Crochet Teddy Bear

 

My sister Vandana brought me several craft , knit and crochet items and books from U.K. Delighted as I was to receive the bundle of gifts that she gave me , I was spoilt for choice. What should I make first? Should I start with the coin purse kit? Or should I start knitting with the colourful yarns from the knit kit ? Knitted Toys? Or should I crochet something with my new crochet hook set? At last I decided to try out an Amigurami Teddy Bear from the book "Adorable Toys" that she gave me.

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This was my very first attempt at crocheting a toy .I had knitted several toys before but had never crocheted any. But I found the directions pretty easy to follow and weaved up the teddy very comfortably.  There is much room for improvement though. Sure it will turn out better, fatter and sweeter  in my next attempts. Will now try out the Crochet Koala and a knitted doll  from the book.

My holidays are on.So hoping to meet sooner this time..It's a festive season in India and I wish happiness to everyone. Moushumi.

Knitted Parrot

These Summer Holidays was quite a fun. We had  several days holiday during the national elections and then again got a few days extra holidays which the government had declared due to excessive heat wave in the state. I utilised the time in making and completing a few projects like crochet ripple bag, a bag made out of small plastic mats and by knitting a parrot. I shall be uploading the bags after I finish off with the lining , chains and so on. As for now here is the parrot I knitted:

I have hung the knitted parrot up in my corridor . As for the photographed parrot is concerned , we clicked it in Gwalior Fort. Hope you like them both!
 Bye for now . Moushumi

Snacks - Dal Vada, Onion Pakora, Soya Cutlets

My family members always prefer to have some snacks with their evening tea . Now that my summer holidays are on I try to make some quick snacks like pakoras or vadas. Yesterday I made some Dal Vadas with Masoor Dal or Red Lentils . Here is a picture of Masoor Dal or Red Lentils,  I just downloaded from Google Images:

Soak around 2 cups of Masoor Dal in 2 cups of water for 3 - 4 hours. After that grind this into a coarse paste. Add salt, red chilly powder, chopped green chillies, turmeric powder, 2 small onions chopped, a little garlic paste and a little ginger paste to taste.One may use chopped coriander leaves too. Heat oil and deep fry into small vadas. Serve with sauce or chutney. This is really a good evening snack. Hope you like it. Wishing happiness, Moushumi Sengupta

Onion Pakora
 Made some onion vada this evening. This too is very easy. Cut the onion. Mix with some Chickpea flour or besan. Add salt, chopped green chillies. Add very little water. Deep fry. In bengal this is a very favourite snack and usually had with puffed rice or Muri.

 

And with sauce and chutney:

Soya Granule Cutlets

The other day I bought a pack of Soya granules:

And made some cutlets out of them:

The recipe is the same as my post on keema cutlets. the granules are to be boiled with a little salt for a couple of minutes and rinsed in cold water. Drain off the water. Add salt , pepper, vinegar, tomato sauce, garlic paste all to taste. Add a couple of bread slices. Shape into cutlets. Dust bread crumbs over them. keep in refrigerator for a couple of hours for the flavour to be soaked. Fry . Serve hot.
Hoping to make a few more items these holidays. Wishing happiness to all. Moushumi Sengupta

Phirni

 

Phirni is a simple yet tasty dessert. Just a little milk, powdered rice and sugar - that's all what it takes. I took around a quarter cup Basmati rice, a quarter cup sugar and around 750 grams of milk. The rice is to be soaked , drained and then ground into a smooth paste. This is added to around half a cup of milk and made thinner. Now this paste is added to all the milk and boiled. It has to stirred continuously till the mixture turns creamy. Now the sugar is added and stirred. 2 green cardamoms are powdered and added to the mixture. Next the mixture is removed from fire and poured into small bowls and decorated with shredded almonds. Chill the mixture in the fridge and serve.  

Also made some malpuas, a Bengali sweet pie,  last week . Hope to be back with a post on malpuas. Till then wishing happiness. Moushumi