Tuti Fruiti Bread

Its been lying in the draft for 2 months yet din't get fungus on it. So when I have time will write the recipe. Someone had written about it. Here is to Bachpan ki yadien!

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Updated: 21/08/07

Hello friends!!!

I am posting again after a long long time. Almost a month long gap. Its been a busy time at work after I returned from an outing with my family in Maharashtra. Last 2 months have been draining as I completed building a portal for my part of the organization. This blog always gives me some respite in my busy schedule. Yet I was going through a phase like most do when you just don't have enough energy to do thing you like the most. I was however reading your blogs and commenting too :).

So here we go with the recipe that you guys had to wait for so long.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
0.5 cup warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 handful tuti fruiti bits
1 teaspoon sugar for the yeast
1 teaspoon sugar incase the tuti fruiti bit are not dusted with sugar

Are you ready to go.

Put the sugar in a small bowl and add warm water to it. Sprinkle the active dry yeast over it and let it stand. After 10 mins when it is frothy mix the all purpose flour in a large bowl with the frothy yeast. Add the salt and warm milk and mix with wooden spoon to get a ball. Rub the butter into the dough. Remove on a lightly flour dusted counter. Knead well. If the dough is messy add little more flour but not too much.

Grease a big bowl generously and place the dough to rise. One hour should be good enough or till it doubles in size.

Next roll out the dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle the tuti fruiti bits on it. The tuti fruiti bits that I used had sugar dusted on it. If they are not dusted with sugar use 1 teaspoon sugar to make the dough sweet. Then shape into a loaf by folding it like a letter ready to be inserted in a long envelope. Pinch the seams so they don't open up when baking. Leave it to double up again before you put it into the oven.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 mins at 190 deg cel. Once light golden brush with butter to get the shine. Cool for couple of hours before slicing the bread.

Dunk it in milk, tea or coffee and remember me. Enjoy!!

The Legend of Two Husbands

Gomu was married to Bandu as was the tradition in those days at the age of 10-12yrs. Bandu himself was just 15yrs then. Who in the world noted birth time! Mothers told that the child was born at sunrise, when the sun was high in the sky, sunset or when the evening lamps were lit.

This story is of those times, tells Moti Aaji, our favorite grand aunt. One or the other of us trying to keep our head in her lap as we lay on the oti of our old home watching the night sky. That was ¼ century ago. She wore bangles only in one hand. We wanted to know why.

Many Many years ago she continued. Gomu and Bandu lived happily they played together ate together and at bedtime Gomu’s mother in-law always put her to sleep next to her. She was too young to be Bandu’s bride yet. But Moti, “You just said they were married.” all smart kids correct her. Shh….that was the custom in those days even before her grandpa. Shooo~~~

When Bandu grew to be a handsome young man of 18 yrs and Gomu was 13-15 yrs their elders celebrated a pooja and gifted them a room of their own. Bandu and Gomu now had grown to understand their responsibilities and the meaning of husband and wife in the real sense. They took care of all visitors, relatives and servants. Bandu was highly skilled at sea. He had a toned dark body. When free he participated in Kushti competitions in the village and won many times. He was loved by all for his helping nature.

Gomu too looked very pretty now. She dressed carefully her Choli tight fitted, the padar carefully wrapped with the large motifs in the front like an apron. The fresh flowers in her hair sent Bandu’s heart racing. Her morning began with getting the rotis made for the dolkars-the crew and supervising the washerwomen and water carriers. At her young age she was admired by all for managing the household so wonderfully.

After the morning chores were done she would escape from the back door as she would hear Bandu wish his mother goodbye and leave the front door. She would catch up with him at the seashore. That was her only private time with him. She would lay her head on his broad shoulders as they would walk together, their bodies brushing against each other lightly. Bandu would tell her how he dived deep into the sea to repair emergency problems with the Galbat-boat. He told her about the deep sea monsters that pulled his legs and sucked him deeper. Moti Aaji! but Baba tells us that is due to water pressure on the person diving without mask and oxygen. There are no ghosts in the sea enlightens my cuz with her little palm pointing out at Moti. Baba knows better he is in the Navy. Faking anger for interrupting her, “do you want to hear the rest?”

That day Gomu went to see Bandu off at sea. Her heart was heavy and she was not ready to let him go. Bandu promised he would return soon. The two days to follow were of violent weather. Little did he know that the next 2 days would change his life. The tides rose high and there were showers too. The monsoon season was yet far. On the second day when Bandu was to return Gomu ran to the Dhela-jetty before the Galbat-boats arrived. One by one all Galbat-boats pulled in. Gomu could not spot theirs. She enquired with every one like woman gone crazy. None of the crew was to be seen. No one even seemed to have noticed their Galbat-boat was missing. The weather had been so bad in the last two days that the men were all beaten by it. After checking with all Gomu was told that their Galbat-boat seemed to have lost its way. Gomu thought yes that is what people will tell you when you are sure to have lost husband and crew along with the galbat.

She sat at the seashore crying as her mind was crisscrossed with dangerous thoughts. All the villagers tried consoling her but in vain. She pledged to fast and do a penance. Untying her hair she said to the Sea God, “If you get my husband along with all my crew safe back to the shore I will accept you as my husband”

After 3 days and 3 nights Gomu was frail and lay in the lap of her mother inlaw. She had neither eaten nor had a single drop of water. Such was her penance.

At the crack of dawn on the horizon one of the villagers noticed a Galbat-boat blobbing slowly towards the dhela. The colors of the flag were of Bandu’s Galbat-boat. The seashore was dotted with clothes thrown up in the sky and cheers along with Har Har Mahadev! Jai Malhar!

The Galbat-boat had been washed off to Karanja about 80 kms from Thal due to the bad weather but the crew was safe. That evening Gomu married the Sea God in a pooja ceremony with Bandu witness to it. She wore lots of green bangles on her wrists the sign of fertility called chuda. After the ceremony she banged one wrist on the rocks lining the seashore and offered the new chuda to the Sea. She prayed again to take care of her husband in the future and keep her saubhagya-well being intact.

Hence the legend goes that Koli women have 2 husbands one the man she marries and other the sea therefore the tradition of wearing bangles in only one hand is followed by our Koli women.

Stir Fried Greens and Milk Soup

The ones you see in the yesterday's picture.

These greens are called Chakota here in Blr. They are slightly nutty and mildly tangy. This is a simple stir fry I made to go with the Baby Corn Lollipops. This method can be used for any greens it would still taste good. If the greens have a tangy taste good else add a dash of lemon to give it a zing.

Ingredients

1 big bowl of chopped Chakota/ any greens
2 dry red chilies broken
2 teaspoon sesame seeds
salt to taste
1 teaspoon oil

In a wok heat oil. Fry the red chilies and then add the sesame seeds. Fry till golden. Add in the chopped Chakota. Keep stirring till dry. The salt must be added just before removing from heat. When stir frying green one has to be careful with salt as you will see lot of the bhaaji at the start but in the end the quantity reduces considerably.

For the soup

Take 1 tablespoon of the stir fried green and add 1 teaspoon sugar and adjust the salt and boil with 1 cup milk.

At home all of us liked the greens but Dad did not like the soup. It is an adventurous recipe Ok to try for the heck of it.

Baby Corn Lollipops

Lollipops with Stir Fried greens and Milk Soup

Searching for Baby Corn Lollipop creator....

Long time ago while going through the numerous blogs that link across the many blogs that I browse I hit upon a picture that I loved. Later I tried to look for it again but was unable to find. Google too did not co-operate. This recipe is inspired from the picture I had seen. I don't remember the original so made something of my own. If BCL creator is reading this please link up.

I loved them. They can be amazing starters for a party. The flavours are mild and the herbs make it fragrant. I guess this will be one hit recipe if you try it just once. This recipe lends itself well for a mass preparation.

Here is a thali of all the ingredients that I used.

Ingredients

• 8 baby corns
• 6 potatoes medium sized
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cup fine chopped onion
• handful cilantro chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dry basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon green chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I did not use but its a must)

In a big bowl mix all ingredients. I did not use bread crumbs but learnt that adding bread crumbs would have been a good idea as a binder. On each baby corn cob paste up the potato mixture to get a lollipop. Like seen here. Line them up in a greased tray. Bake on highest temp for 20 mins or till golden and crisp.

Serve hot with mayonnaise or sauce of your choice but definitely not ketchup! I used eggless mayonnaise. Do let me know if you like it. Also link me up if you have seen something similar elsewhere as I am looking for the Creator of this dish.

Kachoris from Mansukh's

Pradeep my colleague got a bag of Kachoris from Mysore for me. He reads my blog regularly and knows I love food and like to share my thoughts about it. We have many times discussed about our favorites. I have been complaining about the quailty and authenticity of chats in Blr. My experience tells me it is just not chat, the Mumbai and Delhi Chats that I know. Everything smells of sambhar here. Pradeep challenged me that Mansukh's products will change my views.

Yes he was right. These Khasta Kachoris are the best I have tasted this side of the south. He had got couple of other things like ganthia and rosgullas that were very authentic. So the next time I visit Mysore I am going to raid this shop. Else Pradeep is quite dependable.

The filling is spiced right and is made from moong dal/ urid dal and the cover is khasta or crisp and layered. A perfect Kachori. There is another Kachori that I am fond of and that I make at home the recipe is by a famous Indian cook will post it some time. Till then keep guessing and salivating.

Ambada in Brine

What is this ? A fruit? A vegetable? Ambada!!!

Is this snow in the box? Sea salt to make the brine.

Updated 16th July 07

Shilpa of Aayi's recipes and Mamta are the winners of this guess. It is Ambada in Marathi, ambado in Konkani and amtekayi in kannada. Thank you all for your responses. Hope you enjoyed it!

Ambada is a fruit with a hard skin and fibrous inside. It is very sour when raw and cannot be bit into dirrectly. If one does try the sensitivity of the teeth is lost temporarily. This is however a good fruit to pickle just like raw mango. The most favorite way to preserve it though is with plain sea salt. After a week you get shrivelled ambada in brine. This preserved ambada is then used as an accompaniment with meals like a pickle.

In its raw form it is used as a souring agent like Shilpa mentioned in dals and curries. It livens up even the most mundane curries and takes them to new heights. If eaten too much it induces sleep.

When I saw these Ambada in a heap in the market I had to buy them. It reminded me of Thal where they are just dumped into huge earthen pots called Ranjun (remember Alladin and the forty theives) filled with salt and allowed to hibernate there all the year long till they are removed for eating. In Thal every household has a story of the kids trying to steal the Ambada in brine and in the attempt falling into the Ranjun.

Ingredients

1/4 kg ambada

1/2 cup salt

Just mix together and fill into a jar. Through the week just shake up a bit to make sure the fruit does not spoil. Once the brine is formed it will preserve well. When the fruit is shrivelled and discolored to a pale green it is ready to eat.

Serve as a pickle Or use to make your curries tangy like Mamta mentioned. The taste is its own and not to compare with mango. It will hook up all ladies especially the ones with a good news ;). Right now I am surrounded by three such ladies who keep asking for tangy things!

Red Kraut Salad and Clear Soup

Red Kraut colors every thing red the salad and the soup. On days I am at home just as I love to cook something elaborate I also like to make light meals. What you see in the plate is what I would like to make at least 4 days a week. I am not too much of a full meal type on weekdays given the time crunch I am always facing plus the mirror never lies. Yes but I do make poli-bhaaji as I cannot starve others for my sake. We eat rice only on the weekends. Friday night is almost always Varan bhat with paraphernalia. Rice just once a day never for both the meals. Inspite of this restrain I still see Bridget Jones grinning at me in the mirror for giving her company.

This salad and soup is very healthy but definitely not tasteless. I love to munch on the Britannia Cream Crackers instead of diner roll that normally most people prefer. Also we as a family love clear soups to thick soups as long as they taste hot, sweet and sour :).

Ingredients

For the Salad

1 bowl roughly chopped Red Kraut

1 bowl cucumber

1/4 sweet lime segments

1 handful pistachio nuts

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon olive oil

salt to taste

For the soup

2 cups Red Kraut stock

2 tablespoons Kokum sweetened juice

1/2 teaspoon butter

2 pods of garlic (optional)

1 green chili chopped

salt to taste

Boil 2 1/2 cups water in a large saucepan. Blanch the red kraut in it. Strain the red kraut and keep aside for the salad.

You will have about 2 cups of stock. Heat a saucepan and add butter. Once molten fry the garlic in it. Add the chillies and add the kokum juice to it. Boil on high for 5 mins with salt.

While the soup is boiling. Mix the red kraut, cucumber, sweet lime in a big bowl. Now prepare the dressing by whisking together the vinegar and olive oil with salt. Mix in with the veggies. Roughly chop up the pistachio nuts. Sprinkle them into the salad.

Serve the salad and soup with crackers of your choice. Enjoy a guilt free meal.

No fuss Burger

"I am leaving in 10 mins". Baba wait you cannot leave without breakfast. "But you are still in bed". "It will take just 10 mins for me to make you something" said me.

In a hurry I scrambled out of bed. Got fresh and got into the kitchen. I had Burger buns and tomatoes, potatoes and onions. I remembered I had some kasuri methi. Well that could make a good burger. So here is what I did.

Ingredients

2 burger buns
1 teaspoon butter

For the patties:
4 raw potatoes
1 tablespoon Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 green chilies chopped
1 handful cilantro
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon corn flour
salt to taste
Oil to fry

for the salad
2 tomatoes sliced
1 onion sliced

To make the patties. Wash and clean the potatoes. Grate them and add Kasuri methi, green chilies, cilantro, cumin, corn flour and salt. Mash together. Shape into 2 patties and shallow fry on a gridle till golden and crisp.

Slice the burger buns at the equator. While the gridle in hot add the butter and watch it sizzle. Tcch..Tchh silly put the burger buns on it and roast a bit on both sides. This will make the burgers really inviting.

Assemble the burger by laying the patties on the inside of the lower hemisphere. Layer the sliced tomatoes and onions. Add a dash of salt and red chilli powder. Cover with the northern hemisphere. Its ready to be gobbled up with what? Ketchup of course!

Main bhi Khush! Baba be Khush!

Note:

Baba is my Dad and not my son. Eh...he is becoming one now as he becomes older;).

Farsan Bhaaji

Made with Bhavnagri sev (16 Aug 08)

Phulka, Farsan bhaaji, Kachumbar, chutney, Mithi Kairi and Pears.

Like the Three Faces of Eve I wonder how many I have. Marathi on all days, South Indian on some I guess I can call myself that its 2 years in Blr now. However today is Gujju day for me and time for a Thali. I made a Gujju Thali of Phulka, Farsan bhaaji, Kachumbar(Koshimbir), chutney, Mithi Kairi (Moramba), Pears.

Updated: This farsan bhaaji is made by Gujarathis as well as Rajasthanis. The folklore goes that since some parts of Gujarat and all of Rajasthan cannot boast of too many vegetables grown there. They came up with this dish. Also I know for sure Gujjus have a thing for food and are know to create such gems for something different in there veg diet!

Ingredients

1 cup any type of farsan (ganthia, bhavnagari shev, papadi, I used Boondi and shev)
2 big onion chopped long
2 tomatoes diced
few curry leaves
2 green chilies chopped
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds powder
1 tablespoon oil
1 handfull chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Heat oil on high. Fry the onions till pink and the curry leaves. Add tomatoes let them melt into the pot to form a paste. Add the spice powders and green chilies. Mix well. At this point add the farsan. You will see I used salted boondi and thin sev for this bhaaji. Stir and mix in salt as per taste be careful not too add too much as the farsan already has salt in it. Well if you find the mix too dry sprinkle some water to evenly coat the farsan with the masala. Garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy the Farsan Bhaaji with hot phulkas as I did. Doesn't it look like white pea bhaaji? Fooled you!!

Mango Phirni

Mango Phirni is an aphrodisiac. The silken texture, the flavor of Alphonso mango and carb from rice takes you to a state of bliss almost instantly. Can you believe this phirni can be made in flat 10 mins. Yes absolutely. This one can be a made for a party one day before and served chilled. It tastes even better. You would have steamed rice ready for a meal. Well and the family gets a kick by asking for last minute additions to the meal. The phirni can come to your help. Do as I did.

Ingredients

1 cup cooked basmati rice
1 cups whole milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup Alphonso mango puree
1/2 teaspoon ghee

Grind cooked rice and milk together to get a thick liquid. In a thick bottom vessel boil the rice and milk mixture with sugar for 5 mins. While it is boiling add the condensed milk. Let it thicken for 5 mins. It should be creamy in consistency. Put off the heat and add the ghee. Let is cool for a while then add Alphonso mango puree. It is important for the phirni to cool before adding mango else it will coagulate the milk. Top up with any nuts I used charoli.

Slurp up the Mango Phirni. Make this on the weekend you will need a nap after it.

Palak Rangili

Palak Rangili is an original here. That declared let me tell you the story of its creation. Sujal, my nephew is a big fan of palak paneer. He can eat loads of it. I wanted him to have a new experience with luscious veggies that he can bite on when licking up the palak and it had to be colorful too. I mostly cook with whatever is on hand and rarely shop for ingredients dictated by a recipe before cooking. That makes the process all the more creative. That day I had pearl onions, tomatoes and palak. If you ask me thats not much but good enough to create a new dish.

Ingredients

• 1 big bunch of spinach/ palak
• 1/4 cup pearl onions
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 2 tomatoes quartered
• 2 green chilies slit lenghtwise
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 piece cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 6-8 black pepercorns
• 2 teaspoon oil

First of all I blanched the spinach and pureed it. I got about 1 cup puree.

Then in a saucepan heated oil and add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, pepercorns and stirred. Next added the garlic and pearl onions and fried till pinkish. The quartered tomatoes went in at this point. Roasted them a bit. Then added the green chilies and palak puree. Boiled it for 2 mins and let it simmer for 10 mins. The outcome was a nice creamy and colorful palak dish. We christened it Palak Rangili. Don't you agree its the perfect name but you got to try this recipe right away and write to me your feedback.

I served it with Bajarichi Bhakari and some fruit. You can serve with any other roti hot and crisp off the stove or oven.

Koshimbiri Karanji

Kanadigas love Koshimbiri seen in the picture a salad made with soaked lentils and veggies. I get invited to a lot of social gatherings and this is a ubiquitous one. I thought why not try to make a karanji with it. Karanji is a stuffed pastry made with sweet or spicy filling in Maharashtra.

Ingredients
1 cup moog dal soaked for 1 hr and drained
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup grated raw mango
1 tablespoon grated fresh coconut
1 handful cilantro
3/4 green chilies chopped
salt to taste

1 cup Chapati dough

Mix all the ingredients to make this salad and keep aside. Now roll out chapati a little bigger than a puri. Stuff the Koshimbiri, seal the curved edge and roast on the girdle with a little oil. Turn over and roast the other side. Serve hot with coconut chutney or ketchup if you are too lazy to make a chutney.

Suran Cutlets

This is one of my favourite recipe from the book Annapoorna by Mangala Barve. As always I have made this so many times that it is now more mine than hers. That is her success. Suran is a large tuber that goes by the name Yam. It is used on fasting days.

Ingredients

1/4 Suran/ Yam cubed
1 Indian lemon sized tamarind ball
1/4 cup each of Boiled veggies (carrot, beans, cauliflower)
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup chopped cilantro
6-8 green chilies
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
salt to taste
1/2 cup semolina
oil

Make sure after boiling all veggies they are drained thoroughly.

To prepare Suran: This is an important step. Yam has some juices which are irritant in nature these need to be neutralized before consumption. A good way to remove any natural irritant is by using tamarind juice in the preparation. Hence follow this step without fail. Deskin and cube suran into large pieces. Put it in a pressure cooker. Add the tamarind. Cover with water. Make sure all pieces are submerged. Close the lid and place on heat. Allow 5-6 whistles. Cool and let the steam subside before you open the cooker. Remove the suran piece and dab them dry on a towel.

Now in a big bowl collect all the boiled veggies and suran and mash. If you have a meat grinder you can use it. Now mix the bread crumbs, chopped cilantro, green chilies, red chili powder, turmeric, asafoetida and salt. Use a cookie cutter to mould the cutlets. Then dab the cutlets with semolina. You can either bake them in a greased tray after spraying lightly with oil or shallow fry on a griddle. The golden crisp cutlets are tasty bites for a high tea.

Indian Yam looks like this and not what is seen in wiki. Infact wiki is quite misleading.

Peanut Butter N Banana Fried Sandwich

When the ghost of Elvis Presley visits our home I shall make this for him. I am prepared to treat The King.

This is the first time I made this sandwich actually to test and blog the recipe here for friends who are seeing so much peanut butter in the US that they requested for this recipe. It is a recipe ideal for bachelor cooks.

Legend goes that Elvis would eat 12 of these sandwiches when he was depressed and it is also one of the things that killed him. Overeating caused obesity related problems and a swollen heart. So caution !!!

Moderation is the Mantra of Good life.

Ingredients

1 very ripe banana

2 slices of bread

2 teaspoons peanut butter
(mine is homemade so unlike American bottled ones I make without sugar)

1/2 teaspoon butter

1 tablespoon honey/ maple syrup

Apply peanut butter to both the slices of bread. Slice and place banana on one slice of bread and cover with the other. Fry this sandwich on a gridle till golden. My touch, drizzle with honey or maple syrup!

I had loved Asha's post on ELVIS'S PEANUT BUTTER-BANANA SANDWICH!:) .

PS: Guys enjoy the fragrances and eat well. Eat a lot of fruit instead of the junk thats easily available there. Enjoy your trip!

Chow Chow Bhat

Chow Chow Bhat! Yes you heard it right. A sumptuous breakfast combo sold everywhere in Bangalore and surrounding areas. Due to the omnipresence in Karnataka this post will go to Jugalbandi in the mail. Keep guessing.

It is a plate with one scoop of Upma and one of Kesari bhat (Sheera). Both are staple breakfast items individually all over India. Yet it assumes this combo avatar in blr and is called chow chow bhat. Quite misleading for a Chinese. Well chow chow is used like an adjective to denote a combination of opposites. These opposites completely change your preferences once you have tried this combo. You will never want to have Sheera and Upma as separate dishes for sure. Kesari bhat is made plain or with pineapple. Here the Kesari bhat is spiced with cloves unlike the cardamom used in the north. This is the distinction between a North Indian Sheera from a South Indian Kesari bhat!

Ingredients

For Upma

1/2 cup semolina
2 tomatoes diced
1 onion chopped fine
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon udid dal
1/4 teaspoon chana dal
2 Tablespoon oil
few curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon ghee
salt to taste

Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, fry udid dal, chana dal and then curry leaves. Add semolina and fry till it gets fluffy and light. Add the onion and fry till translucent then add tomato and stir well. Mix in salt. Then add hot water and keep mixing . Cover for some time so the semolina absorbs all water to get fluffy upma. Add half a teaspoon of ghee on the top that will separate out the grains of semolina that have not become fluffy.

Pineapple Kesari Bhat

1/2 cup semolina
1 cup hot milk
1/2 cup Floating Pineapple Syrup
2 tablespoon ghee
few cashew nuts
3-4 cloves
1/2 teaspoon of ghee

Heat ghee fry the cashew nuts and keep aside. Fry the cloves and the semolina to a light pink and you will get a nice smell of roasted semolina. Add the hot milk and cook for 5 mins. Then add the pineapple syrup. Cook for 10 mins. Till all liquids get absorbed and semolina is fluffy. Top with 1/2 teaspoon of ghee as we did for upma.

Once both Upma and Kesari bhat are ready scoop out on to a plate. Traditionally one is white colored while the other is yellow colored. If upma is made yellow with turmeric then the kesari bhat is white or is given orange color using food color. Dad likes his upma drizzled with a little sugar.

Remember as far as possible avoid food color. Anything that is not natural is not meant to be consumed. Even if the Food and Drug organizations certify it.

A picture of Pineapple sheera when I practised what I preach no food color used here. Doesn't it look divine with the pineapple studded rava.

Upma with fresh peanuts

and this time there is turmeric making it yellow (20 Dec, 2009)