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You may have noticed there have been a few changes to the site recently!

So far, we've improved the way a lot of pages are laid out, and overhauled the search engine to hopefully make it a lot more reliable and easy for you to use.

Over the next few weeks, we'll continue to improve how the site looks and works behind the scenes. As ever, if you encounter any problems please let us know.

Merry Christmas to each and every person who visits this site. Eat, drink, and be merry and kind to each other.

In recent months, I have been asked about Indian curries without any onion, tomatoes or garlic. Some people don't like them, others are allergic to them.

The younger generations, here in England, even in India, feel that all curries have onion and tomatoes. Not at all! This is not true.

Tomatoes are quite expensive out of season, as are onions. So, a vast majority of the Indian population have their dals and everyday vegetable dishes cooked without them and they are delicious.

I will try to cook without onions and garlic, just like my mum and mother in-law did, for the next few months and see how I can make it easy for people to find such recipes.

mamtaskitchen has its own facebook page where like minded people visit, comment and ask questions. Feel free to join us there;

https://www.facebook.com/mamtaskitchen

We at mamtaskitchen wish you all a happy and healthy New Year. May this year bring peace on earth and end to wars everywhere. May there be no hunger and cruelty.

With the summer coming to UK, many more locally produced vegetables, fruits, seafoods will become cheaper and easily available. Look up for recipes using these products.

Here is one to get you started, [recipe:13970]

And don't waste those lovely cauliflower greens and stalks, make this tasty [recipe:13945]

Ram Navmi, 10/04/2022

On this day, birthday of God Rama is celebrated all over India and by Hindus world over. He was born on the ninth day of the Hindu month of Chaitra, around April.

On this day, Ram temples in India and world over are decorated. Statues of Ram, his wife Sita, brother Lakshman and devotee monkey God Hanuman, are bedecked in new clothes and jewellery, prepared by devotees. Great procession takes place in Ayodhya in India, Rama.s birth place. All the statues are carried on the shoulders of devotees. People sing and dance in the streets. Non-stop renditions of Ramayana, the epic describing Rama.s life story, are read in non-stop marathon sessions lasting 24 hours or longer, all over India and throughout the world. It is the traditional story of the victory of good over evil, good being Rama and the evil in the form of Ravana, king of Lanka.

True devotees fast for 9 days, eating only once a day, after a visit to the temple, each evening. Special meals are prepared for the celebration.

Contributed by Reeta Kumar

Holi - 18th March, 2022

Holika dahan 17th March 2022

This Hindu festival of colour is celebrated all over India with great gusto. The day before Holi, a big bonfire is lit on street crossings. This is a community affair, everyone contributes wood and old bits of wooden furniture to place on the bonfire. The fire is lit in the evening after praying to Holika. People sing and dance around the fire. They bring green fronds of gram and sheaves of wheat to roast on the fire. It is spring time and the fields (khet) are full of ripening cereals. These are then distributed to everyone to eat.

The story: A very long time ago, there was a demon king called Hiranyakashyap. He hated God Narayana but his son Prahalad was a devotee of God Narayana. Hiranyakashyap did not like it and decided to kill his son. He had a sister called Holika, who had a set of clothes which could never catch fire. Hiranyakashyap asked Holika to wear her special clothes and sit in the fire with Prahalad in her lap, hoping that Prahalad will thus burn to death. However, Holika was a gentle woman. She quietly dressed Prahalad in her clothes before entering the fire. She was burnt to death but Prahalad was saved and grew up to become one of the greatest devotee of God Narayana. To celebrate this victory of good over evil, the bonfire is lit on the same day each year.

Holi, the festival of colour, is played the morning after the bonfire night. People visit each other's house as a gesture of friendship. They hug each other in greetings and put gulal, a coloured powder, on each others face. Gulal comes in various bright colours and makes people look quite funny, their faces covered in red, green, purple and so on. Youngsters also use pichkari or water gun, to throw coloured water on everyone. Everyone's clothes are quite psychedelic on holi day. Everyone is offered Gunjia sweets and Vadas, soaked in kanji ka Pani instead of yoghurt sauce, everywhere they go. Some people serve and drink 'Bhang' on this day, even the ones who do not normally take any intoxicating drinks. After the colour festival is over, everyone goes home to have a bath and wear new clothes. Then all the family members have a a meal together. Family's favourite foods are cooked. In North Indian Vegetarian family like ours, it usually consists of Potato Curry, A few other seasonal vegetable dishes including Pumpkin Bhaji, Urad Dal Kachuries, Boondi Raita and several sweets.

God Krishna was said to have played holi in a big way with the village girls or gopis. There are many songs celebrating His holi antics.

Contributed by Ashok Gupta

May you get as much joy from cooking as I do. Keep experimenting, coming up with new ideas/recipes, adjusting recipes to your taste. Enjoy the food around you!

We at mamtaskitchen wish all our visitors a very happy, healthy, Covid free and prosperous 2022!

Happy New Year all!