Egg fried Rice :-)

You're right !! I'm on a cooking spree and making my fave dishes this week :D Presenting - my version of the egg fried rice!!

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Veggies needed: Spring onions, Baby corn, Peas, carrots [use all, or choose any combination]

2 Eggs [whisked well]

Soya sauce

Tomato puree/paste [the readymade one available in supermarkets is fine]

White pepper

Salt to taste

Method:

Cook the rice al-dente and toss in a bit of oil and fry well till the colour turns mild brown. In another wok, pour a bit of oil and toss in the white part [scallions] of the spring onions and stir until it turns brown. Now add in the egg mixture and wait till the eggs get scrambled. Mix well. Now add the green leaves of the spring onions and the baby corn. Mix really well and add a bit of tomato paste and a bit of soya sauce. Add salt to taste, and a a bit of white pepper for the spice. Stir thoroughly and keep the flame medium-high so that the ingredients get roasted in the heat; and to get the slightly-burnt taste. Now toss in this veggie+egg mixture into the fried rice and mix together really well, on a medium-flame for 3-4 minutes. Done !!

Paneer Tikka ;-)

The word 'Paneer' conjures up images of yummy dishes in my mind. I am a self-confessed paneer addict and so is my gorgeous soulmate Pallavi :-) I've been wanting to make paneer tikka ever since I read this funny post on her blog.

So !! Yesterday night was experiment time :-)It did not resemble the restaurant version in any way, and looked pretty charcoal-grilled but the taste was really nice. I also sauteed some onions to go with it. Since I used a small leftover block of paneer; I couldn't slice it as big and thick as I'd have liked to. But the result was delicious and it was a great accompaniment to parathas ;-)

And yeah Pallavi, I have mustered the courage to put up photos :) whatever it is, it's my piece of art ;-)

Here's the recipe :-)

200 gm Paneer cubed or into small thick slices

For the marinade:

4 tbsp thick curd

Appropriate measures of chilli powder, garam masala powder and salt.
Mix all together. I added tomato paste also to this [readymade paste].

The marinade needs to be really thick.

Method:

Slice the paneer into thick cubes.

Now prick the paneer with a fork and apply the marinade covering fully. Let it marinate for an hour or two. An hour is usually enough.

Shallow fry and enjoy it. Sauteed onion slices and capscium slices are also great accompaniments :D

The Attack of the Evil

She cringed as it tried to twist her neck.The evil forces had arrived, she realized. It pounded her head into bits and pieces, and smirked. Soon, she thought, she wouldn't be alive any more. She wanted to retch, so she tried to get off the bed to move towards the open bathroom. It pinned her neck to the pillow, rendering her helpless. Stiff-necked, she tried to move but fell just near her bed. The back of her head felt non-existent and she passed out.

When she regained consciousness a few minutes later, she was aching all over. Clutching her neck, she pleaded with the evil forces to let her go. They said, not yet !! Not until we have achieved what we wanted to *smirking again* !!!

She could hear the phone ringing in the living room and she knew it was him, her sweetheart; and she pined to hear his voice. Immobile and sore, all she could do is let it ring on and on.

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And then, she woke up. Yet another migraine-induced nightmare that had succeeded in giving her the creeps. She looked around to make sure everything was okay. With her head still pounding, she checked every nook and corner in the large house. Moved towards the medicine chest, found her pills and popped one. There was noone who could help her deal with all this. She'd become tired and weary with constant debilitating headaches, which were no less than evil forces that were there to stay.

Life had to go on.

Recent Designs

Chinna Chinna padham veythu, kannaa nee vaa :-)

Right from when the festive season kicked off, I had dreamed of building this pandal for my darling Krishna for this year's festival. I am delighted that my decorative efforts paid off :-)

Enjoy these pics from Janmashtami at our home here in Abu Dhabi, this year of 2010

Everything turned out JUST how I had expected it to. Even the eats for neivedhyam tasted perfect, just the way I had imagined it would. Special thanks to Savithri for her mom's Nei Appam recipe, and to my precious Jaya chitthi for her microwave therattipaal recipe.