My first Award

Today when I logged into my inbox, I was just expecting the same old mails and possibly one new mail.  But it was so surprising that I found around 4 new comments on my dishes.  It was particularly the mail from Sanghi that made my day.  I opened Sanghi's mail first and viola!! She had an encouraging comment on my dish and had written, "Do check my blog for ur award..!".  I probably thought it was her award and might be she misspelt it.  I went to have a look at her blog, and yes, she had received an award and had happily shared it with many others.  I was one among the list.  So here is my first award from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights!

This award has got the following rules
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (Only if you like).
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blog.

I think I have gone past the first two rules.  So here I am fulfilling the 3rd rule...

I am passing this award to the friends that I have known in this very short span.  

Prema Sundar of My cook book
Ramya Vijayakumar of Passion for Cooking
Trupti Pawar of Recipe Center
Rajee of Simply Innocence
Neha of Tasty Recipes
Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook
Sindura of Bay Leaf
Pooja of My experience with cooking

I am now done with the fifth rule too.. (Hopefully) I have notified every nominee in their blog.

Thanks to every one who have been very supportive and encouraging. 

Shrimp (prawn) thokku

My hubby loves sea foods more than the meat.  So we bought this raw shrimp on saturday and had to cook it for sunday.  We always used to buy only cooked shrimp, which means we do not have to do the cleaning part.  But this time it was a messy affair.  I had no experience cleaning anything when I was with my mom, because we gave up eating non-veg.  So, this shirmp cleaning process was actually a learning process to me.  I had to visit you tube tutorials on cleaning shrimp.  Turns out, we must have to devein the shrimp before cooking it.  So both, me and my hubby, started cleaning this 2 lbs of shrimp and finished it after some 45 mins.  When I finally finished it, boy, it was delicious...

Ingredients

1. Raw Shrimp - 2 lbs
2. Onion -1, big
3. Tomato - 1
4. Green Chillies - 3 slit length wise
5. Ginger, Garlic paste - 1 tsp
6. Red Chilli pwd - 2 tsp
7. Dhania pwd - 1 tsp
8. Turmeric pwd - 1/2 tsp
9. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

Heat a skillet and add some oil to it.  When the oil becomes hot, add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds crackle, add the chopped onions.  Fry till the onions are translucent.  Add the green chillies and add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.  Add the chopped tomatoes and keep frying till the tomatoes are smashed nicely and all the ingredients mix together and becomes one fine paste.  Add the shrimp at this stage.  Add Red chilli pwd, dhania pwd and turmeric pwd along with the salt.  Cook till the raw smell of the pwds are gone.  Then add some water and allow the shrimp to cook.  When the shrimp is nice and cooked, transfer to a plate and garnish with cilantro.

How easy is that... Its a good compliment to Rasam rice, sambar rice or even curd rice.  You can also mix the gravy to plain rice.

Gobi 65

Prema Sundar's blog was the final destination of my blog hopping. I stopped right there to get working as for two reasons, one was that it was awesome and simple. The other was I had two cauliflowers sitting in the fridge for a long time and it was time to put them to good use. These are dishes that I had never dreamt that I could do. I had always tasted them in hotels. When my hubby asked me to do something different with the cauliflowers, I knew it had to be the Gobi 65. So here goes my photos and the recipe from Prema's blog.


You will fall in love with it once you are done. I licked clean the whole, leaving just a scoop for my hubby (poor thing!!)

Vegetable Fried Rice

A few days ago, when I was blog hopping I landed in Prema Sundar's blog. She has got some of the mouth watering and delicious recipes in her space. Things that most attracted me are Gobi 65, Paal kozhukattai and Vegetable fried rice. On looking at her photos, I am tempted to read the method and ingredients. And hey what do you know, all those ingredients would be right in my pantry sleeping. Now I have learnt an easy and simple way to do Vegetable Fried rice. I had always thought it was a tough one to make, but turns out to be wrong. Check out the photos of my cooking and check out the recipe in Prema's blog as I have not altered any of the ingredients



My hubby, who was in Singapore for about 2 years, said it tasted very much like the fried rice that he had eaten in Singapore. What more could be a better compliment!!  I am sending this recipe to the CFK-Rice, hosted by Trupti.  (CFK is the event started by Sharmi of Neivedyam.) I am sending the photo to the DMBLGIT - May event hosted by Franscesco of The food traveller. DMBLGIT is the brain child of Andrew of Spitton