ala Profile

Latest Blog Posts

• Dates and Candied Orange Peel Biscotti
  on Oct 28, 2014 in cookies snacks
                               I stood there for about five minutes or so, watching the cobbler fix my footwear on a sunny afternoon a few months back and I heard his friend dis...
• Teeny Tiny Biscuits From The Past !!!!!
  on Oct 14, 2014 in General
                      I love watching the surprised and happy expressions of people everytime I give them these tiny tiger brita biscuits. Invariably the first question that comes out of almost every mo...
• Chocolate Cup Cake With Strawberry Jam
  on Sep 27, 2014 in cake chocolate
                    For long I had envisioned making large chocolate cup cakes dark and spongy, topped with little studs of chocolate chips, somthing that should be enticing and taste nothing but chocolate.
• Gandhakasala Ghee Rice And Kaayalpattinam Kalakkari
  on Aug 30, 2014 in Mutton Rice
                         I am not much of a meat eater, I love my veggies and that’s one of the reason this post was delayed. I may not be a meat lover but the people I cook for, are and the...
• Moody Monsoon!
  on Jul 14, 2014 in General
                                        Oops! I have done it again, disappearing one more time, remaining silent and leaving behind confused readers.  W...
• How To Make Ghee - The Traditional South Indian Method
  on May 12, 2014 in General gramathu samayal
                  The very second the Drumstick leaves are dropped in the hot ghee, the lovely crackling sound and the aroma wafting through the air, will bring my son where ever he was running to the kitchen and...
• How To Make Ghee - The Traditional South Indian Method - Home Made Ghee
  on May 12, 2014 in General gramathu samayal
                  The very second the Drumstick leaves are dropped in the hot ghee, the lovely crackling sound and the aroma wafting through the air, will bring my son where ever he was running to the kitchen and...
• How To Make Ghee (Nei) - The Traditional South Indian Method - Home Made Ghee
  on May 12, 2014 in General gramathu samayal Home made ghee
                  The very second the Drumstick leaves are dropped in the hot ghee, the lovely crackling sound and the aroma wafting through the air, will bring my son where ever he was running to the kitchen and...
• Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies With Pistachios And Rose
  on May 2, 2014 in cookies
                               Some time during the 90’s, whistling a happy tune and fiddling in the kitchen, I caught the attention of my father who was working in the garden...
• Fruit Mix Sarbath, Nongu Sarbath - Summer Drinks, Mixed Fruits Sherbet and Palm fruit/ Ice Apple Sherbet
  on Apr 13, 2014 in Drink traditional food
                                 It took me some time to decide not to abandon my blog, casting away the frustrations  that was eating me up in the recent months, seei...
• Cheeni Mittai, Karupatti Mittai
  on Mar 2, 2014 in Sweets traditional food
                                      Now don't get me all wrong and assume I am digging into traditional recipes on purpose. Believe me, it is pure coincidence!
• Kanchipuram Koil Idly
  on Feb 18, 2014 in Breakfast traditional food
                        Not every batter that has pepper and cumin makes a "Kanchipuram idly", a false belief that prevails among people, surprisingly spread by people who have never been to kanchi...
• Vendakkai Poriyal - Okra Stir Fry and BLACK STONE POTTERY
  on Feb 5, 2014 in Porial
                       I have a strange craze for earthen wares and ceramic pottery. Food cooked in earthen wares carry a distinctive taste. I once had a couple of earthen kadais, which gave a beau...
• Thennattu Suvai- Padhaneer, Andi paruppu... - Southern Delicacies
  on Jan 29, 2014
                           'Theluvu', that's the other name for padhaneer or atleast that's how I am familiar with this drink right from my childhood. Back in Salem, some three decades ag...
• Azhagarkoil Dosai
  on Jan 20, 2014
                      One mistake I would never do is to replicate speciality foods that's been popular for ages in a particular place or region. The same goes with prasadhams from a madapalli too. All...
• Musumusukkai, Thoodhuvalai, Pannai keerai, Sukkang keerai, Araik keerai - Mukia maderaspatana, Solanum Trilobatum, Celosia Argentea, Rumex Vesicarius, Marselea Quadrifolia
  on Dec 24, 2013 in chutney traditional food
                       It is said that, in the coming years antibiotics are going to be less effective, as the diseases have become more resistant to it. But our food culture has always been on the...
• Crochet In Chennai!
  on Dec 20, 2013 in General
                            If you love crochet stay with me, you might find this post interesting, others carry on browsing the recipes! A craft that I learnt as a kid became a...
• Thulasi Mittai - Holy Basil Throat Drops
  on Dec 12, 2013 in Sweets traditional food
                           The cold winds of december has brought down the temperature in Chennai to a drastic level prompting us to reach for warm clothes, something that is happening af...
• Beet Chocolate Pots
  on Nov 28, 2013 in chocolate
                            I wish I could give you all a spoonful of my Beet Chocoalte Pots and see you smacking your lips, craving for more, while the orange scented, satin smooth choco...
• Kattan Chai - Black Tea
  on Nov 19, 2013 in traditional food Drink
                     After a small breakfast like a bird's food, this old man from nagercoil, who was in his seventies, with a slight limp and a frail body, would climb down the stairs, find a shady cor...