Hope for Haiti and a comfort food of mine.....

All of us know that Haiti was affected by huge earthquake and the enormity of the disaster is huge. I have felt small earthquakes too and that freaked me out. So I can imagine how much the people out there are affected.

H2Ope for Haiti is an online raffle  launched by BloggerAid - Changing the Face of Famine (BA-CFF) to raise funds for Concern Worldwide's relief effort in Haiti.    Concern Worldwide was selected because of its long track record and quick response after the quake to provide clean drinking water and water purification tablets.  This non-governmental international humanitarian organisationfounded in 1968 works around the world to reduce suffering and work towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world's poorest countries.  Concern International has been working in Haiti since 1994 and had over 100 staff members on the ground when the earthquake struck.  Despite losing several team members in the tragedy, they have been quick to act with distribution of supplies. Concern Worldwide estimates that its initial response to the emergency will last at least six months.  The money raised by this raffle will be paid directly into Concern Worldwide's account by Justgiving and will be used exclusively for the Haiti relief effort.

So just head over to Cook Sister  for the list of prizes and a guide to follow and do a small deed because every small drop counts here. You can bid on a lot of wonderful prizes   from personally autographed cookbooks to parcels of French baking goodies to original art.

I am offering a prize in the raffle as well.

It is a cotton stole with traditional Indian motifs handpainted by me. Shipping is worldwide and the advantage is you get to choose the colour of the painted design. The prize code for this is HFH14.

So you could either enter the raffle or pass on the message on twitter, facebook, family et al like it is rightly said : It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can.

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Sometimes the simple things can have the greatest impact. And the simple here being potatoes and the impact being the comfort feeling it showers on me. A plate of hot steaming rice, firm curd and a bowl of sauteed potatoes you see in the picture is my most comforting meal. It is a simple dish that takes hardly any time. What you need is to peel and chop 3 medium-sized potatoes and boil only until is cooked and not too soft. It has to retain its firmness. While it is boiling, heat 2T of coconut oil preferably and splutter 1t  of mustard seed. Add in 1 sliced onion. Meanwhile make a paste of 1T each of ginger and garlic, 1T chilli powder, 1/2 T turmeric powder, 1/2 T pepper powder and salt. . Add this paste to the onions. Sautee until the oil leaves the paste . Add in the boiled potatoes and stir to coat them well with the past. Cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes. I would suggest you roast the potatoes until it has a crisp outside. It also results in the caramelization of the onions which enhances the flavour further. Roasted to perfection, I had a hearty meal!!!