PAPPU CHEKKALU

INGREDIENTS:

 rice flour - 1cup
water - 1cup
1 tsp -  red chilli pwd
hing - pinch
salt to taste
1/2 tsp  - cumin seeds
2 tbsps -  channa dal (soak in water for an hour and drain)
1 tsp -  ghee or butter (optional)
oil for deep frying

METHOD:

1 Bring a cup of water to boil.
2.  Add salt, red chilli pwd, asafoetida and rice flour and combine. Placee lid and turn of heat. Leave aside to cool.
3.  Once cool, add cumin seeds, channa dal and butter to the rice flour mixture and combine well.
4.  Heat a wide heavy bottomed vessel with enough oil for deep frying.
5.  Take a small lemon sized ball of the dough, place on an oiled plastic sheet or banana leaf and using your fingers shape into a 2″ circle.
6.  Use a fork or knife to make small dents all over the chekkalu so that they don’t puff up when deep frying.
7.  Once the oil is hot, slowly peel the shaped chekkalu off the plastic sheet and slide into the hot oil. Based on the size of vessel and amount of oil, you can deep fry a batch of 5-8 chekkalu. Don’t crowd the vessel with too many chekkalu. Reduce flame to medium and deep fry the chekkalu to a golden colour. Remember the frying has to be done on medium flame to achieve that golden color and crispness.
8.  When the chekkalu turn a golden color use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Repeat the same process till the rest of the dough is done. Cool completely before storing in an air tight  container.

10 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY MARRIED LIFE

The greatest joy and success in life comes from a happy marriage where two equal partners love each other in thought and action, unselfishly put their partner’s concerns over their own, and stays committed no matter the challenges and trials that life inevitably throws at us all. Unfortunately, our society writes songs, makes movies, and engrains into our minds that when two people fall in love and get married, it will of course be ‘happily ever after.’ And yet, the divorce courts are overflowing because ‘happily ever after’ is not achieved because both partners fail to put forth the necessary effort and work, the change and patience, and the love and commitment to make a successful marriage work.


Understandably, no person or marriage is perfect, and some marriages fail and must end for obvious and necessary reasons; however, the overwhelming majority of marriages (and families for that matter) could be saved if both partners put forth more effort to implement these few foundational principles that are at the heart of any happy and successful marriage:

Marrying the person you love and turning your marriage into a happy one – requires immense hard work. A happy marriage concept is slowly fading out, putting a risk factor to marriages. Though marriages are said to be made in heaven, yet the heavenly touch doesn’t always help you strive successfully. One has to make extra efforts to make a marriage successful.

Here, we list down the top 10 tips for happy marriage :

1.Always keep the spark of romance alive – Never must you let the spark die out. You should always express your feeling to your partner and try out ways to make him/her feel special even just without any occasion. The romance will make the relationship spicy and juicy. Even in the worst of times, you should make it a point to tell your beloved how much you love him/her. ‘I Love You’ are those three magical words which brightens up any face and makes the relationship grow fonder and more intimate.

2.Do not nag – Never become a nagging soul in front of your partner. That might do the entire bit to spoil your marital bliss. Maintaining a healthy relationship is important and you can do it only when you value your partner’s likes and dislikes. Nagging is really harmful for maintaining harmony in your married life.

3.Exhibit mutual respect – To make a marriage healthy and happy, both the partners should mutually respect each other and value each other’s emotions and feelings. Both might have a different attitude towards life, but then that’s where your persistence and love towards each other makes your marriage happy.

4.Maintain lucid (honest) communication – For a happy marriage, you should have clear-cut communication between each other such that you can avoid all miscommunication. And as the words go – ‘It’s only words, and words that all I have to take your heart away’. Follow this, talk out your heart, do not keep any inhibitions and you shall rediscover the magic of your relationship every moment.

5.Be trustworthy – Faith, trust and loyalty – basic foundations of any marriage, plays an important role to make the marriage happy. Never lie to your partner or do not suppress facts from him/her – that might land you in trouble later and augment misconceptions.

6.Be Innovative – To keep your romance alive, be innovative at times. The daily chores of life takes away all the sheen and shine. To bring back that spark, do something innovative with each other that the surprise pleases your partner surprisingly. It shall definitely revive the magic of your relationship. Show the affection, care and love in a special way at times. It is needed!

7.Believe in Constructive criticism – Everybody, with their positive and negative traits makes this world a beautiful place to live in. one should recognize each other’s positive traits and criticize the negative traits in a manner that it doesn’t hurt your partner.

8.Compromise – The biggest word in the marriage dictionary is compromise. Though opposites attract, yet leading everyday life with an entity who is entirely different from you takes immense persistence. You need to compromise a big time to sustain the marriage happily. Adjustment with each other is what makes the relationship healthy. And that should come from both the parties.

9.Do not forget special days – For a happy marriage, you should not forget the trivialities of a relationship. Do not forget the important dates in your life – when you might plan to surprise your partner. Making him/her feel the difference is absolutely necessary.

10.Share responsibilities – To keep a marriage healthy, happy and rejuvenating, you should share and delegate your responsibilities among each other such that there is balance at work and home. Team effort always gives you positive results.

MY CUTE LITTLE KIDOOOOO...........

Hi friends,
                    This is my cute little kid preparing filter coffee for his loving mom & dad...

Iam so happy to see this and i wann to share with u all...........

This is my beautiful sweet home............

My lovely garden fresh roses...............

And friends now i wann to share special guest...........

"ABI & SASHI"

two lovely couple.........

and my kids best friends............

These are the special guests..........

And now comes my hubby's favourite god................

This is really a very special statue in my life presented by my loving friend cum sister when my hubby went to onset tour to u.k.......

JIFFY COOKING TIPS FOR WORKING WOMEN...

                                                                     TIP : 1

1. Plan your menu in such a way that you definitely include any one dhal everyday without fail.


For working women, the following method will be easy:


a.) Weekly once cook 1 cup tur dhal, ½ cup of moong dhal & ½
cup of gram dhal and stock in the fridge – not freezer. Take out just before use. Remember to use a dry ladle & keep the dhal back immediately.


b.) To cook tur dhal, first wash well & soak in 4 volumes of water for 6-8 hrs or the previous night. The volume can be less for gram dhal. Use 5 volumes for moong dhal, to avoid a thick dhal. Cook moong dhal for just one whistle, gram dhal for 2 whistles & tur dhal for 4 to get it soft. I add 2-3 drops of castor oil ( yes!) to tur dhal besides haldi.


c.)The top clear water in cooked dhal can be used for rasam.


e.) Those who have the leisure can cook dhal fresh, if they so prefer. Always soak dhal without forgetting, to get soft dhal, in a shorter time.


f.) Make tamarind paste & stock, once a fortnight. Keep this also in the fridge & use a dry spoon.


g.) Squeeze 5-6 lemons, add little salt & keep in the fridge. Do not stock for more than a week.


h.) Always stock, any one green chutney ( mint or coriander), onion chutney & tomato chutney in the fridge. This will be handy as a side dish for tiffins and doubles up as a sandwich spread also. Do not add coconut if you stock like this. For fresh sandwiches, use green chutney with cucumber or tomato slices. For toasted sandwich, use this as a filling with a cheese slice.


i.) Any soft dosai, spread with any one of these these chutneys & folded with a sprinkling of water, makes a lunch box tiffin.


j.) As soon as you buy coriander & mint, clean, wash & dry some. In ½ tsp oil, fry the same with enough green chillies & stock in a box. On the days you make coconut chutney or fried gram chutney, add tbsp of this to get an interesting variation.


k.) Coconut can be grated and kept in the freezer compartment.Take it out an hour before use & freeze it again. By careful, correct use, the rancid smell setting in, can be prevented.


l.) Soak whole moong ½ cup for 8 hrs after washing well. Drain & tie loosely in a cloth. Keep in a casserole. In just 12 hrs, it will sprout very well. Keep in the fridge for a week. Mix in any salad, use with mixed vegetables for upma etc.


m.) As soon as you buy all vegetables, chop and mix 1 cup each of carrots, beans, cauliflower, cabbage with peas and corn. Freeze in small ziplock covers. Ideal for use in kurma, mixed vegetable upma, a quick dish with white sauce for topping toasts etc.


                                                              TIPS : 2



For dry curris keep these powders always ready:


1 - Roast & powder coarse


Red chillies – 6
Dhaniya – 2 tbsp
Peanuts – 2 tbsp
Seasame seeds – 2 tbsp


2- Dry roast 4,5 red chillies & powder with ½ cup fried gram
The first is good for brinjal, kovakkai etc.
The latter can be sprinkled in place of coconut for any curry


                                                                 TIPS : 3
1. As soon as you buy Bombay rava & lapsi, roast it very well on a low fire. This prevents the worms  and also it is easy to prepare jiffy upma because it is pre-roasted.


2. Once in 2 weeks, pepare upma mix &; refrigerate for super-fast upma making !


 Heat oil, temper all ingredients, add rava & salt ( ie everything except water). Refrigerate, in ziplock covers. To make upma, take out a cover, add one packet of frozen cooked vegetables & water. (2 cups for Bombay rava & 3 cups for lapsi). Cook stirring on low fire till done.



3. Whenever you grind for idli plan that dough for a week.

HOW TO GET YOUR HUSBAND'S LOVE

If after exhausting all your efforts, you still cannot find the best ways of how to make your husband love you, then this article is for you. Here, you will learn about the so many ways by which you can bring back your husband’s love to make everything the way they were before. Really, it would be very nice if you can bring back the feelings you felt for each other when you were still frantically in love with one another. Yes, many women are now complaining about their husbands not spending quality time with them anymore.

Instead, they would rather spend their time with their friends or better yet, would rather sit in the couch the whole day watching the TV. If you can relate to these, then you should read the following tips to help you realize the best techniques of how to make your husband love you.

Tip #1: Make it a point to never show any sign of aggressiveness to your husband; aggressiveness in the sense that you tend to nag him every time. If you really wish your husband to love you more once again, then you should make it a habit to steer clear from your habit of nagging. Otherwise, if you continue to do your nagging habits, you might just find your husband going farther away from you each time.

Tip #2: Second, give him some space when you know he especially needs it. You can say that you already know how to make your husband love you when you have already developed an open mind that your husband may be having problems and therefore, needs you more to understand him. Or better yet, that there could be something from his work that might be stressing him, or financial issues that are bothering him, which of course, call for a deeper understanding and support coming from you as the wife.

Tip #3: Next, make sure you stop making him the center of your life. Your husband would appreciate you more if you will take some time to also work on your self while you are apart. Take that time as a perfect opportunity for contemplating as to how to make your husband love you. What is more, you should know that husbands hate it when the wives sit all day long simply to wait for them to arrive.

Tip #4: And even though you may have been married for a long time now, make sure to always be there for each other. You should stay physically as well as emotionally close after all these years; however, should you truly wish to understand how you can make your husband love you more once again, all you need to do is remind him of how much you love each other and rekindle the exact reasons of your togetherness at the moment.

Really, how to make your husband love you all depends on you. Remember, you do not have to get all tied up to being the wife that you are; bear in mind that you also need to have your own life, your own circle of friends, and your own old self to make sure you will learn the techniques of how to make your husband love you till the end

LEGS AND HAND CARE TIPS

                                                     LEG CARE TIPS

As the summer season has rolled over gently and is gradually making way to a charming rainy season, so it is no doubt that everyone is eager to flash the pins. A pair of beautiful legs has got much to induce an attractive appeal to the appearance of a woman.




The legs happen to be a part of the body which is often been neglected but it is no way a nice thing to do. Most of the damozels often tend to hide their legs under jeans and tights but if they start flaunting it., then it will indeed be legs at its best. Many people often feel shy to display their legs, but it is no way an obscene act if a part of the legs is seen till knee height. There are various well designed attires that give one a chance to flaunt their legs at it best without creating a raunchy attribute. The only essential to this happen to be keeping ones figure and the leg in shape and taking adequate care so that the skin of the leg should be soft, smooth and glowing with health. Here are few tips on having an attractive pair of leg. They are simple but easy way to boost up the beauty of your leg.


9Tips on Care of Leg:




After the long drawn winter and at the advent of the warm spring, the legs seem to lack the usual glow to a great extent.
 1. The easiest way to restore the charm is brush the leg softly. This will stimulate the blood circulation and the dead skin cells are eliminated by it. The motion of brushing the legs will be a circular one and should continue from the toes in an upward direction towards the thigh


2.After doing this take a refreshing shower and give an aquatic massage to the limbs. It is best to use an exfoliant based on salt and render a circular massage to the areas mostly prone to dull looks, such as, top of legs and back of thighs. If someone is suffering from the cellulite problem, then ground coffee could be used as a scrub. Coffee is indeed a great anti-cellulite element and removes the lumps and the bumps effectively.




3. The next step is nothing other than a hair removal session. One can go for waxing, which should be done under careful professional guidance. Otherwise a good quality razor could be used and it should be done after taking a bath, as the wet hair is hydrated enough to be shaved properly. Still, always be careful while undertaking the task of shaving, as a small cut can hamper the beauty of the legs immensely.


4. Once the hair removal session is over, clean the legs with lukewarm water. Then pat them dry with a soft towel.


5.  Apply a moisturizer immediately, as the wet skin will absorb the lotion much better. Choose the lotion according to the type of your skin, apply it generously and massage it well for a while with long, sweeping motion.


6. The legs will already look beguiling by means of the essential care. So, the next concern will be the care of the feet. A pedicure will make it look absolutely awesome. On can go for pedicure under expert hands but it is also nice to do it yourself comfortably at home.


7. First remove the old nail color and trim the toe nails straight and then file them to have a square shape with round corners. Add few drops of olive oil to soften the cuticle and then push them back.


8. Next, take a foot file and rub it on the heels and the soles to remove the hard dead cells. Then use a good quality foot cream to massage the feet for quite some time. As it gets adequately moisturized then remove the extra oil by means of a cotton ball soaked in warm water.


9. Hence, comes the time of applying the nail color. First put a base coat and as it dries off, then put a coat of your favorite shades. Dark shades are nice for toe nails but the final choice rests upon your discretion. Remove the excess polish from the edge of the nails with a cotton ball dipped in polish remover.


Soon, you will be ready to slip into a nice pair of summer sandals and start swanking your legs, which are absolutely beach ready.


                                   HAND CARE TIPS


It isn't enough if you have a gorgeous face and a soft and glowing skin. Your rough hands and calloused feet might give the whole game away. Keep your hands and feet soft and supple too. Here's how :


Handsreveal your true age. The skin on your hands is thin and delicate; you need to take special care of them.


1. •Soak hands in warm water for five minutes and then pat dry with a soft towel.


2. •When dry, cut your nails (they will have softened with the soaking). Always remember to file nails in one direction and not back and forth as it will split the nails and weaken them.


3•Use a hand cream on your fingers and the back of your hand

SKIN CARE TIPS FOR RAINY SEASON.........

Monsoon is season to rejuvenate all the living things on the planet. It is a refreshing season that makes you feel that beauty tips cane forgotten for some time. However as the intermittent showers pour high, you may notice some uneasiness with the skin. Here are some easy tips to maintain your youthful skin during this monsoon.


One of the major skin care issue during monsoon is the tendency to develop fungal infections in our body folds such as the armpits, groin and the area between our toes. One way to take care of this is to use an anti-fungal soap and the application of anti-fungal powder after bath. Never keep your skin wet for a long time and as you get out of the rain take a bath in lukewarm water.

If you develop a dry skin during the rainy season, apply a mixture of rosewater and glycerin on your face before you go to bed every night. You can also make a paste of almond and honey and leave on your face for 20 minutes. This will soften your skin.


The common skin type during the rainy season is the oily one. Use a water-based moisturiser and make sure you wash your face three times a day. Besan or channa powder mixed with rosewater or milk will also cleanse your skin and soak up the extra oil.


Here are some common skin care tips that you should follow in monsoon:

•Use a non-soapy cleanser that ensures deep pore cleansing to wash away impurities from your skin.

•A non-alcoholic toner incorporated into your basic cleansing regime will prevent skin infections and eruptions.

•Use a face scrub twice a week to exfoliate.

•Avoid heavy moisturizing creams or oily foundations and cream-based colour makeup.

•A face wash containing alpha hydroxyl acid helps to freshen the skin, but do not use it more than once a day.

•Never rub your skin while drying it.

•Don't avoid the sunscreen lotion during the rainy season. As long as there is daylight, our skin needs protection from UVA and UVB rays.

GREEN PEAS MASALA

INGREDIENTS:

Green peas - 1cup
Onions - 1(chopped)
Green chillies - 5 slits
Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp
Salt
Garam masala - 1tsp
Tomatoes - 2(chopped)
Daneya powder - 1tsp
Jeera powder - 1/2tsp
Oil - 2tbsp
Coriander leaves - 3tbsp(chopped)
Haldi - 1/4tsp

METHOD:

1.  Chop onions, green chillies, and tomatoes and keep aside.

2. Take a pressure cooker add 2tbsp oil and heat it.

3. Add chopped onions and green chillies and saute well.

4. Now add ginger garlic paste , daneya powder, jeera powder, haldi and fry nicely until the  raw smell disappears.

5. Then add chopped tomatoes and fry until  the oil comes out.

6. Then add green peas, and garam masala powder  let it cook for 5mins.

7. Add water and close the lid and leave the gas for 3whistles.

Goes good with kerala puttu , rice , roti....................

DRUMSTICK SAMBHAR

INGREDIENTS:

Toor Dal - 1 cup
Drumstick -  1
Sambar Onions - 100 gms
Sambar Powder - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Tamarind pulp - small lime size
Coriander Leaves - few chopped
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to Taste
Turmeric a pinch

For Seasoning

Mustard Seeds + Urud Dal + Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - few
Garlic - 4 pods

Method to Prepare:
1. Clean Toor Dal and pressure cook it with 2 drops of Oil and turmeric.
2.  This makes it cook fast. Keep it for 2 whistle.
3. Soak tamarind and extract pulp from it.
4. Chop onions, tomatoes, keep aside.
5.  Chop drumstick, the outer skin is also very healthy, so should not be peeled. Chop them into finger length pieces
6. Boil a cup of water and once it starts boiling, drop in drumstick and cook till its tender. This should not be pressure cooked as it gets over cooked.
7. To the cooked Dal, add the chopped tomatoes and Sambar powder, salt.
8.  Cook for another whistle. Finally add the tamarind pulp along with required water. Bring to boil. simmer it while you temper with seasonings.
9. Heat oil in a pan, add the seasoning ingredients.
10. Then add chopped onions, Once they are golden in colour, add to the simmering dal along with cooked drumstick pieces.
11. Cook on high flame for 5 mins, then simmer for 10 mins till its cooked well. Garnish with coriander leaves.
 
 

KERALA PUTTU

INGREDIENTS:                                                 

Raw Rice(Pachari) - 1/2 kg

Coconut - 1/2 of one

Water - to sprinkle      
Salt - As reqd

METHOD:

1)Soak rice in water for 4 hrs.

2)Leave it to drain and grind it to make fine powder.

3)Heat the powder for 5 minutes. While heating it, keep on stirring.
4)Keep the fried powder to cool.
5)Mix salt with water and sprinkle this to the powdered rice just to make the powder wet(do not put a lot of water).

6)For making puttu, use PUTTUKUTTI. Put a handful of grated coconut in the puttu kutty and then put rice powder till half followed by another handful of grated coconut. This is done till the top. Close the lid and steam it for 2 minutes.

Note : Instead of making puttu powder, you can use rice flour (1 cup) instead and follow the same procedure to make it.

 Serve puttu hot.................................................

 Best combination for puttu is with kadala (chana) curry.
 Puttu is also very easy to make. Now a days you can get puttu powder ready made in all the stores


 
 
 

COCONUT BALLS

INGREDIENTS:
Coconut fresh (grated) - 2cup
Jagerry - 1/2 cup

METHOD:

1. Take a pan  heat it.
2. Add fresh grated coconut and roast it little.
3. Now add jagerry and mix well until the jagerry dissolves.
4. It should be sticky to make balls.
5. Take the mixture in a bowl.

Apply some ghee to your palms and  make like small round balls.

This can be stored in air tight container for 15 days............................

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCLATE MILKSHAKE

INGREDIENTS:

Peanut butter - 4tbsp

Banana - 1

Milk (boiled &chillied) - 1cup    
Choclate syrup - 3tbsp

Raisins - 1/4cup

Ice cubes - 1/4 cup

 Sugar - 4tbsp

Garnishing: grated bar choclate or choclate syrup

METHOD:

1. In a  mixy  jar add raisins, and beat well once.

2. Then add ice cubes.

3. Now add peanutbutter, milk, banana chopped, choclate syrup, sugar and grind well till foamy.

serve chilli .................................