Event: Father’s Day Recipe: Vatidar Na Bhajia/ Dal Bhajia What is Vatidar Na Bhajia/ Dal Bhajia? Well, first of all vatidar means ground dal or dar. Dal is the Hindi word for pulses and dar is the Gujarati word. Bhajia are fritters, deep fried in oil. Vatidar na Bhajia is basically bhajia or fritters made from coarsely ground dals or pulses. Vatidar Na Bhajia/ Dal Bhajia is a Coastal Speciality A visit to Mombasa is not complete if you have not had the famous vatidar na bhajia. Every coffee shop, fast food restaurant will serve these famous bhajias. In the evenings, women sit at corners or near their home preparing these hot snacks for hungry passersby. During our visit to Mombasa, a visit to the…
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Continue ReadingEVENTS: FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS RECIPE: BAKED ALOO TIKKI CHAAT Baked Aloo Tikki Chaat is a lip smacking, delicious dish with a medley of different flavours and healthy. Make it at home and enjoy. Aloo Tikki Chaat is famous as Street Food all over India. Generally, crispy potato patties are topped with yogurt or chickpea curry along with spices and chutneys. In this case, I have baked the tikki instead of deep frying them to enjoy this chaat guilt free. Variations Of Aloo Tikki Chaat With Yogurt Can be topped with flavoured yogurt, chopped onion, coriander, and chutneys. Usually for chaats there are 2-3 main chutneys, a green one, date tamarind one and a fiery garlic one. Most chaats are topped with Sev. As a matter…
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Continue ReadingWhat is Dahi Vada? Dahi Vada is a popular chaat originating from the Indian Sub Continent. Chaat is a savory snack that is usually enjoyed as a snack. Most chaat dishes have become popular as street food in the Indian Sub Continent which is enjoyed both by young and the old in the evenings. Dahi means yogurt and vada is basically a fritter. Therefore, it means fritters in yogurt. A bit more Dahi Vada Also known as Dahi Vade, Dahi Bhalla, Thayir Vadai, Perugu Vada, Doi Bora, the recipes will vary a bit from region to region. The Vadas are made from soaked lentils which is ground into a coarse paste and deep fried. The proportion and types of lentils will vary from family to…
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Continue Readinggujarati style uttapams Gujarati snacks are unique. There are so many snacks or nashta as its called that I don’t think any other state has that many. Dhokras, fafdas, handvo, muthia, mathia, ganthia, kakras, dhebras, theplas, the list is endless. There is definitely more to Gujaratis than just dhokras. I love gujarati snacks. The variations of these snacks within Gujarat too are endless. One of my family’s favourite snack is dangella. Its a gujarati version of the uttapam from the south, but tastes totally different.We normally have this for dinner or as a light lunch. Don’t get put off by the long list of ingredients. Most of them are easily available in most Indian homes or the Indian stores. My mum would make…
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Continue Readinga must have during summer Pani puri is a very famous street food in India. Also known as golgappas, every nook and corner will have a pani puri stall. It is one indian snack that is very popular all over India. Years back, the puris were not available in the shops in Kenya so if we ever wanted to have pani puri, we had to make the puris at home. Its a very laborious task if you have many mouths to feed. I remember helping Nunu to make the puris and it would take us more than 3 hours as the quantity was never small. Nowadays the puris are readily available in market so I don’t make them at home. The best puris in…
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Continue ReadingFresh Pineapple Salsa Fresh Pineapple Salsa is a delicious combination of sweet and tangy ingredients with a bit of spiciness. Can be served with any Mexican Dish, as a starter with chips or simply enjoy it on its own as a salad. What is a Salsa? Technically, a salsa is a sauce made with cooked ingredients, the most common being tomato, onion, cilantro, chilis and lemon juice. Salsa Fresca is a fresh sauce. No cooking takes place for the Salsa Fresca. The ingredients are chopped and mixed together. Usually enjoyed with some tortilla chips or on its own as a starter or a salad. This Pineapple Salsa is actually a Salsa Fresca. Memories I’ve got to thank my daughter for this recipe. I’d barely begun…
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Continue ReadingEGG FREE CARROT MUFFINS Egg free Carrot Muffins are so easy to make, soft and delicious with orange flavour. Addition of plain yogurt makes the muffins soft and spongy. No one will believe that these muffins are made without any eggs. Adding fresh orange juice and zest makes them even more tastier. This recipe is pretty versatile where you can replace the flour, fat, flavour, liquid, spice and the raisins to make it into what your family loves. And these muffins are not overtly sweet. Adding the frosting is totally optional. Memories Happy Birthday my dear friend Daxa. I always try and bake a cake, cupcakes or muffins for my bestie’s birthday. She is not much into baking so my baked goodies are always make…
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Continue ReadingAloo Paratha Aloo Paratha also known as bateta ni rotli is an Indian Flatbread stuffed with spicy mashed potato. It is usually enjoyed piping hot with some yogurt and pickle and sometimes topped with butter as breakfast. Personally, I’m a huge fan of aloo paratha and can have it practically every day. Updated: 07/12/2017 Potatoes Are Versatile My kaka (uncle) loves potatoes, be it in the form of shaak, baked, fried, or as aloo parathas or bateta vada. As long as potatoes are the main ingredient. I don’t blame him. Potato is such a versatile vegetable that many dishes can be created from it. Potatoes are used in dishes right from soups and starters to desserts. Yes you heard right desserts. I’ve enjoyed aloo halwa especially during Ekadashi,…
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Continue ReadingA tribute to my bhabhi Sonal bhabhi, my late sister in law immediately took me under her wing from the first day I met her. Always smiling, friendly and motherly she taught and advised me whenever I needed her help. Whenever we visited Nairobi, meals were not an elaborate affair at her place. Simple but tasty dishes were prepared in no time to feed us and her family. What I learnt from her was a foolproof recipe to make the perfect papdi no lot(steamed rice flour dough). If you follow the measurements and tips given below, then papdi no lot or khichu turns out not too hard and not too soft. I have tried out this recipe with rice flour from India, Kenya , UK and…
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Continue Readingthepla with a difference…. thank you Heni Last November, my foi Manju aunty invited us to her place just for a change of atmosphere. We all were going through a difficult time after the loss of my mum. Fortunately for me we decided to visit her on Ekadashi day.Unfortunate for my sister in law Heni, as she had to make dishes with potatoes and more potatoes. On Ekadashi fasting which comes every 15 days, one is not allowed to consume grains and pulses and any vegetable that falls under the pulses category like peas, beans, brinjals etc. There are not many options left except for potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, yam etc. We were suppose to have lunch at her place. There are not many…
