Measuring cups are a very important instrument in measuring food, as most of the recipes in this book and many other cooking books will call for standard cup measurement which is either UK or US cup measurement. Although there is a subtle difference between the US and the UK cup measurements it will not significantly alter the quality of the recipe.

Hand graters are perfect for grating ginger, garlic, tomatoes in small quantities for a single dish. This way you use fresh ginger and garlic every time as opposed to making a jar full of ginger garlic paste and storing them for later use. Using fresh ingredients every time not only makes the dish feel fresh and flavorful but also retains the nutrients present in them as well.

Knives are an important part of every kitchen. Investing in high quality carbon steel knives can last you a life time and make your chopping, dicing and mincing faster and easier.  The Chef’s knife is my personal favorite and to accompany it is a paring knife which comes handy in cutting many softer items. Caring for the knives is very important. Avoid jumbling them up in a drawer; instead use a magnetic knife holder or a wooden block stand to store your knives.

How to write a recipe like a professional is an article to help Contributors of Archana’s Kitchen or even aspiring cooks and writers to begin writing a winning recipe. Recipe writing did not come naturally to me and every time I write I want to make it better for the reader. It took me many years to get where I am. Remember writing a winning recipe is about constant reviewing, practice and adherence to a few rules. A poorly written recipe or an article can result in wasted time, money and effort. It's something we take very seriously at Archana’s Kitchen and that is why I test all the recipes that I a multiple times. 

Last Sunday Nov 11th 2012 was a epic experience meeting our very own MasterChef Judge Vikas Khanna and the Gadjet Guru Rajiv Makhni at the NokiaAppTasting event at ITC Gardenia. The presence of both of them on stage drove the crowd into laughter, fun and information on some very interesting apps.

Cooking along with Chef Rohan, Pepper Cafe, Bangalore and a group of people who were so much of foodies was a fantastic experience at the Le Creuset Bangalore Store.

Cooking on Le Creuset Cast Iron Cookware and using the colorful stoneware was an experience everyone of us dreams of and I had a fantastic experience not only cooking in them but showing the foodies how to use them as well.

Together me and Chef Rohan cooked up a storm and yes everyone loved it. The menu for the class was

SCREEN SHOTS FOR JOINING GOOGLE PLUS HANGOUT  

STEP 1: Once you have a google account, and you click on the hangout link it will ask you to sign up for the google plus page. using your google account id enter the
USERNAME and PASSWORD and click sign in.



STEP 2: When you dont have a goople plus account, google will take you through the simple steps to join Google Plus. Fill in the details like I have done below and click on UPGRADE that is in the right side corner of the page
If you already have a goole plus account then you when you sign in it will automatically take you to STEP 6 - JOIN HANG OUTS PAGE. 


STEP 3: The set up will take you to adding friends. You can do that at leisure later, So just click CONTINUE.
3-Get started_1-_Google

STEP 4: The set up will take you to follow friends/ people you know. You can do that at leisure later, So just click CONTINUE.
4-Get started_2-_Google

STEP 5: DO THIS STEP: SO WE CAN SEE WHO YOU ARE. Follow the Steps to ADD A FACE TO YOUR NAME. You can add the rest of the details later. Click on FINISH.  That was simple, wasnt it?
5-Get started_3-_Google

STEP 6: Click on JOIN to join me in my kitchen. WELCOME !
6-Google Hangouts

This was the first session for the year 2012 and had a full batch of 8 foodies who came before 10 AM. I loved it! I have to give them full credit for working around their work and home schedules and leave on time and reach a place from distances to get to a class on cooking.  Thank you everyone for making it on time and I do hope my strick text messages on being punctual did not hurt anyone.

This session was started after a year long break in cooking lessons. The set of people who came to attend the classes was an enthusiatic lot. A few working women, a few who work for themselves and a few with a few allergies and a few who dont eat eggs. All took time off from their work, their commitments and allergies to attend a class as they wanted to do something new. I was excited, wanted to please them all in the little space - my kitchen.