Spicy SweetPotato Fry, Awards and MEME

Alright, yet another post without my garrulous and chatty talks. This time I have a long list of awards and MEME's to share. Sorry friends, you all have been so nice in sharing these awards with me, but I know I'm just too late in posting them. I got hooked up in posting the recipes than posting my awards and before I postpone it any further I have to do it today. So, I just want to quickly post a simple yet a flavorful recipe that I made today and move on to my awards and MEMEs.

The first time I read this sweet potato recipe in a magazine, I was a little hesitant to make this as I'd never made any dish with sweet-potatoes by that time. Just out of curiosity I made it and it turned out wonderful! I absolutely loved the blend of sweet flavor mixed with vibrant spice flavours. After a few more trials it has now taken a permanant place in my cookbook. Its light, its flavorful and its simple.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potatoes - 2 cups (cooked, peeled and chopped into cubes)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal/Ulundham paruppu - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

For the powder: (feel free to adjust the spice level according to your taste)

Corriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Chana dal/kadalai paruppu- 1/2 tbsp
Urad dal/Ulundham paruppu - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chillies - 4 to 5

Procedure:

• In a pan, fry the ingredients mentioned for the powder with 1/2 tsp of oil and powder them finely.
• Heat more oil in the same pan and season with mustard seeds, urad dal.
• Once the mustard seeds pop, add turmeric and asafoetida. Fry for 10 secs.
• Add the cooked & cubed sweet potaotes, salt and fry for 2 - 3 mins in medium heat.
• Now add the spice powder and mix well. Cover for 2 mins in medium heat and fry for 3 more mins.
• Remove from heat.

We enjoy this with dal/rice.

MEME: Its Meme time! Deesha had tagged me with this 7 facts about myself and here they are Deesha!

Since I've been already talking a lot about my food likings and opinions in my posts regularly, I will stay away from my food facts in this MEME :)

1. I am a late night person and my brain works the best only late evenings. All my blogging and any serious planning activities happen only when I'm done with my regular duties and the house is super quiet like a haunted house.

2. I am not a big fan of reading books and mostly stay away from big novels, although I like to quickly glance on some of my favorite magazines.

3. I love to be alone once in a while and engross in the world of my own. I think solitude is my best companion many times.

4. I am fond of music, mostly melodies, and have a huge collection of MP3 songs. I enjoy the song lyrics as much as I enjoy the music in the song and surprisingly, I happen to know the lyrics for the majority of these songs! I learned classical music during my childhood, and after several years, my forgotten passion is back and I'm now learning classical music again from a professional teacher...

5. I'm a shopping freak, especially with apparels. My closet is always full with latest tops, pants, salwars etc. While writing this I am realizing that last two months I haven't been shopping much.. Hmmm, need to catch up!

6. I am not that good in waiting for things to happen on its own. I quickly run out of patience and need things to happen right away. I am working on it, but I also have to say that my tendency of impatience helps me in winding down things faster without postponing..

7. I'm addicted to Sudoku and have finished almost 3 books (over 300 puzzles) in just 1 month. Don't know how long this addiction will last..

Alright, now awards time!
Bhawana, Kitchen Flavours and JZ have passed me the Brilliante Weblog Award:
Vani and Srilekha passed me the "Beautiful Site Award":

Kitchen Flavours has passed me this "Friendship Blend Award":

Suma and Madhavi have passed me this "Good Job Award".

And last but not least - Vani, Purva, Raaji and Gita have passed me this "Butterfly Award".


Thank you soooo much to each one of you for thinking about me and sharing your award with me. With so many good friends around me in my blogging world, its hard for me to pick only a few people to pass these awards. I'm sure all of you have already recieved it. If you have not received it, feel free to grab them from here.. :)

Spinach Chicken and a Meme..

Dear friend Sukanya had tagged me for a Meme and here I am with my answers:

1. Last movie u saw in a theater?
Dasavatharam

2. What book are u reading?
Just finished reading a lot of books for my certification. Taking a break from books for next few weeks ;)

3. Favorite board game?
Carrom, Chess.

4. Favorite magazine?
Readers’ Digest and Online Tamil magazines.

5. Favorite smells?
The fresh smell of Jasmine , the Seasoning aroma from my kitchen!

6. Favorite sounds?
My daughter’s voice over the phone.

7. Worst feeling in the world?
Seeing loved ones seriously sick.

8. What is the first thing you think of when u wake?
An excuse to sleep for a few more mins :)

9. Favorite fast food place?
McDonalds – Not only for food, but brings back some good memories.

10. Future child's name?
Will start thinking when I get one :)

11. Finish this statement—'If I had a lot of money I’d....’
...like to do two things:
1. Take a break from work and visit the beautiful places all around the world.
2. Visit the International Space Station and watch the earth spinning!

12. Do u drive fast?
I do, sometimes on the highway that I take to work everyday! But only when:
There’s no traffic and..
I’m in a good mood and..
My favorite song is playing in my car!
But trust me, I am a safe driver..

13. Do u sleep with a stuffed animal?
No! :)

14. Storms–cool or scary?
Storms are very scary for me, but also make me admire Mother Nature.

15. What was your first car?
The first car I started driving is BMW 325i

16. Favorite drink?
Jigarthanda, Kalkandu pal (both of these are street drinks in my hometown)

17. Finish this statement - If I had the time I would…
Catch up with all my good old friends..

18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yes, I love them especially in Chinese fried rice.

19. If you could dye your hair any other color, what would be your choice?
I would not dye my hair, I’m very happy with my healthy black hair :)

20. Name all the different cities/towns u have lived in?
Madurai, Surat, Trichy, Raleigh(NC), Dalton(MA), Seattle(WA), Schaumburg(IL).

21. Favorite sports to watch?
Cricket, Tennis, Pool.

22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Sukanya is a sweet friend whom I have known through blogging. She has a lovely blog and I enjoy reading all her great posts and recipes.

23. Whats under your bed?
My daughter’s hair clips.

24. Would u like to be born as yourself again?
If at all re-birth happens I want to be born only as myself. Known devil is better than unknown angel ;-)

25. Morning person or night owl?
Me, morning person?? No way!

26. Over easy or sunny side up?
Over easy.

27. Favorite place to relax?
There are many. But my best experience has been in Gimmelwald, Switzerland. All that was around our cottage was nothing but country side with snow-capped mountains and beautiful green landscapes! What a place to relax!

28. Favorite pie?
Apple pie.

29. Favorite ice cream flavor?
All flavors except Cherry.

30. Of all the people u have tagged, who is the most likely to respond first?
Don’t know! I’m sure everyone will be willing to respond, but it all depends on their schedule and time :)
Thanks for taking the time to read about me.... To know more about some of my friends I would like to tag:

Meeso - For the love of food
Anitha - Cakes By Anitha
Cham - Spice Club
Sireesha - Mom's Recipes

Have fun!

Now, the recipe.. This is one of those creative recipes that I learnt from mom. I can eat Spinach any way, and Spinach with Chicken is one interesting and healthy combination that I thoroughly enjoy. Ever since I tasted this chicken dish made by mom, its been in my "try and learn" list. This is the first time I'm making it, and came out yummy! I am also sending this for Vandana's Chicken - My favorite event.

Ingredients:

• Spinach - 1 cup
• Corrinader leaves - 1/2 cup
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Cloves - 3
• Chicken - 2 lbs
• Tomato - 3
• Ginger- chopped - 1tbsp
• Onion - 1
• G.chillies - 6
• Fennel powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Corrinader powder - 1 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

• Heat oil. Season with Cinnamon and Cloves.
• Once they pop-up, add ginger, g.chillies and fry for a min.
• Then add and fry onions for 2-3 mins.
• Add chicken pieces (cut into 2 inch pieces) and fry for a few mins until they loose the pink color.
• Add corrinader leaves, Spinach (washed and drained) and fry for 5 mins.
• Add chopped tomatoes, all spice powders and salt and fry for a few more mins.
• Cover and cook cook until the chicken is soft.
• When the chicken is fully cooked, increase the heat and fry gently by continously scraping until the chicken turns into dark red or brown color.

Goes well with Rice/Rotis.

Coconut Milk Rice and a MeMe..

I never ever thought that I would be starting a cooking blog myself. Kitchen used to be one area that has been of my least interest in my childhood. In spite of mom insisting the importance of learning cooking, I kept postponing it. I use to come up with some excuse and would stay away from kitchen most of the times. I preferred helping mom in cleaning up and cutting vegetables, but never liked standing in the kitchen for hours, frying, seasoning and sweating in the heat. Mom gave up on me may be perhaps she pretty much knew I am not going to learn :) Cooking being considered one of the important "pre-requisites" in an arranged marriage (atleast thats how it used to be in my family circle), and myself being a big zero in cooking, it was a bit pressure on me when I got married. And best (worst ;)) of all, my husband is a big food lover and a picky eater too! In fact, everyone in his family is like that. They talk so much about food and each one of them has their own likings and rules in their everyday food. My mother in law used to have a big schedule in the kitchen everyday. Being put in a tough spot, there was no other escape for me, other than starting to cook.. I knew my excuses wouldn't work anymore.

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!" After coming to the US, with practically just the two of us, cooking was fully dependent on me. But, with the help of a fabulous recipe collection that mom had written for me with lots of effort, and my practical cooking experience with my mother-in-law during my initial days of marriage, I started to get the hang of it. I have to say that my husband was very helpful and encouraging and had so much patience to put-up with my cooking disasters like burnt dosas & chapathis, salty vegetables, insanely spicy curries etc. Probably his patience made me grasp the talent faster!

Cooking, which I was once considering as just a chore, turned out to be such a great art and fun thing to do. I learned that one way to make cooking fun is to start looking forward to eating the finished product, and to always look out for learning new techniques and recipes. I really do enjoy trying anything and everything that looks fabulous on the dining table. Plenty of opportunities for imagination and inspiration, that can result in interesting combination of flavors! Pretty soon I started to improvise by adding my own touches to recipes. And in just a few years, here I am with my own food blog :)

Well, thats my cooking journey, friends! it may sound like a fairy-tale, but I had to share it, because for me its still a hard-to-believe story :) Alright, coming to the recipe, this is another excellent rice dish with fairly simple ingredients and can be made in so little time. If you are tired of pulav's try this for a change, you sure will enjoy the change! Practically goes with any side dish, I made Eggplant Cashew Masala which is our all-time favorite side dish.

UPDATE:

After some friendly suggestions from my fellow bloggers, I'm sending this as my entry for the AFAM Coconut event as well as Mixed Rice varieties event. Thanks for the great suggestion!

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 2 cups
• Coconut milk - 2 cups
• Water - 2 cups
• G.Chillies - 3
• Onions - 1 medium
• Garlic - 4 medium sized pods
• Cinnamon, Cloves - 2 each.
• Chopped Corriander leaves - a handful

Procedure:

• Soak the basmati rice in water for atleast 10 mins.
• Add a few drops of oil in a pan, and fry the whole g.chillies for 2 mins until you see white spots. Grind them to a paste.
• Chop the onions and garlic finely
• In the same pan, add more oil (or you can add 1 tbsp ghee to enhance the taste), season with cinnamon & cloves.
• Once they pop-up, add onions, garlic and fry in medium heat until onions turn golden brown.
• Add the chopped corriander leaves and fry for a min.
• Drain the water from the basmati rice and add it to the pan. Fry for 2 - 3 mins.
• Finally add the g.chillies paste, coconut milk, water and salt and cook together in a electric rice cooker.

Mix gently and serve hot.

Okay, now the Meme's! Dear friend Anitha had tagged me for top 10 pics a couple weeks before, and I am as usual late. But I did enjoy a lot picking up my top 10 pics from my blog! Thanks again, Anitha! I further tag my friends:

Delhibelle - http://delhibelle.blogspot.com/

Vandana - http://cookingupsomethingnice.blogspot.com/

Sukanya Ramkumar - http://hotandsweetbowl.blogspot.com/

Happy Cook - http://mykitchentreasures.blogspot.com/

Here are my top 10 pics (Click on the name below the pictures to go to the recipes):

Rava Thengaipal Kesari

Chana Pulav

13 Bean Soup with Greens

Chettinad Mutton Curry

Karuvadu Kuzhambu(Dry Fish Curry)

Murungai Mochai Kuzhambu(Drumsticks&Lima Beans Curry)

Corriander Rice

Egg Curry

Pepper Chicken