Said Not

How the sun shines out,

everyday,

making the days yellow and blue too,

bringing closer you to you.

Humming surreal what it is to you,

Drifting so real,

the unrealized, the unfelt, 

we would never know.

The unsaid to be said,

the untried, he failures, the unhoped,

the hope to follow,

the undone to be done.

Live once in thought, 

in any moment,

if it was yours, 

if it soaked you in,

drenched I might be,

not cold but wet.

Carrying abundance,

of what?

We wither, we shed, we shred,

too much to put together, but there is.

Just to be,

in the here and now,

at desk, on table mats, on paved paths,

midst of colourful wires and neon lights,

while sipping cups, while staring at rust,

break into my daytimes, few of those.

Feelings for felt craft

It was the first time I felt for Felt Craft when I was zipping around on the streets of Goa. The colourful shop wouldnt just let me get by! So took a U-turn and got in there...It was a nice warm mushy fabric bringing comfort in so many different shapes and colours. That's what I love about craft. The ability to make your imaginations come true. And this form was just beautiful. I buttoned up a colourful flower on my straw hat, and bought a pretty Ladybug purse for myself. I did pay a humongous amount at that time...but I had never seen it elsewhere in Hyd...The shopkeeper mentioned that he got these products from Himachal Pradesh. I never found this fabric in Hyd. But here in the US, it's easily available. I bought a few sheets to start my experiments and express some love! Here is how it's starting to blossom. Thanks to so many of those who post their tutorials....I will do it someday too if I get good at it that is :)

Cupped Tortilla

Prep- Pre heat the Oven to 400 F

For the dough:

Use 1 1/2 cup of whole wheat, 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, pinch of salt, pinch of baking powder.

For the filling:

I used corn, chopped onions, tomatoes,green chillies,corriander. Season it with black rock salt, black pepper, salt and some Italian Dressing and lemon juice.

Bake the tortilla cups for 14-16 minutes

Let them cool and then fill the filling and serve!:)

My Oooops Moments :-O

- Some of the Tortilla cups got too thick, so make sure yours are as thin as possible.

- While filling in the fill..make sure you do not pour in the liquid(from the lemon especially) or it starts dripping when people bite into the cups.

Baked Gobhi

Prep: Pre heat the oven to 400F

Cut the florets into even sizes since it they all will roast even that way.

Wash the florets thoroughly and pat dry 

In a bowl pour in just enough olive oil that will wrap around the florets(you dont want it dripping around), add in some salt, season with chaat masala, rock salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Now mix this well with the oil and then toss the Cauliflower florets in this mix. Once its nicely wrapped, they are ready for roasting.

Spread across the florets on the try and let them bake for 20 minutes, then toss them around and bake for another 15-18 minutes.

Serve with some ketchup or green chutney!:)

Chocolate Pecan Brownies

 Makes10 small piece

- prep : Always remove eggs from the refrigerator  in case they are cold and allow them to come to room temperature.

-Pre heat the oven to 350 F

-Start Mixing in a bowl:

1/4 tbs baking soda

1/2 cup cocoa (I used Hershey's)

1/2 Cooking oil

1/2 Boiling Water

Let this become a nice thick paste and then add..

1 cup All purpose flour

1/4 tbs/ 2 drops of Vanilla Extract

1/2 tbs salt

Toss in the Pecans now...you can choose the nuts you want and make sure they are small

Grease the pan well and use a parchment sheet if you have one, I made mine without it but buttered the pan well and sprinkles some cocoa powder (since its a chocolate cake ;) ) 

Pour the batter and then bake it for ideally 30 minutes, do  the toothpick test , where you poke it in and if it comes out clean...your cake is ready!!! Cool it for a while before serving.

Ref:http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2010/05/homemade-chocolate-brownies.html

TRY THIS TIP:Spread into a lined and greased 9"x13" pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Whenever I cook brownies, I lower the heat to 325 as soon as I put the brownies in oven and cook for a few extra minutes. This helps to prevent hard, crunchy edges.

Cupcakes: Basic and Chocolate

Prep:

Proportionwise I used half a cup of sugar and half a cup of butter and one and a half cup of all purpose flour.

Mix together sugar and butter till the mixture is nice and fluffy, about 4 minutes is good.

Mix in flour, half a tbsp salt(if the butter you used is unsalted), one tbsp of baking powder.

Now keep adding this flour to the butter and sugar mixture...alternating it with milk...just enough so that the batter is of pasty consistency. Also add in Vanilla extract at this point. 

-Variation: I had some cocoa powder so I added that in some part of the batter..add in some sugar coz cocoa is very bitter.

Baking: Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake the cuppies for a perfect 25 minutes on the middle rack!

Allow the cupcakes to cook a little before you take them off.

Baked samosa:

For dough:

2 cups of all purpose flour

4 tbsp oil

some salt

luke warm water to knead the dough.

Filling:

Prepare a mixture of mashed boiled potatoes, add in chaat masala, amchur, cumin powder, red chili powder, black pepper powder. Mix them all well and keep aside.

pour in oil, cumin seeds, finely chopped ginger, peas, coriander powder and turmeric powder, now add in the above mention potatoes mixture

Once it starts cooking, add in some garam masala, turn off the stove and then add some lemon juice for the tangy touch.

Fill in the filling in the dough, as you make a semicircle and fold the sides to make the traingular shaped samosas. Always use little water to seal the edges. 

Baking:

Pre heat the oven to 350 F, then turn it down to 335 F and then let the samosas bake for 20 minutes and then turn them around and let them bake for another 20 minutes.

Maybe I am a polka dot

Standing under the lamp post
I look up and sigh
Wandering inside the rolling windows
I look around and find, sometimes

Just twinkling mysteries like so many other things
I figure out that I can figure not
I almost forget them sometimes too
and then I remember to remember

In love of lost wonder visits
from terraces, from the snow
from train rides and bumpy ones too
they never seem to change

For they say everything changes
and everyone goes one day
they somehow manage to stay
far far away

Lone together they all shimmer
making pictures and constellations my friends know of
I make of them pretty flowers and angles
they are beautiful with another meaning

Probably they stare
killing time in what slow motion
We and our lives just mere dots
And may be, I am a polka dot afterall

Methi Chaman

Always fancied the dish at the restaurant..and finally with the help of the thousand blog recipes I managed to make mine like one too :) Was surprised how simple it was.

Note all the ingredients in gree.

Step 1: Blanch(Boil in hot water and then drain it) palak/spinach and methi/fenugreek leaves. Blend this in a blender and make it a fine paste.

Step 2: Finely chop onions and garlic and green chilies

Method: 

In a pan heat oil on mid-high flame, and put in Bayleaves, cloves, Cinnamon stick, black cardamom. Then put in cumin seeds, once they start crackling in put in the chopped green chilies and garlic, then when they turn slightly golden, put in the chopped onions, wait for them to become translucent. Now add in turmeric, coriander powder, salt(keep in mind that with spinach it's better to use than usual amount of salt) Once the masalas roast, add in the spinach and fenugreek paste. Now let this cook till the oil separates. Now add in a little water depending on the consistency you want for the gravy of this dish. Now let this gravy boil, and then toss in the Cottage Cheese. You can roast the cheese if you are using frozen cottage cheese, in case you have fresh cottage cheese then you can use fresh cottage cheese itself. Let it cook till the cottage cheese is soft on low flame and then the dish is done!

Dry Chicken Snack- Indian

Being a Chicken eating newbie I am just about exploring my comfort zone with it...and I must say we are getting along quite well. So here I am with all the time in the world to do things I have wanted to :) Cooking fares well on the list...and I will keep adding the recipes of the ones which have turned out pretty decent so far :) even my Hubby says so :D (nopes not at gun point :P ) I have taken help from friends, family and looked online for all the recipes...and eventually it turns out to be a dish with a little twist I might feel makes the dish tastier or sometimes practically ( read ingredients missing :P ) and also a matter of convenience ( Hubby will be home early :-o).

So this is my first Chicken Snack that I tried over a web chat with my friend Mithun...who discovered  his fancy for cooking after he left for Australia....it turned out to be a cracker and could go well with the drinks, oh yea ;). So here it goes.

You would need:(all ingredients are in green...and sorry am not that good at proportions as yet)

Frozen Chicken Breast( Yup I am a starter alright ) - Microwave them for about 3 minutes or use the Auto defrost setting to break the ice! Cut them into nice cubes which would make sumptuous bites. 

For the Tadka:

Take Oil, add finely chopped green chilies, garlic and ginger...after that cooks a little...add on Curry leaves (be generous with these as it brings out a nice flavor), add salt to taste, pinch of turmeric, chopped Onions( the onions need to be bigger dices and not finely chopped).

Once the onions also go golden brown, toss in the Chicken pieces ,,,and cook it on a mid-high flame so as to let it cook good and also have a little charring(be careful not to go over the top, or you would have burnt Chicken :D) . In the end, turn off the stove, sprinkle veryyy little Chicken Tikka Masala(one of those readymade powders you get at any Indian grocery store) and put the lid and let it hold on for 5 minutes.

Tadan! Your Dry Chicken Snack is now ready....it's so simple...even I could make it :D.

Oooops: The first time I made this, I ended up sauteing the garlic for a tad bit too long...and I had to call this dish 'Burnt Garlic Dry Chicken' :D. So that could actually be another version too.

Cheers! :)