Taste of the Tropics–Coconut

I am so excited to guest host my first blog event. I would like thank Mireille for this great oppurtunity. For the month of September, I am guest hosting Chef Mireille’s Taste of the Tropics with the theme of Coconut.

Coconuts are synonymous with tropical places and are featured in the cuisines of many countries in both savory and sweet dishes from coconut milk curries to coconut
sweet breads. For a detailed list of coconut’s health benefits, see here.

The Rules
1 – Post any Vegetarian eggless recipe that includes coconut. Freshly grated
coconut, dessicated coconut, coconut milk or coconut water must be used. Archived recipes may be submitted if they are reposted with the linkback and the logo.
2 - Recipe should be posted between September 1st and September 30th, 2012.
3 - The post must include a linkback to this announcement page and Chef Mireille’s
page here. Usage of the logo is mandatory.
4 - After your recipe is posted, add it using the Linky Tool below. If you have issues linking up, you could send it via email to nivedhanams@gmail.com. Non-bloggers can also send their recipes via email. Please use the subject as “Taste of the Tropics – Coconut”.



Looking forward for all your great recipes!!!

 

Eggless Lemon Coconut Bread

Quick Breads are fun to make and very rewarding. This is one of those quick breads which screams of lemon flavor. If you like lemon flavor, then you would love this and vice versa. For this month’s Eggless Baking Group, Gayathri chose this quick bread. I made a few changes from the original recipe like substituted flax seeds instead of egg, used regular grated coconut instead of the coconut flakes etc.  The original recipe does not have tutti frutti. I added it so that the filling can be seen better. It is optional.

Kitchen Basics–Vaazhaithandu

Vaazhaithandu (Banana Stem in English) is a very healthy and fiber rich food. But it comes with a few non co-operating things. Like the banana stem does not have a long shelf life, it becomes stained very quickly, it is very hard to chop, the knife, utensils, hands and linen may (will) discolor if it comes in contact with this.
Some solutions that work for me for the above are:
1. For better shelf life – store the banana stem wrapped in newspaper inside a plastic cover in the fridge. Also make sure you buy fresh banana stem. This will increase the shelf life little.
2. For discoloring after it is cut – store the chopped pieces in mor (2 table spoons curd + 1 cup water)

3. For staining – grease the palm, knife, cutting board with oil. Avoid contact of the linen with the banana stem
4. For ease of cutting – cut them into small rounds and remove extra threads like fiber with one hand as you go


Sending this to Tell Your Kitchen Secret by Gayathri.

Pico Di Gallo / Salsa

How about a fresh condiment which is quick, tasty, easy and no cooking needed.. Sounds too good to be true? Here is a Mexican condiment which is very famous of their cuisine and tastes mind blowing delicious. Its simplicity is just admirable. For part of Taste and Create, I am paired with Tamy. She has a nice blog and a variety of recipes and decorating ideas. I chose this simple salsa recipe from her blog and made some changes to it for our preference.

Liebster Award

Liebster Award

Awards are a sign of appreciation and motivation. I am very happy to receive my first blog award from Achu of Tangyminds. Thanks to Achu for giving me this award and am very happy for it. Do check her blog which has a lot of interesting and rare recipes (some to mention are - Dilpasand, Apple strudel, Granola trifles) . This award also comes with a game which is very interesting as you get to know more about the blogger friends.

Rules for receiving award:
1) Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2) Answer the questions the tagger has set for you.
3) Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4) Create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
5) Go to their page and tell them.
6) Remember, no tag back.
Rule 1: Post 11 things about yourself

1. Love spending time with my family
2. Love to cook and share the food I cook
3. Love to take photos (people and food)
4. Documents things to make sure I do not forget
5. I try my best not to lie
6. I love listening to music
7. Love watching cooking shows (read only GOOD cooking shows)
8. I like to do things more planned and in an organized way
9. I multi task
10. I talk a lot about healthy food (some I follow)
11. I believe "Home made food is the healthiest food on the planet". Even Home made fast food is healthier than store bought salads. - I believe this.

Rule 2: Answer the tagger's questions

What was the inspiration behind your blog? - My passion for cooking, documenting and photography
Which one do you prefer: A vacation trip to mountains or islands? - Islands
Craziest thing you've ever done ? - U turn my car in a very small road (less than 10 feet) with both sides of the road being a ditch and the bus driver continuously honking behind!!!
What is your idea for a perfect breakfast? - Pongal and Chutney
Who is your favorite blogger? - Many
What kind of music do you enjoy? - Melody and Carnatic
What is your idea of a perfect vacation? - Well planned, relaxing, lots of pictures, good food
What is your favorite past time? Spending time with family, Cooking, Blogging, Music
Which is your favorite place to shop in this world? Why? - T. Nagar... You get a festival feel all the time!!
Are you active or quiet or calm person? Active
What quality do you most like in yourself and why? - I try my best not to lie and keep up what I say. I am a strong believer that the biggest asset for anybody (rich or poor) is their word and if they cannot keep it up, then they are liable to themselves.

Rule 3: Tag and pass the awards to 11 other bloggers - This is actually very hard as I follow so many blogs and if I have to choose only 11..... I am trying my best here. I have some interesting questions for you. Please feel free to answer them at your time and will.

Champa
Jagruti
Nithu
Divya GCP
Sangeetha
Raks kitchen
Sharmis passions
Vardhini
Mireille
Krithi's kitchen
DK

Rule 4: Create 11 questions for the bloggers to answer

1. How many blogs do you visit and read daily?
2. Which social networking site (facebook, twitter, networked blogs, subscribe option, google connect) is the best according to you and why?
3. Which camera and lens do you use?
4. What is your favorite movie?
5. When doing a completely new recipe, do you follow the original completely or make changes as you do?
6. Which recipe took many tries before it came out to your satisfaction?
7. Your favorite pass time
8. How do you store your bookmarked recipes?
9. How do your store your recipes that are tried and tested - other than your blog?
10. How many items do you have in the draft ready right now?
11. How many food blog events do you participate in a month - approximately?

Again, very happy to receive this award and happy to pass it to 11 bloggers. Congratulations to the bloggers who have won this award. Please share your valuable comments.

Achari Paneer

A very interesting dish with Paneer. The same can be made with potatoes also. I was very skeptical while doing this dish for 2 reasons – no garam masala powder and no whole garam masala also. I have not tasted a paneer dish without these masala spices and was not sure how this will turn out. I got the recipe from here and this one is surely a keeper. This tastes best when served hot and goes well with roti, naan, white rice or pulao. I have used dried dill leaves here, you can use the fresh ones too. Make sure to chop them fine. 

Garbanzo Beans Salad

You on diet – eat salad… Salad is considered a very healthy food.. and sometimes boring food too. People imagine salad as a combination of uncooked vegetables mostly spinach, lettuce, onions and some salad dressing to add all the calories reduced by the vegetables. This salad is very refreshing and tastes best when served cold. It is very rich in protein (all credit to garbanzo beans). The nice potato chips topping (2 or 3 chips per serving) gives an interesting taste, texture and dimension to this salad. I got this recipe from here.  Make sure to add the potato chips just before serving or it will loose it crispness.