tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:10:21 +0000http://malluspice.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)Blogger234125http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gifblogspot/FfOYhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-44943644999449211Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:40:00 +00002009-11-05T07:56:37.993-05:00 I  started to change my blog  and simultaneously things started moving on the house sale, I got some design to do, a birthday party to organize and so on....Sorry for the delay in opening up the blog again. Once it got closed it felt awkward to open it up again incomplete and what seemed like a day's work took more than a few stolen hours from here and there.  It still has glitches so do let me http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/10/better-late-than-never.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-5566378766897894356Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:03:00 +00002009-11-05T07:49:44.453-05:00 A belated Eid Mubarak to all my friends and readers. This year Eid was on a Sunday which in this country means, everybody had a holiday and could really celebrate it. Unlike India, only common holidays are the public commemorative ones and the religious holidays are limited to only some factions. Hope you all had a wonderful time with your families and friends. I am still catching up on my oldhttp://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/09/late-for-everything.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-3714523938911953834Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:00:00 +00002009-10-26T08:11:59.109-04:00 This is one of the Ramazan specialities, samosas filled with meat. It is made completely by hand but feel free to replace with ready made wrappers such as spring roll wrappers, samosa wrappers or puff pastry sheets (Bake it as per the instructions on the box if you use puff pastry to make chicken puff). Ground meat(chicken or beef) is not recommended for samosas as it changes the texture. http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/09/chicken-samosas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-2646491480817991045Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:50:00 +00002009-11-05T07:55:37.832-05:00 It's always nice when your mind can get off a rut and think afresh. Last few weeks whenever I opened my blog and looked at the keyboard, all my mind was filled with, was the status quo. Now, with the advent of Ramadan, there is a relief in the line of thought. With fasting and fast breaking, the conversation has shifted to food, religion, and consciousness. Everybody knows the goodness of http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/09/fasting-or-feasting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-2020359260654007442Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:24:00 +00002009-10-26T08:12:23.594-04:00 Every two three days there is a house showing a.k.a."pennukanal" and my cooking is a mad rush now or there is no cooking on those days coz I don't want to mess up my super clean kitchen and clean again. The market is not the right time to sell a house but it's the best time to buy so whenever we take a price cut, we get consoled that wherever we buy, there is a price cut there too. So the http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/08/kheema-mutterground-beef-with-green.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-9216973756186772525Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:01:00 +00002009-10-26T08:12:36.594-04:00 For this post, I don't want to dwell on the house sale.. the status quo on that is still the same. It's been hot and humid here the whole of last two weeks.. hey wait, isn't that the weather in Kerala? Maybe the weather allocation got switched.. upside, I don't have to water my flowers, they are blooming like never before. Beautiful!! Downside.. my veggie garden is neglected and is attacked by http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/07/kerala-red-fish-curry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-3924711590448035424Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:28:00 +00002009-07-21T13:11:02.114-04:00Another weekend gone and no change in status quo.. Another whole week and weekend spent on cleaning and showing the house...A spate of incidents where we had to spent our time outside the house while the realtor and their clients were seeing the house. Our house is so small that my little one keeps asking.,. what are they looking at so much...but still no response so keeping the fingers, toes andhttp://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/07/kolhapuri-chicken.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-6145177100575540966Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:14:00 +00002009-07-10T07:32:02.438-04:00The house sale has become just another factor in the list of daily chores and activities. Even my kids are pitching in the daily clean up now.:)"The blushing bride" as one of my blogger friends called the house, is wilting under all the attention or the lack of it. We had one open house last week and nearly went a little berserk getting it ready. Still not much response. The house prices are http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/07/mathi-mulakittathu-moliyar-sardines-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-2684603141010617428Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:10:00 +00002009-06-24T13:34:00.299-04:00What happened to the summer? Who waylaid it and delayed it? It's June end and we are still venturing out with trepidation, wondering if we need a jacket or not. My veggie garden never really took off this year and its still lying low. So any day with slightly warm temperatures is like heaven sent. The kitchen is kind of operating on low battery and will do so for the coming days. Why? well, we http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/06/summer-delayed-and-wasted.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-7703187405764728349Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:08:00 +00002009-06-15T19:13:35.365-04:00Too much happening and not too much happening..does that make sense? Well, too much to be done around the house and about, with some big decisions being taken, about which I will elaborate later. And we are all down, well, now half the family is up, but the rest of us are still wallowing in tastelessness. Blogging aside, can't even think of any food as appetizing! So here is my life savior...the http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/06/hot-n-sour-soup-with-soba-noodles.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-412322593675630876Wed, 27 May 2009 14:38:00 +00002009-05-30T09:37:35.975-04:00It's a nice morning, its sunny and warm and I am planning to make a cake, maybe an elaborate meal, maybe go out and get the flowers I bought last week planted , maybe weed a bit......but all end up castles in the air, as finally my little one decides what I should do and should not do and zaps my energy.My friend calls up and asks me if I am going to buy potatoes.. I hedge and say I don't feel http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/05/potato-samosas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-4844881953357720388Wed, 13 May 2009 11:37:00 +00002009-09-30T13:50:42.002-04:00MeatSnacksIf I stay away from the computer for too long then I feel hesitant to come back and blog..it's like entering a party late and hoping you haven't missed out on the happenings.I had another exam to cover last week and I had a blogging ban by my better half so resisted spending all my online time surfing aimlessly. So I wrote anyway but put all my thoughts into draft, saving it with the intention ofhttp://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/05/pazham-pori-or-is-it-appam-smushy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-6525090796212171572Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:45:00 +00002009-05-04T13:11:19.914-04:00A very Belated Happy Vishu to all my readers and blogger friends. I just got back from spending some days with family in CA and I am still stuck between time zones. The West Coast is only 3 hrs behind the East Coast but for the biological clock, it seems like much more. Plus coming to an empty house with all the chatter still ringing in my ears, didn't feel like blogging.It was no fun to get backhttp://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/04/vegetable-pulav-pilaf-pulao.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-6977391149193510896Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:19:00 +00002009-04-08T00:59:03.940-04:00 I would love to know where baigan ka bhartha originated.. was it in India or in the Arab and Mediteranean lands? It has a very unappetizing name, meaning "mashed eggplant", but more colloquially the term "bartha" is used to connote "a mess" or a "mishmash".."or everything mixed in together".It's the similarity in the eggplant preparation that made me curious. Middle Eastern and Mediterranean http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/04/baigan-ka-bartha-roasted-and-mashed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-29414620326768836Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:00:00 +00002009-03-21T11:41:23.867-04:00Once every two months, I go thru a barbaric ritual. I go to the fish market and buy a whole King Fish, better known as King Mackeral here. Earlier, I would get the fish cleaned and cut into steak slices. In the brief English that the fish monger knew, he would lift up the fish head and ask, "No head?" and I would make a disgusted face and shake my head signaling no. The guys there would look at http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/03/fish-head-thoranfish-head-stirfry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-2514702438164770030Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:00:00 +00002009-09-30T13:50:42.002-04:00MeatA couple of weeks just ran by. I stopped to look but it was too fast for me, running as I was to get all the crazy things that only moms think need to be done. My Hindi music craze has just come to an end, thanks to a virus that rode on my browser and hijacked into my computer. No more downloads. Karma, some people would say.:)Anyway, I just could not get this virus out of my computer and finallyhttp://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/03/beef-tacos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-4264412956973037191Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:29:00 +00002009-03-01T16:43:03.869-05:00I always get enticed by stories where the main protagonists live right next to the best bakery in the neighborhood and take a daily walk... hear the birds chirping and see the early morning rays pierce thru the sleepy trees, smell the dew on the grass, feel the misty light swirling around.. to reach the bakery and exchange a few words with the baker while choosing the bread of the day.. It's the http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/02/great-white-bread.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-8840199308770681582Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:05:00 +00002009-02-20T07:42:29.805-05:00Does anyone need to be told that whole grains are better for you? Growing up, rice was mostly par boiled or rose matta rice, both of which are highly nutritious and chapathis/rotis were made with whole grain wheat.(The wheat was bought, washed, dried in the sun and taken to the mill to be converted to the Whole wheat flour!!) There was hardly any bread and pasta and noodles and cereal etc.But nowhttp://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/02/guess-indian-name.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-1636144797265098991Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:21:00 +00002009-02-12T14:51:45.190-05:00Last week, I opened my pantry and it seemed to have a taken a life of its own, growing and reproducing more than I actually stored in it. For every box that I take out, two more fall out from behind it. However organized the pantry is, after the kids ransack through it and I shove stuff into it, during instant clean ups, it gets messy soon enough.Every 2-3 months, I have to reorganize and take http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/02/soy-cutlets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-6908337877845656899Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:14:00 +00002009-02-09T10:10:36.097-05:00Herbs are the most expensive item as per the quantity, in my grocery list at least and I can only keep them alive for 10 days (maximum!!) before they lose their flavor. So I end up buying the cilantro-mint-curry leaves weekly while the other non-desi herbs are relegated to be the dried variety. Then last summer I had a small container herb garden and just loved the flavor of the fresh herbs...allhttp://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/02/chicken-soup-and-frozen-herbs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-5973642847820515257Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:38:00 +00002009-03-03T11:47:42.047-05:00A typical scene back home(now seen only during vacation): It's 10.30 am in my house in Kerala and we are chatting around in the kitchen after the breakfast is cleared. The stomach is protesting from the hogging but Mom is already cutting veggies, assigning work to her helper B and discussing what to make for lunch. I just hover around, pretending to help while trying to take furtive notes....mom http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/01/thenga-aracha-meen-curry-fish-curry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-7135622870018153864Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:08:00 +00002009-01-22T11:52:38.855-05:00There is change in the air and a new President here. The inauguration was everywhere...in schools, in offices., in libraries...they were showing it live everywhere and it was exciting to see such an occasion of history being played out in front of us. I watched the inauguration as I used to watch the Republic Day parades as a kid. The pageantry, the ceremonies, the commentary...it was a little http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/01/beetroot-thoran.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-4763913560245280592Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:07:00 +00002009-02-01T08:57:06.441-05:00Wishing all my readers and my fellow bloggers a very Happy 2009. Got carried away with last minute flurries of studying, packing, shopping and managing sick kids.I wanted to go to each of my favorite blogs and leave a new year greeting there, but instead went for a short break,with the exams being over. Results awaited of course, but I do hope to be blogging more often now.Hope all of you had a http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2009/01/kala-chana-with-puri.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-5698357465517294749Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:57:00 +00002008-12-23T21:48:15.714-05:00These natural colors are the reason that there is an entire range of "earthy" and "fall" color schemes around in fashion and interior design. These were the last of the colors around here 4 weeks ago contrasted with the same areas now after being showered with a blanket of snow. All the trees and shrubs got an extra large topping of whipped cream...The vibrant fall colors and now snow on the http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2008/12/last-of-colors.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23122419.post-101251260114586531Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:32:00 +00002009-10-28T13:28:29.744-04:00Shrimps Thanksgiving came and went. Eid came and went.:) and my hands were too full to sit down and wish you all properly. This is what happens when you decide to study in old (:) age. Everything takes second place even celebrations. Eid Mubarak to all my readers! Happy Thanksgiving too!! Hope you all had a wonderful days on both occassions with friends and families. I was talking to my parents and http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-thanksgiving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Mallugirl)24