Long time no see...a dream come true, a disater and a long due regards to all..

Hello all....

It's been long long time since I have made a post here....my blog was almost on the verge of Rest-ing in Peace..while yesterday, was a "Dream-come-true" day for me, and I cant help showing it off!

Yes..I baked my own bread!!!..yeaaahhh...!!!!..eurekaaa

For no God known reason, was I always pulled back from trying it out...but deep within was this serious desire to do it...and going on for months now...and finally yeah...!!!!! (my! I am all still excited about it. )

I know..i know... baking is not a great deal for many out there...but for me, it was a giant leap!

After many search clicks on bakes, buns n breads..in various blog sites, net.. emails n questions to couple of experienced bakers.."why do we use this kind of yeast, why not the other?..should we do like this..why not like that??? and....finally decided on this simple recipe from Arabic Bites, and bingoooo !!!

Am I not really greatful for this less timetaking procedure .... more details here.

I truly recoment this to all new starters and impatient ladies like me, who needs to get "things done now!" ..not patient enough for the dough to rise, then punch it down..then rise...then overnight..hummm.
I made no variation in the quanity mentioned in the recipie..so, it was a big ball of dough after it has risen...and the end-products were.....

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Oooh llaaa llaaaa..I am soo happy..I could do it!!! (please excuse if you feel my excitement silly..but again as I said..this was definitely a giannntt leapp for me!!!)

For the quanity taken here...you get 5 pizzas, 6 fatayers...about 15 rolls and a challah..(not neatly pleated though) all medium sized. But again, when the dough is done..what shape it takes is all up to you. You are the boss..so play around...and mess aound with it.

Fatayer (arabic word for pies)- Labnah-zatar.

Peanut butter-cinamon-jam-roll. All in one!

This is what I felt looked the most cute...looked like flower buds to me...tip of the dough after slicing for the rolls...was in truth, the leftover, but finally came out to look the best.

Making cookies for the first time was also a great accomplishment for me. Did this over the last weekend. That's homemade strawberry jam filled in some of them. Courtesy to all jams goes to Viji of VCuisine. Never knew jams are so easy to prepare unless I saw her posts. thanks Viji.

Assorted vanilla cookies. Recipie adopted from Viji again. Followed the same quantity.

Tiny cookie flowers..this is all that I have got to show...the by-product was right all gone (courtesy : hubbie-bie and junior 1) even before I got to take a snap of the small cute flowers.

Oh well..I am again going back to my yesterday session...this was one sight that I had longed for a looong loong time ... the fatayers blowing up in the oven. It was a heavenly sight for me.

And now for some what was prepared while I was at home...enjoying my 75 days maternity leave.

Chicken majboos....whole chicken cooked in water with various spicesn browned in the oven and rice cooked in the same water used to cook the chicken.

Shrimp Fajita, cooked shrimp with sauted onion and capcicum with my additonal touchings of corm and green peas.

Flower puffs, with spring roll pastry sheets..didnt come out well as you see.

Usmania....chicken here, a single pot meal...rice cooked in the same pot after preparing the curry. Arabic dish.

First trial with puff pastry sheets..had nothing to keep in as filling, so it was just leftover cabbage thoran from afternoon lunch, and hence the name...Cabbage-Thoran puff.

And a few which was taken long back...(while I was carrying, that is) but never got itself up on the blog then...

Paachoru..(sorry I forgot from whose blog I had taken the recipie ) Rice cooked in coconut milk...sorry again, I forgot the exact measurements and what else I had used.

Masala peanuts...done in MW...which you have seen in many of the blogs...

Purple (plum) jam from Viji of VCuisine

And now again...going back to my yesterday experiments...done while the dough was raising...

These white pretty lovely angelic melt-in-the-mouth sweets were my ever favourites from childhood..Meringues....happened to read some recipies which looked like.."aah, this is sooo simple to do...why not give it a try....beat egg white till fluffy, add sugar n essence ..again beat, and bake....easyyyy...was i not happy to get such a simple thing to doo....

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look how it turned out to be....
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Oooh My dear holy God!!! am I not the least ashamed to be showing it out in public to all the master-chefs reading this post !!!!..naaaeeehhh

aah, well anyways,....every valley has a rise n deeep falll...

later today, did i see this link here.....my! this is not as easy I thought it would be.

Aaaahhh..so much of the cookery side...

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and now..for all those who had the patience to reach uptill here...

I am posting you the link to my orkut album where I am very much around...and my family....

http://www.orkut.com/Main#AlbumList.aspx?rl=mo&uid=12583494853894044697

so, even if this blog reaches its coffin again...you will find me in there, always live!

Thanks and cheers and warm regards,

Lots of lov,

Sona Santhosh - the kitchen scientist

After a break, from hibernation...

Hi ladies,

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its been a long time since i have jotted down something here, thanks to all for your regards...it really means so much to me!!

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Had a nice time in India with parents, in laws and relatives..Shanye had a great time too...

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Me running 6 months now.....here is a snap of me n kid taken last weekend.

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Gave myself a new luk with hair cut shortttt. Shayne is turning 3 next month. He's begun to speak more words now, but the "fill-in-the-blanks" kind of way....with just the basics, we need to fill in the connectors.

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Know what, he manages Sa Re Ga Ma too !!! (to repeat that is..)

I am right here, alive ... !!!!

Hi all,
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Its been some time since I have made any new post...was literally afraid if my blog would just die down!!!

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Honestly, was not in the least of mind frame to be typing out anything. I am running 2.5 months now. Had two rounds of "vaaal" today(in malayalam..hee hee)..or vomiting, that is....
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I am very much depending on the tablet "Navidoxine"..to help me through....takes it almost daily...missed it yesterday night, and hence the vaaaalll during office timings tooo..... Luckly, for me, things are always the other way round. Usually, pregnant women tend to have morning sickness, while me..here is fine in the mornings, provided I dont take even a drop of water, till I reach my office.
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I am very much into "Evening Sickness!!!...and its getting really cold too here, so am very much on my couch, all cuddled up in my comforter...and with a bad bad cough, to make things worse.
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As was with my first child, I have started having this "no no" towards drinking water. GOing more for watermelons as substitute. And hey, I need your advice. Is it mut that I should drink milk????
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I know its silly to ask,...but honestly, I have been a dairy hater from scratch (I dislike milk, never even bother to look at yougurt, butter, cream, cheese...except for ice creams). Previously, for my first pregnancy,I was with my mother, so had no way but to have milk, with some added powders to camouflage the smell..but now, it me alone here, ...so...just cant set myself to take a glass of this white thinghy and have it by myself!!!.
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I told mummy that I vomitted each time I drank milk, and she suggested..moleae, atleast eat some milk powder!!! (was she jokin???).
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I keep a pouch of flakes, the healthier variety... in my bag, and keeps munching it in between, and that too without milk. Just like that. I have got my excuse anyway..I say I will drink milk, after 3-4 months, once my vomitting and stuff subsides..(hopefully!!!!).
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As for other happenings, well....we had a cooking event, which by no other choice, I had to host, for my husbands college Allumini Ladies Forum. Had just very less time prepare, so went for very very simple cooking....and in the end, I came up with 10 different foodies...
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1. Palak thoran, prepared in MW,
2. Purle Jam in MW, courtesy Viji of VCuisine
3. Pasta Coleslaw, original version from Ashajee
4. Pickled eggs
5. Potato wedges in MW
6. Todd in a hole, something I had posted sometime back
7. Corn flaked mixture, also from Viji
8. Fruit - cake Kebaks
9. Assorted bun pizzas
10. Mint and fruit ices...phew!!!, wasnt I flattttt tired after all these!

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Thats me, and my spread....I have already started to blot up !!! (As if, I was slim, before!)..

Well folks, bye for now..happy Christmas, Happy New Year....

We are going to Indian by mid of Jan so, most probably, my next post will be after that....Catch ya all later....

Lov lov and lov,

Sona

My favourite side dish, my favourite snack....

and the reason why they are my favourites??..coz they are most easiest of recipies i have ever come across...

Super fast Ginger-Tamarind Chutney:

All you need is chopped ginger, onions, green chillie, a tsp of chilliepowder, jaggery syrup, curry leaves, salt to taste and thick tamarind pulp.

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Scoop all of them into a mixing bowl, and mix wellllll....thats it....no power, no gas !!!, all manuall....

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Not going in for th exact quantity of the stuffs, as its truly upto our own descretion. Need it more hot, add more chillie, more "tinghy", add the tamarind, want it more sweet, addmore of the jaggery syrup. All up to you...

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(Jaggery syrup is prepared by melting it in water, over the stove and stirring in between. Prepare more and can be kept for long in closed bottles in the freezer)

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Moong-Dal Treat:

This is something that I learned from my MIL. A superfast snack, u can have with tea, and its healthy too !!

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Take cooked Moong dal in a bowl, add jaggery syrup, fresh coconut, and a pinch of salt . Mix well, and off to serve...pretty easy isnt it?

Both my favourites go straight to the Powerless Cooking Event
by An Easy Cooking Blog.

The Ginger - Tamarind Chutney goes off the Think Spice, Think Ginger Event hosted by Sunitha of Sunitha's World.

Fantastic Four, and What's in a Name MEME...and an update : I am pregnant....yuppie!!!

Bharathy of Spicychilly has tagged me for the Fantastic Four, and ever known Asha-jee of Foodie's Hope for What's in a name MEME.....and its been sometime now, so better not to keep it for long. So, here it is....

4 Places I've lived:

Suprisingly, these four places starts with the same word...."K"

1. Kochi : Where I was born and brought up

2. Kothamangalam : 4 years there doing my Engineering

3. Kottayam : Couple of months after my wedding (that's where my husband hails from)

and finally, my present K

4. Kuwait....where next, Kenya ????...naaeeehhhh

4 Job's I've done:

1. Interior Designer. Honestly, felt like having a break after 4 long techi years...so went straight and enrolled for this diploma course. Our job training was after our final exams for one month..but I just liked what I was doing, so much..gave a special request to my institution to start my training right from my study hols..and was I not really glad, that when all my other batchmates got one month training under any reputed architect, i had it for 3 months..and a permanent posting later on too!!

Some clippings of my work at that time:

2. Civil Engineer with my usual site visits and inspections under the false name of a Marine Engineer. (Let the client just never happen to know, when they showed me a huge pile of drawings, and a hell-lotta techi names falling from their mouths, and the only thing I cud remember was "My my..I have heard all these names somewhere......". Nothing more than that. But surviving on very cooly with the grateful assistance of the supervisor there who is also from Kerala, so which drawing he says is fine and can be approved, is approved by me too ..!!!!..

Thats me at work....Posing among things, which you just dont even know what its called, but calling yourself a specialist in it ....its exciting, anyways !!!

3. Aakri- (Junk ) Collector:

Something, which is way too associated with me...junk stuff!!! Find something interesting, and it goes straight into my Aakri-box. Might stay there for years, but God alone knows when it would come handy, and in what form.

This is my latest addition....found these curtain samplers dumped near a garbage bin, while on our way after shopping, walking to where our car was parked....Passed by it with my eyes fully glued to it, and with some eye contact, Santho knew exactly what I meant! Turned right back, and brought home, as much we could carry. (It was late night at that time, glad no Bengali's saw me, collecting things which are their default properties). Am I not the least ashamed to write about it!!!

These are some roles they do now for me...a bow or a fabric base for my flower vases, pin up tie for the curtains, cushion back for our bedroom couch....

4. Photographer (at heart..nothing professioanl). Learned about Macro and stuff through various communities in orkut, while was free in office about a year back, and thats how it all started. I usually carry my camera with me always in my bag, and click click click...then and there, a file on my desk, plaant nearby, rubberbands, ...

...and these below are may ever favourites....
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still feel like laughing at the wordings.....
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I silently asked him..."Santho, do you provide the road markers and signages too ?

"EEEVERYY SINGLE THING!!!"...came the proud reply.

"So, this is urs too ?....Excellent!!!!"..I pointed this to him, and trust me, u had to see the look on his face!!

4 Favourite Places I 've holidayed

1. Ooty

2. Munnar

3. Kodai

4. Thekkadi

4 Favourite Foods:

I remember while were on our family trip to Velankanni, with my parents and brother, the waiter came in to get the order for dinner..my father, didnt even have a look at the Menu, but just straight at him and said

"Ome MB, one CB, one EB, one VB"..thats it!!

The waiter just couldn't make head or tail of what my father was saying....and my dad laughingly answered..

"One Mutton Biriyani, one chicken biriyani, one egg biriyani and one Veg biriyani!!!

My my, biriyani,...under whatever be the head, they are my ever fav's...

4 Places I'd rather be...

1. Naturally, back home after a long days work...esp when its real busy busy in the office

2. Right in this water above..thats my fav. beach..trust me its sooo shallow, u go even 20-25 mts into the sea, the water is just till your waist. Thats where we spend our friday mornings, me and my kid learning to swim...and our flat is right behind the yellow buildings in the snap.

3. My husband's place in Kottayam with all the lush greenaries and rubber treea around. For a person born and bought up in a huzzle buzzle busy city, this is always a refreshment!

View from the balcony, during the rain....

Shayne, amongst the rubber trees...

4. Any land of buddhist architecture...china, bhutan, nepal..so sooo....

..and finally, 4 bloggers, I'd like to tag...

1. Viji of VCuisine

2. Shn of Mishmash

3. Jeena of Jeena's Kitchen

4. Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures

What's in a Name MEME

I have no middle name, so just going for S-O-N-A, that's me!

S - Silly,...I can come with the silliest of excuses for a work not done on time, an errend forgotten, and hubs baptised me as "Silly Excus-O-mani"

O - Optimistic. Always. Trusts to the core, that whatever happens in life, will in one form or the other, one day or the other, will be always for our good.

N - Nostalgic. Can spent hours thinking about past events, old friends, school n college lives.....hummmm

A - Ambitious. Else not, I just wouldnt exist in this blog sphere. Cooking was something which was just not something to do with me, and look what I am doing now......

And the best part again..tagging....

S - Shella, of Kitchen Art

O - One Hot Stove author, Nupur (no much blogs and names with O, here)

N - Nags, of For the Cook in Me

A - A Cook @ Heart, Manasi.

Happy MEME, pretty ladies......

Heard so much about Egg Roast, what about Egg in a Roast ???

You got what I meant, isnt it ??? Give a break dearies...not goin in for too much words.

Wanna have a peep into the green room, look right below.....

Pop mustard seeds in oil, saut onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves till golden brown. Add in little of the powder variety - chillie, turmeric, coriander, and egg/chicken masala powder. Add just a little bit of water, keep closed for a couple of minutes...and just follow the images above. That's it. Do not forget the tastemaker - salt, folks.

(I added some tomato puree too, as it was a bit too hot !!!).

Off it goes to the WBB Omlette event by Kanchana of Married to a Desi. The mastermind behind the WBB's is none other than Dr. Nanditha, of Saffron Trail. Looking forward to the next ...

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Triple Nut Sweet

Have been seeing all the various types of sweets overflowing in various blogsites, especially in regard to the events and festivals....and was like.."Ooh my... shouldnt me too be a part of all the fun??....But I have never made any sweet of any kind myself. So, for a long time now..had been raiding various blogistes for something which I thought is possible my me too...and finally, well settled in for the Butternut Squash Halwa by Viji of Vcuisine. (Click here for the recipie) . Trust me, she is a real specialist in jams, halwa's..sweets...infact anything. I dedicate these flowers to you Viji...happy journey !!!

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honestly, I was soo thrilled to see the halwa take its form in the Microwave, but the quantity was very less to be served to about 7-8 craving mouths (ourselves and our relatives who live in the rearby flat), so had to think of something to increase its volume..

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So, this was how the final presentation looked like....

Triple Nut Flowers....Crushed CashewNUT Stigma, ButterNUT Squash Style and PeaNUT Petals !!!.

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Other shapes : Halwa Cresents: Took a small ball of the halwa, flattened it with the fingures, placed few cashew crushes in the centre, and folded close, to get the cresent shape.


Halwa Roll : made into cylindrical shapes, and rolled in cashew crush.

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This entry goes to the JFS : Diwali. Happy Diwali, Dassera and Halloween. Ofcourse, the sweet doesnt have anything to do with halloween, but being the month of october, thought better put up something relative to pumpkins too.