Award and a MeMe:

I was thrilled to know a few of my blogger buddies consider my blog “yum” worthy and gave me the “Yummy Blog Award”. Dear Cham of Spice Club and Anjali of SupremeSpice have sent this award my way.

“Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with the most yummy recipes/photos”

Well, the award does come with certain ‘rules’, which is the best part actually.

Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:

The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog !" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers who's blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules :)

The list of my favourite desserts I’ve made or eaten? Here goes,

Trifle Pudding
Black Forest Cake
Fruit Crepes
Mixed Berry Soup
Cham Chams
Rasmalais

Now it’s my turn to pass this award on to more yummy blogs, I confer this award to:

Suganya of Tasty Palettes
Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey
Sunita of Sunita’s World
Pastry Girl of Dessert First

Head to their blogs, you will know why they deserve this award! :)

I’ve also been tagged by Madhavi of Vegetarian Medley to do the below MeMe

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
Juno

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING??
Err…Err…. Everyday with Rachel Ray – RR’s cooking magazine, it is a book right? :D

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
The MAD Game

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
Refer to question 2… :)

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Smell of the Earth with the first drops of rain ; Coffee powder; Oranges; Mom’s cooking :)

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Falling Rain, Chirping birds, kids’ laughter

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Loneliness

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Is it morning already???Sigh…..zzzzzzzzzz

9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE?
Chilis

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
Hehe, haven't quite thought that far yet..

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D
Start my own cake shop/bakery

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
Nope.

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
If you can call my hubby a stuffed animal, then YES!

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
Both – sometimes I’m fascinated and a sudden crash of thunder has me running helter skelter!

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
I’m yet to buy one.

16) FAVOURITE DRINK?
Mango and Chickoo Milkshakes

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
I do have a lot of time, no issues with that.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
Burgundy

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Dallas, Atlanta

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Synchronized Swimming and Figure skating

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
She has a unique way of making her dishes look out of this world!

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Cardboard boxes from our last move.

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Absolutely!

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night Owl

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Sunny Side Up

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
On the couch

28) FAVOURITE PIE?
Blueberry Pie

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR?
Chunky Monkey (B&J)

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Well, let me tag them first!! :)

Now I tag the following people to do this MeMe:

Lavi of Home Cook’s Recipes
Kalai of Samaithu Paarkalaam
Pravs of Simple Spicy
PearlsofEast of Anyone Can Cook

Jihva for Love – Ajji's adige

Two important people have influenced the way I cook today and they are my mom and my Ajji (grandma- mom’s mom) Both of them have their own style of cooking and mom still asks Ajji how to make this and that, like every daughter would. Me in turn, of course, ask mom, not every now and then but every single time..hehe..she is like my 1-800 number, the perfect go-to person for all my cooking queries no matter what time of day! This entire blog is dedicated to my mom, as she was the inspiration to actually start cooking and then eventually the blog. So I dedicate this post to my adorable Ajji.

My Ajji is all of 65, but still strong in the kitchen. With neatly combed hair and a big red kumkum bindi adorning her forehead she has always brought unique delicious dishes to the table, which sometimes involve vegetables I haven’t even seen or heard of(thanks to my ignorance and fussy nature - back then :D)! Ajji also has this interesting way of making a dish with a “surprise” ingredient and what follows is a guessing game. No prizes for the right guess, but it’s a whole lot of fun and hey, we have a yummy dish to dig into.

When Ajji turned 60, her daughters, i.e. my mom and her sister brought out a small cookbook titled “Ammana Adige” meaning Mom’s cooking with few special recipes, which are ajji’s trademark recipes. These are recipes which all of us enjoy no matter what, and something which only ajji can make, delicious and perfect every single time. This cookbook was printed and circulated among family and friends.

Ajji has been socially active all her life, even now. Inspite of all the activity outside the house, she has always made it a point to put a home cooked meal on the table beating all odds against time.

My adorable Ajji

One recipe from her cookbook for Poppindi or Chutney Pudi is an all time family favourite. Every time we visit India she sends us back with this pudi, but when the stock is exhausted I make it.

Poppindi

You will need:

1 Cup Hurgadale (Split Dalia)
15-17 Dried Red Chillies
Marble sized Tamarind
½ tsp Jaggery
½ Cup Dried Coconut gratings
3 Cloves of Garlic (6 small ones)
Salt to taste

For seasoning:

2 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
5-6 Curry leaves

Separately dry roast the red chillies and grated coconut. Grind the hurgadale to a powder, keep aside. Now grind the red chillies, garlic (chopped), jaggery, tamarind, roasted coconut gratings and salt till combined and powdered. Add the ground hurgadale and blend to combine. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard. When it begins to splutter add the curry leaves and the powder. Saute till fragrant. Let cool completely before storing in an air tight container. Poppindi is the perfect accompaniment for Rice, Idlis, Dosas or even slices of bread toasted with ghee.

I have also made the Pineapple Gojju(click for recipe), Menthye Miryal Gojju and Mango Gojju from Ajji’s book. I recently told ajji I have been trying her recipes from the book, she said “Really?? When did you learn to make all these pudis and gojjus? When you were here you hardly came into the kitchen let alone cook anything!” Well, that’s me…a non-cook two years ago and now all into it!

This post is insufficient to write everything about Ajji, but I've tried to incorporate as much as possible. I am sending this over to Jigyasa and Pratibha for the event Jihva For Love.

I miss Ajji's cooking now, I guess its time to plan a trip to India! :D