Guest Post - 56 : Today's Guest - Yashodha

Today we Yashodha from "Yashodha's Kitchen" is with us. She holds a MCA degree. She is a classical dancer. Her interests are cooking, crocheting, knitting, crafting and decorating. Now let us hear from her..

Nithu's Kitchen : Introduce yourself Yashodha.

Yashodha : I'm Yashodha Anbuchelvan. My official name is Archana. I was born and brought up in Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram) which comes under Nagai district, Tamilnadu. I have finished MCA. 

Nithu's Kichen : What are your interests?

Yashodha : I'm a classical dancer who won lot of prizes and medals in the district and state level inter-college competitions. I was mad of it, but after marriage I'm not practicing. My interests other than cooking are crocheting, knitting, crafting, decorating, etc.

Nithu's Kitchen : Tell us about your family.

Yashodha : I'm from pure vegetarian family, but I had started non- vegetarian habits from my friends circle. I was in joint family - I, thatha, paatti, Appa, amma, 2 chitthappas , 2 chitthis and 2 brothers. There was no partiality between three of us with our 3 dads and 3moms. Touch wood. We 3 are treated as same until now.   I'm missing my family members.  We couldn't express our love in words.
 I got married on 2008 and came to USA with my soul hero Mahen. I'm grateful to the God and my parents to give such a wonderful, understanding, nice human as my better-half. We are blessed with a cute baby boy. Our prince name is Nandhu who is 2 3/4 years old now. 

Nithu's Kitchen : How did you get into blogging world?

Yashodha : I'm not working, so I thought that I was sitting ideal like useless. It made me depressed. My husband asked me, "Why are you thinking like this. You are working inside the home and I'm working outside the home." though I won't get convinced. As I said earlier, I have crocheted few things. My husband asked me why do not you sell these stuffs. For that purpose I have started crochet blog. I was not satisfied with that blog. I thought of doing something better than crochet blog.  I like to experiment stuffs in my kitchen. All of the sudden, I thought why don't I start blog in cooking. First I was scared, later my husband and my friend Nithya boosted me. With their support, I came to blogging. After I entered to the blogging world, I realized that everyone in this blogging world is very nice.
I have to thank my friends, family members and blogging friends for encouraging me by posting comments. I would like to say my special thanks to my husband for his full support, Nandhu(my son who is also allowing me to do so) and Nithya shankar who is the one always give suggestions to each and everything in my blog. She is not a blogger but reader. 

Nithu's Kitchen : Share us one unforgettable moment in life.

Yashodha : As like most of the girls, I don't know cooking before marriage. But I'm lucky to get nice cook as my husband. I still remember that day, one morning I woke up and was like crying. "Mahen, I want to eat pongal but I don't know how to cook. He said, go, brush and have bath. When I came out from the bathroom, there was pongal and coconut chutney sitting on our dinning table. I thanked him very much and realized his love and care."
Later, I learnt cooking from my husband, moms, paatti, mil and family members. Learning never ends.

Nithu's Kitchen : Do you have any unforgettable cooking experience.

Yashodha : After my marriage, first time I cooked "aracha kuzhambu". For that kuzhambu, main ingredient to thicken the kuzhambu is chana dal. But I forgot to add and the Kuzhambu was watery. Though I did not get any negative comments from my in-laws, my moms kid me for my forgetfulness. Mahen said "Hey Atchu, they don't know how to cook without chana dal. That is why they are kidding you with jealous. Don't hear their words." Even though I didn't cook a tasty meal that day, Mahen's positive words made my moms happy.

Nithu's Kitchen : What recipe do you have today to share with us?

Yashodha : I would like to share "Indian style spicy carrot pancake"

Ingredients :

For carrot curry :

1. Shredded carrot - 3/4 cup

2. Beans - 1/4 cup (finely chopped)

3. Onions - 1/3 cup (finely chopped)

4. Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp

5. Turmeric powder - a pinch

6. Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

8. Fennel powder - 1/4 tsp

9. Sugar - 1/4 tsp

10. Salt - as required

11. Oil - 2 1/2 tbs

To grind :

1. Ginger - 1 1/2 inches

2. Garlic - 1 pod (large)

Carrot Curry Preparation :

1. Grind ginger and garlic into a smooth paste.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add onions and salute until it turns golden color.

3. Add ginger garlic paste to the onions. Fry until raw smell goes from ginger garlic paste.

4. Add garam masala and turmeric powder to the onions. Garam masala powder should not get burn. If you need little water, add to the curry.

5. Add lemon juice, red chilli powder, fennel powder, sugar and salt to the mixture. Fry for 1 or 2 minutes in a medium flame. Switch off the stove.

6. Add carrot & beans and mix well.

7. Carrot curry is ready and keep it aside.

For Batter :

1. Besan flour - 1/2 cup

2. Rice flour - 1 tbs

3. Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

4. Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

5. Sugar - 1/2 tsp

6. Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

7. Milk - 1/4 cup

8. Luke warm water - 1/4 cup

9. Oil - 3 tsp

10. Salt - as required

For Garnishing :

Cilantro - 1 or 2 tbs

Batter Preparation :

1. Add besan flour, rice flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix well.

2. Add oil to the luke warm water.

3. Add water and milk slowly to the flour mixture. Mix thoroughly for 1 or 2 minutes to make the smooth batter. There should not be any lumps.

4. Add lemon juice and mix well.

Carrot Pancake Preparation :

1. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F.

2. Grease the pan with oil.

3. Add both carrot curry and batter into a mixture.

4. Pour the mixture into the pan and keep the pan inside the oven for 10 - 15 minutes.

5. Carrot pancake is ready. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes. Make them into pieces.

6. Carrot pancake is spicy main entree for breakfast/dinner. Serve it with curd and sliced raw carrots.

Nithu's Kitchen : Thank you Yashodha for this delicious recipe. It was nice to have you here.

Yashodha : Thank You Nithu.

Friends, If you are interested to be featured as Nithu's Kitchen's Guest, please drop a mail to nithuskitchen[at]gmail[dot]com.