Raspberry Jam

What is Jam - to me until I made my own was - go to the shop, chose your flavor and buy it.. Did I know there existed a process called Canning - A big No... I watch so many cooking shows and generally I love them or I hate them.. If I love them, I see it so many times and never get bored.. Good Eats is one such series of episodes that is my top favorite cooking show. Love Alton Brown's explanation, his wit and the science and his explanations.. I love to watch the episodes and I guess I have watched most of the episodes a few times now and have read his 3 books a few times.. Thanks to the great Library access I had in US...
In the episode - Urban Preservation, Alton Brown talks about Canning and Jam making at home. That was the first time, I was taken a tour of this beautiful process (on TV of course) and I was so impressed.. Yes I did do the shopping and made the Jam and also Canning them.. It was surely a pleasure. Did I find it boring - no, was it difficult - no.. Was it satisfying - yes.. Was it economical - yes for sure. was it exciting – yes, was I very proud – yes yes.
Now do I buy Jam at store - yes I still do, but I love to make them at home.. I have so far made many types of Jam at home like Mango Jam, Mixed Fruit Jam, Strawberry Jam, Tomato Jam, Apple Jam, Raspberry Jam, Pineapple Jam, Grapes Jam etc. I also have a big list of Jam to do - like Apricot Jam, Dry Fruits Jam, Blueberry Jam, Fig Jam, Dates Jam etc. A big thanks to the Urban Preservation episode.. Now to the recipe..

Thayir Semiya Adai

Some recipes are very interesting and can imagine the end product when we are making it.. This one I got from a TV show – “Arusuvai Ithu Thani Suvai” from Jaya TV which is by a very famous Chef - Mrs. Revathy Shanmugam. This is my choice for this Blogging Marathon - Recipes from Celebrity cooks.

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread–Very soft Bread with sponge and soaker

 

In one line about this bread is - "One of the best breads I have baked"... Whenever I make whole wheat flour for breads, it is notorious for its dense and heavy texture.. But this bread will change all that... It was super soft, perfect texture and was delicious... I am sure I will baking this quite often.. Thanks to Aparna for choosing this bread for this month's We Knead to Bake from the very famous Chef - Peter Reinhart. This also goes to this month's BM for Your favorite celebrity chef recipes..

Kaara Boondi–Indian Snacks

You have seen me in lot of foods, but generally I go unnoticed.. Who am I? One of the answers is Boondi.. It is tiny little balls golden in color that is added to many items like Mixture, Chaat items, raitha, Chivda etc.. Kaara Boondi is a very famous snack that can be eaten as is, with curd as Boondi raitha or on top of various chat items. It is a quick and easy recipe which needs very less ingredients most of which are in most pantries. I enjoy kaara boondi as is.. It is a pleasure to keep munching these cute tiny golden balls.. So yummm

Rajbhog - Festival Sweets

Diwali – a festival that calls for lots of celebrations. It is one of the festivals celebrated throughout India (at least most part).. Although people may have some different way of celebrating this festival.. It is all about Crackers, Sweets, Savories and Pooja.. I had bookmarked Rajbhog so long ago but never got to make it until this week as I have recently joined the Sweet Fantasy Club which is all about sweets and desserts!!! The first sweet is from Sanjeev Kapoor’s website here...  With Diwali coming, this is a great rich and yummy sweet to make. It is little more effort than rasagulla but tastes so much more rich and delicious..