A Tribute To Our Mothers - My Cooking Journey

A mother is someone who cannot be replaced. Being a mother and a daughter, I am seeing both sides of it.

As a mother, my heart is full of joy and enjoy each and every moment with my boys. My day begins with them and ends with them. I am at that part of life where we are inseparable. I cannot believe one single moment without their noise and love complaining about it.

As a daughter, I have the best life one could have. I am a single child and enjoyed my mother's love all by myself. We were so happy together, shopping, cooking and just fooling around that I forgot God had other plans for us. Seems like I am not one of the lucky ones to enjoy these days a little longer. I lost my Mother 2 ½ years ago and since then, as much as I look forward to the special celebrations on the Mother's day, I also dread it. I miss Amma (as I call my mother) even more and have a tinge of jealousy when I see other's talking and hugging their mothers.

To celebrate this special day and remember our mother's I decided to make a small post with a group of my friends from Blogging Marathon group who have sent their favorite recipes and a small tribute to their Mothers. It was so much reading them and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Archana from The Mad Scientists Kitchen's tribute to her Mom.

It is so beautiful that I have tears in my eyes every time I read it. She has sent this recipe of Kari Kadubu to celebrate her mother.

My mom or Amma as I called her was short but beautiful. Beautiful not just physically but even her mental make up was beautiful.Amma had to leave her schooling, so she was educated till STD.X but that never got in her way of teaching me or my siblings. She just read once and she grasped the logic, the points where we will find difficult and how to help us understand the problem. I guess if she was educated more she would have been amazing.

Amma had to just eat a new dish and she could replicate it almost to the T! Even on her deathbed, she remembered food we liked and the long forgotten recipes and their ingredients. When she went she took a part of me with her, not just me there is hardly anyone who even after 17 years of her passing away does not remember how she made their lives brighter and happier.

I miss her but I know she is there watching me and helping me every time I falter. She is my first Guru, my role model!

Harini from Tamalapaku has sent in this about her mother.

She had mentioned to me that she and her sister wrote this for their mother together. Absolutely love this and praying for her to keep going!

Venna Cookies / Butter Cookies

“My mom, Smt. Suguna Rupanagudi, is the most generous and caring person in my life. I cannot thank her enough for being there for me when I needed her the most. She is an affectionate and loving person and I am blessed to have a mother like her.

She’s always come out very strong in tough situations and I salute her grit and determination in the way she handled each one of them!

She is an extraordinarily talented cook who can win hearts everyday.

She has entered into her 70’s and is still active on Facebook pursuing her passion for Telugu literature. May God bless her with good health !

These Venna cookies / Butter Cookies are my mom’s signature cookies. All my family, extended family and friends wait for an opportunity to enjoy them and she is sweet enough to make them as edible gifts for all occasions. The world might have a different name for these cookies but for my kids they will always be ‘ammamma cookies’.

Mayuri from Mayuri's Jikoni has sent in this tribute for her mother.

Matar kachoris -

My mum loved making and having simple matar kachoris. She’d use only peas with a bit of fresh coriander, ginger and chillis. The end result would be such a satisfying, delicious snack for all of us. I remember she would sit on the kitchen floor in the afternoon, and prepare these for the whole family. Back then we didn’t have modern gadgets, no Kitchen Aid or Moulinex. She would take the hand mincer which had several types of sieves and hand grind the peas.

For a family of over 14 members, she must have made so many. I remember I used to help her roll the dough into tiny puris, and then she would ask me to pinch and twist the dough to seal the edges or ‘do the kangri’ as we call it in Gujarati.

When she fell sick and couldn’t do much in the kitchen, my visits to her would mean that during my stay at least once we’d have to make her favourite snack. Then the roles were reversed, she’d help to roll the dough and I’d make the filling, stuff the kachoris and fry them. Every single day, I miss you Mum. One is never too old to miss Mum.

Mireille from The Schizo Chef sent this recipe which her mom bakes every year for her Birthday.

Caribbean Spice Cake -

My Mom never was a baker. Most things like cookies, etc. were store bought. Although my Mom is a great cook, cooking was more of a necessity than a pleasure to her and baking even more so. The one exception was birthday cake. Every year this cake was baked on my Dad and my mutual birthday. As an adult, it brings even fonder memories as I realize how special it is, coming from someone who liked to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible.

Rafeeda from The Big Sweet Tooth has sent this about her Mother -

Tamarind rasam -

"Umma was quite a strict person. I guess she had to be that way so that we would take her seriously. 🙂 She was never interested in learning anything new especially in cooking, and we would know what she would be making everyday, due to her fixed menu set. She ensured that we ate whatever she cooked, irrespective of whether we liked them or not. That attitude of hers actually made us good eaters, who would eat anything without complaints from anywhere.

There were some foods that she would adjust on, like this Rasam. Knowing how much I love it, she would make a little extra all the time. After everybody finishes their lunch, I would sit and finish off all that is remaining and wash off the "chatti" in which she makes it. Each time I make it, I feel like it's umma's love. She learned to make this from a friend of hers and has never ever made it in another way after this."

Renu from Cook With Renu has sent this about her Mother.

Authentic Pakodi / Pakoda Kadhi -

Maa, a simple three letter world but calming, relaxing and the one which takes all your worries. You might complain to her, get angry with her, fight with her, but at the end you want her. A simple call to her makes the difference. A person who knows everything about you without you even asking for it. I call my Maa, Mummy, and I have learnt the greatest lesson from her "Never say you cannot do. Everything is possible and everything can be done".

That's my mantra of life. Cutting it short, I am dedicating this recipe on my blog, Authentic Pakodi/Pakoda Kadhi to my mom, as whenever I go to my mom's place without fail she makes it as she knows this is my favorite. I tried to make it the way she does, but I would say her is the best.

And now comes my turn to talk about my Mother and this recipe of Chakkara Pongal that is one of her signature recipes.

Chakkara Pongal -

It is because of her, I am what I am today. She was one of the bravest and strongest woman I have ever met and she carried it around with her everywhere. No grief can ever shake her up, but a smallest good bye would make her weep for days. She has lots of love to give to everyone and to this day, many of my friends remember her for that. She would embrace anyone and everyone with open arms and talk and laugh for hours. You cannot be sad when you are around her.

This recipe of Chakkara Pongal is her signature recipe and anyone who eats it will come back for more. I love it whenever amma makes chakkara pongal and this is also one of the desserts that I make much more than any other at home. My boys love it as much as I do and I always get tons of praise whenever I make it for parties or pooja. Remembering amma with this recipe on the special day!

Sushma from, From My Kitchen to Yours has this for her mother.

Happy Birthday Sushma to your Mother from all of us.

Bellam Jalebi / Jaggery Jalebi -

"May" month is a month of double celebration for us, as my mom's birthday also falls in this month. As Anna Jarvis said " mom is the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world", I agree with her because , nothing can replace mom love in this world. This is one of mom’s favorite dish which I want to dedicate to her on this day. Love you amma...

Hope all of you have a great Mother's day!

Comments

chef Mireille says

May 16, 2018 at 1:16 pm

what a wonderful post and so glad to be a part of it. great tribute!

Natalie says

May 14, 2018 at 2:50 pm

This is such a lovely tribute to all the moms. A beautiful post that reminds us to cherish every moment with our moms and memories we have.

Heather says

May 14, 2018 at 6:01 am

Lovely tribute to Mother's day. So awesome to read about how much food impacts our lives .. and our moms!

Tammy says

May 13, 2018 at 11:12 pm

What a wonderful tribute for Mother's Day! I loved reading about all the special recipes...I wish I could try them all too!

swathi says

May 13, 2018 at 10:12 pm

Lovely tribute to all mothers, mothers are best cooks in the world, no one can repeat the taste which they make. Great post. Yes memories of mother is always there to cherish.

Camilla Hawkins says

May 13, 2018 at 11:48 am

A lovely compilation of dishes and tributes for Mother's Day:-)

Mayuri Patel says

May 13, 2018 at 2:31 am

A lovely tribute to all the mums. Sandhya this write up has brought me a little closer to the other blogger friends. For some of us who miss our mums, we move on with life with hugs and kisses from loved ones and good memories of time spent with our mums. For those whose mums are still with us, make the most of every moment you get with her. Don't forget to show how much you love them.

Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says

May 13, 2018 at 2:10 am

Such a beautiful post... lot of emotion and a lot of feelings that went in to it, from you as well as each and everyone who participated in it... Thank you so much for making me a part of it too...

Marisa Franca says

May 12, 2018 at 12:34 pm

What a lovely tribute!! Moms can't be replaced and I miss my mom every single day. We were very close and I inherited her love of cooking. She put love in everything she made. I'm so glad I had a chance to read what these wonderful ladies had to say about their mothers.

Veena Azmanov says

May 12, 2018 at 10:57 am

Oh, Sandhya! this is so true. I lost my mom a few years ago and there is not a day that goes by when I don't think of her. There is always something I cook or the parenting that makes me think of her. This is a great collection of recipes. Saving this for later.

Gayathri Kumar says

May 11, 2018 at 7:06 pm

Awesome Sandhya. Even I dread Mother's day and feel jealous when people talk of their mom. But guess, we are unfortunate there. But still they have left us sweet memories to which we could hang on for the rest of our lives.

Gloria says

May 11, 2018 at 5:48 pm

Yes this saying is so true. I am now a gramma....and this takes the meaning to a whole new level. I lost my mom when my youngest daughter was 3. She missed seeing them grow up....all the special days...the weddings....and the birth of great grandchildren. I treasure my time with my daughters and grandchildren.

Pavani says

May 11, 2018 at 1:51 pm

Such a lovely idea -- Beautiful and very very emotional post Sandhya. I don't think there will many dry eyes after reading this post.

Claudia Lamascolo says

May 11, 2018 at 1:23 pm

Very heart felt post. I love that you did a tribute and this was lovely. I so wish my mom was stillaround not a day goes by without me thinking about her especially in the kitchen when cooking her favorites

harini says

May 11, 2018 at 11:37 am

A beautiful compilation and sentiments expressed by all.

Kalyani says

May 11, 2018 at 11:07 am

That is such a lovely lovely compilation of anecdotes dipped with love 🙂 great work, Sandhya snd thanks to all the fellow bloggers who wrote in too. I truly missed sending my piece & regret it terribly now.. this is one wonderful tribute 👌👌

themadscientiststskitchen says

May 11, 2018 at 11:02 am

Sandhya this is a beautiful post. I realise I am not alone in missing my mom! Love your efforts dear. I think you must have cried buckets when you wrote this post I must salute your efforts. Thanks for including my sentiments about Amma.