Rendez Vous With A Foodie - Sangeetha Priya of Nitha Kitchen

My readers and followers will definitely know that every 7th and 20th of the month i'll be inviting two newbie bloggers from this bloggy world to write a guest post in my space.  If anyone want to be my guest and if your blog is less than two years please do contact me through Facebook or by a mail with your facebook name to add you in this new adventure. Hope many of you will join ur hands with me. Obviously the motto of this event is to introduce the upcoming new bloggers to this immense virtual world.

Blogging,this immense virtual world is definitely very close to my heart, i gained a bunch of good friends, well wishers and many blogger sisters. My today's guest is also one among them and she was a wonderful person who blogs at Nitha's Kitchen. Actually i crossed her before a year and we became closer to each one through FB. She is one of my best friend, a sweet sister and a young mom of two kids who blogs frequently with healthy stuffs. She shares many traditional dishes from her native which are seriously very close to my heart and the list of my favourite dishes from her space is very long.She shares stepwise pictures of her recipes, also she will give definitely DIY ideas and one among those is her pumpkin cookies, check her idea here really tremendous and brilliant na,she have many interesting recipes like this and sure her space is definitely a treasure, if you are searching Kongunadu style dishes.

Do you want to know more about Sangeetha Priya of Nitha's Kitchen,just go through her small interview...

1)Tell us about your blog and you?

I am Sangeetha Priya, started my career as Computer faculty in School and simultaneously finished my master degree. I worked in MNC as Software Engineer for few years n now full time home maker lives in U.S with my hubby and 2 kids. I blog for Nitha Kitchen which is almost 1 n 1/2 years old. Nitha is my daughter name, she just started her preschool n younger son is staying at home. 

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?

 My cooking remains the same but improved a lot in baking also do experiments especially with it. Now I have started cooking for a varied audience from different places of the world. I get recipe requests from my Readers, friends and family members living in home town, so blogging molded me and happy to share the recipes. Also I learnt few terms like Vegan and because of it my photography skills is improving.

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?

Before marriage like everyone says I never involved in cooking. After getting married I quit my job and was alone at home that made me to develop my cooking skills. Later I was so crazy to click step by step pictures, it’s my hobby and love to share the final outcome with my parents. It went like that for almost 2yrs with loads of recipes, one special day we invited our close friend for lunch and she suggested me of starting a blog. My Husband then helped in creating it. He helped a lot in domain change, template designing so and so.

4)There are a tons of blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?

It’s a mix of traditional Indian n trendy unique recipes. I have loads of healthy and reduced fat recipes. Most of them are prepared with easy homey ingredients and simplest process; also I explain it with step by step pictures.

5) When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?     

My Mom, Maternal Grandma and Aunt (Paternal Sister) are my great inspiration.

6)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?

Initially I designed my site by referring Raks and Sharmis space. I hard coded by searching various sources in Google. When getting stabilized by mistake I moved the blog to my daughters own domain without thinking about the future. We realized later and moved to my new and existing domain. My husband helped a lot in domain change. Also I appreciate my Co bloggers with their activities in Facebook groups n other social medias, I learnt several new aspects. Particularly I thank Sangee and Preeti for my tuned pictures.

7)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?

All my recipes are favorite, here are few of my best n favorite foods: Ancient Thinai Urundai/Foxtail Millet Honey Balls, Arisiyum Paruppu Sadham, Almond Pista Rolls/Apple Shaped Almond Katli, Keerai Bajji/Gram Flour Spinach Fritters, Bitter Gourd Pulav/Pavakkaai Pulao, Thinai Murukku/Millet Chakli, Eggless Pomegranate Cupcakes with POM Cream Cheese Frosting.

8)Few tips about food photography?

I am not a great photographer but to my knowledge I suggest taking pictures in natural light and also in different angles.

9)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?

I don't have any budget, depends on the shop and H mood , it varies from 1 to 20 USD. I usually manage with my household stuffs but in future I may hunt for it.

10)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?

By regular I post weekly 3 recipes at least, If I get time I increase the count, anyways it depends on the kids at home.

11)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?

Yes, I always flair for gardening and online window shopping. But these days with my lil one it’s hard to spend much time in lappy though I am maintaining a very small garden in my patio 

Today’s recipe is simple and delicious savory snack and my mom makes this especially for dinner. 3-4 soiyans aka South Indian kachoris is more than enough for a person. This kachoris' are made of rice batter and no needs fermentation, you can use mixie/blender to grind the batter. When added in hot oil it gives “soi” sound so we call it as Soiyan in our surroundings. I am not a frequent deep fry maker but once in a while I make it for dinner as Mom's recipe are something special right .The best side for this fritters is spicy coconut chutney.

Soiyan/Rice Batter South Indian Kachori:

Ingredients

Idli Rice - 1 Cup

Whole Urad Dhal/Gotta  - 2 Tbsp

Fenugreek - 1/2tsp

Cumin Seeds - 2tsp

Salt - As needed

Oil - To deep fry

Method

Soak Rice, Urad dal and fenugreek for at least 5 hours (Stepwise Pic 1, below).

Grind to fine paste, make the batter bit watery when compared to usual idli batter (Pic 3). 

Add cumin and salt to the batter, keep it aside for 15 minutes (Pic 2).

Meanwhile heat oil in a small pan/kadai, drop a ladder full of batter in the center of the pan, It pops up very well (Pic 4).

You can another spoonful of batter after the first one raise up (Pic 4).

The fritters once starts changing light brown, flip it and cook both sides well ie till nice golden color.

Remove and drain the excess oil using paper towel, also you can wipe well with paper towel, if needed.

Coconut chutney is the best accomplishment for this kachori, also paired with dal/paruppu sambar.

The outer layer is crisp and inner is soft...

Note:

1.     It depends on the rice, you can take it out when it is light brown and make sure it is well cooked inside.

2.     If the batter consistency is thin then you get crisp outer coat, if its thick, then it attains soft kachoris.

Hope you enjoyed this fantastic Kongu dish and stay tuned for an another guest post by an another foodie blogger..