So I've figured out that this is a nice way to break what seems to me like interminable silences on my blog - put out a record of stuff that you've learned from the Internet. Barbecued poha, fantastic chicken curry, a discovery of ramen, there's quite a bit on the menu.
The most recent was this poha mixture, which I thought started off well, but in reality absorbed too much of the smoke from the ingredients that I fried ahead of mixing them into the poha. It tasted downright barbecued by evening. Repairing it by adding some more plain poha helped but I had wearied of the project by then and I gave it away.
Then, very unlike myself these days, I craved some spicy chicken curry that would remind me of homely flavours. I looked for 'Andhra Chicken Curry' and came across this recipe. At first, I thought I would use the commercial garam masala that I had stocked in the kitchen, but found a lot of comments in that post saying the masala recipe given there was just right so I went ahead and made it, with good results. This is never how chicken curry looked in my home but it always looked like this at many others'. I followed the recipe to the T, didn't even stint on the amount of oil as I usually do.
I got very fascinated by ramen noodles (instant noodles) just before the controversy about many two-minute noodle brands being contaminated in India broke out. One recipe I read suggested not using the tastemaker in the noodles, but cooking them up with vegetables et al. I had also finally bought a bottle of Sriracha after hearing so much about it on the Internet.
I was very, very disappointed that the Sriracha (I learn it's pronounced Seeracha) was quite ordinary, another version of the 'hot and sweet' sauce that most brands in India carry. I thought it would be Something Else! Now I've got a huge bottle (there weren't any small ones) and no appetite for it. Gah! And the noodles? The less said about them, the better. Suffice it to say they tasted of upma!
I attempted my hand at a microwave mug cake. As usual, I plunged in headlong, the recipe a half-baked (pun wholly unintended) affair of vague memories from the Internet and my own callousness of not checking it once more. I used two tablespoons of floor, a small pinch of baking powder and two eggs. I arranged some nuts at the base of the baking dish and poured the batter in. After it baked, I warmed some plum jam with water and poured it over the sauce. It was tough, inedible. I threw it away.
Finally: It's not often that I get to hear of dishes that have been made after reading my blog. Finla of My Kitchen Treasures saw a picture of the fried eggs my aunt had made for me in the US and replicated it with her own choice of herbs and spices.
Here is Finla's picture, which she was kindly sent me. She added chives and Turkish pepper.
And here's my aunt's version, with dill and chives
What have you been making, learning, doing?
The most recent was this poha mixture, which I thought started off well, but in reality absorbed too much of the smoke from the ingredients that I fried ahead of mixing them into the poha. It tasted downright barbecued by evening. Repairing it by adding some more plain poha helped but I had wearied of the project by then and I gave it away.
Then, very unlike myself these days, I craved some spicy chicken curry that would remind me of homely flavours. I looked for 'Andhra Chicken Curry' and came across this recipe. At first, I thought I would use the commercial garam masala that I had stocked in the kitchen, but found a lot of comments in that post saying the masala recipe given there was just right so I went ahead and made it, with good results. This is never how chicken curry looked in my home but it always looked like this at many others'. I followed the recipe to the T, didn't even stint on the amount of oil as I usually do.
I got very fascinated by ramen noodles (instant noodles) just before the controversy about many two-minute noodle brands being contaminated in India broke out. One recipe I read suggested not using the tastemaker in the noodles, but cooking them up with vegetables et al. I had also finally bought a bottle of Sriracha after hearing so much about it on the Internet.
I was very, very disappointed that the Sriracha (I learn it's pronounced Seeracha) was quite ordinary, another version of the 'hot and sweet' sauce that most brands in India carry. I thought it would be Something Else! Now I've got a huge bottle (there weren't any small ones) and no appetite for it. Gah! And the noodles? The less said about them, the better. Suffice it to say they tasted of upma!
I attempted my hand at a microwave mug cake. As usual, I plunged in headlong, the recipe a half-baked (pun wholly unintended) affair of vague memories from the Internet and my own callousness of not checking it once more. I used two tablespoons of floor, a small pinch of baking powder and two eggs. I arranged some nuts at the base of the baking dish and poured the batter in. After it baked, I warmed some plum jam with water and poured it over the sauce. It was tough, inedible. I threw it away.
Finally: It's not often that I get to hear of dishes that have been made after reading my blog. Finla of My Kitchen Treasures saw a picture of the fried eggs my aunt had made for me in the US and replicated it with her own choice of herbs and spices.
Here is Finla's picture, which she was kindly sent me. She added chives and Turkish pepper.
And here's my aunt's version, with dill and chives
What have you been making, learning, doing?
Sra ... seeing Finla's snap I immediately made the fried eggs the very next day for b'fast. No chives,no dill but it looked exactly like this. Talk about being crazy. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try that chicken too. Thanks for the link. Been craving some spicy food but not the usual ones at home. And you know how much I love Andhra food.
I have been trying a lot of recipes shared by friends on fb recently and most of them turned out good.
And the poncho I am knitting is going good. :-)
How nice! Post a photo of the poncho, will you? Finla's egg is so good-looking, itsn't it?
DeleteI am trying things all the time from the net. It motivates me to cook and take a photograph and blog about it ! Over the years, I have realised there are are sites where the pictures are good and probably photo shopped but there are others who are reliable and I get good results when I use their recipes.
ReplyDeleteRadha, yeah, I am attracted to sites with good writing and the photos are secondary. I get very frustrated when my food doesn't look as good as the food in the handsome photos.
DeleteThis is why I like you and your blog Sra. There is no pretense and no pressure to make (read as 'sell') a recipe and using a bunch of adjectives to describe how good it was and why the reader should make. You are not afraid of failure and saying out loud on the blog. Such honesty is no longer (alteast I have not) seen in our blogging world today. Love the egg photograph and am going to make some soon. :-)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Siri
Thanks, Siri! That's quite a compliment and I am glad you took the trouble to tell me that.
DeleteLooks like the only blog i read is yours. I think i should do something drastic for my blog to restarting my blogging, but i think that will take time i guess as these days i an not in a blogging mood.
ReplyDeleteWhich i think is a pity as i loved it.
I still look on the net for recipes not so much as before though. I have made that egg recipe again . Why didn't you try Sriracha sauce when you were in US, the thai one i buy here is really spicy and not sweet at all.
Sadly, I am in a blogging mood but exhaustion overtakes me and messes with my brain and I don't always know what to write. I didn't think of Sriracha much when I was in the States, somehow. And now I need to get through this bottle!
Delete