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Thursday, 23 April 2020

Vennir


The Covid19 crises has bought out the hidden culinary skills of the family members, especially the women. Old and forgotten dishes have made the lockdown enjoyable. I thought I must contribute to this endeavour of my family by making something that is not only crucial, but one can say an essential ingredient in our cooking viz. Vennir. Vennir is used in a lot of dishes like noodles, sambhar, rasam, soups etc. It can also be used for therapeutic purposes like steam inhalation and othadam.
Making Vennir is an art not perfected by many despite many years spent in cooking. The right temperature can make or break a drink or a dish. To cite an example, soaking a green tea bag in vennir at a temperature of 70-75 degree Celsius for about 40 seconds can make a refreshing elixir. At the same time infusing the same tea bag in vennir at a temperature of 90-100 degree Celsius for more than a minute can make a bitter concoction that has to be thrown in the sink!
Vennir can be made in different ways, we can use the ordinary stove or the induction stove to make it. I prefer making it in the induction stove as the vessel does not get heated up while making vennir, though my mom prefers to use the gas stove. Old-timers prefer to use the wood-based chulha or veragu adupu to make vennir as it gives a distinctive wooden smell.
I have a few pictures of the vennir that I made earlier today.







Vennir in Induction stove







Vennir in Gas Stove

I Hope you all enjoy making your own vennir. By the way, vennir is known as Hot Water in the English language.




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Thursday, 12 March 2020

Eco Friendly Products


Eco-Friendly Cups and Plates
Recently we purchased a few disposable cups made of sugarcane pulp and disposable plates made of acacia leaf; these were surprisingly sturdy and comfortable to hold. Most importantly, we had this pleasant feeling of not harming the environment.
The prices of the Eco-friendly cups made of sugarcane pulp are comparable to the paper cups sold. These were a bit costly than plastic cups. I think widespread usage of Eco-friendly cups should bring down the price.
I wish more people use these Eco-friendly cutlery and plates in functions like marriages, parties and puja pandals. Usage of such cutlery would help in creating a sustainable environmental condition. 
Eco-friendly cutlery will also bring down the usage of single-use plastic cutlery, which is hardly recycled.



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