letter holder

Letter holder

Inspired from traditional patch work of Karnataka .. called kavadi or kavudi

I was very much inspired by the patchwork quilt , which  a construction worker had put to dry in the sun. The quilts are called kavadi in kannada and godhadi in marathi languages respectively.

Immediately I went to her, her name is Chandrakantamma. She is from Gulbarga district. I will write about her and her work in the coming posts.On asking about how she did the patch work quilt she readily gave me the details... and needless to say, my hands were itching to pick the needle to do a miniature patch work stuff!or so called kavadi..

With no delay. I did 2 small pieces and took to her to show  the next day.

The picture is attached here.

To work manually is time consuming.. and also very laborious... I came up with a new idea. I decided to do patch work on  machine  using the same method of patch work second time. Although there is a huge difference in the out come!
 Out of the two patch work pieces I did.. the hand patched and the machine patched... I decided to stitch a letter holder using the machine stitched pieces, which looks so perfect for the typical Indian home.

Here are the pictures of the letter holder,patch work done on a sewing machine.

You can make one for your sweet home!

Close up of the patch work

My new letter holder adorning my home

The other pieces of patch work done by hand are yet to be stitched into a letter holder!

paper quilling

Few more Beautiful quilling crafts

I have another friend from college days.. Sachin Mangalwede, his wife Daya has made some beautiful paper quilling envelopes, vase and wall hanging is absolutely stunning!what do you think?!

I am waiting to learn this art.. 

Have a look at Daya's art below

Labels

Quilling

Quilling ear rings

Have a look at these colourful and pretty paper quilling ear rings! 

I take extreme pride in saying this.... these beautiful creations are of Manasvi... who is just eleven years  now. She is the daughter of a friend of my school days.... Sachin Rao

One more thing to mention ...

Manasvi has been a child model and has done a couple of ads.

Thanks Manasvi and Sachin.. for sharing the beautiful piece of art with me and allowing me to post them in my blog.

Very inspiring to all the kids.

Here is the picture of Manasvi's art

thermocol board

Thermocol board

I did this thermocol name board for my nephew Shrihari's thread ceremony.. in the month of may this year. The tough part was to cut   the alphabets neatly... which I guess I did fairly well.The coloring part was easy.. I first coloured the board and alphabets separately and attached the alphabets to the board... applied some glitter while the paint was still wet. The glitter is not visible in the picture  though.. !One more art piece to my blogspot :)

@vidya joshi

pink pencil pouch with cute embelishment

Small purse or pencil pouch

I was just thinking of utilising small bits of fabric n other left out scraps n then came up with the idea of making pencil pouches n cosmetic bags and a few  hand purses .here is one such purse which is my daughter Prachi's favorite !

a smocking frock

When I was small girl I remember my mother used to stitch me frocks with all the embroidery that she had learnt, so smocking frock was one among those., I remember having an umbrella frock,which was my favorite as it would swirl as I spinned.
I had always thought of stitching an umbrella frock n a smocking frock for my elder daughter . umbrella frock I stitched was sleeve less, black n white color and  s he used it almost 3 years . very recently, that is just before DIWALI I thought of stitching smocking frock ,as I found a nice satin material lying.so here  is my addition to the art part of my blog and,

My first post in the last few years after returning to India.

Moving to India!New Hopes!

We are all very much excited about our move to India.we are moving on 11th of April .5+ years of stay in the USA has been a good learning experience in a lot many ways.

I came here immediately after getting married... with lots of mixed feelings... and everyday has been a learning experience.Never had time to set home in India after marriage ... so me my husband and my daughter are leaving with lots of dreams about setting a new home ,visiting relatives and friends..celebrating festivals and much more :).However surely will miss certain things about USA.

Will keep posting after settling down!

CRAZY ABOUT BABY QUILTS

I am very fascinated with stitching artistic quilts for the babies. Here is my latest collection of the mini quilts.And thanks to my singer sewing machine :)
1) "exit to freeway"

2)"scenary"

3)"Sunset"

4)"Butterflies"

5)"Life Under Sea"

karid avalakki chivda

This is one of the varieties of the chivda.In kannada 'karida 'means deep fried.Thick poha is deep fried in oil to make it extra crispy n crunchy.Tastes very yum with hot tea.As the poha is deep fried it is not a healthy food though :P.. so weight wathcers n cal conscious people .. watchout please!

Ingredients:

Thick poha 2/3 cups

peanuts 2 tbsp

roasted chana 1 tbsp

curry leaves a few

cashews a 5-6

almonds 5-6

red chilies 1 or 2

oil for deep frying

and salt,chili powder, to taste and a pinch each of asafoetida and turmeric powder.

method:

heat oil in a kadhai .. Oil has to be hot as need for frying the bhajjis. Take a medium sized metal strainer...holding this strainer in the hot oil first deep fry peanuts,cashews,roasted chana,almonds and the red chili.Strain on a tissue and keep aside.Fry curry leaves as wee.. be very careful while frying as it splashes out the hot oil.

In the same strainer start frying thick poha just a few teaspoons at a time .. frying does not take much time. Strain all the excess oil very well and spread the fried poha on a tissue .Discard the leftover oil.

when the poha is hot add all fried ingredients and salt,chili powder,haldi,hing and mix well.

Enjoy the Delicious fried chivda with a cup of hot tea.

DIWALI PHARAL :-)

Here are the pictures of Diwali 2008 at last... I mean after a long time.

This is the picture of the Rangoli I made with rice flour, in the patio

The following picture is the Diwali pharal .

From top left to right are....

Chakli(muruku) made with kepra chakli mix,Rava besan ladu(tachani besan ladu),Badam halva,Shankar pali,think poha chivda,patata poha(susla),nippattu and cornflakes chivda.

Awards!

This is my first award ever!... awarded by Malar Gandhi of 'kitchen Tantra'.Thank you so much Malar!

I would like to pass this on to five fellow bloggers and they are!

1) ujju of ujju's flavor

2)Veena of veena's flavour

3)Divya vikram of Dil se

4)http://www.foodbuzz.com/foodies/profile/kgsamayal

5)Purva of purva's Dawat.

congratulations Friends!

Please pass it on to any 5 fellow bloggers!

mehandi for diwali

I love mehndi tattoos.My daughter also loves as much as I do, Here are the pictures of the mehandi tattoo done by a ready made mehandi cone.

1)mehandi on my 2 years old daughter's palm.I wish I would have done nice around the mango design and on the fingers also but she is too little to sit still for long time and I had to finish it fast and dry it quickly with a blow dryer(hair dryer) . she hardly kept for 2 hours but still that was sufficient to get nice dark orange colour which lasted for 3 days.

2) my mehandi tattoo Arabic style.

TACHANI BESAN LADDU / RAVA BESAN LADDU

HAPPY DIWALI !

my diwali 'Pharal' is ready. I have made shankarpali,badam halva,chivada,chakli,nippattu(almost got over) and today yet to make karanji(karchikayi/gilaganchi) and cornflakes chivada.

Will post a picture of the pharal items shortly.

Yesterday I made 'Tachani besan laddu' also called as Rava besan laddu.This is second time I am making this after a small trial batch last week. I prefer this laddu to besan ladu ever since I was small . I made it on my own after my mother told me over phone exactly how to make it. And she was very happy when I said that it really turned out very well.

This is my first post of diwali pharal(many more yet to post ) and also for the contest ''sweet celebrations '' by Aparna.. http://mydiversekitchen.blogspot.com/2008/10/celebrating-one-year-of-posts-at-my.html

recipe:

for syrup: 2 cups sugar( u can add 1:1 ratio also... i prefer less sweet)

water just enough to cover the sugar.

few strands of saffron

other ingredients:

1 1/2 cup bombay rava(fine semolina)

3/4 cup besan (ratio is 2 rava: 1 besan)

ghee 4 tbsp + 7 tbsp

few cashews halved

few raisins

pinch of cardamom powder.

Process:

roast rava in 4 tbsp ghee on a medium flame stirring continuously to get nice golden colour and keep aside in another bowl.

roast besan in 7 tbsp ghee till it becomes golden and add the dry fruits and pour in the same bowl of rava.

prepare sugar syrup by adding just enough water to cover the sugar and stir occasionally.add saffron. to check the consistency take some water in a small katori(steel bowl) drop the syrup and if it does not mix into water and forms like jelly... it is ready.(or make one string consistency syrup .What i mentioned is little kachcha syrup))

pour the syrup on the rava besan mixture mix well and let cool.

keep on checking... may be after 2 hours.. you will find that the mixture is just right to roll into balls. add cardamom powder and mix well and make the laddus of the size u like.

Enjoy the delicious 'TACHANI BESAN LADDU'

chole

samosa and chole is my favourite of the Punjabi dishes.

Today I made chole for lunch and it turned out awesome!I did not fry Bhaturas or puris.. as my husband does not prefer oily stuff .I made chapati to go with chole.

Here is the recipe for Punjabi chole .

Ingredients:

1 cup dry kabuli chana(white garbanzo beans or chick peas)washed soaked overnight

2 tomatoes

1/2 large onion

1" ginger root

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp oil

1/4 tsp jeera/cumin

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 bay leaves

1" cinnamon stick( dalchini)

cloves 5-6

1-2 cardamom

3 green chilies slit lengthwise

garam masala 3 heavy pinches(the strong type... recipe n link yet to be posted ..)

1/4 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

water.. 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 cup.

before serving add..................

coriander.. chopped,

onion finely chopped

squeeze lime.

Method:

drain all the water from the chick peas and wash thoroughly. Pressure cook in 1/2 cup water for 3 whistle.

puree tomatoes,onion,ginger and garlic(this was exactly 1 cup after pureeing )

heat a heavy bottom vessel add oil,mustard seeds, cumin and let splutter.Then add cinnamon,cardamom,cloves,bay leaves.

add turmeric,green chilies,red chili powder and add the pure` carefully.

let it cook till all the raw smell is gone and oil oozes out.

add the cooked chickpeas and add 1 1/2 cup water.. add salt ,bring to boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander and onion and squeeze lime to add some more taste!

Sambhar powder type 1

This is the recipe for sambhar that we make with Idlis
Ingredients:
1 cup coriander seeds
1 1/2 cups dried red chillies(use byadagi chilies..)
1/4 cup Channa dal
1/4 cup Urad dal
1 tbsp methi/ fenugreek seeds,(add little more if u like)
Method:
Dry roast all the ingredients separately
Let cool and grind to fine powder.
store in air tight jar.
This powder has extra chilies in it so be careful if adding chili powder to the sambhar.

Batata poha

Batata poha or the wet variety of poha is called ' soosala' in some parts of North karnataka and it is very easy and quick to make and as such usually guests are offered either this or upma in the North karnataka region.
One of my friends in Indus ladies forum had asked me to post this recipe.. so here is the recipe for her and to you all.

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups thick poha(nirmal brand)
2. 1 onion cut into squares
3. 1 tomato ( not very juicy)
4. 1/4 cup cucumber or potato(I usually use either of these)
5. 8-9 curry leaves
6. 2 -3 strands coriander finely chopped.
7. 3 green chilies .. or as per taste
8. 1/2 lemon/lime
9. oil 1 tbsp
10. mustard 1/2 tsp
11. cumin 1/4 tsp
12. asafoetida ,a pinch
13. udad dal 1/2 tsp
14. peanuts, 1 tbsp
15. dalia 1 tbsp
16. turmeric 1/4 tsp
17. sugar 1/2 tsp
18. salt to taste.

Method:

• in a large vessel heat oil, add udad dal .. let it turn golden and add mustard and cumin.
• add curry leaves,asafoetida,dalia and peanuts,turmeric,cut vegetables and let the vegetables cook. Meanwhile in a strainer quickly wash the poha in cold water taking care that it does not become soft.(if you are using very thick variety of poha , wash ahead and set aside for 10 -15 mins)
• add washed poha stir, and add salt, sugar,and mix well gently.
• cover and let cook for a minute and set aside.squeeze lemon and mix well.
• serve hot garnished with finely chopped coriander.( it is sometimes garnished with freshly grated coconut, hot mix, bhujiya(sev)

serves 4- 5

onion dry curry

This is very easy to make and last for 2 days on shelf as it is not cooked in water. Good to carry while travelling

ingredients:
2 large onions, diced
2 tbsp fine semolina(bombay sooji)
1 tbsp besan(ground chickpea flour)
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
pinch of asafoetids(hing)
1/2 tsp red chili powder or as required
salt to taste

method:
heat oil in a pan,add mustard,cumin,and add the diced onions.
add turmeric and salt. stir well, cover and let saute for some time until onions are soft.
then add hing,red chili powder and mix well.
add besan and sooji and mix well and cover and let cook well on a very low flame.
This side dish goes well with chapati, and curd rice.

khichadi masala

Huggi/pongal/moongdal khichdi masala

The  quantity of masala is required for making

1/2 cup rice and 1/4 cup moong dal

3 tbsp dry coconut grated

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 1/2 tsp cumin

5 cloves

1 cardamaom

6-7 black pepper seeds

small cube of black rock hing(asafoetida)(or else use powdered asafoetida in seasoning)

easy chtutni powder

this is called shenga puthani hindi.

This goes very well with batata poha,curd rice,lemon rice and I add a little bit of this chutni on dry potato curry.
ingredients:
1 /2 cup roasted peanuts(ground nuts)
1/2 cup roasted Dalia(puthani)
few pinches of hing(asafoetida)
salt to taste
2 tbsp red chili powder or as per taste
1 clove garlic.

roast garlic along with dalia and let all ingredients cool completely.
add together in a mixer grinder and make a powder (do not make it very fine)
store in air tight jar for a week or two.

cantaloupe smoothie

cantaloupe smoothie

This is very easy and tasty drink,
Ingredients:
1) 1 1/2 cup diced cantaloupe
2) 1/3 cup milk
3) 2 - 3 ice cubes
4)2 tsp sugar
5) few strands of saffron to garnish

Method;
mix all the ingredients except saffron in a blender and blend till smooth.
serve cool garnished with the strands of saffron.

I have used few pomegranate seeds as well