Super blogger sunday : Chitra of Ratatouille - Anyone can cook

Chitra from Ratatouille- Anyone can cook is this week's featured super blogger. With a little more than 130 recipes in two years, you look for nice pictures and good variety on her blog..And the highlight is the "Kitchen clinic" series..Read more about her..

EC: Tell us something about yourself 

Chitra: First I thank EC for giving me this renowned title & a chance to tell about myself to this blogging world.

I am a home maker with cooking as passion & avocation. Before my marriage, my lovable mom never allowed me to enter the kitchen. So I cooked only at exigency and that too very simple dishes.

After my marriage, to my luck I've got my MIL equivalent to my mom who never enjoined me to do the house holds. I learnt and did everything out of my own interest and slowly started cooking.

Now iam a full time cook experimenting all the dishes of my MIL & MOM for my caring partner. Also I am the mom of a 4 yr old cutie who keeps me occupied round the clock.

I started my food blog on the eve of new year 2008. Its just completing its 2 years. As everbody says I too consider this blog as my diary / record of recipes for which I get good results. Sometimes I try some recipes from other blogs and I treasure them in my blog. Nowadays I am not blogging actively like before due to some personal reasons.

But I make sure I post atleast 2-3 recipes in a month. I am doing my best to post more n more recipes in future and planning to do some changes in the way I present my blog. Other than blogging, I have interest in reading magazines , shares & MFs.

EC: Who and what inspired you to start food blogging ??

Chitra: My husband is the sole responsible & motivation to start my blog. He suggested me this catchy title & taught me all the technical basics. Whenever I want to try some new recipes, like u all I too go for the google search..One such recipe I wanted to try was gongura thogayal which I got from srivalli's blog.

From then I started to visit her blog for various recipes and tried at home. So I should say her blog is also an important factor to start my own. Thanks a lot srivalli for being my inspiration :).

One more person I should mention at this point is my SIL..I dont want to say much about her blog. Its name says the fame.she shared me some useful tips in photography.

I think my pics are somewhat looking better just becoz of her ideas. Thank u so much raji :)

EC: How do you think blogging has changed your life ?

Chitra: Blogging has improved my cooking skills, came to know different cuisines and above all it has fetched me so many encouraging friends.

It makes me spend my afternoons in an useful way..This is the second thing that keeps me busy next to my doter.:)

EC: Which is the dish that is a hot favourite among ur family and friends..Any cuisine or recipe that you have been wanting to try since long.

Chitra: I think my thogayals are the favorite dishes among my family members and friends. But my husband loves all the sambhars I make for breakfast / dinner. He used to say I am good in making tiffin varieties ;)

As I have posted so many traditional recipes from my MIL & mom's kitchen, I crave to try baking stuffs .I really want to post some cookies, cakes & pastries in my blog. I hope this new year brings my wishes come true :P

EC: What are the sources of your recipes..Do you follow them as it is ??

Chitra: Most of the recipes are from my MIL & MOM. Other than this I try the recipes of my friends,cookbooks & blogs.

I cook & blog all the recipes that suits my family's taste. I adjust the quantity of ingredients given by others especially the spices.

EC: Have your recipes been copied anywhere without your permission..How would you deal with plagiarism ??

Chitra: No, to my knowledge nothing have been copied without my permission. Of course plagiarism is an offence. Its like stealing others hardwork. But if i find anything copied from my blog , I dont feel angry or tempestuous. I think its of no use. Anyway once copied is copied.

I convince myself saying somebody likes my recipes and I had helped them to get name & fame.

Plagarism cannot be prevented or stopped. Copycats should realise by themselves & change on their own..Till then it will be there somewhere in a corner ..( friends , please dont throw stones on me for this reply;) )

EC: Your favourite vegetarian recipe

Chitra: Our favorite recipe is Ragi vermicelli - Sweet & spicy version. My hubby hates ragi but he loves to eat this vermicelli at anytime.

Budding blogger: Shilpi

Meet Shilpi of It is tasty Ma ! blog in the budding blogger series this week..

She says --

I was born and brought up in Bombay, India; journalism happened to me almost by accident. It was not a career that I had planned or even wanted to take up, but once I got into it I enjoyed it immensely.

Food and travel was a source of joy, something which I enjoyed during my leisure time. I also had the good fortune of doing restaurant reviews during the course of my career as a journalist. Therefore, some years back when I gave up journalism and I began to miss my first love - writing, I decided to take up food blogging in August 2010. After all it is an excellent way to combine my first love -- writing -- with my source of joy—food and travel.

The inspiration and the star of this blog is my mother. She is a passionate cook and still very active in the kitchen. We are Bengalis so obviously Bengali cuisine is what you would find on our dining table but my mum not only enjoys cooking but also likes to experiment with other cuisines as well; some of these recipes are also featured in my blog. Besides recipes I will also take my readers on a culinary journey as I try different kinds of delightful food both in Bombay as well as other towns and cities.

Hope you join me in this journey

Oats Akkaravadisal

Ingredients

1 cup oats

1/4 cup green gram dal (moong dal)

1 cup grated jaggery

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

3 tbsp ghee

Cashews and raisins

Pinch of edible camphor (pachaai karpooram)

Heat 2 tbsp ghee and roast the oats well. Add 3 cups of water and cook it. Keep seperately. Pressure cook the dal seperately till soft. Heat the jaggery with little water and after it melts, strain it to remove the impurities. Heat it again and allow it to get thick. Add the dal and cooked oats to it and mix well. Cook on low flame for few minutes so that the jaggery taste gets mixed well.

Roast the cashews in the remaining ghee and add it along with cardamom powder and edible camphor. Mix well. Switch off the gas and allow it to cool a little. Finally add the boiled milk and mix well. Ensure that you add it when it is in room temperature or else it will curdle.
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Super blogger sunday : Nandini of Nandini's Food page

Meet the talented Nandini of Nandini's Food page in the Super blogger series. She has tried various regional as well as international cuisines. The blog is nearing almost 500 recipes in a little more than 2 yrs of blogging.

EC: Tell us something about yourself

Nandini: First of all, thank you for choosing me for the interview and I’m really honoured. I am an ‘at home’ mom of two beautiful kids. My main passion is cooking healthy and tongue-tickling dishes. I’m obsessed with other activities like reading novels of the real-life and fiction genre. But ironically, my life is like that of one for I never have time to myself and have to help my children in their homework and busy with other work.

My initiation of blogging was in September 2008. At first, I started blogging my recipes on the net to share my family’s tastes with the rest of the world. Then I saw that there was a large group bloggers on the net publishing their recipes. I also found myself getting involved with other Indian food bloggers. I update depending on how interested I am and what my mood is.

EC: Who and what inspired you to start food blogging

Nandini: I unintentionally (and accidentally) started blogging when my loving and caring husband suggested so. I developed more interest in pursuing diverse cuisines.

EC: You have been blogging for more than 2 years and nearing almost 500 recipes. Do you cook specifically for the blog? What are your plans regards your blog for the coming years?

Nandini: Precisely. On most of my posts, the photos and recipes are either actual lunch or dinner. Sometimes, I do cook specifically for the blog keeping my family in mind. Some of my recipes were learnt from my mom and some from huge collection which I’ve accumulated over the years. I plan to post more diverse recipes for the coming years after racking my brain.

EC:  Do you think blogging has widened your perspective and exposure?

Nandini: Absolutely. Blogging has changed the way we gather information. It helps you gain new techniques and understand food culture from fellow bloggers.

EC:  Have your recipes or pictures been copied anywhere without your permission? How would you deal with plagiarism?

Nandini: I had been a victim of plagiarism once in the blogging world. I got over this problem and considered it a common act happening ubiquitously. Obviously, the best way to deal with this problematic nuisance is to take necessary precautions like watermarking, copyright etc.

EC:  Have you encountered with something interesting after you started blogging?

Nandini: Interesting…Yes. There have been a lot of incidents. One of them involved my husband. My husband never mentions my blog to his friends. One day, I posted a cupcake recipe. That particular day was my hubby’s b’day. One of his friends was surfing through my blog without knowing it was mine in the beginning. He saw the date I posted the recipe and H’s b’day date. To confirm himself, he asked my husband, “Is this your wife’s blog? How was the birthday cupcake?” Then my hubby replied that I’m running the blog. This was one such interesting incident that I experienced.

EC:  Your favourite vegetarian recipe

Nandini: My favorite recipe is Falooda which I always love to guzzle. But not in this bleak season. I made my own Vanilla ice cream recipe which I actually forgot to mention in the post.