Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Cherry Blossoms - Spring at Silicon Valley

Cherry Blossoms Arch at my work place:



Cherry Blossoms on a rainy day:




Amavasa raathri, paalapuntha aakasham tho kalisi nela meeda vasthe................

Trash and Machines speak to Hearts with no Words- Wall-E




Review will be coming sooooooooon

Chema Dumpa Fry (Taro Root / Arvi Fry):

Chema Dumpa Fry (Taro Root / Arvi Fry):



Ingredients:
Chema Dumpalu / Taro Roots – 6
Oil – 3 spoons
Red Chilli Powder – 1 spoon
Salt – As per taste

Preparation:
Wash Chema Dumpalu (Taro Roots) thoroughly with cold water. Boil dumpalu till those gets soft. Add Salt when boiling the roots for better taste. I generally don’t prefer pressure cooking Taro Roots because these veggies suddenly become too mushy. So I prefer boiling into water so that I can check and remove them immediately when it turn to soft. Cool it or replace hot water with cold water and peel the skins. Cut each root into length wise.

Take a flat hot iron skillet or flat non stick pan (Instead of Kadai), heat it and apply oil into it. Place the taro pieces separately on the skillet and fry on medium heat till it turns to Golden Brown color. Sprinkle Salt and Red Chilli Powder before removing. Serve hot with Rice.

Thota Kura – Mamidi Kaya Pappu (Dal with Amaranth Leaves and Raw Mango)

Thota Kura – Mamidi Kaya Pappu (Dal with Amaranth Leaves and Raw Mango):



Ingredients:
Toor Dal – 2cups
Thotakura / Amaranth Leaves – 1 bunch (Leaves separated, Wash and cut into small pieces)
Raw Mango – 1 small (Peel and cut into small pieces, leave the mango seed)
Tomato – ½ half or 1 small (Sliced into small pieces)
Green Chillies – 4 or 5 (as per taste)
Turmeric Powder – a pinch
Salt – as per taste
Oil – 2 tsps
For Seasoning (Popu) or Tadka:
Mustard Seeds – ½ tsps
Jeera Seeds – ½ tsps
Methi Seeds – ½ spoon
Onion – Small piece (sliced thinly) - Optional
Garlic Cloves – 2 (Smashed a bit) ( Optional)
Curry Leaves – 3 to 4
Red Chillies – 2

Preparation:
Wash the toor dal. Add Raw Mango pieces, amaranth leaves, Green Chillies, turmeric, half a spoon of oil, sliced tomato to Toor Dal. Add two small cups of water, mix once. Pressure cook it for 4 whistles. Keep it aside for 10 mins to avoid the steam. Add salt and mash it coarsely.
Take a separate pan, and add Oil into it. After oil gets heated, add mustard seeds, jeera seeds and methi seeds. Once it splatters, add Garlic cloves, Onion pieces, curry leaves and red chillies and stir for two mins. Remove and mix with Tadka with Dal. Do not burn or fry the garlic or onions into golden brown. Addition of methi seeds to Tadka gives nice flavor and its good for health. Serve hot with ROti or Rice.