Pumpkin Soup / maththan soup / Manjal Poosani soup

Winter is on. air is dry and lightly cold. I have started making a soup daily. Today made Pumpkin Soup.

Pumpkin also known as Kadhdhu / Kasi bhopla / Maththan /manjal poosani / budi kumbala / budikumbadi is a bright orange vegetable which is easy to cook and is little sweet in taste. The flesh, seeds, stringy inner part all are edible. With the stringy part inside on which seeds are seen can be used in chutney making. (will post the recipe). 

It is rich in vitamins and minerals. Good for prostrate gland and heart, irritable bladder and the seeds are used to treat mood swings and depression.

Pumpkin is orange inside (which means it is ripe). If it is pale in colour then it is not a ripe pumpkin. Some mistake it for ashgourd which is white inside and is also used in the famous 'petha' from Agra.

The best way to get all the nutrients in a vegetable is by par boiling it. So let me share a nice soup recipe today.

Ingredients :-

1. Ripe pumpkin - 1/4 kg
2. Bay leaf - 1/4 leaf
3. Black pepper - 4 nos.
4. Onion - 1 small
5. Salt to taste
6. Water - 1 cup
7. Butter - 1 tbsp (you can use olive oil to make it more healthy)
8. Lemon juice - few drops
9. fresh cream for garnishing (optional)

Procedure :-

• Wash, peel and dice the pumpkin into cubes 
• chop onions
• In a pan, add the butter / olive oil, bay leaf 
• Add the chopped onion, black peppers and fry for 3 minutes
• Add the pumpkin cubes, fry for a minute
• Add water and pressure cook it for a whistle 
• strain and save the stock. cool the vegetable, remove the bay leaf and puree the vegetable.
• Transfer the puree to a vessel, add the stock and bring to boil adding salt
• remove from fire, add few drops of lemon juice, mix it
• Serve hot garnishing with fresh cream

Enjoy the winter with a cup of soup each day.

Navratri / Dusserah 2012

Navratri celebrations went on merrily at our place with dandiya & garbha dances every night after the arati. Every afternoon bhog was offered to devotees (prashad of durga ma).

This is the mandap inside which goddesses were kept.

An inviting rangoli :-

A mini fair was conducted with various stalls and various competitions were organised for the kids. Prize distribution ceremony was conducted yesterday. 

Today the dasami day all the celebrations came to an end by evening. Durga ma was taken out for immersion in a grand manner with a fireworks show.

May the goddess bless you all with happniess, good health and prosperity.

Jai mata di

Decorative Glass Work

I went to market 3 weeks back and on the way in a supermarket  bought a bottle of Amul's flavoured milk as I was feeling hungry . I saved the bottle & brought home. I kept a plant in a plastic container. So replaced the plastic container with this bottle after cleaning. The plant looked beautiful than before. 

Couple of days back saw a glass art work in a TV programme. They showed similar work on a plain piece of glass which was then converted into a Clock. Thought why not try that work in a bottle? So here it is for your views. Sorry folks, i forgot to take stage by stage picture. But one shot will show you the glue in semi dry form.

A simple art which gives amazing texture depending upon the tool you use & your creativity.

I didn't colour it as i felt this is more beautiful than the coloured one. Here is the procedure for you :-

In any glass article, squeeze dabs of fabric glue here n there.

Now let out the magical spell from your fingers!  :-) ha.ha.ha  (yes you all have it!) With your index finger tap on it & spread it through out the surface in the same process.

When the glue is semi dry, using back of a paintbrush or a pen, roughly run it over the semi dried glue to form some rough pattern.

the work will look like this :-

Let it dry for 5 hours

If you want to colour it, you can colour using water based glass colours & spread it to make a nice varanajal on to your glass article & enjoy your interiors by giving it a feather touch make over!

 This makes a beautiful decor item which you can even gift after you do a creative work.

Isn't it simple?   Now cast the magic onevery plain glass you see & turn it into gorgeous show piece!

Happy Crafting!

Navratri - preparations

Always making a list will ease your work stopping the last minute running around or anything getting missed out.

Rangoli / Kolam :-  This is the first thing that catches the attention of the guests. So plan & keep a chart of rangoli / kolam that you may like to draw. If you wish you can even make it in a plate in advance & display it.

You can check the dot, spiral, geometrical padi kolams in the kolam section of my hobby lounge. You can see it under the 'Kolam /Rangoli' label on the right hand column display.

Refreshment to offer first to the guests :-   Once your guest arrive, you offer them Chandan, kum kum. Then comes light beverage for refreshment.

1. Panagam 
2. Lemon Juice
3. Buttermilk / sambharam
4. Lemon + mint juice
5. Diluted milk with crushed banana pieces & elachi powder
6. Iced tea (available ready in bottled form)
7. Watermelon juice
8. Any other juices of your choice

(tip : when you offer sweet juice, very lightly moist the mouth of the glass, in a plate put some black salt and dip the mouth of the glass in it so that the salt get coated around the mouth. This will give a nice taste to the juice when sipped)

Offerings  - neivedhyam & Prashad

Things you should keep in mind :-

1. Make one sweet item after every 2nd day of the 9 days of navatri celebration

2. Make one sweet on Friday

3. Don't use onion on for the festive preparations

1. Black Chana (karupu kondai kadalai / blak chick pea) - [Video recipe available here]
2. Kabuli channa (Kondai kadalai chundal) - salt  - [Video recipe available here]
3. Green Gram (sweet - using Jaggery) - [Video recipe available here]
4. Green Gram (Salt)
5. Pattaani (vatana / dried yellow pea) - [Video recipe available here ]
6. Moong dal (sweet or salt) - pasi paruppu
7. Sweet Rice Puttu - [Video recipe available here]
8. Curd Rice
9. Cow peas (karamani / Lobiya) -  sweet chundal [Video recipe available here]
10. Cow peas (Karamani / Lobiya) - Salt chundal
11. Kadalai paruppu (channa dal) - [Video recipe available here]
12. Green peas (fresh or dried) - salted
13. Rajma (salted or sweet)
14. Groundnut (avoid onion)
15. Ghee Appam (nei appam)
16. Nei Payasam / Ghee payasam
17. Milk Kheer (paal payasam)
18. Atta ka halwa (Kada Prasad) - [Video reecipe available here]

PS : You can even make a mix match of sundal & variety rices (curd rice, lemon rice, tamarind rice, coconut rice) 

Tempering for the salted sundals / salads  will be

1. oil + hing powder + mustard seeds
2. Oil + mustard seeds + urad + hing powder
3. Oil + mustard seeds + hing powder + Red Chilli Flakes

Masalas :- (Grind it coarsely without water)

1. grated coconut + green chilli + ginger
2. Grated coconut + Red Chilli (fried in oil
3. Grated coconut + Green Chilli
4. Red chilli + Dhania seeds + grated coconut  (fry dhania, red chilli in little oil before grinding)

So alter the tempering items & masals to give a different taste each day

For Sweet items :-

1. Dissolve jaggery in water, filter to remove impurities, add cardamom powder.
2. Use ghee which will enhance the taste of the sweet item

• You can offer the neivedhyams to God early & pack them in compact paper packs by placing it on cling film & wrap using a paper / disposable paper containers (avoid plastics for go green measure) so that you can offer it to your guests while they leave

• Take help of your kids or friends to pack the prashad, to arrange the tamboolam (betel leaves, haldi, kumkum, banana, betel nut, flowers) so that you will get sufficient time attending your guest.

A little planning & preparation will help you make a good host.


You may check out my earlier posts  :-

1. Golu Ideas

2. Park - suggestions 

3. Gift Ideas

Happy Navratri

Jai Mata Di