Navarathri, also celebrated as Dusshera, is a festival celebrated in India to honor the Indian Goddess of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. The festival lasts for ten days and is celebrated with worship and dance. The Dandiya Raas dance and the Navarathri Golu are hallmarks of this festival. The Golu is a display of colorful Indian dolls, stacked neatly on wooden ladder steps.

People visit their friends and relatives' house to view the Golu and they take home neatly wrapped paper packets of 'Sundal'.

Sundal is a mix of steamed/cooked lentils or peanuts seasoned with salt and indian spices. A different variety of sundal is prepared everyday as an offering to God and distributed to friends and family.


Sundal recipe

Ingredients

Soak overnight any of the following lentils:

Chana dal or dry peas or peanuts or dry garbanzo beans or black eyed peas

Mustard seeds, dessicated coconut, curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida, a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste

Method

1. Cook any of the soaked ingredients. The lentils should not be overcooked and must retain original shape.
2. Heat pan, add 1 teaspoon oil and add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves.
3. Add the cooked lentils, turmeric and salt.
4. Cook for 5 minutes. Add dessicated coconut and mix well.

Your golu sundal is ready. This is a healthy protein rich snack too. Enjoy and let the festivities begin.

This dish came out very well. Thanks to my mother-in-law who introduced me to this dish. I tried it with nylon sago which I got from india this time. It is a must try dish. Let me know what you think.
Ingredients (serves 2)
Nylon sago (javarissi)- 1 cup
Green chillis- 2
Dry coconut powder- 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves
Sesame seeds (white)- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder- 1 pinch

Method:
1. Soak the sago in 1 cup water for 3 hours. The sago should not oversoak in water. Water should be just right that the sago absorbs it.
2. Add oil in kadai, add sesame seeds, dry coconut and curry leaves.
3. Add turmeric and soaked sago. Add salt to taste.
4. Cook for 5 minutes. The sago should not be too mushy when cooked.

Improvize the khichdi with vegetables, cashewnuts or peanuts. Enjoy.

I have to admit that I love avocados. I didn't quite like the taste when I tried it first. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it. So one day, when I was shopping for my groceries, I found a sweet discount on Avocados and I picked up a few. That’s it; from then on I am hooked. I like to eat an avocado cut in half, with salt and pepper, and scoop it with a spoon. It tastes best that way. I like the Hass Avocado better than the Florida Avocado. I once picked up the Florida Avocado and I regret it to this day. It doesn’t come anywhere close to the Hass in taste. Plus, it had a weird label claiming less fat than the regular avocado. That really freaked me out- a genetically modified avocado J

The Hass avocado contains mono unsaturated fat which is the good fat and again, in right quantities. It helps to improve your digestion and you can eat it without guilt of cholesterol.

So, here’s to the Avocado- the feel good fruit!

Thanks Bhawna for stopping by and for tagging me. Here are 7 facts about me
Here are the rules for "7 Facts about me"---

(a) List these rules on your blog.

(b) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.

(c) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

7 facts about me

I am a...

Traveler- I like to explore unknown territories, I like to see new places and meet new people. When I have a million dollars, I would travel around the world and relish the rest of my life with memories from my travels.

Romantic- I believe in love and how it makes the world go around. I see beauty in everything and everyone. I love poetry and art - in all its forms.

Dreamer- I believe in dreams and how powerful your dreams can be.

Believer- I believe in God and his beautiful presence.

A good friend, a wonderful wife and an affectionate daughter.

Wow. I made it. When I started, I had only two facts to list :-)

Anyway, now that I have to tag 7 bloggers...Here it goes

Shyam at http://srefoodblog.blogspot.com/

Veena at http://gob-smacked.blogspot.com/

Apar at http://shakaharisapadu.wordpress.com/

http://saffronhut.blogspot.com/

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

I have tagged the above 5 bloggers..My favorite blogs!

I have to write about this amazing bakery in Plainsboro NJ. They serve delicious cupcakes and a wide variety of cakes. The bakery is Sugar + Sunshine Bakery located in Market Street, Plainsboro NJ. Their website is http://www.sugarandsunshinebakery.com/. I tried their chocolate cupcake and it was out of this world! The coffee is freshly brewed and the bakery has a great ambiance. The bakery also has Red Velvet and Carrot Cake which tastes delicious.

If you are in Plainsboro, NJ, you must stop by and check out this place. It is really worth it!

I like to use Tofu (Bean Curd) in my cooking. It is a healthy substitute for Paneer and there is no major taste difference.

I love making Kadai Panner with Tofu as the substitute for Paneer. Here is the recipe for Kadai Paneer.

Ingredients
Coriander seeds (dhania)- 3 teaspoons
Dry red chillies- 2
Garlic- 1 teaspoon finely chopped
Green peppers- 2
Tomatoes- 4
Coriander leaves
Tofu - Extra Firm- diced
Salt
Turmeric- 1 teaspoon
Kasoori Methi ( Dry fenugreek leaves)- 1 teaspoon

Method

• Dry roast the coriander seeds and coarsely grind the coriander seeds and dry red chillies.
• Add 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan and fry the coarsely ground coriander seeds and dried red chillies.
• Add garlic and add finely chopped tomatoes. Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt. Cook till the tomatoes become mushy.
• In a separate pan, add 2 teaspoons of oil and fry the diced tofu pieces. Remove and set aside.
• Fry the chopped green peppers and add the green peppers and tofu to the tomatoes.
• Let it cook for 5 more minutes.
• Add 1 teaspoon Kasoori Methi and stir.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Two sweet surprises for me! For the past few months I have been craving for halwas. I love halwas, not the red, hard ones, but the ones that melt in your mouth and are chewy. It was a pleasant surprise when one of my colleagues in Hyderabad, India sent two boxes of sweets to our US office- one for me and one for my other colleague. I was thrilled when I saw the words ' Bandar Halwa" marked outside one of the boxes and before my other colleague had a chance to choose, I took that box. I googled Bandar Halwa and it is a traditional sweet from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. The halwa box made my day.

The next surprise- dried mango pieces from Philippines! My colleague took a vacation to Philippines and she brought back some gifts. She gave me this amazing dried mango pieces and they tasted awesome- sweet and tangy.

Thanks to Ginny and Srinivas- my thoughtful friends for the sweet surprises!