Category: News and Updates

As you all know, Alex and I were having a great time on our vacation, traveling throughout the United States visiting family and friends. I have to say that this trip has really been a great experience and we have had the time of our lives. With that said, I have to admit I was really missing my family back home. Both Alex and I missed our family (especially our four grandchildren) so much we decided to come back home for a little while before continuing with our vacation.

So much to the surprise of our family, we came back to San Diego. I have been spending a lot of time with my grandchildren to make up for the time I was away. These days I have been cooking a lot with my younger granddaughter, who is 2 years old. I am trying to introduce some of my son’s childhood favorite dishes. So far we have made delicious chocolate chip pancakes and puda folded with fresh spinach and cheddar cheese. I think I may have a future chef-in-training!

I feel like I made the right decision coming back home for a while before continuing on with our trip to India. After all, what can beat spending quality time with your family?

Until next time…

I really enjoyed all the entries for last month. Many people used butternut squash in the recipes. In fact, four of top five are all recipes with butternut squash. Here are the my top five entries and two top winners from those:

Congratulations to both of you!!

Thank you to everyone else that also participated in the contest:

• Sumedha
• Sowmya Chandrasekaran
• Lakshmi Satyanarayana
• Latha Muralidhar
• Hidemi Walsh
• Priya Ramakrishnan
• Sukanya
• Saket Agarwal
• Devangi Raval
• Nabeelah
• Sonia Sahni
• Laura
• Sushma Saxena

• Ashwini Deshpande
• Lakshmi Swetha
• Swetha Ramakrishna
• Mini Gupta
• Spoorthy Prasad
• Neeraj Sonkar
• Rehana Khambaty
• Gauri Naik
• Dipti Joshi
• Aishani
• Anil Parekh
• Bipasha
• Julie Sterner

For Thanksgiving, this month’s contest is make any recipe using squash as the main ingredient. It can be any type of squash (ex. Pumpkin is in the squash family). You may make any type of recipe such as an appetizer, main dish, or dessert.  The rules for November are the following:

• Any recipe that uses Squash as main ingredient.
• It must be vegetarian and also egg-less
• Please submit only ONE recipe.

In general I will only consider recipes that I feel are complete in regards to ingredients, measurement, and instruction. From there I am looking for creativity and a recipe that my viewers would enjoy to prepare on their own. I will be judging on overall recipe and presentation also.

Be sure to check out Manjula’s spicy squash recipe as an example. Good Luck!

Below is my checklist:

• Be Creative!
• Ingredients should be listed with measurements.
• Method must be explained clearly, so it’s easy to follow.
• Please include your name along with the recipe (as you would like it to appear).
• Search the web for ideas. There are many resources available.
• Please send me a detailed recipe to contest@manjulaskitchen.com
• You must also send original picture(s) of the recipe – do not simply grab a photo from the web. Otherwise your recipe will not be considered for entry.
• The deadline is November 27th.
• The winner will be featured on the homepage with the new recipe and a link to their website (if available).

1st Prize: $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com
2nd Prize: $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com

**Anyone can join this contest**

There were many entries last month for the appetizer. As usual, it was tough selecting the winners. Here are the my top five entries and two top winners from those:

Congratulations to both of you!!

Thank you to everyone else that also participated in the contest:

• Sumedha
• Joan Ross
• V Narmadha
• Jimmy Arcade
• Chaitanya Sripada
• Ajitha
• Shailaja
• Shradha Vasa
• Devangi
• Archana Toshniwal
• Deepti Rao
• Teena Mary
• Sangeeta Sen
• Ritu
• Pooja Joshi
• Michael Olson
• Shashi Jain
• Sunita Shrivastava
• Stuti Singh
• Satyapaul Bangar
• Swagata Shah
• Mansi Desai
• Hirdesh Jain
• Amina Khaleel

• Kusum
• Selvabai
• Vani Hegde
• Sukanya
• Mini Gupta
• Richa Gupta
• Neetu Varghese
• Veena
• Ish Nirola
• Manz Joyal
• Ateeba Nasir
• Uma Bhaiya
• Sowmya Chandrasekaran
• Mike W J Arun
• Kalyani
• Rehana Khambaty
• Sahib Kaur
• Deepali Bohra
• Mya Zeronis
• Farah Afshan
• Pamela Isaac Daniel
• Priscilla
• Shaveta Kalra
• Swathi Jayanth

The month of October is a month of celebration. This month the Hindu calendar is filled with many holidays. As you know, this year I am celebrating these holidays with friends while I am away from home. We have already celebrated Navratri and Dashara but there is still some celebrating to do!

The next holiday coming up is Karva Chauth which is a festival where married women observe a fast to ensure the well-being of their husbands. Karva Chauth is celebrated with great enthusiasm with wives getting together dressed in their best colorful attire. In my family, we enjoy celebrating by making Gatta Ki Kadhi, Rice, one green vegetable and my daughter in law’s favorite Gulgulas.

After Karva Chauth, it is time to get ready to celebrate Diwali, which has been coined the festival of lights. Diwali is the time to get together and socialize with friends and family and exchange gifts. I love to celebrate Diwali with my friends by giving them home-cooked treats. I would recommend the following as great treats to bring at Diwali festivities: Coconut Burfi, Mohan Thal, Besan Ladoo, Baklava Rolls, Besan Para, Shakkar Para, Masala Peanuts. I have many recipes for these items.

Right now, I am in Ann Arbor, Michigan having a great time with family. Recently we took a trip to Niagara Falls. It was just spectacular.

I plan to enjoy the remaining holidays with my family and friends. I will be posting a new recipe which is perfect for Diwali – “Mava ki Kachori”. This is a delicacy from the state of Rajasthan. This dish is a fried pastry filled with an aromatic nut mixture – it is the perfect Diwali treat. Make sure you do not miss the recipe for this delicacy!

Until then…Happy Diwali!

Our journey has now taken us to Seattle, Washington where we are staying with my aunt. They live about 2 hours north of Seattle and have a beautiful countryside home. Many of you have noticed my new surroundings in my last video posted about Zucchini Pasta. This video was taped at my aunt’s house. She has a beautiful vegetable garden and I used fresh zucchini from there. I will have to come up with a recipe using more of her fresh vegetables very soon.

Downtown Seattle is very lively and interesting. We enjoyed walking through the Farmer’s market fresh fruits and vegetable stands, spice shops and small gift shops and restaurants. It actually reminded me a little of India.

We have been doing a lot of driving and walking near the water and in the woods. Seattle is a very scenic town. Tomorrow we will be taking the ferry to Vancouver, Canada. We are looking forward to that!

I have to say the best of part of this trip is sitting down with my aunt and having heartfelt conversations about our childhood and family members back in India. We are amazed at how life has changed for both of us since moving to the U.S. We have spent many late nights laughing and crying when reminiscing.

My next video for Veggie Hash Browns will be posted very soon.

Our first stop was San Francisco; we stayed with our son’s in-laws and had a great time. They took us around the city. I wanted to take the Bart which is a local train to downtown and then we went on the cable cars. We walked around downtown San Francisco. Then we went to Fisherman’s Wharf, browsing gift shops and trying out a local restaurant. These activities made us feel that we were young again. Next day we went to the University of Berkley. We enjoyed walking through the university, watching students, and remembering our own college time, that was very refreshing.

Next day was the visit to Temple which wasn’t planned but this came out to be great experience. At the temple, they were celebrating Lord Ganesh Chaturthi, which is a Hindu festival.

Next stop was Golden Gate Bridge, which is world known tourist place and we had a great time. We were care-free tourist, its different feeling as it has been long time since both of us together have taken a vacation together.

Guess what! I met some of my viewers. It was rewarding to know they are enjoying the web site and cooking. . It was very flattering, more importantly it inspires me to do even more.

We also visited our very old friend and their boys; he is the very first friend I met when I came to the States 42 years back, for hours we talked and remember old times and enjoyed.

I wanted to make a video using something San Francisco is known for. We are enjoying beautiful summer day in San Francisco. Walking down pier 39, I was inspired by a local favorite, Sourdough Bread Bowls. So I decided to give it an Indian twist and created a creamy spicy potato soup to go in sourdough bread bowl. I did not get a chance to do the recipe but one of these days I will like to do it. This will be one dish meal and it will be easy to make.

Now we are in Seattle, Washington staying with my aunt, they live 2 hours north of Seattle and this is beautiful place in countryside.

I did one video in her kitchen (already posted) and will be doing some more.

I will be posting as my trip develop.

Paryushan and Das Lakshan Parva is a most auspicious and sacred day for Jains. This is a festival of spiritual awareness. Generally this falls in the month of September. One sect of Jains celeberate as Paryushan 10 days celeberation and just after another sect of Jains celebrate as Das Lakshan, concentrating on the ten universal virtues like forgiveness, humility, straightforwardness, contentment, truth, charity, and non-possessiveness.

In Jainism fasting is considered a spiritual activity that provides self-control and strength. Fasting is not just done by not eating; it is also having control on personal behaviors, and shows personal strength, for example leaving for a day or more the activity you enjoy most, like watching television, shopping, talking to friends. The significance of this holiday is self-purification and uplifting of oneself.

Another very important aspect of this holiday is asking for forgiveness from friends and relatives for both intentional and unintentional wrongs. Today last day of celebration I will like to ask all my viewers for forgiveness if I have hurt anyone or said something hurtful.

As school has just started, many of my viewers have been asking about meal suggestions for kids. For September contest, you can make any kid-friendly recipe. I will be judging on the following criteria:

1. The meal should be health conscious and nutritious (example: avoid deep fried foods, or high sugar foods)
2. You are preparing this for kids (ages 4-12), so it should be something they will like to eat (whether at home or take to school for lunch).
3. The recipe should be simple and easy to prepare.
4. Ideally, this recipe should fit into a lunchbox that kids can take to school.
5. You must provide the recipe for the main meal, but you can suggest other food items to pair the main meal with (like a side of fruit or other yummy snack).

Main thing to remember about this contest is that it should be fun and simple.

I have started a Forum topic to discuss Meal suggestions for Kid’s Lunch Box. Please feel to talk there and provide any tips for other parents. For all contest entries, please follow these instructions listed below:

• Send the Name of the recipe along with Photo to contest@manjulaskitchen.com.
• The recipe must be vegetarian (no eggs please).
• You must send an original picture(s) of the recipe – do not simply grab a photo from the web. Otherwise your recipe will not be considered for entry.
• The deadline is September 25th.
• The winner will be featured on the homepage with the new recipe and a link to their website (if available).

1st Prize: $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com
2nd Prize: $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com

**Anyone can join this contest**

I am so incredibly excited…. Alex and I are taking a much-needed trip. We are planning to visit family and friends across the United States and even India. This trip will begin in September until the end of the year. My husband, Alex, came up with this idea and has taken the task to plan this exciting trip. I was hesitant to go on this trip as I know I will miss my family here in San Diego (especially my four grandchildren). It is an indescribable strange feeling when I think about staying away from family. But now I have embraced this idea and I am actually looking forward to this cross-country trip.

We will stay in touch as I will be blogging along the way and share my experiences. Of course, new recipe videos will continue coming. You will see me in different kitchens of my friends and family. That should be lot of fun! As I travel, I hope I will adopt and learn to incorporate some new flavors and techniques.

 We will start the trip on 7th of September. Our trip will be starting from the San Francisco Bay Area and we will be visiting the following cities: Seattle Washington, Ann Arbor Michigan, Cleveland Ohio, Washington DC, and New Jersey. We will then head to India and then back home to San Diego.

I look forward to updating you all about my adventures across the U.S. and India.

It was good to see a lot of entries for this contest. I had a tough time deciding on the winners, but here are the my top five entries and two top winners from those:

Congratulations to both of you!!

Thank you to everyone else that also partook in the contest:

• Neeraja
• Sonal Samson
• Sreemanti Pathak
• Anu
• Madhulika Dev
• Neeraja Parthasarathy
• Jyoti R
• Bhavya Porwal
• Donna Ryan
• Noopur Srivastava
• Smita Chimad
• Charu Goswami
• Peggy
• Sukanya
• Sella Roy
• Anitha Reghunath
• Hema
• Veena Jain
• Vani
• Smitha Jithesh
• Anke Jain
• Chandul Jain
• Aima Chauhdry
• Mini Gupta
• Priya

• Akhila Ratheesh
• Hemangi
• Luana
• Bhavya Porwal
• Sreedevi.r
• Adelina Srinivasan
• Denny Nathan
• Ritu
• Ayesha
• Linen Kimbertom
• Tanya Jain
• Praseeja
• Niyaprakash
• Prathibha
• Nayna Kanabar
• Barbara May-Sanders
• Ekta Shah
• Adam Hall
• Sonal Watve
• Vedika Luthra
• Divya Vikram
• Nayana
• Daniel Grabek
• Shruthi
• Manju Madhu
• Michaela Samant

The contest for this month (August) is to create any original recipe using coconut as one of the ingredients. You can submit any type of food (appetizer, desert, main dish, etc).

As usual, you will be judged on creativity, and presentation (in addition to the recipe as a whole). I will be selecting the top five best entries and two winners from those.

Below is my checklist:

• Send the name of the recipe along with photo to contest@manjulaskitchen.com.
• Be creative with the recipe!
• You must send an original picture(s) of the recipe – do not simply grab a photo from the web. Otherwise your recipe will not be considered for entry.
• The deadline is August 25th.
• The winner will be featured on the homepage with the new recipe and a link to their website (if available).

1st Prize: $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com
2nd Prize: $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com

**Anyone can join this contest**

While reading the viewer’s entries for Mother’s day, I felt that I also wanted to share a little about my mother. It has been 15 years since she passed away, yet I constantly feel her presence around me, guiding me and mostly, putting a smile on my face.

I am a mom of two and a grandmother of four. But while my mom was alive, I felt very much like a kid around her. She would every now and then, remind me to “grow up” and I miss that very much. Some would say that as you age, your mom becomes more of a friend. But for me, I wanted her to be my mother, always! No matter how much I aged, I cherished and loved the feeling of being a child in her company.

She was an amazing mother; very loving, caring and giving. She had an air of magic in her as she spoke. Her greatest talent was that she would make you feel really good about your own self. One touch or look from her, and you felt something very special inside. I try very hard to be like my mom, but it’s a tough act to follow.

I love you mom.