Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Desi Semmelknoedel

I have new found respect for all Food Bloggers. And all Food Photographers. Seriously. You guys rock.

When I first read about the Giveaways at various Food Blogs and decided to participate, I didn't think much. The most difficult part would be deciding on an easy enough recipe. Or so I thought. 
No, the most difficult part was taking photographs while cooking, coz mostly, my handy were covered with food and I didn't want my camera to be covered with food. Then the writing this blog post. That seriously wasn't easy. Even though I have probably read hundreds of recipes. The picture adding was the worse part. It took me ages to add them in the order that I wanted it to be and then the preview looked horrible. So the whole process started again...

Please forgive my amateurish pictures. I'm a newbie, so show me some sympathy? Pretty please with a cherry on top? :)

Somehow I managed and here I would finally like to present my version of Semmelknoedel



Desi Semmelknödel


Semmelknödel is a typical, south German, Austrian, bohemian recipe. Semmel means old bread. So it is the best way to use old hard bread. Knoedel signifies the round form, but I didn't make them round. Normally it is eaten as a side dish with a Non-Veg Dish. As I don't cook Non Veg, I decided to make it as a snack and had it with my Chai.
I have twinged the recipe a bit to adapt it to my Indian taste. Since it is steamed and then shallow fried in olive oil, I count it as a guilt free snack :) The indian flavors were mouth watering. Serve with the chutney of your choice or with Ketchup. I took my inspiration from here, here and here. So lets move on the the recipe.

Ingredients: 

Bread
Egg
Milk (if needed)
Onions
Green Chili
Garlic
Pepper
Red Chili Powder
Garam Masala
Salt 
Dry or Fresh Herbs

Jeera
Lemon
Chaat Masala
Oil

Method:

1) Roast the bread pieces in the oven.










 2) Chop the onions, green chili and garlic.

 


 


  













3) Chop the bread pieces.





















4) Mix the bread pieces, onions, green chili, garlic and all the spices and herbs in bowl.


















5) Add the eggs and mix it together with your hands.










6) Add a fresh piece of bread or milk to adjust the consistency. The mixture should be moist enough to make it in balls or in my case sausages.

7) Take a piece of aluminium foil and spread this mixture on it as shown in the picture below.











8) Roll this into a sausage like package as shown in the picture.











9) Bring water to a boil.

10) Put our rolled aluminium sausages in the water for about 10 minutes. 












11) Take the sausages out and let them cool for a few minutes.











12) Remove the foil and cut the sausages in small medals.










 









13) Heat some oil in a frying pan.

14) Add some Jeera for taste.

 









15) Shallow fry the Semmelknoedel medals lightly from both sides.












 









16) Arrange them neatly on a plate. Sprinkle some lemon juice and chaat masala.










17) Serve with the chutney of your choice or Ketchup.
 


If you want you can add some cheese in the middle of the batter. This will taste heavenly and add calories to this dish.










Trivia:

  • I used some white bread and whole grain toast. You can choose your bread according to your health preferance. 
  • Adjust the spices according to you taste.

 Please do try out this dish and let me know how you liked it in the comments box.



Sending this recipe to

1)  Yashodhaskitchen

http://yashodhaskitchen.blogspot.fr/2012/11/my-first-event-thanks-giving.html

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for family and my friends. Since I live away from them, I miss them all horribly and can't wait for the Christmas vacations, so that I can finally see them again :)


2) Sirisfood

http://www.sirisfood.com/2012/11/celebrating-first-anniversary-win.html



3) 60 Days to Christmas

http://youtoocancookindianfood.blogspot.in/2012/10/60-days-to-christmas-event-and-giveaway.html

Friday, November 23, 2012

It's raining....Giveaways

Its the festival season. What with Diwali which just whooshed by and Thanksgiving knocking on your door and Christmas and New Year just round the corner. Apparently its Giveaway season too. Coz quite a few cooking blogs are holding some fantastic Giveaways, specially for all who are in India. Some Giveaways and due to the festive season and some are blog anniversaries. I'm posting the links to the sites. Please do have a look and enjoy all the delicacies. Don't forget to leave a "Happy Birthday Blog" Wish while you are checking out these awesome blogs.

You will be directed to the Giveaway Announcement Page by clicking at the Logo.

1)  First one up is 
Thanksgiving Giveaway


2) Then there is 

First Anniversay Giveaway

I already posted about this Giveaway here. So please checkout that post as well.


3)  For all Coffee-Lovers there is a Giveaway at

Blog-iversary Giveaway


4) I read about Divya and Priya's Christmas and New Years Giveaway

60 Days to Christmas


So this is all I know about. If you have any new Giveaways please do leave me a comment and let me know. I'll feature it in my list too.
Happy Cooking, Happy Blogging and Happy Participating :)

 Edited to add: 

5) Littlefoodjunction's Giveaway
 littlefoodjunction.blogspot.in 

Littlefoodjunction' Festive Giveaway

http://littlefoodjunction.blogspot.in/2012/11/giveaway.html#.UK_x54Zc7oY 


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Worst Week Ever

This has probably been my worst week ever. First I sprained my ankle. Meaning I can't drive, I can't walk properly, I cant stand on my feet for more than five minutes coz that hurts my feet. I'm having trouble sleeping coz I can't place my legs the way I would like to coz that too hurts my leg *surprise surprise*. But somehow I was managing. I still went to work coz I had too much on my plate and want to finish as soon as possible so that I can leave "No Man's Land". I asked one of my colleagues to pick me up and drop me back home  It would get better soon I said to myself.

Then my boss informed me, he will be visiting my workplace to asses my work progress. Sort of like a test. I am seriously nervous about that. I haven't been to visit the contract site for quite a few weeks as I had a lot of work to do in control room. He will probably have a lot of questions about the site and that has been giving been jitters, panic attacks and sleepless nights (and coz of the leg-pain too) for the past week. And how am I supposed to show him around with my injured leg?

Then I had an infection in my ears which made my hearing abilities pretty questionable. It wasn't anything serious, or at least I think it isn't. I haven't had the time to go to doctor for another check-up. 

If you though that was the last straw...no there is more...

Worst of all is that today my mobile slipped out of my hand and my screen is broken. I'm still able to receive calls and call people for now...unfortunately I don't know for how long this will work. And I don't know if my alarm will work. How am I supposed to wake up in the morning without that? I can't buy myself a new one coz the nearest electronic shop is like 40 kms away and I can't drive, remember?

I know it might sound shallow, but I can live with arm, leg and heart break...but ask me to live without technology (car, mobile, Internet) and I'll go bonkers.

How will I survive in "No Man's Land" till end of 2012 without my trusted phone???? *sob sob*

Yes, Murphy loves me...


P.S. Because of all these developments I'm putting "Adventures with Cooking" on hold. May be I'll come back to it, if things get better. Knowing my luck, the chances seem pretty grim :(
  

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Cooking and Me

I must admit I'm not a good cook. I mostly manage with pastas, curd rice and maybe an occasional khichdi. That's all. But I love eating. I am a huuuge Foodie (Not only in my passion for Food but unfortunately because of this addiction also in size). I love trying new dishes in restaurants and watch cooking shows rigorously. I not only love prominent shows like Jamie Oliver, Khana Khazana but also shows where normal people share their cooking secret like Das Perfekte Dinner etc.

On Internet I love Cooking Blogs. I have about 4 blogs on my Blog roll I check out whenever I see an update and quite a few Blogs I check sporadically. So when I saw this post from http://www.sirisfood.com, I decided to repost it and try my hand at cooking and posting about it. I'm not sure what  I'm going to cook, if it will be tasty at all, will I be able to eat it or will it land in the dustbin (like the Belchamel Sauce I tried to make last week). I'm not sure if what I'm trying to do is bravery or bravery bordering on foolishness. But after following Siri's Blog for quite some time I would like to give this a try. Anyways after my small stunt with the step I don't really have anything better to do and need something new to get out of my boredom. What can be better than not only trying some cooking but also gaining some weight (as if I'm super slim or something :/) :D

Giveaway @Sirisfood


No, I'm not in this for the Giveaway, even though I wouldn't mind gifting my mother this machine where you make noodles out of idlis *hint hint*. Why my mom and not me, you ask? Well she is the cooking brain in the family I swear. Apparently cooking genes skip generations in my family. My great-grandmother was an amazing cook, so my granny turned out to be lazy and only made the essentials. My mom loves cooking and experimenting and I turned out to be the kind of person who cooks only the essential minimum. Seriously, I consider warming a pizza or a pre-cooked dish cooking and am an expert at that :D In my defence, there is heat involved so that's cooking and thats my logic, so don't argue with me, ok? Ok :)

Since my weekend starts tomorrow and to my utter displeasure it has already started snowing in "No Mans Land", I have decided to start my "Adventures with Cooking" from tomorrow. Lets see if I can consequently follow my plans, as I'm a big procrastinator.

So here's to @Sirisfood and to my "Adventures with Cooking"...cheers :)


 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Happy Diwali

Wishing everyone a very happy Diwali glowing with peace, joy and prosperity!



A small Diwali Puja in my humble abode





Festivals always remind you of home. Living alone in "No Man's Land" has definitely taught me that. Even though the days when I used to celebrate Diwali in India are long gone, but still Diwali celebration at my parents' house (in south Germany) is still more special than having a small Puja at my place and with pudding as offering (chocolate pudding, a small comfort). 
I talked to Amma and told her that I had a small Puja with Anuradha Paudwal's Om Jai Jagdish blaring from YouTube as Aarti. Hearing her make Payasam and Suji ka Halwa made my mouth water. Wish I was at home gorging all those savories. Missing the Puja I do at home with proper diyas instead of candles with kukum, vibudhi and a proper Aarti.

Speaking of Food, I have been getting a high from Nags, Siri's, Priya's and Sangeetha's Diwali Savories Blog-o-thon. Loving all the lovely recipes they are posting and the food photographs are so wonderful, that they make my mouth water just looking at them. My mom is a wonderful cook and she has made all these wonderful snacks and sweets which are typical for Diwali. Unfortunately she forgot to pass on the cooking gene, so I'm happy with having pudding and pasta. 

Wishing these wonderful cooks a very happy diwali. May this festival of lights be festival of joy for you and your family :)

As of recent I have started reading quite a lot on Mommy  Blogs. I don't know why, but I have been having a lot of fun reading them. Though no where near to being a mommy any time soon, I still want to take this opportunity and wish Kiran, Parul, Boo (didi) also a very happy diwali. May your Diwali be a celebration of beautiful colors and many sparkles.





Monday, November 12, 2012

Murphy and me

After being in "No Man's Land" for more than a year, I finally decided it was time to change a few things...
What changes, you might ask, dear readers. So here is the whole deal:

In the past year I had gained some weight. Correction:  not some, but quite a lot of weight. I would easily go as far as comparing myself to a baby elephant *sob* *sob*. So I decided to do some sports to regain my size zero figure (sarcasm). For those who don't know me, I never was a size zero person and never will be. I'm a desperate foodie and hate all kinds of sports.

But something had to be done regarding my weight. So I put my thinking cap. 
Since it is now Fall/Winter here and that means most of the time it will be raining and cold outside. That means all kinds of outdoor activities ideas can be easily discarded. Anyways I have always hated jogging and any kind of running around activity. So what to do now?

I talked about this to my site secretary and she told me, she read about Zumba classes nearby. That's perfect I thought. I love dancing and fast paced dancing will definitely help me improve my fitness condition. The classes were Thursdays at a place I didn't know and Fridays at a place pretty close to my office. 6 p.m. sharp.

Friday came. I was excited about the classes. At sharp 5:45 p.m. I left office dressed in my sports pants and t-shirt (minus the sports shoes, but with regular shoes...long story, another post? Let me know if you are interested). Drove to the address given by my secretary. No one was there. Has the class been cancelled? was my first thought. Would be typically my luck. But I was a bit early, I consoled myself. I saw a group of guys hanging nearby and I decided to approach them to find out. I was informed that the classes alternated weekly between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. So I decided to hang around with the guys and left them as soon as I saw someone entering the community hall where the classes took place.

It was fantastic. I had a little trouble catching up with all the steps, but nothing I couldn't master with a bit of practice. The class was attended by 12 to 15 ladies all in varying ages. So no need to feel guilty or embarrassed. It was fun and I loved it.
Even though 6 Euros per class is a bit expensive for me, I was still considering going there every week, possibly even twice a week. So all was well till Friday and I went to bed with my conscience happy that I had finally done some sports. Things could only get better from here. Or so I thought.


Murphy decided to intervene. How you ask? Here is how:

Saturday morning I went for my usual home shopping buying bread, milk and the usual stuff. After that I decided to treat myself with a piece of cake since I had definitely burned a lot of calories with Zumba the previous evening. I went to the Cafe just opposite my house. Just I was entering the Cafe, I slipped a step, tripped on my own feet and down I went. My foot was swollen like a big apple. I had to cry because of the pain and all my dreamy of dancing Zumba went down the drain like my tears which were pouring down my face.

The Cafe belongs to my Landlady, so thankfully she came to my rescue. Her daughter drove me to the nearby nightmarish (Theme for another post?) hospital. I was x-rayed and to cut a long story short, my ankle is sprained. Lots of rest. Cool the damn foot. Keep the bandage on. Eat the pain killers and be put said the doctor. I can't believe Karma/ Destiny/ God/ Murphy is soooo against me. When I finally decided to do some sports, they had to come and make this happen which has made me very limited in my movement. Great, isn't it?

Why oh why did this have to happen to me????

*sob* *sob* please send a little sympathy guys? I desperately need it :(