Instead of counting candles,Or tallying the years,

Contemplate your blessings,As your birthday nears.

Consider special people,Who love you,and who care,

And others who’ve enriched your life

Just by being there.

Think about the memories,Passing years can never mar,

Experiences great and small, That have made you who you are.

Another year is a happy gift, So cut your cake, and say,

“Instead of counting birthdays, I count blessings every day!”

Well i am wishing my blog, its first Birthday with this sweet poem by Joanna Fuchs

Yeah SindhiRasoi,born on 29 January 2008 ,turned One today.And this is not the only reason for smiles and celebrations, there are few more.Let me unfold them one by one

Firstly as i told , its this blog’s 1st birthday,then it is also THE 100th post.…yes,i just hit a century with this post.

And on this occasion it is just so obvious that i Thank all those who encouraged,helped,cheered and guided me to sail across the waves of hope and despair,highs and lows,praises and brickbats.Few were rude( ahh lets forget about them),few were nasty,but most of you ,dear Readers ,had been so supportive and sweet to me,that now i have made a huge virtual family around

Heartfelt Thanks to my family,friends, co-bloggers,readers,Guests(guest visitors),and above all YOU dear Hubby…..my ultimate strength and support system ! Without you and your camera,this would have remained a dream for me!

I have so much to write about ,on this occasion,but i will held my emotions back,coz now let me share yet another excitement with you all

Every blogger celebrates his/her blog birthday/anniversary with some special sweet /food made by her/him.But not me,because i have something very very very special for this occasion, a true feast to your eyes,especially all Sindhis around, and all this courtesy to An Esteemed guest of the day….a celebrity …….Ladies and Gentlemen,Kindly welcome ,none other than Mr. Suresh Hinduja, The CEO of Gourmet India.com. The forums are the place where some real authentic/traditional/extinct/popular food is displayed to mesmerize us, with jaw dropping captures And for the Sindhi cuisine section,I have to Thank You Saucy for initiating that thread

So dear readers do take a look at those artistic clicks of some wonderful food of Sindhi Cuisine,all courtesy to the most modest person i have came across. When i asked for the permission to reproduce his picture of pickle ,Suresh not only emailed me the picture,but also amazed me by his words ….What is a pickle between us sindhis, you dont have to credit me. ….wowww i almost fainted with joy

But since i was more greedy, i requested some more of his captures amongst the vast collection of drooling pics,and he was kind enough to let me share those with you all readers.So Dearies , just walk around this post and seduce your senses with the amazing captures of some authentic and traditional picks from Sindhi Cuisine

Ps:Kindly note that all the amazing pics presented below,belong to Mr Suresh.Hinduja ,and please do not copy without his permission

Gathadi Pickle

(This is one rare Sindhi pickle,not made often now a days,but i remember my childhood licking these with every meal.)

A pickle made from raw shredded mangoes,seasoned with,salt,turmeric,red chillies,nigella seeds,cloves of garlic,mixed and lumps of these mixture were tied in small white muslin cloth gathadis(like dumplings),pickled and enjoyed later.

It’s called Gathadi aka Bheendi.

Dal Nakul

The forgotten welcome snack for guests at Sindhi homes. Yes, decades back guests were welcomed with roasted papad and/or Dal Nakul.Dal is fried crunchy moong dal and nakul/s are sugared besan strings(i guess, not sure though).The crunchy munchy combination had lost its glory to the latest fad of wafers,cakes and cookies

Then the most beautifully clicked Gulab Jamun ,a very common sweet,which is loved by all ! A fried maida and khoya ball,flavored with elaichi ,dipped in sugary syrup when dumped in mouth,the only reaction possible is YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

And then comes Motichoor ladoos,again one of the commonest sweet among sindhis, there is one at every occasion,for sure.Be it birth,marriage ,festivals or even death (Very elderly people when die a peaceful death,these ladoos are distributed during chautha (pagdi) or Bhaaroh (the 12 th or 13 th day after the demise)

Who haven’t tasted or heard of Jalebis ?? The OH SO FAMOUS, fried concentric circles of Maida flour,with a dash of saffron for the nice orange colour and kesari flavor, soaked in rose flavored sugar syrup, is a heavenly treat to your taste buds (Just try it with dash of rabri, for the complete knock out combination of flavors)

Badaam(Almond halwa) is yet another halwa in the favorite list of Sindhis, just little behind the common Gaajar ka halwa.And tell me honestly have you ever seen Almond halwa presented in a sleek style like this ?

Amongst drinks ,apart from sherbet (rose syrup) , the other most traditional drink is of course Thaadal(Thandai).Its a heady mixture of rose petals,elaichi,blackpepper corns,melon seeds,Almonds ,poppy seeds and milk,all grinded together,sieved and diluted with milk ,sweetened with sugar .It is also served as Prasad during Mahashivratri

When you talk about Sindhi breakfast, most will vouch for either Dal pakwaan or Chola Dhabhal,chickpeas in gravy served with bread and garnished with mint coriander Chutney….a true delight for spice lovers !

Taryal Vangun Here’s how Suresh explains this most loved Brinjal recipe among Sindhis:

Eggplant/Aubergine/Brinjal scored, fried, topped with Cumin, Red Chilli and Mango Powders; fresh Coriander/Cilantro and onion. We normally have this with a Dal and Chapati/Rice.

There are many many more at Gourmet India,its not at all possible to summarize all of them in a post,but yes,i am sure you all would like to join the forum to explore more about Sindhi as well as Global cuisine, ranging from Gujrati to Andhra,Thai to Indo chinese

My sincere Thanks To Suresh (No ,I am not ill mannered to call him by name,its just that he do not like suffixes to be added to his name) for letting me go ahead with this post and sharing such amazing clicks with me.Sorry for all the botheration caused ,but i simply bow down to your generosity

Ps:Wanna watch a video of some really nice spread of food ,then watch this….Awesome pics by suresh,compiled by Sekhar.

Gourmet India Food

Thank you sekhar for providing this link