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Lunch Kerala

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Life in Chennai for a week!

I take pride in having grown up in an 'evolved' town in central Kerala, where along with good quality education, we are taught to be accommodative and practical, wherever life roots us in the years that followed.

Married life in Trichy for more than two decades had shaped me differently.

Now, I am in this city named Chennai, for a week to support my college going teen son, who opted to stay away from his college hostel.due Reasons; bad hygiene and food.

So, we chose to stay in a 15 storeyed building, in the city centre. 

Morning coffee with the sight of a concrete jungle, buzz of vehicles, smoky and dusty streets are unusual to me. At times, I hear an argument that goes endlessly between a maid and the lady of the house,which I can never source from where. 

 I do the household chores myself, happily. I cook hot healthy food for my son, do the dishes when I like, launder when I have the mood, shop when I feel lonely and clean when I have the time.

The apartment which has a majority or the whole inmates hailing from North India, has turned out to be favourable for me. The unlike poles attract and yes I am pampered much. They are there to assist anytime, no unwanted queries or looks and I get happy invites to join them for walks and coffee table chats.

Since I have to leave for Trichy after a week, I decided to appoint a helper, who would keep the house clean. So, she arrived at 6.30 and smiled at the doorstep, looking as though she worked out hard in gym overnight! Bless my maids in Trichy, who enter the house, clean, after their morning wash, fresh jasmine strings pinned on their hair or the inviting scent of the imported prefumes I gift them occasionally.
Lakshmi, speaks in a heavy Chennai accent with a mixture of colloquial Hindi. I had a hard time deciphering her talks. Chennai slang thus updated my mental dictionary. My knowledge in Hindi; bragging about having mastered the language for 9 years in school, failed totally here!
With 2 more days to go, I keep the things orderly, depest the house and arrange home delivered food for my son after I leave. Lakshmi agrees to come regularly and promises, " un payyana yen payyananda nalla pathikkiren. Nee nimmathiya oorkku po."

Life in Chennai isn't too bad!

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Bread

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100 days in Namakkal

I do not know how many of you had heard about this town, located in the valleys of the Kolli Hills but am sure you would fall in love with this place if you do not wish the buzz of cities and hesitate to step down too rural. The town has the goodness, the fresh atmosphere and modest set of people everything else of a village and sophisticated enough for a town living person. Not an attempt to put all the good facts together :), should I explain how comfortable the palce keeps me?

Today marks the 100th day of my stay in this cute town. To celebrate this I planned to visit the major spots of the town.
Honestly, I was awed to learn about the historic importance of the town only while preparing this post. If only the government took some measures to encourage the tourism in this place!
Namakkal is for definite, one of the kind!!

You can never miss this majestic fort if you happen to be in Namakkal.
The historical Malaikkottai or the Rock Fort is in the middle of the town. The small town has expanded around this fort, over the years.
More about the history of the fort is here.

A close up shot of the entrance up the fort.
The maximum my lens could zoom with me stuck to the same position as the previous image.

Your Namakkal visit is incomplete without the darshan of the18 feet tall Anjaneyar.The 'alangaram' is done on festivals, which I couldn't witness during my stay. This picture is from here. 

Very near to the Hanuman temple is the Sri Namagiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple built in the 8th century, that is, 1300 years ago!

Entrance to the shrine

I presume this Garuda, on the temple wall.

Vetrilai Maalai or the betel leaves garland for the diety.

Ney Vilakku or diyas filled with ghee are said to be an important offering to the Temple Goddess.

The board in front of a temple side shop which sells more offerings for the dieties!

Ganesha temple at one end of the street facing the temples at the other end

and located in the middle of the street is Sree Aadhi Parashakthi Thirumanamandapam, the age old marraige hall that has witnessed thousands of weddings.

The golden roasted rice puffs are the speciality of the town!

The sweetened and coloured rice puff balls are a delicacy.
*though we would dare to sample ;)*

Namkkal Selamba Kounder Poonga is a well organised park in the middle of the town.

Its location at the foot of the castles makes the park all the more attractive!

The well organised park is madly crowded in the evenings and I was surprised to see the park maintained well and clean in the morning when I shot this!


Twenty feet aside the park is the Uzhavar Santhai or the farmer's market.

The market was about to get packed up when I entered around 8.45 in the morning. The lady was seriously counting her day's sales when got a bit distracted looking up at me.

The banana section was at full swing, though.

The girl who was selling brooms and coriander leaves vanished, packing her goodies.
But this lady got lucky. All in a minute!

Muniyamma at stall no:14 still has a few bundles of her drumsticks and bottle gourds to be sold. Nadesan at stall 15 had sold off the last scrap!

This old lady interested me. She was sitting under the tree near the entrance selling small packets of jasmine buds, but I noticed her only while hurrying out. The camera was almost running out of charge when she spoke to me so pleasantly and refused to smile totally when the lens kissed the pretty wrinkled face before blacking out!
 Love her sweet stubbornness :)

The town has countless fast food and drinks on wheels . I was awed to see ladies selling hot breakfast on such small mobile vehicles in the mornings

The Manikoondu or the bell tower is the major land mark, located right amidst the town.

Turn 180 deg to capture the busiest junction of the town! The over bridges are said to be recent constructions to favour the pedestrians

If you ever visit the town, don't miss to peep into the road side shops in the evenings..

Namakkal Parottas are really famous.
I was offered a hot parotta right from the griddle and I fell in love with the crispy outsides and the soft insides! It was one of the most delicious parathas I've honestly ever had!!
One of my cousins in the town had been telling about the love affair of Namakkal  inmates towards these parottas. They love to have them even for breakfast!

I don't know how far it is true but am eager to hear the comment of a Namakkalian who would probably read this post :)
Also, I would appreciate if anyone of you could correct me with the pictorial explanations if incorrect.

I'm planning to visit the Saturday market which is something special about the town, this weekend for shopping and shots :)
Will do a 'part-2 post' about it soon!



pending----spell check...alignmnt of txt and imgs.. proof reading..final editing

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My Spicy Recipe ~ Announcing A Giveaway Event

I am excited to announce my very first event. Being into the world of blogging
 world for the past 6 years I had not hosted an event until date. The reason is none other than apprehension!

CupoNation, the renowned website which offers variety home and kitchen related
discount coupons for a number of leading online retailers in India like
flipkart, snapdeal etc, had shown great interest in collaborating with Spicy Chilly

The guidelines for participation are:

1.You can send a recipe which is spicy, because I love spicy food :). It can be of any cuisine of any kind; with any level of spice in it.
Non-spicy recipes are also welcome, anyway.


2. Let the recipe post be preferably a fresh one. Any smart food and kitchen related shopping tips along with your recipe blog posts would be interesting and are appreciated.

3. Only bloggers are entertained at this point.
A blogger with multiple blogs can send multiple entries but one entry/recipe per blog, please.


4. Give a link back to the sponsor.
In the first line you should mention your favorite online retailer from here .
For e.g if its Myntra, you may say,
I love shopping through Myntra (attach the URL/link http://www.cuponation.in/myntra-coupons )
or if its jabong you can write,
I find Jabong really great.


5. Winning entries would be drawn from the participants. The giveaways are in the form of e-gift vouchers. Its basically a voucher code and pin which would be used instead of payment.

6. Send your recipe link along with a picture attached, to spicychilly.cuponation@gmail.com before 25th of February. 

7. I will publish the entries in order as I receive. Hope you would give a link back to this announcement page as well, thus helping me to spread the word, and let me also hope that you would stand by me and make the event a huge success!

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Quick, Cheap and Healthy Microwave Meals (Guest Post by Tanya)

This is a guest post from Tanya, my friend, who works with ASDA grocery store. She had wanted to do a post here for sometime and both of us got a little occupied with our own ways with the start of the year! Better late than never and here she goes.... :)

Hi, I'm Tanya and I work with ASDA not so long time but anyway I can surely tell that they are very reliable and credible. Especially if are in UK - ASDA is one of the best, easiest and fastest online shopping for you! And today they share some inspiring recipes of fast microwave meals. Enjoy and don't hesitate to leave your opinions.


It’s the new year, which means back into our usual busy routines. Family life returns to a whirl of working late, after school clubs, playdates, parties and social engagements, and cooking can become harder to fit in.

However, there’s no need to slave over a hot stove for hours in order to serve up delicious, healthy meals. The often overlooked microwave can be a very handy tool in the kitchens of busy families, allowing you to whip up hot meals in no time.
Take a look at the following recipes for inspiration, then take yourself off to the ASDA grocery store to pick up the necessary ingredients. Even better, save time by shopping online from the comfort of your own home and get your groceries delivered directly to your door. When you shop at the grocery store at ASDA the ASDA price guarantee means that you’ll get the best deal on your shopping, making these meals not only quick and healthy, but also as cheap as possible too!

Spicy Jambalaya

This warming dish is super healthy and contains lots of lycopene boosting tomatoes and red peppers. If you’re on a new year health kit, make it even healthier by using wholegrain rice.
It couldn’t be easier to make. Tip a can of tomatoes into a large microwavable bowl, then mix in the same amount again of water. Add to the liquid chopped red pepper, chorizo sausage, sweetcorn, easy cook rice and a sprinkling of Cajun seasoning, and stir.
Cover with film and microwave for ten minutes, stir, then return to the microwave for a further ten minutes. Serve with a spoonful of soured cream.


Easy Butternut Squash Risotto

This tasty recipe is a great way to sneak veggies into reluctant teens or tots. You can even add other vegetables including peas, sweetcorn, carrots – whatever they like!
Microwave 250g of risotto rice in 500ml of hot vegetable stock, in a covered bowl, for five minutes. Add chunks of butternut squash and a further 200ml of stock, then return to the microwave for a further 15 mins (stir halfway).
After the ping, stir in some parmesan cheese. On serving, grate over more parmesan for a tasty, cheesy treat. It couldn’t be easier!

Super Salmon and Couscous

Salmon is a fantastic source of omega 3, which is great for growing brains and busy grown-ups too! It doesn’t have to take long to serve up a great fish dish – this one can be on the table in less than half an hour, no faffing required!
Add stock to a bowl of couscous, leave for ten mins, then fluff up with a fork. Add a handful of fresh herbs, some chopped sundried tomatoes and some spring onion to taste. Meanwhile, microwave some salmon fillets individually (in a clingfilm covered bowl) in the microwave for approximately 3.5 mins. Check the fish is cooked through before serving atop a bed of couscous, with salad or a microwaved sweet potato, and a squeeze of lemon.
There’s no reason why quick microwave meals can’t be healthy and tasty. With the right ingredients from the grocery store you can whip us some amazingly simple, yet delicious recipes that the whole family will love, with a minimum of mess, fuss and faff!

Cheers,
Tanya

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Mother earth has outlived the Mayan prediction and saved its beloved beings once again! The human race, amidst dilemmas debates about the end of the world, celebrated Christmas with peace and joy as always and looking forward to the birth of yet another year!

For us bloggers? yes, another year to wrap up, to review, feel proud and to showcase the best posts of the year.
Inspite of the hard work and the time involved for a blogger; food or general, he or she would admit the fact that the amount of enjoyment while working and the cheer that went along with them while sharing with their friends and readers!

So now talking about me, I believe I had been blogging without long breaks in between as I do otherwise.
I took special attention to the quality of posts and  pictures. I had taken extra efforts for the stepwise and they have paid well too!

Comoing to the toppers


http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/04/kambu-koozh-pearl-millet-or-bajra.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/04/how-about-chilli-in-steaming-cup-of.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/08/milk-to-butter-stepwise-tutorial-journey.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/09/banana-walnut-bread-without-eggs.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/01/banoffee-pie.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/02/melt-in-mouth-hearts.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/05/whole-wheat-coconut-and-cashew-cake.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/04/easy-one-pot-tomato-biriyani-stepwise.html

http://www.spicychilly.com/2012/09/adding-some-life-to-your-photograph.html

non recipe side adding life...


The posts are selcted considering the appreciations in the form of  comments,mails, messages, 'likes',  shares, 'pins' and trials.

Blogging is an art and a wonderful hobby. More than sharing recipes we love being with our freinds and readers. Let ego or attitudes not spoil the wonderful relationships which keeps us bound!

Let the world outlive the myth of the bad omen number 13 and Here's wishing you a wonderful year ahead filled with laods of merriment, cheer, wealth, health,freinds goodluck and all the nice things the world can give you !

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