Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tasty Vazhaipoo Vadai / Banana Flower Vada




Recipe:
Soak 2 cups of Channa dhal  and 1 tsp of rice for about half an hour, along with 5/6 red chillies, some curry leaves.
Drain the  water from the soaked items and grind everything coarsely with out adding water, or if it looks too dry just sprinkle little water.
 Have the flower cleaned the inner stems removed, and chopped finely
Now add salt to taste, some hing, chopped coriander leaves and the cut flowers and mix everything together .
 Heat oil in a pan
Make small balls of the ground mixture and flatten them lightly in your palm and drop them into hot oil, keeping the gas in  low flame. 
Wait till it is cooked on both sides and turns golden brown
 Take it out  and serve it just like that.
Some people add lots of masalas, and onion and garlic, but to get the subtle taste of the Banana flower it is best not to add any masalas. it also doesn't need chutney/ sauce etc.
 Eating it plain is the best way to savour the  lovely taste of the banana flower


Some tips:
Cleaning and cutting the banana flower is a tough job, but I have wonderful husband to do it for me, it needs lots of patience, and must be done properly. One should always apply some oil to the hands and then only start cleaning, chopping the flower. Also as you keep chopping the flowers, chopped pieces should be put into buttermilk, so that they don't become black.
Before mixing it with the vada batter, it must be strained completely, as there should not be any water/ buttermilk in the ground mixture.  Also don't mix everything and keep it in the fridge as it will not come out well. Mix everything and make it immediately. To get crisp vadas please follow these tips.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Love is in the air....

Dance like no one's watching,
love like you'll never be hurt,
sing like no one's listening,
live like it's heaven on earth....William Purky.

"Spend time in a flower garden. Stay there as long as you wish, but make sure your visit is long enough to take in the various charms that the world of blossoms and petals provides. You can sit in a chair or on the grass, lie down looking up at the flowers from below, or walk around. However you choose to spend your time, be aware that you are a guest in someone else's home — nature's — so act accordingly.

Love has many colors




"I am the dust in the sunlight, I am the ball of the sun . . .   
I am the mist of morning,  the breath of evening . . . .
I am the spark in the stone, the gleam of gold in the metal . . . .
The rose and the nightingale drunk with its fragrance.
I am the chain of being, the circle of the spheres,
The scale of creation, the rise and the fall.
I am what is and is not . . . 
I am the soul in all."
-  Rumi





A garden isn't meant to be useful. It's for joy. -- Rumer Godden