Crochet Poncho

My sister-in-law gave me a visit with her young daughter, Doyel. Doyel wanted me to knit her a poncho but she had her own specifications. She wanted something that was not a traditional poncho but something which is a bit different. I went around googling throughout the net to find something to please this teenaged niece. I finally zeroed in a crochet summer poncho tutored by Yolanda Soto Lopez. I followed this excellent tuitorial on You Tube and crocheted this one for her. Infact the design consists of 20 squares like the one below:

I joined 20 such squares into a " L- Shaped pattern":

Finally I scalloped the sides and added the tarsels:

I do hope that this poncho cum stole manages to catch the fancy of this youngster. I shall be visiting my sis- in-law as my summer recess is on and will hand this over to Doyel next tuesday(11 th June,2013) . Anyone interested in this design may look up Yolanda Soto Lopez's "All Crafts Channel" under the title "Crochet Summer Poncho".

Chicken Bharta

Chicken is a very favourite dish in my household. My family loves it but not the same old bengali curry every day. Hence I often try my hand out in different types of recipes and experiment with it. And chicken being our favourite my family members approve of it in all its forms. Last weekend I cooked up chicken bharta. There are many recipes on the net but here's how I did mine:

Boneless Chicken: 500 grams

Tomatoes: 3 small : chopped

Tomato Puree: 1 large

Onions: 4 medium chopped

Dhania seeds/ Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp

Red Chilly : Dried: 2

Ginger chopped: 1 1/2 "

Garlic chopped: 10- 12 flakes

Garam Masala powder: 1 tsp

Dhania / Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Aamchoor powder: 1/2 tsp

Kasoori Methi/ Dry fenugreek seeds: 2 tsp

Green chillies:2

At first , the coriander seeds and red chillies are roasted on a tawa and partially crushed.

The boneless chicken pieces are then cut into small pieces. After that oil is heated in a kadai. Chopped onions are fried till brown. The roasted partially crushed dhania is then added along with ginger and garlic for 30 secs or so.

Now the chicken is added and cooked for 5 to 7 mins on a medium flame.

Add the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes and dried red chilly powder and cooked for about 5 more mins.

Now add the garam masala powder, aamchoor powder, dhania powder, salt and thereafter cook covered for around 7 to 8 mins on low heat. Add the green chillies and cook again on low heat till the chicken is done. Kasoori Methi leaves and chopped coriander leasves are used as garnish.

We had this with steamed rice. But it tastes better with parathas or rotis. Hope you like it. Bye for now.