EVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #160 DAALS OF INDIA What is a dal/daal/dhal? Basically made from split lentils like chickpea, cowpeas. green grams, black grams, Puy lentils, pigeon pea, dried peas, whole lentils or beans, its a spicy soup like or stew like preparation which is usually eaten with some rice or roti, parathas. Dals can be thick or watery, they can have added vegetables or meat too or can be plain. Its a great way to incorporate some protein in your diet especially if you’re a vegetarian. Before I had begun blogging I would prepare tuvar dal, moong dal, dal makhani and kadhi on a regular basis – at least 5 times a week. We knew which dal would be made on which day. Its only…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #159 GRILLED RECIPES Today has been one of those crazy days when I felt that work is just not getting less! I usually have a list of things or chores mentally prepared so that I can tackle it methodically. However, it needs just one element to throw it off course… my maid! Yes, can’t do without her and at the same time just don’t want her around sometimes. I waited till 9.30 a.m. and she didn’t show up so then speed had to be picked up as I’ve got laundry to do, to cook, wash utensils, sweep and mop. What do I hate the most? Wiping the utensils after they’ve been washed! Why is it that in places like UK, US, Australia,…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #158 INDIAN FLATBREAD Sometimes taking a break from blogging and commenting is required. I took a small break last week and though I had carried my computer to Nairobi, I didn’t open it for 5 whole days, not even to check what’s happening on Facebook, Pinterest… ok had to admit couldn’t keep away from Instagram but promise I did not post anything 🙂 Poonam who blogs at Annapurna, suggested the above theme. In a few weeks I’ll be doing a Mega Blogging Marathon on Flatbreads for the Blogging Marathon group. But lets get back on track to this group. Poonam’s blog is full of traditional and not so traditional recipes. She has so much patience to click photos of every step. As…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Kalan Kalan is a traditional yogurt or buttermilk based curry from the Kerala Cuisine. Usually plantain, raw banana or yam is used. It is also served as part of Onam Sadhya. A bit different from other yogurt based curries is that pepper powder is added to it. Why I Made Kalan? I must admit though I’ve been blogging for quite a number of years, I’ve yet to try out so many recipes. The list is endless. India itself has so much to offer. Each state or each festival has its own cuisine. My knowledge of South Indian cuisine was limited to idlis and dosas before I started participating in various groups and made some blogger friends. Through the numerous exciting themes that the FoodieMonday…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #156 ANY BUT WHITE RICE One of the reasons why I had bought black rice during my visit to Bali was to try out the simple and yet so flavorful pudding that is so common to find on menus in the restaurants around Bali. Sometime back I had posted a red rice kheer and a black rice salad recipe. I kept on getting comments that fellow bloggers had not used red or black rice. It was my turn to choose the #156th theme. I thought let the group get an opportunity to try out rice other than white which they’ve not used. For me it was simple, out came the packet of forbidden rice as its also called to make the pudding.…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #154 FILMI FOODIES RECIPE: BOONDI LADDOO Boondi Laddoo is a popular Indian Sweet that is usually made, gifted and enjoy during any festival or to celebrate any happy occasions. Made from chickpea flour (besan), the batter is fried using a special perforated sieve or jara as it is called in India. The batter drops into the hot oil through the holes from the sieve like droplets. Droplets in Hindi are called boond. Thus the name Boondi Laddoo. The small pearl like boondi is then added to sugar syrup. Once it has cooled down, balls are formed from the boondi mixture to make laddoo or laddu. FoodieMonday/ Bloghop Theme: Whenever Mallika who blogs at A Foodie Housewife suggests a theme for our weekly FoodieMonday…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: TYPES OF TEA RECIPE: ICED CHAI SAFFRON LATTE Iced Chai Saffron Latte is a spicy, flavourful, cooling tea drink that is ideal to beat the summer heat. Enjoy it with some whipped cream or without it. What Is Tea? Tea is the young leaves and buds picked from an evergreen shrub called camellia sinensis. All the different kinds of teas we know come from a specific species of camellia sinensis. Where Does Originate From? There are so many varieties of tea out there that it gets really confusing which one is the best. I say the one that you like, is the best. In fact, tea in many countries is a serious affair. Actually, Tea originates from Southwest China where is…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #152 ASIAN CUISINE When Amrita who blogs at The Food Samaritan suggested Asian cuisine, we immediately knew that she wanted to challenge us to some south East Asian cooking and not the Sub Continent cuisine we all are so comfortable with. I jumped for joy as I immediately knew what I wanted to make. I had been eyeing the rice paper ever since I had seen it at the supermarket in Montreal. Its ingredients like these that excite me the most as I don’t get them back home in Mombasa. So when did I see them? Last year! When did I get a chance to use them? For the #152nd FoodieMonday theme, all thanks to Amrita. Yesterday hubby, my son, his girlfriend…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #151 CORN The whole of today was spent indoor as right now Montreal is going through a heatwave. We thought that the night time would be cooler so went for a long walk with hubby. However, the heat was unbearable. The last time I experienced a blast of hot air like this was years ago when I first went to Amdavad before I joined school in Mt.Abu. Mombasa is a hot and humid place but we don’t get dry hot air. Tomorrow too is going to be hot and people have been advised to drink lots of water. Luckily the football matches for the World Cup are going on so for better half of the day watched the matches. I cannot sit…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #150 – VEGGIES WITH ONE TSP OIL Sujata who blogs at Batter up with Sujata suggested that we make a veggie dish with just 1 tsp oil. I thought “ok that’s not difficult,” as most of the daily sabji, shaak or curry I make hardly has any oil in it unless I need to stir fry onions or roast some kind of flour to thicken the gravy. But the catch 22 was I couldn’t prepare it before I travelled as I didn’t want to buy any vegetables and I knew I would not be able to get all the ingredients I need here in Montreal. However, still managed a simple curry, so easy to make and hardly took 10-15 minutes to make.…
