Sugar cane juice is a common commodity along the streets in India.   The juice extractor can quickly churn out some fresh made juice from real sugar cane.  Watch how it is done.

I made a new video today. Here it is:

Onion Vada is a yummy south Indian snack that we have sometimes in the afternoons. I love Onion Vada at room temperature. I have heard it is best when it is hot, but I haven’t tried it like that. It is a delicious! This is my mother-in-laws recipe (she doesn’t do exact measurements that’s why there is no measurements on the recipe).

-Onions
-Chickpea flour (you can buy this at an Indian store)
-Salt
-1/2 spoon Sugar
-Water
-Oil (for frying)

• Start heating the oil in a pan.
• Slice onions so there are little strips (Maybe cut the circle slice into fourths)
• In a bowl mix all of the ingredients, expect the oil and the onions. The mixture should not be runny. It should be thick.
• Add the onions to the mixture. The mixture should be enough to coat the onions.
• Once the oil is hot add a dollop of the onion mixture into the oil. Once the Onion Vada is golden brown remove from oil and place on paper or paper towel to soak up oil.
• Enjoy! 🙂

On my blogroll you will find a link to S. Krishna’s Books. This is a blog that I love. Her blog is dedicated to book reviews. She is a mad reader. I really don’t know how she reads so many books each week. I love reading and I love books so I love visiting her site.

S. Krishna has put out a book challenge for 2010. She is challenging people to, 1. read books by south Asian authors and 2. the book has to in someway be related to south Asia. You can challenge yourself to read 3, 5, 7, or 10 south Asian books throughout the year. I am joining and so should you. You can visit the South Asian Author Challenge-Intro & FAQ post to get more information.

Here is the list of books that I have chosen to read for the challenge:
1. The Sari Shop Widow-Shobhan Bantwal (fiction)
2. The Girl from Foreign- Sadie Shepard (Memoir non-fiction)
3. In the Convent of Little Flowers: Stories- Indu Sundaresan (fiction)
4. The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India in the 21st Century- Shashi Tharoor (non-fiction)
5. Trash!: On Ragpicker Children and Recycling- Gita Wolf and Anushka Ravishankar (fact and fiction children’s)

I read The White Tiger (fiction) by Aravind Adiga this year. I highly recommend that book to anyone who is looking for a great read for the challenge.

I would love to add more books to this list. I prefer non-fiction if you have any great recommendations please leave a comment.