Contact

Hello Reader!

I’d love to hear from you! Your comments, feedback, or topic suggestions are always welcome. Feel free to leave a message in the comments below or reach out to me directly at manusmedley@gmail.com.

I kindly ask that SEO or website enhancement inquiries be avoided, as this is a personal blog and I’m not looking for services in this area. Emails on this topic will not be responded to.

Warmly,

Manu

Review: Anex Monkey Smart Watch

Hello Readers, Welcome back. While browsing through a weekly flyer by Canadian Tire, my eyes got hold of a smart watch, primarily for its name - Monkey Smart Watch. It's original price was $89.99. On account of Father's Day, the price was slashed 70% and offered for just $24.99 (from June 9th to June 16th). As it was listed on Canadian Tire website, I thought the product should be genuine and googled to know more about the product. But there weren't sufficient reviews online. So I decided to try it myself and booked it online. This smart watch was launched in the last quarter of 2021 as Anex Monkey Smart Watch. Last year, it had been sold for just $19.99 as part of Black Friday deal. Even after 5 days of waiting, Canadian Tire didn't process my order. On the other hand, the stock was vanishing real quick and only 80 watches were available in our near by store. When checked with their customer service executive, I was told to cancel my online order or wait until they p...

Keep Rutabaga Fresh! Storage Tips & 2 Indian Recipes You'll Love

Stepping beyond our usual choices in kitchen can open up a world of exciting flavors and nutrients. All it takes is to try a new vegetable or a cooking style to add novelty to our daily meals. Rutabaga, a vegetable I haven't explored before turned out to be a delightful discovery. If you haven't read my previous article on rutabaga, be sure to check it out here . It gives you a wholistic look at this underrated super vegetable along with a lip smacking Indian-style Rutabaga fry recipe you won't want to miss. Apart from the fry, I prepared a flavorful Andhra-style karam pulusu and a comforting Tamil-style kootu using rutabaga. Surprisingly, both dishes turned out even more delicious than the fry! If I had to rank all the three recipes, the rutabaga pulusu would easily take the top spot—it was simply irresistible! How to store rutabaga for weeks? Rutabagas come in all sizes, but the smaller ones can be more bitter and the bigger ones could be woody and tough to cut. So go fo...

Recipe: Idiyappam | Sevai | String Hoppers

Idiyappam, is a well known break fast item in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka. It is also known as sevai or string hoppers (in English) and is primarily made out of rice floor. Like idli, idiyappam is made through steaming using no oil, making it very easily digestible and light on stomach. When I think about idiyappam, I remember 2 instances from my childhood. One of my friend's mom, used to feed her 2 year old with different colourful sevais for evening snack - white, yellow, red along with a liquid version of it too, almost 3-4 times in a week. Later I learnt from her elder daughter (my friend) that they are coconut sevai (sweet version), lemon sevai, tomato sevai and rasam sevai. Though born and brought up in Chennai, we aren't much into idiyappams. I don't remember eating them until I crossed 10 years. Whenever we visit a doctor with fever, our doctor used to give a list of food items - kanji, bread, idli, idiyappam and rasam rice, which I was usually averse to even...

Gearing up for First day of School

The day you first held your little one, the first time he smiled at you, those first steps, first tears, first words, first bike ride... You would have experienced countless firsts with your child so far. Before you knew it, your kid is just few days away from a very important milestone - his first day of school. If your kid is starting kindergarten this academic year, I totally feel you. I was in the same state of mind, exactly an year ago. After tending to my son for more than 3 years, that too as a stay at home mom, he is very attached to me. I was with him literally 24 x 7, except for those very few minutes I sneak into the washroom. The thought of how he would survive those 7 hours of school without me, haunted me for days. Next his preparedness to face the whole new world (without us) was dreadful. I had infinite questions/ doubts in my head. It is quite natural if you have an endless loop going on in your head. In this post, I sum up my experience of preparing my child and ...

Recipe: Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal)

Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal), as it is known in South India, is a traditional South Indian sweet, prepared using rice, lentils, jaggery and dry fruits. Sakkarai Pongal is usually prepared as an offering to the Sun God, during Pongal/ Sankranthi festival and as prasad in temples around the year. Ingredients: Rice - 1 cup Moong dal (split green gram) - 1/2 cup Chana dal (split chick peas) - 3 tbsp Milk - 1 cup Water - 5 cup Jaggery - 1.5 cup diluted in 1 cup water Ghee - 1/2 cup Cashew nuts (chopped) - 2 tbsp Raisins - 1 tbsp Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Edible camphor - a pinch Procedure: Wash and soak rice and dals in water for half an hour In a pressure cooker, heat 3 tbsp of ghee and roast cashew and raisins and set them aside In the same cooker, add the soaked rice, dals, 1 cup milk and 5 cups water and cook until 5 whistles, so that it is mushy Meanwhile dissolve jaggery in 1 cup of water and strain to rem...

Manu's Medley

Search This Blog