My edible Christmas Tree 2016 |Happy Xmas|Happy New Year 2017

It is Christmas in the heart,that puts Christmas in the air .~ W.T.Ellis

Christmas is indeed the most beautiful  season of the year especially here in U.S.A . There is so much happiness and joy on everyone's face and everywhere .Each and every home and each and every store are beautifully decorated and the little snow now and then , even winter season looks magical in its own way  and I,feel like ,"Manju in wonderland "!!😊

I don't know if it was my upbringing ,even though we are Hindu,my Dad,kept Lord Jesus's idol besides our Hindu Gods to teach us (practically) that "God" is one ,irrespective of religions,which is totally man-made and all adulterated nowadays .Soak the good from all,reject the bad ! - I wonder ,if this is one of the reason,I am quite drawn to Lord Jesus like a magnet !!

         [Related : How to make perfect Kerala style Idiyappam]

When I was little,I used to read small bible I had (Probably my Dad's),even though I hardly understood any verses ,as a token of love and devotions towards Lord Jesus and Bible is the first Holy book I ever read as well ...

And I had Christian neighbours while growing up and then we used to have good rapport with them .I used to eagerly wait for Mary aunty's Xmas plum cake and other edible goodies .The carol at their house used to be the most peaceful music I have heard and all the Christmas programs in TV ,made my days ,oh, and most importantly the happy holidays we got at school 😁

Well,I have amazing parents who gave me the right values and also were surrounded by people from all religions and state and we were more than happy to celebrate every festival without any ifs and buts .

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I think the other reason why I feel drawn towards Jesus is his story - Among all God's who had an Earthly life ,I am very inspired by - Lord Jesus ,Lord Rama,Shri Gautam Buddha ,Sai Baba ,the most !!

Because, even though they were incarnations of God ,they all went through sufferings,pain ,troubles constantly and gladly . Lord Rama (Vanavasa period) and Shri Gautam Buddha were from royal family yet they went for a life full of  struggles . Especially when it comes to Lord Jesus , his statue/idol on cross ,nailed and thorns on his head hurts me !! It makes my heart bleed silently .

Credit:Google search

Even the most compassionate, loving God's own son,Lord Jesus was tested,doubted,misunderstood, disrespected,manipulated,betrayed by known and unknown and tortured mercilessly. Lord Jesus led the most simple life yet full of sufferings happily and yet forgiving others and loving others unconditionally.

And little funny yet meaningful quote I read in Instagram the other day ,"Lord Jesus had only 12 followers and Hitler had countless !" 😁..Even that inspires me ,there is nothing in having followers , fans,million friends etc 🙌😇😀..

"Quality over quantity" is something which I strongly believe in as well and we are living in an era where it is all about social medias and getting followers by hook or by crook . It never enticed me like that !😒My blogging is the ultimate proof of that ROFL 😂 ....Just not my thing and my blogging experience taught me a lot of things ,made me stronger , fearless,unapologetically me and standing alone is totally cool and most importantly ,God's presence more !! My nirvana 😍

I must mention that I get emails from top notch bloggers with zillion followers lately(Thank you !:) ) (sadly,not even one is Indian) ,appreciating my content and directly and indirectly they guide me how to get followers in FB,YouTube etc etc .

Even though I try a bit ,I must say ,it's not my thing and I am not that interested in nos. anymore,yeah,once I wondered and wished lil bit ,BUT,I am here to share my passion and don't want it to be like a competition and I don't rely on those nos. of followers to justify my worth .Naah, neither my intention nor I have time for that !

And I believe, I got all these inspirations from God almighty especially Lord Jesus -His life is one of the ultimate inspiration to me ...That's why I love him a lot without being or becoming a Christian ,in fact ,being a simple human in true sense !!

And I pray to God to make me as forgiving as he was to others ,who harm me intentionally with their words or actions !!


Anyways,that's why I LOVE Christmas,the day Lord Jesus was born ! And what is a Christmas ,without any Christmas tree !!..So,this year's Christmas tree is another edible Christmas tree made up Idiyappam and I used Organic wheat grass to get that green color than any artificial color. So,till today my Christmas trees are something that won't go waste but in fact will nourish my family as well.

Happy belated Christmas wishes and a very happy new year in advance !!

How I made my edible Christmas Tree DIY here -

Ho,Hmmm,Haaaa,

Idiyappam Kerala style (Updated post) |Kerala Traditional breakfast

    
Idiyappam is one of the most popular traditional breakfast item from Southern India - in Kerala,it is called ,well,idiyappam or nool puttu or nool appam,same in Tamil Nadu and Srilanka ,Semige or Seme da Addae in Tulu,shavige in Kanada,putumayam in Malayasia and string hoppers in English. (Credit:Wiki) Wowww!!


This is one of that food item that makes me lol .Why ? As I have already mentioned once ,"Idi" in Malayalam means "Punch" and "Appam" means Pancake.So,basically, a pancake that can punch ! 🙊🙉🙈💪

Just like name ,its appearance can also be deceiving or say interesting .Again why ??? Well,as you can see in the pics ,they are like an edible saree in the sense,strings of flour wrapped forever or white noodles that are steamed to eat .

They are Special ,you see and guess what you can't make them just like that ,they need a special cooking equipment for their preparation that is Idiyappam press or seva nazhi with idiyappam achu/mould and idli cooker or idli steamer .

During olden times (still people do),to make idiyappams, raw rice was cleaned well,then sun dried and ground to a smooth rice powder and used for making idiyappams traditionally and my mom used to make like that as well . However,my mom showed me how we can create soft idiyappams using the store bought flour too (to make it easy for me and to ensure that I, without a miss ,will make these idiyappams exclusively for my hubby now and for kids in future 💁) and of course ,the lazy me ,opted the second method ,without any second thought .😋

        [Related : How I made my edible Christmas tree with idiyappam]

Also,I remember, how my mom used to make idiyappams - the idiyappam press or seva nazhi she used certainly needed lots of stamina and strength to press it to create these string hoppers . I tried once and then it was the first and the last 😁. Poor amma ,I feel bad for her - how she used to wake up early and made these several idiyappams in time with no one to help (and never expected) for  paa and us before we left to office and school respectively ...Never complained !:) - Maa tujhey salaam ! 🙏🙇😘

Dear Amma ,your dedication till today, inspires me, whenever I feel utter lazy ! My special respects to all women from her generation especially -they did their best with whatever little,nothing fancy-pancy things they had which used to be time consuming yet tiring ,happily for their family ,day in day out,with hardly any complains .🙇🙏💗 and thanks mom for teaching me to acknowledge simple scenarios like that and learn from them and remember for ever.

Those hefty idiyappam press gave me the shiver and the wrong impression that I will never ever make idyappam by myself in life . In a way ,the lazy me was thankful too 😁 .But as we are progressing,little equipment like these are too  and so are my responsibilities...🙌

Nowadays,the idyappam press are quite easy to use and in fact, fun to use as it has different moulds in it which can be used for making varieties of traditional snacks and other dishes .So,it has multi-purpose. What looked like a herculean task ,has become a child's play 😇

Now,idiyappam is fun to make and fun to eat as well . I and my better 1/2 love our Kerala idiyappam.
So,let me show you how I make Idiyappam Kerala style :-

Idiyappam Kerala style recipe

(Makes roughly 20 )

Ingredients

Rice flour - 2 cups

Water - 3 1/2 cups (for making dough) & 3 cups for steaming

Grated coconut - 1 cup (approx)

Salt - 1 Tsp

Oil/Ghee - 1 Tsp

Idiyappam press/Idiyappam achu

Idli cooker

Preparation of Idiyappam method :Please watch my video that will show you step by step method how to make idiyappam Kerala style traditionally and I am sure it will be helpful for beginners as I've tried my best to explain it .

Note: The success of making yummy idiyappam lies in making the dough well . So,please follow the exact ingredient quantity I mentioned above .Incase,your dough becomes watery,add little by little flour to make it into a knead-able form.Rest tips and tricks to make soft idiyappam using just the store bought rice flour are explained in the idiyappam video above.

These idiyappams are served hot with any vegetarian curry or non-vegetarian curry as a staple breakfast item back in Kerala.And,I love it with Kerala mutta curry or Kerala style egg curry .They are very filling .I don't know about Maggi but these noodles are healthy comparatively 😝😀.And no one can ever mess with them because they have the potential to 👊💪,well,atleast by name ...

Nadan kadala curry recipe|Kerala brown chickpeas curry Alleppey style

Kadala curry especially Karutha kadala curry that is, black/brown chickpeas curry is one of the most popular vegetarian curry from Kerala that is a side dish served with another popular dish from Kerala,Puttu or Appam exclusively and so this black chickpeas curry is one of the traditional and must have breakfast curry of Kerala .

Every Malayali loves this breakfast combo of Puttu and kadala curry and is one of the staple at every Mallu's home, back in India.

                  [ Related : How to make Gothambu puttu/Puttu made with whole wheat flour ]

The black chickpeas or Bengal gram are small in size compared to the Garbanzo chickpeas and black-brown in color ,they are little racist hehe😉😀😋 .However,just like it's whiter counterpart ,they are a nutritional powerhouse and an excellent source of proteins especially for vegetarians.

These black chickpeas may look darn tanned,dry and lifeless ,to bring them back to life,they must be soaked in water for at least 8 hrs or best overnight to cook next day otherwise it may take forever to cook aptly and may not properly soften up to eat no matter how well the curry or masalas are used to prepare the recipe.So,well these chickpeas like most of the lentils need a water pampering spa treatment and will teach you also how to be patient ...



Black chickpeas are also a good source of fibre,fats,carbs and excellent for diabetic people as well.

My mom used to simply boil these chickpeas ,sprinkle some spice powders and she used to give us like a healthy evening snack when we were little .(The snack I frowned at 😈)

Your order is ready -Puttu Kadala for YOU !💁

My hubby is however a big fan of white Garbanzo or vella kadala or white chickpeas than these little black ones .So,this chickpeas curry is something I would make once in a black moon ...And my mom, considering the health benefits of these black chickpeas will remind me every now and then and kinda compel me to make the boiled chickpeas as snack especially for my hubby as he is diabetic.

                    [Related : Vella Kadala curry/White chickpeas curry Kerala style ]

But traditionally from Kerala cuisine's standpoint ,puttu with this black chickpeas curry,Appam with (vegetarian option) black chickpeas curry are the most sought after and a staple ,taste of Kerala.

So,let's see how I make kadala curry Kerala style and this is an authentic Kerala style chickpeas curry in Alleppey style.

Nadan Kadala curry|Kerala black chickpeas curry

Ingredients

Black chickpeas/Kadla- 1 cup

Onion,sliced (medium size) - 1-2 nos.

Green chillies,sliced lengthwise - 3-4 nos.

 Turmeric powder - 1 Tsp

Red chilli powder - 3/4 Tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 1/2 Tbsp

Fennel powder - 1/2 Tbsp

Kerala Garam Masala - 1/2 Tsp (optional)

Coconut,grated - 1-2 Tbsp

Coconut pieces,chopped - 1-2 Tbsp

Curry leaves,a few

Salt to taste

Coconut oil - 1-2 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp
Broken dry red chillies - 2-3 nos

Preparation of Kadala curry method:

Please watch the video that will properly guide you how to make Kadla curry Kerala style /Alleppey special

There are many versions of nadan kadala curry that may vary from state to state and this one is one of the simple version from my place in Kerala,Alleppey . If you are also a fan of puttu kadala breakfast combo,give it a try ,you will love it and this chickpea curry goes well with roti/chapathi/poori/rice etc just like any vegetarian curry.