The 7 Link Project

My friend Shireen from Ruchik Randhap tagged me in the 7 link project. I have never done a challenge like this before and I was pleased to be tagged by Shireen.

This project was interesting for me, because I never really thought about how I feel about my blog posts. I mean, I have posted on blogging before, but this gave me a chance to go back and look at the posts, and I was quite surprised to find the answers to these questions were not as easy as I had expected.

So here goes.

My most beautiful post -

Hmm, this one was a challenge. I like cooking, and I like taking pictures, but for me its the recipe that the important thing, and not necessarily the photography. I mean, I still take pictures using my trusty Nikon point-and-shoot. That said, I have made an effort to compose my shots better, and I really like this post and pictures of my Strawberry and Chocolate Shortcake. I made the cake stand myself, and I took a long time over the pictures for this post, as I wanted to enter a photography competition that Melissa from Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach was hosting. I did win the contest, but that was down to dumb luck, not skill :-)

Strawberry and Chocolate Shortcake

My most popular post -

Oh, no contest here. Its my post on Mangalorean sannas, or rice bread/ cakes. I am not that surprised that its my most popular post, because I feel that I really did demystify this delicate steamed cake, that my fellow country people like so much. I also made sure that people who live outside Mangalore were able to source the ingredients for this post, and checked and double checked the recipe till it was pretty much foolproof. And that said, I also like this post a lot, because it is one of the posts that is featured in the Masterchef Cookbook. Can't get more popular than that for sure.

Mangalorean/ Goan Sannas (Rice Bread/ Cakes)

My most controversial post -

I am not too sure about this one, to be honest. There are no controversies in my blog, other than the ones I try to create :-) That said, I was in a bullish mood when I wrote this Butter Paneer post. It was more of a defence of why I blog, and I was responding to another blogger who was quite dismissive of amateur bloggers like myself. Not every blogger feels the need to go professional, sometimes we blog because we like sharing. Its not always about being the best, but being part of a community, and helping each other. Sure, there is competition, but we have to remember that everyone has their place on the net, and while we get blogger envy looking at some of the stunningly beautiful posts of some bloggers, it doesn't mean that what we say is unimportant or of no matter. Every post matters, because we share a little of ourselves when we blog.

Butter Paneer and a Meander

My most helpful post -

This is a toss up between my Sanna post that I previously linked to and my post on English Baked Beans (Heinz Style) I guess I helped a lot of British expats by testing and perfecting English baked beans, and this is still a post that garners a lot of page views and a lot of emails, which a lot of my posts don't generate. Its that frugality (or is it us being tightwads) in all of us that makes us not want to spend $5 on a tin of baked beans that retails for 40p back in the UK :-)

English Baked Beans (Heinz Style)

A post which surprised me with its success -

It has to be the post for Indian Spiced Roast Potatoes. I made these potatoes on a whim, and I was testing recipes for a Daring Kitchen challenge. But it turned out to be a surprisingly popular post, and receives a lot of page views and it also won No Croutons Required. I believe that its the simplicity of the recipe that makes it so popular, but hey, I am not complaining!

Indian Spiced Roast Potatoes

A post I feel did not get the attention it deserved -

It totally has to be my recipe for Prawn Biriyani. Somehow I feel that it slipped under the radar, and I am sad about that, because not only was this my birthday post, but my biriyani is (rightly) famous with everyone who has tasted it. It was a huge success on Masterchef too, with one of the presenters telling me that it was simply one of the best dishes he had tasted on the programme. To make a biriyani in under an hour is no joke, and I feel that this post deserves a lot more attention that it actually got.

Prawn Biriyani

I also feel that my recipe for Strawberry and Rosewater Kheer could have done a little better. I enjoyed the dessert very much, plus I took a long time over the pictures as well, so I was a little disappointed that not many people viewed it.

Strawberry and Rosewater Kheer

A post I am very proud of -

I am very proud of my Boti or Pork Offal Curry. I went to a lot of trouble for this particular recipe, and spent a lot of time researching it, and sourcing out ingredients for it. I also was very emotional when writing the post, as the dish reminded me so much of my dear grandparents, particularly my grandmother, Mai. This was a post that took a lot out of me, and I spent a long time composing myself after writing it. It brought back a lot of memories, and its one of my favourite posts of all time.

Boti/ Mangalorean Pork Offal Curry

So, I am now tagging five more bloggers to take on the project. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :-)

Dom - Belleau Kitchen
Aparna (Apy) - Apy Cooking
Karlynn - The Kitchen Magpie
Marlow Moo - Mr Moo's Adventures
Mme Lindor - Salt and Caramel