Samo and Amaranth flour aromatic Christmas Cake. [Black and White Christmas Edition # 153.]

Last year I had submitted image of spices for Christmas cake. It was last black and white event for the year 2013, I don't wanted to miss my participation so I had quickly gathered few spices and sent my image to Cindy. At that point I just knew that I will bake one cake for Christmas using the spices I spread in the submitted image. I could not bake the cake on Christmas but baked it on the last day of the year. It was wonderful wholesome aromatic cake with lots of good ingredients. I have not yet published the cake recipe, I will soon complete the draft and publish it. I owe my inspirations to bake this cake to Black and White Wednesday event and would like to thank Susan, founder of the event and Cinzia, organizer of the event and all the participants  who keep this event going.

Today I am submitting this last years cake image for the Christmas Edition of Black and White event #153 which is hosted by Lynne. Next BWW event will resume back on 7th January 2015, check here for host lineup.

Aromatic Christmas Cake with Samo and Amaranth flour.

Black and White Wednesday Event #153

Curry leaf plant containers invaded by Amaranth plants and grass. [Black and White Wednesday #138]

I have few containers with  small curry leaf plants, they all survived this passed harsh winter. After April month I took them out of  garage, within few days containers  were invaded by Amaranth plants and grass. It looked pretty so I let them grow until now. Soon I will clear all the pots so that curry leaf plants start growing freely, hope this year they all grow bigger and stronger. I am sending this black and white image to Susan at The Well Seasoned cook, who is hosting this weeks BWW #138. She is  also the founder of this event. Currently Cinzia of Cindystar looks after all admin duties. Next week Lynne will be hosting BWW #139  at Cafelynnylu.

  Black and White Wednesday Event #138

Weber Charcoal Grill, winter time images. [ Black and White Wednesday #115 ]

This week for Black and White Wednesday I am submitting image of  snow covered  Weber's Charcoal Grill. Last week we had 2-3 inches of snow in Cary, temperatures were too cold  so snow stayed around for 3-4 days, as a result schools were closed for four days. I took few snow images around home, Grill was  covered with fluffy snow. It was a beautiful natural contrast of black and white so thought of sending this image to BWW #115 to Siri who is hosting this week at Cooking with Siri. Susan of  The Well Seasoned Cook, is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of Cindystar looks after admin duties for this event. Next BWW event #116, February 12th 2014 -Valentine's Day edition will be hosted by Lynne of cafelynnylu. For all  rules and future event details please check Cinzia's Post.

It has been a long time since I grilled something with  my weber's portable grill, as temperatures warm up I will get back to grilling. Scroll down to view more images of the grill taken during snow and fall season. I was collecting beautiful fall color leaves of sweet gum/ Liquid amber tree. Black grill lid was perfect background to spread  leaves and capture images. Check earlier  recipe post on grilled shrimp and mushrooms using Weber's charcoal grill.

Charcoal Grill covered  with snow. (Cary snow fall on 28th January, 2014)

Black and White Wednesday Event #115

Sweet Gum / Liquid Amber fall  leaves.

Images taken on 09/02/2013

Patio and Grill lid covered with snow - Image taken on 29th January 2014.

Fall season inspired Spicy Cluster Beans stir fry. [Black and White Wednesday #113]

I cooked this cluster bean stir fry  on one beautiful fall morning  in November. This was weather inspired simple stir fry with sauteed onions, spiced with whole and crushed black peppers. Red wine vinegar and Honey was used to bring sweet and sour taste. Addition of mini colored peppers made nice color contrast over bright green pre-boiled  sliced Cluster beans/ Gavar. This simple recipe can be adapted for several other vegetable stir fries.

I am submitting this image to Black and White Wednesday #113, January 22nd 2014, which will be hosted by Susan of  The Well Seasoned Cook, who is also a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of Cindystar looks after admin duties for this event. Next BWW event #114, January 29th 2014 will be hosted by Simona of briciole. For all  rules and future event details please check Cinzia's Post.

Black and White Wednesday Event #113

Spices for Christmas Cake...Black and White Wednesday #110

I  will be baking a cake for Christmas with four spices, Cinnamon, Star anise, Cardamom and Nagkeshar. I plan to  keep it gluten free by replacing all purpose flour with  few multi grain flours. Following whole spices image I am sending to Cinzia for Black and White Wednesday #110, Next BWW event  #111, January 8th 2014, will be hosted by Lynne at Cafe Lynnylu. For future event hosting schedule refer Cinzia's post. Susan from Well Seasoned Cook has  founded this event.

Star Anise, Cardamom, Nagkeshar and Cinnamon sticks.

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #110

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar on Parsley herb Plant. [Black and White Wednesday #102]

This week for Black and White Wednesday event I am submitting image of Black Swallowtail Caterpillar on parsley stem. In September month I spotted one Caterpillar on parsley herb plant which is growing in the pot along with chives. I  gently lifted  caterpillar along with stem and moved it over the lawn but next day it returned back on parsley plant. It looked very pretty with black stripes, yellow dots over bright light Green body. After googling  I was pleasantly surprised to know that the same caterpillar transforms into a beautiful  Black swallowtail butterfly.

Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook who is also a founder of this event is hosting Black and White Wednesday #102. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog  looks after admin duties for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #103, 30th October-2013- Hallowen Edition) will be hosted by Lynne  of  CafeLynnylu. 

Caterpillar took  three hours to finish eating one stem of Parsley.

I had plucked and placed it over  side walk, later moved it over mulch.

(Check lower right image for end result.)

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #102, 23rd October-2013

Sliced Zucchini - Black and White Wednesday #100

Tomorrow, 9th October 2013,  Black and White Wednesday event  will be celebrating its 100th  Edition. Cinzia  of  Cindystarblog is  hosting this event who also takes care of admin duties for this event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #101, 16th October-2013) will be hosted by Urvashi of  BuddingHomeMaker.

This week I am submitting my 15th Black and White image. It was a great joy to participate in this event, it added a unique personality to my blog, initiated more creativity and helped me to improve food photography. Thanks to Susan , Cinzia and all the bloggers who hosted this event and shared their beautiful images. My this weeks image is  sliced Zucchini. I clicked this image before cooking  stir fry for lunch. I love to cook with Zucchini for its taste, texture and green and white color contrast. 

Sliced Zucchini

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #100

Home made Purple Sweet Potato Chips and Plantain Chips {Black and White Wednesday # 95}

This week for Black and White Wednesday event I am submitting image of  home made Purple sweet potato chips and plantain chips.  I made these chips over labour Day long weekend for evening  tea time snack. I had two green raw Plantains and one  purple sweet potato, It took me around 45 minutes to prepare these deep fried chips. I simply peeled the skin of plantains and sweet potato, directly sliced it over oil Kadhai. My slicer blade makes extra thin slices. Per banana I got above 100 chips and total yield was little over two cups. Sweet potato, I got 1.5 cups chips. I seasoned  chips with  extra fine ground sea salt.

Deepali  from Lemon In Ginger  is hosting Black and White Wednesday Event #95. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #96, 11th Sept-2013) will be hosted by Haalo  of  Cook allmost anything.

Home made Purple Sweet Potato chips & Plantain Chips

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #95, 4th Sept-2013

Sprouting Moong Beans inside warm oven. {Black and White Wednesday #91}

This week for Black and White Wednesday event I am submitting image of  sprouted Moong Beans. Few days back  for the first time I sprouted moong beans inside the oven by maintaining warm temperatures, it worked very well. I was to keep  dosa batter in the oven  for fermentation, also kept soaked moong dal alongside batter without knowing if it would bring any better results. I soaked Moong beans in water on Sunday morning and  by Monday noon fully sprouted moong beans were ready to cook, that is around 30 hours of total time to sprout moong beans. I  had covered soaked moong  beans inside wet thick paper towel and placed  it inside vented plastic basket.  I will be doing similar experiments with other beans and lentils.

This week Susan from The Well Seasoned cook  is hosting Black and White Wednesday Event #91, who is also a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #92, 17th July-2013) will be hosted by Simona of  briciole. 

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #91, 10th July-2013

Herb flavored Green beans and Beetroot Stir Fry. {Black and White Wednesday # 88 }

This week for Black and White Wednesday event I am submitting image of Green beans and Beetroot stir fry. This  Kerala style Thoran  gets refreshing  twist from use of  fresh sage and Greek Oregano herb. Generally fresh grated coconut it used but I additionally garnished  this stir fry  with  generous quantity of fresh coconut shavings.

Sreevalli from Ammaji Recipes is hosting Black and White Wednesday Event #88. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #89, 26th June-2013) will be hosted by Lynne  of  CafeLynnylu. 

Herb flavored Green beans and Beetroot Thoran.

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #88, 19th June-2013

Growing Garlic in a pot. {Black and White Wednesday #87}

This is my  eleventh image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #87, 12th June, 2013. Jasmina from JazzyKitchen is hosting the Event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #88, 19th June-2013) will be hosted by Sreevalli  of  AmmajiRecipes.

This week I am submitting image of pot harvested Garlic. Many times I collect  vegetable scraps and waste, add it in pots with layers of soil, dry leaves. After few months that pot yields healthy soil. During September -October month I had put some vegetable waste in the pot, it had some sprouted garlic cloves. After few days I noticed  few  green sprouts in the pot.  I doubted it to be Garlic. After few days  one more small garlic plant rose up. We had quite harsh winter this year but Garlic plants stood all green and healthy. By early first week of June I pulled out small plant and was amazed to see tiny garlic bulb. On 9th June  I took out the big one which has a big size garlic bulb. I have placed  both bulbs in a basket  to dry. It took around 8-9 months to harvest garlic in a pot. Now I plan to press few more sprouted garlic cloves in a containers. Scroll down to see more images of Garlic plant.

{B&WW#87]  Pot Harvested Garlic.

Cold, frosty, snowy weather kept Garlic plants all Green.

Image taken in mid January.

By end of the March Garlic plant was well grown.

By second week of June stem started to dry out. 

It was time to pull out garlic plant.

A well grown garlic bulb out of pot.

small garlic bulb was pulled out one week before.

All most   8-9  months to harvest  garlic in a pot.

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #87

Sattvic Lunch - Rice and Tofu Curry in Yu Choy Puree. {Black and White Wednesday #86}

This is my Tenth image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #86, 05th June, 2013. Deepali Jain from Confusion Cook is hosting the Event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #87, 12th June-2013) will be hosted by Jasmina of  Jazzy Kitchen.

This week I am submitting image of Sattvic lunch plate. This is simple rice and vegetable-tofu curry lunch served with warm cumin infused water. Curry is made in sliced green capsicum and yu choy puree gravy base without adding onion and garlic, it is cooked in coconut oil. Garam masala is not used, it is seasoned with cumin corriander powder and fresh ginger.

Sattvic Lunch - Rice and Tofu curry

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #86

Black and White Wednesday # 85, {Onion, Cilantro, Florida Hot Green Chili Fritters.}

This is my Ninth image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #85, 29th May, 2013. Priya from Humpty Dumpty Kitchen is hosting the Event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #86, 5th June-2013) will be hosted by Deepali Jain of  Confusion Kitchen.

This week I am submitting image of fritter made with Onion,Cilantro leaves, Cilantro stems and Florida hot green chillies. These fritters are shaped like birds nest and are gluten free and Eggless. Besan flour (gram flour) is used for binding. I  was left with one single fritter to take an image so did extra styling to make fritter look appealing. I have placed tomato ketchup, mint leaf, sage flowers. These tiny circles are root portion of Beetroot, which are peeled, sliced and arranged. Check Fritter recipe post here.

Onion, Cilantro, Florida Hot Green Chili Fritter.

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #85

Black and White Wednesday #84 {Fresh coconut, Hemp hearts and Chia seed ladoos}

This is my eighth image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #84, 22nd May, 2013. Simona from Briciole is hosting the Event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future event hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #85, 29th May-2013) will be hosted by Priya of  Humpty Dumpty Kitchen.

This week I am submitting image of  special power packed super food ladoos made with Chia seeds, Hemp hearts and fresh grated coconut. Ladoos are sweetened with honey and little brown sugar, no oil or ghee is used but it contains natural coconut oil from fresh grated coconut. Ladoos are flavored with cardamom and nutmeg. This is the  first time I have used  Chia seeds and raw shelled Hemp seeds in cooking. These two versatile super foods can be very well used in Indian cooking.

Chia seed, Hemp hearts and fresh coconut ladoos.

Black and White Wednesday
 Event #84

Black and White Wednesday #83 {Spanish Lavender Flower arrangement.}

This is my seventh image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #83, 15th May, 2013. Shruthi from Food and Clicks is hosting the Event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday Event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #84, 22nd May-2013) will be hosted by Simona of  Briciole.

This week I am submitting image of Lavender flowers arrangement in tiny glass bottle. This Spanish lavender, variety is very aromatic and has bright purple flowers with unique shape. I got this bunch from our Raleigh downtown farmers market.  I have not used lavender spice in any dish but looking forward to cook some Indian dishes with Lavender spice seasoning.

Spanish Lavender flowers arranged in small bottle.

Black and White Wednesday Event #82

Black and White Wednesday #81 {Scallion and Red Capsicum Paratha.}

This is my sixth image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #81,1st May, 2013. Lynne from Cafelynnylu is hosting the Event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #82, 8th May-2013) will be hosted by Alex at food4thght..

This week my  two submissions are images of  Vegetable Parathas. These parathas were made in the  morning hours to pack for lunch. It took me less than half an hour to make 5 parathas from scratch. I made them by combining  green onions, red bell pepper, onion and cilantro, no spices are used  so they are packed with  natural  flavor of  veggies and herbs. Click here for Paratha Recipe.

Scallion and Red Bell Pepper Paratha

 Green onion and Red Capsicum Paratha.

Black and White Wednesday Event #81

Black and White Wednesday #80 {Burnt Roti over Griddle, Artistic patterns of black circles from burnt Roti/Chapati.}

This is my fifth image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #80,  24th April, 2013.This week I am submitting the image of burnt roti over griddle. Preparing rotis/chapatis is everyday chore for an Indian woman, every rolled roti  gets a distinct pattern of burnt marks. Patterns are  based on type of gas stove, metal type of the griddle, dough ingredients, texture and thickness of rolled roti.  Last week while preparing roti I  rushed to get phone call and forgot about roti, in few moments roti got burnt, it turned smoky around griddle. I quickly flipped  the roti and saw beautiful pattern of black rounds, It was catchy enough to take picture. Roti turned too hard and was not edible. I added it to my  collection of burnt rotis. One day I plan to capture design patterns of burnt marks from fried roti/chapatis specially the burnt ones.

This week Anusha  from TomatoBlues is hosting the event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event. Next event (BWW #81, 1st May-2013) will be hosted by Lynne at cafelynnylu.

Design patterns of Burnt Roti over Griddle.

Black and White Wednesday Event #80

Black and White Wednesday #79 {Chana Dal and Barley Payasam.}

This is my fourth image submission for Black and White Wednesday event #79, 17th April, 2013. This week Shruthi from food and clicks is hosting the event. Susan, author of TheWell Seasoned Cook is a founder of this event. Now Cinzia of  Cindystarblog is a new admin for Susan's Black and White Wednesday event. For all guidelines  and an index of  all future hosting blogs please check Cinzia's  post  here. Participants can join Flickr group created for B&W event.

Next event (BWW #80) will be hosted by Anusha at Tomato Blues.

My following two images are taken last week end while preparing Chana Dal and Barley payasam for Vishu Festival. I cooked this Payasam/kheer in a slow cooker. It took  around 5 hours to prepare payasam. Click here to check original images and recipe for Chana Dal Kheer.

South Indian festival Sweet - Payasam

Cooking Chana Dal and Barley payasam in Slow cooker.

Black and White Wednesday Event #79