Chupke Chupke...Shhhh..

Molly and Polly were two cows from the beautiful Switzerland. They had come to India on an official visit to meet the members of the ICA(International Cow Association). They had finished their final meeting at the Bangalore center and were tired after the grueling week. Polly felt very hungry and her husband, Molly said,"Moooooo. Wait my dear, I will search for a nice restaurant for us to have our final dinner in India". Polly trusted her husband to be successful in his search. Molly returned after a few minutes and took Polly with him to a place he claimed to be close to heaven. And all that Polly saw was a big, white tank. Polly was disappointed because it was raining heavily and she had eaten nothing since early afternoon. Molly realised his wife's worry and told her "Sweetheart, trust me, this is the best thing we can ever dream of having and it is just the perfect weather for this". Polly was a good sport and she went closer to the tank. She saw a beautiful...

I wanted to make something special tonight. The plan was already set, but I wanted to add some life to the dinner. My husband had asked me to start learning Kannada and I found a nice way to impress him tonight. If you understand Kannada, you'd probably know by now what the menu was, if not I'd let you know anyway. No prizes for guessing that it was a Chinese dinner and neither for guessing noodles! The three main ingredients were duly procured yesterday keeping this dinner in mind. Dark Soya Sauce, Chilli Sauce and Vinegar - the three angels of Chinese cooking. I had always liked soups and my latest favourite is the Manchow soup. This is a very simple soup with uses the three angels, some water, veggies, corn flour and salt. If you have savoured the Vegetarian Manchow soup, you would know that it is totally incomplete without the fried noodles on top. And the best I could do was cook up some maggi without the tastemaker and deep fry them in oil. I must say that this turned ou...

Well, the two have no connection at all, except both are related to me. Now that I am back in India, it is the right time to start hunting for a job. The hunt began right after my birthday and I am still on the hunt. I am waiting for the interview calls with as much tension as I used to have when my exam results were published. I have not attended an interview since 2006 and I have only taken interviews in the area that I specialise in. I am hoping I am still in touch with my skills. It is not even 4 months since I quit my earlier job, but I am afraid that being a full time homemaker during that break may have affected me. Well, I have tried to maintain a strict schedule during the day. I try not to laze around and I try to be active through the day and never fall into the temptation of having a nap. My husband inspires me to try out new dishes and my not working is compensated when I can serve my husband a hot dinner as soon as he gets back from work. He would come home with an extrem...

Seven months after marriage and this is the first time I made dosas from scratch! I had enjoyed the batter made by my MIL or bought from a store on our way back from work. Now that I am a full time home maker, I have no excuse to buy the batter from outside and my mother-in-law's absence had forced me into this experiment. Whether or not it was worth the effort, I will only know tomorrow. But with my curiosity levels rising and having no other option for dinner, I decided to prematurely try the batter. It came out good, but I am sure it will taste like it should only after it is left alone for fermentation. I have learnt my lesson, but I am glad I can now make dosas on my own. Yippppeee! I can now proudly claim to be a South Indian. Phew! Bon Appetit !

I am loving these english translation of the traditional hindi names. This time it is "Shahi Paneer" for dinner and this is the first time that the post is coming up even before it gets the stamp of approval from my hubby dearest. I love how we can play with the same ingredients to create a vibrant range of flavours, colours and ofcourse taste. This again is a classic recipe from my mother. My grand aunt read my earlier posts and told me that I was following the footsteps of my mother and that is indeed an honour. My maternal side boasts of a lot of seasoned cooking experts. My great grandmother is the oldest in this list, but makes the most amazing dishes almost effortlessly. She is now over 92 years old, but I remember how active and enthusiastic she used to be a couple of years ago and how she would make my favourite "Chigli" with as much ease as I would to relish them. My grand mother still can cook up delicious treats for all of us. She manages to recreate dish...

"Lauki"(Bottle Gourd) Kofta used to be relished by my school friends every time my mother packed it for lunch. I have always liked it and now that I started cooking, I wished to try this recipe as well. My husband had never tasted bottle gourd until last night and so it was another challenge for me and I had to put in all my heart and soul into making it as delicious as possible in an attempt to make him love it at first taste. Staying in India has its own advantages - I could buy huge bunches of Coriander and garnish the dish with plenty of it! So far I have been lucky in pleasing my husband's palate and this experiment joined that success story list and here it is for the records! And as always Bon Appetit ! :)

My Father-in-law is famous for his undying love for sweets. The very first visit to his house in Sagara,Karnataka, I could not think of making anything else but a sweet and Gulab Jamun it was! Over the months after my marriage, as I gained confidence in my cooking, I decided to make Chocolate. It was to celebrate the hike in my husband's salary. A wonderful occasion but a nerve wrecking experience for me. I had offered to make chocolate but I was not too sure as to how it might turn out in the end. I called up my mother to check on the ingredients and method of preparation. I hunted my entire neighborhood to get some unsalted butter, sugar, milk powder and cocoa. I successfully bought all ingredients except cocoa. Just as I was about to return home dejected, I spotted my Father-in-law and explained to him how I had searched for cocoa powder in vain. He immediately started his bike and took me along to search for that elusive ingredient. 30 minutes later we triumphed in our mission...