Some Diwali shots of my traditional home

Diwali ,a colourful and happy celebration , that time of the year when you decorate and prepare your house for the traditional festivities .Fire crackers,lighting of clay lamps,decorative candles,the wonderful aroma of the sweets and savouries ,rangolis are a few things that depicts this Festival of Lights.The candles and diyas illuminating every corner of the house is a spectacular sight and a pleasure to the eyes.Sharing with you all a few Diwali shots of our traditional home and my Diwali table.

Katori chaat,Kesariya kheer and motichur parfait,Labanga latika,eggless Gulkand cupcakes with a pan liqueur frosting and a Chocolate mousse gulabjamun tart

My diwali delicacies

Cold Cranberry punch for MBP

I have been really busy these last few days with the coffee morning(the Indian navy ladies meetings) happening at one of my friends place as the CNS( Chief of Naval Staff) was in Moscow with his other half,the first lady of Indian Navy.When Sig extended the deadline for MBP, I heaved a sigh of relief but still submitting my entry at the last moment.
This Cranberry punch is from one of my favourites Asha's blog,Foodie's hope ...she is a great inspiration to all of us, a Super woman who wears the red 'S' all the time.....yes I do consider her that.She has a wonderful blog with mouthwatering,sumptuous recipes and has a kind word for every blogger and we all love her a lot:)

You need:
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
2-3 strawberries hulled and sliced
1 lime thinly sliced
1 cup ginger ale or club soda
ice cubes
Method:
Combine all the juices,strawberries and lime and chill thoroughly.Just before serving add chilled ginger ale or club soda and ice cubes.Serve in a tall glass.



This goes to Sig of Live to eat who is guest hosting Monthly Blog Patrol.The event is a brainchild of Coffee of Spice cafe.

My naval friend Jaya who had hosted the coffee morning had an appetizing spread for the ladies meet and I could not stop myself from clicking pictures of the delectable fare to blog about.The NWWA(naval wives welfare association) had organized a traditional welcome for the first lady...after a long time we all ladies had draped ourselves in heavy silk sarees for the formal occasion.We all had a gala time interacting with each other and enjoyed the delicious
assortment.Jaya's pudding was somewhat like cheese cake and she had an anchor (symbol of Indian navy) made on it with pomegranates and pineapple and named it the Anchor pudding.Here are some food pictures of the event.

the table all laid out

A meme and Happy Holi

I had been tagged nearly a month back by Sra to write a meme and before I could write it Meera tagged me again.So finally I am gingerly taking a step forward to jot down some revelations or character assassination of my own self( I am being ridiculous,i know that) so that you get a picture of me in your mind's eye.I personally feel meme is a wonderful oppurtunity to tell friends whom you have never met who you are and let them conjure up an image of me.Meera I will surely write down a second meme but let me first do justice to my first one.

Well, I am a 31 yr old ,5 ft 6",average looking girl( thats what I consider myself,am dead scared of calling myself a lady!) with shoulder length hair,slim built and love to keep myself fit and well groomed.Nature wise I am an absolutely home and family loving person who loves to take care, organize and run the house like a perfectly well oiled machine.
My world revolves around my most prized possession....my 6 yr old daughter Mishti ,my honey bear who gave me the most magical moments of my life....the joys of motherhood ,with an unspoken promise to love her absolutely and the vow to protect her forever,don't care about the terrible twos that has gone or the teenage tantrums that comes my way.
I am married to a defence officer,a naval fighter pilot by profession ,an incredibly understanding, encouraging individual with a truckload of patience and an amazing father.His fearless,daring, never say die attitude and his gentlemanly spirit had swept me off my feet and captivates my heart.
Places I have stayed.....
1.Rourkela,the steel city of Orissa,the place where I was born and brought up,always dear to my heart.
2.Chabua air Force stn,Assam,my first place after marriage where my hubby was posted ,will always treasure those beautiful memories with the scenic,naive,untouched beauty of the land of the one horned rhinoceros.I have never seen such clear blue skies and the pure sparkling water of the winding streams.
3.Goa,planning to settle there as the laid back place is more like home now with 6 yrs of being posted there.
4.Mumbai...though a short posting but was enough for me to scour the city for my shopping expeditions:)
5.Bangalore,2 yrs and I wanted to run back to Goa,was saddened the way population and pollution is overpowering the garden city.
6.Vizag,though a small city has something very welcoming about it...has a plethora of eating joints with a crowd pleasing and appetizing menu.
7.Moscow...the awe inspiring capital...still discovering .....
Jobs I have done.....
1.Have worked as an english news reader for the rourkela TV channel f0r 4 years during my college days.My mom had persuasively urged me into it as she wanted me to be more extrovert and outgoing and that did help me to shed my inhibitions and become more camera friendly.
2.My second job was as a travel consultant...took up this job to put to use my air ticketing career skills.With my hubby sailing out constantly ,the tension of my significant half flying somewhere over the deep seas, the work pressure and my little one getting neglected kept nagging until the guilty working mother's heart couldn't take it anymore.
Foods I love...
I love all kinds of cuisines but no comparison to an authentic oriya thali that i have been brought up eating.Apart from that, chocolates makes me go weak in the knees,and then comes the ubiquitous Pani puri or the puchka or Gupchup..yes in orissa it's called gupchup.the actual joy of eating panipuri is with friends all standing with a dried palm leaf bowl surrounding the panipuri wallah and coaxing him to put more salt or chilli in the mixture and not forgetting the streak of sour tamarind water escaping from your mouth when you try to put the whole thing inside.oh what pleasure!sigh!
I have hydrophobia...noooo please don't think otherwise...I do take a bath everyday:)Just a look at the sea soothes and calms me but somewhere deep inside the fear of drowning does lurk so much that putting the head under the shower also chokes me out of breath.Well ,so now you know..I cannot swim:(
Love doing embroidery basically more of cross stitch...my creations adorn most walls of my house,specially Mishti's room.I had started making panels for her room and had embroidered her name on it two years before she was born...strange isn't it...well I was so sure I would have a daughter:)
Both my parents being science professors had always aspired for their children to become future engineers or doctors.My inclination for Shakespeare and Jane Austen never made me excel in science and I landed up as a literature student and till date the thought of not fulfilling my parents' dreams haunts me to the core.
I think I have talked a lot about myself,thanks a bunch for bearing with me and reading about me.Hope you enjoyed the meme.I would like to tag Shibani of Any one can cook,Rachel of Tangerine's kitchen,TBC of The budding cook,Dhivya of Dhivya's Kitchen.Its all up to them to accept it or not.
A very happy Holi to all of you!!

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I joined the Foodie Blogroll

I finally joined the Foodie Blogroll.You can browse my right side bar template to check it out and join the community.The foodie blogroll is a huge list of links and a great oppurtunity for networking.
Don't forget to join the foodie blogroll forum! It is your place to interact with all the other members! http://www.leftoverqueen.com/forum/index.php.

Maslenitsa and Russian Blini

Last to last weekend we were invited to take part in the celebrations of one of the most celebrated Russian holidays,Maslenitsa.It is a week long festival and is based on the pagan tradition of bidding farewell to the cold and gloomy winter and welcoming the fresh and sunny spring.Russians believe that spring is a season of celebrations and festivities where the old is washed away.The first day is related to greetings,the second to singing and dancing, the third is sweet tooth's day, the fourth is the lavish day,the fifth day is when the son in-laws invite their mother in-laws for a treat,the sixth day sees the daughter in-laws inviting her in laws for a party and finally the last day is the day of forgiveness.....a day where people ask for forgiveness and forgive each other.The last day a straw doll dressed up in colourful scarves and skirts is burnt symbolizing the winter .This is an ancient tradition,dating back to before the beginning of russian orthodox church.
During these seven days the russians eat blini,a russian pancake or thin crepes which is enjoyed with honey,cream,jam or caviar.Those delightful round, warm, golden blinis represent the sun,the symbol of spring."Maslo" in russian means butter....that's why the name Maslenitsa.This festival comes just before the Lent starts which involves 40 days of intense fasting by the russian orthodox church believers.I think the weeklong spree of gorging blinis cooked with lots of butter must be giving them the strength to go on a such religious fast:)
Our visit to the Russian cultural and crafts centre started with our welcoming by beautiful russian girls and goodlooking tall men attired in colourful russian traditional clothes singing and dancing followed by our stuffing ourselves till our eyeballs with thin,baked blinies layered with cheese, mushrooms and chicken.Though outside I could not find a trace of the much awaited spring and neither taking part in the Lent preparation but still enjoyed the afternoon gorging on blinies smothered with cream.The afternoon of fun and merrymaking culminated with us buying some exquisite russian crystal and handicrafts.Just getting to know a little about an alien tradition and culture gave immense satisfaction which resonated deep inside me.

blini served with caviar and smoked salmon


chicken and mushroom layered blini


tea served in traditional lacquered cups and saucers

To make Blini you need:
1 cup flour
3 cups milk
2 eggs
salt and sugar to taste
2tbsp butter or veg oil
1/2 tsp soda
Method:
1.Mix eggs with the milk.
2.Add the flour ,sugar and salt and mix thoroughly so that no lumps remain.
3.Grease a hot pan (non stick) with oil or butter.Use a half onion stuck with a fork for greasing.
4.Pour and spread a thin layer of batter evenly.
5.Cook until light brown,about 2 mins on each side.

Blini can be served with butter, sour cream,honey,jam,black or red caviar,fillet of sturgeon or salmon.Most popular blinies are made from buckwheat flour.Good blini is very thin, the thinner the blini the perfect the skill is.

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Nice matters award .....for me !!

“Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”

Hey every body I am so thrilled today!I haven't completed one month of blogging and this Nice matters award comes my way surprisingly.Thanks to the lovely Jaya @Spice and curry who has passed on this award to me and given a real hard boost.I am on top of the moon today:))

Now its my chance to pass on this award andI would like to pass this on to three of my blog friends who have been an inspiration to me .
Eskay@Bon Vivant's Chow Chronicles is a very warm and helpful girl.Thank you eskay for the constant support and the help you extended to me when I needed it the most.Eskay has a great blog with wonderful and very different recipes.
Pragyan@ Pragyan's Cooking has amazing oriya recipes which take me back to my motherland and her humble approach towards life in her writings makes me a great fan of hers.
Sra @ When The Soup Came Alive is one more person whose write ups are worth reading ...they bring a smile and lighten up your day:)
I would love to pass this on to everybody in blogosphere as the effort and the passion for cooking is so evident in their blogs.My heartfelt thanks goes to everybody who has taken out their valuable time to leave a comment in my new born blog.
Love you all.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all !!

No food blogging today!Just a message of love to all you beautiful people.Love....its a gift from the almighty ,an expression that touches us all,it cannot be seen nor touched but is felt within us.Today is Valentine's day,a festival that cherishes love and celebrated by all ages and races.
So let's celebrate love,receive love and bestow love on everyone around us irrespective of caste , creed and colour.I take this oppurtunity of Valentine's day to express my heartfelt love and gratitude to my family, near and dear ones,friends and all my co- bloggers.Love you all.Have a wonderful day with your loved ones.

A Happy Valentines Day to you all !!!

Russian winter and Borsch

Zdrastwiche!! (Hello! in Russian)

Russia the land of vast landscapes, of dynamic Tsars, soaring golden domed cathedrals, ballet beauties and figure skaters, of frozen rivers and lakes, a land rich in culture and heritage and how can I forget the legendary Lenin and Stalin.Yes! that's the image you conjure in your mind when you try to imagine about this mesmerising country.

The severity of Russian winter is not unknown to people. Winter brings the Russia of imagination to life, the snow makes everything picturesque and harshly beautiful. My stay in Moscow, the awe inspiring capital is just eight months old. Moscow, where the mercury dips down to -30 deg C is a huge, drastic change from Goa the land of sun, sand and sea where we were posted for six long years. It's a devastatingly new experience and I am loving every bit of it.
I keep on watching spell bound for hours together from my apartment window the snow falling......tiny flakes of snow floating all around, the cars, rooftops, the nude branches of the trees all covered with a shroud of pristine white carpet, children in blue, pink, red winter attire (they look like little astronauts) darting across the snow filled park of the detski sad(children's kindergarten) creating small indentations of their shoes on the snow. Mothers in fur coats strolling with their infants in well protected prams, dogs with their masters doing walk the talk, people hurrying across the snow filled streets to the tram and monorail stop, a flurry of daily life activities going on but for me time just stands still. I savour each and every moment and capture the scene in my mind's eye and in the camera to cherish it forever. I get this urge of opening the window and collect the snowflakes in my palm. They are beautiful, each flake shaped like a small flower...they melt in my palm inside. The feeling of dejection is evident from my face, it would be so nice to just store it as it is and take it back home.....ridiculous thought though.
During the long cold winters, it's easy to imagine that we will never see the sun again. The warm golden days of July and August when the sun sets at midnight here fade as if only a distant memory and I fear that I will be forever consigned to woolly hats and the heavy fur coats.


View from our apartment window

Experimenting with our camera

My blog's posts wouldn't be complete if I do not write about food. You guessed right! I will blog about a Russian dish today. Russia has a glorious culinary heritage....from the Baltic to the far east, the variety is immense. As with any cold climate country there's a great love for fat loaded dishes- Russia is no place to go on a diet. I can just go on and on about Russian delicacies, so I will talk about it in a later post. As the post revolves around winter a winter warmer would be wonderful, a popular soup called Borsch. Borsch is basically of Ukrainian origin that got its name from the most important ingredient beet called "borsch" in old slavic. It can be served hot or cold usually with sour cream (smetana) poured on top of it. Some Borsch is vegetarian but mostly its made with beef stock. There are numerous ways of making this soup, after trials and errors I found this way to be the easiest and tasty. I prepare Borsch with chicken stock and lots of fresh herbs. The beetroot in the soup imparts a beautiful red colour to it.

The Borsch soup

You need:

1 big beet cut into thin strips
1 medium carrot cut into thin strips
1 small potato cut into thin strips (some prefer cubes)
You can also shred the veggies and cube the potatoes according to your preference
1 small onion diced
1/2 cup cabbage shredded
3-4 flakes garlic
1/2 stalk celery or to taste
2 canned tomatoes or fresh diced
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or dried
1 tbsp fresh dill or dried
1/2 cup bell peppers chopped(optional)
1 chicken stock cube
1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar(less if using canned tomatoes)
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large stir fry pan. Add the garlic and chopped onions and saute till the onions turn transparent. Alternately you can add the garlic when you leave the soup to boil.
2. Now add the potatoes, carrots and celery and stir fry. Add the beetroots after 3-4 mins. Cook until veggies are done.
3. Add the cabbage and tomatoes. In the meantime boil 2 and a1/2 cups water with the chicken stock cube.
4. Add the stock to the veggies and bring to a boil. Lastly add the parsley, dill, salt and pepper. Add the bell peppers if you are using them.
5. Reduce heat and cover. The longer you cook the stronger the flavour. I put it on low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Boil more if you are making in large quantity.
6. Check throughout to add spices and herbs.
7. Lastly add vinegar ( less if you are using canned tomatoes) and serve warm with a dollop of sour cream.

Cheers to health and pleasure!! I will sign out with some breathtaking shots of Russian nature in winter by Mikhail Tkachev.
Dusvidaniya!!!(till we meet again in Russian)