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Four years and counting

March 22, 2010

On March 12, 2006, I took those wobbly first steps into the world of food blogging, without even knowing that there was something called ‘foodblogging’. I just thought it would be cool to have a digital diary of recipes and photos for future reference. And then tracking back comments and visitors, I realized there is a whole world of likeminded people called ‘food bloggers’ out there.

The food lovers’ and fellow bloggers’ comments kept my enthusiasm to keep the blog going in full steam. It was a wonderful way to make foodie friends from across the world – connecting on chat, later on facebook and some in real life. And when we did meet, it never felt like the first time. We had connected our homes and lives through our blogs and it felt like I was meeting an old friend.

I’ve been wanting to write about the three people I’ve met so far from the blogging world for a long long time – somehow it didn’t happen in my earlier posts and what better time than this post to recapture those moment.

The first one to meet was from far-far away. In June of last year, Nupur of One Hot Stove, St.Louis was in Bombay visiting family and she wrote to me asking if I would be around then. I’d always been an admirer of her and her blog (still am) and was only too happy to meet up. We had a nice evening at our place with both the spouses in attendance. We spoke about food, work and family, exchanged some foodie gifts, and I was lucky to have a precious hand-knitted eggplant cap for my little one! It turned out that Nupur’s hubby V had a good friend from childhood who was my classmate in medical college – reconfirming my faith in the fact that it’s a small small world

After that it was my turn to meet with Raaga and her husband – she made it a point to come visiting even though she was on a tight weekend trip to Bombay. With her, it was another small world thing. On our first call to each other long ago, a lot of family connections were established – my husband’s family and her’s were acquaintances for many years – in fact I had seed her wedding card in my in-laws house when I was visiting them around then, and that time I didn’t know her – but my inlaws had even attended her wedding!!!

My third meet was with Arundati. She and me got along like a house on fire, even as we were chatting and we would imagine that we’d meet someday to sit down over chai and talk in real life– little did I know that my wish would be fulfilled in a grand way. My husband had the chance to meet A and her hubby on his trip to Hyderabad for a meeting – they ended up talking till the middle of the night, figuring out many links between themselves…at that time we didn’t even imagine we’d be moving to this city. When we decided to move here, we had only one couple to call and figure things out – Arundati and R – they were gracious to put us up with them when we came house hunting – helped us find a house of our liking, and settle us in when we finally made the move in November. They still are one of the few friends we have here and I’m very grateful for God’s designs that through food blogging I found such a wonderful friend!

I must mention one other friend, who in the earlier days of blogging sent me a big packet of yeast as I couldn’t find any in Bombay – I continue to use that same yeast with excellent results even after three years. She is an excellent writer and shares her tried and tested recipes on Mad Tea Party. I fondly remember you Anita, with every loaf of bread I bake and break 🙂

There are a few others I have connected to on chat over these years – and they have been a part of my life despite the distances – girls you know who you are and I sincerely hope we get to meet some day! A big hug to you all.

Apart from the people, blogging has made me aware of so many different Indian regional cuisines as well as some from around the world thanks to people like Shilpa, Cynthia, Home Sick Texan who are so passionate about their native food. It inspires me to dig deeper into my native cuisine and discover more pearls.

On completing four years and some 280 odd posts (yeah, only that many, thanks to prolonged periods of absenteeism) – I’d like to share some of the most popular recipes from the blog –

All Indian Apple Cheesecake

The Traditional TamBram lunch series

Ajwaini Arbi Ke Tikkey

The easiest brownies

Kaala Chana

Parsi Dhansak

Upma Kozhakattai with Thuvaiyal

Lasooni Dal Palak

There’s a lot of work to be done on the blog now starting with an updated index, regular posts and working on reader-feedback. I hope to find some dedicated time each week on maintaining and updating the blog.

And finally a word for the most important people around – the people who read, follow and enjoy this blog – thank you for staying interested despite my long absences and writing to me, egging me to start blogging again.

Without making this sound like an Oscar-acceptance speech, I must end by thanking all those who were a part of Saffron Trail for a wonderful journey these last four years…

Bon Appetit!

by Nandita Iyer 
35 Comments

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previous post: Baked Cauliflower in Tomato sauce
next post: Traditional cooling food – Panakam and Kosumalli for Sri Rama Navami

Comments

  1. Meeta K. Wolff says: March 22, 2010 at 7:19 am

    of course i am here to wish you a happy 4! yeah the absences have been long making us miss you but hope you are back – hugs!

    Reply
  2. Raaga says: March 22, 2010 at 7:32 am

    I have a blog and you are to “blame” for it :)Great going Nan! Good to have you in my life too!

    Reply
  3. Andy says: March 22, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Hi Nandita,I have been following your blogs for some time. Am taking this opportunity for your blog to prosper for many years here on!! Congrats!!

    Reply
  4. arundati says: March 22, 2010 at 9:57 am

    omg!! 4 yrs already….congratulations and great going…more power to you dearest girl…and yes…what a pleasure it has been to meet and know you…love and hugs!!

    Reply
  5. Anita says: March 22, 2010 at 11:38 am

    Congrats N!Glad to have helped with the bread! The blog is a good way to stay in touch even if infrequently! Hope to meet one day!

    Reply
  6. Saudi Sambhar says: March 22, 2010 at 12:12 pm

    Hi Nandit,Love ur blog … and u… TC and love to atri

    Reply
  7. Jaya says: March 22, 2010 at 1:02 pm

    congratulations! hope to see more yummy posts about traditional cooking in future..hugs and smiles

    Reply
  8. FoodLovers says: March 22, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    congrats dear ..wish u celebrate many more ..

    Reply
  9. Shilpa says: March 22, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    Congratulations Nandita. Love your blog. Wishing you many many more years of happy blogging.

    Reply
  10. Nupur says: March 22, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    It was so lovely to meet up with you last year, Nandita! Definitely a highlight of my trip to Bombay. Congratulations on completing 4 years of blogging and wishing you many many more!Your simple Tamil dishes are my favorite, those are the precious home-style recipes that are difficult to find in cookbooks. I tried your Pumpkin dhansak last month and it is a fantastic recipe!Any plans to re-start WBB? That was an event I enjoyed very much.

    Reply
  11. Jayashree says: March 22, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    Congratulations, Nandita. Nice post.

    Reply
  12. Bong Mom says: March 22, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Congrats Nandita on turning 4. You are amongst the pioneer of Indian Home Food Blogs, here’s wishing many more Blogging years ahead

    Reply
  13. Latha says: March 22, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    Congratulations!!!

    Reply
  14. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says: March 22, 2010 at 3:01 pm

    Congratulations on four years, with many thanks for all you have taught me about Indian cooking.

    Reply
  15. Shyam says: March 22, 2010 at 3:14 pm

    Congrats, Nandita! Glad that you’re still blogging despite having a toddler to take care of. Here’s wishing you and your family and your blog a happy long life! 🙂

    Reply
  16. nandita says: March 22, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    Thank you one and all for your kind words – Nupur, I’ve been thinking about WBB – but don’t want to bite more than I can chew right now.

    Reply
  17. Anjali says: March 22, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    Happy 4th anniversary to Saffron Trail and congrats to you Dear Doc!

    Reply
  18. Haddock says: March 22, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    Oh yes, frankly speaking there are a lot of food bloggers in India.

    Reply
  19. sra says: March 22, 2010 at 5:13 pm

    Happy Fourth to you! It IS fun to meet fellow food bloggers, isn’t it? Keep up the great work!

    Reply
  20. Mona says: March 22, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    Congratulations Nandita! 🙂

    Reply
  21. notyet100 says: March 22, 2010 at 6:02 pm

    congrats dear,…wish u amny more,..

    Reply
  22. Mints! says: March 22, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    Happy 4th! and good luck for many more to come. I simple day-today recipes from your blog.

    Reply
  23. Srivalli says: March 22, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    Congratulations Nandita, wishing you many more wonderful years to come..:)

    Reply
  24. Divya Vikram says: March 22, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    Congrats on your four year milestone!!

    Reply
  25. RV says: March 22, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    Congratulations Nanditha, I am a recent visitor to your blog and I love your recipes. I would like to keep connected with you more often. Keep your recipes coming!

    Reply
  26. Manju says: March 22, 2010 at 10:56 pm

    That is just awesome Nandita!! Congratulations and wishing you many many more to come! I still remember, when i first started blogging, your David Lebovitz inspred banana bread was one of the first few things I baked. Have been following your blog ever since 🙂

    Reply
  27. Red Chillies says: March 23, 2010 at 3:46 am

    Congratulations Nandita, it is quite the milestone and wishes for more to come. Even though I have been a silent reader of your blog, you have been an inspiration for me and hope to see many more posts from you.

    Reply
  28. Srimathi says: March 23, 2010 at 4:24 am

    I have been following your blog for 3 years. thanks for all the passion you put into posting great recipes. Congrats!

    Reply
  29. Madhuli says: March 23, 2010 at 4:45 am

    Congarts on completing 4 yrs of blogging and wish you many more delicious years!

    Reply
  30. Sowmya Madhavan says: March 23, 2010 at 6:42 am

    Congratulations..always love reading your blog…and wish you many more years with saffron trail…

    Reply
  31. Anonymous says: March 23, 2010 at 6:46 am

    Hey Nandita, thanks not just for your wonderful tested recipes but also for your inspiring writing. It is great to read blogs from around the world, but when it is by someone from my neck of the woods it is something extra special, someone I can relate to more. Also ingredients you talk of are always just a few steps away and that makes cooking so much fun. Most of all thanks for the intro to Tam Bram cooking. I am a big fan of mildly spiced food and this was perfect for my palate. Wishing you many many wonderful years of cooking and blogging and sharing and joy along the way:)…..Bhakti

    Reply
  32. jayasree says: March 23, 2010 at 8:03 am

    Congrats and wishing you many more happy years of blogging ahead.Your parsi dhansak is a regular at my home.

    Reply
  33. Cynthia says: March 24, 2010 at 1:21 am

    Happy Blogiversary.

    Reply
  34. Nagalakshmi V says: March 24, 2010 at 7:24 am

    4 years is a long time!! congrats Nandita 🙂

    Reply
  35. The knife says: May 19, 2010 at 8:31 am

    Four years!!! Wow and congrats. Here’s to forty more :)I have made a number of great friends though the blog and ‘house on fire’ sums up meeting them very well

    Reply

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