Sinamon Tales

by Monika

Top Recipes & Food Memories of 2015

The year 2015 that was in recipes, meals, food books and more. Amazing food memories in the post!

It’s that time of the year again when the year is changing and we are all taking stock. Thinking about what we did in the year that went by and what we want to do with the coming year. For me it is also about food memories!

2015 was a good year work wise, for the blog and the consulting. It saw me back to blogging in full form with thekitchenDivas kicking off the new year. I was taking a stock today and I posted 60 recipes, 22 restaurant reviews, 6 travel tales and 5 articles on food. It has also been year where the address of the blog became shorter and I moved to my own domain (powered by Cucumbertown as the back end). That was a huge tick off the list of things I had set out for 2015. Here is what instagram told me the year looks like. Follow me here if you aren’t already!

 

 

The blog this year also saw many new brand associations like Philips, Mahindra, Fortune Foods and more.  The coming year, I promise you more fun, more recipes, more travel tales.  (letting you in a little secret, I am trying out the brilliant blog planner by Shruti, download it here if you want, there is an additional discount till 12 tonight)

 

food memories

 

Workwise outside blogging was great as well, recipe design for some new and old brands menu work with cafes and food delivery startups, workshops for corporates and individuals, speaking at The Goa Project and then the latest kick in my life. Joining the food tech startup LikeMind.

LikeMind is essentially a peer home dining platform. The broad idea is  getting together with people with shared interests like food, to share a meal with fellow food lovers in the intimacy of a chef’s home. Our food events have a host who will create, from scratch, a delectable menu that is representative of a cuisine. The event will be open to a specific number of people who will get-together at the host’s home, share a meal, chat about the food, share experiences and come away satiated. For a guest and a user it’s very simple and intuitive, pick one of the experiences listed on the website, apply and then the application goes to the host for approval and nod.

Once done, you get all the details needed to attend the event and enjoy the day. Great conversations, good food and loads of fun. Currently all the hosts are handpicked and the events curated. We bring tremendous value for our selected hosts through engaging an experienced food consulting team. Menu is designed in a manner that highlights the cuisine and the strengths of our host to the fullest. We want our guests to go back home satiated both in terms of food and conversations. Do check out the website, attend an event and write to me if you want to host one. For me 2016 will be a year to see this rolling.

But then no year end post is complete without a countdown. So here are a few

Top 5 reader recipes of the year

Kundapur Ghee Roast : One the my personal favorite, perfect with a glass of beer as well as a neer dosa.

 

Kundapur Ghee Roast and Announcing The Kitchen Divas

One of the most famous chicken recipes from Karnataka – The Kundapur Ghee Roast. This will shine on your table each time you make it. Perfect with beer or with parantha
www.sinamontales.com

 

Yakhni Pulao : The meat pulao from the heart of the Mughal empire, this one is a winner!

 

Lucknow/Awadhi Recipes : Yakhni Pulao

Yakhni Pulao from Lucknow and Awadh area is a one pot dish of mutton and rice cooked together and delicately spiced true to its nawabi origin.
www.sinamontales.com

 

Crab Rasam : The first time I ever tasted this was in a Chettinad restaurant in Chennai. It blew my mind but I wasn’t sure it will do well on the blog but it did. Thank you readers for loving it!

 

Chettinad Recipes : Crab Rasam

So after a break of a month the kitchen divas are back and this time with Chettinad Recipes. Years ago, in my visit to a restaurant called “thalapakkatti” in Chennai I had drank something called Crab Rasam. I liked it so much that I had two servings of that for lunch and nothing else. The crabbiness blended superbly with the usual pepper, garlic and other spices in rasam. I tried replicating it many times at home but somehow I always thought something was missing, not much was found online or on asking various people and then I came across the book called “The Bangala Table”. One look at the book and its breathtaking pictures I knew at sometime I will end up buying it, after resisting it for a couple of months I finally gave in and to my surprise the book had a recipe of “Crab Rasam”
www.sinamontales.com

 

Punjabi Maa ki Daal : Slow cooked black lentils midly spiced, whats not to love. Hardly any effort specially if you have the slow cooker and this is a winner for any party!

 

Punjabi Maa ki daal (Slow cooked Black Urad Lentil)

I often tell people that Punjabi food that you get in restaurants is not the Punjabi food we eat at home, on a everday basis we don’t eat dollops of cream and tons of ghee in everything. Punjabi Maa ki daal is similar to Dal makhani in many ways as it uses the same lentils. 
www.sinamontales.com

 

Olive Oil and Mixed Nut  brownies : Who doesn’t love brownies and when they can be made with olive oil instead of butter even more reason to rejoice!

 

Olive Oil & Mixed Nut Brownies

Bangalore weather currently is what dreams are made of. Rain, slight chill in the air and dreamy clouds. While dreams can be made of this, it is certainly horrible for work. I have had deadlines staring at me all day long but I have been turning my face away from them, pretending to be an ostrich, t
www.sinamontales.com

 

Top 3 meals of the year 

Besides cooking, I also eat out a lot. I love to try new places that have opened. So here are my top 5 meals of the year (I have yet to write about some of them on the blog but promise will do in the coming year)

Sri Ram Mess (also known as Azaghu mess) at Kairakudi : Tucked away in narrow lanes of a sleepy town but marked on google maps albeit wrong, I made way to this mess with two of my girl friends and an infant much to the shock of the people there. We ordered everything that was available and ate till we couldn’t move. Totally a meal which sent us to food coma.  Detailed post on it coming soon but this is a meal I will remember for a long time to come

 

 

A traditional Dutch meal at Haesje Claes, Amstredam : The credit of this meal completely goes to my friend Bharti. AlI told her was I want to eat local and she found out but this charming place which served spectacular food. Really some of the best cured fish and steak I have tasted (note to self, this year write more about travel and food)

 

 

Kaiseki Meal at Edo : Mind blowing Japanese Food. Post coming up soon, so not saying much. Here is one picture of the Zensai!

 

 

Top 3 food books of the year

I read a lot, I read a lot about food. I am crazy about cookbooks and fantatic about books with good pictures

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

As a food blogger and writer, this book hit home. Reichl served as the New York Times food critic from 1993 to 1999, and this book is about her years as “The New York Times Food Critic”, the ups and downs which come along with. Had my laughing and nodding at some places. Absolutely lovely read!

 

 

Chillies and Porridge : writing food

Food essays written by people like Chef Manu Chandra, food writer Sumana Mukherjee along with her food partners and more. This is a beautiful collection of stories that will make you nostalgic and hungry.

 

 

The Seven Sisters : Kitchen Tales from the North East 

Just because finally a book using which I cook and learn the food from the north east and the recipes work brilliantly as well.

 

 

I cannot end the post without listing THE FOOD MOMENT of 2015, meeting George Calombaris of the Masterchef Australia fame. That was a BIG fan girl moment for me 🙂

 

 

Hoping 2016 is this and more. Wishing all of you a lovely lovely year ahead.

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