Event Round Up ~ Healthy & Hearty

 I am here with the round up of my first food event - 'Healthy & Hearty'.

 A big 'Thank You' to all of you who have send in these beautiful, varied and healthy entries. There are delicious entries right from soups, salad, snacks to main course dishes and a few desserts too. I have composed the round up mostly in the order I received them. However, if I have left out any entry please let me know and I will include it soon. Also, if you forgot to send me your entry through mail, please leave your link below the post and I will update it.

Without much ado, check out what is there in the round up.

Cucumber Salad by Torview
Rice Soup by Santosh Banger
Radish Salad by Ash
Spicy Puffed Rice by Kavi
Baloon Vine Dosa by Kurunji
Sorakkaya Pulusu by Sravani
Brinjal Curry by Sravani
Mixed Vegetable Thoran by Sona
Kaju Paneer by Nupur

Mug Dhokla by Pradnya
Undhiyu by Satayani
Bulgur Upma by Anamika
Hari Bhari Dal by Charu
Vermicilli Pulao by Rasi
Sprouted Green Moongdal Corn Dosa by Priya
Cabbage & Corn Soup by Priya
Bottlegourd & Moongdal Sambhar by Priya
 Spicy Cucumber & Mixed Veggies Salad by Priya

Broccoli Mushroom Stir Fry by Sireesha
Brown Rice Carrot Kheer by Nupur
Peas Poha by Charul
Choorha Matar by Nupur
Savoury and Nutty Semolina Cakes by Pinky
Peanut Sundal by Pranati
Spaghetti by Pranati
Veg Soup with Pasta by Pranati
Cilantro Tomato Chutney by Satya

Alammurabha by Hema
Banana Halwa by Hema
Chyote Squash Stir Fry by Nisha
Rava Upma by Nupur
Quinoa Lentil Veg Soup by Swetha
Kollu/Horsegram Rasam by Rasya
Indian Chickpea Salad by Mireilli
Oats and Flax seed Muthia byAyeesha
Carrot Potato Soup by Harini

Kara Adai by Harini
Aviyal by Harini
Mix Veggie Muffin by  Princy
Eggless Dates Cake by Radhika
Apricot Yogurt by Prathima
Chinese Vegetable Noodles Soup by Radhika
Tomato Dhokla by Radhika
Italian Style Tofu Bake by Denny
Mushroom Noodle Soup in Microwave by Indrani

My entries:
Kiwi and Orange Salad
Moong Sprouts and Veggie Salad
Aloo Patakha
Blueberry Fool
Savoury Semolina Cake
Crunchy Masala Peanuts 

Hope you enjoyed going through the round up. Thank you for stopping by! Cheers

Touchy Subjects by Emma Donoghue

Touchy Subjects by Emma Donoghue is a collection of 19 short stories on matters than can be rightly labelled 'touchy'.

Quoted from the blurb:

"A man finds God and finally wants a child- only his wife is now forty three years old. A coach's son discovers his sexuality on the football field. A room mate bizarre secret liberates a repressed young woman. From the unforeseen consequences of a polite social lie to the turmoil caused by a single hair on a woman chin, Donoghue dramatizes the seemingly small acts upon which our life often turn. Many of the stories involves animals and what they mean to us or babies and whether to have them; some replay Biblical plots in modern contexts. With characters old, young, straight, gay and simply confused, Donoghue dazzles with her range and her ability to touch lightly but delve deeply into human condition."

The blurb says all about the topics of the nineteen short stories this book offers. I can't really say I loved the book as I had said about Room by the author. There were some stories that kept me glued and some that I couldn't even connect a bit and even thought to skip parts. The book is divided in to five sections named - Babies, Domesticity, Strangers, Desire and Death. The stories from 'Death' are the ones I least liked, may be because of the subject matter itself. The stories on 'Babies' and 'Domesticity' were the ones I enjoyed most. They were subtle, absorbing and had a humorous touch to it.

 If I had to rate it only on the stories  I loved, I would give it a 4/5 but overall it would manage a balanced 2.5/5.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

The Playgroup by Janey Fraser

Meet Gemma Merryfield, the in-charge of the "Puddleducks Playgroup". The book starts with a typical day at the playgroup. There are anxious parents who worries whether their kids would be fine at the play school, there are late parents- who are never in time to drop their children at the play school and then there is a celebrity Mum who isn't quite what she seems. And then there are these kids, some excited, some cranky and some shy and their 101 questions about everything they can think of, which Gemma and her assistants tries their best to handle.

Gemma loves her job but behind her happy demeanor, she is hiding a secret- a secret that only few close ones know about. Soon, it would change her life. But, what it is?

Apart from her personal problems, Gemma has Joe Balls to work with and share a bathroom with! Joe Balls, the former- banker- turned teacher has a few surprises of his own. He thinks Puddleducks put too much emphasis on fun and games, and not enough on numbers. They do not see eye to eye in most matters, but when one of the children falls dangerously ill and another disappears, Gemma and Joe have to set aside their differences and work together. It is not all fun and games at 'The Playgroup'.

If one has small children, I guess they would be able to relate to the story more. As for me, I did enjoy reading it, yet I would have liked it more, had it been 50-70 pages shorter. The second half of the book was more happening than the first half. In fact, for the first 100 pages it was all about kids and the play group which was kind of too much for me. Yet, it was a fun and light read with balanced elements of humour, romance, suspense and fun. The writing style is simple and yet keeps you interested. There is always some suspense to keep you glued and keep wondering what would happen next. It dwells on a number of parents-kids issues, from raising kids - the naughty ones and the shy ones to nurturing an ill kid, the decisions often mothers take about their career when raising a kid and how a kid can make or break a relationship. There is also the right amount of romance if all the kid's thing is too much for you.

My rating: 3/5

Janey Fraser is the pen name of Jane Bidder. She is a journalist and a writer and has written five books under the name of Sophie King. To know more about the author and her works visit the links below.

http://www.sophieking.info/
http://www.janeyfraser.co.uk/about-janey-fraser.htm

I received a free review copy from the publisher- The Random House

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers!

Eggless Coconut Cake

Egg less Bakes is a group started by Gayathri and for the first edition she chose a egg based coconut cake recipe. All the participants had to try out an egg less version and post it on their blog on a specified date. To know more about it and participate, check this.

I have made a lot of changes to the original recipe. I have halved the recipe and have substituted half of the flour with whole wheat flour, butter with oil and have used a combination of yogurt, baking soda and coconut milk to substitute the eggs. Lets hop to the recipe to see how I have made it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup AP Flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 dessicated coconut
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Process:

1. Preheat the oven at 175 C and grease and dust a 7" square pan.
2. In a large bowl sieve the flours, baking powder, baking soda.
3. Add sugar and dessicated coconut and whisk such that the mixture is uniform.
4. Make a hole at the centre of the mixture and add all the wet ingredients one by one and whisk till the batter is well incorporated. Do not over beat. The batter consistency is on the thicker side, yet of pouring consistency.
5. Bake it at 175 C for 35- 40 minutes till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
6. When baked, let it sit over 15 minutes and then invert it on a wire rack. When it cools completely slice and serve.

The cake had a slight crust, but was soft inside. The coconut flavour was good although freshly grated coconut will give a more prominent flavour. All in all I am satisfied with the results as far as texture is concerned. But the cake was a little less sweet and the coconut flavour was not as prominent as I would have liked. So next time I make it I would like to use 1 cup of freshly grated coconut and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup.

Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!

Thandai ~ Spicy Almond Milk ~ Making Thandai Syrup From Scratch ~ Holi Special

It was only sometimes back when we were celebrating New Year and now already 2 months of the new year have passed by and March is here. One thing to look forward to in this month is the Indian festival of Holi. I had ranted a bit about it here last year. I have already geared up with a list of dishes to be prepared for this festival. 

To start off I have made this Thandai. This recipe comes from one of my favorite blogger, Rachana. I had bookmarked this recipe long back, but didn't make it till now since I didn't have the rose petal spread - gulkand, at hand. You can leave it out, but I wanted to follow the recipe to the T. So, I brought it on my last India visit. This recipe is unique from other on the web, cos Rachana gives a step by step method to make thandai syrup which last for months and once it is made, thandai can be whipped up in no time. I can safely say that I am going to make it again when my present stock of thandai syrup is over. Lets hop over tot he recipe.

Recipe Source: Veggi Fare

Ingredients 

1/2 cup almonds, soaked overnight and blanched

Mix and soak these ingredients together overnight

2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 dried melon seeds

Soak these ingredients in ¼ cup of water and then grind it

1/2 tbsp green cardamom
3 tbsp whole black pepper 

1 tbsp fennel seeds


4 cups caster sugar
1 1/4 cup water
2-3 tbsp rose petal spread, gulkand (I used one made by my Grand Mother, you can use store bought as well)
25-30 strands saffron (Rub it in a pestle and mortar with  a few drops of water before adding to syrup for color)
1 tsp rose water
a good pinch of cardamom powder
a good pinch of pepper powder

Process:

1. Grind together the blanched almonds, poppy seeds and melon seeds using very little water. Strain through a muslin cloth and extract all the liquid and keep aside. 
2. Add the rose petal spread to the ground cardamom-pepper-fennel mixture and mix well. Strain through a muslin cloth and extract all the liquid and keep aside. Discard the residue.
3. Mix both the extracted liquids and keep aside.
4. Meanwhile add the 4 cups of sugar and 1 1/4th cup of water in a deep pan and cook until the sugar dissolves. Bring to boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Add the extracted liquid to it and stir.
5. Heat it again and bring it to a boil and then turn the heat to medium and simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Remove from the heat and cool till warm and then add the saffron strands or rubbed saffron mixture, cardamom powder, pepper powder and rose water and mix well.
7. When the thandai syrup completely cools down store it in sterilized bottle/bottles. It will keep well for months.

Note: 

1. If sugar crystals are formed while cooling the Thandai Syrup, add ½ cup of boiling water to it and stir.

2. I didn't rub the saffron before adding to the syrup so, it did not give out much color, but the flavor was there.

To prepare thandai to serve 1, add 2-3 tsp of the prepared syrup to 200 ml of cold milk and whiz in a blender. Garnish it with chopped nuts. Add ice if you like and serve cold immediately.

Linking it to Holi Fest at Sizzling Tastebuds and Summer Spunk at TomatoBlues

Also sending to Spotlight- Holi. Spotlight series is the brain child of Recipe Junction , Indian Simmer's IndianFoodPalooza and to Priti's Colour N Sweet Holi Fest

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!