Wishes to all my readers...

An year passed by and so many things brushed into our lives - well each one had its own spice and own stir. Some days have been lovely, some gloomy, some lazy, some bubbly, some very happy, some silly, some boring and some very interesting. Beautiful are the thoughts when they run through our minds. How different has each day been... thoughts bring in few kicks of laughter, few kicks of smiles, few of cries and few 'I dont know what'. But yes, as I said every day had its own style. Thanks to Him for everything that was.

This blog has not had much attention for the past 2 years. Then suddenly I burst out with a few of them pinned across :). Now there is no explanation for whatever it has been. Hope in the coming year I learn a lot more in the culinary side too and fill my blog space with lovely recipes. 

Wishing all my readers and friends and family a very "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and a "HAPPY NEW YEAR"  

Hope you have  blast at the party :)

Paneer corn balls

Paneer... and by now you know what I would say... :) "Its my kids favorite" . I say this every time ans yes it is true - I really cant say much other than this. This is a version of paneer that my kids love to snack on almost every day but nope thats not the way we make it. It sure hits the snack menu a hell lot of times.

Soft, golden crispy, yummy paneer balls with beautiful golden corn popping out in every other bite makes this dish very very special to my kids. Not much spice but just enough to bring out the kick in it. Every time I make this, I have my little helpers right in the kitchen not even having the slightest thought of moving out. They sit right on the counter and help me with everything - say  cooking, cleaning, setting plates, 'bringing the ketchup bottle' and ofcourse eating:) . And the best part, the paneer balls never make their way out of the kitchen - yes they are gobbled down before they can be even transferred to a serving plate

Below is a quick snack/starter that will keep your kids busy licking their fingers

Penne with white sauce & bell peppers

Our menu for a Friday evening is quite often this very special Penne served with style. I am sure it has always been a no-fuss no-waste food in my kids table. Oh I have made it so many times and sure that it will continue for quite a while to come. Even my mil loves this so much that we dont have to change the menu even if we have her for dinner on a Friday night. She absolutely loves it and the proud me is happy that my mil made this at her home just for herself some day :) That really makes me happy.

I have had this served on many occasions to so many kids and believe me its always a hit. Infants to toddlers to college going fellas all have loved this to their fullest extent.

Here is the recipe for the evening Pasta ride at home 

Sambar rice

Sambar rice is that one pot cooking that makes life so simple on lazy days. There have been many days when this has been a savior and also been loved with the goodness of lentils and vegetables. My kids love big chunks of vegetables so this is an easy choice for me to serve them their veggies in their favorite chunky way.

Here is a simple version of sambar rice that is just made in no time

Sundakkai Kara Kuzhambu.. my mil style

Sundakkai known as Turkey Berry(wiki) Solanum_torvum is a very rich source of fibre and rich. Its goodness and medicinal benefits are way too many to mention. Google it and voila!!! you can learn too much about these babies. I love these cute little brinjal-like fruits. My mil always always insisted me to add this to our diets on a frequent basis but i never gave it a second thought until she made it for us some day and we all fell in love with it. My God it was just lip-smacking. Ignorant was I about its goodness and taste but now it is so enticing that I have a plant growing up in my very own garden. Every time there is a bunch of these little-fellas ready, I am ready too to get them working in my kitchen to serve a goodness-filled lunch :)

My kids love it too and they specially love it when I ask them to get some "sundakkai's" from the garden. Guess the next step .... well yes - they are out in the garden with 2 dining table chairs pulled out with lots of effort - specially with Nikhil helping Aadit to get his chair too(little fella right... needs his big brother's help). Climbing up on the chairs and carefully filling my bowl with these is a fun job that they just love to do. Nowadays its even lovely - they look at the flowers and ask me 'When will the next set be ready for plucking mamma'. Now that makes me smile. Whenever they are out in our tiny garden, they make sure to check the fruits out. Nice little helpers here ;)

My mil taught me this recipe and I have made sure to follow it perfect every time to make it the same like her and yes I have always been able to do it with this one. Well this is simple and yummy so there we go...

Eggplant/Brinjal Gold coins

Eggplant as a vegetable side dish is not a favorite for my kids but when it comes to this one - there is no second thought running in their little minds other than just gobbling it down. This is 'an always welcome' veggie for my kids.

Peanut Chutney... my mil style

Peanut chutney is yummy. Everything about this is ok except for the high cholesterol improving characteristics :). Nevertheless whatever be the reason it can never be off the dosa clinging menu for a long while. Yes it is so scrumptious that i have to make it leaving no other choice. My kids love it too so now its an excuse for me to make it more often. I keep it away from my hubby's plate though... dont want him to eat those extra calories when he's wanting to shed off some ;)

This one is similar to the other one i make but has a hint of coconut in it which gets a little different and a little special with extra calories 

Diwali pics posted a little late...

I know this post is very late as posted on this date. I had put it in draft but getting the pics uploaded and added to the post was such a biiiiiiiiig task for this lazy me ;) Anyways i guess better late than never is whats right here :)

Diwali is a beautiful, fun-filled, tradition-filled, colorful, noise-filled, delightfully lighted wonderful festival that everyone of all age enjoys. I remember our childhood days when mom used to make lots of special diwali sweets and fill up dabba after dabba in a line. Sure the munching away never stopped until the boxes were emptied and dashed into the washing bin. And special were the days of Diwali which marked start with the ritual of getting up very early, getting ready with new clothes specially bought for the occassion, decorating the verandah with beautiful colorful rangolis, pooja at home and then cracking the first cracker of the day... hmmm those moments are so sweet to remember. The calls to friends and family, the visits to friends homes, then the funtime at evening woo-hooooooo lighting up lamps, bursting crackers, shouting happily ... and the happiness list ended nowhere. Days have passed by but the speciality of Diwali stays intact as it had been generations ago.

We had lots to snack upon this time. Made everybodys favorite so that each one of us could enjoy our share. I just picked up some pics this time before all the goodies got munched away. They turned out well and we had a great time enjoying the festival.

Salted Maida squares with a hint of ajwain - Aadit's favorite

Mixture - My mom's style :) 

Kaara sevu(in Tamil) Gram flour spicy mini sticks - Nikhil's favorite

Rava laddoo.. hmm my favorite

Gulab Jamun made with milk powder - my hubby's favorite

 Also had murukku's at home but somehow missed the pics :) Probably next time 

Carroty Bread Toast... Nutritiously delicious

My younger bunny's favorite this time. I enjoyed these when my mom used to make it for me and now I feel proud and happy when I make them and my lil one Aadit munches them away in no time. Carrots are so full of vitamins and minerals that it has to be an important part of our meal routine. Eating them in the same boring ways is no longer a need. 

Kids will love this version of their fav veggie. It just takes minutes to put things together and make this yummy toast to be served in a sweet way.

Potato Bajji...

I am sure bajjis dont need any intro, they are just so famous and that everybody likes the. Bajjis are a very common snack all over India. People use different vegetables to make different bajjis say onion, potato, carrot, mirchi etc. Each has its own unique flavor 

I feel it is the easiest snack when one might have an unexpected guest and there is really no time to think of anything better. So this always comes in handy. Served hot with chutney or sauce it is best on rainy days too. A hot cup of chai on one hand and a hot hot bajji on the other hand is so comforting

Cheesy Paneer & Corn sandwich/Roll

Nikhils favorite weekend breakfast can be nothing better than this because he is the one who gave me the recipe to do it - and want to add that he is very proud about it ;) Yes and I am not joking at all. One day we had been to a Chinese restaurant and we tried some chisken ball starters. Surprisingly the starter was too simple and too delicious that we couldnt take our hands off them. It had a very simple, elegant and unique taste that we we hadnt come across for a long time in usual restaurants. Nikhil had a question for me at the table. Mamma y dont you make this for us some day... its soooooooo yummy. We started talking about it and he added ... 'U know mommy it pretty easy... just some chicken, some garlic and some chilli flakes. We were surprised by his little findings and his cute way of stealing our hearts. I promised i wud make him some of these chicken starters whenever I find some time. 

Over the next weekend I was straining some homemade scrambled paneer as we were having surplus milk at home. Just then my little bunny jumped in and asked me what it was. When we talked he said 'y dont we make paneer rolls today for breakfast'. When 
I said it wud take time he immediately put on his lil chef cap and said 'it very simple i'll help you.. .just add the same garlic, chilli, paneer and done' Now I did not stand a chance to say no so we set to try it out. A crispy cum gooey cheesy breakfast... yummm... 

My lil chef was the real chef that day and with a little help from me we could make something that turned out to be a kids special. A very special treat for thier weekend breakfast. I enjoyed it too. And from then on it has been a regular item in the menu.
Here it goes... my little one's slightly mommy tweaked version :)

Done in sandwich maker

Done on tawa

Done on tawa and cut into halves

Ammini kozhukattai

This is one of my childhood favourites. Whenever yummy used to make idiyappam, she used to make small balls with the leftover dough and we all used to be crazy about it. We used fight over it as there wont be may. It was the same dough as idiyappam but still eating chinna kzhukattai was definitely different. It tasted great everytime we had them

Mamma used to make this fried version and they would be just gone in a minute. Simple and divine is what I would say. Its not always about fancy foods that we crave for. Sometimes its just about simple things that we look for. Sometimes food that bring back a lot of memories. This on is one of that kind

A simple recipe that makes me smile every time I have it. My kids love it too so its great news for me and my kitchen. So every time there is some leftover dough after making idiyappams I get to make this for sure