Pumpkin Halwa & a MeMe

Vanamala of Nalapaka has tagged me for this MeMe. 7 Random things about me (Please bear with me)

1. Soft-spoken. Fun-loving. Little Conservative. I make friends easily. I always have a group wherever I go.
2. I buy things only if it is really necessary. I would rather prefer to donate to the charity. It may not be a great amount to us, but it would definitely make difference to the needy.
3. I have always been good at co-curricular activities in school - Dance, Drama, Elocution, Drawing, Sports and more, but all reached their end after my entry into Engineering.
4. I am crazy over learning things and as a result I had to been to Guitar, Keyboard, Veena, Vocal music, Tailoring and Shorthand Classes. But completed NONE. Typewriting was the only thing I completed. I learnt languages too (hehehe) I can read and write in Japanese (Nihongo), read, write and speak in Hindi, speak in Telugu, learnt Malayalam and little bit of German (Deutsch) too.
5. I fall asleep more during exam times :)). During my college days, all our friends used to gather at one place to do group study, but I will be the only Solo sleeper. I will set alarm and will keep snoozing every five minutes. Had the alarm clock been alive, it would have given me left and right :) The last few hours just before the exam are more precious to me and that is when I read things. I prefer to be more attentive in class and not spend too much time going through the book. To everyone’s surprise I stood first in my Engineering final year (don’t ask me did others fail...a distinction OK). Later I did Masters in Software and secured 8.5 (out of 10 and not 100 ;) )
6. I hate to watch Movies (don’t have the patience to sit for hours), can't read novels/stories/articles that run into pages. The only books I prefer and like to read are my Technical books (have to…otherwise can’t survive in this Industry).
7. I try hard to be punctual, but there will be a little variance always. I love to arrange things, but will mess it up...arrange again, mess it up...arrange again, mess it up (gives me more work, can't be idle isn't it?)

HERE is a BONUS ;)

I am not a great cook… to be frank I never cooked until 2005. All I could cook was Noodles !!! I started cooking with my mom's recipes. Whenever I get a recipe from my mother I generally note it down and save it in my laptop. I had it in the form of html with links to other recipes in my local system. Shilpa's Aayis Recipe and Viji’s Vcuisine were the first two blogs I visited. Until then I was not aware of such foodblogs. It gave me a thought…”Why not post these recipes on internet instead of having it local “Then on I started posting recipes.

Hope this blog does not get into my ‘COMPLETED NONE’ list.

Thanks to you all for your time and patience in reading my MeMe.

I would like to tag TBC The Budding Cook for random MeMe. Please do it if you are interested and if you have time.

PUMPKIN HALWA

Now something sweet to relish.

Pumpkin Halwa. Whenever I see a Pumpkin two things come into mind 1) Its incomparable colour 2) Halloween.

Pumpkin halwa is similar to Carrot or Beetroot halwa.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin - 1 small portion (as shown in the picture)
Milk - 1/2 Cup
Sugar - 4 Tsp
Cashew nut - 5
Raisin - 12
Saffron - Few
Ghee - 4 Tsp
Cardamom - 1 or 2

Method:

1. Peel off the pumpkin skin, cut it into small pieces and grind into coarse paste using a mixer.
2. In a pan, add the pumpkin paste and add milk.
3. Allow it to cook until the milk disappears.
4. Now add sugar.
5. Once sugar melts down, add 2 Tsps of Ghee.
6. Saute for sometime and switch off the stove.
7. Heat 1 Tsp of ghee, fry cashew, raisin and Cardamom seeds.
8. Mix it with the pumpkin halwa and add 1 Tsp ghee.
9. Garnish with Saffron and serve.

Enjoy the dish.

Aadi Month / Aadi Pandigai

Aadi is a tamil month (July-August) and it is the fourth month of the year as per Tamil Calendar.This year, aadi month falls on July 17 (todayyyy) and it is celebrated as 'Aadi Pandigai (Aadi festival)' or 'Aadi Pirappu'(Birth of Aadi month).It is an important festival to all tamilians.

Generally during this month, no new venture is planned. Nothing auspicious is done during this month.No marriages are planned.

Then why is Aadi considered a significant month ??? Why is it a Sacred month ???

In early days, there were months in which spiritualism was promoted. It was considered that social activities would distract the concentration of people who were trying to attain spiritualism.That is the reason no new activities are planned in the month of Aadi and it is considered a Sacred month.Even farmers too took this month as the right time to worship their goddess - River Cauvery for providing water.

This month marks the beginning of all festivals as the following month Aavani is considered as festival season.

'Aadi Perukku' is a festival celebrated on the 18th day of Aadi welcoming the monsoon.It pays tribute to the life sustaining force of water (result of rain, dams etc). People living on the banks of the Cauvery offer special poojas to the river.

My grandparents did live near the bank of Cauvery river. We always wished to be there during this month.You will get to see lots and lots of roadside shops with all the festive josh. I always loved to grab those balloons and play watches.People dressed up in their traditional way with flowers running down the hair,Streets decorated with colourful Kolams, Houses decorated with Mango leaves...you got to see, feel and enjoy it.Aadi Perukku is also called as 'Pathinettam perukku' as it falls on 18th day of the month.

You should see the river bank on this day...poojas will be performed on the river bank (always too crowded) Very authentic.

At home a special pooja will be performed followed by a feast with 'Payasam' , "Sweet poli', 'Vada' and what not ?? (uuuuuuuuuhhhhh want to have some). We wear the traditional Pattu paavadai/saree (Silk skirt) on this day.

Grand poojas will be performed in all the temples.

I miss all those...miss my grandparents too.
Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays of this month are considered very auspicious. Friday of this month is called ' Aadi Velli'.

So for the first Friday of this month (20th July), in the memory of my grandparents...here is my menu 'Kozhukattai' !!!!

Why am I here....

I am from Southern part of India. I am an IT Consultant by profession. I dedicate this blog to my parents.

Cooking is an art. Most of us obtain this from our mother. We then develop it, tailor according to our taste. My mother used to prepare tasty dishes. We used to have guests at home most of the time. I used to wonder at my mother, cooking so many dishes for so many people with interest.

I was a person who never ever wanted to cook. I had this thought until I started cooking.There came a time where I had to cook on my own. I experienced the fun in it. From then on I started to love cooking.

There are various methods of cooking. The ingredients we add actually matters to the taste. If you satisfy your taste buds that is it...you are an expert !

Basic tastes are Salt, Sour, Bitter & Sweet. Cooking is all about mix match of these tastes.Proper mix match (like measurement) adds to the taste and flavor.

I am here to share recipes which I cook...learnt from my mother, my husband,my sister, friends etc.,

Since am a vegetarian, this blog will carry Vegetarian dishes and few dishes with Egg.

Vegetarian diets offer disease protection benefits due to Lower saturated fat and cholesterol in it.

I will try to add the Nutritional fact of each dish given here.

I would like to Thank you for your time in reading this.

Your comments and suggestions about the recipes here will definitely add value. Thanks once again.

Happy Cooking !