RECIPE: MUSHROOM EGG FRIED RICE Mushroom Egg Fried Rice is an easy to make, flavourful, tasty mushroom rice with eggs. Instead of the usual style of adding scrambled eggs to the rice, raw beaten eggs are added at the final stage of cooking. This way the vegetables and rice all get coated with egg. This Mushroom Egg Fried Rice can be enjoyed on its own or served with any Chinese or Indo Chinese sauced based dish. Galaxy Restaurant Galaxy Restaurant is a well known Chinese Restaurant in Mombasa. I often order egg fried rice to go with my veggie dishes. When we are in India I love to order Mushroom Stir Fried Rice. Love the one they make at the fast food joint Shri Krishna…
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Continue Readingraw banana, sweet plantain, plantains My mum use to make raw banana or plantain bhajias or fritters for Ekadashi. No measurements, she would just mix grated banana with mashed potatoes and spices. Simple and yummy. However, I was yearning for some kofta curry. Ekadashi and kofta curry. Well that is possible. I made them with plantains and paneer. Kofta curry without onions and garlic you might question? Well its totally possible. I didn’t want to make rajgira puris as I find them too oily. Instead, I made some farari theplas and the meal was ready. Normal sweet bananas are eaten as a fruit and the green plantains, sweet plantains or raw bananas are different. They belong to the banana family but are used as a…
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Continue ReadingTINDORA NU SHAAK/ STIR FRIED IVY GOURD Tindora Nu Shaak/ Stir Fried Ivy Gourd is a simple but very delicious Gujarati side dish that is usually enjoyed as a part of a main meal. Usually, it goes well with tuvar ni dal or moong dal and rotis. This shaak or sabji does not require too many spices, allowing the slight khatta meetha taste of tindora to come out. A Bit About Tindora Tindora goes by the name tondli, tinda, tendli, ivy gourd, kovakai, scarlet gourd, gherkins. It is a tropical plant. Ivy gourd grows on a vine. It is used to prepare side dishes what we normally call sabji/shaak or for curries. Apparently it can be used even for soups. Do you know…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Bean & Corn Quesadilla Quesadillas! Who doesn’t go mad over crispy tortillas stuffed with cheesy goodness? A versatile dish, one can stuff it with meat, seafood or vegetables. Serve it with guacamole, salsa or any dip or sauce of your choice. The possibilities are endless. Bean & Corn Quesadilla is a vegetarian option, filling and tasty. What Is Quesadilla? It is a Mexican dish where tortilla is filled with cheese and cooked on a griddle or skillet. Fillings like chicken, meat, beans, vegetables, etc are added to the filling to make it more wholesome. Traditionally corn tortilla is used but these days wheat or plain flour tortilla are commonly used. Queso means cheese in Spanish. Quesadilla date back to the 16th Century where corn…
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Continue Readingdifferent hands, different outcome Have you ever noticed how the same recipe prepared by different people appears totally different and yet the basic ingredients used are the same. The way my mum use to make handvo and the way I make it appears different. The way my mother in law makes so many dishes, appears different when I make it. Everyone has a special magic in their hands when it comes to cooking, it acquires your trait. Wanting to make gobi (cauliflower) in a different manner to the usual ways I make it, I had bookmarked Shweta’s recipe for kadhai gobi. The first time I made it, somehow the yogurt just got separated from the cauliflower and the little gravy appeared watery. The second time I…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Chidambaram Gotsu Chidambaram Gotsu is a delicious side dish prepared with brinjal and roasted ground spices. It is traditionally served with jeeraga samba rice. However, nowadays it is served with idli, dosa, ven pongal. In fact, the recipes calls for smaller young eggplants or brinjals. I guess because it would cook faster and be more flavourful. Instead, I had to be content with the large eggplants or brinjals I get here. What Is Gotsu? Also known as gothsu, ghostu, kothsu and even gojji, it generally is a jammy kind chutney prepared with fruits or vegetables and tamarind and some spices. Usually it is a combination of all six tastes – salty, sweet, bitter, astringent, sour and spice. Certainly, Gotsu can be enjoyed as a…
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Continue Readingdown memory lane Years back, Mombasa Club, famously known as Chini Club, served a rich cheesy baked macaroni as a main dish. The choice for vegetarians back then was limited to vegetable curry and baked macaroni. I would always look forward to having the macaroni, though they did not add any vegetables. Nowadays, the Club had managed to add more choices for vegetarians, they no longer serve cheese macaroni. A few days ago I suddenly remembered the cheese macaroni and a craving began. It ended with me making the cheese macaroni with vegetables. It had been ages since I had had the creamy rich dish. Obviously I made it according to the way hubby dear and I would like it… with a…
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Continue Readingkunde na nazi Besides red kidney beans(maragwe), red cowpeas (kunde) are cooked often by the local people of Kenya. In the coastal region it is usually cooked in coconut milk (nazi). I love the nutty flavour of cow peas or what Gujaratis commonly call it.. chora. I wanted to make a different curry a few days ago. Rachael suggested coconut. However, I did add my own flavours to it as the one made by local people here is not spicy. They use onion, ginger and green chillis only. If they can afford then a bit of garlic is added. However, garlic is pretty pricey! Just a coconut base may make the curry a bit watery so to thicken it up a bit I added…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Masala Gobhi | Masala Cauliflower Masala Gobhi | Masala Cauliflower is a delicious, slightly spicy, easy to make and flavourful sabji, sabzi or shaak to make. Enjoy it with some hot roti or paratha. I like to make this side dish with some tuvar dal and roti. This sabji has South Indian flavours as I have used curry leaves, sambar masala and urad dal. Memories Suddenly, the weather has taken a turn. It has become really hot. The sea breeze too, is hot and we really don’t need to switch the water geyser on as the water in the taps is warm enough.I don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen because of the hot weather. I had found this easy cauliflower…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Pasta With Mushroom Sauce Pasta With Mushroom Sauce is an easy, full of umami flavour, creamy main meal. Pasta gets coated with minced garlicky mushrooms. To make this pasta in a jiffy, I roughly chop up the mushrooms in a food processor. The mushrooms are stir fried with some garlic. Then a bit of flour and milk are added to make the sauce creamy. Addition of cream and parmesan takes the flavours to the next level. Memories…. I have lived in Mombasa for the past 30 years and my hubby since childhood. When my kids were young and didn’t have afternoon school, we would spend every afternoon on the beach. Back then we lived pretty near to the beach, third row but the public…
