Happy Pongal One and All!

Pongal... Arguably the most important festival in Tamilnadu. This is a day to be thankful for all that we have. We remember all of the people who are involved in the process of our rice production, as rice is the staple of our food. It also marks the first day of Thai month, in Tamil. This is the start of all things positive and auspicious.

I am hopeful that this will be a turning point for me as well. See, 2009 was definitely a memorable year for me... It was the year that I had 2 surgeries which I am still recovering from (Yes, that's why I've been so quiet!). It's also the year that my mother-in-law finally came to visit us. And the year that we found out about my sister-in-law's pregnancy (soooo exciting!!). On top of all that, it's the year we were able to buy a house. So, although the year has had a lot of negatives, there were definitely some great highlights.

Here's hoping that happiness, health and prosperity will overflow to all on this Pongal (literally means "to overflow" in Tamil). For my Tamil friends out there, a small greeting from the internet for you to read:




Happy Pongal!

It's been a long hiatus...

I know that this post is really long overdue. I have really missed blogging, but just have not been able to commit to it for many reasons. A lot has happened since the start of the year.

First, I was sick again and it went on for a few months. Eventually, I wound up needing surgery and am still somewhat recovering from that. In the sense that I'm not in pain, but still don't really feel like myself.

On top of all of this, my dear sweet amayee (mother's mother) passed away from this earth 1 month ago. I don't know whether to call it bad luck, lousy timing or what that didn't allow me to spend time with her the way I wanted. That is probably the biggest disadvantage to living so far... I was not able to visit her and she was not in any condition to make a trip here.

Amayee was the strongest woman I'd ever known. She was barely educated, couldn't read, write or tell time. She grew up in a small village and that was really all she knew. She married her maternal uncle and had 6 children, one of whom died very young. Amayee lost her husband at a young age and was left with 5 little children that ranged in ages from 12 to one year old. Yet, she didn't fold. She stayed in her house and fought to raise those children, despite never being exposed to the outside world. There were nights when she went to bed hungry, but she had to keep going to make a life for her kids.

Eventually, they grew up and her son got married and had 4 children of his own. She had the indescribable grief of seeing her son pass away 13 years after his marriage. Seeing her daughter-in-law widowed just as Amayee had been all those years ago killed her. So, she tried to be a source of strength to them for as long as she could.

Over the past few years, Amayee had become ill and was not able to take care of herself anymore. That is a type of torture that no one should have to undergo. Through everything, she was always concerned about everyone else's well being and always showered us with her blessings.

I will always treasure the sweet moments we had together, although they were few and far between. Amayee continues to live on in our hearts and is dearly missed...

I hope to resume blogging soon, as I find it to be so therapeutic. Miss you all and thanks so much for the kind messages and emails.

Here's to a New Year and a Fresh Start!

This year has definitely been one of ups and downs for me, as most of you know. The year started on a low note and proceeded to oscillate between ok times and bad times. Through it all, I feel I've grown stronger as a person. I've learned so much about life and myself through blogging. I was also able to re-connect with a lot of old friends who I haven't been able to talk to in a very long time.

I participated in the arusuvai chain in the US, won the first round of the open sesame contest (created by Dhivi and Siri), and enjoyed participating in many blog events. Along the way, I've discovered many new bloggers and am constantly inspired by all of you.

I introduced the blog to family members and have even gotten marks of approval on many of my recipes! What more validation could a blogger want, right? I'm glad that they are also able to share this side of me and look forward to creating more recipes from their input, too.

2008 was overall a trying, but inspiring year for me and I am looking forward to a much better 2009! I would like to thank all of you for sharing in the good and bad times I've had this year. I look forward to blogging more and learning more from each of your blogs.

I wish each and every one of the readers of Samaithu Paarkalaam a very happy, healthy, and prosperous new year 2009!

And now, a small greeting from me to you...

One long acceptance speech!!

Well, as part of getting back into the swing of things (sort of!), I realized that I had received so many awards during my break that I never posted about. So, please bear with me as I thank everyone who has been so kind as to pass me awards!

1. The Blogging with a Purpose Award

This award was passed to me by Cham, JZ, and Veda. Thank you all so much! I am truly honored and will wear this on my blog with pride.

I'd like to pass this on to Indosungod, Uma, Sig, and Maheshwari. Enjoy, ladies!

2. The Yummy Blog Award and Yum-Yum Blog Award:

This award was passed to me of Sailaja of Sailaja's Recipes. Thank you!

Yum-yum blog was passed to me by Amrutha of The Chef in Me. I am so flattered!! Thanks!

I'm passing both the yummy blog award and the yum-yum blog award to Lavi, Dhivi, Cham, and Uma. Congratulations, ladies!

3. Rockin Girl Blogger

This one was awarded to me of Maheshwari and is definitely an honor to receive this from a blogger that I've admired since long before starting my own blog. Thank you so much!! I think that most of you have received this already, so I pass it on to all of you dear girls who rock!

4. Chocoholic Award:


I'm not sure how Anu knew it, but I am a chocoholic of the worst kind. When I start craving chocolate, do not stand in my way!! I adore dark chocolate and really don't understand why white chocolate exists (sorry!). Brownies are my ultimate chocoholic indulgence! Thank you, Anu for this one!

5. Inspirational Award, Butterfly Award, Hard Working Food Blogger and Good Job:


The inspirational blog award was given to me by dear Pravs of Simply Spicy. To receive this award from her means so much to me. She has one of the most inspirational blogs I've ever had the pleasure to visit! I adore her pics and recipes. Thanks so much, Pravs!

The butterfly award was passed to me by Anu of Chandrabhaga and Raji of Rak's Kitchen. Thank you for thinking my blog is cool!



Both of the above awards were passed to me by Anu. Thank you for these, too!

I'm passing all of these awards to Pravs, Valli, Sia, Sailu, Raaga, Sagari, and Cham.

6. Giant Bear Hug, Friendship Award, and Perfect Blend of Friendship

This bear hug was given to me by Cham and Sailaja.

This symbol of friendship was given to me by Sowmya of Creative Saga.

This perfect blend of friendship was given to me by Anu.

I'd like to pass all of these awards on to Cham, Lavi, Dhivi, Sailu, and Revathi.

I am so, so, so thankful and flattered to have received all of these awards. If I inadvertently missed anyone who has passed me awards, please just give me a swift kick in the pants and I will surely acknowledge them! Thanks again!

Why the Silence?

First off, I'd like to apologize for the long, unexplained silence. As I mentioned before, I was a bit preoccupied with sending my parents off to India for a short trip. They just left this past weekend. I also have been dealing with a lot of personal issues that have me really emotionally and physically drained. I haven't had the energy or motivation to post lately. For the same reason, I haven't been able to visit your blogs and comment regularly. I will probably continue to be irregular with posting and events for the next month or so. Thanks so much to each and every one of you who have sent me concerned comments and emails. It feels so great to know that you care about me! I also want to thank all of you who sent me treasured awards in the recent past. I promise to post about them and pass them on just as soon as I'm able. I will be visiting when time permits and hope to be back to posting soon. Thanks so much for understanding!

Click for Bri and Couscous

The dynamic duo at Jugalbandi has asked us for our support in this month's special edition of Click. This month's photography competition has been combined with a fundraiser for Bri's treatment. Who is Bri, you ask? Bri is Brianna Brownlow of the blog, "Figs with Bri." Currently, Bri is in a situation where she has explored many treatment options for her breast cancer, yet the cancer has reccurred. The cancer has metastasized to many areas of her body. As many of us probably know from the media, health insurance will not cover many treatments that can be potentially helpful. So, bloggers are uniting to help raise money for Bri to help out in her toughest fight to date. Please check out the full details at Jugalbandi's site by clicking here. You can find out more info on how to donate money, more details about Bri's health situation and what prizes are potentially in store for you!



I thought that this dish of saffron couscous would be quite fitting with the theme of yellow for this month's click. It just seems so sunny and happy to look at, I thought.

We had this for dinner last night and it was fantastic. Yellow from the addition of saffron, combined with sweet bites of raisins, and crunch from the almonds and scallions. It tasted great on its own and makes a perfect foil for any Middle Eastern type of curry.

Ingredients:

Couscous - 1 cup
Water or stock - 1 cup
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Scallions - 2 stems, chopped
Sliced almonds or pine nuts, toasted - 2 tbsp
Saffron - pinch
Salt to taste

Method:

Bring saffron and stock/water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the raisins, salt and couscous. Cover, turn the heat off and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add scallions, almonds, toss and serve. Enjoy!

Seeing as how this is also a Middle Eastern dish, I am sending this in to AWED at Siri's Corner! AWED was started by Dhivi of Culinary Bazaar.

You make my day, Muffin!

You can imagine my pleasant surprise when I logged on to see this award waiting for me at Uma's blog! Thank you so much for feeling that I am worthy of receiving this award, Uma. You definitely make my day with your sweet comments on my blog, dear. Now comes the difficult task of deciding on who to pass it on to!

After much soul searching, I've finally decided to pass the award on to:

Pravs of Simply Spicy
Cham of Spice Club
Revathi of En Ulagam
Dhivya of Dhivya's Cuisine (best of luck with the pregnancy!)
Lavi of Home Cook's Recipes
Indosungod of Daily Musings
Sra of When My Soup Came Alive

Congratulations to you ladies and thanks to you and every one else who takes the time to read on comment on my recipes. It means so much to hear your feedback!

So, you want to celebrate?? I think something sweet would be appropriate. AFAM is coming up, you say? I've got just the thing... Raspberry Almond Muffins!

These muffins came about pretty much on a whim. I've never been the biggest fan of raspberries simply because the seeds annoy me. But, I was in the grocery store and saw these gorgeous, ruby red berries that seemed to call to me and couldn't resist buying them. Once I came home, I pondered what to do with them. I finally decided on muffins.


I used a combo of AP flour and oats in this muffin. It's actually fairly healthy considering the addition of 2 cups of raspberries and the minimal sugar used. I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar which resulted in very mildly sweet muffins. This was totally fine with me, but I can see people with a moderate sweet tooth needing more along the lines of 3/4 to 1 cup (very sweet bakery type taste) of brown sugar. My husband has a pronounced sweet tooth and these were not sweet enough for him, so just keep that in mind. Hey, it just meant more for me! :)

Enough dilly-dally, right? Off to the recipe!

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 1/3 cup
Oats - 1 cup
Brown sugar, packed - 1/2 cup for very mild sweetness (increase to 3/4 cup or so for sweeter)
Baking powder - 1 tbsp
Nutmeg - 3/4 tsp
Lemon zest - 2 tsp
Almond extract - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Egg, beaten - 1
Milk - 1 cup
Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
Raspberries - 2 cups (2 4.4 oz packs), coated with 2 tbsp of AP flour

Optional:

Slivered almonds - 2 tbsp
Granulated sugar - 1-2 tbsp

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or grease them.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oats, sugar, salt, baking powder, lemon zest, and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, extract and oil together. Pour into the dry ingredients. Fold the mixture together gently so as not to overwork the batter. Then, fold in the berries coated with flour. Note: Coating with flour prevents the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Gently folding the berries in will prevent them from breaking up. This batter might seem a bit runny, but everything turns out fine once they're baked!

3. Divide batter evenly between muffin cups. Sprinkle some almond slivers on top and granulated sugar, if desired.

4. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Serve warm with or without butter!

These delicious beauties are off to Ammalu's Kitchen for AFAM. AFAM was originated by Maheshwari of Beyond the Usual.

Chow Chow Chutney and a Meme

This chutney came to life when I was rummaging through my fridge one day and found a chayote (chow chow). I was thinking of what to do with it when the idea of chutney popped into my head. It was the first time that I'd made chutney using this vegetable and it was fabulous!!

I made it similarly to the ridgegourd peel chutney I'd previously posted. I fried the chow chow, added coriander seeds to give it a special flavor, and a good amount of urad dal for body. The slight sweetness of the chow chow balanced by the tart tamarind, the spicy chillies, and the earthy coriander was truly a winning combination! All in all, I will definitely be making this one again and again!!

Ingredients:

Chayote/Chow Chow - 1 medium, coarsely chopped
Red chillies - 15-20, or to taste
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 3 tbsp
Curry leaves - 5-6 (optional)
Tamarind - key lime size
Salt to taste

For seasoning:

Oil
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 6-8

Method:

1. Heat oil. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies and curry leaves. Fry until the dal turns golden brown and the red chillies have darkened. Remove to a mixer jar.

2. In the same pan, add a little more oil, if required, and fry the chayote along with coconut until the vegetable is cooked. The coconut shouldn't develop color during this step, so don't put the heat under the pan too high. Or, just add the coconut to the mixer jar (without frying).

3. Once the chayote has cooked, turn the heat off and allow to cool. Add to the contents in the mixer jar along with salt and tamarind and grind to a slightly coarse paste.

4. Season with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the seasoning, stir and serve with any tiffin item. Enjoy!




Sorry, sorry! I was tagged to do a meme by Dhivya of Dhivya's Cuisine, Divya Vikram of Dil Se, and Namratha of Finger Licking Food. Lazy me had not gotten around to doing it until now! Ok, here goes:

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
English - Iron Man (awesome!)
Tamil - Santosh Subramaniam (nice family film)

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING??
Do cookbooks count? Sad to say, I'm not reading a real book at the moment!

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
Life, Monopoly, Checkers

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
I love reading the covers of cheesy gossip mags while at the check-out counter of the grocery store. Sad, but true.

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Roses, jasmine flowers (I miss them so!), garlic-ginger sauteeing, biryani, anything cooking in mom's kitchen!

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Gentle waterfalls, tamil folk music (dappanguthu rules!), tabla, mrindangam, sound of salangai when dancing (the heavy Indian ankle straps loaded with bells) bharatha natyam

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Loneliness

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Do I have to get up already??

9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE?
I'm really not into the usual fast food stuff. It's true. I guess I had my fill of all of that stuff a long time ago! If you put a gun to my head, I'd have to say my local pizza place.

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
Maybe Shanthi for a girl. Still haven't given it lots of thought!

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’
work on charitable causes to try and make this world a better place, starting with worldwide vaccination against common diseases.

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
Faster than my husband... Does that count?

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Yes. My husband is my teddy bear. Got a problem with that? *laugh*

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
Scary..

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
Nissan Sentra

16) FAVOURITE DRINK?
Cosmopolitan, mango lassi, rose falooda

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
I do have time, but if I had the stamina, I'd love to read more and do volunteerism.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes, why not?

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
No thanks! I don't want my hair any color other than my own natural black! :)

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
NJ, Long Island, back to NJ

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Figure skating, gymnastics. What? I'm girly! Ok, I am willing to watch basketball or baseball occasionally!

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Dhivya - expecting a baby and is a sweetheart.
Divya Vikram - nice homey recipes that are delicious.
Namratha - makes such beautiful cakes and doesn't share. Kidding!!

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Probably some dust

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Yes if I were born to the same set of parents!

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night owl all the way. My husband's a morning person. I don't get it!

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Sunny side up!

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
The beach... Any state, any country. :)

28) FAVOURITE PIE?
Cherry, apple, peach

29) FAVOURITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR? chocolate, strawberry, mango

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST? No idea and no pressure!

I know that lots of you have already done this meme, so if you feel like taking it up, please feel free!

Doubly Surprised and Grateful!

You can imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw an award waiting for me on not one, but 2 blogs!! Both Dhivya of Dhivya's Cuisine and Jayasree of Experiments in Kailas Kitchen awarded me with the Yummy Blog Award:

"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos”

Thank you both so much for deeming my blog deserving of such a wonderful award!

First of all, I'm told that I should tell you all about the yummiest desserts that I have prepared or tasted. This is a tough one since I really love to bake...

Rasmalai

Black Forest Cake (my fave cake!!)

Tiramisu

Kaju Katli

Payasam

They're not in any particular order and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Now comes the challenge of passing this award on to only 4 yummy blogs. I had many blogs to consider, but a lot of people have already received this award. Of the people who are left, I tried my best to narrow it down to 4 awesome blogs.

1. Mallugirl of Malabar Spices - Am constantly wiping drool off my face on visits to her blog.

2. Deeba of Passionate about Baking - She's stolen my heart with her delectable goodies and style of presentation!

3. Pravs of Simply Spicy - Need I say more? One visit will leave you craving for more!

4. Dhivi of Culinary Bazaar - Not only are her recipes mouthwatering, she actually takes the time to show you each one with step by step instructions and
details!

Congratulations, ladies, on the extremely well deserved awards! Hope you enjoy them and wear it with pride. :) Will be back later today or tomorrow with a recipe.

I feel like there should be an announcer with a funny voice saying this part:

Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Reciver:

The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog !" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.

Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers whose blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules.

Happy New Year!

Wishing each and every one a very happy Tamil New Year! A fresh start, a new beginning that coincides beautifully with spring. Hope those of you who celebrate the festival had a great one!

Mystery Ingredient!

What is Arusuvai? It is the brainchild of Latha and Lakshmi of the The Yum Blog – the Arusuvai Friendship chain is, in Latha 's own words,

"about sending along a surprise ingredient as a gift to your friends for them to prepare something tasty with it, share the recipe, and pass on other surprise ingredients to more people. Arusuvai means six tastes (aruu = six, suvai=taste) in Tamizh and is used to refer for Tasty preparation with six tastes - inippu/ thithippu (sweet), orappu/ karam (hot), kassappu (bitter) , pulippu (sour), uppu(salt), tuvarpu (tastes that one gets in raw leaves).”

Latha, of Masala Magic, has started the arusuvai chain here in the US. I am just so happy that I've been able to participate in the fun!

I was so excited when Cham, of Spice Club, contacted me to ask if I'd like to receive a surprise ingredient from her! Would I like to receive something?? Was that really a question? Of course I'd love to get something!! :)

When Cham told me that she'd sent the package, my eager, impatient side set in. I couldn't wait to see what she had in store for me. When I opened the package, she had enclosed a sweet card that said, "Good Luck" in huge letters on the cover... Was she trying to tell me something? *laugh* Inside was a pair of cute earrings and a packet with the secret podi (spice powder).



The smell was just divine... I could smell fennel, black pepper, and cardamom for sure. Maybe some cloves, too, I thought. So, I consulted with her and found out what it really is.

Mystery Powder!

Turns out, this is Cham's own curry powder blend. She actually went through my blog, saw that I had a lot of non-veg dishes, and thought I might like this particular podi! I can't thank you enough, Cham!

So, what did I make with this wonderful podi? Stay tuned for my next post!