I name it - Chocolate Spongies

Can you guess what is used as the main ingredient to make this......I got many of my friends saying it as bread looking at the pics.....But its a big no.......Its just marie biscuit with home made chocolate cream cant believe??!. Check the second pic can you see the semicircled marie biscuit? I saw this recipe yest from EdibleGarden and as soon as I reached home wanted to try it out as it can be done in a jiffy though the stackings needs some patience. I didnt have coco powder so I used powdered bournvita, but if you are using this then reduce the sugar level as bourvita is already sweet. And I made a minor modification I laid the cream on top of each biscuit(to make the staked lines more browny).

Ingredients:
Marie Biscuits - 10
Powdered Sugar - 2 tbsp if bournvita is used [3 for coco powder]
Bournvita/Coco Powder - 1 tbsp
Unsalted Butter - 3 tbsp
Warm Milk - 1/4 cup
Instant coffee powder - 2 pinches

Method:
1. Mix the butter, sugar and bournvita powder and make it into a fine creamy texture.
2. Add the coffee powder to the milk. Dip each biscuit in this mixture and apply the cream in between each biscuit but only a very thin layer[this is optional] and arrange it in a stack neatly one on top of the other.
3. Now apply a thick layer on all sides of the stack evenly.
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours, remove and cut into slices.


What should I mention about the taste...When hubby came home I first showed him the pics I had taken.....his reaction was: Was it really made by you?? once he saw it live and realised it was marie biscuit he started teasing me.....but ofcourse finished it up fully. In short : Easy making with a yum yum taste!!

Quick Tips for Nokia Symbian series(S60)

To be in short : S60 software on Symbian OS is the world’s most popular software for smartphones. Symbian is a small OS sitting in your mobile and thats the reason why it takes time to boot and start off.......Some of S60 mobiles are : N7610, N3650, N7650, N3600 etc...I have a nokia 7610(one of my mobiles ;)) lookwise very elegant n stylish, the camera is fairly reasonable for a 1MP click. More details of 7610 will follow in the near future. Now its for the tips:

Tip 1: Do u know how to use the edit button (abc or pencil button)?Heres how... in the inbox for example; u want to delete multiple sms, simply hold the edit button, scroll down, and then, press c to delete the marked sms. The edit button can also b used to copy and past text in sms, simply hold it and scroll across, choose copy. pretty good for placing song names in ngages

Tip 2: Save on battery and system memory being used by regulary checking the task manager which can be accessed by holding down the menu button!! Close the applications that are not in use.

Tip 3: Set the screen saver to a short time out period to prolong battery life.

Tip 4: Avoid restarting the phone, or repeatedly turning it on and off. This helps increase battery life.

Tip5: While you are viewing a picture in your phone's gallery, press one of these shortcut keys (definitely works on 6600, not sure about other symbians)

1 - turn image anticlockwise

3 - turn image clockwise

* - toggle on/off of full screen

5 - zoom in

0 - zoom out

Tip 6: Only got blue, green and purple in your 3650 colour palette? This free app adds 3 more colours: Palette Extender.

Tip 7: You can speed up the phone by setting the time of the "Recent calls register" to one day (30 days by default).

Tip 8: Delete all messages from your Inbox at once:Menu > Messaging > Inbox > Options > Mark/Unmark > Mark all > Options > Delete

Tip 9: Record the sound of a phone call using the (sound) Recorder. Menu > Extra's > Recorder > Options > Record sound clip.Note: short beeps are audible during call registration.But there is a 60 second limitation so if you want unlimited sound recording get this app: Extended Recorder.

Tip 10: If you would like to avoid being "blue jacked", keep bluetooth turned off, or set your phone's visibility to hidden.

Malai Kofta Curry

I luv this dish but dont often order as sidedish when we sit out at restaurants. As hubby is not very fond of it, we usually go in for some paneer dish. When I saw some recipes, I readily wanted to try it.....I didnt know it was as simple as this...I felt frying the kofthas was time consuming but it was fun to roll over the balls in paniyara kal. I took this recipe from Spicesetc as it was a low fat version. I had few modifications in the veggies needed to make the kofta....

Ingredients:
For Koftas :
Mashed boiled potato - 1/2
Bread slices-2
Very finely chopped cabbage - 1/4 cup [I sauted this in kadai for 10 seconds, it can be added raw also]
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves chopped - few
Coriander powder - 2 to 3 pinches
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Method to make the koftas:
1.Dip the bread slices in water, squeeze excess water. Mix it with rest of the ingredients and make small balls.
2.Heat kuzhipaniyaram pan, add 1-2 drops oil in each hole. Put the balls in the holes and cook on all sides.
This is where you need lot of patience in rolling the ball to get it cooked all sides equally.

NOTE : If you dont have a paniyara kal you can use normal tawa to fry. Remember its a low fat version so reduce as much oil as u can.

For Gravy:
Oil - 2 tbsp
Cloves - 3
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
Cardamom - 1
Cashews - 10
Onion chopped - 1 medium sized
Tomato puree - take out of 2 tomatos
Jeera - 1 tsp
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - as per taste
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Milk -1/2 cup
Coriander leaves-to garnish

Method to make the gravy:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera, leave it to crackle. Add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and fry.
2. Add ginger garlic paste and onions, add little salt. Fry till the onions are cooked and turn light brown.
3. Add tomato puree, some more salt and all the spice powders. Fry for a few minutes until the puree gets thickened a bit and oil seperates.
4. Cool the mixture and grind the above with cashews to a fine paste. Add the grinded paste to the stove again.
5. Cook for 5mins till raw smell goes, Add milk and heat it for 5 minutes, dont heat more. Add the fried kofta balls and cook in sim for 2 minutes.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves.

This dish scored 10/10 from both Amma and hubby and ofcourse me....he he my tongue is so long that I dont get satisfied easily with dishes. It goes well with Rotis and Parotas. Do try it out and am sure it will one among ur favs too!

And I am sending this to :

RCI-Lucknow Cuisine event announcement Lakshmi’s blog

Info : The cuisine of Lucknow has its own distinct individuality and identity. The traditional food of Lucknow was highly patronized by the Mughals thus giving it a very royal touch. Cooking a meal for the kings required that extra flair and touch of difference and the presentation required that extra eye for detail.

Sweet Tangy Bhindi Masala

This is my first post on cooking......I cannot say I am very fond of cooking the regular menu...just try out some new receipes which come my way...but ofcourse know to cook the basic south indian meal with sambar, rasam, poriyal and varuval. And give a attendance to the kitchen now and then like when I see some tempting receipes. This is one such recipe that I found in Red chillies. I followed exactly the same method, quantity and ingredients as I didnt want to take risk atleast for the first few experiments...;) It had a sweet tangy taste but I reduced the jaggery....that can be added/reduced as per ones taste as some like the sweet taste and few others wudnt like a gravy to be sweet. Otherwise it was a apt combo with rice/chapathis.

Before u get a mobile.....

Finally took off the coming soon tag.....;) Hmm had been waiting for my exam to get over to actively start posting here...As I know i wud be so excited in this topic tat there are chances for me to get distracted :) so I postphoned it myself!

Brand - First filter the mobile brand to avoid confusions....These days most of the brands are gud it all depends on what features ur looking for and the likes u have whether its the design or features or the userinterface.

Mobile sites - Browse through the mobile sites for its detailed features and compare them with other mobiles. Check gsmarena for mobile reviews and user opinions.

Shop Survey - Go in for some shop survey for any offers or price variation.

User Reviews - And importantly read some user reviews n opinions...dont decide purely on that but still u can have an idea on wat is wat....As far as I know, these days 50% of the mobiles comes with some minor defects...If not today it may show it, may be later..So its better to be prepared.You can be well known about the problems n its solutions in user reviews...Its better to be aware of the problem that may occur in future.

Last Opinion - After all these, have last opinion of the sales person becos I feel not all of them will direct u in the right way!

Decide well, Think twice and Go for it...I m sure ur mobile will win ur heart forever!!!!!! :) Enjoying shopping! :))

Sharmi's passions

What is Sharmis Passions?

Sharmi's passions....As the name implies this blog of mine talks all about my passions and interests.First started this blog exclusive for mobiles but then I found myself with varied passions and interests...so renamed this blog from 'Mobile world' to 'Sharmi's passions'. When I thought to start a public blog I cudnt settle down with one topic say Mobiles/Photography/Cooking...It was a mix of all these, though the list had priorities....So here you can find recipes, information/tips abt food photography.....say more of my experiences with gadgets and some more stuff to spice it up.

About Me:

I luv working with colors especially on the web and thats why I attempt to keep my blog as well my pics colorful.I cant say I am very passionate about cooking as am not a regular cook........just a innovative recipe hunter who does cooking now n then. Just have entered into the world of baking and am just loving it.Greatly interested in food photography and this blog is a platform for all my learnings.

Behind Sharmis Passions:

Its only me as a author for this blog but the credit for the successful running of this blog should go to my mother, hubby and my dear friends....And to my lil one who is the sole reason for this blog as I seriously started looking out for new and healthy recipes only after her birth though she hasnt started tasting all of my recipes...am eagerly waiting for her to.....What started as a passtime is now a great passion to me - Both cooking & clicking but to be true I cook to click :)

Whats different about Sharmis Passions

One place for recipes for healthy food, low fat baked goodies, tips on food photography, gadgets etc.

Inspiration

Amma - she is my all time motivator and a great cook (admitted this only when I started cooking...;)) As with the case with everyone she is my first inspiration!

Camera I use & Editing Tools:

I use a simple point and shoot camera - Its Olympus Fe280. From now on (Jan 2011) I am using a Nikon D3100 DSLR.I use Photoshop for editing and adding banners. I believe strongly that editing the pics more will reduce the naturalness in it...so most of my pics are only slightly edited for brightness and size reduction.

Contact Me:

Have any queries or suggestions......write to me at sharmispassions@gmail.com. Would love to hear from you!