Bhakshanam

Last sunset of year 2006 at Bangalore…

Wishing a very happy and prosperous new year to all my blog friends and their family!!

Yeah .. i am breathing, breathing without my life support, My “Bhakshanam”, to which i barely logged on all these days, sticking to the promises i made for my dependents(hubby and kids), No Blogging till we settle down. But i am smart you see, i get the comments mails from all of you, and feel so great and happy for myself to be the part of world. I mean world, as i never felt the world is so close ever before.

Thanks for all, who are still keeping in touch and conveying the defination of friendship.

Will be back soon….

I know, i can see my cooking blog turning into personals and memes. I am hardly cooking these days.. okay.. let me cofess. The truth is camera has travelled across seven seas for a marriage ceremony at kannur.  Yep! that is it… no pictures, so no cooking.

Charming, Nandita has tagged me for this meme. 

Five in the freezer

• Fish, staple diet, cooked everyday.
• Frozen peas.
• Freezer door is over loaded with all kinds of masala powders.
• Ice creams and condensed milk in the door section.
• Al-Kabeer frozen foods.

Five in closet

• Lots of cameras
• Loads of cloths(ridiculous and insane!)
• Hidden 'whispers'.
• Box of jewellery.
• Personal certificates and important documents.

Five in car(if i would have one for myself!!:))

• Box of soft tissues.
• A small sandal wood lord Ganesha.
• Collection of Raffi, Bryan adams and Eagles.
• Chocolate wrappers, inevitable choice, i know its hard to get rid of it….
• A crate of water bottles(Its difficult to get water on long drives in Doha) or a gas can (its difficult to see a gas station in India on long drives) and a first aid kit.

 Five in my purse

• A picture of Mother Teresa( i was so much influenced by this great soul, once i even wanted to become a nun )
• Credit cards, which is of no use in here
• An "I miss you" keepsake card sent by my hubby when we were away.
• A photo of Lord Ventkateshwara.
• Some money if i am out for shopping.

It would be interesting to read what Busy bee Indira and hilarious LG would like to confess.

Indeed, it was a tough but a meaningful decision.  It has been too many years, we ever felt the zephyr of monsoon in the air, ever took a glimpse of clouds that formed just before the rain begins, ever felt the serein. It has been too long, that we got ourselves drenched in heavy downpours that escaped through small umbrellas which was never a use during monsoons.  The rains we always missed, and made several attempts to reconstruct those wonderful drizzling days to our tiny ones with our limited vocabulary.

Finally, one fine morning, in our cosy little warm house at Doha, we took this decision, to relocate ourselves to India for good. Although, rain is an essential factor, more important  is a career move for my partner and i am blessed with loads and loads of people around and never again going to miss my mother's tastes. Hoping My little earthquake is going to tremor with same intensity and high spirits as she used to be here. Atleast she will not get scared  by ants anymore and get the meaning of water falling from sky (Rain!)

The memories of Doha and Bahrain, remains refreshing and warm, and i will do post about it once in a while.

For the nonce, i take a leave from all my blog freinds, for couple of months.  Hoping to join you all very soon and blogging from my home town Bangalore!!

My posts remain intermittent in coming days. Do keep a check here for some amusements and cooking on move.

Requests and orders on hold:

1. Priya of Sugar and spice, in her first comment about Bhakshanam, happy to learn more Karnataka cooking.:)

1. LG of ginger and mango wanted a 'spotlight' on mann chatti:)

2. Vaishali of happy burp, feels good if i can cook a vegetarian dish in clay pot:).. .

3. Indira of Mahanandi, eager to know what do my mother includes in Horse gram whole curry.:)

4. Most of my pals wants the taste of my mother….:)

I will soon post all these…

I think i just have to do it right now.. its delayed enough.. and all my blog friends tagging me left and right….. i donno i am just sitting and counting stars… i am sorry about it.

My first meme, i was found by these 'Three cook(muske)teers' Ashwini, Nabeela and GM who embarked upon their culinary adventures, and befriended me (like the original  D'Artagnan in the story)… tagged me and here i am… (i know i sound honored.. but its not…) … (Melancholy… rather weeping!)… missing my mother very badly!!!!

My mother was never so good in neat and spick-and-span kitchen platforms during cooking, but used to produce wonderful delicasies.  She says,  when you concentrate more on a very organized and tidy cooking, you will never get a free hand on that hot stove.  Overall you will be thinking, … 'oh, that peas why is it spilled all over there?'… just that and you will forget all about how to make a perfect peas masala…. and end up clearing up the spilled peas in the middle of cooking…  may be she is right in her own way, she is famous for her tasty cooking.

I never got a chance to make this authentic karnataka breakfast and my mother's classic dish Masala akki rotti, with coconut chutney.. once used to be a 'hot cake' in my circle of hungry hippos and moment i open the box, rotti used to dissappear without a clue.

Tholasida akki rotti, my mom's signature dish, i have blogged.

Tomato Gojju, gravy of tomatoe and onion.

Alasandi kalu huli, curry made with black eyed peas and brinjal.

Huruli kalu huli, curry of Horse gram whole, i craved for this during my one of those 'productive' nine month period

Mosoppu, a thick curry preparation, with five different greens cooked and mashed together with little cooked dal and a ground paste. One must taste this with Ragi balls.

My ever tried and never succeeded, mom's Magical Idlis that melts in mouth. Mother has very simple notes for this recipe. Our crazy combo for breakfast used to be, idlis dipped in kus kus(poppy seeds) payasam.

A bun embedded in a jar of sugar, i know its silly but just brings back memories of my school days, when i used to hit home from school during sultry evenings anticipating some surprises, mom offers me this sugar coated bun, and i am so much amused, how mom can reproduce the same 'sugar bun' available from local bakery!!! Then i used to feel.. what a great cook my mom is?:) (she  has improved a lot!!!atleast she can not impress me up with such things now)

Phirni, she called it pakistani dish, leaving me wonder how and from where did she ever learnt a pakistani dish?!!. Anyway, that was one cool and coolest of dessert i have ever had.

All her umpteen rice treats prepared out of her imaginations, that used to occupy my lunch box waiting for those hungry fox to attack.

There is a lot more… but meme is limited to ten, time and.. length. Off all these, there is something else also i miss is her attitude so far i never understood is, she wants me to learn cooking but never gave me a chance in her kitchen!! It used to be real irritating… but yearning for such moments sitting far off and remembering her…..:)

I would  like Bindu, Shankari, Mythili, Lakshmi, nav, Reshma, Tony, Sumitha, shaheen, RP to write few words about their most memorable moments spent with mother or unforgettable dish savored back home in mom's kitchen.