Blog's Logo - Reason behind ?

I was working on creating a beautiful and a unique logo for my blog. I always love to play with animated images, making collages out of it, drawing in paint, using the illustrator and so on. I took so much time to do this but i really enjoyed seeing the final image. I am not good at doodle art, so i went with animated images and made collages out of it. 


I have created so many designs (for my personal purposes) , starting from my marriage invitation card, my son's birthday party decorations, our house warming invitation etc.. I never get the satisfaction until i reach that perfection. 


So, initially I decided the theme. I had quite a few points in mind. I did not want to change the picture frequently and that's the reason i mentioned the title as Logo.  Khana Priyam's permanent logo ! The simple idea behind - i wanted to include all the tiny things that i love related to food, the ingredients that create magic, those essentials without which cooking and it's subsidiaries cannot be imagined, etc....


K :


For the letter 'K', i used Nuts (FAT). 


Nuts are good sources of fat, fiber and protein. Most of the fat in nuts is monounsaturated fat, as well as omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat. Nuts also pack a number of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium and vitamin E. It goes without saying , nut's sister - dry fruits are equally healthy. I always store nuts and dry fruits in my pantry, include them in chutneys, porridge, etc.. I can never deny the fact that it has little effect on weight. So, i can mention the tamil proverb here : "அளவுக்கு மீறினால் அமிர்தமும் நஞ்சு".  Anything when consumed beyond prescribed quantity, it will become poison.


H :


For the letter 'H', i used Chillies (SPICE).


Chilli (both red and green) is an important ingredient to alter the spice levels. There are numerous varieties of chilli in terms of shape, spice levels and infact the taste. As i already said, i love to play with animated images. I love animated images of mexican chillies. In fact, i have a red and green chilli family magnet from New Mexico (a state known for chillies). I like both the colors and i wanted to include both. So, love for the state and the animations made me chose this image for letter H.  


A :


For the letter 'A', i used Water and Fire (ESSENTIAL).


Can you imagine life without the 5 great elements? I need not mention how important they are in our day to day activities. Water and fire especially, are very important for cooking. The first capital 'A' in khana is made of water and the small 'a', which is common to both khana and priyam is made of fire. I am thankful for using them abundantly in my everyday chores. My blog will definitely give an airy, natural and a pleasant background (air, space and earth) for the readers.


N :


For the letter 'N', i used Nature and Greens (ESSENTIAL).


I love plants and trees, a green atmosphere, even though i have very limited knowledge in gardening. I am on the learning phase now. There are numerous varieties of plants, indoor and outdoor, serving different purposes. They really give me immense positive energy and i am working on filling my house with as many plants as possible. This is a vegetarian blog, supporting nature, greens, organically grown vegetables and fruits. Once again, i am thankful for my everyday food.


P :


For the letter 'P', i used Indian spices and Herbs (AROMA).


The mix of sweet and savory smells, each region of India has its own palette of spices. Most Indian spices are used individually, although in some regions, they are mixed together in different amounts to form other spices. Each spice gives a unique taste to the mix, creating an aroma that makes you salivate. So, Love for my motherland made me chose this for the alphabet P. 


R :


For the letter 'R', i used Hot Beverage (ENERGY).


Obviously, my love for Tea made me chose this. Before starting the design, i decided to provide a space for my favorite tea. The alphabet R will have a hot cup of beverage. My choice is tea. Readers can assume their favorite ones. Every individual will definitely have their own favorite beverage that gives them energy and happiness after drinking.


I :


For the letter 'I', i used Fruits and Vegetables (FIBRE).


Needless to say, i love fruits and vegetables. Can you imagine a kitchen without them ? Please include them in your diet for getting enough vitamins and minerals.


Y :


For the letter ‘y’, i used Chocolate (TASTE). 


Who doesn’t love chocolate? Sometimes, it’s okay to break the rules and become childish? Relishing the childhood memories. My love for chocolate will never fade-away.


M :


For the letter ‘M’, i used Mom Serving Food (LOVE).


Whom you get reminded of when you get hungry? Obviously it’s mom ! Not only she relives you from hunger, the food served is always cooked out of love and affection. All moms are the best. So, my love for her made me chose this design for the letter M.

Please provide your comments in the comment section below (along with your name) about the logo. Feedbacks and suggestions are always welcome.

Happy COOKING .. !

Stay HEALTHY.. !

Enjoy LIFE .. !

Gratitude ...!!

This is an exclusively “Thank you” post for the most important people in my life.

Thank you AMMA and APPA for all the sacrifices. You nurtured and protected me and taught me with great care. I am grateful for everything...!

Thank you LALITH for bringing out this good skill of mine . You gave me the complete space to try out new recipes and for being a good critic! Thank you VIDYUTH (Cheeku) for being my lucky charm. You made our life beautiful. 

Thank you FATHER IN LAW and MOTHER IN  LAW for being very supportive. 

Thank you my dear friends and relatives. 

Each and every recipe is tried and tested. I will definitely mention the source from which i have adapted the recipe. I will work on giving fail proof recipes with accurate measurements and make the blog easier for beginners too.

Cooking is an art! It requires precise mixture of ingredients, seasoned with spices, cooked at right temperature with patience and love ! 

Do try my recipes. Feel free to comment and give your suggestions. I will be happy to have different versions of a single recipe with same or different ingredients and measurements. 

Welcome to Khana Priyam ... !! 

Enjoy and happy cooking ... !!! 

Introduction and Dedications ...

My name is Shruthi. I live in USA with my beautiful family. My husband is an Electrical engineer and i have a 3 year old cute naughty boy who keeps me busy through the day. Like many ladies, i had zero knowledge in cooking before marriage. I would have hardly entered the kitchen twice or thrice. Those kitchen experiments include keeping rice in rice cooker (my mom would mention the quantity of water) , potato fry and dry okra curry, masala chai. After getting married and moving to USA, i started trying out recipes from various blogs. I wouldn’t say they tasted great but definitely not a disaster. We somehow managed with my limited cooking skills. My husband has a strong policy “Never waste food”. So he will finish whatever is served and however the taste is. 😄 I gave a pause to my learning phase in cooking because i was expecting my son and my mom & mom in law was  there with me to take care of the meals. After my son was born and when all the elders has to go back to India, again it’s me who has to cook. So i decided to develop some interest towards cooking because there is a simple concept “Love what you do; Do what you love”. Without interest and love, nothing will work out. I started reading a lot of food blogs, compare a single recipe with two or three food blogs , get my mom’s version , understand the tiny differences, try twice or thrice to understand the taste and finally stick on to the recipe with additions and subtractions as per my family’s taste preference. That final recipe will then become the member of my recipe book. Gradually, when my dishes became a super hit within my family and close knit circle of friends, i gained some confidence. I realized i have a passion for cooking. I have never imagined i would start a food blog. The main reason to start the food blog is to safely document my collection of recipes and a best method to pass it on to other people and future generations. There are some recipes which are really close to my heart in terms of many reasons - culture, tradition, people etc. Here in this blog, i am planning to share each and every memory associated with the recipe and the recipe’s source.

So, Why is the name Khana Priyam ? I strongly thank my family for this culinary skill. My grandmothers (both paternal and maternal) are amazing chefs. My paternal grandmother is a sanskrit lover. She was my shloka teacher, a voracious reader and a knowledgeable person. She is known for her “Bakshanams” (snacks). She rolls perfect murukku. She is no more and unfortunately, i failed to learn that from her. My mom and athai(s) does murukku but i always miss the shape of my pati’s. My maternal grandmother is a tamil lover. She reads a lot of tamil books and an amazing cook even now at the age of 80. Her specialties are “South Indian” recipes especially sambhar, rasam and fried curries. As I already mentioned, there are many memories associated with people and their recipes  which i will share appropriately. Coming to the name, “ Khana “ is a hindi/sanskrit word meaning Food / Eat. “ Priyam “ is a tamil word meaning love and affection. So i decided to go with the name  “ Khana Priyam “ meaning “Love for Food / Eat”, in memory of my sanskrit and tamil pati(s). I dedicate this blog exclusively to both the lovely personalities of my life.

Last but not the least, the reason for inaugurating the blog on Mother’s Day is obviously my mom. The first person that comes to our mind when we are hungry - AMMA ! My mom started cooking at the age of 8. My grandmother used to tell me “ Your mom started basic cooking like keeping rice and dal, boiling water , steaming vegetables at the age of 8 and full meals at the age of 13.” Many a times, I remember my maternal uncle (mama) telling me “Your mom used to wake up very early every single morning just for the sake of helping pati in the kitchen , packed lunch for my grandfather, my perima( mom’s sister) , herself and my mama. All her recipes are fail proof ones. Every single person in my family loves to come to our house especially for my mom’s comfort food. Be it south indian, north indian , bakshanam, sweets and the list goes on..

Wishing my mom a very happy mother’s day ! Thank you so much for giving me such a wonderful skill. Motherhood is such a blessing! All mom’s are the best ! Wishing all mom’s a very happy Mother’s Day!!!!!

Prayers ..

Lord Ganesha - Remover of obstacles  !

Om Gajananam Bhoota Ganadi Sevitam
Kapittha Jambuu Phalasaara Bhakshitam
Umaasutam Shoka Vinaasha Kaaranam
Namaami Vigneshvara Paada Pankajam.          

      







Goddess Saraswathi - Mother of Knowledge !

Saraswati namastubyam
varade kamarupini
Vidyarambam karisyami
Siddhirbhavatume sada




Praying lord ganesha to lead my way and thanking goddess saraswati for gifting me the capacity to learn, providing the skill of ability and motivation.






Last but not the least, owing my work to Shiradi Sai Baba for constantly motivating me by giving appropriate messages whenever i needed his guidance. “Om shri sachidananda samartha satguru sainath maharaj ki jai” ...

Thank you Baba!