CRAVINGS RAVINGS // CRISPY CHICKEN TENDERS

One hot and golden afternoon called for another hot and golden beauty: these delicious tenders you see right here! They are beaaaaaautifully crisp and irresistibly tender inside. Unlike so many other versions we know we've all come across, these are not bland at all and are packed with lots and lots of flavor owing to some great spices. All that paired with the most delectable sauce on the side! Now we're talking!

CRISPY CHICKEN TENDERS
Serves: 4 (generously)

Ingredients :

1.Buttermilk (as required)
2.Salt to taste
3.Cajun powder - 1 tbsp for the marinade + 3 tbsp for the coating
4. Onion powder -1 tbsp for the marinade + 3 tbsp for the coating
5.Garlic Powder + Garlic and Herb Seasoning -1 tbsp for the marinade + 3 tbsp for the coating
6. White pepper powder - 1/2 tbsp for the marinade + 2 tbsp for the coating
7.Panko breadcrumbs (YES! You need to use Panko!) (1.5 - 2 cups)
8.Hot paprika -1 tsp for the marinade + 1 tbsp for the coating
9.Cayenne pepper powder/chili powder- as hot you'd want to make it (You can also sub red chili sauce if you can tackle the heat)
10.Sugar - 1 tbsp for the coating
10.500 g (a pound) of chicken fillet slit diagonally into thin strips
11. Oil to deep fry

Ingredients(for the sauce)

-2 tbsp regular mayo + 2 tbsp chili mayo ( I used Heinz)
-1 tbsp regular mustard
-1 tsp honey
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1/4 tsp bbq sauce (optional)

Garnish (optional):
A dash of lemon juice + a sprinkle of parsley flakes

Here's how:

1.Make sure your strips are cut evenly so that the cooking is uniform throughout. Marinate them in just enough buttermilk to soak the chicken. Add in all the spices (in the quantities specified for the marination) to the buttermilk and refrigerate for 3 hours to get the chicken beautifully tender.

2.In a ziplock bag, add the breadcrumbs and all the spices again and the sugar (according to the quantities specified for the coating) and shake thoroughly. Set the pan of medium-low heat and test if the oil is hot enough to fry in by sprinkling a bit of the coating mix in the oil and if it fizzes, we're good to go.

3.Place the marinated chicken (in batches) in the ziplock bag and shake till just coated. Individually place them in the oil and don't overcrowd even if tempted (because that is a sure way to make the coating separate and we don't want that happening, right?)

4.Fry evenly on both sides until golden brown. Garnish with a little drizzle of lemon juice and parsley flakes. Dish out on a pretty paper napkin and serve immediately with the sauce.

You NEED to try this. Let me know in the comments if you do. And don't forget to pin to let other people have a chance to relish too!

Too often, recipes call for flavoring only the coating with spcies but really just season with salt and pepper the actual chicken while marinating in buttermilk or brining. That's fine but if you want a bomb of a flavor, you do not do this. Repeat with me : We don't just season with salt and pepper.

PS: (You can also use dressing like Ranch or French. But do, do, please try out the sauce I put up right here for you. It's a winner, I promise.)

I haven't tried baking these as an alternative to deep frying but if you give it a try, I'm sure they'll turn out just as delicious.

Have a brilliant week ahead. xo

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THE DECORISTA CHRONICLES // 4 ROOM DECOR IDEAS YOU NEED TO TRY!

Let's start with a drumroll! Four delicious projects you can use to give your room a glam update! These are all whimsical projects which add a classy or dreamy flair and they are all terribly simple. I've gotten inspired by Bando so much recently, decided on buying their gorgeous agenda and while that arrives, I'll make do with some DIY bando themed projects. That being said, Kate Spade is still on my wishlist but her lovely storage boxes are way out of my budget considering all of the other art supplies I'm continually purchasing. That is where Gold Spray Paint comes in - our Xena Warrior Princess for everything DIY and everything Kate Spade inspired.

We are making everything from dainty bell jars to house your prettiest accessories or craft supplies to hidden hollow book storage that is so cheery it will always put you in a good mood. Next we'll be moving onto dressing your ceiling with some greens that can are easy to install and easy to remove. Great for parties or just for seasonal room decor for a fresh burst of the outdoors :a hanging origami garden! In the end, we'll wield that gorgeous can of gold spray paint, add hot pink and orange accents and with a little help from Ikea, craft some fabulous storage to hide all your treasures in.

Let's get started, shall we?

DIY WHIMSICAL BELL JAR

You'll need:

-An empty glass jar.
We will be inverting this later so make sure there is no text embossed at the bottom of the jar. If there is you might probably have to cover it up with either fabric or wrapping paper. I used an empty tomato puree jar and it was just the right size to upcycle without any text at the bottom.

-A saucer or the lid of a discarded container. I used the lid of a cotton swabs container.

-A ring or a small bauble. You could use a decorative bead or faux pearls

-Heavy-duty glue/glue gun

-Lace or washi tape

What you'll do:

1.Begin by sanitizing the jar and the lid and then drying it. Next invert it and eyeball the center of the base. Glue down the ring or the faux pearl at the center.

2.If you're using a saucer, skip this step but if you're using a lid then, again, invert it and along the circumference run some lace or washi tape to add a touch of fancy. Additionally you can also spray paint the saucer/lid in a metallic color or neon.

3.Add in your display items to your new belljar. I think lipsticks would look the cutest as displays. What do you think? ;)

DIY HOLLOW BOOK STORAGE

CRAVINGS RAVINGS //SPICY FISH FRY

If you're not an Indian or someone from Asia and can't handle a bit of spice this isn't for you. Orrrrrr....mayyyyyy-be you've been waiting for this recipe all your life to change your opinion on spicy food. I'd just read the other day that eating spicy food triggers endorphins in our system. Is that true? I don't really care. I've only got proof of one thing.

This right here is ah-mayyy-zing.

And don't worry, if you're really all that concerned of steam escaping from your ears then you could tone down the heat. For Indians, this is our regular spicy. I live amidst a sea of Arabs and a lot of my pals just cannot handle even a tiny bit of heat and before they finish even a bite, rush to the basin to gargle it all out.

I mean, c'mon. This shouldn't be spicier than hot buffalo wings though if you're into that sort of thing. Everyone is, right, right?! Enough droning on and on at the intro now. Let's dive into it! :D

Growing up, mum made this hundreds of times on popular demand. Always with a side of tomato chutney and white rice. Bread works wonderfully as well and I prefer mine with bread. Dad and I love ours with freshy squeezed lemon on top of the fish's crusty exterior. Yum. You'll want to make sure you have good quality fish fillet for this otherwise it would ruin the whole experience. That's always the case with fish, isn't it?This dish would be made exclusively on Fridays at our place. I think that made it more special. Heck, I could eat this non-ceremoniously past bedtime and it would still feel special. Want to be made felt special? Here's how:

SPICY FISH FRY
Succulent bites with a kick
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Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

-500g fish fillet
-1 tsp red chili powder
-3/4 tsp green chili paste (or blend up a paste of 3 tbsp coriander/cilantro leaves and 2 green chilis)
-1/4th tsp turmeric powder
-1 tbsp ginger garlic paste. (You can also sub 50:50 of finely grated ginger and garlic)
-1 tsp coriander/cilantro powder
-1/2 tsp garam masala powder
-A pinch of ajwain (Carom seeds in English. You can sub oregano instead)
-Salt to taste
-1 tbsp lemon juice
-Vegetable oil for deep frying

For garnishing:
-1 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro and mint leaves + Lemon wedges

How to:
1. Wash the fish fillet and cut it up into medium sized chunks (2-3 in.)
2.Marinate the fish in all the ingredients except the oil and set aside for an hour in the fridge.
3.Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the fish on medium heat until golden-brown on either side.
4.Drain on a paper towel and serve hot garnished with coriander, mint and lemon wedges.

And there you have it. Congratulations. You've just pampered yourself like the true princess (prince?) that you are.

If you liked this recipe don't forget to pin and share. Thank you for staying with me in this little rave session. And oh oh, I'm doing a new DIY round up of some of the prettiest room decor projects I've been curating. Stay tuned for that (it's taking longer than I thought) and if you're curious, you can follow along the behind the scenes of those on my Instagram page. It's a lively little place to visit. :D

Have a look at my other recipes here. Biryani anyone?

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BEAUTY IN A NUTSHELL // MEGA EDITION- 18 BEAUTY PRODUCTS REVIEWED!

Ah, a mega-edition of beauty product reviews! If you've ever read half a dozen reviews in one post this is the mother of them all and they are especially helpful to those like combination skin like mine.While scanning my earlier blog posts I've noticed how I haven't done a product review in ages which is mental because I think I'm in love with all the great deal of things I've gotten recently either as part of a haul or some awesome people in my life gifting them with reckless abandon, haha. You'll be delighted to know that none of these products are sponsored and my honest head-over-heels in love reviews. So let's start darling, shall we? ;)

Here's an overview of the products (in order of how they appear in the post) reviewed:

1.Makeup
   1.1 Base Makeup
       -Mac Studio Fix Powder Foundation
       -Maybelline Dream Satin Skin Powder Foundation
       -Lakme CC Cream
       -Mac Studio Finish Cream Concealer

   1.2 Lip products
      -Forever 21 Love&Beauty Lipstick

   1.3 Eye Products
      -Dior 5 Colors Eye Palette in 566 Versailles
      -Barry M Eye Pencils in Bronze and Green
      -Bourjois Contour Clubbing Eye Pencil

   1.4  Makeup Palettes and Tools
       -Forever 21 Makeup Brush Set
       -Lancome Absolu Voyage Travel Palette

2.Skincare
   2.1 Bath and Body Works Moroccan orchid and Twilight Woods body mist
   2.2 The Face Shop Real Nature Face Masks
   2.3 The Face Shop Aloe Gel
   2.4 Beesline Face Masks and Scrubs

RAMADAN SPECIALS // FREE PRINTABLE EID-UL-FITR CARD

A quickie for a post today. I know we're all delightfully busy prepping our homes for the big day tomorrow and you'll be having tons of guests coming over or may probably be going as a guest yourself. Here's to showing that little extra affection all our loved ones deserve; print this out and gift it alongside that lovely box of chocolates and you're all set for a beautiful time!

DOWNLOAD THIS BEAUTY HERE ;)

If you're looking for envelopes to download or more pretty prints don't forget to check out my Freebie Gallery.

If you wish to share the printable digitally, please be a darling and credit back to Craft A Doodle Doo.

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A very blessed Eid to all my dear brothers and sisters worldwide and lots of love,

Nash

RAMADAN SPECIALS // FREE PRINTABLE DUAA CARDS

I know we all have plenty of reminders in this precious month everywhere to be more mindful and grateful of everything we've got so I've quickly created a pretty printable duaa card for my Muslim sisters to glance at everyday and memorize this super-beneficial duaa. This particular duaa card has the Syed-Ul-Istighfaar and its transliteration on the front side and the English translation on the back. Reading through the English translation makes this so much easier to memorize.

For those unfamiliar with this duaa, the Syed ul Istighfaar is the best supplication for seeking forgiveness. And just because we are always helping each other out here, the design of the card makes sure that others will adooooooore receiving it as a small thoughtful gift too!

Click to download the front.

Click to download the back.

How to: Paste the front print onto one side of cardstock and the back onto the other side. When gifting to someone, hand it over in a colorful envelope. I have lots of envelope prints available in my freebie gallery if you need some help in that department!

I would love it if you share this printable on social media as well but don't forget to link back/redirect to my site or give credit. Thank you. :)

Bonus tip: You can also keep this as your phone's screen saver to keep reviewing it. :)

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PS:Get updated on soon-to-be-coming cards by following me:

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Lots of love and a have a blessed Ramadan,

xoxo, Nash

6 NEW SUMMER DIGITAL PRINTS (SHADOWS OF SUMMER COLLECTION | DIGITAL PRINTABLE PAPER PACK)

It's been the longest time since I've written and it came with this huge  realization that while I absolutely adore blogging and everything so rewarding about it, being in an Architecture major had ultimately taken toll on me, all the more now since I've gone into Senior year. On a happier note, my big break off blogging to focus on college turned celebratory in the end when I found myself gaping at a 4.0 GPA. (At our college, the highest GPA you can get is 4, not 5). 

         So that was a summarized explanation for what kept me from blogging luscious freebies and DIYs here. Now that vacay started, I'm back to business. Summer is in full swing here (we're hitting 45 degrees Celcius on average) and nothing spells summer and chillin' like lots of bright colors, cheery florals, fruity prints and popsicles!S

This collection packs in all that summer action into 6 peppy prints available for digital download. You can use them for scrapbooking, frame them up as art , as wrapping paper for gifts or to to jazz up your DIYS! 

Here's a preview on what you'll get on downloading:

The download is a compressed file (.rar) so you'll have to extract it. If you're having any issues, please drop a comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SHADOWS OF SUMMER

PS:For my subscribers, I'll be sending out some exclusive brush-lettering prints soon to your inbox which, as we all know, are completely in vogue right now. Set them up as mobile/desktop wallpapers or-r-r-r frame them! They'll look absolutely witty either way.

Here's some inspiration on how to use these digital prints:

1. This gloriously simple miscellaneous supplies caddy

2.These adorable cubby shelves
3. These ideas on designing your own stationery
4. These super-fun made from scratch on the go notepads.

DOWNLOAD MORE FREEBIES | CHECK OUT MORE DIYS | BUY FOR COMMERCIAL USE

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Pin this post!

SHOP OTHER PRINTS AND PATTERNS PERFECT FOR ALL YOUR CRAFTY AND DESIGN PROJECTS ON MY ETSY STORE!

Don't forget to pin and share this if you liked it and have a brilliant summer. xoxo

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Nash

-CRAFT A DOODLE DOO-

ON MY WISHLIST: SPRING THEMED PAPERIE FROM MINTED!

If you've been a visitor at my cute lil blogging niche before you'd know that I love graphic design myself and keep bringing up freebies,tips and designs for my just started out shop. Fellow graphic design lovers would agree with me that we are on the constant lookout for inspiration and when I saw this beautiful book on Rachel's instagram feed here, I was instanly swooning and the next day almost as if a prayer had been answered Minted came to the rescue.

If you haven't heard of them before, they're the fantastic people over at Minted.com who make some gorgeous paperie, home decor, party decor, art prints and so much more by the most trendy designers you've seen around in the field. I quickly found out after some childish rummaging on their site that the notebook on Rachel's feed I was smitten by was actually from Minted.

And then a love story began..... 

CARDS IN THE PICTURE
TOP TO BOTTOM: Hand Painted florals on Kraft card  . Rose gold and copper rustic card . Coral background card . Hand drawn roses card . Bright and colorful florals card

I continued exploring all their categories and got so excited that I even showed them to my dad and he loved them too. For reference, my dad is a senior architect and I am an architecture student myself, so spotting good design is our forte and this totally hit the top spots in the chart.
If you've got yourself tied up with an upcoming function you can't go wrong with their Save the Date cards. They have a host of colors to match your design palette. Or if you haven't chosen a color scheme yet you could go choose one at the Design Seeds. Then return back here and explore the plethora of options. And yes, they are for all genders and preferences that can be customized as well; it's dizzying!

I'm currently head over heels for their botanical prints. Needless to say they will also serve as inspiration for my upcoming blog projects. And since spring is here, no one can complain of too many flowers.

PS: There's no such thing as too many flowers for me, haha!

They also have a ton of art prints if you are in a wall decorating phase now. If you're too paranoid to have your accent wall repainted or wallpapered you can always go with a mix of beautiful prints.

And if you're not the paint-it-yourself type, and that's a good bunch out there, then these are perfect for you. I've found out two things in these designs that I'd like to incorporate in my designs too: their simplicity and their character. You don't often come across design that is simple but upholds major character at the same time.

PRINTS IN THE PICTURE:
Falling leaves . Pining For Pineapple . Tangerine . Moth . Tulip and Tracery . Indigold . Grecian Floral

The prints speak for themselves, don't they?
You can order them in the size you fancy most and the kind of frame you need. I love how they play with perspectives sometimes. Noted. :D

And here's a cute DIY tip, no one says art prints are just for walls. If you already have a lot going on your walls, and would like to amp up your coffee/dining table or studio table, then display these prints (in the smalled sizes) underneath a glass table top so that you can whistle over them as you work.

Their art prints and save-the-dates are printed on high quality paper, so you know you'll get some super-rich pigments to adore. I've also looked for what other people are saying and everyone is delightfully impressed!

I'm going to order myself some of their paperie, journals especially since I'm such a journal fanatic right now. Check the creatives out and let me know if you're a sold as me! If you are a fellow creative I bet you would. :D

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DISCLAIMER: This is a sponsored post and I'm getting some Minted credit in exchange for my time and review. All opinions like I stated before are from my good ol' design and architecture oriented self and my architect-dad approved as well. So there's no kidding.
***

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Take care, xoxo

Nash

INSPIRATION NATION // DIY ORIGAMI FLOWER CURTAIN

First off, I haven't yet decided where would be the perfect setting for this craft project to revel in full glory. My initial idea was to use it as the title puts it, a flower curtain. I had fantastic visions of friends walking in and recognizing this from one of the many snapshots that I sent them of my behind-the-scene crazy woman workings. But then while I was actually photographing the whole thing, it occured to me that it would pose as gorgeous replacement of a bed's headboard. That's positive though right? The fact that I'm unsettled about where to hang this curtain is what makes it so flexible. So use it at a whimsical party for your girlfriends, for your little girl's room or to add that tipsy dimension of fantasy to your own bedroom or workspace. This is bound to look ravishing!

Espcially when people notice they are not real flowers and that are so, so many origami flowers strung together lovingly by you in hopes that you could transition yourself back to when you could wear as many tutus and tiarias as you'd want in a day.

We could still do that though. I know I could!

The kind of origami roses I used for this project are a little different than the normal origami rose tutorials. The toughest rose being called the Kawasaki rose even of which they have several versions. We also have a standard rose. But I chose a simpler kind for this project which looks equally pretty and it's called the Bird-Base Rose or the Twisty Rose because the entire effect of the rose comes from twisting the folds at the end.

You could use any light-weight craft paper for this. Since it's Spring, I specifically chose pastel colors from a huge bundle of colored A4 copy paper. I also made the roses in two different sizes to add a little visual interest and alternated the colors between pink and yellow.

You could leave out the leaves but then if I were you I'd think hard on that one! The leaves are so easy as well, the only setback being the project is time-consuming. But think of having a gatehring of friends, maybe pizza-delivered at your doorstep, chilled summer drinks,humming your favorite tune and voila. you wouldn't even notice you just made 24 roses and 48 leaves. At least that's as many as I made. :)