Event: Shhh Cooking Secretly Theme: Summer Treat Recipe: Cucumber Orange Salad Cucumber Orange Salad is a refreshing, cooling and easy to make salad. Perfect for the summer, this salad can be enjoyed as a side or as a light meal. Add any cheese of your choice. I prefer either feta or halloumi. If you don’t like either, go for paneer or cottage cheese. The fresh orange salad dressing makes the salad very flavourful. Shhh Cooking Secretly In brief, every month a new theme is chosen by members. Then, the participants are paired up. In turn, they give each other 2 secret ingredients to use in their recipe which is prepared fitting the theme. As soon as their dish is ready, the photo is shared on…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Mango Coconut Jelly | Woon Mamuang Mango Coconut Jelly also known as Woon Mamuang is an easy to prepare, gluten free and vegan Thai dessert. Mango and coconut is an exotic and delish combination. The layers make this dessert appear beautiful and it is an ideal party dessert. Several times I have tried setting the two layers in a tray so that I can cut them into cubes before serving. However, don’t know why the layers always tend to be separate, making it messy to cut. So now I stick to setting the dessert in small serving glasses or cups. A perfect summer time dessert, best to use fresh mango puree. Trials And Tribulations Several times I tried making Woon Mamuang in a tray…
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Continue ReadingAnytime is bhajia time During my visit to Dubai, I was fortunate enough to meet up with two fellow bloggers, Rafeeda, blogger at The Big Sweet Tooth and Huma of Gheza e Shiriin whom I have known through blogging for a couple of years now. I was super excited as I was meeting fellow bloggers for the first time. These two ladies are so friendly and we chatted away till eventually I had to leave as my family was waiting for me. Wish we could have had more time together. When we met, it didn’t even feel as though I was meeting them for the first time. It felt like I’ve known them for years. I can never forget that when I was new to the…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_ REDOING OLD POSTS #50 RECIPE: BANANA MANGO SMOOTHIE BOWL Banana Mango Smoothie Bowl A filling, healthy and delicious breakfast is what Banana Mango Smoothie Bowl provides. Easy to make and a versatile recipe as one can replace the ingredients with what one prefers. What is a Smoothie? A smoothie is as the name suggests a smooth thick drink usually made from fresh fruit/ vegetables with milk, water or ice cream. Smoothie is much thicker than a milkshake. One can find flavored milkshakes that may or may not be made with fresh fruits. What is a Smoothie Bowl? While smoothies, though thick can be sipped, smoothies in a smoothie bowl are much thicker and one needs a spoon to enjoy it. Its…
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Continue ReadingBeautiful Nature This evening just as the sun was setting, the sky was just so beautiful. Blue sky as though its daytime. I was busy in the kitchen when hubby shouted out “come quickly, look out of the window.” I had to reach out for my iphone and take a photo. Nature is amazing and pleasures us with so many different colours in all shades imaginable. Its important that we take time to observe and enjoy nature. Its brings immense joy and peace to our mind and soul. When you don’t stop to admire nature you miss out on the wonders of world. Today’s recipe is Farali Uttapams. My partner Ramya of Lemon Kurry gave me the ingredients barnyard millet and yogurt. Our theme for March…
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Continue ReadingEVENTS: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP & FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS THEME: FESTIVAL OF COLOURS RECIPE: AGAR AGAR FRUIT JELLY Agar Agar Fruit Jelly is an easy to make, attractive, cooling, gluten free and vegan dessert. Perfect dessert for any parties be it a garden party, kids party, baby shower party, etc. I love making this simple but pretty dessert as I can use a variety of fresh fruits and best part is that I can control the amount of sugar I add. Sometimes I add maple syrup, a light coloured one. It does change the colour of the dessert slightly but tastes really good. WHAT IS AGAR AGAR? Agar Agar is a gelatinous substance that is derived from red algae. More specifically it is derived from red algae Gelidium…
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Continue ReadingFARALI ROTLI/GLUTEN FREE ROTI Farali Rotli/Gluten Free Roti is unbelievably soft and easy to roll. Perfect for fasting days like Ekadashi or Navratri. Or include it in your daily diet especially if you cannot consume any gluten products. Why Farali Rotli For Fasting Days? Mainly because for Ekadashi Fasting one is not allowed any cereal, grains, beans, onions, garlic, etc. Some of us even follow the same rule for Navratri Fasting. So daily ingredients like wheat, rice, legumes, beans are not allowed. Instead we can use amaranth, barnyard millet, buckwheat, tapioca pearls,water chestnut, etc. The flours of the products mentioned are very useful to make different dishes for fasting. Usually when my family and I fast, I think we land up eating more than normal.…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: VALENTINE’S DAY RECIPE: STRAWBERRY MOUSSE (EGGFREE) Strawberry Mousse (Eggfree) Strawberry Mousse (eggfree) is a smooth, creamy, fruity and delicious dessert to serve during any occasion. Easy to make, its perfect for parties. Memories The first time I made strawberry mousse was when I was around 18. At that time, with no internet and Google, the only way I could try out new recipes was to follow Tarla Dalal cooking books. Her Strawberry Mousse recipe used strawberry jelly. For some years that’s how I made it. That is till Google came into my life and I started trying out the ‘real’ mousse recipe. What is Mousse? A mousse can be sweet or savory. Its soft food whereby air bubbles gives it…
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Continue ReadingVitumbua #BreadBakers From the East Coast of Africa Vitumbua (singular kitumbua) pronounced as vee toom booa are the local answer to pancakes/ doughnuts in East Africa especially in Tanzania and the coastal part of Kenya.Instead of being deep fried, they are made in a special vitumbua griddle/pan. Its similar to the aebleskiver pan or appe pan or paniyaram pan. Vitumbua is a common Tanzanian street food and found during Ramadhan in Mombasa. Its usually served with hot tea as breakfast. Beneath the crust the interior is light and fluffy, melt in the mouth texture. Most of the East African Coast cuisine has been influenced by Indian, Yemeni and Omani culture so perhaps vitumbua too may have been brought here by one of the settlers. The…
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Continue ReadingEVENT:BREAD BAKERS |FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS THEME: ANCIENT GRAINS RECIPE: BUCKWHEAT SAVOURY PANCAKES Buckwheat Savoury Pancakes or Farali Kuttu Ka Cheela is healthy, easy to make and delicious. Usually enjoyed as a hot breakfast options, these gluten free pancakes are loaded with vegetables. Often, I make these pancakes or cheela when I am fasting for Ekadashi. Best enjoyed with some plain yogurt and green chutney. Sometimes I make them as an accompaniment to a simple potato curry. What Vegetables Can I Add? Well, any which you prefer. Spinach, boiled peas, boiled and finely chopped french beans, cooked corn, onion, etc are some suggestions. However, if you are making them for Ekadashi Fasting, then omit vegetables that are not allowed during the fast. I usually like to…
