Methi Laddoos

BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM



When methi laddoos are prepared at home it means winter has arrived. These laddoos are prepared atleast 4 to 5 times a year at our place, usually during winters and rainy season. As kids we never liked this laddoos because of its bitter taste. But now knowing its many health benefits we eat it...

These are rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus and iron in their natural forms. Its mineral and vitamin contents are also very high and gets easily assimilated by our body. It acts as winter warmers and also control bodyaches, low-back pains. It is antiseptic, has expectorant qualities and helps in easing coughs and sore throats. It keeps respiratory system, nervous system, neuromuscular system in a good condition. It acts as a tonic for the body, strengthening bones, improves digestion, good for arthtitis, bronchitis, anemia and maintains a healthy metabolism.

Dabba full of laddoos:

This is the quota for 15 days. Mom has asked us to finish it off within 15 days, cannot keep more as it contains grated dry coconut too. So having 1 before breakfast, later mid morning breakfast, then in the evening with tea and then ultimately one after dinner...

My Birthday

BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM

My birthdays have always been very special. All thanks to my family and friends. Everytime on my birthday I cut 2 cakes. One is from my family and one my friends bring it for me.. But that usually goes into playing cake holi. :-) This above one my brother bought it for me..

This cake my friend samidha bought for me. Well need I say how it got spoilt even before I could cut it. Ohh hoo the sort of junglis that we are.

This was my first birthday since my brother got a job. So this gift comes from him.. A beautiful necklace set. Well I should say my brother's choice is improving. Aakhir mera asar to hona hi hai na :-)

Loved this simplistic design.

This gifts are from my very best friend samidha. I once had expressed that I wanted a western coat type hijab. It was a long time but she still remembered and bought it for me on my birthday. And how could she forget my all time favorites bangles.

This is face cover that she specially searched and bought the one which she felt would be very comfortable for me. I can only appreciate her efforts.

This is the head cover which again she felt would be convienient for me to wear, so she bought this one. I really appreciate her efforts but to be true I am nt at all comfortable in this one. ; - D

Aahh haa!!! My fav bangles.. I dunno y I m soooo crazy for bangles. But the fact is I really am. And I was only too happy to get such a beautiful gift... The color combi is soo good and I just greedily opened and wore them then and there itself.

Here I am wearing the bangles...

Malvani Jevan

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I love preparing complete meals. Its not only fun but one gets variety in it. Though cooking a complete meal always is not possible in the busy lifestyle of Mumbai. However just to make my people feel special I prepare it sometimes... Today after the saandan breakfast I planned a malvani meal. It consists of fish curry, gavar sabzi, rice, fish fry, jowari bhakri and kokum kadi.

My folks loved it very much, and the happiness I saw on my mom's face was all worth my efforts.

Saandan

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My mom wanted to eat saandans today for breakfast. Its a dish from her native which I too love very much. Its been a long time that we prepared this. Saandans are usually made with rice flour but I prepared it with rawa (suji). Its lill bit sweet and quiet filling too. I got this recipe from a marathi cookery show 'KhadyaBhramanti'. Some people put charoli on top for decoration, I prefer it simple as it is.

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

Rawa (suji) = 3 cups

Coconut milk = 3 cups

Sugar = 1 1/2 cup

Baking Powder = 2 tsp

Water = 1 glass

Salt to taste

Ghee for greasing

Method:

1. Sieve rawa. Separate the fine from the coarse one.

2. Heat one glass of water. Add approx. one cup of the coarse rawa in it. Lower the flame and cover with a lid. After sometime switch off the flame.

3. Add 3 cups of coconut milk in it and mix well.

4. Add the remaining 2 cups fine rawa, 2 tsp baking powder, salt, sugar and mix well.

5. Keep this mixture for 5-6 hrs for ferment.

6. Now grease the saandan plates with ghee. Pour the batter in it. Put those in saandan moulds and steam them just like idlis. Serve hot or cold.

Note:

We usually prepare this batter previous night and leave it overnight for ferment. Saandans are usually made for breakfast at our place.

Edited: 5th Jan. 2011

This is my entry to Food Palette Series White at Torviewtoronto event.

Sabudana Papad

BISMILLAH HIR RAHMAN NIR RAHEEM

Today mom prepared sabudana papad. It was a custom to make this during every summer vacation in our childhood. Although it would be made sometime between the year too but the ones prepared on our vacation were more fun. All my cousins would be here with us. We alongwith our cousins and building friends would go up on terrace. We would help mom in making these papads. These are too easy, just have to take a spoonful and tap it on the plastic sheet. While tapping spread it round.

Once the papads were done, next thing was to keep a watch on them. ;-) This means whole day on terrace - playing and doing masti. In the afternoon back for lunch and then back again on terrace. Later at around 5 in the evening nani would come up to pack all the things and bring it back home. It takes around 2-3 days to get dried.


RECIPE

Ingredients:
Sabudana (sago) = 1/2 kg
Green chillies = 8-10
Coriander leaves = 1/4 cup
Ginger garlic paste = 2 tblspn
Whole cumin = 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Wash and soak sabudana overnight.

2. Next day grind togather green chillies, coriander leaves and ginger garlic paste.

3. Add this above mixture in sabudana. Then add salt and cumin and mix well.

4. Add 1 cup of water and let it cook on low flame. Stir it until sabudana starts to melt.

5. Once the sabudana melts check the consistency, it should neither be too thick nor too watery.

6. If its reached the desired consistency, remove it from the flame.

7. Spread a spoonful onto the plastic sheet and let it dry in the sun for 2-3 days.

Note:
1. We have made some with and without cumin.

Papads with cumin kept to dry...

 Papads without cumin.. kept to dry.

The dried ones..

The fried ones.....

Diya

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Today aryan had diya decoration competition at his school. Yesterday we roamed whole market togather to buy diya and decoration materials. First we bought the diya then its decoration materials. However I was not keen on decorating it with other decorative stuffs. I wanted to paint it. Only on aryan's insistence I bought all those stuff.

After coming home I first started colouring it, I used rangeela color set. By that time all the other kids were troubling so had to stop in between and let the color dry. Today after waking up the first thing I did was to complete his coloring work. Just sometime before when he had to leave for school sticked the glass pieces. I was very happy with the results, but aryan was not. He wanted me to write 'Happy Diwali' on it which I was against. It would just spoil the whole look of it. He was not that happy and I felt bad, not because he was upset but because with all my heart made this for him.... and he didn't showed any excitement or happiness.

However just to cheer him up I said that he will receive highest marks for this, and if he didn't then he can come and scold me for spoiling his diya. I was really really upset but when he came back from school, saw the excitement on his face and felt relieved. Indeed he got the highest marks. Thanks Rab, for keeping my words infront of that kid.... Thank you very much..

Clips and Jewellery Bags

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My Clips Bag:
I made this a few months back and this post was in my drafts since then. I always misplace my things and when I need them I am searching all over the house. I thought of organizing my stuffs. Therefore made this bag to store all my clips and rubberbands.

I love these small baby clips sooooo much, I still use them

My Earrings Bag:
I always complain that I don't much use the stuff I make. My mom says its because I stuff them up in the cupboard and forget all about it. Hence this time I came up with this bag to store all my earrings so that it comes handy whenever I need it. I am happy now. Its actually working and I am really using all those earrings now.

My Fav Jewelleries

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As I said I love jhumkas very much, I was searching for one in maroon color to wear it with meenakari necklace for Eid. The one which I was getting was expensive and quiet heavy type. People call me marwari to some extent. I didn't wanted to shell up so much on a pair of jhumkas. But I desperately wanted one. After searching for long my heart finally went for this pair. And it is just for 80 bucks. I instantly bought it and was very very happy...

I love to say that I am a proud owner of this thing. It is worn on the sarees. I love it sooooo much that I had worn this during neelam didi's wedding... It will always be treasured...

Treasure Hunt Once Again

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My love for jewellery making has brought me to this extent that wherever I see any different or new design I immediately want to make it even if I use it or not. However my mom loves all that I make and appreciates it. I saw this kind of necklace in some serial and immediately started out to make it. It looks ravishing and elegant with the touch of simplicity.





I wanted to make something in blue color shades, so came up with this. The stones are lill darker in shade than the blue crystals. It gives out a very beautiful effect (although I could not capture it on my camera here). My mom wore it first for some occassion. My mehnat vasool...





This pattern is same as the above one.. only made with purple maroon combi..






This necklace is inspired by the necklace of Archana from Pavitra Rishta on Zee Tv. Its my mom's and nani's fav serial. Archana had worn this during some wedding function, only it was in gold. I am not a goldy person so thought to sober it down with pearls. It is so lovely that I am planning to make it one more with red kundan pendant.








Remember this pendant and earring set... I had bought this from Sahara Arts and Handicrafts Exhibition early this year. As I had planned to use pearls for this meenakari pendant, I added a dash of maroon crystal alongwith small golden beads to go with the pendant. I wore this on Eid and received lots of compliments. When people ask from which shop I bought this neckpiece, it makes me feel happy to tell them "Khud banaya janab".






This necklace I came up with all the remaining stuff from my previously made necklace. Few kundans, Gugris and Crystals were left and I didn't wanted to make another heavy set so made this one. It looks very delicate on the neck and instantly attracts attention.








My mom asked me to prepare something delicate in golden. I usually avoid using only golden and always add a dash of color in my necklaces. But this time with this request I got into lill thinking mode... and made this. When I started out with it, I was unsure how it would turn out to be, but my mom loved the results and appreciated my work. My aunts and uncles too liked it and got looking at it keenly.




Closer look....








This type of thing I saw in Centre One mall. It was a lill more than thousand bucks. I just liked the stone chakri used in between otherwise I am not all hearts with this one. It was only that my mom insisted that I made this one. My folks loved it..





And I loved this one very much. It has angular pearl beads and zero no. golden beads. Though its quiet simple but looks very beautiful. I love to wear it.







My mamma ( yup we call her mamma coz she don't have any daughters and take us to be one) from Hyderabad had sent this colorful ghungrus. Actually she had used these ghungrus on one of my sarees and these were the remaining ones. She very well knows I will use it somehow. Since a long time it was just packed up in my closet. When I got into jewellery making mode, I thought of making some daily wear earrings for myself. (although I always say but rarely wear them). But this I really wanted something colourful and cheery. At once these ghungrus clicked my mind and I dig them up from my closet. Now indeed I wear them and its my fav pair. The colors and the jhum jhum sound it does always cheers me up and makes me happy.

I used less ghungroos here on my lill sis requests.

This is again for my lill sis on her request. She asked me to make only a pair of earrings from the above necklace set so that she can use it as her daily wears.. I added more stone chakris in it.

This is again from hyderabad and I turned them into earrings..

Same as above... Turned them to earrings for daily wears..

These leaves are again from hyderabad. I bought them when we visited that city. I had bought it with the intention to work it on some saree or dress but ultimately ended up making earrings.

Same.... Flowers from hyderabad ....

Same again.. I love this type of earring so made it in so many. It always team up good with my jeans-kurtis, tops etc.

These droplets again from hyderabad and they look simple yet beautiful..

I loved the color and cuts of this crystal. Hence made earrings out of them. They look simple, sober but very classy.

While making all these I thought to add some fun element. It was afternoon and after having lunch my sis bought in a bunch of bananas. It immediately clicked me to make something like that. I started digging out my stuff but couldn't find anything similar hence came up with these. It reminds me of colorful bananas as in fairyland.. My favourite place.

Now when I was making earrings with each and everything I had so why to leave out this stuff. This stuff is again from hyderabad and I turned them into earrings.

This is my first Jhumkas. I love jhumkas very much. It has been extensively used and hence not in a condition to wear it anymore, the hook over one is broken. I will Insha Allah come up with more jhumkas in the near future.

My younger mamu's wife bought this kind of mangalsutra for herself. I and my mom instantly liked the design. Its a small and cute one. So I made this for my mom.

Closer......

This is another one, simple yet lovely design.

Loved the oblong golden beads very much...

This is yet another simple design that my mom loves to wear...

My mom is not a big fan of this heavy mangalsutra but I love to make it...

Closer....

This again was on my mom's request. She wanted something in silver color rather than the usual golden stuff. I had this pendant and therefore made it jsut with black beads.. Although this one has nothing special in it but my mom loved it very much.

I am crazy for bangles. How can I not make any for that reason..