Athidhi Dhevo Bhava! Today’s chit chat with Divya Prakash

Siri: When did you start blogging and what made you to start it?
Divya : I used to post the pictures of my dishes I make in Facebook. One day I thought what if I had a blog so that I can post recipes with the pictures, started blogging on 30 January 2012. 
Siri : Tell us about your family and how you manage your time to blog?
Divya: My husband and the two kids are the motivation behind my cooking. They love to eat and I love to cook for them. Usually blogging time is after the kids go to bed in the night.  
Siri : Whats your favourite cuisine?
Divya: Indian and Italian
Siri : Share some tips to reduce the cooking time
Divya: Here are some tips. plan the menu ahead. Chop the onions and store them. Whenever you are free, chop the vegetables, so when it is time to cook the veggies are ready before hand.  
Siri : What type of camera you use and share some tips on food photography..Btw your pics looks amazing and lively..
 I use Nikon D5100 . Thanks Siri. I am still a novice photographer. Here are few tips from what I have learnt. 1) Lighting is very important for a good picture. 2) Do some food styling to make the dish look attractive like adding the some chopped cilantro, etc,  3)  Experiment. Take a lot of pictures in different angles.
Siri : Share some tips on making the blog  more readable..
Divya :  These are some tips from me 1) Engaging introduction about the recipes. 2. Eye pleasing colors and readable font. 3. Simple and easy language.
Siri : How is my blog useful and give me one tip on how can I improve the look..
Divy: I really love that you have step wise pictures for each recipe. It is very helpful. Also the blog has a neat layout.  The only thing I would suggest is use captions with the images.
Siri : Your blog looks amazing and especially the pics are my favourites..Do you mind if I give you a small suggestion?
Divya: Thank you, Siri. I would be happy to receive any suggestion.
Siri : As a reader,I felt like your blog background  is distracting my concentration from reading the recipe..Hope you take this as my friendly feedback… Of course fans words matter..right?? 🙂
Also I expect more cakes recipes from you 🙂

1. Soak chick peas for atleast 3-4 hours, preferably over night.
2. Soak tamarind in warm water, extract the pulp and set it aside.
3. Pressure cook the chick peas till they are cooked, take care not to over cook it. 
4. First grind coconut and cumin seeds into a fine paste.
5. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds, then add the garlic and curry leaves and fry for a minute or two till the garlic turns lightly golden brown in color.
6. Then add the asafoetida, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and ground onion paste and cook till the raw smell is gone. 
7. By the mean time, grind the coconut into a fine paste. 
8. Add the coconut paste to the pan along with the cooked chickpeas, tamarind extract and mix well. 
9. Add salt to taste, adjust the consistency by adding water and simmer for 10-12 minutes in low flame till the oil gets seperated.