Basics of blogging and Cookbook Reviews: September 2009

100 Chutney varieties by Mallika Badrinath

Chutneys, chutneys and chutneys..Like the name suggests, this book from Mallika Badrinath, published by Pradeep Enterprises has 100 varieties of chutney recipes. Also, there are suggestions as to which dish these chutneys would go with..

The chutneys are classified into -

1. Coconut chutney varieties

2. Onion based chutney varieties

3. Coriander chutney varieties

4. Mint chutney varieties

5. Garlic chutney varieties

6. Dal chutney varieties

7. Other chutney varieties

8. Tomato chutney varieties

9. Vegetable chutney varieties

10. Kothsu varieties

11. Sweet chutney varieties

If you wish to never run out of varieties in Chutneys, this book will surely help you.

Vegetarian dishes by Savita Gupta

Published by Manoj Publications, this cookbook has an interesting collection of recipes, mainly North Indian cuisine. The recipe index is classified into

1. Delicious soups

2. All seasons salad

3. Curd recipes

4. Vegetables and pulses

5. Curry-Rice-Pulao

6. Roti-Parantha-Poori-Naan

7. Delicious snacks

8. Desserts

Overall, a good collection of recipes for those liking North Indian food.

How do you promote your blog

Promoting the blog the right way is the key to success in blogging. Few tips for new bloggers to popularize their blog..

1. Firstly the content of the blog is very important. Make sure you post quality content. Remember "Content is KING".

2. Post regularly on the blog. Try to post frequently, but remember that unless the quality of content is good, there is no point in being regular.

3.. Visit other blogs belonging to the same area of interest and post comments. There are high chances that the blogger will visit your blog.

4. Join blogroll and other blog aggregators related to your field

5. Promote your blog through various blog search engines and other community sites like orkut, facebook, twitter

6. Add your blog address to your signature in mails and as status in chat messengers

7. Keep your blog layout simple yet attractive so that it gets loaded quickly.

8. Use simple language for a layman to understand. Try to improve your writing skills.

9. Add links of other blogs belonging to the same field..There are chances that you get back a link to your blog there in return.

10. The first few seconds are most important in making the viewer decide if he wants to continue reading your blog or move on to some other site. Make your blog attractive and if possible add some good photographs related to your content.

Mallika Badrinath's Rice Delights

100 Rice Delights published by Pradeep Enterprises and authored by Mallika Badrinath, the popular South Indian cookbook writer has some really interesting varieties of rice recipes. It has only vegetarian recipes and is classified as -

1. Pulav's and Fried rice varieties

2. Mixed rice varieties

3. Sweet rice varieties

4. Pongal varieties

5. Raithas

6. Mix and Eat powders

7. Masala powders

Whether you are in a hurry to cook or have lot of time to think over, plan and decided the menu, if you are a rice lover, this is a must have in your recipe book collection.

Important widgets for your blog

Once your blog is ready, make sure you add these widgets to your blog

1. The html code to track the number of visitors, their activites on the blog through any free site like statcounter, google analyticals

2. Followers tab to help viewers easily bookmark your site

3. Archives widget or Menu card

4. Labels widget

5. Google search widget

6. A short description about yourself in "About Me"

7. Links to your other blogs if any

Optional -

1. Recent comments

2. Popular pages

3. Blogroll

4. Slide show of the pictures

5. Poll

Nita Mehta's Chatpati Chaat

Chaat: Lip-smacking tangy food that most of us would die for

And if you want to try all the varieties of chaat from different parts of India in your kitchen, Nita Mehta - the popular Indian cookbook writer's mini series on Chaats by Snab Publishers has it all ..

The categories in the book are-

1. Tips on chaats

2. Chaat pakodi

3. Dilli ke raste ki chaat

4. Mumbai chowpati chaat

5. Chaat kuch alag

6. Chatpati chutneys

7. Ab kuch meetha

Last word: Beautiful pictures with tried and tested recipes

Mallika Badrinath's Tiffin varieties

Mallika Badrinath is a very popular cookbook writer of South India. Her books are published in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi and English by Pradeep Enterprises.

100 Tiffin varieties (Vegetarian)cookbook has a lot of varieties of both South Indian and North Indian recipes

The following are the categories -

1. North Indian and tandoori varieties

2. Puri varieties

3. Idli varieties (variations with batter)

4. Dosa varieties

5. Adai varieties

6. Upma varieties

7. Others

8. Sambar and chutney varieties

Although some of the varieties in the North Indian segment might appear difficult to prepare in the morning, the South Indian varieties are an absolute delight.

Overall, it is a very helpful book for those busy as well as boring mornings when one is confused what to prepare for breakfast

A-Z Tag

Shama of Easy2cook recipes has tagged me

Rules :

1) Link the person who tagged you .
2) Post the rules on your blog.

3) Share the ABC'S of you.

4) Tag 4 people at the end of the post by linking their blogs.
5) Let the 4 tagged people know that they have been tagged by you.
6) Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people,so that there is a big netwotk of bloggers doing the tag.

1) A - Available/Single ? Married
2) B - Best Friend ? My hubby
3) C - Cake or Pie ? Cake
4) D - Drink of choice ? Sugarcane juice and Chocolate milkshake
5) E - Essential item you use every day ? My mobile
6) F - Favourite color ? Blue, Pink
7) G - Gummy Bears or Worms ? None
8) H - Hometown ? Chennai
9) I - Indulgence ? Doing crafts and blogging
10 ) J - January or February ? January – festival time
11) K - Kids and their names ? None
12) L - Life is incomplete without ? Love
13) M - Marriage date ? Oct 27 , 2005 .
14) N - Number of siblings? Elder sister
15) O - Oranges or Apples ? Orange as juice
16) P -- Phobias / Fears ? Snakes, Doctors
17) Q - Quote for today ? Take each day as it comes
18) R - Reason to smile ? Feel happy
19) S - Season ? Winters

20) T - Tag 4 people ? Most of you have done..For those who havent, pls feel free to take it up

21) U - Unknown fact about me ? I have an aversion to all fruits and some vegetables

22) V - Vegetable you don't like ? Long list to mention
23) W - Worst habit ? Getting angry very soon
24 ) X - X-rays you've had ? Tooth
25) Y - Your favourite food ? North Indian cuisine
26 ) Z - Zodiac sign ? Virgo