THE 'TITLE' I EARNED...PACHAKARANI 2011

There's so much to tell you all, so very much! Sadly that will have to wait as I'm travelling right now covering 3-4 states in a day's time, in India.I'm off to Kashmir tomorrow to spend sometime with my family, Jobin's sisters family. So when I return, I shall update you with some pictures that I took from here and there during my small trip. Also, I must tell you that I am so badly tanned by the Goa sun! It seems it was raining there all this while but the days we were there, the sun was shining gloriously and I feared I would look like a pakora in my bestest cousin's bridesmaid dress, which I did in the end :-)

Okay, now about the picture you just saw above. Some of you must have read it on newspaper or read about it on Facebook There was a competition that me and Amma had enrolled  for and we were lucky enough to be selected together. It was such a happy moment for the two of us ! There was a preliminary round where I baked a Triple Veggie Quiche & BBQ Chicken Meat balls. I came first in the 'Malabar' zone and was qualified for the finals at the State level. Amma came second. Then the finals were held in Kottayam on Sept. 6th at Windsor Castle. I made my forever favourite Chatti Pathiri & Mocha Chocolate Mascarpone Verrine. Those were my winning dishes. I never thought I'd win. I just wanted to participate along with Amma as it's very rare for a mother-daughter duo to reach finals together. All these dishes were made on the spot so we really have to prove it to them that we can do it :)

The title I earned is 'Pachakarani 2011' which means I'm the Queen of Cooking for 2011 at the Kerala state level. It was conducted by a very popular Malayalam magazine 'Vanitha' in collaboration with Whirlpool.It's such a huge honor for me as there were so many seasoned cooks competing along with me for that title. We were judged by the Executive Chefs of Taj & Dietitians. I've been to the finals of the same 4 years ago in 2008 where I came 5th. This time, I was able to prove better :-) I am so happy for Amma too since she bagged the 2nd place :) We were the most happiest souls on earth that day.

When this photograph came on the newspaper, we were travelling so Appan had to scan and send it to me yesterday once he reached home :)

Will be back with more updates,shortly! I hope all of you are doing well! Thanks to all who wrote to me after seeing this article on the newspaper :-) You guys make me feel so loved & special!! Thank you :)

FEATURED ONCE AGAIN BACK TO BACK on 4 editions! :-)

This morning as I woke up to Facebook ;-) I saw a post by my blogger friend Ambika Venkat on my profile page saying that my recipe for the NUTELLA- COCONUT MILK BREAD PUDDING   is featured on Deccan Chronicle 's (Hyderabad Edition) Sunday Chronicle.Can you imagine how excited I was? Very very much! It feels so great to be acknowledged for what I am doing even though I had no idea what I was getting into when this little blog started!

Later, a sweet reader, Preetha Suju mentioned that it is present in the Chennai Edition too! Maybe now you can imagine how excited I would have been then! :) I would like to mention that the photograph they have on the blog is not mine but theirs. I sincerely wish they had taken mine :-) It would have been so perfect! Oh, this OCD-ic woman likes everything to be perfect, if you must know ;-)

This is a delicious bread pudding made with Coconut milk & Nutella. The coconut milk flavors the pudding very lightly and it does not overpower the taste of Nutella. Try it if you are looking for a change or simply try it just to see why it was featured on Deccan Chronicle :) I am sure you are going to like it no matter what! :-)

You can read the article here . Make sure you read it as they have given some additions that may take this pudding to another level! :-)

This article is present on Hyderabad, Bangalore,Chennai & Kochi edition! What a way to start a week! :)

Have an awesome week ahead, wonderful people!

I AM GOING HOME TODAY!

Yes, you read it right! I am going home. I will be in my dear dear Kannur very soon! I'll get to be in my room, my bed, my bathroom and oh! my cupboard with my old soft clothes :) Will see you all in a few days with treats from Amma's kitchen! :) That is if Appan lets Amma do the cooking and not ME as planned, by him! :-) Life of a food blogger! Sigh! ;-)

This pic was taken on 28 Feb 2010 when we flew together to the US for the very first time after our wedding. I was so excited to see the new country...experience everything what I have been dreaming of. Now, I am going home...after a year and a half, almost! So you can see how excited I am! :)

So everything is packed and I am doing the last minute cooking to stock up whatever little I can. Oh wait, the meat is done, let me go and check on that! :)

See you all soon!

WHEN A DREAM COMES TRUE.

Idream a L.O.T! There are no boundaries to that, for me. I don't remember which birthday it was but I once received a coffee mug from Chandini Aunty which said 'Dream. Only you can make your dreams come true'. It is insanely true. You have to work on it if you want it to happen. You have to be persistent  Fortunately for some, it just happens :-)
There is a store here in Minneapolis called the Kitchen Window. They are the biggest in the US (that's what I am told) with 14,000 items. I should say, it's a magical store. It is my wonderland. Everytime we go there, I end up spending so much time just browsing through all the books, gadgets, salts, spices,utensils...everything! They really have some amazing stuff. If you are in town, don't forget to go there. It's an awesome store.
So they have a cooking school where they conduct some real fancy classes. It is beautiful. You can see it from far away because it's doors are made of glass so everything is transparent. You can see what's happening inside. It's just beautiful. Every single time I have passed by it I have wished to have been the one behind that beautiful countertop.

And it was my turn.A very nice turn. A turn which lead me to a room full of wonderful utensils and cookware. I was like a little girl in a candy  Dora store! I could use anything I wished to. No questions asked. No answers needed. I could use the most expensive cookware, the best ever oven/stove/ refrigerator...all of it wearing my Chef's coat and while being addressed as Chef Ria!  Now that last bit doesn't happen everyday! I had 3 Culinary Assistants to help me with each and everything. They were so efficient. They chopped,prepped,arranged, helped me while cooking and in the end cleaned up the entire kitchen!It was insanley magical! During the class, a man walked in thinking it was a restaurant! The entire building was smelling of Curry when we left, no wonder he walked in! :-)

The Menu : Gobi Manchurian (with minor changes), Poori, Badami Chicken , Jeera Pulao, Kadai Vegetable & Royal Falooda. As soon as I was done with cooking each item, they were plated in the most beautiful manner by my Assistants and served.Everything came out really really well and they were an instant success. It's so nice to see people enjoying what you cook, especially right in front of you. I am usually never pleased with myself but this time , I really am! The last time was when I made this Baby Shower Cake.

Everything happened so fast that I couldn't believe it until I came out after the class. I couldn't stop beaming. Jobin was waiting for me outside the class and I think he got the idea of how I excited I was and even he couldn't stop beaming! It's so nice to have a partner who can share your happiness equally, without even having the slightest tinge of jealousy in them. I am blessed. It was a wonderful evening, for the two of us. I shouldn't forget to mention how tired I was after the class. Tired to the bones. I couldn't feel my knees, they were like jelly! :-) Also, let me tell you how wonderful it is to have a dream come true. It is awesome! Really really awesome! You fly around and it takes you many days to come back to have your feet back on the ground :-)

I am going back, in Fall. Will keep you posted on that!

Hope you all have a great week ahead!  Some of the pics were taken from my camera, the rest are from Emilia.Thanks Emilia, for sending me the (90) pictures :-)