Nags from For the Cook in me is hosting this wonderfull event called show me your cook books.
From my whole collection of the cook book which I have bought in the last 17 years I decided I will show the book called Modern Kerala Dishes.
I don't think i can say this is my favorite book but this is the first book I bought in Indian Cooking. And I have used it a lot of time.
You should see the page were the Malbar Prawn curry is . it is full of yellow spot from the Turmeric :-))))
I bought this cook book years ago to be excat jully 1991 as you can see in the picture down. I have this habbit i learned from husband dear :-)) to write the date and place when i buy a new book.
The reason i bought this book was very simple , i didn't know to cook when i got married in 1990. The only thing i knew to make was omlete and fry papadoms.
When my mom used to say learn how to cook, my excuse was I will learn after my two eldest sisters get maried and go from home .
So while i was in holiday in my hometown in jully Isaw this book and I knew the writer from the vanitha magazine etc............so i thought why not buy this cooking book if I want to make Kerala food when I am back in Belgium.
Now you all must be thinking why I bought this book about kerala dishes than asking to my mom how to prepare these dishes which i grew up.
When i wanted to cook some kerala dishes i used to ring my mom and ask her the recipe and she will tell me ofcourse I will tell you the recipe. I will be holding with one hand the phone and with the other the pen to write.
My mom will say from the other side of the phone well Molle (child) for making parippu curry (dal curry) u need just say 200gm dal, a pinch of jeera, half a hand so and so ingridients and Quater hand this thing and i will be like Mom you know how much is that in grams and she will be saying that i don't know i just take things with my hand, i am never using any measurement!!!!!!!!!!
So i had to buy this book, to compare the measurement with my moms hand measurement.
The first time i made this recipe, it tasted like my moms chicken, i scribled it donw.
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22 comments:
Great memories attached to this book!:))
Hi Happy Cook
If I want to participate in this event, do i have to post the same on my blog?? How do I go about it? Can you help pls
Thanks asha. It is true in most of the books i've bought , i have special memories.
Shella no no don't post to me this is a event organized by Nags here is the page were you can find the details http://cookingandme.blogspot.com/2007/09/announcing-show-me-your-cook-books.html
Hope this was helpful shella.
I am a book worm too..but not a big collection of cookbooks.
So sweet. All mom's are the same. They live by approximations.
Such a happy story :-)
Also, thank you for your comment and awfully sorry about my laziness! Updated the post and here is the recipe for chocolate pistachio shortbread:
- Beat 1/2 pound (2 sticks) softened butter and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy.
- Add 2 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate - I've added upto 4 ounces.
- Sift 1.5 cups flour and 1/2 cup cocoa over the melted chocolate / beaten butter mixture. (I used 1 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup amarant flour) Mix it all up nicely. Press dough into a 9x13 pan.
- Toast 1/2 cup mixed nuts. I used pistachio, cashew nuts and a couple pods green cardamom. Pulse till finely chopped or coarse. Press the chopped nut / cardamom mixture on top of the shortbread. A rolling pin makes quick work of this.
- Bake at 300 degrees F for about 40 mins. Test with a toothpick, the edges and nuts will appear lightly browned. Cut into bars and cool. Enjoy!
Smita
Nice writing my dear. Polite Feeling with your writing.:)
hi hc.. thank you so much for the entry :) see you at the round up!
This is a treasure.
Hc,
Glad to see your photo, looks nice!
loved banana cake,Me also have the same experience when I started cooking..
Pooja thanx.
Yeah i know malika, even now i still have trouble with her measurement telling. But then now a days i ask to my sisters.
Thankyou serves you right.You are so kind.
Kajal thankyoyuy. I am surprised me POLITE :-))
See you there Nags
Cynthia it is ture. I don't even know if they sell the same book back in India as now a days there is so much new recipe books.
Thanks Seena. Yeah isn't it great that we have come through all these expirence in flying colours.
Nice to note that the book you love is mrs KM Mathews'.She belonged(now no more) to the same town I hailed..and can never forget her personal gift of her all the books!!..as a single bundle when she presented them PERSONALLY for my wedding!!...I still treasure them!
I know her as a person too and she is simple simple and terrific!!
Thanks a lot for taking part in this event, girl!!:)
Hey Aasha,
"1991".. wow... glad to know about your special memories with your very first cookbook..:D
Wow bharathy you have the whole bunch of her books and know her personally.
That is reallt a great honour to have her books gifted by her.
I always say she is the BIG MAMA of kerala cooking or anyother cooking. At least for us mallus
I am too hooked on to cookbooks
right now reading maya kaimal ...
Hey, what a coincidence, I too posted my entry today, and surprize it is a Mrs.K.M.Mathew book too... I absolutely love her... Don't have that book though, but the other two I have are almost similar recipes. Nice write up Happy Cook... :)
Mallu recipes. I am also hookied on books, but more on the cooking books i can find.
Sig Thanx for the visit. I just checkes your page. And the post is really good.
i too have a collection of cook books! i have a collection of recipes by mrs. k.m. mathew from vanita weekly which i got binded and made into a book! very happy to know that you are also from Ernakulam like me!
Lissie I think most of the malayalees have some recipes from Mrs M.
So u too are from EKM :-)
Hahaha...your mom reminds me of my granny who cooks without measurements..hehe..her hand is the universal measurement too :D Even to this day when I call and ask her, she says hmm maybe its about 1 tsp...or maybe more..hehe! Nice cook book!:)
Thanks Narmatha,
Now a days instead of asking my mom the recipe i ask my sisters as they will give me the measurements than my mom who still do with her hands.
Good memories. And looks like a good book. Good practice to write the date and place u bought the book!
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