Strawberry Custard/ Mousse

I have been meaning to send this mousse/custard to Pari’s event but postponement seems to have become the way of life right now.

 So today, I promised myself in the evening I will post this entry. I just have to post it is fully drafted. Imagine my dismay when I was to stay at work for some extra time! And my horror when what I have been thinking as a complete post ready is nothing but cryptic scribbles that took me ages to understand!!

I know I will say never again and continue the same method. So I will not say never again...

 Sounds crazy!

Ingredients:

1 cup curd, chilled  

5 grms agar agar

½ cup water

2 cups fresh strawberry

3 tblspn sugar

1 ½ cups milk, chilled

½ cup whipped cream, chilled

1 tblspn powdered sugar

Method:

1.       Hang the curd in a muslin cloth or in a fine strainer for the whey to drain out.

2.       Cut agar agar in small bits and soak in water till soft. Then heat on low flame stirring till the agar agar dissolves.

3.        Mix sugar and strawberries. Mash.

4.       Add milk blend.

5.       Whip the cream with sugar and curd carefully.  Mix with the milk and strawberry   carefully.

6.       Mix the agar agar and set in fried in individual 4 glasses or in a bowl.

7.       Serve chilled.

Sendig to Pari’s event  at 

and to Priya Mitharwal of Mharo Rajasthan Recipes.

Cluster Awards - Passing on the Kindness Shown

Have you had your kindness show, pass it on, for it is not thine alone, pass it on...


These awards, my second one, to be exact have been passed over by Priya Mahadevan of        NOW SERVING ...   Thank you Priya! Please do visit her blog for some exiting recipes. She is not only an accomplished cook but also a excellent dancer, yoga teacher and a journalist!!


 I am thrilled to bits! I have met here, wonderful cooks, nay chefs here in this virtual world, masters par excellence not just cooking but in other fields also. And being appreciated by such an accomplished person is an accomplishment!!

I am told that I have to share this award with 15 blogger friends that I have. That I suppose is the catch. 


I am facing the same dilemma  as Priya who to leave out? Its like you have a party and leave out half your friends. 


 I hope you understand that in my own clumsy way I am trying to apologise the ones I have left out. Its not intentional just the "Houseful" board came up before it was meant to.


Before I add the names of the ones I would like to pass these awards to I am to share 7 things about myself.


1. My favourite celebrity chefs are Anjum Anand, Sanjeev Kapoor, Nigella Lawson!


2. My favourite movies are Hrikesh Mukhjee movies-- Chupke Chupke, Abhimann,Golmaal, Budha Mil Gaya...


3.Of course I love old Hindi movie songs, once that my daughters call "yucks" and Manna Dey is my favourite singer.


4. I love sweets, romantic novels.


5.My favourite colour is pink.


6. I have to remind myself that I graduated in Chemistry.


7. Last but most importantly husband is my best critic and friend!!


Now for the most difficult part 15 people to pass these awards too.


1.  Aipi from US Masala


2.Satya from My Inovative Kitchen


3. PJ from Seduce your Tastebuds


4. Smitha from Smitha's Spicy Flavours


5. Rachu from ammaandbaby


6.  Akheela from  Torview


7. Priya from Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes 


8. Jay from Tasty Appetite


9.Deepa from hamaree rasoi 


10. Shilpa from Aayi's Recipes


11. Pari from Foodelicious


12. Umm Mymoonah from Taste of Pearl City


13. Cooking Foodie from 365 Days of Eating


14. Chaitrali from I-m not-a-Chef


15. Heather  from girlichef

Suran Gaddi/Suran/ Elephant's Foot Cutlets

As I wanted to try out the Shrivalli's ICC Challenge Gujarati Dal  I requested my husband to buy some suran gaddi in Kannada, suran in Marathi and elephant's foot in English. I did not mention the quantity so he brought a big huge one.

I did not make the daal but now was stuck with this foot. So I made something like pav bhajji --rejected. I vaguely remember Amma making it so well that it tasted like mutton but I cannot find the recipe. If
someone can  I would be grateful.

Now the major part of the thing I boiled with a little Kokum and salt and racking my brains as to what I should do with it.

I remembered reading in the newspaper about elephant’s foot, where the author had made some cutlets. This was ages ago and ingredient?? Ha-ha big joke.

Then I decided to wing it through as  at the most I will have to throw it out.

Ingredients:

1/2 kg boiled suran

4-5 flakes garlic

a handful of coriander

chilli powder (adjust as per taste)

salt

bread crumbs  or bread soaked in water and squeezed dry

2 tblspn besan or cornflour(optional)

3 tblspn rice flour( optional)

oil for frying

Method: 

1.      The first thing to do is when the suran is hot to mash the stuff as much as you can.  As I did not do this I had to use water to grind it down and hence I needed more bread since I did not have it I used cornflour and rice flour.

2.      Grind in the mixer the suran with garlic, coriander, salt and red chilli powder.

3.      Remove and add the bread crumbs, if yo are using rice flour and besan add the same and mix well to form a soft dough.

4.       I made them into longish small balls and shallow fried them. You can deep fry the also.

5.     Serve hot with sauce and green chutney.

The verdict--

Younger kid-- Mamma tastes like non veg food.

Older kid -- Mamma what have you made these look like croquettes that Stacy buys.

Hubby dear-- I want some more.

Friends in office -- Hey what have you brought? You brought them? Idiot don't you know what not to buy?

Me-- No I made them at home.

Friend-- What will this Bhattin (Brahmin woman) make? Give them here let us taste them.

All in all must try again.

Sending this to Torview's Food Pallet series Brown

Thanks to all friends

These are the culprits that started me blogging. 

 I mean I did not jump directly from these books to blogging,no,no  but they were the reasons, no culprits.

You I started on one diary to write down about my experiments with food midway I decide that it was not too well organised. So I started the new one with the idea that I will rewrite the version I have tried in the new book.

Some I wrote most I did not so I started hunting for the recipe in both the books generally with something burning in the process and me just churning out something that we had to eat. 

Like “Kabhi Dhoop kabhi Chaw” sometimes good sometimes … You get the idea!! :-o

So in 1997 when we brought  our first PC (an old second hand  286 I think it is called) , hubby dear by then too  sure that I will not improve told me to transfer some of my recipes to the PC. He did some and showed me how easy it was to retrieve the data. I was hooked. (PC’s were not in a big way in my organisation then).

From then we moved to newer PC ‘s .I learnt something new everyday.  I also learnt the hard way what happens when PC’s crash and you have no backup. 

About that time we had internet first the dialup then the broadband and my brother who is a techie told me to start a blog so I will never loose my recipes.

 The same time when I was telling my SIL (my husband’s sis) about how I made Batata Wadas out of left over rice she told me the same. Most important was that both of us wanted to save some part of their grannies for our daughters. Something they could fall back on and not be left wondering how to make something like mum.

This time I started blogging. I had heard so much about how the net is dangerous, never make online friends, how people are duped I never ventured out to make friend. Most of the posting that I did was as I have written in my books. Never ventured to take pictures of what I made plan simple this is how such a thing is made.

Brothers, you know what pest they can be, especially those younger than you by 11 years, was pestering me to post photographs and when I told him my fears he set about educating me about the net. Put my fears to rest. SIL (husband’s sis) presented me with a simpler camera, for I could not the one we had and I still use it. The rest is history!!

Now you are wondering why this speech. You see I was curious and wanted to see how many posts I have and was surprised to see that this is my 173^rd.

Any way a big thanks to all my friends here who 

have made me comfortable and answer all my silly questions patiently!!