Announcing A.W.E.D-British

Hello friends,
I am so happy and excited to announce that I would be hosting "A Worldly Epicurean's Delight" famously know to everyone in the food blogging world as "A.W.E.D" by DK of Chef in you. I can't thank her enough for two main reasons....

First,  for letting me host this event. When I first approached her to let me guest host her event, she readily agreed even though I was very new to blogging then.

Second, I didn't know anything about the "logo" or how to create one.....when I asked her, she guided me how to do one.....She even offered to do the logo herself if I am having trouble with it. Thanks DK for being so patient and kind ....

View of the Thames, a bird having a float and that is me .... having a view of the heart of London.

The next most important person I want to thank is Priya of Priya's Easy n Tasty Recipes . She doesn't need an introduction in this blogging world. She was one of the first two people to comment on my posts [the other person being Aipi of US Masala] which was so encouraging and motivating.

I didn't know how to link the logo on the sidebar of the blog [I am a complete zero when it comes to these technical details] ....I asked Priya for help....She was very prompt to reply with all the info. I can't thank her enough for her kindness and her helping nature.... I am humbled and bow down to U people to say "THANK YOU"

OK....coming to this event.

British Cuisine basically means "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavours , rather than disguise it". British food has national and regional varieties including English, Irish and Welsh....

Age old British Cuisine was developed based what grew in the highly fertile soils and animal breeding which led to meat and savoury herb stewing techniques. For many centuries "plain and robust" food remained the mainstay of the British diet....

London Eye, Views of the Thames and The Big Ben

Modern British cooking fully emerged around 1970's and is becoming increasing popular.  With the infusion of Indian, Mediteranean, French, Italian, Chinese, Thai, African and Japanese flavours, this cuisine is taking a modern twist....

Not to mention Chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver have made this cuisine more popular in recent times.....

The influence of various cuisines have led to a new genre of flavours and dishes.... BBC has even mentioned "Chicken Tikka Masala" as the "Britain's True National Dish"... talk about globalisation.....

Traditional Cuisine :

Sunday Roast: Roast beef, lamb, pork or chicken served along with an assortment of vegetables and gravy.
Afternoon Tea: This is so popular that there is a famous notion of "Drop everything for the tea"....usually tea is served with scones, jam, clotted cream, biscuits, simple sponge cakes or sandwiches...

Westminster tube station, an overhead plane, Statue depicting soldiers in the Second World War and some unwanted things in the Thames.....

Street food: Battered fish [deep fried] and chips [french fries] eaten from a newspaper sprinkled with salt and vinegar.
Sausages: Locally known as "Bangers" and served with potato mash ... with regional varieties like " Lincolnshire" and " Cumberland" sausages.

Pies and Pasties: Pies date back to the middle ages...
Cheese : Usually made from cow's milk....Usually they are given the names of the place of production. eg. "Cheddar Cheese" from the village of cheddar, tangy Cheshire, salty Sage Derby, Red Leicester, creamy Double Gloucester, pungent Lincolnshire and sweet Wensleydale are some of the varieties. Cheddar and the rich, blue-veined Stilton have both been called the "King of English Cheeses".

Pickles, preserves and condiments: eg. Pickled onions, gherkins and brown pickle.
Desserts: Bread and butter pudding, apple pie, rhubarb crumble, Ecckles cake , treacle tart and summer pudding are some of the famous ones.

Drinks: Herbal teas and juices from locally grown fruits and berries.
Alcohol : Wine, beer and cider are widely consumed.

The miniature of Taj Mahal was let to float in the Thames in 2007......

Fusion Cuisine: Influence of Indian and Chinese cuisine is wide spread, thought to have started during the British Raj which has given rise to Mulligatawny soup, Chicken tikka masala, Chicken Tikka Sandwiches and Pizzas, Chicken Madras ...!!!!! London is now the heart of International cuisine featuring some of the most tasteful and delicious dishes from around the world.

For more reads go here and here .

Now for the event: By this time all of you would be familiar with the rules but this is to just to let all the new and  non-bloggers know about the rules.

1.Prepare any dish pertaining to the British Cuisine and post it in your blog starting from Feb 01 to Feb 28....
2.The dish has to be strict vegetarian [eggs and dairy products allowed if used in baking].
3.Multiple entries accepted.
4.Archived posts are accepted if linked with this and DK's announcement page. 
5.Please kindly include the logo in your posts and link to this announcement page and DK's announcement page.

6.Email me to kaarasaaram@yahoo.co.uk [or] revathi.madhanagopal@gmail.com with A.W.E.D-British in the subject line from Feb 01 to Feb 28. with the following details.

       a.Name.
       b.Blog name and Url
       c.Recipe name and Url
       d.Photo of the recipe [300 / 300 pixels]

6.Non bloggers please send your entries to the above email with the above mentioned details.

The round up will be in the first week of March [unless an emergency situation arises].

For more info about the recipes, please check out the following websites:
uktv.co.uk-food
www.bbcgoodfood.com
www.allbritishfood.com
www.recipes4us.co.uk
britishfood.about.com
www.britainexpress.com
greatbritishkitchen.co.uk

The logo is this last pic, guys. Please give all your support to make this event a big success. I am hoping to see some interesting dishes.....so start cooking....

Enjoy.....

Scribbled by Reva