Charcoal Drawing

For a very long time I wanted to learn this charcoal drawing and finally one day I was tuning the television and saw this painting.
I learned from that source.
Materials required:
1.Chart
2.Yellow or white carbon sheet
3.Charcoal stick
4.Charcoal pencils.
5.Pencil and eraser
6.Picture used for tracing

1.Trace the picture which you are going to draw using the white or yellow carbon sheet.
why this colour?The impression wont fall on the chart.ie blue and black leaves the colour on the chart.

2.Then with charcoal stick draw the outline .

3.I used charcoal pencil for shading and also to darken certain areas.

4.Then after finishing the outline,use cotton swabs to smudge it.

5.Drawing is ready.

Tips:

1.Start from upper portion and downwards so that it wont smudge.
2.In television ,no charcoal pencil was used,I used here for some mild variations.

Navratri special-Muthalathi

Soon we all have navratri celebrations and everyone will dust their old dolls and keep it ready for the occasion.
Navratri is nine days festival and it is for goddess durga,lakshmi  and saraswathi.
Three days for durga,and second three days for lakshmi and last three for saraswathi. The tenth day is vijayadasami. Dandiya will be played according to music.
In the evening for prasad all types of cereals will be prepared and called as "sundal".

So each one will have their own theme to form the golu steps and it should be like 3,5,7,9 steps not in even numbers.some form parks,few decorate  aarthi plate  and so on.

My paternal grandmother once told me to do this muthalathi and it is using the grains.
This time few plates with simple design I have made.
One can use different cereals and paste with glue .

Kitchen into restaurant

We normally use different masala powders to give an authentic taste and flavour to the particular dish.
So,I happened to get few good masala powders which are specific to each dish.
Whenever we prepare any dish and while tasting it we feel that restaurant taste is missing.
Why not try out these masala powders and your kitchen becomes the famous  restaurant for all.

1.Kashmiri chilli powder-gives good colour to our dishes and is bright red in colour.

2.Garam masala-It is a mixture of spices and give good flavour and also all spices flavour is blended .

3.Rajma masala-Added for preparing rajma curry.

4.Pani puri masala- for the water used during preparation of pani puri,it gives good taste.

5.Amchur powder-It is like a lemon which gives tangy flavour and can be added to dals,soups and curries.

6.Pav bhaji masala -For the pav bhaji masala  that blends with all vegetables.

7.Chole masala.

Tips:Using correct proportion of masala  in each dish would  give an authentic taste .

Haridwar and rishikesh special

I have posted few things that are famous in jaipur , ahmedabad and kasi  in the previous post.
Here about haridwar and rishikesh ,and about each states I will post  special things to buy and to see .
knowing about each state broadens our knowledge and also is helpful.

Haridwar & rishikesh are famous hindu shrine.This is in uttarkahand.
The story is that haridwar is also a drop of amrit where it spilled when a celestial bird garuda was carrying it.
Here in haridwar in the evening ganga aarthi is performed.
And also the famous "manasa devi" temple is there where one can go in rope car.
In haridwar one could take a dip in "har-ki-pauri"

Rishikesh is located in foothills of himalayas.
In rishikesh one could see "ram joola",lakshman joola,rameswar temple,sivanand ashram.
one could enjoy the place and also the temples .
one could also get
1.Rudraksh and spatikam.( few shops will tell as how to identify the originals)
2.Aam sweet
3. Kangan bangles (manasa devi temple)
4.Kum kum packets
5.Brass vessels

manasa devi temple

Kasi - spiritual tour

Kasi also known as varnasi .Sometimes spiritual tour brings calmness and also peace to our mind.
Like that we had a plan to go and our family had been to varnasi.
1.The journey is like this allahabad,kasi ,gaya and kasi .Throughout the journey we enjoyed.Though elders will have their rituals and rest of the time one can always enjoy the older and also yet the same fragrance of the city.

2.There are many temples to go around.one could take an auto and go to all temples.
To list few:
1.Kasi viswanathar temple
2.Sozhi amman temple
3.hanuman temple
4.Durga temple
5.Tulsi manas mandir
6.Kala bairav temple
7.Birla mandir
8.Annapoorna temple

And of course famous "Ganga aarthi",in the ganges.
Yes one should also keep an eye for few things when visiting kasi ,the things one could buy for friends and relatives are :

1.Goddess annapoorni
2.Ganga jal filled in copper vessel and vishnu padam(leg shape one)
3.Lassi in mutka
4.kasi vessel
5.banaras saree
6.Kasi towels and threads
7.Banaras paan
8.Brass vessels


Sarees are really good and good range of sarees will be available.
one should taste the lassi in pot ,with malai really good.
There are many things to see, buy and also to eat .one should go to phalguni river and really each place has its own importance.
Bodh gaya where buddha attained enlightment.
Enjoy the trip to varnasi.

Oma podi -easy snack

Preparation of oma podi is very easy and for this one need to have simple ingredients.

1.Besan and rice flour-2:1 ratio
2.Salt
3.Ajwain or omam water
4.Water
5.chilli powder
6.Butter-small quantity

1.Take the ratio of besan and rice flour ,one can dry roast this flour for a minute also.
2.Add some ajwain water,soak ajwains in water and take that water and add.
3.Add salt,chilli powder and hing and then mix well with some butter and water.
4.Mix and prepare the dough and then put in "Nazhi" special instrument to prepare this and fry this in oil.

Ragi malt-home made preparation

Ragi as we all know is very good for health and also even for small kids they give the ragi porridge.
My mother in law taught me to prepare this at home.very easy.

prepartion:
1.One can buy full ragi or I got the powder ragi flour

,which is bit difficult ,so choose full ragi.
Here I will share about the powdered ragi using that we prepared this ragi malt.

1.Just add some water with ragi flour and grind in mixer and then strain the mixture in a thin cloth and take out the filtered portion and keep in plate and sun dry it.

2.Then let it stand for some hours and it will be like solid ,take that and add some sugar,kesar,elaichi ,badam and grind it.

3.The ragi malt is ready,we can serve it hot or cold.

(Next time will post on  how to prepare with full ragi)

Panagam

Panagam is usually prepared during festival days and also it is made with jaggery which has got iron content in it and good for health.
Our elders have kept few occasions where specific dishes need to be prepared so that few content like iron,protein everything will add to our body  which makes us to stay fit.
Like that prepartion of panagam

1.Grate the jaggery .
2.Then add water ,little elaichi powder,dry ginger powder,lime juice small spoonful.
3.Then serve it,no heating is required.
4.This is good and also easy to prepare during festival days.

Black urad dhal bonda-healthy snack

Normally whenever we prepare dosa batter one will choose the polished urad dhal.but the one with outer skin is very good for health.

1.Soak the black urad dhal for 30 minutes and then add red or green chilli ,ginger,curry leaves,salt and grind into paste.

2.It should not be watery and prepare small balls and fry it in oil.

3.Serve with chutney or sauce.

Vinayaka chaturti -leaf message

In this I am going to share about the vinayaka chaturti celebrations which we recently celebrated.

Turning new leaf with Leaf message

On the chaturti day we buy the vinayaka idol made with clay and after doing pooja ,for 5 days we have this idol at home and immerse the idol in water(river or well)

On this day special mothagams are made.

And one interesting message is that different leaves are kept for pooja,different fruits and flowers.

Different fruits:

1.Apple

2.Banana

3.Guava

4.Grapes

5.orange

6.pomegranate

Different leaves

1.Mango leaf

2.amla leaf

3.Guava leaf

4.jamun leaf

5.peepal leaf

6.Grass.

7.Pomegranate leaf

This time we almost collected all the leaves and did abishekam and pooja to lord.

This type of collecting leaves is quite interesting and our knowledge also widens .:)

Lady's finger pachadi

We normally prepare different raita and one of the tastiest one is lady's finger pachadi.
Cut small pieces and add oil in pan and roast the lady's finger till it becomes crisp.
after it gets cooled down add curd and salt and coriander leaves and serve it.

Custard -delightful dessert

This dessert is very easy to prepare and one can prepare at home in few minutes of time.

Required things:
1.Custard powder-easy available in grocery shop
2.Sugar
3.Milk-1/2 litre
4.Cut fruits-banana,apple(skin peeled),cut mangoes,pine apple.

Method:
1.Custard is easily available in different flavours in shop.
2.And to serve 5-6 1/2 litre of milk is more than sufficient.
3.Boil the milk and in luke warm water mix the custard powder and mix with the milk and keep in low flame and to it add sugar if required.
4.Then it gives little thick consistency and that time switch off.
5.Cool it and keep it in freezer.
6.When serving add cut fruits and serve it.

Tips:
1.Do not keep the custard for more time it becomes solidified with lumps.
2.Stir continuously without any lumps.

Mini oothappam

This is very simple and very tasty.One need to have dosa batter and after a day if bored of eating dosa ,one can prepare oothappam,and add chopped vegetables on top of it.
Like onion ,carrot,tomato and so on and we get varieties of oothappam.

Smocking

Smocking is one of  my favourite work .This I learnt from one of my friend and she taught in very good way and I still have the interest to do this.
One can make cushions,stitch frock and so on.
This I did for my sister in law's little daughter and came out well.
One need to draw the lines and stitch according to patterns.
This should be done in satin cloth.

Killu karudam

killu karudam is very famous and easy and usually they add this karudam in "kootu"(Mixed vegetable curry),and also in "vathal kuzhambu".
Very simple and easy to prepare and one need:


1.Urad dhal soaked and grinded without much water.
2.Red chillies -3-4
3.Black pepper-5-6 nos
4.Salt to taste
5.Curry leaves grind along with the dhal.
6.Then in sheet or plate apply oil and then using fingers make small rounds and keep it over the sheet and then dry it.
7.Then remove from the sheet and use it for the dishes.

Masoor dal vadai

1.Masoor dhal  is slight orange colour dhal and it can be used to prepare dal and can be used to prepare vadai also.
INGREDIENTS
1.Masoor dhal-1cup
2.Ginger - small piece
3.Red chillies-3-4
4.Curry leaves-1 strand
5.Hing powder
6.Salt to taste

1.Soak the masoor dhal for 30 min and drain the excess water and then grind it in a mixer with all other ingredients.
2.Do not add much water and the mixture should be coarse enough for preparing the vadai.
3.If one needed one can add grated carrot or cabbage.
4.This is a perfect snack and very easy to prepare.

Home made potato chips

1.Potato chips are  favourite  one for all.
2.For this one need fresh big potato ,just peel it and soak it in salt water.
3.Then dry it and then using potato chopper for chips just prepare the slices and fry it in oil.
4.If needed one can add drop of salt water to it.
5.Then in one vessel add drop of ghee and salt and chilli powder and then add the fried chips and shake well.
6.Potato chips are ready to serve.

Sweet puttu

                                   HAPPY VINAYAKA CHATURTHI 

This is the sweet puttu which is normally prepared for functions at our home and it is very easy.
My mother in law taught this for me and it came out so well.

1.Dry roast the rice flour using ghee ,let it give some brownish colour  and then in separate vessel  take  water add turmeric powder  and keep it aside.
2.Then sieve the roasted rice flour using a sieve.
3.Adding turmeric water  gives a mild colour to the rice flour.
4.Then using the jaggery ,prepare the syrup.for 1 cup of rice flour use 11/2 or 2 cup of jaggery.
5.Then steam the sieved rice flour in a cooker as shown using a muslin cloth or cotton cloth.
6.Then after it gets cooked,take some powder and then test whether it is rolling into thin shape.
7.Add roasted cashews.
8.After then cool and add the jaggery syrup add elaichi powder and serve it.