A Beautiful Film on bloging

When ever I am away on my work, I don't get much sleep in new surroundings. I have lots of free time in the evenings and night. I am used to a very hectic schedule most of the time and some times having nothing to do is really depressive. Any way I do try out some embroidery, or creating new designs for embroidery and Rangolis, or read a book. 

I end up listening to the TV. Having it on is like having someone in my room and this continues till I doze off. Mostly I prefer music or programs on travel or on discovery, animal planet etc. But at times it is really difficult to find something worth viewing.

One of those times I was flicking through the channels and settled rather frustratedly to watch a movie. That movie turned out to be very interesting and I just kept on following it till the last.

It was a film on bloging. The film was "Julie and Julia". It is a contrast between two women from different times- both interested in cooking. The first one is Julia Child a Chef very much devoted to cooking and her life in Paris during 1950s. She joins Le Cordon Bleu   to learn the French Cooking. She masters it with much enthusiasm and  then wants to write a cook book in English fo American house wives. It shows how she struggles to translate from French to English, how she experiments and masters each recipe or course  and how she struggles to bring the first volume of the  book in 1960s and second one in 1970s.  She becomes very popular with  TV shows. Her books become one of the most popular ones.

Much later  in 2002, Julie Powell, a young writer, living in New York and doing a job which she doesn't like wants to cook all the 500 and recipes of Julia Child's Book in an year. She describes her trials and tribunals, successes and failures with her project on her blog. She becomes so obsessive about her project and also her blog. She craves for the readers, responses, their appreciations and this leads to a lot of stress. Her husband is very supportive, he keeps on motivating her and tells her she should enjoy her project and bloging and should not get stressed out because of that. But in the end, unable to cope up with her obsession he leaves her. Oh he comes back after a short while. Her blog is written about in The New York Times and other media follow her. She too becomes popular.

I loved every minute of the film. I found so many similarities to what I feel and what I go through with my cooking and especially my bloging...:). Like Julie Powell I too became obsessive with my blog at one time and also wanted appreciation of the readers and following. I became more stressed out as I have to balance my home and my work-both very hectic and lots of responsibilities. Then I took time out and thought out it all. after all I was bloging for fun, to share my knowledge with others, enjoy it to forget stress of home and work places. Then I found my peace. Many a time the most talented also don't get recognition so easily or sometimes not at all no matter how they struggle. So I could perfectly understand Julie's feelings and empathise with her. 

Just watch the movie-so beautifully made. I loved the 1950, their living, how they cooked how they shopped for the ingredients. Wow! Just watch it and let me know...:)

Majjiga Mirapakaayalu-Update

My Chillies are done. they have dried up nicely and taste so good when deep fried in oil.

Dried in hot Sun a nd preserved in a glass bottle.

Deep fried in hot oil

They are good with lentils, Sambar, Rasam  Curd Rice etc. They are easy to make and tasty too.

The Recipe is here:

http://spiceomylife.blogspot.com/2010/10/tasty-chillies.html

Try it out and tell me how they are...

Healthy Drinks-1

Sweet  Sweet Sugar Cane Juice

Summers Of India are very hot. The day temperatures in most places are unbearable. From March to June this continues and if monsoon gets delayed it is even more difficult. But Mother Nature is so benevolent that she provides us with appropriate fruits, vegetables and other produce which helps us in surviving the seasons.

Well for summers we have so many natural products to enjoy. They are healthy, nutritious and help us to stay fit and healthy. One of them is Sugarcane. 


It is known as "Ganna" in Hindi and "Cheruku" in Telugu.


Sugar cane is a tall perennial grass. Its stem is tall and thick and it is grown from the cuttings of these stems. Stem cuttings are hand planted in the fields and this is the most popular method.The stems should have at least one bud. Once planted many harvests can be taken

It requires, tropical or temperate climates. It originated and was cultivated in Asia and South East Asia. Later on it was introduced to Egypt, Africa and introduced in America by Columbus.

India is perhaps the second largest producer of the cane. My state of Andhra Pradesh also grows this extensively as a commercial crop. 

It is a very popular commercial crop, as sugar, jaggery, molasses, Falernum, Rum and ethanol are produced out of it. The juice is extracted for this purpose and used. The  waste or the remaining fibrous matter known as "Bagasse" is used as fire wood, in paper industry, to protect house holds plants in summer etc. In India the Bagasse is used as fuel especially for making jaggery.

Uses:

• Can be eaten directly 
• Extract juice and used as a refreshing drink
• Sugar,  jaggery etc are used in our daily lives as sweeteners

We as children used to eat canes directly cut from the fields. We used to pull out the skin with our teeth, chew the inner fibrous portion thoroughly and then spit out the remaining Bagasse. Our mothers were worried that our teeth would be damaged. So they asked the canes to be cut into manageable pieces, remove the outer skin and then give to us. Actually vendors sell them from door to door in the season. Once we choose the cane they cut them into pieces remove the outer skin, so that they can be chewed. It is a hit with children even these days.


One of the most popular product derived from fresh sugar cane is its juice. It is popular through out India but more so in State.You will see one or two at each corner in each main street or busy areas. 

This is the crusher used for extracting sugar cane juice

See how the canes are fed into the crushers for juice.

               Cane juice

Benefits of consuming sugar cane juice are many:

• It is natural and has no side effects
• It is a good thirst quencher
• It energises the drinker immediately
• It is best in summers but can be consumed through the year
• When one suffers from sun stroke, this revives the patient instantly
• It is said to aid digestion as it has mild laxative
• It improves the functioning of kidneys
• It is said to be a good tonic for those who are suffering from jaundice

The vendors crush the canes by passing through two rollers to extract juice and then serve. The only problem with the fresh juice here in India is that the vendors who sell this is  don't keep their machines or vessels clean and also the ice used by them is not good. Because of this there are high chances of getting some infection or the other.

So what I do is go early as soon as the vendors start their business in the morning, see that they clean their machinery thoroughly, take my own vessel for collecting the juice directly and few bottles to carry it back.


The juice should be consumed immediately or else it gets spoiled. I store it in fridge till afternoon and then consume during the hot part of the day. But it should not be stored more than 6-7 hours even in refrigerator.

Now for the recipes..these are my own which my family and friends like it a lot....


1. Sweetie

Ingredients:
Sugar cane juice     1 glass per head
Ice cubes

Method:

• Chill the juice, add ice cubes and serve.
• It is sweet naturally but you may add a little bit sugar if you feel so. Sometimes the juice may not be sweet enough too.

2. Honey-licious

Ingredients:

Cane juice              1 huge glass

Honey                     1-2 tbsp

Lemon Juice            2 tsps

Salt                         a pinch

Cinnamon powder     1/2 tsp

Ice cubes

Method:

• Chill the juice till served
• In a tall glass pour the juice, half of honey and salt.
• Stir it lightly till the honey and salt are mixed
• Add the ice cubes and carefully pour the remaining honey on to the top of the cubes
• Sprinkle cinnamon powder and serve
• Try roasting the cinnamon slightly before powdering. It tastes differently

3. Tangy Treat

Ingredients:

Cane Juice       1 huge glass

Lemon juice     2 tsp

Ginger juice      1 tsp
Sugar        To taste (if required)
Salt          a pinch
Ice cubes
Lemon slice 


Method:

• Chill the juice
• Just before serving mix the juice, sugar, lemon juice, ginger juice and salt, stir it lightly
• pour it in the serving glass and add ice cubes
• Cut a very thin slice of lemon. Make a small cut in the slice and fit it on the rim of the serving glass
• Serve immediately

3. The Indian Tadka

Ingredients:

Cane juice          1 huge glass

Lemon juice        2 tsps

Cumin                 1/2 tsp

Bishops weed or   1/4 tsp

Carom seeds         

Honey                 1-2 Tbsp

Black Rock salt       1/4 tp

ice cubes

Method:

• Chill the cane juice till served
• Roast the Cumin seeds and Bishop's weed separately and grind each to a coarse powder separately.
• In a glass add the juice, honey, salt and stir it to mix them well. 
• Add the ice cubes and sprinkle the spice powder  and serve.

4. Fresh n Minty

Ingredients:

Cane juice        1 huge glass

Lemon Juice     1-2 tsps

Mint leaves       a handful

Honey               1 tbsp

Salt                  a pinch

crushed Ice      

Method:

• Chill the juice till served
• Wash the mint leaves and save 4-5 leaves for decoration. Extract juice out of the remaining ones. If you need strain it.
• In a glass add the  cane juice,  lemon juice, salt, mint juice and half of the honey. Mix well.
• add the crushed ice, pour on it the reaming honey, decorate with the mint leaves and serve

5. Spicy Punch

Ingredients:

Cane juice          1-huge glass

Lemon juice        half a lemon

Honey                 2 Tbsps

3 Cs*   powder     1 tsp

Rock salt              1 tsp

Crushed ice

Method:

• Chill the cane juice
• The 3 Cs* are-Cardamom, Cloves and Cinnamon- roast the cloves and cinnamon slightly and powder all together. Take 1/4 to 1/2tsp of that powder
• In a glass take the cane juice, lemon juice, honey  and rock salt. Mix well.
• Add crushed ice and sprinkle the spice powder. Serve immediately

Note: adjust the ingredients-salt, honey lemon juice, ginger juice etc according to your taste

Some more recipes in my next post. Hope you try it out and enjoy it. Please let me know your comments and suggestions if any.....

Sri Rama Navami Specials

Rama Navami is the day on which Lord Rama's Birth day as well as marriage is celebrated. Rama is known as Marayada Purushottama. He showed how a man should lead life. A man's responsibilities and duty towards his father, mother, brother and wife as well as a king's duty towards his subjects- all this he had shown through his own life and behaviour. That is why he is respected and worshipped so much.

On this day we offer special prayers. Whether in temples or at our homes we cook a feast for offering it to the Lord. I am  sharing with you the most important recipes. These are easy to make and very healthy too.

1. Paanakam

This is a drink which not only quenches thirst but also energises us. In olden days this drink was prepared especially in summers. In marriages there is a tradition of offering this drink to the groom and his family and relatives when they arrive at the bride's place before marriage. This is a welcome drink.  This drink is filled in two pots-made of gold or silver or at least brass depending upon the status of the bride's family and offered to the groom's party. The pots become the property of groom's sisters. So for each brother's marriage sisters get at least one such pot.

This is good for health as it is made of natural resources. It can be consumed in any season but more so in summer.

          Paanakam

Ingredients:

Water       1 liter

Jaggery     250-500gms

Cardamoms  2-3

Pepper corns   1tsp

Method:

• Take chilled water if you want it so. I use water chilled in earthen ware pot. It is naturally cooled, hygienic and tasty when compared with refrigerated water.
• Grate jaggery. 
• Adjust the quantity of jaggery and pepper to your taste. I like it very sweet so I use 500gms of jaggery. Moreover sometimes the jaggery may not be too sweet. 
• Ground cardamoms to fine powder
• Crush pepper corns 
• Mix all the ingredients till jaggery is completely dissolved. Leave it for a while sand serve.

2. Vada Pappu

This is very tasty and healthy snack. It is easy to make. In fact I make it very often. This can be served as a salad too. Traditionally this was served in our marriages along with the above drink.

Ingredients:

Split and husked green lentil    250 gms

Cucumber (green)         1

Raw mango (small)        1

Green chillies               1

Fresh coconut               1/4th

Curry leaves                1-2 sprigs

Green coriander          1 bunch

Salt                            To taste

For Tempering:

Oil       1 Tbsp

Bengal gram lentil       2 tsp

Black gram lentil         2 tsp

Mustard seeds             2 tsp

Cumin seeds               2tsp

Fenugreek seeds         1/2 tsp

Dried red chillies        1

Asafoetida                1/2 tsp

Method:

• Wash the green lentil thoroughly, and soak it in enough water for 2 hours or till it is soaked. Then drain the water and keep aside.
• Peel and chop the cucumber into small cubes
• Peel and grate raw mango.
• Grate coconut.
• Chop green chilli into small pieces.
• Mix all these ingredients along with salt and keep aside
• In a pan heat oil to smoking point and lower the heat. Add Bengal gram lentil, fry for two minutes, add black gram lentil and fenugreek seeds, fry for a minute. Now add mustard seeds, cumin, red chilli broken into pieces, curry leaves and asafoetida. Fry till you hear the crackling sound. Now add this to the above mixture, mix well, garnish with finely chopped green coriander and serve.
• You can chill it for some time before serving in summer season.
• You can substitute lemon juice for raw mango when it is not available.
• Adjust the ingredients-chilli, coconut, cucumber, mango or lemon juice according to your taste. Some like more of lentil. I prefer more veggies.
• A small part of coconut and raw mango can be chopped into small pieces and added along with the grated ones. It gives some texture to the recipe.
• You can add seedless grapes and pomegranate seeds to make it more interesting.

            VadaPappu


Apart from these many cooked dishes are usually offered on all religious and festive occasions. But for Lord Rama these two are must.

Summer Specials

I have been receiving so many requests for recipes on pickles, papads, crispies and other recipes for summer season. I am sorry I was busy so far travelling. Now that I am back and settled down a bit, I am going to post regularly all these.

So keep an eye on my blog for recipes on authentic Andhra pickles, papads, vadiyaalu(crispies) and many other dishes........

Its Summer Time!

Its Summer Time! This is a very busy time for us women. Well Indian women are always busy with home and kitchen. We pickle various seasonal vegetables and fruits as and when they are abundant and cheap. In Summer, we prepare so many pickles, vadiyaalu i.e crispies, dried vegetables and many more .

So join me and learn our traditional pickles, crispies, dried vegetables and other such recipes which come in handy during the rainy season when one does not get any vegetables. Moreover these are eaten as side dishes along with lentils, Sambar or Rasam.

Here I have already started with tasty dried chillies:

These chillies are soaked in sour buttermilk and then dried in sun till they are very crisp and dried.

The Recipe is here:

http://spiceomylife.blogspot.com/2010/10/tasty-chillies.html

Watch out for more such recipes

Healthy N Nutritious Snacks-5

Nuts N Seeds-1-Sun Flower Seeds-3

Some more recipes...

1. Fruit N Seed Chat

Here is something for those who love sweet, spicy and tangy..Indian chat recipe...

Ingredients:

Musk Melon cubes        1 cup

Chickoo pieces           1cup

Pomegranate  seeds     1 cup

Grapes                       100gms

Sunflower seeds          1-2 fistfuls

Lemon Juice               1-2 tsps

Pepper powder           1/2 tsp

Chat Masala powder     1 tsp

Salt                            To taste

      Sapota or Chickoo

         Pomegranate

Method:

• Musk Melons are available in very small sizes. Peel, de seed and cube them.
• Chickoo as known in Hindi is known as Sapodilla in English and Sapota in Telugu. Peel de seed and cube.
• Separate the seeds of pomegranate from the skin and keep aside.
• You can use any type of grapes. If you are using green, red or black bigger sized grapes cut into halves, de seed and keep aside. Black ones are sweet as well as sour. Small variety of seed less grapes are also available. They can be used as it is. But soak any grapes in water for 10 to 15 minutes rinse well, drain and use.
• Use roasted and shelled sunflower seeds.
• In a bowl toss together all the fruit and chill them till serving time.
• Before serving, add seeds, lemon juice, salt and spices. Toss them well and serve.
• Adjust the quantity of spices according to your taste.
• You can omit pepper powder as chat masala powder is enough for a spicy taste.

2.  Summer Time Chat
This one is best for Summers

Ingredients:

Ripe Mango cubes      1 cup

Musk Melon cubes       1/2 cup

Pomegranate seeds    1 cup

Sunflower seeds         1-2 fistful

Chat Masala powder   1 tsp

Salt                           To Taste

         Golden Yellow

               Crimson 

Method:

• Mangoes are basically available in two varieties- for juice and for cut and serve. Choose those mangoes which are ideal for cut and serve. Banginapalli or Benishan  variety is the best. They are golden yellow in colour with good sweet and tasty flesh and also a great smell. Red and yellow varieties are also good. Alphonso is the most costliest of the mangoes and preferred one. But I don't like that variety.
• The mangoes should be ripe. It should be fresh and  firm to touch. The skin should be clear of all blemishes and of good colour and good to smell
• Peel and de stone Mango and cut into cubes
• Peel and de seed and cube the musk melon
• Separate the seeds of pomegranate from the skin and keep aside.
• Mix all the fruit and chill till serving time
• Just before serving toss the fruits along with salt and chat masala powder and sun flower seeds

These snacks are healthy and can be eaten any time. Try these recipes and let me know how you feel...

Keep a watch on my blog...more to come....

Healthy N Nutritious Snacks-4

Nuts N Seeds-1-Sun Flower Seeds-2

Here is a glimpse the seeds with stripes...

            Sun Flower Seeds

These are not that costly when compared other nuts like cashews or pistachios and have more plus points then them.

Here are some recipes. In all these recipes, you have to used roasted and shelled sun flower seeds:

1. Carrot Sunflower Seeds Salad

          Grated Carrot

Ingredients:

Carrots grated        1cup

Sun flower seeds    1-2 Tbsp

Lemon juice           2 tsps

Olive oil                2 tsps

Pepper Powder      To taste

Salt                       To taste

Method:

• Clean scrape and grate carrots. The quantity should be one full cup. Sore it in fridge till it is time to serve but don't keep for long that they loose their nutritional values
• In bowl mix lemon juice, olive oil, pepper powder and salt thoroughly.
• Just before serving, add grated carrots and seeds to the bowl, mix well or toss and serve
• Adjust the lemon juice and pepper powder according to your taste.
• You can add a little of castor sugar if you like it to be a bit sweet. Though I feel that carrots would fill in for sweetness.

2.Carrot -Tomato -Seeds Salad

      Chopped Tomatoes

Ingredients:

Carrots grated        1cup

Tomatoes               2-3 Tbsps

(chopped  fine)

Sun flower seeds    1-2 Tbsp

Lemon juice           1 tsps

Olive oil                2 tsps

Pepper Powder      To taste

Salt                       To taste

Method:

• Mix or toss together grated carrots, tomatoes and seeds along with all other ingredients and serve immediately

3. Cool Cool- Summer Salad

         Cucumber or Kheera

         For Tempering

I have used Mustard, cumin, curry leaves and asafoetida in this recipe

Ingredients:

Carrots grated        1cup

Cucumber              1/2 to 1 cup

(chopped fine)
Tomatoes               1/2 cup     

(chopped fine)    
Sun flower seeds     a fistful

Green chilli          1

(chopped fine)   

Coriander Greens     1 tbsp

(chopped fine)   

Sugar                     1-2 tsp

Salt                       To taste

For Tempering:

Refined or sunflower oil     1 Tbsp

Mustard seeds                    1 tsp

Cumin seeds                      1 tsp

Asafoetida                         a pinch   (optional)

Turmeric                           a pinch

Curry  leaves                     one sprig

Method:

• I have used long green cucumber known as kheera in Hindi.  Peel the skin and remove seeds if they are too hard.
• Mix in or toss together grated carrots, chopped tomatoes and cucumber in abowl and keep in refrigerator till it is to be served
• Just before serving, add the seeds and coriander greens, slat and sugar and toss well
• Heat oil to a smoking point in a pan, add mustard seeds, fry for a minute. Add cumin seeds, green chilli, curry leaves. when the seeds start spluttering add asafoetida and turmeric. Remove from fire and pour the mixture into the bowl. Close with a lid, toss well for a minute and serve
• Reduce the quantity of spices especially green chilli according to your taste as it is quite spicy

Note:

Adjust the ingredients and spices according to your taste. These can also be eaten as an afternoon snack or any time snack as these are healthy .

You can avoid oil or use very less quantity of oil as per you requirement.

Watch my blog for more recipes in next post......