cookbypassion

 There are still many adverse things to say about garlic and onions. Not so well known is the fact that garlic in the raw state can carry harmful (potentially fatal) botulism bacteria. Perhaps it is with an awareness of this that the Roman poet Horace wrote of garlic that it is “more harmful than hemlock". It should be pointed out that Garlic and onion are avoided by spiritual adherents because they stimulate the central nervous system, and can disturb vows of celibacy. Garlic is a natural aphrodisiac.Five fragrant or spicy scented vegetables" - that each have a detrimental effect on one of the following five organs - liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and heart. Specifically, onions are harmful to the lungs, garlic to the heart, leeks to the spleen, chives to the liver and spring onions to the kidneys. So dear readers many of them said many things about onion and garlic. But we always follow our traditions and customs. So this is another yummy dish for festival days without onio

You may know that onions and garlic are botanical members of the alliaceous family along with leeks, chives and shallots. According to Ayurveda , India's classic medical science, foods are grouped into three categories - sattvic, rajasic and tamasic - foods in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Onions and garlic, and the other alliaceous plants are classified as rajasic and tamasic, which means that they increase passion and ignorance. Some branches of western medicine say that the Alliums have specific health benefits; garlic is respected, at least in allopathic medical circles, as a natural antibiotic. In recent years, while the apparent cardiovascular implications of vegetable Alliums has been studied in some detail, the clinical implications of onion and garlic consumption from this point of view are still not well

For the 4th and final week of Blogging Marathon # 46, am here with  No onion and Garlic recipes . Being a south Indian, I can't imagine cooking without onion and garlic. We use onions in almost all the dishes. We cook food without onion and garlic only during festivals as most of the Indians do. Not only during festivals but few communities in India do not eat onion and garlic at all. They feel that various foods and drink can influence the state of one's mind. Onions, garlic etc, are classified as foods that change one’s mind such that it becomes angry and one cannot control it.  From a social point of view eating strong tasting and strong smelling foods such, as onions and garlic can lead to bodily odours. These are both unsociable and disrespectful to others. Eating onions for example will lead to bad breath. Eating garlic even in small amounts can lead to days of an unsavoury odour coming from the skin.   So, for day 1, am here with some delicious gravy curry, Aloo Kurma.

Road trips are fun, especially if u plan to travel with your close friends or families. When I think of road trips the one which comes to mind is the trip to Yosemite national park. This was my longest road trip from LA to Yosemite National park. Which took almost 12 hrs drive. The good part of the trip was there were 3 other families with us. We all had lot of fun with the yummy food which we took with us. Now coming to the theme and today's post. If you are planning  for a long drive its good to have some snacks or food which can be stored for longer time. One such snack item is Thepla. There are many kinds of thepla, the one I made today is Methi Thepla. It can be had as a snack  or it can be had as a breakfast too. These thepla's which look like roti can be stored for up to 3 days. The roti's are soo flavorful that you do not need any chutney or curry to have with it. Just roll the roti and enjoy. Mess free snack and filling snack too.                                   

  Today am posting one of  the delicious ladoo I ever had.   Dry Fruit Ladoo , made this yummy ladoo with my sister in my recent India trip.  It's soo simple that, we prepared this ladoo in just 20 minutes. A great snack for the road trips and perfect sweet for festivals too. I would give credit to my little sis who gave these ladoos a perfect shape and  ofcourse  a perfect click. For day 2 under Car Snacks am here with this delicious Dry Fruit Ladoo. Here goes the recipe..... We need : Dates 2 cup Almonds  1/4 cup Raisins 1/4 cup Cashew 1/4 cup Figs / Anjeer 1/2 cup Pistachio  1/4 cup Poppy seeds  Powdered sugar  1/4 cup Honey Method: Fry cashew nuts in little ghee and cut into small pieces. Now chop almonds, figs, pistachio, raisins and dates into small pieces and mix with fried cashew nuts. Now add powdered sugar and mix well. Add enough honey to make  small ladoos. Immediately after making ladoos roll them in poppy seeds. The poppy seeds gives ladoo  nice texture and flavor. Ch

Hello friends, Its been quite some time I have posted some new recipe  on my blog. Went through some health issues and after that India trip. Missed all the lovely and  delicious recipes from my dear BM friends. Now as am back to blogging wanted to start with a sweet snack. Today we are starting with BM 46, my theme for this week is " Car Snacks ."  Road trips are awesome. Staying in US, we spend quite some time on roads travelling to different places. Whether it could be for a site seeing or to meet friends and families. Its always good to prepare something at home to munch on during drive. Much better if you choose to make something that is mess free and easy to pass on. For day 1, I have made  Shakarpara  / Shankarpali. This is not only a great snack for road trips, but also made during Festivals in India. Here goes the recipe for Shakarpara..........                                     We need: Maida 2 1/2 to 3 cups Sugar 1/2 cup Butter/ ghee 1/2 cup Milk 1/2 cup Pinch of