Back to basics

Yesterday, Sra announced the 3rd edition of Chalks and Chopsticks, an event I myself have hopes of  hosting in the future. On the heels of Sra’s announcement came Srivalli’s post on a basic technique of cooking toor dal which I used to follow too, before I discovered the joy of one pot dal.

However, Valli’s post made me think of some of the basic techniques I had posted in my early days of blogging, namely how to make ghee (name one Indie blog which hasn’t posted it?), my masala dabba and my MIL’s secret. The failure to browse as many blogs as possible in search of basic cooking techniques prompted the idea of back to basics event.

What am I looking for:

1. How to and tips on how you make your life easier in the kitchen, by grinding pastes or freezing seasonal fruits and vegetables.

2. Recipes for rubs, marinades and masalas: garam masala, goda masala, dhana jeera powder (corrainder cumin), etc.

3. Posts like the above mentioned 'cooking toor dal for the week and storing in the fridge'.

4. Recipes for concentrates like this lemon concentrate used to make lemonade.

5. A food recipe that goes with the above is totally optional but welcome.

If you got the drift, start posting the kitchen secrets. Here are the rules:

Rule No. 1: The entrees must be original. If inspired or copied from another source, please give credit or Madhuri, our desi Nancy Drew will not only catch you but shut you down.

Rule No. 2: Follow the general guideline listed under: In what I am looking for.

Rule No. 3: Link your post to this post.

Rule No. 4: Older entrees are fine as long as you link them here.

Rule No. 5: Keep the usage of exclamation points (!) to the minimum and totally avoid them in the title, if you can. (This is an original rule from here and I respect it).

No need to send a picture. I am going to follow Nupur and Manisha’s lead and do the roundup without the clicks.

Send it to me at this address or leave a link in the comment section below.

The last date is July 31st plus a grace period of five more days (my summer school gets over on Aug 5th).

And just like my last event, here are the rules that apply to me:

Rule No. 1: I will post the roundup in a timely fashion, before second week of August, barring any unfortunate circumstances.

Rule No. 2: I will not solicit anyone’s blog for participation in my event.

Rule No. 3: I will not insist that you “must” be a follower of my blog in order to participate. In fact I urge you not to follow unless you intend to visit regularly.

Rule No. 4: I will not brag/ sulk about the no. of entrees I receive or don't receive.

The ball is in your kitchens foodies.