Coming to the today`s guest post,How should I start the Introduction of today`s guest ? Is she need any words to introduce..I don`t think so.. She is non another Rafeeda AR
rafeeda @ rafee is one the active,friendly blogger..She writes at "The Big Sweet Tooth" which stepped into 3rd year recently..The presentation of posts shows her love on food and she maintains a unique style in posting..Personally I met her in dubai and fell in love with her smile first.Hehehehe..This is too embarassing!!!!! In very short time she got fame,but honestly it`s because of her friendly nature,pure heart and love on friends+food..If I speak like this, I can`t complete in 1-2 paragraphs..rafee..You should excuse on this dear..
Personally,what I want to tell is-Dear..Keep continue this love on food and friends with full of zeal....Keep sharing many more recipes..Beijos to your lovely daughters...All the very best to BST :)
First of all, I am so excited to be here on the space of a dear blogger. Usha is one of those few bloggers whom I have personally met. Despite being thousands of physical miles apart, on her way to her home country, she had stopped over in Dubai and I was pleasantly surprised when she bought along with her a huge bag filled with goodies specially from Brazil to gift me. It made me feel so ashamed that I had nothing to give her, thanks to my tight time schedule. We met up for an hour or so, over a coffee which her husband would just not allow me to take care of and finally when I gifted her with something I could find hands on, she asked me, “Why you are having so much formality?” You can understand how sweet and down to earth she is…
When
she invited guest posts as a part of her blog’s third birthday, I decided to
chip in and jumped in with my name. Ah, before I go ahead, a brief introduction
about myself. My name is Rafeeda, an Indian – to be more specific, Keralite –
by nationality but I have lived my entire life in a small, yet well-known
country, in the Gulf called United Arab Emirates (UAE). I am a working mother,
with two pretty daughters and cooking for me is a stress buster amidst my
packed life. I blog at “The Big
Sweet Tooth”, which recently celebrated its second
blog birthday. My blog name is very
synonymous to my nature – ie. a big time sweet lover!
Before
going into the recipe, Usha has given us a list of questions to be answered.
Let me ponder over it one by one:
1.
About
you, a few words which we don’t know.
Actually,
who loves to disclose matters that nobody knows Usha??? Hehe… I am just a
simple human being, trying to develop myself as much as I can. I love to smile,
whatever may be the conditions around me. But one thing I hate about myself is
my anger, since I go totally blind when I get angry!
2.
3
photography tips and kitchen tips.
I
don’t think I am a good photographer at all because I am still learning it all.
Three things I like to stick to is: keep it simple, click straight and be
patient! Day light is not something that I get, thanks to my work but
definitely day pictures look way better than night pictures!
As
for kitchen tips, three that I use very frequently: add a pinch of salt to
onions while sautéing so that they soften easily; grate coconuts and freeze
them in an airtight container, will stay good for months; and remove the crown
of green chillies and store them in a clean glass jar, for minimum spoilage.
3.
How
to develop blog page to get more views and fans.
Basically,
I blog for my pleasure. Sometimes, the hits do bog me but at the back of my
mind, I always say “Khalli Walli” – the terms used in Arabic for “don’t mind”!
Interaction with your readers is one important technique I follow, I make it a
point to thank each and every comment on the blog. Visiting fellow blogger’s
pages and commenting on them is another way of getting in views, but the
majority comes from the non-blogging community. I normally don’t share my posts
on a lot of FB share pages or otherwise, mainly as I don’t have the time to do
so, but am happy with the way my blog is going – though it’s literally snail
pace! J
4.
How
the blog has changed your life and how many blog posts you do a month.
The
blog has changed my life for good. If you go to see, my page doesn’t have just
recipes but a lot of insights of what I experience day in and day out, little
titbits I like to collect, a lot of philosophy gathering around our Holy Quran
and the Prophet’s teachings. I look at my blog as an outlet of myself and
therefore, it has made me a much calmer person than I used to be! I blog upto
five posts a week and most of the months I have blogged on an average of 22
posts, though I am expecting myself to slow down in the very near future,
thanks to tighter schedules!
5.
Finally,
a few words about MLH.
I
have already told about the person behind the blog! MLH clearly shows the zest
of cooking by this lovely lady. I always ask her, who eats all your cakes and
desserts! She has an amazing array of them on her blog. Not to mention about
her one-pot rice meals, chicken curries, and what not! The only thing is that
hope she keeps her enthusiasm and keeps posting more for us to refer to and
derive ideas!
Phew!!!
Tough interview that was, Usha… hehe… OK, now while trying to think what to
give Usha who has covered such a wide variety in her blog, my only thought was
to give her a very traditional recipe from our part of the world – famously
called Malabar, which I was sure would not be on her blog! The recipe I am
sharing today is called “Chakkara Choru” – which just means Jaggery Rice. It
used to be made in our homes, and many Moppila (Muslim) households during
Baraat – which is the 15th day of the month of Shaaban in the
Islamic calendar – but once we learned that it was an innovative practice, we
stopped making it or treating the day as special. I would not like to dwell
around this practice as it is still a very controversial matter.
Coming
to the recipe, umma used to make it long back and it was one of the recipes
that she stopped cooking as well, one among a long list. I made sure to note
down the ingredients at least so that I could make it when I feel like having.
Umma, just like many of our mothers I am sure, was a person who always went for
gut instincts as far as the proportion of the ingredients was concerned. I have
just tried to make it as per proportion so that it becomes easier to cook. This
can be served for a quick breakfast or relished with a cup of hot chai during
the evenings. It is a nice comfort meal at its best… Off to the way I make it…
Chakkara Choru ~ Jaggery Rice
Serves 2
Ingredients:
¾
cup pachari/ dosa rice
4
pearl onions, roughly chopped
¼
tsp fennel seeds
4
tbsp coconut, grated
100
gm jaggery (use more for sweetness)
2
¼ cup water
Method:
Wash
the pachari well and drain. Mix the rice along with all the ingredients in a
pressure cooker. Close the lid and cook on high for one whistle. Keep flame at
the lowest and cook on simmer for 15 minutes. Switch off and allow pressure to
go by itself. Open the lid, give a good mix. Serve warm!
Notes:
1.
You
can cook this on a stove top as well. Keep cooking till the water drains and
the rice gets all mashed up.
2.
I
used the light colored jaggery and that’s why my chakkara choru looks whitish.
Normally, the dark jaggery is used. If using, then melt it in the water, strain
for impurities and then add it to the remaining ingredients.
3.
The
best is to serve it immediately. As it sits, it tends to thicken. Add some
water and cook on low flame till the consistency is reached.
Hey..That`s a wonderful post...I loved the ingredients actually..Like fennel seeds,coconut,jaggery.All three are my favorite..Though the recipe sounds simple,I love the traditional recipes first..And of course touching words of Rafee Darling too..Thank you dear..Thank you for showing so much of love and for the recipe...
Friends..I hope every one enjoyed today`s post..happy weekend every one.. :)
