Plagiarism - not 1, but 2 !!...accidently spotted.

Well..i personally dont prefer to blog about every single dish that i prepare, or the normal regular ones we have on a daily basis...but this is unlike that. Pachadi(vegetables in yougurt sauce) is common at my place - its simple and quick.

 

Once had prepared Carrot Pachadi and decided to share it, coz thought its worth keeping such a recipe for those who are not aware of it...again , for its ease to prepare. Dish all made, but had no idea how it present it for the pictures.

 

Finally decides to give a search in google to see how others would have portrayed the same.

Couple of searches, and halted across this blog - Salt to Taste  (pic 1 below). Well was happy that this looks almost similar to the snap that i have taken. No much fuss around, simple..just the dish and the bowl. Cool !

(Pic - 1 )

Then, went onto google images, to get more ideas on the same, and thats when i came across this particular picture which looks exactly the same, but more cropped version of Pic - 1. (see Pic 2 below - the red square box on the right )

(Pic - 2)

Clicked on the link. It goes here - Indobase Recipes. (Pic 3 below)

(Pic 3)

And yes, it was a copied image and write up from the above blog -

Salt to Taste.

PLAGIARISM NO.II

See Picture 2 again above. The red rectangle marked .Two images of the same dish. Of course, it could be from the same author..but just for curiosity sake, decided to check. And, they again..went to 2 different sources !!!

 Close up of Pic 2

(Pic - 4)

Pic 4 - Carrot Methi Pachadi by Sailu's Kitchen dated Jan 24th, 2011.

(Pic 5)

Pic 5 - The same recipe, image from the same post by Sailu, but posted on the site Teluguone dated July 16, 2011 !!!!

God !!!

Dear Readers,

I am not a regular blogger. Also, am not sure if this has already been spotted and reported..but, what i came across is just being shared. Dear Mansi of   A Cook @ Heart, Preethi of ISingcakes and Anna, i understand you  are some of the few who have been directly hit by plagiarism. I personally do not have much technical know how on how to react during such a situation. So, am linking this post to you guys as well. Hope you  will be able to help in any way possible.

I am bringing this post to the notice of the authors of the two sites - Salt to Taste and Sailu's Kitchen.

As for me, well...just gets this uncomfortable feeling seeing a regular traffic on my blog from Russia ! Very regular views. no comments, nothing. Why in the world ??? Will they follow what is written here ?

And, if this / these Russian viewers are reading this post...

Ma'am/ Sir.....Can I help you ???

Shrimp 65 - low cal version

Ever since i came across this recipe by Divya..my mind was like...God! i definitely need to try it out. But just brought in some variations of my own to get its "calorie count" to the lower side while cooking.

You need

Shrimp - around 20-25

For marination

Egg white - 1

Corn flour - 2 tsp

Pepper Powder - 1 tsp

Kashmiri Chillie Powder - 1tsp

Red sweet paprika powder - 1/4 tsp

Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

For seasoning

Garlic - finely chopped - 2 tbsp

Green chillie - 3, slit length wise

Onion - 2, cut long , thin

Curry leaves - a stem

Low fat yogurt - 2 tbsp

Red food colour - a pinch

Salt and pepper powder to taste

 

Shell and devin the prawns. Wash thoroughly and boil in water with some turmeric powder, salt and pepper.

Once cooked, strain the stock. 

Prepare the marinate my mixing all the listed ingredients.  

Coat the prawns thoroughly with the marinate and let remain for about 30 minutes.

Fry the prawns in cooking oil. 

Since they are already cooked within, you just need to have the prawns in the oil just for about 2-3 minutes till the batter is fried and crisp. Thought this to be a better alternative that having the full batch deep fired to cook.

For the seasoning, into a cooking pan, add in 2-3 tbsp oil, garlic, green chillie, curry leaves and onion.

Saute till golden brown. Now add in the fried prawns and toll well till coated.

Add the yougurt, a pinch of food colour, salt and pepper powder and cook on low flame.

Mix the contents well.

Toss the prawns till the yougurt dries up and is all absorbed.

 Serve HOT !!!

Customer review - "wow! Mamma, you made this ?? you alone ?? yummy !!! "

- "kollam...really nice..gud girl ! " - Mr. Hus

Marshmallow Fondant - step by step tutorial

A post that i had been planning to write for a long time, and something that quite a few of my friends have repeatedly asked.

There are n number of videos in the net showing how to do it, and it seemed quite simple too compared to the regular icing sugar fondant. But the only negative was the "mess" this one process brings in to your kitchen. All the videos out there ask you to throw the icing sugar over your kitchen counter and mix mix mix the melted marshmallows till they reach the desired consistency. Just this step had held me back from trying it out for a long time, untill i just thought...well...."i dont necessarily have to do it exactly so.

A slight change and it was a breeeze to make !

All you need is

* Marshmallows

* Few drops of water

* Icing sugar 

* Butter/shortening to prevent it from sticking while kneading

* Flavours - vanilla/almond essence...any,

* Food colours - of your choice.

Step 1: Take the marshmallow (smaller portions for the first timers). I started of with roughly about 30 - 35 gms, or about 1/3 of a 100 gms pack.

Add a few tbs of water (3-4) and 2-3 drops of vanilla essence to it.

Step 2:  Microwave on high for a minute with intervals of about 30 seconds till the  marshmallows are puffy and expanded.

Step 3:  Stir the marshmallows until they are melted and smooth. If some unmelted marshmallow pieces remain, return to the microwave for 20-30 seconds, until the mixture is entirely smooth and free of lumps.



Next you need the shortening (Crisco) and the icing sugar.

Unlike the regular way of having the icing sugar all over the counter top to mix with the melted marsh's, i went in for a large sized cooking pan. Doing it this way will keep the process more controlled and less cleanup after the session.

Step 4:  Rub the pan thoroughly with Crisco on all sides and add in the icing sugar.  Well, not being specific about the quantity. As you can see you need lots of it, or until the marshmallow mass forms a dough of the right consistency).  I have used almost full of the 500 gm pack.

Step 5 : Scrape the melted marshmallow into the icing sugar. It will be very sticky.

  

Step 6: Rub your hands with Crisco, and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.



Step 7 : Continue to knead the fondant until it smoothes out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, but stop adding once it is smooth--too much sugar will make it stiff and difficult to work with.

Step 8: If you want to add coloring or flavoring to your fondant, flatten it into a round disc. You might want to wear gloves to avoid getting food coloring on your hands during this step. Add your desired amount of coloring or flavoring to the center of the disc, and fold the disc over on itself so that the color or flavor is enclosed in the center of the fondant ball.

Step 9 : Begin to knead the ball of fondant just like you did before. As you work it, you will begin to see streaks of color coming through from the center. Continue to knead until the streaks are gone and the fondant is a uniform color.

Once the fondant is a smooth ball without any lumps or stickiness, it is ready to be used. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrap it in cling wrap to use later. Well-wrapped fondant can be stored in a cool room or in the refrigerator for weeks, and needs to be kneaded until supple before using.

An organised chaos & School Snack Series - Part 1

One question, for sure that all mothers with school going kids would have heard, and would have asked - "what do you pack for the school tiffin for the kids ??? "

It being a daily routine going on right from the time they start playschool...God! its one long journey. The key is that we need to keep it healthy....at the same time, even important is not to be repeating the same stuff all 5 days days a week. They need variety and in a way.....it is a challenge too.

Well for me, i believe not in having just one big serving of single item, but prefers to keep smaller portions of 2-3 different eatables. One of the portions have to be from the "fruit" family.

Here, in the middle-east, unlike back in our homecountry India where the school timings are till around 3-3:30 (we need to take lunch to school),  the schools finish by around 1:30 pm, which means the kids get to have their lunch at home. So luckily, we need just sent some breakfast/snacks for school. A real great blessing especially if you are in for a larger head count. For us with 3 kids, the older 2 are school goers and the youngest is in playschool. Mornings are always the most busiest times of the day - so it does need some forehand planning.

Few simple tips that i follow to make the morning chaos more organised -

1. Plan the previous night what need to be prepared for breakfast. Like, if i am to make puttu for tomorrow, then tonight i would make the mix and keep it ready in the refrigerator to save the precious morning time.

2. Any frozen items (say samosa , nuggets etc)  if to be cooked will be removed from the freezer down to the refrigerator at night. It will be thawed and better to cook this way rather than having it straight from the freezer.

3. The uniforms - Get the uniforms and all the related gears ready all in one place the previous night itself where they dress up, so that it will be easy, rather than rushing at the last minutefor the shoes, and then the socks...and .."oh! my tie is missing!" 

And now, for the breakfast part. A glass of milk is a must. For the younger ones, its one full serving of Pediasure. Along with that, if they do take some solid breakfast like appam, dosa (might be just 1, but something is better than nothing) , then i just pack some light snacks. And days when they are just reluctant to eat anything in the mornings, i very well pack it off for school.

I have started this SSS - School Snack Series just to share some images of the tiffins i pack for our boys. But, a disclaimer -  these have been clicked at the nick of time and when every minute counts, so no props, no backgrounds, no decoration or photo presentation accessories. These were clicked right on my kitchen counter, the minute beofre it goes off to the bags. Kindly excuse the crudeness of the snaps.

 Box 1 - Bread squares toasted in ghee and sprinkled with sugar, sausages, kiwi and juice. (thats for the playschool goer-our boy No.3)

Box 2 - Steamed Banana, grapes and a cake roll. A light pack when they have already had their morning breakfast from home.

Box 3 -  As i said, if they dont take their breakfast form home, i very well pack the same. This day, it was appam (rice pancakes) , so cut it into squares and sprinkled some sugar on top. Alongside is a serving of whole wheat breakfast cereal flakes and cut apple .

For the Lent season - Indo-Chinese Potato Stir fry (no deep fry)

A tasty dish for the lent, or fasting season. No deep fry potato with bell

peppers prepared in mixed sauces and seasoned with dried herbs.

Ingredients 4 large sized potatoes Capcicum - green, red and orange coloured - 1 each 2 large onions - straight cut 4 tbsp oil 2 tsp chopped garlic 1/2 tsp chopped ginger 1 tsp chopped green chillies 1/2 cup thinly sliced spring onions 1 tsp tomato ketchup 2 tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp chilli sauce 1/2 tsp garam masala salt and pepper to taste Dried herbs to garnish

Method

1. Cook the potatoes in a vesselful of water till they are about 80% cooked.
2. Cut the cooked potatoes into fingers like french fries.
3. In a kadai, take the cooking oil, add the garlic, ginger, onion, green chillies and spring onion whites and stir-fry for a few minutes.
4. Add the potato fingers, capcicums, and the garam masala.  Saute lightly till the raw smell of the masala goes.
5. Add in tomato ketchup, soya sauce, chilli sauce, salt, and cook for  2 -3 minutes
6. Add black pepper to taste.

Serve hot garnished with dried herbs.

Oats Upma - sambar flavour.... and Mr. Quaker gets a facelift.

Got to admit, I am addicted to sambar.  In Kerala, we say, when a lady is expecting, she gets the craving to have raw tender mangoes (pachamanga).God knows from where. I am a mother of 3 and have never felt any attraction towards it. For my first, it was oranges, and i used to take 5-6 oranges per day! With my second, it was watermelons. Was very much dependednt on it all thru the 9 months for its liquid content, coz even a sip of normal drinking water and ..off ...its out !

But with the third, things were slightly different. There came in this Mr. Sambar,  (its in wikipedia too! ) one of the most inevitable dishes of keralite vegetarian cuisine. And....and it still lingers, even thou our Mr. No.3 is 3 plus years old by now.Could have it in all sort of combinations.   Right from rice and sambar, with chapatti..to even biscuits. Yeah, its the most wierdest combo to try...but, i liked it. And what i like, i can have it any time - morning, evening, or night.

Had been reading about oats upma, oats idli, oats this, oats that....and was planning to try this for long. Finally decided on making it and definitely, having sambar as a combination for it. But, was really short of all the different vegetables needed to make it, so after some thought...conclusion. Sambar flavoured upma. Yes, was gonna try it then and there.

                                         

For all those oats repellant humans (just like me!) here is one better alternative. Oats Upma,the flavoured version - with an indian touch. A pinch of sambar masala, and it brings a world of difference. But, just that we need to use the old fashioned rolled oats for making upma. Do not try it with the instant oats. It gets too mushy.

You need:

whole grain old fashion rolled oats - 1 cup
water - 1 cup
frozen veggies - peas-carrots - 1/2 cup
onion - 1/2 medium size, finely chopped
green chilly - 1 long, finely sliced
ginger - 1/4 inch piece, diced into bits
sambar powder - 1/2 tsp
peanuts, channa dal, urad dal - 1 tbsp

To season:
oil - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
channa dhal - 1 tsp
urad dhal - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 4
salt - 1/4 tsp

Procedure:

• Soak the rolled oats in water for about 3 mins
• While it is soaking, cut your onion, green chilly, ginger
• In a hot pan, add 2 tsp of oil, season it with mustard seeds, chana dhal, urad dhal, cumin seeds, green chillies, curry leaves, ginger, raw peanuts and saute until chana dhal, peanuts are golden brown and crispy. Do not brown them all.
• Now add the onions and saute until they turn translucent
• Sprinkle some salt and sambar powder
• Add the vegetables (I added frozen peas and carrot - they cook very quick) and saute well
• When the veges are done, (you may cover and cook if they are not frozen), drain the oats really well and add them to the pan. Do not squeeze the oats though. It will get mushy.
• Saute the oats for about 3 mins with frequent stirring. You may sprinlke the drained water now and then, to get the oats cooked. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes on really low flame.
• Adjust salt and serve hot as is or with any chutney.
• This is a healthy, tasty, easy breakfast for those 'no-no to oats' eaters.

And....for all those who have not noticed, our dear Mr. Quaker have lost some weight, got a haircut and gets a much trimmer look :). Not very latest a news, about a year old...but, just sharing. Below is the link.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2122494/We-took-pounds-Quaker-Oats-man-loses-double-chin-gets-haircut-companys-promote-energy-healthy-choices.html#axzz2Kfbws1B1

Well....thats a big bowl of hot hot sambar, straight from the stove, while lovingly writing about it.

 Your's truly,

The Sambar freek.

just in a minute, Christmas Snack

Well..the kids call them "The Chips'ie Hats".

Made it for my son's christmas party at school, and this was instant hit. Back home, he was really excited. saying.."Mamma....everyone wanted my snack only, you know ! "

This item is on my Christmas Snack sale list .But as it was the most liked ..thought, well...would just share its making as well.

All that you need :

Hat shaped chips
White melting chocolate
M&M's (red and green)

..nothing much actually...just this.

How to:
Melt the white chocolate in M/W on 70 % power , 20 seconds at a time. Stir well in between and continue heating, till the whole blocks are melted. Make sure that the bowls , spoons used are perfectly dry with adsolutely no mositure content.

If chocolate comes into contact with even the tiniest amount of water while melting, it will suddenly "seize," or turn hard and grainy. A single drop of water or a whiff of steam can trigger particles in it to solidify into a dull mass.

 

1. Bip the hat shaped chips into the melted chocolate just at its outer rim.

 

Select red and green coloured M&M's and insert one into the chips.

Once the chocolate sets, it will hold the M&M in place.
 

Store in air tight containers.  A simple, cute snack ready just in less than a minute.

The only negative side it that, the kids once having this..will definitely ask for more and doing in large scale, well...this is definitely  time consuming.

Anyways, a happy smile on the younger one's faces is all worth the efforts, is it not.