A thank you note, 20 Most Popular Posts of 2013 & New Year Greetings

Its been a year since I started blogging food at Ma Niche. My motivation was to learn to cook beyond the every needs. In that respect my experience here has been enriching and fulfilling. In this one year I have learnt to cook and appreciate traditional recipes from all over the world and enjoyed "food" like never before. I have learnt to respect my measuring cups, teaspoons and tablespoons as much as "printed recipes" and realized that food photography is as much of an art as fine cooking. Through many a baking groups, cook book clubs and food photography challenges I have made new friends, learnt new recipes, stepped outside my kitchen comfort zone and surprised myself with the revelation that I too can bake & cook 'well'. In this one year the number of people connecting with Ma Niche through various social networks have increased by far and at each step it has been encouraging to know that you all are around. Thank you so much for being there and helping Ma Niche grow into the space it is today. Hope 2014 will be as wonderful and fulfilling as the year that went by and with your love and support this space with grow and prosper in 2014.  Thank you once again !! 

Now a quick recap of 20 Most Popular Posts of 2013..

The 20 Most Popular Posts of 2013 

1. Homemade Apple Cider
2. 100% Whole Wheat Bread using Tangzhong Method
3. Spiced Pear Jam
4. Mediterranean Chicken Meat Balls
5. One Minute Chocolate Cake
6. Apple Popover

7. Medovik (Russian Honey LayerCake)

8. Eggless Pina Colada Cake

9. Hokkaido Milk Bread using Tangzhong Method, Orange Marmalade & Nutella Tartine

10. Wheat Berry and Chickpea Salad

11. Eggless Apple Cake

12. Spinach Fateyar

13. Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

14. Sweet Taralli

15. Cotton soft Japanese Cheesecake

16. Savory Pull Apart Bread

17. Teff Crepes

18. Eggless Paska

19. Warm Applesauce Spice bars

20. Maple Chicken

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2014 !!

Love & best wishes,      Tanusree and family..  

Holi Hai !!!

May the colours of Holi fill your life with love and happiness.

Wish you all a very Happy Holi !!

Gulacha Ganapati

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi !! 

It is the day when people all over India celebrate Vighna Vinashak Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles. I had wished to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in my own way.... so throughout the day i laboured over a piece of art of the almighty. but my portrait of Ganesha did not get done in time.. so i had to defer posting it for a while....

But while i was on FB I came across this awesome Gulacha Ganapati  by Shriram Kelkar.... A murti of Ganapati carved out from Jaggery !! Starting from scratch, it apparently took Shriram 8 - 10 hours to finish this amazing art work of the almighty !!!! He mentions that carving the ideal from gur is a family tradition that he has been following with much dedication. His wife who carved out Ganesha's vahan, the Mushika, mentions that as Gur(jaggery) tends to get soft and starts melting, Shriram had to constantly use rice flour to keep his hands from getting sticky. Kudos to Shriram and his wife !! this ideal certainly reflects your patience, talent and immense devotion to Lord Ganesha !!

xīn nián kuài lè !

With the sun peeping indoors through each of our windows, it certainly feels like spring today ! ... and since after the dreary winter every day of spring calls for a special celebration, i thought to myself why not celebrate Chinese New Year ! so greetings to all !!  

xīn nián kuài lè !

today the little missy turns two !!

 

Shruti baby turned 2 today !! and when we called to wish her last night.... for the first she called me "cho-to-ma".... i was so...ooo thrilled to hear her finally call me so. our baby is growing up really fast....... lots and lots of love and kisses to our baby doll !!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Norman Rockwell's Freedom From Want, 1943

i guess happiness is a contagious miracle..... 

and that is why the Thanksgiving-blog-posts with pictures of roast turkey, pies, mashed potatoes, bowls of fruits and
many many happy faces surrounding them...  are making me soo...ooo happy  and gay !! 

Wish you all Happy Thanksgiving while you all get warm and cosy around family and friends !!

[image found here]

Subho Naboborsho !!

   Aaj Poila Baishak Choddosho-satero !!  Sabai ke janai naboborsher shubheccha o preeti...

[It is  Poila Baishak Choddosho-satero today !! Wish you all a very Happy Bengali New Year !!]

While I was looking for an appropriate image to accompany my Bengali New years greetings to all, I came across  some beautiful paintings by Dithi Chakrabortty at Deezden. Owing to copy-right issues I have not posted here any of her paintings ..... but if you are fond of art, you must visit her blog. She is a self-taught artist who merges very beautifully the traditional Bengali styles in her art. In the words of Chandana Banerjee, who recently interviewed Dithi for Femina,

" Bronze-skinned and doe-eyed Indian women waltz through her canvases, whispering secrets for the onlooker to interpret."

Having grown up in Bengal myself, I can very easily relate to the folklore, the festivals and the Indian woman in her various avatars which form the central theme of most of her paintings. Of the ones I have seen so far, Holi, The red tufted Cockatoo, The Fortune Telling Parrots and The Batua easily qualify as my favourites for the memories they refresh.

I am quite thrilled to have found her blog and so on New Year's day, I thought the best way to greet you all would be by sharing with you my finds of the day !!