Back to the sprouts, I don’t remember whether its the taste, or how they looked, but I regret that now so much.

But, now since I know, that they are good for me and you, I make a big pan of it once a week. I add it to almost everything.

I added it last night to my bowl of pasta and spaghetti sauce, (it doesn’t have a loud flavor, so it does not change your original dish’s flavor, but you add more punch to your meal)

You can sprinkle some on your salad, or add it to your sandwich. You can add it to your rice and make it a pilaf. So so versatile.

This is the best way I discovered to get sprouts.

Wash the Mung beans a couple times. Then soak them in water for about 8-9 hours (in colder places, soak them in hot water , not boiling). Then drain off the water. And let them sit covered for another 8-9 hours, till you see the little tail-like sprouts.

You can wait, for a few more hours, if your want the sprouts longer. But this is how I like them.

Then I just give it a little boil say 5 minutes, (don’t over boil, or you will lose the crunch). Now they are ready to be used anyway you like it.

P.s. Now I am regretting the coconut pie so much! Bad bad thing to do, especially 2 slices, oh! No retribution though for this act of mine. Just self torture.

Yasir is a big fan of mocktails, so every time we go to a fancy restaurant, he has to order one.

Mango-colada is such a refreshing take on the good ol’ Pinacolada. Punjab Grill by Jiggs Kalra, had this on their menu, and oh it was so good! Good Job guys!

And their presentation was terrific! In a fancy shaped blue glass, mango pulp drizzled down the inner sides of the glass, it looked good, and it tasted great! And who can resist the little umbrellas on the glass, very tropical.

The price for the size was right too. So go ahead, indulge once in a while, I wont tell.

Note: Here is the link to his site for the address for the restaurant: http://punjabgrill.in/

We went to a restaurant last night, craving good ol’ fashioned non veg food. We decided on Caravan Serai, an Afghani styled joint. This is located on Link Road, Andheri w, in Mumbai, near the Infinity Mall.

My thoughts:
Taste: Alright, I could eat similar food almost every other place,
Cost: A bit pricey (per person about Rs. 750, i.e. in USD hmm about say $15-$18),
Ambiance: Good ambiance, nicely decorated cream walls, with unique things hanging on walls and ceiling, pretty cool, good mood lighting, inside and outside dining option, low seating, which was unique, I don’t know if taller people would like that.

We ordered a few things, but the best thing we liked was the masala papad. It was perfect!

Recipe for Masala Papad:

A udid dal papad fried in oil.
The topping: It was just plain finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro (corriander leaves) with a little salt, and red chilli powder.

That my friend, was the recipe, so easy huh? So get up make it, and eat it right away, so you know what I am drooling about. Its a good snack, appetizer, and oh I almost forgot, we ordered a tall glass of sweet lassi, which was so good with this Masala papad. Yumm!

They served the lassi beautifully. It was a tall glass, with few ice cubes, and the lassi was nice thick consistency, not completely smooth and whisked, but there were a few pieces of yogurt (dahi) in it, which a nice idea I liked. And the best part is the small stream of a rose syrup they had down the side of the glass, gave a light flavor and looked brilliant!

It was just divine!

So, quick take, if you have money to splurge, sure go ahead, enjoy at the Caravan Serai and definitely order the Masala papad.

And I had no clue, this was that easy!

So without further ado, here we go.

(Now you get a clue, what I was doing in Kashmir, learning more Kashmiri recipes from MIL) Enjoy my dear friends.

Ingredients:

Eggplant (baingan), long and thin, about 3-4 inches long
tamarind, either dried or concentrated, and dissolved in water to create a thin consistency
our usual spice mix: red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder (all or any of these as per your availability
oil for frying and some for cooking
fried onions,

Method:

Wash the eggplants thoroughly, now to cut them holding the heads, only slit them twice lengthwise, not all the way through (I have taken pictures, dont you worry). Then, deep fry them in oil, till they are golden. After all are fried, put them in the tamarind water.

Now in another small pan, put some oil, add the fried onions, when it gets a bit hot, add the spice mix. Now when the spices are cooked, put this on the eggplant, give it a slight stir, and get the whole thing to a boil. Then simmer on slow heat for sometime, till the eggplants are very tender.

Done. I love to have this hot with steamed rice.

Today we are making doodhi ka halwa. I am learning how to make it from my MIL.

Ingredients:

2 large doodhis,
3-4 cups of sugar,
about 1 or 2 cups milk,
3-4 tbsp fresh cream (malai),
2 tbsp ghee
for garnishing: cashews cut in halves (sliced lengthwise)

Method:

I peeled, grated the doodhi (2 big ones), core removed because of the seeds.

Now put it in a large pot (non-stick preferably) and put about 3 cups sugar for 2 large doodhis. Put lots of malai, ghee, and milk.

I think the milk will curdle to form little balls.

Cook on high heat for sometime stirring constantly. Towards the end, when all the liquid has evaporated, it will start looking shiny, and the ghee will separate out. That’s when its done.

Stir in the cashews. Yummy! One of my favorites!

This can be relished hot or cool.

So about Gulf Royal. This is the best hotspot for young, not-so-old (I put myself in that criteria), and everybody in between. On by pass, this is near Sannat nagar and Qazi Bagh, other popular landmark stores in vicinity are 7/11 and Hat trick.

Craving for Chicken Shawarma roles, or Chicken Tikka, or Seekh kebab, or fried chicken hmmmm…. I am drooling, well, then come on, get there quickly. Moderately priced, hip crowd, re-decor plans in near future, always fresh food guaranteed (I love the mayo they prepare themselves and the small portion of salad they serve on the side).

Reminds me of ‘Bademiyan’ in Mumbai city. Or atleast it has the potential to be one soon.

One of the devil dishes I had was Rabdi (pronounced ‘ra-buh-dee’). Its just milk which is basically boiled down to be 1/4 th its original volume (think Fat, yeah, thats it). Add some sugar, some dry fruits, some cardomom, some saffron, and you get good old fashioned Rabdi. Best eaten chilled. Complements so well with fresh fruits, gulab jamuns, maal-puas, jalebis, etc etc.

Its so good, its just evil (though I would describe the taste as pure heaven)

Oh by the way, incase you are wondering where is the recipe, thats it. Let the milk come to a boil, and then on simmer, keep stirring occasionally, taking care, you do not burn the bottom. Then do the rest, as I mentioned above.

Enjoy!

Thanks Madhu Aunty!

Note: Jitendra Store at Goregaon (a small suburb in Mumbai city), on S.V. Road near the railway station has great Rabdi in little earthern pots. Though, they also mix in fresh fruits, dry fruits and mini rasgullas in it. Yumm!

Here you go!

Ingredients:

For the basic white sauce, (which has been used by me in some of the previous recipes too with pasta, with cauliflower and broccoli, etc etc, the Beshamel sauce used by Turkish friends)

unsalted butter, 2 tbsp
all purpose flour (maida), 2 tbsp
milk, cold 2 cups

Vegetable mix:
carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, french beans, (any combination, chopped into equal bite sized pieces)
peas, american corn (off the cob that is)

(you can optionally throw in some boiled chicken too)

seasoning: salt, white pepper, red chilli flakes

Method:

First boil the vegetables and keep separate the stock. Retain the stock, do not discard it.

To make the white sauce, heat the butter, and fry the flour in it, till the color changes, and you get an aroma. (maybe 1 or 2 mins). Do not let it brown. Slowly add the cold milk, and whisk quickly with the other hand. Stir continuously till the sauce thickens. The sauce is ready.

Now if required, thin the sauce with water, stirring constantly. Then when it comes to a boil, add the vegetables and some salt and white pepper powder. (To make it a bit spicy, add red chilli flakes).

Done, go ahead, get a spoon, eat it right out of the pan. Don’t burn your tongue though.

Yum-O rating!

Anyhow, here is a recipe I watched on a Television show, that I am dying to try out.

Ingredients:

1 Apple chopped,
1 cup chopped cabbage,
1 cup grated carrot,
1 cup sweet corn,
1 cup orange (peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
1 tomato chopped,
1 cup cucumber, chopped

For Salad Dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, salt, sugar, black pepper

Method:

Put all the above ingredients in a big salad bowl. Mix the salad dressing in a separate bowl with a fork. And drizzle over the fruits and vegetables. Toss with 2 big spoons. Let it sit for 5-10 mins (this gets the juices flowing out of the vegetables and fruits).

Thats it! Don’t you all think this will be excellent for the hot summer, which is right around the corner? And of course super low calorie too, so excellent if you are dieting.

It is just sooooooooooo good.

She just throws together things, and in minutes, voila, one after another fantastic stuff! She makes cooking look so easy!

Ingredients:

fenugreek leaves (‘methi’),
potatoes chopped (‘aloo’),
mustard seeds (‘
onions (chopped,
asafoetida (‘hing’),
cumin seeds (‘jeera’),
garlic chopped,
dried mango powder, (‘amchur’)
red chilli powder (‘mirchi’) or green peppers
jaggery (‘gud’)
corriander powder (‘dhania’)
oil for cooking
salt, as per taste

Method:

In oil add hing, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds, garlic, then add onions and potatoes. Fry till potatoes are half cooked (reddish in color). Add finally the leaves. Cover and cook till all done. After add salt, jaggery, amchur, green chillies or red chilli powder and dhania powder. (cook on sim, cover and cook). Done. Tastes best with rotis or ‘phulkas’ (Indian whole wheat flat bread)