Thursday, August 20, 2009

Some more copied works at Samayal Blog

Some people just don't learn from their mistakes....

Well Sarmila of Samayal Blog copied my Eggs in Milk recipe and wrote as Egg curry with Milk.
After my notification, she changed the recipe with a new one, which I stated in my earlier post.

Still not satisfied, I happened to browse further and came across this site, Indian Cooking by Sagari. She wrote about Egg Korma with coconut milk and to my surprise the new recipe at Samayal Blog is none other than the recipe of Sagari (I found out her copied work through spelling mistake of turmeric). I have notified Sagari also on this....
You can find Sagari's recipe out here:
1) Egg Korma with coconut milk
2) Same recipe at Sify by Sagari, Egg Korma

And moreover, lots of other recipes are copied from various food sites as mentioned below:
  1. Fabulous Fruit Salad
    Fabulous Fruit Salad at Samayal Blog, copied from here Summer Fruit Salad
  2. Dal Biryani
    Dal Biryani at Samayal Blog, copied from Hungryzone (she even attached the same picture)...
  3. Fried Banana
    Fried Banana at Samayal Blog copied from Bonbini
  4. Finger Fish
    Finger Fish at Samayal Blog, copied from Indiaexpress
  5. Easy Mushroom Gravy
    Easy Mushroom Gravy at Samaya Blog, copied from Mushroom Masala Curry

It seems all her articles and posts are copied from some blogs or sites with no credits for the original writer.

My request, pl check the site and see if any of your recipes are copied there.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Caught in the Act

Well folks, I didn't think my post on plagiarism will have such a quick effort on Sarmila, the writer of Samayal Blog.

Just now, she changed the whole recipe of Egg Curry with Milk, my word-word copied version of Eggs in Milk, replaced milk with coconut milk (how convenient and so very original!!!!).

But maybe she do not know that the name of the post is still the same "http://www.samayalblog.com/index.php/egg/egg-curry-with-milk", coz even if you edit / modify your post & post title, the original post title (code) remains the same.

I notified the writer by posting a comment on the original post, she smartly deleted my comment and modified my recipe as stated below:



Ingredients:
  • 100 gms / 4 eggs
  • 2 cups water (to boil eggs)
  • 1 cup / 250 ml milk
  • 4 tbsp onion paste (2-3 large onions, made into a paste)
  • 2 tsp ginger paste
  • 2 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 green chilli
  • 2 tbsp white oil
  • 1 � tsp salt (to taste)
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped


Method:

  1. Add water and pressure-cook the eggs till 3 whistles. Drain water and de-shell the boiled eggs. Make 4 small slits with a knife on the outer edge of the eggs. Keep aside.
  2. Chop the onions, put in a blender with a green chilli. Add 1 tbsp of water and blend to form a smooth paste.
  3. Heat oil in non-stick deep bottomed pan / kadhai. Reduce flame and add the onion � chilli paste. Saute a little (make sure that the paste do not turn brown).
  4. Add the ginger & garlic paste and stir well.
  5. Gradually add the milk and keep stirring continuously. Add salt to taste and mix well.
  6. Release the eggs in the gravy. Increase the flame and let the gravy thicken a bit. (You can add � cup water, if required).
  7. Remove from flame and transfer the eggs in the serving bowl. Pour the gravy on top.
  8. Garnish with the chopped fresh coriander leaves. Serve with stuffed paranthas & green salads

with the following:



Ingredients:

  • eggs (boiled)
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 cinnamon
  • 2 cardamom
  • 1 cup chopped bell peppers
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 tbs ginger garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp turmuric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • salt
  • 4 to 5 green chillis (slit)
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 4 tbs oil



Method:

  • Heat oil in a pan add cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves
  • Add sliced onion, sprinkle salt and sautee until golden in colour
  • Now add slit green chillis, cilantro and ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 min.
  • Add chopped bell peppers, coriander powder, garam masala, turmuric powder, mix everything and add boiled eggs.
  • Add coconut milk and simmer for 10 min
  • Adjust salt
  • Ready to serve

The recipe name only suggested that the dish is to be white in colour, Eggs is Milk (or as Sarmila called it Egg Curry with Milk).

Suddenly the whole recipe is changed to something else altogether.....and the new ingredients are just not justifying the name.....adding coconut milk, turmeric, coriander powder etc. .....

Hey all!! Pl check if this new recipe matches with some of your recipes or not.

Plagiarism - Be Aware!!!


Friends, these days I am not getting enough time for blogging but always following the nice recipes of you fellow bloggers.

Just the other day, while checking Sanghi's blog, Sanghi's Food Delights!, I came across a note on Plagiarism and her writing on one person hosting a food blog named 'Samayal Blog'.

Her Classic Chicken photo was copied and put as Bachelor chicken and the writer Sarmila has even sent it to an event First Cooked Food Event, hosted by Shama.


As a victim of plagiarism, we all have every right to let others know that our posts (recipes) were stolen and reproduced as someone's own work! These days, I think everyone knows how much time and effort goes into writing a post. I always thought, whren I started blogging, if this were to happen to me, I�d be upset, hurt and didn't have any idea of what to do.

Well just out of curiosity, I happened to browse through the other posts of this Samayal Blog, and came across this post on Eggs, a post called "Egg Curry with Milk"on 30th June, I am shocked to see that it is an exact copy of my post on "Eggs in Milk", a unique dish which I learnt from my mother-in-law.
She has left out my introduction to the dish, but has copied the ingredients measurements and procedure word to word to the last details.


I have put a word to the person, let's see if it's removed.

I do feel for Sanghi...and would suggest all my fellow bloggers, to check this site, Samayal Blog, and notify the person, if any of your recipes / photos are copied there....

This Eggs in Milk recipe is after my heart, as it was one of my chosen recipes for School Meals, a programme of The World Food Programme (WFP), which I sent to Bloggeraid.

So let's join in fighting plagiarism and put a stop to this never ending theft of our posts...

Friday, August 7, 2009

Classic Cheese Pizza and my first set of Awards


The great thing about pizzas are that you can add whatever you want to them and they still taste good (in the course, you invent unique pizza of your own). All you have to do is to prepare the dough correctly. My son likes to have pizza with lots of cheese as toppings. So here is the recipe for classic cheese pizza.

Pizza Dough
  • warm water (110-120 degrees F): 1 1/4 cups
  • active dry yeast: 1 packet
  • sugar: 1 � tbsp
  • flour (sifted) 3 � cups
  • salt: � tsp
  • olive oil / butter flavoured oil: 2 tbsp

Toppings:

  • Tomato sauce: 4-6 tbsp
  • Mozzarella cheese (shredded / grated): 6 tbsp
  • Parmesan cheese (grated): 1 tbsp
  • Olive oil: 2 tbsp
  • Dried Oregano seasoning (crumbled) (to taste)
  • Freshly crushed black pepper (to taste)
  • Red chili flakes (to taste)

Procedure:

To make the dough:

  1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Allow to sit for 8-10 minutes (builds a good froth, so make sure this is in a 2 cup or larger container, glass is best as it holds the heat nicely).
  2. In a bowl, mix the sifted flour and salt. Slowly add the yeast water with a olive oil / butter flavoured oil.
  3. Mix thoroughly (add flour / olive oil if required) and knead thoroughly for about 6-8 minutes to make a smooth, springy dough (Remember that the dough should be slightly sticky to the firm touch).
  4. Remove dough from bowl and place in an airtight bag. Do not seal bag, but leave open in a nearly closed drape (enough to allow gasses from yeast to escape). Set in a warm place for at lest for 1 hour & 15-20 minutes. (This is very crucial & essential otherwise the dough will not rise properly and will result in a tough, unpleasant dough).

Rolling out the dough:

  1. Take the dough on to a flat surface, dust it with little flour, roll it flat (size measurement: you can rollout to cover a 14 inch pan for thicker crust / 16 inch pan for thinner crust).
  2. Permeate crust with fork over the entire dough base (sp that the pizza crust do not bubble).
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise an additional 15-20 minutes. Repeat permeation with fork only slightly.

Toppings & baking:

  1. Grease a baking sheet and lay the rolled dough.
  2. Pour tomato sauce on the pizza base and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon.
  3. Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan. cheese. Very carefully rribble olive oil over the pizza and bake it on the lowest shelf or the floor of the oven.
  4. Cook pizza at 475 for 5 mins. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F after 5 minutes and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (lightly browned) and the cheese is bubbling.

Serve:

  1. Sprinkle oregano and some freshly crushed black pepper / red chili flakes (as per taste).
  2. Serve hot and enjoy!!!

Hey all!!! Sunanda of Sunanda�s Kitchen, passed me these 3 lovely awards: �One Lovely Blog Award�, �Kreativ Blogger Award�, �I love your Blog Award� and a tag.

I am overwhelmed and excited to recieve these awards as they are my very first set of awards in this blogging world.




Thank you very much, Sunanda for the awards. I would also like to thank all the great foodies, dear friends and my readers for encouraging me to pursue my passion for cooking and sharing recipes despite having a tight job schedule.

Some basic information about me:

1. What is your current obsession?
Technical writing and blogging (ofcourse)
2. What are you wearing today?
Something comfortable
3. What�s for dinner?
My homemade biryani and cucumber & mint raita
4. What�s the last thing you bought?
Birthday Celebration Gifts (busy these days planning for my son�s b�day)
5. What are you listening to right now?
Latest hindi movie dance tracks
6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Wonderful person�
7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Paris
8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Cotton wear, sun shades and deos.
9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Paris
10. Which language do you want to learn?
French
11. Who do you want to meet right now?
My best friend
12. What is your favourite colour?
Maroon
13. What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet?
Jeans and top
14. What is your dream job?
Love to be an entrepreneur; own company on customer service; publishing cookery books
15. What�s your favourite magazine?
Nothing special, anything that catches my fancy.
16. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
DSLR camera with full set of lenses
17. What is your favourite pastime?
Reading a mushy romantic novel
18. Who are your style icons?
Greta Garbo
19. Describe your personal style?
Depends on the occasion: Elegant & Classic / simple and gorgeous
20. What are you going to do after this?
Lot of things to do�.
21. What are your favourite movies?
It�s a long list, from old English classics to action & thrills, cartoons, romance etc�
22. What inspires you?
Client compliments and appreciation from near & dear ones.
23. Give us three styling tips that always work for you:
Simple, confident and present myself as I am�
24. Coffee or tea?
Cuppuccino (specially the lip smacking ones with whipped cream / dollops of ice-cream on top)
25. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Listen to music / read books
26. Which month is your birthday?
July
27. Which other blogs you love visiting?
All good food and recipe blogs, the list is too long��..
28. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
Frozen desserts
29. Favorite Season?
Spring
30.One thing you love about yourself
My loving and caring nature (my friends tell me so)
31 What is your favourite line?
You have only one life; enjoy it to the fullest�
32. What is the meaning of your name?
Malini is a female gardener (specially tending to flower gardening)

The rules are:
Respond and rework � answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. Then tag eight or ten other people.

I am glad to share these awards along with the tag with following blogger friends�

Congratulations to all�

Friday, July 31, 2009

Khaman Dhokla (Indian Cooking Challenge)

Dhokla is a popular & delicious Gujrati delicacy, known for its irresistible taste and flavour. Generally prepared from chickpea flour / besan, which is soaked and fermented. The fermented batter is then steamed, cut into pieces, tempered with mustard seeds, coconut and curry leaves and garnished with fresh coriander leaves. I used a little bit of plain bhujiya for that crunchy effect.

Previously used to try the instant dhokla mix and steamed in pressure cooker, as I never quite had the fool-proof recipe. I have blogged regarding Besan Dhokla in microwave. So again tried the authentic Gujarati recipe as stated in Indian Cooking Challenge, hosted by Srivalli.

It's really easy, once you keep ready all the ingredients and follow the steps as stated to have that fluffy, spongy Khaman Dhokla, a perfect snack served with green chutney (recipe stated below) to relish with tea / coffee.
Ingredients: (Makes 20 medium sized pieces)
For batter:

  • Bengal Gram flour / Besan: 250 gms (1 & 1/2 cup)
  • Curd / Dahi: 1/2 cup (not very sour)
  • Water: 1/2 cup
  • Cooking Soda: 1/2 tsp
For seasoning to be mixed to the batter (to be added just before cooking):

  • Oil: 1 tbsp
  • Turmeric a pinch
  • Green Chili paste: 1 - 2 long chilli (as per taste)
  • Sugar: 1 tsp
  • Citric acid: 1/4 tsp
  • Eno: 1 packet (green colour fruit lime) + sprinkle or dust few bits on the plate
For tempering:

  • Sesame seeds
  • Mustard Seeds
  • Curry leaves
  • Grated coconut
  • Coriander leaves, chopped
  • Little water + Oil to be topped on dhoklas

Procedure:

  1. Take a bowl, mix 1/2 cup curd with 1/2 part water. Add besan and mix well to get a lump less batter (the consistency should be of idli batter, more of dropping not pouring consistency).
  2. Slowly add more water if needed else, add the soda. Keep it aside to rise for 1 hour.
  3. If you are using a pressure cooker, fill the pan with water, place a plate / bowl, which you will have to use for steaming the dhoklas. Thali plate can be used for steaming.
  4. To the batter, mix the citric acid, oil, salt, sugar, green chili paste and turmeric powder. Mix well. This has to be done just before pouring to the plate / bowl.
  5. Meanwhile have the cooker on stove, and let the water start boiling. When the water reaches the rolling stage, you can mix the eno to the batter (Save little of eno for dusting on the plate), mix gently, you will see bubbles coming out.
  6. Dust or sprinkle the plate with eno. Then immediately pour the batter to the plate / bowl. Place the plate carefully inside the pressure cooker and cover with lid. You need not use the whistle.
  7. After covering you will find steam coming out of the outlet, simmer and don't disturb for almost 5 -7 minutes.
  8. After 5 -7 minutes, remove the lid and check it using toothpick or knife. If the knife comes out clean and do not have any batter sticking, then its done.
  9. Cover back and let it remain on flame for 1 min and switch off the gas and allow it for 5 minutes.
  10. In a bowl, mix 3 tsp of water along with a tsp of oil. Remove the plate / bowl from the pressure cooker, pour the water & oil mix over the top of the steamed dhokla.
  11. For seasoning, heat a pan with oil, add curry leaves, sesame seeds, mustard seeds and finely chopped green chilies. When mustard starts popping, remove and pour over the dhokla.
Ingredients for green chutney:

  • Green chili: 4 - 5
  • Coconut: 4 - 5 pieces
  • Coriander leaves- a bunch
  • few mint leaves
  • Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
  • Lime: 1 big
  • Salt to taste
Method: Take all the ingredients except coriander in a food processor. Grind to a smooth paste. Then add the coriander and again grind. Remove to a bowl, add the remaining lime and serve with Dhoklas.
















Notes to remember:
  • The batter should be filled to only 1/2 as it will rise up. After adding eno the batter should not rest. Amount of sugar can be increased on preference
  • If you want perfect shaped ones and not the crumbling, cut and handle gently.
  • Dhokla can also be steamed in kadai filled with water and a plated titled over it.
  • Citric Acid can be replaced with lime juice.
  • You may used soda bi carb instead of Eno.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Rava Laddoo for the Indian Cooking Challenge

Rava Laddoo (Suji Ladoo) is a tempting sweet in Indian cuisine and this one is going to the monthly event (challenge for the month of June) called Indian Cooking Challenge, hosted by Srivalli...She has already provided with the recipe...just wanted to mention that, I used the specified volumes, black cardamom powder and broken cashews (in place of whole cashewnuts)....

Ingredients: (Makes 10 laddoos of normal size)

  • Rava / Semolina / Suji - 1 cup (150 gms)
  • Sugar - 1 cup (125 gms)
  • Ghee - 25 gms
  • Milk - 25 ml
  • Cardamom powder - a pinch
  • Cashew nuts - 10 whole nuts
  • Raisins - 10 nos
  • Grated fresh coconut - 25 gms

Method to prepare:
  1. Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai. Once the ghee is hot enough, simmer the flame and roast cashew nuts and raisins.
  2. Once the raisins balloon up, remove.
  3. Then roast the grated coconut. Remove once done. Keep all these aside.
  4. Add the remaining ghee and roast the Rava till its well roasted and aroma starts coming out.
  5. In a bowl, take all the roasted Rava, Nuts, Coconut and add the Cardamom powder. Then add the sugar. Mix well.
  6. Then slowly add the warm milk into the bowl. Check if you are able to gather as balls.
  7. When you find that milk added is enough to get you laddos, transfer it back to the kadai and cook in sim for 2 mins. Mix well and then cover it and let it rest for 2 mins.
  8. Then immediately make balls or laddoos.



I kept a little roasted rava aside, after forming the laddoos, I rolled them on the roasted rava to form a coating on the laddoos (to have a crunchy feeling). Enjoy!!!


Monday, June 1, 2009

Moving...

Hi All!

Khana Khazana is moving to Global Cuisines....

I am still in the process of updating the blog...

Thanks for all your support and wishes. Hope to see you all in my new blog...
Till then...Happy Blogging....