All About Masale Bhaat - Traditional Maharashtrian Rice Dish

Masale Bhaat is a very popular and traditional Maharashtrian rice dish, which basically is the Marathi version of vegetable pulao. The word 'Masale' refers to the generous use of traditional 'Goda masala' in this recipe and 'Bhaat' means rice in Marathi. The dish is an amazing combination of spicy flavors and mouth-watering textures. The dish is easily available even in the street side joints across Maharashtra and is relished nearly on a daily basis by the community.

Masale bhaat is inextricably linked with maharashtrian weddings as well and will always be found on menu in any Maharashtrian wedding. Traditional Marathi wedding is performed during the day time and the celebration starts with rituals in the presence of all the guests. After the rituals, guests are directed towards the lunch area, which is generally organized in big open halls. They are made to sit in long, orderly queues extending from one end to the other. Masale Bhat is one of the main course dish served to these wedding guests with the lunch.

Masale bhaat is full of taste and flavor and can be enjoyed just with a dollop of ghee. The most popular combo of course is with tomato saar, lemon juice and papad. A few variations are also possible in making masale bhaat with the change of added vegetables thus giving it a different look and flavor.

The traditional method of preparation of this dish needs a minimum of one hour time (which includes soaking of rice for 30 minutes and then preparation time of another 30 minutes) and one has to arrange for lots of ingredients (rice, spices, vegetables and the traditional masala).

In today's nuclear families, preparing such traditional dishes at home has become practically impossible for two main reasons: a) People are lacking in cooking expertise and b) Busy lifestyle leaves little or no time for preparing the time-consuming traditional dishes.

The ready to eat, ready-mix, ready to cook or instant dishes have become the need of hour and are in great demand these days. The people however do not easily rely upon ready to eat foods because they are not perceived as fresh foods; they lack nutrition and sometime contain preservatives too. Ready to cook foods are becoming the favorites because they are dehydrated ready mixes of the fresh ingredients and are generally devoid of preservatives.

Masale bhaat is also now available in the market in a ready to cook form with the name Actchawa Expres Meal / Actchawa Masale Bhat. This ready-mix product has easy method of preparation of only 12 minutes and gives the traditional taste of masale bhaat.

Dal Dhokli Is a Traditional, Healthy, Delicious and Wholesome Gujarati Dish!   

Quick Mexican Chicken, Tortilla, and Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

After a busy day you want to come home, get a meal on the table quickly, put your feet up and relax. This casserole is made from pantry ingredients. I bought extra tender, skinless, de-boned chicken breasts and sauted them. You may buy a rotisserie chicken and shred the meat, or use grilled chicken breasts, available in the grocery store deli or cheese aisle.

Salsa con queso is a slightly hot cheese sauce with green chiles and it gives the casserole a little "kick." The mild tomato salsa rounds out the flavors and also adds color. Use mild salsa, not medium or hot, if you have young children.

This is a meal -- protein, vegetable, and starch -- in one dish. If the broccoli flowers are large, cut them into smaller pieces. To round out the meal, serve buttered corn and a green salad. Quick Mexican Chicken, Tortilla and Cheesy Broccoli Casserole is a satisfying dinner or lunch. You may wish to make two casseroles, and freeze one for future use.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra light olive oil

15 ounces chicken breasts (about two cups, cooked)

5 wheat tortillas, 7 1/2" in size

15-ounce jar salsa con queso

2 cups frozen broccoli flowers, defrosted

8-ounce package reduced fat, shredded Mexican cheese (four cheeses combined)

1 1/2 cups mild chunky salsa

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour olive oil into skillet. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and saute over medium heat until slightly brown. Coat a two-quart, 8" x 11" baking dish with cooking spray. Cut tortillas in half with kitchen shears. Lay three halves in bottom of baking dish. Layer half of the cooked chicken over the tortillas. Scatter half of the broccoli over the chicken. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over broccoli. Repeat layers once, finishing with three tortilla halves. Dot the tortillas with spoonfuls of chunky salsa. Cover casserole with release foil and bake for half an hour. Uncover and bake 15-20 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbly and the tortillas start to brown. Makes 6-8 servings.

Copyright 2012 by Harriet Hodgson

Dal Dhokli Is a Traditional, Healthy, Delicious and Wholesome Gujarati Dish!   

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide

Dear Reader,

These articles will provide a step by step guide on how to start and run a home based business based on my experiences and other home business owners. This is part 2 in a series of 5 articles. They are written in a basic format and where possible main points are summarised in an attempt to be understood by all. I have tried to minimise the technical jargon as much as possible.

So lets jump right in and see what we need to know about starting and running a home based business.

Regards, Alvin http://www.parttimeincome.org

I publish Home Business Tips, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you're looking for the best rated home business opportunities, latest time saving tools and helpful support from a friend in the business, come by and a grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://www.parttimeincome.org

Legal Structures

The legal structure of your business is very important as it is a function of liabilities and tax deduction. The most common structures are:

§ Sole trader § Partnership § Company § Trust

Sole Trader

When you are a sole trader you are personally responsible and liable for the business and its activities. Commonly you may start out as a sole trader, and as you expand, you will need to seek out partners or investors. Your accountant is the best person to advise you if this is the best structure for your business.

Partnership

This arrangement is where you and your partner are liable for anything related to your business. It is a very good idea to get a solicitor to write up a partnership agreement to avoid disputes down the track.

Company

This is a legal entity liable for the debts it incurs and paying tax on income. Your accountant can help you set a company up, or you can buy one off the shelf, which may be more cost effective.

Trust

Depending on your personal circumstances, and the country you live in, trusts can be useful in business and estate planning. They can be quite complex, and again, your accountant is the best person to speak too.

Registering Your Business Name

You can operate a business under your own name or register a business name. Registration of a business name allows you to operate under that name.

Select a name for your business that describes to your customer what you do. A descriptive name promotes and advertises your business more effectively.

Licences And Permits

Depending on your municipality, you may need licences and permits. Do the right thing and check with your local council. Doing the right things now will save you a lot of unnecessary leg work later.

Insurance

Often overlooked, insurance is an important part of your risk management plan. There are two types of insurance: general insurance for loss/damage of assets and risk insurance which is your personal insurance cover.

Ensure your business insurance is separate to your personal insurance. To establish the type and amount of insurance you need for your home based business, check with an insurance broker.

Managing Risk

You must have a risk management strategy for your business. Your SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analysis from article one, will show what could expose your business to loss and what actions to take to reduce that loss.

Marketing

As a home business entrepreneur, you must understand what your customers want and give it to them. You must strive to have a service or product that meets and excels your customers needs and expectations. This is what makes them come back to buy from you, and this is how you grow your profit. Try and think like your customers and you will find they want:

§ Satisfaction § Value for money § Performance § Reliability § Presentation

Don't confuse marketing with selling. In a home based business, marketing is much much more and involves all aspects of the business- pricing, advertising, customer service to sales.

Marketing Mix

Communication with your customers is essential and develops the framework for your marketing strategy. You must tell your customers these important bits of information

§ Product- describe it in full detail, its special features and of course how it will benefit the customer

§ Price - explain your pricing strategy, don't forget to consider your costs, discounts you will offer, payment policies

§ Promotion - choose the most effective for your type of business. If you don't know, think about what you would prefer if you were the customer. Eg: telemarketing, flyers, e-mail campaigns

§ Place - what place will your product be so customers can find it and contact you. How will you deliver the product to your customers? You may need to consider getting a website.

Your Business Image

Even though you are running a home based business, make sure your office is comfortable and professional in appearance. Your website also needs to project the same kind of professionalism

Location

Your home based business needs its own dedicated area. Very often the living and working areas muddle into one, not allowing you to distinguish which is for work and for play. Keeping these separate is essential for running a home business. You must ensure that all family members understand this too. A telephone is essential in your home office as it will be the first point of contact with your clients. Installing a second phone line separate from the personal line is essential along with a cell phone, answering machine and a pager. Talk to your telecommunications company, very often they have some great packages suited to small businesses.

Furniture And Equipment

Choose furniture that is comfortable and professional. This helps distinguish this area from the rest of the household.

Your office needs equipment and here are a few to get you kick started:

§ Computer § Chair(S) § Desk § Fax machine § Filing cabinet § Mobile phone § Telephone § Heating/cooling § Lighting

I hope this article has set you on the path to create your own home based business and empower you to reach your financial destiny. In the next article, I will cover some of the ins and outs of operating a small business from home.

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide   

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide

Dear Reader,

These articles will provide a step by step guide on how to start and run a home based business based on my experiences and other home business owners. This is part 2 in a series of 5 articles. They are written in a basic format and where possible main points are summarised in an attempt to be understood by all. I have tried to minimise the technical jargon as much as possible.

So lets jump right in and see what we need to know about starting and running a home based business.

Regards, Alvin http://www.parttimeincome.org

I publish Home Business Tips, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you're looking for the best rated home business opportunities, latest time saving tools and helpful support from a friend in the business, come by and a grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://www.parttimeincome.org

Legal Structures

The legal structure of your business is very important as it is a function of liabilities and tax deduction. The most common structures are:

§ Sole trader § Partnership § Company § Trust

Sole Trader

When you are a sole trader you are personally responsible and liable for the business and its activities. Commonly you may start out as a sole trader, and as you expand, you will need to seek out partners or investors. Your accountant is the best person to advise you if this is the best structure for your business.

Partnership

This arrangement is where you and your partner are liable for anything related to your business. It is a very good idea to get a solicitor to write up a partnership agreement to avoid disputes down the track.

Company

This is a legal entity liable for the debts it incurs and paying tax on income. Your accountant can help you set a company up, or you can buy one off the shelf, which may be more cost effective.

Trust

Depending on your personal circumstances, and the country you live in, trusts can be useful in business and estate planning. They can be quite complex, and again, your accountant is the best person to speak too.

Registering Your Business Name

You can operate a business under your own name or register a business name. Registration of a business name allows you to operate under that name.

Select a name for your business that describes to your customer what you do. A descriptive name promotes and advertises your business more effectively.

Licences And Permits

Depending on your municipality, you may need licences and permits. Do the right thing and check with your local council. Doing the right things now will save you a lot of unnecessary leg work later.

Insurance

Often overlooked, insurance is an important part of your risk management plan. There are two types of insurance: general insurance for loss/damage of assets and risk insurance which is your personal insurance cover.

Ensure your business insurance is separate to your personal insurance. To establish the type and amount of insurance you need for your home based business, check with an insurance broker.

Managing Risk

You must have a risk management strategy for your business. Your SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analysis from article one, will show what could expose your business to loss and what actions to take to reduce that loss.

Marketing

As a home business entrepreneur, you must understand what your customers want and give it to them. You must strive to have a service or product that meets and excels your customers needs and expectations. This is what makes them come back to buy from you, and this is how you grow your profit. Try and think like your customers and you will find they want:

§ Satisfaction § Value for money § Performance § Reliability § Presentation

Don't confuse marketing with selling. In a home based business, marketing is much much more and involves all aspects of the business- pricing, advertising, customer service to sales.

Marketing Mix

Communication with your customers is essential and develops the framework for your marketing strategy. You must tell your customers these important bits of information

§ Product- describe it in full detail, its special features and of course how it will benefit the customer

§ Price - explain your pricing strategy, don't forget to consider your costs, discounts you will offer, payment policies

§ Promotion - choose the most effective for your type of business. If you don't know, think about what you would prefer if you were the customer. Eg: telemarketing, flyers, e-mail campaigns

§ Place - what place will your product be so customers can find it and contact you. How will you deliver the product to your customers? You may need to consider getting a website.

Your Business Image

Even though you are running a home based business, make sure your office is comfortable and professional in appearance. Your website also needs to project the same kind of professionalism

Location

Your home based business needs its own dedicated area. Very often the living and working areas muddle into one, not allowing you to distinguish which is for work and for play. Keeping these separate is essential for running a home business. You must ensure that all family members understand this too. A telephone is essential in your home office as it will be the first point of contact with your clients. Installing a second phone line separate from the personal line is essential along with a cell phone, answering machine and a pager. Talk to your telecommunications company, very often they have some great packages suited to small businesses.

Furniture And Equipment

Choose furniture that is comfortable and professional. This helps distinguish this area from the rest of the household.

Your office needs equipment and here are a few to get you kick started:

§ Computer § Chair(S) § Desk § Fax machine § Filing cabinet § Mobile phone § Telephone § Heating/cooling § Lighting

I hope this article has set you on the path to create your own home based business and empower you to reach your financial destiny. In the next article, I will cover some of the ins and outs of operating a small business from home.

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide   

What is a Business Opportunity?

People throw the term business opportunity around pretty loosely these days. Before the internet took off, a business opportunity was a franchise like McDonalds or Wendys. Or maybe a vending machine route or insurance sales position in your local area.

Mainly what people considered business opportunities was that you had to be an entrepreneur with investment capital to take advantage of an opportunity. So a business opportunity was something only someone with money to invest could take advantage of. You had to have money to make money.

Nowadays, people by the thousands make money on eBay and through millions of websites selling everything from wigs, to toys, to cars, houses, and electronics. A business opportunity exists for every man woman and child on the planet who has the drive to learn how the internet works and just how many different ways there are to make money.

Some business opportunities on the net require an investment of thousands of dollars. Others require only that you have a website and hosting for it. $24 a month can set you up with an affiliate business opportunity right now. I even have a free website I give people, loaded with products and customized so that you get commissions for every sale made on your site.

You don't have to know HTML. You don't have to know how to get a merchant account. And most of all, to get started, you don't even have to have your own products. By far the most people making money online are doing it as affiliates who refer people to products, services, and information for commissions.

This is what I do, and I love it! I don't have to take care of customers, stock products, do any shipping, or anything else that comes with owning your own products. Yet I make great money at it.

Now that's a business opportunity! Gone are the days when you had to have a lot of money to invest in starting a business. You still can, if you want to. But to me it's crazy that people spend tens of thousands of dollars on their local business, hiring staff, managing them, keeping stock and inventory, dealing with rude customers. I don't mess with ANY of that stuff and make more money than most people who DO!

A business opportunity is worthless if it is not taken. Most people just keep their jobs because they don't trust that they have any other choices. People who take action on a great business opportunity are people who are self-motivated and action-oriented.

You should be able to work long hours in the beginning and you should be willing to do what it takes to learn what business is all about on the web.

If you do, you can become self-employed and even extremely rich. It's not for everyone, but from now on you know that business opportunities abound on the internet and one is even just a click away from you right this moment!

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide   

What is a Business Opportunity?

People throw the term business opportunity around pretty loosely these days. Before the internet took off, a business opportunity was a franchise like McDonalds or Wendys. Or maybe a vending machine route or insurance sales position in your local area.

Mainly what people considered business opportunities was that you had to be an entrepreneur with investment capital to take advantage of an opportunity. So a business opportunity was something only someone with money to invest could take advantage of. You had to have money to make money.

Nowadays, people by the thousands make money on eBay and through millions of websites selling everything from wigs, to toys, to cars, houses, and electronics. A business opportunity exists for every man woman and child on the planet who has the drive to learn how the internet works and just how many different ways there are to make money.

Some business opportunities on the net require an investment of thousands of dollars. Others require only that you have a website and hosting for it. $24 a month can set you up with an affiliate business opportunity right now. I even have a free website I give people, loaded with products and customized so that you get commissions for every sale made on your site.

You don't have to know HTML. You don't have to know how to get a merchant account. And most of all, to get started, you don't even have to have your own products. By far the most people making money online are doing it as affiliates who refer people to products, services, and information for commissions.

This is what I do, and I love it! I don't have to take care of customers, stock products, do any shipping, or anything else that comes with owning your own products. Yet I make great money at it.

Now that's a business opportunity! Gone are the days when you had to have a lot of money to invest in starting a business. You still can, if you want to. But to me it's crazy that people spend tens of thousands of dollars on their local business, hiring staff, managing them, keeping stock and inventory, dealing with rude customers. I don't mess with ANY of that stuff and make more money than most people who DO!

A business opportunity is worthless if it is not taken. Most people just keep their jobs because they don't trust that they have any other choices. People who take action on a great business opportunity are people who are self-motivated and action-oriented.

You should be able to work long hours in the beginning and you should be willing to do what it takes to learn what business is all about on the web.

If you do, you can become self-employed and even extremely rich. It's not for everyone, but from now on you know that business opportunities abound on the internet and one is even just a click away from you right this moment!

Part 2 of 5 On The Home Business Set-Up Guide