KalaAnantarupah Art Center: Dance & Mime Play -Maa.....- July 2nd 2010- Alliance Francaise,Bangalore

 Hi friends,  i have recently joined bharatnatyam classes  at kala Anantarupah Art Center. Our center is holding a dance and mime play called MAA- my guardian angel. You could  check the link below for further details on the same :)

KalaAnantarupah Art Center: Dance & Mime Play -Maa.....- July 2nd 2010- Alliance Francaise,Bangalore

MANGO ICE CREAM

I prepared this last summer, and it  turned out be almost perfect and as good as ice cream bought from the store. It s the season of mangoes and the best  time to try this recipe too...

Ingredients:

3 cups Whole milk

3 tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp Vanilla custard powder (Brand: Brown & Polson)

2 cups Sweetened condensed milk

1 Cup Mango Puree

1/2 Cup Malai

1/2 tsp  Vanilla extract

Method:

• Make a smooth paste of the custard powder and 1/4 cup milk (at normal temperature). Bring remaining milk to a boil. 
• Add sugar and stir to dissolve. When the milk comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat and slowly stir in the custard mixture. 
• Keep stirring till the milk thickens. The custard is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.

• While the custard is cooling, take a large bowl (which will fit into your freezer) and blend the mango puree with the condensed milk. Stir well to combine. 
• Once the custard has cooled, add it to the puree-condensed milk mixture. Also add the heavy cream and the vanilla extract.

• Cover and freeze for an hour. 
• This is the most important step…the 'churning'. Since this ice-cream is made without an ice-cream maker, doing it right manually determines the final quality of the ice-cream.   
• Remove bowl from freezer and using a hand beater, whip the mixture for 10 minutes at the highest speed on your beater. The mixture will begin to bubble because of the whipped cream. Return to freezer for another 30 minutes.
• Repeat the whipping process, but reduce time to 5 minutes. Return to freezer for 30 minutes.
  
  
  
  This needs to be done 2 more times(once every 30 mins). By the third time your mixture would have thickened and would be harder to churn.  After the last churn, you can transfer ice-cream to  the container and freeze overnight or for at least 6 hours.
  
  
  

SUMMER '10 It all happened this summer :)

FINALLY, college is reopening tomorrow, the two month long lovely summer vacation is coming to an end with a chain of wonderful memories :) Here's a treasure full of memories of the times gone by !

The summer of 2010 .... my  last summer  vacations this would be. This post is dedicated in the memory of the days gone past...... It all happened this summer :)

Time spent with friends , planning, going to each others  house, experimenting in the kitchen, playing in the  fields, getting drenched in the rain, riding triples ... the  smiles the tears, painful moments of separation .... it all happened this summer :)

Most of the time spent at  home with parents,  sometimes traveling, just being with each other, shopping, cooking, arguing, evening walks, fighting over the remote, watching movies and  spending some good  time together :)

Kids kids ... so much fun you are to be around with , teaching you , i've  learnt from your ways ... and have enjoyed being a part of the EB CLUB ... it all happened this summer :)

 

With  an egg less mango cake, poha samosa, ragada patties, pani poori and more ... it  all happened this summer :)

  

 

 Rain rain the pitter patter rain .. and the home coming of my  turtles after 2 years... oh  boy !!!  look at em .... SO HUGE, they have become!

Photography, yes the digital  variety; not that the digitized version of photography pleases me , but its definitely helping in the learning stage when I'm struggling with a shaky hand... What i still fantasize to own some day, is a SLR the old version .... :) what a beauty it is and pure joy it is to click pictures through it. Here's a little sneak into my experimental photography.

Finally, ART ! a little amount of art also consumed some time this summer.... i enjoyed working most on poo's  farewell gift , a friendship calender, which she has carried along to her hostel.... another project was furniture restoration for the OM stand, and also working on the OM project which had been pending for long. It finally happened THIS SUMMER :)

Bundled with the memories of this summer ... I'm eagerly looking forward to going back to college tomorrow !!

COLORFUL MOBILES

I made these beautiful  mobiles 2 months back when my vacations had just begun. It was the first time few of my friends were coming home, and as a token of remembrance i gifted 'em these ... there were a whole lot of other designs like flowers, leaves, fishes, snail etc .. here are a few in this pic.....

These are very simple and quick to make. You could also involve your children in this activity. It could be used as a book mark, or hang it by ur bedside, dressing table, on the window bar... ur study table any where you wish.

All you need to make these cute looking mobiles are ... 

• a pair of scissors, 
• OHP sheets, 
• glass paints, 
• paint brush, 
• thin black marker and 
• a string or a ribbon to tie.

                                           

This is how you do it:

• Trace or draw a design on the OHP sheet. With the help of craft scissors cut out the outline.
• Use glass paints of your choice to paint the pictures. You could take help from your little one with painting and tracing. Kids would surely love to do it.
• Finally, i took a compass from the geometry box and pricked in a lil hole and inserted a flower making string in it. You could also punch in a hole and pass a colorful ribbon through.
• To personalize it, in one corner of the picture you could write your name, a lil message or date.

 Colorful mobiles are ready to be hung :)

VEGETABLE NOODLES

Today's  post is the recipe of vegetable hakka noodles. This recipe goes as a gift to APU, who has been asking for it ever since she tasted it. This is yet another simple recipe which can be cooked in no time if the vegetables are kept cleaned and chopped :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Packet hakka noodles

• 200g each, assorted vegetables cut in long strips (julienne) ( I used carrots, beans, onions, cabbage and capsicum)

• 1/2 cup tomato sauce

• 3 tsp soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp ginger paste

• 2 tbsp oil

• 2 green chillies

• salt to taste

METHOD:

1.  Boil the noodles as per the instruction on the pack. Keep it aside and allow the water to drain.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Fry onions till they are cooked to a shade of pale pink.
3. Add ginger paste and chopped chillies, cook for a minute by stirring it. 
4. Drop in carrot and beans. When they are half cooked add capsicum and cabbage. Cook for 2-3 minutes by stirring it occasionally.
5. Add tomato, soy sauce and salt to it. 
6. When its  almost cooked, add boiled noodles and mix it well.

VARIATIONS:

You could also try other vegetables like green peas, leafy vegetables, chives or spring onion, paneer, chicken chunks anything that appeals to your taste buds.

 

DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

CHOCOLATE CAKE is something we would all vouch for .... Here's yet another simple recipe for a chocolate cake that would never go wrong. This recipe is by praks and the cake below was also baked by her and decorated by poo! Do try baking this , as its one recipe that would never go wrong, if the measurements are followed perfectly.

INGREDIENTS:

•  3 EGGS 
• 1 1/4 cup (125 g) refined flour
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 cup butter (150 g)
• 1 cup powdered sugar ( 150 g)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3-4 tbsp milk
• 3/4 - 1 tsp baking powder

 METHOD:

1. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder together. 
2. Cream the butter, by double boiling it and add sugar along, mix till its light and fluffy.
3. separate the egg whites and beat the yolks lightly.
4. Add vanilla essence and add the yolks and essence into the creamed mixture, stirring gently.
5. Fold in the flour, a few tablespoons at a time, to form a smooth batter. 
6. Beat the egg whites stiff and gently fold into the flour mixture.
7. Now add milk to get a dropping consistency.

Pour the batter into a greased and lined cake tray. bake in oven at 175 C for 35 mins.

SERVES 16 ( 1 SLICE PER SERVING)

MOTHERS DAY

An ode to motherhood and to our wonderful mothers :) 

Celebrated on 29th may. Memories of this day will always remain! It was a celebration with the lovely women in our lives and friends who keep me warm and cheerful when I m shaken. This day is also very special to us as it was the last few days with our lovely P !


The invitation cards prepared in our nursery on 27th :) also met a wonderful friend Aps for the first time!!

 Mom's had absolutely no clue of what was happening at home, until we walked out in with this runner! The kodak moment was on their faces , which we missed to capture on the cam, but it is well captured in our hearts.

The runner went up on the wall, balloons on the floor, candles lit up in the urn, plates set on the table... 

                                           

                                              

 


                                                            
Our menu was small, but delicious. On the list was soda pop by APU, a refreshing drink, to compensate for the HOT HOT noon! Bird's nest by POO N PRAKS.... prepared with the symbolic representation of we lil birds protected in their warm nest, Vegetable noodles & custard by ME, BABYCORN FRY BY POO. I shall post these recipes sometime soon.

  
Followed by a game of treasure hunt ...... the gleeful smile on finding the clue... :D

               Which led them to the delicious chocolate cake, by PRAK!

 When you smile for us, the world seems alright ...... 

Our gift :)

             As they returned to their childhood, with us...........   Moments shared - PRICELESS!!  love u mom!

PInch of the day !!

A hike in petrol by Rs3.50/- !!!  do we really need this ... ????  :( :( :(

HONEY CUSTARD

Since its a new blog, i would like to post in a sweet recipe, one of the first dishes i learnt to cook from my granny as a child, way back in 9th std.

I used to be thin like a stick then and granny's sole mission was to get me to put on some weight. Being the only child and parents going out to work i would take the liberty of skipping meals till evening. It was during my 9th std holidays, wen dodda (granny in tulu) came down to stay with us, she taught me to cook this delightful custard, so simple, quick to make and yummy tooo.... Here's the recipe for all of you to try!!

INGREDIENTS: 

• Milk 1/2 lt 
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (acc. to your taste)
• 1/2 cup custard powder ( i used brown n polson)
• a cup or two of assorted fruits
• honey
• vanilla essence
• dry fruits, i used cashew, almonds and raisins.

METHOD:

1. Bring milk to boil, turn the heat to sim, add sugar and boil milk for another 5 mins.
2. Mix custard powder in little cold water till it mixes well forming a running liquid mixture.
3. Pour this mixture slowly into boiling milk, with one hand and stir it with the other. Avoid lumps forming in the milk.
4. Cook for another 5 mins by constantly stirring it till the mixture thickens. 

 NOTE: To check if its done, dip a spoon into the mixture, if the custard sticks to the back of the spoon and slowly runs down ... your custard is ready.


            Cool the custard and keep it in the freezer for half an hour. If you are planning to eat after few hours , keep it in the fridge. 

TO SERVE: Chop a variety of fruits ( i used guava, banana and mango) mix them well in a bowl and fill a spoonful in each bowl. Pour out custard into the bowl and garnish with dry fruits and some honey.

Easily serves 6.