Cat on a Wall :Weekly Challenge Fanz

This succulent planter was a gift from my daughter for our wedding anniversary. The blank space of the wooden container was beckoning to be filled with drawing. Last Saturday morning, I began to draw  a tangle cat sitting on a wall first. Even as I was doing it, I realized that this could be my substrate for the Diva challenge for a while! This morning I extended the wall to include a bit of Fanz to it. It is not  perfect because I had to tilt the container to draw which was awkward at best. Also the graininess of the wood made the lines wriggly. That's okay. I like the imperfection of it.

Coconut Chocolate Fudge (Burfi)

This is one of the easiest and quickest desserts to make. It is also much lower in calories than a typical Indian sweet dish and it has the added advantage of being gluten-free and vegan. It is also a no-fail dessert. The worst thing that can happen is either the burfi comes out too soft or too crumbly. It is still sweetly edible.

If you have shredded coconut and sugar on hand, you can actually do this in fifteen minutes. I usually have a packet of dessicated (shredded and dried)  coconut (you can buy this from any Indian store) which I store in the freezer. Sugar, of course, is a regular staple in most kitchens.

Coconut Burfi

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-20 minutes

Ingredients

Dessicated coconut  1 cup
Sugar 1/2 cup (Whatever the amount of coconut you use, sugar is half of coconut. For me using more sugar makes the burfi too sweet.)
Unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4-1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Cardamom pods 3-4
Water 1 tablespoon
Coconut oil or ghee

Instructions

This is stove top cooking. Use a deep pan or skillet to make the burfi.

1. Completely grease a cookie sheet or a plate with coconut oil or ghee.

2. In a bowl mix coconut and cocoa powder.

3. Add water and sugar into the pan and heat over medium flame. Let the sugar dissolve completely. Heat till it reaches a thin syrupy consistency.

4. Add the coconut mix into dissolved sugar. With a spatula blend in the coconut thoroughly into the sugar syrup.

5. Stir the mix over the heat till the mixture thickens and start leaving the sides of the skillet. As it thickens it will coagulate like a ball. When that happens, turn the heat off and let it sit for a couple of minutes in the hot pan.

6. Turn the cooked mixture over to the greased plate and with the back of a spoon spread it evenly and thinly across the plate. Using a knife, score diagonally to cut into diamond shaped pieces.

Enjoy and try to limit yourself to one piece a day :)

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Flux as in Tangle Challenge

For some reason, I kept associating leaf with Flux, this week's challenge at I am the Diva czt.  So, I decided to do the tangle on an actual leaf. This leaf is from Grandiflora Magnolia on my front yard. It is an evergreen tree with bright waxy green color and makes an excellent substrate for doodling and lettering. I used a gel pen to draw the tangles. You may also use acrylic ink.

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Hamsa Doodle Paint

Hamsa  (hand), drawn, doodled and painted on an index page of an old atlas using India inks and gelly pen.

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Many Spirals

For the Weekly Challenge #210 "Spiral", I decided to draw this familiar image of Buddha with a crown covered with spiral ringlets. The drawing shows a Buddha a lot younger and more stylized than I originally intended to :).

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Mushroom Spinach Peas Coconut Cashew Curry (Vegan)

An amazingly tasty dish prepared with simplest vegetables and with just a touch of exotic. Preparation and cooking time can be substantially reduced by using frozen peas and spinach and pre-washed and pre-cut mushroom. And none of these compromise the flavor is any way. What gives this dish its creamy texture is the addition  of coconut and cashews. It is also considerably lower in calories without the heavy cream that is typically use in such dishes.

Below are the cooking instructions. I have not given any measurements because you can really mix and match the vegetables and the condiments in any way you prefer:

Ingredients

Frozen spinach thawed, desired amount
Frozen peas thawed, desired amount
Pre-washed and cut mushrooms, desired amount
Potatoes, cooked and cubed
olive oil,  1-2 tablespoon
Chili powder or paprika, to taste
Turmeric, 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Cumin, 1/2-1 teaspoon
Dessicated coconut or coconut flakes, 1-2 tablespoon
Full cashew, 4-5

1. Soak cashews in warm water for about 15 minutes. Drain. Grind coconut and cashews in a blender with a little water till it is a smooth paste. Transfer the paste into a small dish.

2. Heat oil in a skillet. Add cumin and roast till it turns gold brown.

3. Add the mushrooms and cook till they turn soft.

4. Add the potatoes and sautee till they turn brown.

5. Add spinach and peas and heat till they are completed warmed. Add the coconut-cashew paste, salt and chili powder  to the vegetables along with some water. Let the whole mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve with cooked rice or roti. Enjoy!

Fabric Jewelry

Recently, I have started making jewelry with beads that I fabricate using my very own silk and cotton sari materials. I have come up with my own technique that allows to roll the beads without using glue. The beads come out soft. I combine them with pendants, crystal and metal beads to make one of a kind necklaces. They are  now available in my Etsy shop.

Ikat Fabric Lotus Necklace

Green Silk Peacock Necklace

Magenta Peacock Necklace

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