Saturday 28 March 2015

yummy raw mango vadumangooooo

yummy raw mango vadumangaaaa...




Ingredients
Small Tender Mangoes - 250 gms
Red Chilli Powder - 50 gms
Salt - 6-8 tsp (adjust according to taste and also depending upon the quality of mango)
Rai dhanas (kaduku podi or kaduku parippu) - 1 tsp
Method
1. Wash and wipe the mangoes with a cloth. 
2. In a bharani or glass jar, put the mangoes and sprinkle salt. Keep it for 3-4 days. 
3. Every day keep on shaking it. You will be able to see water level increasing day by day. 
4. After 4-5 days, remove the mangoes and mix red chili powder, rai dhanas in it.
5. Mix well. Keep stirring it two to three times a day. 
6. When it is done, you can see the colour change of the mangoes. When it is ready, use it.

mango kothumeri vadi 

Ingredients:
one cup aapus mango grated 
Fresh Coriander leaves without the hard stalk – About 3 cups
Chickpea meal / Besan – About 1 cup heaped
Ginger – 1inch
Chillies – 2 small or 1 medlium
Garlic – 1 pod
Water – About 2 cups or more if needed
Turmeric powder – A pinch
Oil – To shallow fry
Salt – to taste

Seasoning:
Sesame seeds – 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp.
Curry leaves

Method:

Mince the ginger, chilli and garlic with little water and set aside. Bunch the cleaned and trimmed coriander leaves (with stem, but not the root) together and chop roughly.

Whisk chickpea flour (besan) with a cup of water, salt, turmeric , grated magoes and the coriander leaves to a thick buttermilk (kadhi) consistency and set aside.

Heat a deep wok and pour a tsp. of oil.

When hot add the minced ginger, chilli and garlic with liquid. Add the prepared mixture, stirring all the while till the liquid evaporates, and the mixture comes together into a thickish ball. It should not jiggle. Stirring should be constant or you will have lumps.

Grease a flat plate and pat the lump into a rectangle using the flat back of a steel bowl. Cool completely, and cut into cuboids thick or thin, but at least a centimetre thick. Or any other shape you like.

Heat a wide pan. Pour a little oil and add the seasoning when the oil turns hot. Immediately place the pieces and shallow fry on each side till brown and shiny. Alternately, you may deep fry or bake. I bake. My husband fries.
  • Serve hot with mint chutney or tomato ketchup. We had the left over with dinner with rasam rice, as these taste equally good when they are room temperature. They taste best while hot, of course.

Friday 20 March 2015

Parachute Advanced Aromatherapy Oil

When the weekend arrives I am all tired and have no energy left.  Monday to Friday I am busy with cooking events and many other stuffs. And travelling for my events makes my hair dusty and very dry.
 
On Saturday morning I received my parachute aromatherapy advanced oil. 
Parachute is always my favourite I have trusted them always with my children's hair also now they have hair like a princess. 

On Saturday night I tried the oil. The smell is so refreshing and makes me want to dance. 
I am 45 years old. I have lot of things in my mind but this oil gives me so much of peace. 
The smell and the consistency is amazing. 
I massaged and relaxed my self like I was in a parlour. 
It made me feel really refreshed. 
 
On Sunday when I woke up I saw that the bust top in front of my house also put up the oil banner. I was really happy. I highly recommend it to all ladies. 
 

I give it a 4/5 

I have attached the bus stop add also, 



Geetha Sridhar 

Edited by Sarada Sridhar 

Monday 16 March 2015

IFCA Food Bloggers Contest!




1. Tell us which is your favorite dish & why?


MY FAVOURITE DISH IS YUMMY BISI BELA BHATH ..... AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE OF THAT YUMMY BISIBELA AND BHAGALA BHATH MY DAUGHTER SARADA SRIDHAR MADE ME A PROUD MOM OF 28 CANCER CHILDREN....PL READ THIS REAL STORY.....

mother & Daughter
I called my husband, 'How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?'
I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter Sharu looked frightened.
ild, quite intelligent for her age. She has just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my husband are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of Curd Rice! I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl.
'sharu, darling,why don't you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear.
sharu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
'OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this.
But, you should...' sharu hesitated. 'Dad, if I eat this entire curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'....
Oh sure, darling'.... 'Promise?'......... 'Promise'.
I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.
'Ask Mom also to give a similar promise', my daughter insisted.
My wife put her hand on Sharu's, muttering 'Promise'. Now I became a bit anxious.
'Sharu dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?'
'No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive'.
Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity.
I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child eat something that she detested. After the ordeal was through, Sharu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her.
'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand.
'Atrocious!' I shouted, 'A girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!' 'Never in our family!' my mother rasped.
'She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!'
Sharu darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'
'No, Dad. I do not want anything else', Sharu said with finality.
'Please, Sharu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?'
I tried to plead with her.
'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'.
Sharu was in tears. 'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for.
Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?'
It was time for me to call the shots.
'Our promise must be kept.'
'Are you out your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.
'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own.
Sharu, your wish will be fulfilled.'
With her head clean-shaven, Sharu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful.
On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sharu walking towards her cl-assroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, 'Sharu, please wait for me!'
What struck me was the hairless head of that boy.
'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought. 'Sir, your daughter Sharu is great indeed!' Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued,' That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from... ... leukemia.' She paused to muffle her sobs.
Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates.
'Sarada sridhar visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.
But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'
I stood transfixed. And then, I wept. 'My little Angel, you are teaching me how self-less real love is!'



HOW TO MAKE THIS YUMMY SAMBHAR SADAM....


BisiBelaBath/sambar sadam

Bisibela is a famous dish in Karnataka. The name Bisi bele bhaath is a phrase, which literally means "Hot Lentil Rice", as in Kannada, Bisi means hot, bele means Lentils and bhaath means a dish made of rice (Def-wiki). Since it is cooked with lentils, vegetables and rice and it can be called a one pot meal. Many think it is a very elaborate process but actually it is very simple. I learnt this from my Kannada neighbour years before.We used to go for walk together and the only thing that was common between both of us was cooking. So our conversation was usually about food and recipes. Once I asked her about this bisibela bath and she told me how to prepare it . The very next day I prepared it and liked it so much that I used to make this often. I am a great fan of this rice dish. It tastes great when served hot with papads and onion raita .This is her recipe and the only change I made was, to omit adding a little jaggery she told me to add in the end. Bisi bele bath masala is available in grocery stores also. So if you do not have much time on hand, you can use the masala available, as that is also equally good. Now to the recipe

Ingredients Needed

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - small lemon sized ball

Pearl onions -15
Beans - 4-5
Carrot - 2
potato - 1
peas - handful
Tomato - 1
Capsicum - 1

Masala (fry and dry grind)

Kopra/Dry coconut powder -1/2 cup
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 6-7
Channa Dal - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 2
Cardamom -1
Khus khus -1 tsp

Heat a tsp of oil, roast the above ingredients, adding coconut at the end. Roast everything till it becomes slightly brown in colour and dry grind it. You can prepare this a few days before if you are using kopra as it will not get spoiled. Store it in an airtight container.

For the seasoning

Mustard -1 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - little
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Method

Pressure cook rice with 4 ½ cups of water for 4 whistles.

Pressure cook dal with a cup of water and keep aside. Mash it well. I usually soak dal for 15 -20 minutes in hot water as it takes less time for cooking.

Heat a tbsp of oil and add the ingredients for seasoning. When mustard splutters, add onions and sauté till it they become transparent. Then add all the vegetables (except capsicum) and sauté for a few more seconds.

Now add tamarind extract, needed salt and the masala powder. Let it boil well till the raw flavour goes.

Then add cooked dal, cooked rice and 4-5 tsp of ghee and mix well .

Heat a tsp of ghee and sauté the capsicum till slightly cooked. It should be crunchy.

Garnish Bisibelabath with the capsicums and serve it hot with chips or papads or onion raita.








2. Why should you be nominated to win this contest?


I LUV COOKING AND COOKING IS MY PASSION AND I COOK FOR 28 CANCER CHILDREN EVERY SUNDAY, AND I FEEL HAPPY WHEN I COOK AND I WANT TO LEARN MORE IN COOKING ....


If you are a chef, no matter how good a chef you are, it's not good cooking for yourself; the joy is in cooking for others - it's the same with music.






Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart.


VELLA ADAI AND UPPU ADAI

 Raw rice - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Coconut bits or grated coconut- 1/4 cup ( I used a mix of both)
Black eyed peas or karamani - 1 tbsp cooked
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Preparation

Pressure cook black eyes peas until soft but not mushy.

Roast raw rice until it changes to golden brown color.Grind it coarsely like rava.

Melt jaggery in 1 1/2 cup of water, filter it to remove impurities.

Method

Add grated coconut and karamani/cow peas, cardamom powder to the jaggery water.

Boil jaggery water, when it starts boiling, add a tsp of ghee.Then reduce the flame and add rice rava slowly stirring continuously.
Keep the flame in medium and cook well until it leaves the sides of the pan. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool.
Divide it equally, make balls, flatten it, put a hole in the center (as in the picture above) and steam the sweet adais in an idly cooker or steamer for 15 minutes.

Serve with butter.

Uppu Adai Recipe for Karadaiyan Nombu

Cook time - under 20 mins 
Yields - 12 

Preparation of Rice flour

Wash and soak raw rice for 3-4 hours. Drain the water completely and spread it on a cloth for 10-15 minutes. Then grind it to a fine powder or you can get it ground in the flour mill.
Then roast that rice flour in medium flame until you get a sandy texture. There should not be any moisture in the flour. 
Ingredients needed

Rice flour - 1 cup
Water - 2 cup
Thinly sliced coconut bits - 1/4 cup
Karamani or black eyes peas - 11/2 tbsp cooked

For the seasoning 

Oil -3 tsp
Hing - a generous pinch
Mustard -3/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Ginger 1 inch piece finely chopped
Green chilli - 2 finely chopped
Curry leaves -few

Method 

Heat 3 tsp of oil, add hing, mustard seeds ,when mustard splutters, add urad dal, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves.
When dal turns light brown, add coconut bits, cooked black eyes pea and saute for a few seconds.

Add 2 cups of water, salt needed and bring it to boil.

When water starts boiling, reduce the flame and add rice flour slowly stirring continuously.

Cook till it leaves the sides of the pan.Allow it to cool.

Make balls, flatten it, make a hole in the center and steam cook for 15 minutes or until done.(Grease the idly plate before steaming)


Tuesday 10 March 2015

LOTUS HERBAL Colour kick curved liquid eyeliner

Eye makeup is one of the most essential things when you get out of the house. i never leave the house without kajal or eyeliner or mascara they are in my purse also all the time. i was really inquistive when lotus herbal launched the curved eyeliner cause it is one of the easiest way to apply eyeliner in your eye.

It is almost in shape of your eyes curve. 
when i received the product i was really excited to try it out .
i tried it out for a function and it really had amazing effects.
it is really easy to apply the eyeliner as it is in parallel shape with ones eyes.
the consistency and color of the eyeliner is marvelous.

If any problem i had was the cap. the way it fits in with the product cause sometimes in haste i press the cap on wrong side and it gives me mini heart attack it i will spoil the liner.

i would give it 3/5 :) 

overall it is an amazing product to try
the INR is 750. 
I would like to end by saying its worth the cost. 

thank you,
Geetha Sridhar 

Edited by Sarada Sridhar. 





Nivea lip butter

The word "Balm" by definition is a soothing, healing, and comforting agent. A Lip Balm is a wax like substance used for dried lips. 

Lip Butters are similar to lip balms in terms of packaging but is made with softer consistency. It is not medicated. Ingredients wise, lip butters have much more butter or oil ratio. 


I was very happy when Nivea launched its lip butter cause they have always exceeded in lip balm products every women uses Nivea lip balm as it is easy safe to use.
At my age I can't pull off all lip colour so when I use this lip butter it looks like I am actually wearing a lipstick. I am totally in love with the lip butter as it tastes also yummy.  

It's packed in a sweet round container it's consistency is amazing. 
Here is a picture of me with the raspberry lip butter. 

It lasts minimum for 1 meal if I am having a gravy or oily stuff. If dried snacks it lasts longer. As for ,e I love the product. 
I would give it 4/5 

Thank you for sending me these products Nivea. 
Love 

Geetha Sridhar (blogger ) 


Edited by Sarada Sridhar .