JFI: Colocasia/Tara root/Arvi Stew

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I am a proud 'Recipe Marathon' runner who received a gold medal (beautifully designed by DK) for my successful run..*wink*. Thanks to RM, I found some amazing friends during the journey, had hearty laughs, enjoyable moments to be cherished for. Here I proudly showoff my 'gold medal'..:)


Tara-root, more popularly called as Arvi in India, is one of my favorite veggies and when cooked properly (without the goey texture), it tastes heavenly. My mama used to make either a fry or a simple tadka version of it. I learnt about this arvi stew at my friend's place. I tweaked a little bit and am happy that it turned our really yummy and lip smacking!

Off this stew goes to JFI:Tamarind, guest hosted by lovely Sig!


Ingredients:

1 cup of frozen Colocasia/Arvi/Tararoot (If using fresh - boil, peel and cut into rounds)
1 medium Onion, chopped
2 tbsp Tomato puree
1/4 cup Milk
Salt to taste
2 tsp Tamarind paste
2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Sugar
3/4 tsp Red Chilli powder

For Tempering:

2 tsp Oil
few fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
2 whole Red Chillies
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tsp of oil, add chopped onion and tomato puree. Saute for about 3-4 minutes. Grind with milk into a fine paste. Keep aside.

2. In the same pan, put 1 tsp of oil, add in urad, mustard, whole red chillies, cumin, garlic and curry leaves. Let them splutter.

3. Add in frozen arvi/colacasia and cook for about 5-6 mins on medium-low heat. Mix in the ground onion paste and tamarind paste with little water if required. Cook for 5 minutes more.

4. Season with salt, turmeric and red chilli powder . finally add in some sugar.

5. Cook for couple of minutes, covered. Garnish with cilantro and Serve hot with rice.


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My Food Blogger Finds is my way to introduce to you all, those enthusiastic food bloggers whom I got to know pretty recently..:)

In this edition, lets welcome - Hetal of Isha's Kitchen. She is one bubly, a fun-to-be-with person who made her niche in the food blogging world and managed to bag many awards..Congratulations dear!!

...and In her own words.. she says...

Food plays a very important part in one's life.I always had the passion for cooking and trying out new recipes. I love experimenting with food. Being a foods and nutrition graduate, I am always keen on how to make a recipe more nutritious at the same time tasty.........because it is a general belief that what is nutritious is not good in taste!! This blog is a sincere attempt to change this belief.
I am not a great chef....but a simple full time homemaker,through this blog I just want to share my experiences in the kitchen with you all and also get to learn something new from you.It would be a great pleasure if I can help somebody in any way through this blog.

Its great to have you around Hetal!.. Happy Food Blogging...:))

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The second edition of Open Sesame is announced ..... and 25 enthusiastic participants..have already got cracking their riddles in the first 2 days and are having loads of fun...!!

Do u wanna join them.. then send in your choice of box to ifl(dot)opensesame(at)gmail(dot)com.

For other rules of participation: Click here.

Note: Winner for Open Sesame 1 will be announced tomorrow!.. Stay tuned..:)

Have a great weekend ahead.

Siri

'Frozen Yogurt' - A Cool Summer Event

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Frozen yoghurt 'is ideally a frozen dessert made from or containing yoghurt or dairy analogues. Frozen yogurt is served as a low-fat or fat-free alternative to ice cream.

..but wait...the 'Frozen Yogurt' ... am talking about is a cool, summer event - to salvage ourselves from this scrotching summer heat!


Yogurt/Yoghurt is called Curd (in India), Dahi (in Hindi), Perugu (in Telugu)....and typically, it is perceived as a kind of health food which is high in protein, low in fat and rich in vitamins. It is good for those who are conscious of their body weight. To those who know, yogurt is actually a "wonder food".

...and We all love Yogurt.. there is hardly anything else that can lighten up our days ..make them cool and refreshing..Isn't it!!

5 more reasons to include yogurt in our regular diet:

1.Eat your way to fat-loss. International Journal of Obesity indicates that adding one or two servings of yogurt to your daily diet can help you maximize loss of fat and minimize loss of muscle.

2.Calcium in yogurt makes this a bone-building food. Also, lactoferrin in yogurt increases the growth and activity of cells that build bone.

3.Regular consumption of yogurt is proven to reduce vaginal yeast infections in women.

4.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that full-fat dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt may considerably reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. These dairy products are rich in a number of cancer preventing factors.

5.Consuming less than half-a-cup of yogurt twice a day, reduces the level of hydrogen sulphide that is responsible for bad breath. It also eliminates tongue-coating bacteria and reduces dental plaque formation, cavities, and the risk for gum disease.

..To reap the goodness of Yogurt, I came up with this idea of organizing an on-off event - Frozen Yogurt!


Some simple rules...

1. Whip up any Vegetarian dish with 'Yogurt' as its key ingredient and post it on your blog in the month of June 2008. Last date for submission is July 1st 2008 (midnight, EST). Multiple entries are more than welcome!

Note: Previously posted entries are allowed, if you create a NEW POST linked to this announcement.

2. Please link back to this announcement in your write-up and feel free to use the logo above.

3. All bloggers and non-bloggers, send me in - Your Name, Blog Name, Permanent link to the recipe and a 300 X 300 pixels photo to info(dot)siri(at)gmail(dot)com.

I know there are lots of events going on.. but if you do whip up something with Yogurt..u have an event to send it to and hope u will have loads of fun.....thats main idea of this event: to have some refreshing Yogurt dishes all at one place. Lets get cooking then..:D

P.S: My posts typically don't show up on TOI, due to some feed problem. It would be appreciated if you would let others know about 'Frozen Yogurt' event..:)

[EDIT] Thanks to JZ for reminding me the fact - mine is a vegetarian blog.. please do send only vegetarian entries!

Siri

Recipe Marathon: Finale: Meatless Nargisi Kofte

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I must say, it has been a blissful 15 day Recipe Marathon and with some amazing friends - it was even more satisfying and fun!!..

....Srivalli, usually used to be the first one to create a thread for that day and then the race began..with each one of us sending our yummy dishes over to link them up on our blogs! ... and the long funny Memes, Chats about who cooked what, how ....Oh boy!. I am gonna miss all those!... wish this marathon could continue forever... but, thats not the case and Today is the day to bid adieu for our marathon...:(



So, to make this moment extra special, I wanted to make an exotic dish for my friends, which I happen to see during my peek-ka-boo sessions at B&N where I instantly fell in love with it!

Narigisi Kofte is ideally a meat dish, made with minced lamb and eggs. but, I re-created a veggie version of it, substituting with 'Potato' and am so happy that it turned out divine!

....So, here I present to you all, Meatless Nargisi Kofte to mark the end of first edition of Recipe Marathon!.. and Congratulations to all my 9 marathon runners for successfully completing it!


Adapted from 'The Food of India - a journey for food lovers'

Ingredients:

For Koftas:

3 whole Eggs, boiled, peeled
2 medium Potatoes, boiled, peeled, mashed
Salt to taste
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Rice Flour
1 tsp Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
2 eggs, beaten
Rice flour - for dusting
Oil - for shallow frying

For Gravy:

2 Tomatoes, blanced, peeled, finely chopped
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/2 inch ginger, peeled, minced
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Red Chilli powder
Salt to taste
a pinch of Sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 cup Milk (or Yogurt)

Preparation:

1. To prepare koftas, in a bowl, mix - mashed potatoes, garlic, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, rice flour, garam masala and 1 egg, well beaten. Mix the contents well into a dough consistency.

2. Take one egg and a portion of the potato mix. Wrap the potato mix around the egg and smooth with your hands to form an even "casing" around the egg till it is fully covered. Repeat for all the remaining hardboiled eggs. Place all in a plate.


3. Sprinkle all coated eggs with a fine dusting of rice flour.Heat the oil for deep frying in a deep pan. Whisk the last remaining egg in a bowl and dip each aloo coated egg in some of this whisked egg, gently shake off excess and deep fry till golden. When done, drain and place on paper towels.


4. To prepare the gravy: Heat oil in a deep pan and add the chopped onions. Fry till light golden in color. then add the minced ginger and garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes and add the blanched tomatoes and all the spice powders including the garam masala. Mix well. Fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala.

5. Add milk and 1/2 a cup of water to the masala. Cook for 2 more minutes.

6. Now add the prepared Koftas to the gravy and fold gently to coat on all sides. Cook for 1 more minute and turn off the fire. Slice the eggs in half horizontally and Serve hot!


Recipe Marathon - Finale Menu:
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1. Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Seasons
2. Bhags of Crazy Curry
3. Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
4. Raaga of The Singing Chef
5. Lakshmi of The Yum Blog
6. Dhivya of Culinary Bazaar
7. Swati of Chat Khor
8. Divya Vikram of Dil Se
9. Arundathi of Arundathi's Food Blog.

A mega roundup for the entire Recipe Marathon is being planned and will be posted soon!!

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Reminder:

A.W.E.D: Middle Eastern is still on..till June 15th 2008! and I am eagerly waiting for your entries!..:D


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[EDIT] Voting for Open Sesame - May edition began today!! and will end on June 5th 2008.

Do cast in votes for your favorites here..

Box 1: http://dininghall.reciplicity.com/viewtopic.php?t=111

Box 3: http://dininghall.reciplicity.com/viewtopic.php?t=112

Note: To vote, you need to log into the forum first. Thanks.

Chao for now folks.

Siri