K , walked in with a package tucked under his arm and I assumed it to be from India or from a cousin which is on its way!!

Ta da daaa…. The look on his face told me it was something else.. His eyes sparkling and extremely careful about the package he set it down gingerly and opened it with utmost care and lo so many goodies!!!!

Of course like any blogger who wants to take pictures first and then only let the others eat, I did not allow home to touch anything until I took the pictures of each and every goodie , boxes included. They were expertly packed!

Thank you Indira for making it so special for us. I truly cherish your presence in my life and thank you for being there always!!!

Now here comes the good part , a few pictures of the goodies I sampled and the description in Indira’s own words… She wrote to me an email after I confirmed to her that I received this treasure of goodies!

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I agree I dont leave my trail often in all the blogs… I know my misgivings , especially in terms of appreciating the hard work done by my dear fellow bloggers… I leave a comment about how great the dish looks , thank them for the recipe , if the recipe is really interesting I bookmark it diligently , like any foodie and then forgot about it… Really.. it irritates the heck out of my husband who is organized to the T.

So I change my ways, now a days I print the recipe , have separators in a folder with all the names of the blogs / bloggers, neat …ehh ? , file them away neatly … hey! I am very organized!! and then forget about it.Very rarely I participate in the MBP … I’m too busy maintaining my own website you see , Sometimes if i am in the mood , the lucky blogger gets a chance in my kitchen and I make a dish that interests me .. I never forget to leave a comment though.. Thats about it.. That is all I do.

Then, my dear sweet Madhuram of Eggless Cooking and I get talking… She talks to me about this wonderful idea she has similar to MBP but more of an ode to all the brilliant food bloggers around and their wonderful recipe. The only rule she had that it should be something other than a rice dish , and post it once a week. I decided to tag along and join the bandwagon I’m really gonna try .. try hard not to miss. This is our way appreciating you guys for all the wonderful work that you do . Three cheers to all the wonderful , brilliant , creative food bloggers!!! Hip Hip Hurray!

Next comes the hard task of choosing a simple recipe according to the ingredients available at home. I decided to kick start this series by making a dish , from the very talented , brilliant foodie and photographer Meeta of Whats for lunch honey? .

A Jamie Oliver’s recipe ,I copied the recipe to the “T” and here is a peek at the ingredients and the method in her own words. Click here to go to the original recipe.

Ingredients:

3 large aubergines - sliced in approx. 1 cm thick slices

1 medium sized onion - finely chopped

1 garlic clove - finely chopped

olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 kg ripe tomatoes - skinned, seeded and chopped

fresh basil - chopped

salt and pepper

A squirt of white balsamic vinegar

Some parmesan cheese- grated

4-5 tablespoons bread crumbs

Method :

Pan fry/ grill the aubergine slices until slightly brown . Keep aside

In a pot heat up some olive oil and sauté the oregano, onions and garlic. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. After the sauce has thickened, add the fresh basel, salt and pepper and a squirt of the balsamic vinegar.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

In a oven proof dish pour a bit of the sauce to cover the bottom. Sprinkle some cheese over this and add a layer of the aubergine slices. Repeat this process, leaving the top layer with sauce and cheese.

Mix some dried oregano in the bread crumbs and fry in some olive oil until nicely toasted. Sprinkle this over the top of the gratin and bake for 30 minutes. I served it with garlic bread

Verdict : On our more often list and we were licking the plates wanting more!!! Thank you Meeta for introducing us to the wonderful recipe!!

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I have always been fascinated by berries. Their color , names everything is fascinating. Like there is no straw in strawberry and though black berries and raspberries look the same ( except for the color) , why dont we call black berries , black raspberries ?? Oops, I forgot , there are black raspberries! Then there are the exotic ones from Brazil , Acai and Gooji , here the name itself is exotic.

Though I’m not much worried about the nutritional side of them, but yes the berries do have great anti oxidant properties. Normally, I make a smoothie, cut and mix ‘em in my cereal, cook them or just use them in a fondue. However, the most I have gone is to use raspberries in a tiramisu. The recipe was from Meeta’s Blog.

With berries running in my mind, I decided to host this fruit party with recipes made of raspberries!! All of you are invited!! Come Join the party and make this an event to remember!!!

A Fruit A Month is a monthly event started by Maheshwari of Beyond the Usual. Thank you Maheshwari for giving me the opportunity to host this wonderful event. Last month’s host was Margot of Coffee and Vanilla

1.You have to come up with a recipe with raspberries in any form fresh or dried. I would appreciate if its a healthier version!!

2.Post the recipe on your blog and if you could post the picture also by 30th of May ‘2008. Link it back to this post and please feel free to use the logo . I will post the round up in the 1st week of June’2008

3.If you can, write more info about the fruit.

4.Email me your name, name of your blog , name of the recipe ,the picture sized to 100 X100 pixels ,permalink of your recipe/pic to ammaluskitchen(at)gmail(dot)com with AFAM -Raspberries as the subject.

4. If you do not have a blog, send me your name, name of the recipe and a picture and I will post it.

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Lost in my own world, I was never a social butterfly. True to my Gemini self, I would be rushing for the exit when my name was called out. However 3 days back, I was pleasantly surprised and honored when I received an email from Dear Madhuram about this surprise on her blog, Thank you Madhu for making my day special. You truly are one of the few friends I have found in the blogosphere.

My Blog is a Yummy Blog!!!

Not some one with a sweet tooth, I can manage eating some…

Mango Cake

Pizza cookies

Chocolate Kisses

and I can polish off a big chunk of Peta from Agra !!!

I pass this award to

Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi

Ashakka of Foodies Hope

Sia of Monsoon Spice

Pooja of My Creative Ideas

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I entered her world and became the brightest star in her universe. Tears, laughter, anger and amusement were a few of the expressions I would bring to her. All that she could see and think was me, loving me a little more as each day passed. She taught me to give unconditional love without expecting anything. Humility, Charity and Gratitude are few qualities she instilled in me while teaching me to be a better human everyday. Most importantly, she taught me the importance of failures in life and resilience to bounce back, taking bigger strides to move ahead. Always a part of her dreams, I carry forward her hopes and aspirations.

Amma, thank you for everything !

Amma, lost in thought and smiling to herself…

Today , I turn to her notes for this one favorite recipe of our household , Cassava root/ Karra Pendalam Vepudu and Pulusu, we just couldn’t get enough of these simple , yet superb dishes often made for a sunday brunch. The cassava was cooked so well that it was always intact but cooked inside , I cant remember a day it turned mushy and it had to be made into a pasty curry instead of a vepudu.

More about Cassava here

One important thing I was told before I started cooking this in my american kitchen was to always peel cassava and then boil , not vice versa. I follow this diligently.

Vepudu :

One Cassava Root , peeled and boiled in a pressure cook for about 1-2 whisltes.

1 /4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon jeera powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

For the Popu :

1/2 teaspoon each of urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and 1 red chili broken into pieces , curry leaves( optional)

Method :

Heat Oil in a skillet , add the popu ingredients , once the mustard seeds splutter ,add the boiled pieces , add salt , turmeric, cumin powder , red chilli powder and serve hot , We used it gobble them up just liked that, they never reached the table and we rarely at vepudu , mixed with rice!

For the Pulusu :

Boil the root as mentioned above and keep aside.

1onion sliced thin

1 diced tomato

1 teaspoon of tamarind paste

1 teaspoon of dhaniya/sambhar powder ( I prefer dhaniya powder for its milder taste)

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric paste

1 teaspoon of sugar( I add it just for a hint of sweetness)

Oil, salt to taste

For the popu , take half a teaspoon of each of urad dal , cumin seeds, mustard seeds and 2 red chillies broken , a pinch of asafoetida in a skillet and once the seeds crackle, add the Onions and saute until they turn pink, then add the tomatoes and cook until they are tender , then add the boiled cassava root , 2 cups of water , tamarind paste, dhaniya powder , salt , sugar and chili powder and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with rice!!

This goes to our very own and dear Pedatha , and to jihva for love hosted by the wonderful and dear jigyasa and pratibha and started by dear Indira of Mahanandi. A heartfelt thanks to you for choosing such a beautiful theme and giving us the opportunity to express our love.

Update: Cooking with Pedatha is finally available in our local phoenix library.  A sincere request to all pedatha fans, please recommend this book to your local library. Thanks in advance!

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