Cherry Blossom

This post comes after a long long time. Meanwhile a lot has changed in my life. From a daughter, friend, software engineer, lecturer, wife to this new role of life- the role of mother really a lot has changed. Since mine was a high risk pregnancy I had quit my job the very first month. The doc  advised me complete bed rest, was not allowed to climb min steps or go out of the house even for min check-up. Life had been a little hard those days, but thanks to the constant support of my parents and husband, their unprecedented love life gave me the most beautiful flower of my garden .. my baby.
Motherhood may be a 24x7 job, with no vacations, no holidays, but the best package of the world. His first cry made me forget my pain, his smile makes my day, his day to day tantrums make my bonus, his cute gestures are my perks. its really difficult to take out time for my hobbies but I dont mind.
I had been longing to paint something and finally the other day when he was sleeping in the evening I took courage to bring out my water colors and a sheet of paper. Yes I did not have my acrylic colors and canvas and all my brushes. But I really wanted to paint something. This painting is with just 3 colors (red black and white) and 2 brushes. I hope to get the cherry blossoms much better the next time. Also the photo taken by my phone could not capture the true colors of the painting. better there's always the next time till then this one is for you my son.

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FallAtRockies

Completed this today.. I am satisfied with the mountains, but not very satisfied with the trees.. may be I will retouch them

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The yellow bird

painted this today.. I was planning to paint a goldfinch, but the bird turned out to a bit fatter.. wht say friends??

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Goan Sunset

This one is definitely for you Goa... a very beautiful state which was all the more beautiful in the rains. Although we were not lucky enough to see a Goan sunset (the sky was always cloudy) , but we did see the lush green Goa in the rains.. it was simply superb.

As for the painting, I am not very happy with it.. the waves specially the ones breaking on the shore do not look too convincing.. Sush you have a long way to go.. 

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Cheese Pakoda

Travelling , work and hectic Mumbai life has been keeping me at bay from blogging. But after a long long time I am back, this time with recipe.
This one was made in a jiffy, but it really turned out quite well.
Ingredients:
grated cheese, finely chopped onion,
finely chopped chilies and coriander,
 ginger julienne, salt to taste, 1-2 bread slices,
1-2 teaspoon of besan, oil to fry.

Procedure:
Add grated cheese, finely chopped onion,
finely chopped chilies and coriander, ginger julienne, salt in a bowl. Scrap off the edges of bread, soak the bread in water, squeeze out the water add to the mixture. Add a little besan just for binding. Drop small balls with a spoon and deep fry.
Enjoy with coriander-mint chutney and piping hot tea.

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Peacock wall hanging

Just completed this wall hanging.. I have painted this one on bamboo with acrylic colors. I don't know if I have done justice adding so many colors, but I like it this way. What do you all say friends.. ??

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Cheery blossom vase

This vase I had painted when I was a school student. It was a simple floral bengali style alpona(rangoli) design in white on a mud color background. Recently I was totally bored of the age old pattern. So this time when I visited home , tried re-painting the vase.

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Matar Makhane

Well, first of all a very Happy new Year to all of my friends out there. I hope and pray that this year is Safe Happy and peaceful for each and every one. 2012 as it was called the "Year of doom" finally bade us goodbye with a very sad note and an ugly scar on the face of our democracy and freedom. I hope the tragic demise of Nirbhaya doesn't go waste. May you Rest In Peace Nirbhaya.

This Recipe is one of my all time favorite for a chilly North Indian winter evening. Since I grew up in the North of India(not the extreme north ofcourse), I loved those cold and chilly winters, when mornings were too chilly and foggy, days were very short, the sun was romantically warm , food was piping hot, and nights crept in early, the bed with blankets was always warm with hot water bag , room heater near the bed side. Winters then meant Christmas and New Year Vacation, little assignments to complete , lots of painting and sketching and ofcourse idling and playing out in the warm sun. In Gwalior, winters also meant the much awaited "Trade fair" or Gwalior Mela and not to forget the Tansen Sangeet Samaroh(since my parents are very much into music , although I cant make head or tail of any "Sur and taal", I still loved Tansen Samaroh).
Ma made this recipe in the winters when greens peas were in complete abundance.
A few weeks back I tried this one for the first time , and fortunately it came out quite well.
So here's the ingredients and ToDo list for the recipe:

Ingredients:
Makhane (I used a whole packet)
a cup of green peas(I used the frozen ones)
a potato diced
green chilies, ginger and jeera paste
a tomato finely chopped
2 table spoon khuskhus(poppy seed) soaked in water for an hr or 2
ToDo:
Grind the khuskhus, you may also add blanched cashew and almond if you want a richer taste. Meanwhile toss the makhane on low flame, you may toss in a bit of oil or just bhunaofy without oil.
Keep aside. Fry the diced potato. Drain on a kitchen towel. Now in a kadhai add little oil, splatter jeera seeds, add chopped tomatoes, salt and little turmeric. Lower the flame and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes with the lid closed. After 3-4 minutes open the lid and increase the flame, keep stirring. Add chilly-ginger-jeera paste(add a little water only if you feel the masala may get burnt). Add a pinch or 2 of sugar. Keep stirring till oil separates. Add the khuskhus paste. Stir for a few minutes. Add the peas. and water as desired. Simmer for a few minutes. Now add the makhane, again cook for a few more minutes till makhane and peas are fully cooked. Garnish with chopped coriander. I also garnished it with a small teaspoon of roasted khuskhus to get that nutty touch.

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The Solitary Hut

Its after a long long time I am back at my space. Believe me I really missed blogging. Since I am still busy with quite a many stuffs and changes I may disappear now and then.
A big Thanks to all blog buddies who regularly visited my space and gave their previous comments. Sorry for not replying to all of you. Sorry to all my blogger friends for not commenting to all your beautiful posts.
Meanwhile in my busy schedule I could not stop myself from painting. This painting is primarily my version of   a Nicholas Hankins painting. The original is of course heavenly. Hope I could do a bit of justice to it.

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Together we

Completed this painting a few days back. Swans are beautiful creatures. Loved painting them.

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Instant suji dhokla in microwave

The story is:  Mr. Husband is not very fond of besan and its recipes. And I am completely in love with besan recipes. Savories like dhokla , cheela and farsan are my favorite snacks. This leads to big dilemma when I crave for these stuff. So the solution being substitute besan with something which will result the same taste. Hence the aforesaid  recipe. Quick and tasty, this makes a wonderful tea time snack or even a nice healthy breakfast.

Ingredients:
A cup of suji
A cup of curd
a teaspoon of eno
salt as per taste
sugar half a teaspoon
grated ginger
chopped chilies, chopped coriander
a pinch of turmeric
For tempering:
2 tsp oil
a pinch of hing
a curry leaves(i didnt have)
half a tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp lemon juice


Mix the salt, sugar, curd, grated ginger, chopped chilies to the suji. Mix well, so that no lumps remain. Add a pinch of turmeric, a little chilly powder(if you love spicy). You can add a tsp of refined oil. Mix well. Keep covered for half n hour. After half n hour, grease a microwaveable container deep enough to let the mixture bloom atleast 3 times. Add eno to the suji mixture. Mix well and immediately transfer the mixture to the greased container. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check by inserting a knife. It should come off clean. Cool for 5 more minutes. Cut into squares or diamond shape. Heat 2 tsp of oil in kadhai. Once oil is hot, throw in a pinch of heeng, a tsp of mustard seeds,  curry leaves, 2-3 slit chilies. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the dhoklas. Sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice. Toss for a minute. Garnish with coriander and serve.

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Snowy foothills

I had painted this one a few days back but wanted to add a few details here and there. Finally i completed this today. A chilly snowy winter evening at the foothills

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Spring at foothills

My version of a Bob Ross painting. I wish I could watch all his TV series, amazing artist and an equally amazing personality. He made painting such a fun with his patent phrases like "Happy little cloud" or "Lets give a friend to this tree".

Regarding the painting, I am not very satisfied. May be it was because of Acrylics which dry to quick, I am not able to blend colors as I want. May be I should try with oils now.

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Morning glory and blue bird

Painted this today. A bluebird among-st morning glories.
I was not able to justice to the leaves, but quite satisfied with the bird and flowers.

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Breezy seaside

This is my first effort at painting a seascape. I always feared painting waves. Somehow I had the feeling that painting waves would be a disaster. But after trying different landscapes I couldn't avoid painting a sea. Having said that, today I have just painted a very distance sea. Next time I am going to paint seascape, it would be crashing waves in details. But before that I need to study the anatomy of crashing waves. Lets see what Google and YouTube can provide me.

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Phulkopir singara.. The typical bengali Cauliflower samosa

In one of my previous posts "Tale of many cities", I had written about cities and towns where I had stayed briefly or for long. These cities have their own bundle of memoirs. Sweet or savory each city has offered many "MUST EATs". One such city which remained unaccounted for in my post was Agartala. Baba was posted to this capital city for some months. Although because of my studies Ma n me could not shift to Agartala, being an avid traveler like ourselves we did make it a point to visit or rather stay in Agartala for a month(of course during my sem break). And what did I like about Agartala? The lazy and peaceful life for starters, the bengali sweet shops in every nook and corner and the "SAMOSA", crisp and thin on the outside and extremely delicious in the inside. I never liked Samosa so much, except for Ma-made Aloo Phulkopir Singara(Aloo Gobhi Samosa). But this beauty was an exception. Not too large, just the perfect size, this Samosa is To Die For.

We bongs are a weird lot(no offense meant). While we love to have aloo in all our veggie as well as non-veggie recipes, we love our Samosa (or Shingara সিংগারা )with other veggies specially Gobhi along with aloo.Come winters , when the beautiful florets start blooming in the market, its almost customary to make Singara at home. 

I am not bounded by the seasonal constraint here in US as we get Cauliflowers around the year, so I decided to make these favorites at home a few days back.

So here goes the ingredients and the how to make:

For the outer covering:
A cup of flour
2-3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
a pinch of baking powder

Mix the salt, baking powder and oil to the flour. Now start adding water slowly and kneading. Knead till dough becomes smooth and firm. Cover and keep for half an hour.

For the filling:
half or full cauliflower depending on size, cut into small florets
1 medium potato(chopped)
roasted or fried peanuts, crushed coarsely
frozen peas half a cup to 1 cup
a tsp of cumin seed
salt to taste
chopped green chilies(2)
chopped coriander
a tsp turmeric
a tsp aamchur
1 inch of ginger grated
2 tsp of roasted cumin seed powder

Heat oil , temper the cumin seed. Now add the chopped potatoes and cauliflower and green chilies. Toss on high for few minutes, add turmeric and salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Now add all the spices and peas, mix well and toss , sprinkle a little water if needed. Cover and cook till done. Lastly add coriander and roasted peanut. Keep aside to cool.
Now take the dough, pinch out small balls from it. Roll the ball thin to a circle (more like an elongated circle). Cut into half. Take one half. Brush a little water into the straight edge, and form a cone. Fill the cone with mixture. Seal the top perfectly. Deep fry on medium flame.
Enjoy!!

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The homemade PIZZA

A couple of months back I had severe allergy and eczema. The eczema has not yet completely gone. The doc asked me to go for an allergy patch test. Oh its one the worst medical tests. Anyways the verdict: I have severe allergy to nickel and benzoic acid. And that means "NO CHOCOLATE", no tinned foods , no salmon, no blah blah blah and of course possibly "no eating out". Imagine life without Chocolate.. a sweetaholic person like myself, this is no less than a punishment. Poor me... buuuuhhuuuu..
Anyways since we have stopped eating out, I thought of making a pizza at home, with almost everything homemade. From the crust to the sauce, all was made at home. And believe me, the pizza came out really delicious.
So here's what I used and did
Ingredients
For the base :
about 1 and a 1/2 cup flour
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
instant yeast - a sachet
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

For sauce(U can use ready-made tomato sauce) :
2 Large tomatoes
a little butter
2 garlic pods
a tsp of olive oil
any Italian seasoning(I used oregano, basil)
chilly flakes
crushed black pepper

For toppings
shredded mozzarella cheese
any veggies U like
I used Red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes(cut into halves and deseeded), mushroom, onion
Pepperoni(if U like, else skip) 

 Preparation
If using instant yeast ,proof the yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water ,1/2 tsp sugar. Let it bloom for 10 mins or so until it doubles. In a bowl, start kneading flour, salt and olive oil. After a couple of  minutes of kneading, start adding the yeast slowly and keep kneading. Make a perfect dough. Smear a deep bowl or utensil with oil and keep this dough in the bowl , covering the bowl with a lid in a warm place. You can keep it in your oven or microwave. In an hour the dough should double its size. Meanwhile for the sauce, I blanched the tomatoes. Remove the skin of the tomatoes, make a puree. In a pan heat olive oil. Add crushed garlic. Add a little butter for that wonderful aroma. Now add the tomato puree. Add salt as per taste, and the other seasonings and crushed black pepper. Simmer for a few minutes.

Now after an hour, take the dough, punch it to release all air, and roll it into a nice large circle. Place on a pizza pan or baking sheet and bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Keep checking, do not burn the crust.

Once the crust is done, smear a layer of tomato sauce, top it with your veggies and other toppings. Top with a generous amount of shredded cheese. Bake till the cheese melts. I kept on broil for 2 mins. Enjoy your home-made pizza.

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The mountains

Its almost a year since I have restarted painting.  Now I realize how immature my paintings were a year back , lacking all the technical details. I am trying to learn all these technicalities and I still have a long long way to go. In between I switched from watercolors to acrylic. Its fun to work with acrylics, although it dries off way too fast, its forgiving as well. If you make mistakes you can easily rectify by re-painting over it.
This is a painting on 11 x 14 canvas, with acrylic. The second one is with the flash on.
Pitfalls :
I still cant get the clouds correct.. :( .
The green color is a little too over  powering. 

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Cheesy buttery garlic rolls

The other day I baked my first bread. I was contented with my result, but wanted to improve. So again I tried today. And wow, the bread(roll actually) came as wonderful as I could imagine of. Simply simply perfect and sooo delicious. No I am not bragging. Better no more talks.
Here's what I did:
Used: 1 sachet of active yeast(around a teaspoon)
A cup and a half of All Purpose flour(the first day I had used half maida and half aata, the roll was not so very very fluffy as today's)
A teaspoon of sugar
A teaspoon of salt or as per taste
A bunch of cilantro
3-4 pods of garlic
A few green chilies for our Indian palate
around 2 teaspoon of butter
Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese
A tbs or two of olive oil

For active yeast proof the yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water and a teaspoon of sugar. Let it bloom for 10 mins. Now in bowl start kneading flour, salt, olive oil with the yeast mixture. You may not require the whole yeast mixture. Use till you get a smooth perfect dough. Keep the dough in a bowl in a warm place, covered for an hour or so. I kept the bowl in my microwave with the microwave door open.
Meantime, blend the butter, garlic , cilantro and chilly to a spreadable consistency.
After an hour, the dough must have risen to twice. Punch it down. Now roll it into a rectangle of approx 1/2 inch thick. Spread the garlic butter . Sprinkle the grated cheese.

Roll the rectangle and then slice into discs. Place them in an oil smeared baking tray. Microwave the remaining butter. Add a little more chopped cilantro. Brush the top with the garlic cilantro butter mixture. Sprinkle a little mozzarella. Keep for another 45 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven at 375F. Bake fore 20 minutes.
Happy Baking!!

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A tranquil Sunrise

Although I did learn sketching, I never really learnt painting. At my drawing classes, saw girls and boys learning oil painting. At home during free time , I usually tried my hand with the poster colors. 

Now I yearn to learn painting. There are so many technicalities of which I had no idea before. I have been watching a few videos of Wilson Bickford at youtube. He is a professional artist and teacher. Wish I could learn from him personally. His paintings are amazing and inspire me with different ideas. This painting is inspired from one of his paintings. 

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