to the world, rather than going in search for complicated (for me, that is!) international ones, Asha of Foodie's Hope whom i happen to read from others that she is just all around in this foodie-world, and Coffee of The Spice-Cafe..don't know why, I just love this blog-site, and all the smileys around it..I am too fond of them.

I see the number of Awards that are being passed over from one person to the other, trust me, I still have got no clue, how it it done..(still an alien to that level of technicality of blogging and networking), and so in my heart, i give all these Great Chef's above, a great HATS OFF!!!!

May to Aug '07

2007-09-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

Mickey-Mouse dosa

Layered Veg Biriyani

Lemon Rice

Oat-meal cookies

Vermicilli Payasam

Tomato Rice

Stuffed Kuboos

Shrimp fry and veg nuggets

2007-09-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

Roasted Shrimps

Vegetable nuggets

Chillie beef and veg platter

2007-09-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

All veg lunch

Chillie Beef

Beef meat cut as 2" long thin strands, pressure cooked till tender, marinated in a mix of maida , corn-flour, chillie powder (I always prefer to use the Kashmiri variety..gives excellent colour, and is less hot too), salt, pepper powder and deep fried in oil. Keep aside.

Any oil remaining after frying is used to saute chopped ginger, garlic, diced onions and bell pepper. Add in tomato sauce, chillie sauce and soya sauce, water, a pinch of sugar, pepper powder and ofcourse, salt to taste. When the mix starts to boil, add in the fried meat, and thicken the gravy by pouring a paste prepared by mixing corn flour in water. (I prefer to add in the meat after adding in the water to prevent the meat from getting soggy). Serve hot.

Crab masala, Spicy fish egg n Rice Pulav

2007-09-03T23:02:00.001-07:00

Crab masala

Dry roasted hot n spicy fish egg

Mixed Rice Pulav

All sorts of veggies- carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, green peas, mushrooms, baby corn alongwith chicken bits, sauted in oil with chopped onions and garlic, and slightly cooked in soya and chillie sauce. Mix well the above with cooked rice, garnish with chopped cilantro, raisins and nuts....Mighty colourful, it looks !!

Oothappam & Greeni-wich

2007-09-03T22:50:00.001-07:00

Onion-Tomato Oothapam

Greeni-wich

Al-widhaa, 2006

2007-09-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas !!!! Our Christmas lunch. Some technical problems with the making of the grape wine (so s0) made it extra sweet. Better luck next time, gal...(that's the only thing I could say to myself)...waiting for it to be Nov 07 to try it out once again..hope that turns out right.

The veg-raitha prepared in yougurt gets a dash of "Thousand Island Salad Dressing"..trust me, it tastes different from the ordinary, looks better tooo.

Dates Pickle: Before I was to come to the Gulf, my mom had prepared this pickle (infact, the only pickle I eat..the others are way too hot for me!) and literally forced me to take down its recipie, as dates is one such thing which is Oooh so everywhere in the Middle East. Trust me, she felt that I was joking when I mentioned to her that I had prepared it myself...and wasn't convinced until I showed her a snap of it !!!

It even takes a bit too much of a time for my brother to even digest the fact that "Yeaahh...Sona can also cook"!!!!

Koshari with Dakkous..and what the hell is that???

2007-09-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

....well, I will make it more simpler..in plain English, its just Egyptian Pilaf with tomato-garlic sauce. Thats better, isn't it??

By this time, I get more interested in cooking, and happened to attend a Food Festival organised by a non-profit organisation here in Kuwait, called the Aware Centre . Scroll down the link and you will find the recipie right in front of you. (I will keep aside the indian ones for the time being, and try the middle-eastern stuff)

Ambat-Batata, the only managable recipie I could find, while going through Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana Khazana. Mashed potatoes prepared with sauted onions, green chillie, turmeric powder, and thickened using fresh yougurt. Decorate using chopped cilantro and fresh coconut scrapings.

Peas Masala, Sweet Dokla & The great Jumbo!

2007-09-03T05:54:00.000-07:00

Sweet Dhokla....take idli batter in two separate bowls. Into one, add a pinch of yellow food colour. Pour the coloured batter into the mould, followed by white batter, sprinkle few pieces of chopped dates, resins....and off to steam...

..other starter sessions...

2007-09-03T05:33:00.000-07:00

Learning procedure No II....buy a ready to make pack..(I choose a Bhel-Puri mix), read the instructions carefully...and just obey !!!!....that's absolutely easy work, isn't it...and trust me, I didn't feel the least ashamed, when I served it to few guests who had come home then, who commented that it tasted really great, asked me for its recipie..and smart me, (who had begged my husband not to tell them the truth)..with a "nothing official about it" kind of look on my face, listed out the names of few ingredients which lay directly in the plate in front of them....Inshallah, one day, I will prepare it myself !!!!

The next easiest thing that any new starter to cooking goes out, is nothing but....Noodles...way to easy...and the term PCC takes me back to me engineering classroom, remembering of Plain Cement Concrete, while this one stands for Peas-Corn-Chicken Noodle!!!..my husband who is also a Civil Engineer, could do nothing but grin, at the name of it !!!

Did I forget to mention, my kid's name is Shayne..Shayne Mario Santhosh....or SMS in short!!!!

My first ever snap of an eatable..(taken in Sept '06)

2007-09-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

My interest in photography, which was initially restricted to my kid, later then started to spread around, and finally my cam reached the kitchen too....and it all began with this snap...which I know, even without anyone mentioning it to me...is way sooo ugly....but yet, liked the way it tasted....well, this "it" is my ever first Croissant Sandwich....trust me, I felt so pleased with myself for coming up with something different to sandwich an omlet and few this and that which i happen to lay my hands on, apart from stuffings them in a regular bread-slice or a bun....

Hidden interests....

2007-09-03T04:48:00.000-07:00

My initial five months in Kuwait was entirely dedicated to my "Apprenticeship" (as what Santho used to say) in home making, cooking and everything related to it...and gradually, happened to get more interested in making new dishes and snacks for him, while he comes back from work. Shayne was less than one year old then, so I used to lay him on a mat on the kitchen floor, so as to not to lose sight of him, and even if I do, I knew exactly where he would be....right amongst the utensils, inside the cabinet !!!

A scientist is born...

2007-09-03T04:25:00.000-07:00

Apart from my role as a chopper and a dish-washer, (goes back by 3 years)...my role in my Mom's kitchen was absolutely zero...but I had all serious excuses for it...

"Mommy, if ever I am to learn cooking, then I should never learn it from you, but rather, from my Mother-in-Law !!!!"

....and my very logical explanation to it is that ...." See mommieee, the person that I am going to marry would have been having the food prepared by his mother, would definitely be liking the way it tastes....and so, let me better learn from her !!!...Seriously, the whole essence of what all needs to go in for what, what needs to be cooked for how long....these were too complicated for me....I even used to feel, that I could confuse myself if I learn from two cooks....

But thing s didn't go much well as I thought it would be, because after I got married, my job didn't give me much oppurtunity to learn things from my in-laws, and even before I could even imagine, I was in Kuwait, with a hubby, a tiny-tot and just me !!!!....Ooooohhh my !!!!..and that's how this scientist was born....to be precise , Jan 7th, 2006..that's when I landed in Kuwait....

But thankfully(I gratefullyfeel so now), mummy used to make me (infact, literally force me!) to make note of the ingredients she adds in to the various curries she prepares, and now looking back, those particular bits and pieces of notes are most most valuable treasures!!!

MeMeMe....

2007-09-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

A working professional, a wife and a mother of a highly naughty pranky 2 and a half year old young man, during her free times..(not dedicated to any of the three roles mentioned) happened to be wandering through the world of blogs..cookery blogs....just to find herself dragged towards various creative recipies, and even more, towards the classy presentations that quiet a few bloggers come up with...which eventually led her too to come up with something in her kitchen too, mostly inspired from others to be honest.

And thats me... Sona Santhosh, presently residing in Kuwait, hailing from Kochi, Kerala.