Nila Choru!

Oh wait...before anybody starts thinking...what am I up to?? Before you could pinch yourself to check if you are dreaming! No you are not. I have truly revived my blog again!

I had actually started writing on this topic, way back in 2009, Ahem! I know, its too late to continue writing here...but that's perfectly fine! Better late than never. 

Yes, my perspective of Nila Choru, way back in 2009 was to express my feelings of Nila Choru and now in 2013 is to express my inability to continue doing it with my little one! Life changes, priorities change and so robotic we become, that we forget things that used to bring happiness to us!

Nila Choru- Or the moon light dinner, brings back tons of memories, of my dinner time with my granny and Theju's dinner time with me when we were in Kanpur and Gwalior!

As stories unfold and most of you know, my struggle towards making my little brat, eat something, was growing day by day and I was always defeated in this struggle, I suddenly decided one day to try out the Nila Choru concept! Our own small terrace attached to our bedroom, served its purpose here! 

While she found it really interesting that mamma spent time with her, reciting stories of her own childhood, I found it another way to spend quality time with my little one. I realized, the time I spent with her, was more valuable than the food I fed her. We used to laugh together, sit and watch the moon as a family, Raghav used to contribute to the stories every now and then and every morsel of food, she ate, made me feel like I had won! The mom and dau duo used to keep waiting for this time every night, as it was our exclusive time! No phones, no TV, no computer...it was only family time!

Back to the present days...what happened to the Nila and Choru? Well, we have a bigger terrace, Theju has grown up, I have got busier, Raghav comes home late. All of us eat at different timings. Nila Choru has been forgotten long back!

No...I am not gonna complain now, that I have no time for this! I kept telling Theju as I type, that we would have food in the terrace once Papa is back home and she is pretty excited! 

Guli Appa...

It seriously irritates to see long faces at home, getting bored of the same old Idli and Dosa..! What more could I do with the batter that keeps staring at me everytime I open the refrigerator??!

So on a leisure Sunday evening...ground some onions with 2 green chillies, added them to the dosa batter. Added finely cut onions, Green chillies, small, thin pieces of coconut and seasoned the batter with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Went ahead and prepared the guliappas ( also called Kuzhi Paniyaaram in Tamil).

Had to take every care of the Guli Appa tawa, Its being treasured by MIL for the last 20 years. Old is always gold and Guli appas come out of this tawa very easily.

In no time, people emptied their plates and wanted more.

Was a bit lazy to prepare any side dish for this...but often prepare the thick only coconut chutney.

Thejuvum Raghavum...

Oh My....I am surely impressed with this movie..Abhium Naaynum! Well, watched it with praveen and Theju..! Later I realised...should have watched it with Raghav!

I must say...a movie that portrays the unconditional love between a dad and a daughter! Almost all the scenes in the movie..did remind me of the way Raghav and theju generally behave at home!

If on a holiday...Raghav insists that he brushes her teeth...gives her the morning cup of boost and bathes her! Theju is no less..She loves serving food to her dad...Helping him in pressing his dresses, Serving him tea...The way this man admires his daughter while she is fast asleep..is something that shows his immeasurable love for her! and Yes....THEY FIGHT TOO! Fight for trivial issues...fight over the remote...fight for going walks...!

What made this movie different in this commercial world is theres absoultely no masala in this movie..No Duets and romance...No stunts...but its all about LOVE FOR A DAUGHTER! Did this point impress me? Yes...Ofcourse...With a single, adorable angel and a dad who shares and cares every small happening of his daughter, around me, all 24 hours...how could I not be impressed with this movie?

Every movie portrays the love and affection of a mother...but fathers are often portrayed as strict officers...but this is a movie that depicts the reality of a father's love!

Awesome scenes would be the one where Prakashraj gets panicky when hot water spills...his Pre KG admission fear...his beautiful expressions in almost all the scenes..! Not to forget the character Ravi..beautiful characterisation and heart touching dialogues! Aishwarya has done her part too very well! Trisha could have done better...but no complaints.

A Must watch for ppl who love their daughters and their father's!

The traditional Semige with Kurma!

Raghav's favourite, After a whole lot of reminders from him to prepare Semige...I atlast prepared our very own Semige last sunday...Needless to say...it did turn out really Good...( Can u see me patting myself for the good job done!)

Often Team Semige with the traditional Saasami Upuda..( Mango Pickles)....unfortunately no stock this time, so went ahead with the side dish served at hotels, Veg Kurma!

Well, The hightlight was not the semige turning soft and tasty, it was that Theju actually pressed the semige from the machine and served it with all her unconditional love to us! Gals do grow very fast!

Now to the recipe....

Main Dish: Semige

Ingredients:

Boiled Rice: 2 Glasses

Soak the rice for 5-6 hours and make a very fine batter in a grinder. Add enough salt and mix it. The batter consistency has to be neither too thick not too thin. Can use the batter as soon as it is ground. Pour this batter in the idli plates and steam them.

While they are hot, put them in the semige machine and press to get thin and tasty semige.

Alternative method too...Very easy

1 glass processed rice flour

1 glass boiling water.

Coconut oil

Salt.

Mix all the ingredients above and make round shaped balls. Steam these balls and press in semige machine or even the muruku making machine.

Normally, ppl steam it after making the semige...but that actually turns our to become dry in some time. The above 2 methods, give a very very soft semige.

Side Dish: Can be teamed with Veg. Kurma/ Coconut Milk/ Mor Kozhambu.

Veg Kurma:

Ingredients

2 cinnamon sticks and 1 laung

1 Bowl of all boiled veggies like carrot, beans, peas, potato.

1 very thin sliced onion

2 tomatoes.

1 spoon of Ginger garlic paste.

1 spoon Red chilli Powder.

To grind:

1 bowl of scrapped coconut

1 tbsp of Khus Khus

5 cashews

Grind the above and keep them aside.

In a deep kadai, add 1 tsp of oil and add 2 cinnamon sticks and 1 laung. While they just splutter, add thin sliced onions, Let them turn golden brown. Add the tomatoes and

ginger garlic paste. While the raw smell goes off, add the boiled veggies and 1 tsp of Red chilli powder. Add enough salt too. While they have just blended well, add the ground mixture to the kadai. Add water to get a kurma consistency. Bring to a boil. Tasty and colorful Kurma is now ready.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with semige.

Atlast...I have started blogging on my passion....!

Its been years since I thought of creating a blog for my Own kitchen...blame my lazy bums....! Looking back all my years of orkutting and surfing...the guilt in me started pricking for not doing anything worth on this world wide web...!

Thought about it for months and now..ended up creating this blog, dedicated to my cooking...!

I wish I had done this long back...better late than never...! I only wish I keep posting my recipes here!