Giveaway for you!!

Hi Peeps..

As I near the completion of 4 years of blogging, I want to thank you for being such a wonderful company to my blogging journey. 

Blogging has given me joy, immense joy. I make new friends almost every day. I read new blog posts which give a different perspective to life in general and inspire me to do more craft and cook better.I get to share stories and take notice of those moments which otherwise would be lost in oblivion. I want to know my own story many years down the line. How my thoughts were shaped, what I did and why I made certain choices. The lovely moments that I share with my little girl, her chirpings, her astonishments! Someday when she wold read the blog posts, they would tell her the story of her childhood.

Blogging has helped me to reflect on bits and pieces of my every day life. 

All you dear friends have been the back bone of this blogging journey of mine, supporting me, complimenting me, guiding me and always being there.

As a small gesture to thank you, I am bringing my first giveaway. This would interest my crafty friends, but all are welcome to participate. Will surely plan a giveaway for the culinary side of my blog soon :)

Few simple rules:

1. Follow My blog( Google friend connect)

2. Share This Giveaway on your Blog. (Post Mention or sidebar either)

3. Share this post on Fb.

4. Comment here after completing the above steps.

The Giveaway consists of:
1 8*8 stencil from urban artist
Music notes clear stamp
Handmade paper pieces
Artist tiles
Handmade flowers
Washi tape
Tickets and house paper clip.
Would be adding more bits and pieces as the word spreads about this

Note:

I would be shipping internationally. 
The Giveaway will close on 14 April 2015 (when I complete 4 years!)

Tilkut Ladoo| Til Gud Ladoo | Sesame and Jaggery balls

Meethe Gud me mil gaya Til,

Udi Patang aur khil gaye Dil,

Jeevan me bani rahe Sukh aur Shanti,

Mubarak ho aapko Makar-Sankranti

"Makar Sankrati" or "Sankrat" is one of the major festivals in the state of Maharashtra and Rajasthan (It is also celebrated in other states with different names). The day is celebrated with some special Rajasthani delicacies and sweets such as pheeni (either with sweet milk or sugar syrup dipped), til-paati, gajak, kheer, ghevar, pakodi, puwa, and til-ladoo.

The ladies observe a kind of ritual in which they give any type of object (related to household, make-up or food) to 13 married women, we call it Terunda (13 things) . People give out many kind of small gifts such as til-gud (jaggery), fruits, dry khichadi, etc. to Brahmins or the needy ones. Kite flying is traditionally observed as a part of this festival. On this occasion the sky is filled with kites, and youngsters engage in kite contests trying to cut each other's strings.

Til Laddus are a traditional Marwadi/Maharastrian sweet made with Sesame seed, Jaggery and ghee. Served on various ocassions and festivals. This particular dessert is especially popular during winter months as sesame has heating properties. In Maharashta While exchanging til-gul as tokens of goodwill people greet each other with the words, "तिळगुळ घ्या आणि गोड गोड बोला/til-gul ghya, aani god god bola" meaning ‘Accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The underlying thought in the exchange of til-gul is to forget the past ill feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.

Here comes the recipe. I like this type of ladoo better than the one where jaggery is melted in wok and then ladoos are formed.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Til

• 1 cup Jaggery

• 2 tbsp Ghee

Method:

Dry roast til/sesame till it turns slightly pink.  Chop the jaggery into small pieces. Grind both ingredients once til is cooled.

Add ghee and bind into small ladoos or just enjoy the tilkul as is. Easy peasy J

Kids craft - Toilet Paper roll watch and some tidbits

Hi Peeps

Sharing this simple tp roll craft. Just cut the roll and stick the circle with numbers on it. Makes cute little watches for little ones to play and learn !

Recently we see little miss talking so fluently in English and that too with very good vocabulary and aussie accent too!

Some of her chirpings..

S: Mumma are you alright down there?
(Ofcourse sweety when you ask so sweetly :))

We went to the park in front of our house. While coming back little S wanted her friend didi P to come home. They both played very well. When did P was leaving with her parents, we asked miss S to say " Thanks for coming to my house didi". Instead she formed her own sentence and said
"Thank you for reading me book P didi!"
Wow proud of you to have our own thinking at this age sweetheart.

Little S: thats not funny!!!

Little s: silly me!

We were trying to convince little S to sleep on her own bed.
Me: Little S you should sleep on your small bed dear, It has beautiful pink bedsheet.
Little S: Then i will be nice and cozy mumma?
Me: yes ofcourse :)

Little S wants to be baby now. Cant call her good girl, it should be good baby. And somtimes baby boy!
Little S: girls for blue boys for pink!
and since she is a baby boy, she likes pink (So much of reasoning goes in that little mind!)

We were going to see christmas lights with her Didi P. That day i made little S wear black and white skirt and top (I got bored with all pink around)
But alas didi P wore pink dress that too dungree pattern which is little S's hot favourite!
Little S: Didi P wearing pink dungree dress! Why is mine not pink :((
She got so upset while in the car. Started begging to go back home so she could wear somthing pink!!
Never seen her compare her dress like this before ..bring it on girly :) 

Napkin fold card

Napkin fold card

Napkin fold card

 Hi Friends

Wish you a very happy and prosperous new year! hope you have a cherished year with our near and dear ones.
For the first post this year, I am sharing my first attempt at napkin fold card. Love how gorgeous and rich it has come out. Made this for friends anniversary. Very much loved by the couple :)

Used my few toy fiskers lace punch and some lovely blooms from my stash.

Do lemme know how you liked it. Stay blessed.

Napkin fold card

Napkin fold card 

Sending this to:

http://lulupu.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/challenge-44-fancy-fold-cards-and.html

Corn Chat | Healthy Snacks

Hi Friends, 

Sharing a simple and yummy appetizer. It is vary healthy with goodness of boiled corn and zero oil. Made this as a accompaniment for tea when few friends visited us. Well loved by all :)

Ingredients:
1 can tinned corn
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped (optional)
finely chopped coriander leaves
1 or 2 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp red chili powder or as required
1 tsp chaat masala powder or as required
black salt or rock salt as required
for garnish:
a few coriander leaves
sev
tamarind chutney
green chutney

INSTRUCTIONS
boil or pressure cook the corn till the kernels are cooked well.when the corn cools down, mix the corn kernels along rest of the ingredients in a bowl.check the taste and add more salt or chaat masala or lemon juice if required.serve the corn chaat immediately, in individual serving bowls or plates topped with sev and a garnish of coriander and chutneys.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.

Cheesy potato balls | Kids delight

Ingredients

4 boiled potatoes

1 cup grated processed cheese/or 2 cheese slices cut into small pieces

1 green chilies, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoon fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

2 tablespoon bread crumbs

Oil for deep frying

Salt to taste

Instructions

Method:

Mash the boiled potatoes in a bowl.

Add finely chopped green chilies, red chili powder,turmeric powder, finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, bread crumbs and salt to taste.

Mix all the ingredients very well and keep aside. Now heat good amount of oil in a frying pan. Divide the potato mixture in small balls or portions. You can make about 12 balls from this quantity of mixture.

Take some oil in your palms, get one ball and smoothly round it, make a small hole in center and stuff good amount of grated cheese or small cheese piece in it. 

Now close the ball carefully from all the sides and in such way keep making all the balls and keep aside. Roll the ball in bread crumb.

When the oil is heated properly. Now drop 2-3 balls in hot oil and keep the flame from high to medium. It is very important to cook these balls on medium flame, so that you can enjoy the melted cheese and properly cooked potato mixture while eating. Keep frying and flipping for 2-4 minutes, till the balls turns out golden brown in color.

Drain on oil absorbent paper napkins.

Serve immediately with Dip, Sauce or Chutney of your choice.

Notes

If you do not want to deep fry these potato cheese balls, then you can bake them in oven at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Will try this next time around :)

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.

Bread besan toasties

Ingredients:

finely chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, green chilies and coriander leaves

4 bread slices

oil for shallow frying

1 cup besan/chickpea flour

turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and salt

Method:

In a bowl or small pan, take finely chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, green chilies and coriander leaves. everything has to be finely chopped. otherwise its difficult to manage medium pieces of onions and tomatoes while frying the toast. Add besan/gram flour, turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and salt.add water.whisk to a medium consistency batter.

there should be no lumps in the batter. avoid make thin batter. in case the batter makes thin, add a few tablespoons of besan and whisk again.Heat 1 tbsp oil for frying in a tava or frying pan.

Dip the bread slice in the batter. with your hands, coat the bread slice evenly with the batter. also place the chopped onions & tomatoes on the bread slices with your hands. don’t keep the bread too long in the batter as then the slice breaks. Place the batter coated bread slices on the tava.
When the base is cooked and browned, flip and fry the other side. Flip and fry a couple of times to get even browning and cooking. fry the remaining bread slices in the same way. you can add more oil if required while frying the remaining batch. Remove and serve the besan toasts immediately, plain or with tomato ketchup or coriander chutney.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.

Puff pastry vegetable pinwheel

Ingredients
◾2 sheets vegan puff pastry
◾1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
◾1/2 cup onion (finely chopped)
◾1/2 cup tomato(finely chopped)
◾1/2 cup mixed vegetables
◾1/2 teaspoon salt
◾1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Begin by taking your puff pastry sheets out of the freezer and thaw them.Heat your olive oil in a pan on the stove on medium to medium/high heat, and saute onions until are they  soft. Add tomato and mixed vegetables and cook untill they begun to soften. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Spread about 1/2 of filling mixture evenly on to your puff pastry. Roll up your puff pastry as tightly as possible without losing any of your toppings out the sides. This part can get messy. That's okay. :)
Once you have created a nice log with your puff pastry, use a sharp serrated knife to slice 3/4 inch thick rolls off of your log. Place rolls cut side up on to a prepared baking sheet. These pinwheels do expand some while being baked, so you won't want to try to fit more than 12 on a standard-sized baking sheet.
Bake these puppies at 350 degrees F for about 22 minutes, or until the puff pastry is just barely starting to turn golden brown on the edges.
To store, you can place the pinwheels in an airtight container and leave at room temperature for up to 48 hours, or place in the refrigerator for up to a week. (They will probably be eaten long before then, though.)
Enjoy! :)

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.

Coconut mawa laddu | Coconut balls with ricotta cheese | Coconut fudge

Ingredients:

Ricotta cheese - 2 cups (500 gm)

Sugar - 1 cup

Unsweetened dry desiccated coconut
Ghee or butter - 2 TBSP

Cardamom powder or vanilla - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

Grease a plate with ghee. I lined a 8" cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Take a thick bottomed vessel. Add butter or ghee and turn on the heat. Once the butter or ghee has melted, add ricotta cheese. Keep stirring on medium flame till it starts bubbling and spitting the water out(approx after 5-10 mins). Add the sugar and immediately add the coconut powder. Stir. They all come together in 3 - 5 minutes. When there is almost no liquid left and it makes a huge mass, add the flavoring if using and stir for the final time.Make them into balls when cool enough to handle. Garnish with some chopped nuts if desired or roll it over dry dessicated cocunut.

Alternately, you can pour it on to the grease plate or the parchment paper lined pan. The mixture won't fall like that of fudge. Take a wax paper and cover the entire surface with it. Flatten by pressing on the top of the wax paper. Let it set and cool. When completely cool, cut into desired shape and size.

Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week if it lasts that long!

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.

Christmas Card

Hi Friends

Sharing a quick christmas card which me and my friend made . You can see the tutorial for the christmas tree here.