All is Well :)

Iam filled with awe, if asked to explain how the past 6 months flew, ever since my previous post!
Each moment had been eventful; full filled, hectic, emotional, exciting, worrying, stressful, anxious... Yes, my kid had grown up to a young lady of 21 in between these months and was already engaged to my friend's son who lives in the U.S. Nimmy and me are good friends living in the same area of this town. Probably we have never thought of a union of our children, but our relatives did! Those were the moments of anxiety which carved our minds. We stepped into a non-comfort zone called 'dead silence' and seldom talked over phone for a fortnight: what if the other one denies the proposal? Would we be able to face each other with the same spirit, the relationship unmarred? Chilly February nights saw the mothers sleepless in their bed rooms. What if the children weren't interested? How can a successful business based family merge comfortably with another one supported by strong educational background, again equally successful? We never uttered a word to the wide circle of common friends we had. Delicate moments. We literally walked on 'thin ice', as Nimmy recalls the situation. Finally our husbands broke the ice by arranging a casual meet of both the families by the end of the same month and ever since all happened over coffee table chats. We were too comfortable with one another.The talks were open and straight forward. We cared less about formality and more about practicality. We, the parents blissfully shopped together, dined together, made fun of one another and dared the so called 'evil eyes' :).  We worked hard, prayed and wished for our childrens' well being as any parents.
 All the ceremonies went smooth and importantly, traditionally elegant! The massive support of the extended families on both the sides had been overwhelming. If I missed to say this, the chemistry between the kids went perfect!
The simple wedding followed by a grand reception were held earlier this month. The boy is back in the U.S 2 days back and my girl is preparing to join him soon.
Thank you for all who had enquired the absence through lovingly concerned mails. The roller coaster, which has missed many aspects in the big world called blogging, non- updated with novices, is slowly getting back to its station with a soft screech!

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Best of 2010 ~ A look back with Top Ten Recipes!

Seconds giving way to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to months….seasons…

I realize how fast time flies when I settle down to review the top posts at the end of each year; yet another year which has whisked past, packed with all mixed moments and memories of cheer, joy, tears, bitterness, disappointments, surprises …

The year had been a roller coaster one with a fabulous start on the first post.....

Pongal, the South Indian harvest festival, celebrated in our ancestral bungalow.

The most proud blogging moments were the ones when the post detailing the traditional South Indian harvest festival of Pongal , got approved by the Food Buzz Team and got featured for the month.

Mini Savoury Buns

A recipe which got formed within minutes and made to reality within the next couple of hours! The hit post still surprises me with its amazing response, an example of a post which turns out to be overwhelming when you least expect , overtaking others which were worked on giving your heart and soul J

Homemade Indian Flavoured Pizza

The name says it all!A bit of hard work and lots of creativity. Lavi, no words to Thank you my friend, for this has turned out to be the 3^rd best post of the year!J

Tiramisu Cake

The exotic dessert which demanded a bit of creativity and lots of hard work ;)… won’t be the same for the seasoned bakers, anyway J.

One of my favourite bakes so far since we totally fell in love with the heavenly taste of the classic dessert!

Papaya Milkshake

A morning which called for a hurry burry breakfast.A simple spread of Idly and chutney, chilled milk on the kitchen counter, a ripe papaya in the crisper, idea by the husband and the pretty looking smoothie was born.The cute baby was photogenic and got extra popular :)

Appam and Kadala Curry

A Traditional Kerala recipe inherited from my mom. Many tried and got back with positive results.

Banana Fritters

Another age old and a common snack back in God’s own country.Thanks to my cravings which made me lay my hands on this one.

Mushroom Masala

A simple and a common North Indian Side dish which surprisingly got into the best posts list.

Whole Green gram Payasam


Whole green gram cooked soft in rich coconut milk and jaggery and you get hooked to the authentic taste of this traditional payasam of Kerala, made for Onam.

Aloo Methi with homegrown greens

Cubed potatoes cooked soft along with fresh and tender methi greens grown in the back yard.

Readers had obviously favorited the traditional recipes and Indianised bakes from my space for the year... :)

Happy moments like Chennai bloggers meet had been thrilling and funfilled!

The final day of the year pleasantly surprised me when 'The Hindu' published one of my recipes in the weekend Metroplus column.

To Sum up, I did have a contented and pleasurable year of blogging but am sure, still I have Miles and Miles to go..

I Sincerely Thank all my readers, followers and blogger buddies from the bottom of my heart for supporting me as always and I wish and hope this will continue for ever...

This goes to Valli's 'Best of year 2010' event!

Wishing you a Fabulous Year ahead, filled with Peace, Joy and Prosperity.

Cheers,
Bharathy :)

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Back after a quick visit from...

I was searching for some nice 'postable' 'sweet recipes' in my drafts for the first post of the year...(lazy to make..shoot..and post a fresh one..;)) and failed to find even a single one!.

So until I get ready with my next post, let me share this sweeter experience with you guys..:)...
...err absolutely no other choice for the time being..

My husband n me are just back after a quick n short second visit, last week.
It was last September we holidayed relaxingly in Dubai with my brother.



We weren't lucky enough to visit Burj Khalifa, the tallest buiding in the world which got inaugurated just a fortnight ago, as there was a long queue almost all the time..


A much familiar building in the city for all of us..:) Burj Al Arab; "Tower of the Arabs"or the "Arab Sail".The second tallest building in the world, used exclusively as a luxury hotel.


From its humble beginnings in 1996 as a small site by the Creek where little kiosks sold products from different countries, Dubai Global Village has grown into a huge crowd-puller. This is now the star attraction of the popular Dubai Shopping Festival.Huge pavilions from around 40 countries are at the heart of Dubai Global Village, bringing together diverse world cultures selling native food, goods and handicrafts.

I savoured Shawarma, from the Mexican food counter instead, desperately craving for some chillies and spices in them :)..


..that ended up extra spicy and could no longer wait to dig my tongue into a few these Arabian Sweets..:).

The Mighty Indian Pavilion in Global Village :)


A Srilankan artist(outside their pavilion), attracted a huge crowd by this unusual method of spray painting the face..

of a live model!.The Crowd was amused to see his exceptional talent!!..


The Arabian spreads-Muthabe (baked egg plant with yogurt, lime and cumin) tasted better for me than Hummus (made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic).

Tabouleh, the much popular and healthier green salad of the Arabs.


The Next day,..


..we hurried on our way to Ibn Battuta Mall,(they claim this to be the world's largest theme shopping mall)

straight to The Grand Megaplex Cinemas located in the China Court ...

....to watch Avatar (go for the ultimate Imax 3D experience.Believe me it's worth every cent!)

After the huge tub of popcorn in the theatre we found this cute place just outside(still in the China court of the lovely Battuta Mall)


They use a frozen granite slab to blend mix-in toppings into the ice cream..


...oh yeah...they ask you to choose your desired ones from the array of (all sorts of) fruits,(all sorts of) nuts,(all sorts of) chocolates and (all sorts of) cookies :)..eventually confusing you..;)


but we found a great deal of happiness within 'this' :)...



At times the main delight follows the dessert.

The grand finale was marked by fine dining Arabic food at magnificent Atlantis of Palm Jumeirah..
[Sorry no pics of my 'Pigging out' in there...;) ;)]

Bye for now till I meet you guys with a nice-lovely-recipe-post..;) ;)...soon ;)....

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What I did before Blogging…

After two years of blogging..err.. “Food” Blogging, up with the 100^th post and the celebration,

I badly need to admit something, honestly..

I Hate Cooking!!..

.... I see a few confused faces... but, this is for 'Real'........ Apologies !!.. :)

I prefer cooking as an ‘Art’, something creative, something traditional, a delicacy or may be something presented in a stylish way.

...but definitely not to tire myself one after the other the whole day, whipping something up in a hurry burry way meant for breakfast, children hurrying to reach school on time and V to office…and a sumptuous lunch prepared with fullest effort mostly going “Unrelished”or “Untouched”, failing to be have had on time or even if ; in a hurried way.

The snack time next which calls at 4pm; children of course back from school but gulping down/swallowing in a haste, again to step out for extra classes/tuitions(inevitable in our surroundings)...

...then comes the 'mighty' Dinner time; chidren having the same, watching TV / fighting / (the Tom & Jerry way) and V having it as a part of some ‘nightwalking’, after 12 midnight, better explained as a wee hour breakfast..

Those are the normal weekday scenarios.

Yet, I do have the Sundays, all for myself, cooking for the family, with pleasure, care, the favourites, something tried repeatedly, authentic and simple…

I strain less, receive a very satisfactory feed back and something to be happy about is that the family gathers round the table and is ‘Together’ which means a real LOT to me :)

I can hear you scream now ;)…

"Then why on earth do you need to blog, wasting the much wanted Cyber space?"

I Love photography, food photography to be precise and friends…the lovely virtual friends who make my day, the moments I treasure, being something unexplainable…

Above all, blogging has drastically become my major hobby which has helped me to find myself, making a tremendously confident 'Me'!..:)

This post, the 101^st, throws light to the hobbies I was obsessive about, before the blogging days…

Let the Pictures Speak :)..

My Sister gave a helping hand to finish this hand painted saree..

If only she'd not been stalking my place, I'd have 'cleverly avoided' mentioning her name and got the credits all for myself :-(...... ;-) ;-)...

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My favourite Cook book and a few facts.

The Birth of the Cook book.

Fifteen young, enthusiastic men in a well known town in Tamil Nadu Join hands and form an association as a part of Round Table India(RTI).

Their Table gains recognition, popularity and compliments flow.The men indulged more in social activities and continued their hard work, again for the Table.In spite of much pressure,their young and active counterparts 'brilliantly' discouraged themselves from forming a Circle fearing they might lose the 'intimacy' among them.These non-political ladies, with varied cultural backgrounds, made it a point to gather once a month for their own Potluck Dinner.Their men and kids defenitely enjoyed the varied tastes cooked personally from each home every month and had a lighter time with all fun and laughter.

*One of the ladies came up with the brilliant idea of collecting the recipes of each of them and compile into a 'Cook book' and recieved an instantaneous applause by the Table.

Thus born,within a few weeks, the much awaited Potluck Specials.

Why I like this book.

This book is not restricted to any particular type of cuisine.The recipes are hometried and each dish has a personal touch of its maker!.Besides the continental cuisine, the book brings together the cuisines of North India, Kerala, Srilanka, parts of Tamil Nadu like Chettinad, Tuticorin,Trichy and Thirunelveli; representing each lady of the association!.

The proceeds from the sale of the book went to support RTI's long term project of Freedom Through Education.Every one who purchased thus supported the noble cause of Giving this vision a life.

*The leading person was none other than Renuka, whose team received a wonderful recognition for the stupendous effort!.



This is my submission to my sister's very first event (how can I resist?) of Show me your cook book. :D...

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A Few Tips for an Easy Indian Cooking.

A few practical tips. That was all what dear Mallugirl wanted from me next.Tips would be a Great contribution to the event!; But,as I had my own doubts like, since I am an Indian blogger I had to see how much my tips would be practical to the girls.!... being not much aware of the Western shopping stuff, the life style or the Western styles of cooking and preparatories.. how far my generalised tips would be helpful to the bloggers who are mostly Non Resident Indians..??..

Her gentle "push", had made me come up with a new post with a few of these,finally...which I am jotting down, out of my very personal experience.

1. Cry over spilt milk but Never over 'left over' rice.Transfer into a bowl, closing with a cling film and refrigerate. You are ready with the quickest form of rice: the soothing 'curd rice', next day.Lime rice,Tamarind rice,and Carrot rice are a few other updations of the same.

2. Have you ever heard of a child being fussy about Maggi 2 minute noodles?Nowadays,they come in different flavours and varieties.The only negative aspect being the added Mono sodium glutamate or the Aji-no-moto which is thought to be a little unhealthy.'Maggi meal',once in a week can be considered as a quick food for the young.Add veggies or boiled chicken pieces to make it complete.

3. **Condiments and Powders of any variety come to a timely help.

Soup powders, sambhar powder, rasam powder, garam masala, curry powder and coconut milk powders are worthy to be mentioned.Label them.These help you to whip up a bowl of quick n easy curry, any time of the day.

4. Cooked dal, grated frozen coconuts and veggies ready in the freezer are great timely helpers for making a simple dhal and veggie curry with steamed rice or Indian breads.

5. **Preserves like pickles, spiced dhal powder, chammanthi podi, kariveppilai podi go well with cooked(even left over) rice.

6. Better keep the Idli/dosa batter ready in your tupperware, refrigerated at least once a week.The soaking grinding and fermenting slots are definitely a little elaborate, but it serves you an easy, healthy light meal in a lesser time.

7. **Adai or the lentil pancakes, too require pre-soaking and grinding.Here's a method to make them in an easy way.Dry grind finely Rice:thuvar dal in the ratio 3:1.(if possible get it done in India, in a grinding mill, during one of your visits or so.Please read Ashaji's comment down here too:)).Store in an airtight container or a Zip lock bag. Add chilly powder,salt a pinch of hing with some chopped onions and cilantro.Make a loose batter adding water.You will be ready with hot crispy adais in a jiffy.This adai needs lesser time to cook than the other version.

The slightly thicker batter of the above powder can be used for coating sliced potatoes, brinjals, yellow pumpkin or any vegetable of your choice, to make bajjis, deep fried in oil, a quick savoury snack for unexpected guests.

8. **Ready made- store bought powdered forms of ragi, bajra/cumbu, nava dhanyam can be made into healthy porridges,Kazhi or Koozh with less cooking time. They can be served hot with a simple pickle, mor milagai or a quick fry.The left overs can be preserved, soaked in diluted butter milk, the resulting product : A super-summer-cooler-drink.

9. Here's an easy base for Kanji/Rice porridge or gruel.Dry roast the rice you prefer for a few minutes.Dry grind coarsely in a mixer when cool.Store in an airtight container.This cooks in a jiffy to make your favourite hot and simple bowl of comfort food.

10. Sprouts are extra nutritious.Add an extra amount of them in your salads, once or twice a week.This saves you time from cutting and chopping salad vegetables.

11. Store chicken breasts and fish fillets, if you prefer.They cook easily and can serve you an easy meal for your unexpected guests when compared to veg dishes; of course if your guests are non-vegetarians....the host too :) .

12. A loaf of bread or a pizza base comes handy,with the fruit preserves or readymade topping.Store the kind of butter for bread and cheese for pizza, preferred.Along with your favourite fruit juices, reserve whole fresh fruits too.

** Moms and Mils would willingly help you out with points numbered 3,5,7 and 8... Smartly make use of them..:D.

Above all,when it comes to working women, "planning dinner every weekend" is the most reliable method.Plan the dinner menu before hand for the coming 7 days in advance,considering the family preferences and simple nutritional facts.Plan your shopping list accordingly.See to it that you include cereals, salads, vegetables, milk and yoghurt, all over.This might seem a 'burden' to start with, but sets you going automatically the whole week.Pre-planning and shopping requires lesser time and effort than the time needed thinking about a meal and searching for the raw materials, 'to find a few missing' in the store, fridge or freezer in the 'due exact' time of cooking, leaving you frustrated..

After all, a little planning makes your life more comfortable ..:)..letting you to live to the fullest..:)..

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Apple ice bowl and a lazy weekend!...

Sometimes you feel lazy,really lazy,to get into the normal routine of life.

Sometimes you feel to laze a day or a weekend,sipping a cuppa hot tea, watching wearily a movie or a song you'd longed to…

When DhoomII was released ,I had wanted to go for the movie so badly.And today morning, I just happened to see that song,"Crazy kiya re", realised quite surprisingly, that I'd forgotten all about watching the movie,as I'd been dedicating much of my leasure time to blogging since then...

Having seen that beautiful orange ice bowl on Mishmash's table,a couple of days ago,wanting immediately one like that and humming the tune,where Aish had done a real rocking and a graceful performance,went out to reach for my fruit bowl containing no oranges!.The apples,slightly shrunk due to the scorching heat, didn't disappoint me though and I wistfully carried on to make the 'apple ice bowl'…

It took less than 5 mins,coz the not so fresh apples were sliced in a lazy way,the moulds got selected in a lazy way,the water got filled up in between in a lazy way,and the final product got photographed,with those not so fresh fruits again in the background, after 8 hours in an even lazier way.....glancing at the imperfect ice cup filled with nothing!.

After all it's a lazy weekend... right??

Warning-Do not compare this cup with the original!.:D..

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A Hit of 1000 in 3 weeks with 1675 page views!

Dear fellow bloggers,

'Little', was my knowledge about a 'Blog'until a couple of months ago.When my li'l sis N persuaded me to start a food blog,I felt it would be absolutely 'impossible' for me.

The impossible turned out to 'possible', when Spicy Chilly was born in the month of April!.The hit counter was dragged in on Apr 11th(taking care NOT to rgstr my own entries to the page) and 3 weeks had passed till then!.

So,now 1675 had visited this 'baby'(page views),1000 had already pampered(unique visitors),and more than 80 arrived with their cute and sweet gifts!(precious comments)...drum rolls in the background:D...

I sincerely thank my sis, R.P, Shaheen and Priya Bhaskaran for their timely help and having encouraging me tremendously as a new blogger!

I am extremely grateful to my very dear blogger friends,as well,for their prompt visits,encouraging comments and staunch support.

Let this 'babe' grow up,with blessings from all of you!.

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A Sweet Start & the cook in me...

Hi fellow bloggers,
Well!...Its almost a month ,since I started my blog, 'dewdropsblue'.Soon I found a new 'Zest', a sort of happiness,fulfillment and self-satisfaction...virtual friends with whom we share a lot...Just to describe the day to day happenings and share my interests,the blog proved to be perfect media!
The interest in cooking,sharing recipes and presentation and an addictive love to it had all instilled me to start a food blog.

Now,I am prepared and set out to discover the 'cook' in me...
I happily welcome all my blogger friends to my new food blog.
Happy blogging!.

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