Workaholic's Hot Chocolate | GoodBye to Chilly Weather

The moment it rains, I make sure I enjoy a cuppa of Hot Chocolate either spiced white hot chocolate or the French style Chocolat Chaud. This time I thought I will do it differently as I saw a thicker version by Paula Deen.

A custardy hot chocolate.... I had never heard of custard being added to hot chocolate.Ofcourse the taste was awesome as they compliment each other. But I was taken aback by the thickness of the chocolate drink. Its very filling too and I skipped my next meal after drinking a cuppa. No wonder its called a workaholic's hot chocolate -- you can keep ooooonnnnnn working for a long time without even taking a snack break.

The original recipe involved making a custard from scratch with eggs and milk, I went for the easier eggless way using custard powder. 

Ingredients:

Vanilla Custard :1 cup or more prepared using vanilla custard powder with 1 and 1/4 cup as per instructions given in the packet. 

Semi sweet/milk/dark chocolate: 2 tbsp + grated

Hot milk: 1 cup +

Preparation: 

Prepare the custard , take it off heat and stir in the chocolate grated or chopped. Make sure it completely dissolves and you get a smooth mixture. To this add in the additional 1 cup of milk or more if too thick. 

Serve warm in cups garnished with marshmallows, more cocoa, grated chocolate or cinnamon.

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You can add any spices while making the custard or your choice of flavours.I bet you can't have more than a cup at a time, but you'll end up making it again and again.

Shake it Baby | 'Tis Summer

When my daughter got a project on her favourite food, she had one answer nutella.. She was supposed to write her favourite food recipe with pics of ingredients and obviously nutella being all popular and all over the place it really helped me too..I just had to find a supermarket sales brochure/ supplement that came with the  newspaper and help her cut off the pics.. We made her favourite nutella banana sandwich recipe as well.. 

That was then-- a few months back. Now that school is closed for summer hols madam is in a rush to go out of the house lest parents give her something to do.... . Thus I was so surprised she asked me for a milkshake as a mid afternoon snack. It makes sense too .. why  waste time sitting and eating when outside world is calling you..!

Quickly I put together a filling nutella banana milkshake with just few ingredients. And finished off the pics  somehow before she grabbed,gulped and rushed out... 

Once done with nutella as usual I started entering other ingredient territories and am now making one shake a day with several things and praying fervently she loves it.. Bananas are safe bet especially as they make it sweet and creamy without the actual icecream base. Apple are also good especially if your young one has no time to sit and chew the fruits... ;). The good part is in the name of shakes and smoothies we can sneak in some healthy ingredients as well. 

Nutella Banana Milkshake:

Nutella: 3-4 tbsp

Banana: 1 medium- big

Milk: 1.25 cups

Whole grain Oats/ toasted wheat germ/ wheat bran: 1-2 tbsp powdered (optional)

Preparation:

Blend all the ingredients together and serve it up..

Spiced Apple Milkshake:

 Apple: peeled & chopped 3/4 cup +
Milk: 1.25 cups + as needed

Spices: Cinnamon Powder: 1/2 tsp
Cardamom Powder: 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg: 1/4 tsp

Honey/Maple syrup/ Agave Nectar/Sweetener of your choice : as per taste
Whole Grain Oats/ Arrowroot Powder/ wheat germ/ wheat bran: 1-2 tbsp powdered (optional)

Preparation:

Blend all the ingredients together and serve it  in appropriate cups after garnishing with finely chopped apples, cinnamon powder or even caramel syrup. You can avoid the  spices if you don't like and optionally add whatever spices you like. Cinnamon goes very well with apples. Peel of the apples might add in a sour taste.

How sweet the drink is depends on how tasty the apples are. The milkshake will be thicker because of apples and so you can add more milk to get that thin shake if thats how you like it. You can actually avoid oats if you donot like it. But they add fibre and are good for health. Instead of oats you can go for other ingredients like wheat germ, multi grain mix oats which has whole wheat flour, barley, ragi/millet flour along with oats. These are healthy and filling as well.

Nutella is the preferred one in the house and hence it definitely gets a double thumbsup.. 

Noon Chai / Pink Tea | Creamy Salty Kashmiri Tea

After talking about bolani and imagining Afghanistan, its time we enjoy a hearty beverage from our own Kashmir. A few days back on International Tea Day I had posted the Kahwa recipe. This time its going to be another one equally popular called Noon chai or Gulabi chai or Sheer chai or plainly Pink tea. 

The word 'Noon' means salt in Kashmiri and few other languages. It is a custom in Kashmiri households to drink this tea 2-3 times a day along with Kashmiri breads and pastries. The recipe is easy except that a little bit of patience is needed with this as it needs to be on constant boiling. To get the auhentic pink colour its better we get the authentic Kashmiri tea leaves. I tried the recipe from here using the regular green tea leaves. Though the taste was AWESOME the colour didn't pop out that much.

Ingredients:

Kashmiri Tea Leaves/Green Tea Leaves: 1 tbsp

Water: 4 cups

Baking Soda: 1/4 tsp

Cardamom Powder: 1/2 tsp

Star Anise: 1

Sugar: as per taste 

Milk: 1 cup +/ - as per taste

Salt: 1/4-1/2 tsp

Garnish:

Pistachios & Almonds: few chopped

Preparation:

Put water to boil in a sauce pan. When it comes to rolling boil, add the tea leaves and baking soda. Reduce the heat a little and let it cook until the water it reduced to 3 cups. This will take about 20 minutes atleast.

Keeping the heat to medium or low,aerate the tea using a ladle as this is needed to bring out the pink colour. You can stir vigourously with the ladle also. This should be done for around 20 + minutes. More time you do this while the tea is cooking the better. If the water reduces more than expected you can add more cold water and continue cooking . Also baking soda is used to get the pink colour I suppose. 

Strain the tea to remove the tea leaves and put the clear tea back to the sauce pan on heat. Add in the milk as per your requirements -whether you prefer milk or strong or even creamy tea in which case even cream can be added. Add the spices and the sugar as per taste. 

You can play around with spices adding your choices and even sugar  which is not a part of authentic tea but a new or modern version. 

Boil for some more time and then add salt and take it off heat. Salt brings out the flavours in the tea. 

Serve hot garnished with almonds or other dried fruits along with breads.

I love my cuppa of masala chai in the mornings and when I tried this I loved this equally. You won't feel that its green tea leaves used to make the noon tea.I will definitely be making it again and again and in large quantities as well. In Kashmir this tea in made in large quantities in a samovar for the day. Except for the time it involves and the aeration , but once you taste it definitely you will fall in love with it.. 

Kashmiri Kahwa | December 15 - International Tea Day

As the winter sets in we spend more times indoors. Its too cooold to go outside. Its colder in Bangalore but nothing beats a cup of hot tea to blow away the chills. 

In my apartment complex, there is a commercial part and one section is mostly food joints - be it street food, chinese , vada pav, pizzas, bakeries etc. We can definitely pick and choose if we decide not to cook one/any time. The most popular among these is a tea point . Its always full and we have to wait in queue for our turn. 
But yes, the cutting chai or adrakwali kulhad chai with a plate of pakodas and company of friends makes life warm. 

Speaking of tea, it is topmost beverage consumed in India. Though South India has traditional and patented filter coffee and beautiful coffee plantations, there is a sizeable portion of tea drinkers also. 

As for myself, I am the only tea drinking child born to coffee consuming parents and married off in a tea drinking family -is it karma !? 

Well whatever it is I enjoy a hot cup of masala chai in the morning and occasional hot/iced green teas and of course a cuppa with friends too. 

Recently I tried and liked  the Kashmiri Kahwa and thought of posting it today being the International Tea Day. 

Kahwah/Kahwa is a traditional green tea consumed in Afghanistan,northern Pakistan and Kashmir Valley. Its rich in anti oxidants and is a popular breakfast tea along with breads. Its is made in big brass "Samovars" by boiling tea leaves along with spices and saffron and also roses and served with sugar/honey and crushed/chopped walnuts/almonds. 

Ingredients:

Water: 3 cups

Cardamoms: 3

Cloves: 2-3

Cinnamon: 1 inch piece

Sugar: 3 tsp + as per taste

Green Tea Leaves: 2 tsp

Saffron: few strands

Almonds: 3-4 chopped/flaked 

Preparation:

Bring water to boil in a saucepan.

Add the spices and sugar. Reduce the heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Cover with a lid and let it simmer for few minutes. 

Add the tea leaves and take it off heat. Let the tea leaves steep in the water for a minute atleast or more if you prefer a stronger taste. 

In small serving cups, add safrron strands and chopped almonds. Strain the hot tea into these cup and serve the tea hot.

You can sea the tea turning into a fresh yellow as the saffron flavours it. You can also add saffron strands while boiling tea along with dried rose petals.

Its perfect to beat the winter chills as well. Make sure you serve it warm. More more details you can check out the original source here. I had simply loved the detailed post and have followed the recipe verbatim.I had used Chinese gunpowder/ green tea. It will be more authentic if you could get the Kashmiri green tea. 

Meanwhile sip on...

Four Seasons Merlot | Warm Up Chilly Nights

"Give me books, French Wine, fruits, fine weather and little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know " 

      -John Keats

The quote sums up the post entirely. A nice wine with a perfect meal is truly a manna for those who enjoy the drinks.  I am not one who enjoys chilly nights with a wineglass.But for a long time I have been planning to cook with it thus overcoming my aversion.

And thats the reason why I joined Four Seasons Team GingerClaps. But when I got a bottle of Four Seasons Classic Merlot , I turned to my friends who enjoy their wine and know a thing or two about it.

What is Merlot ?

The wine got it name from the Merlot grapes which is a primary grape in French wines and can be abundantly grown in our own Western Ghats.Thus making it a perfect Indian wine. The dark colour of the grape  or the French word for it "Merle" gave it its name Merlot.

 Red Wine is a wine variety made predominantly from grapes along with other fruits. Merlot is a still ,dry red wine meaning it is a non sparkling wine made mostly from grapes and all the sugar in the grapes have been converted to alcohol.Or in other words "dry" is the opposite of "sweet".

 In general, Merlot is  perfect for cooking as its not too sweet. You can use it in sauces, soups and desserts and it blends in perfectly.

 Taste & Texture:

 Wine Tasting is a process in itself.You follow the 5 S steps -see,swirl,sniff,sip and savor. 

You see the colour of the wine. It tells you the type and percentage of grape use. For red wines the colour might vary according to the grapes.

You swirl the wine in glass . This releases oxygen and makes it more aromatic. It also helps see the various colours it can take.

After this visual tasting comes the sensory tasting. You sniff the wine which tells you how it might taste in the mouth. 90 % of taste is in smell.

Next take a sip and let it warm your mouth. This releases more aroma and you can feel the wine travelling inside.

You can savor it slowly taking time to appreciate the taste and texture.

Merlot is ruby red in colour and had a sharp aroma. It is medium bodied and is fruity or berrylicious. The body of the wine refers to the texture or its ability to coat the mouth and linger there.

Aging:
The older the wine finer the taste will be. Aging increases its quality.Ofcourse a wine is perishable and ability to age is influenced by variety of grape, vintage, winemaking style etc.

The bottle I had was just few months old and was slightly sharper. But my friends assured me that a few months down it will be fine.Also another thing we noted that there was no cork or stopper. I had heard about the winecork /bung/stopper which seals off the content but it was not there in this bottle.

Pricing:
A 750 ml bottle of Merlot is aptly priced at Rs.650/-. It is worth what you are paying for. Remember always buy wine per bottle than per glass.

Enjoy your drink with your food. Merlot pairs well with all Indian dishes especially rich gravies. I have read it goes well even with a bar of Kitkat!.

No matter what your food is Merlot is perfect for your evening and enjoy and savor each drop.

More information on Merlot and other Indian wines  is available at Four Seasons Wineyards. And don't forget to like  your Merlot in Facebook.

White Hot Chocolate

Though the monsoon is delayed, it is very windy here. Wind makes such sounds and is so forceful, we can see  items flown away lying around in the lawns and gardens. Its very chilly and cold and such evenings and nights definitely call for comforting hot chocolate. Though hot chocolate or even hot cocoa are regulars here, I have never experimented with white chocolate. I am not a great fan of white chocolate and have recently started using it in baking but a hot chocolate drink is always welcome.And as with any chocolate  dish, the white hot chocolate turned out awesome. There is not such standard recipe for this and on googling you can find several. Let me just add mine also to that evergrowing list.

Ingredients:

White Chocolate : 2 tbsp atleast ,grated/chopped

Milk: 1 cup

Vanilla: 1/4 tsp or few drops

Garnish: grate dark chocolate/chocolate shavings 

Optional:

Sugar: as per taste

Spices: fresh grated nutmeg, Powdered cinnamon

Flavourings: Peppermint instead of vanilla, Coffee 

Preparation:

In a deep sauce pan, bring milk to boil. If you like, you can add in fine powdered spices like cinnamon, nutmeg etc to it. Take it off from heat and mix in vanilla.

Meanwhile, add grated white chocolate to the serving mug. Pour hot flavoured milk to this mug/cup and stir well so that the chocolate dissolves and a froth is formed on the cup surface. 

Serve warm garnished.

You can actually add spices or even pinch of coffee powder to the cup before adding hot milk. You can add several spice combinations and even choice of extracts like peppermint to this drink. You can even make it vegan by using nut milk or choice of vegan diary alternative.You can even go for light or heavy cream along with milk or plainly replace milk with cream.

Optionally add the sweetener. The white chocolate has sugar in it. If you feel the drink is not sweet add in more grated white chocolate or even sugar or any sweetener that you prefer.

The pics were taken in a hurry and might not interest you, but trust me the drink is perfect for cold nights. Chocolate does make it heaven.

Qishr -Yemeni Ginger Coffee Drink

Sometimes aimless browsing can give an exciting recipe to you.Its like you have hit the jackpot and same thing happened when I came across this name 'qishr' and more googling got me interesting info on it. This is supposed to be a popular Yemeni drink made from dried coffee berries  or coffee husks. The word qishr or geshr,kishr etc is Arabic for skin. I have adapted the  recipe in Food.com and have tried it out easily with instant coffee. I liked the ginger coffee and if you are one of those who like the gingery drinks then you will definitely like it. Its perfect especially when its raining or misty and wintry. A warm cuppa with a savoury snack like pakoras, khara biscuits etc is sure to provide warmth and comforting.

Ingredients:

Water: 1 cup

Instant Coffee powder: 2 tbsp

Sugar: 2 tbsp +/- as per taste

Powdered Ginger: 2 tsp

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to boil. Bubbles should appear on the surface of the mix and then you remove it from heat. Cool for a minute and then again bring to boil under high heat. Again repeat the boiling and cooling process for another three times (its just takes minutes altogether).

Adjust and add more sugar if necessary.It is said to be very sugary -atleast the Yemeni version that is. Also if you feel the ginger is too strong, add a pinch of cinnamon/cardamom to dilute it a bit.

Serve in cups preferably small cups as you will not require more than a certain quantity of this sweet strong spicy drink.

A simple yet comforting beverage with a gingery kick. In Ethiopia where it is called buno (bunna for coffee) it is served with dates for breaking the Ramadan fast during the Holy month.So I think its perfect for dear friend Lubna's Joy from Fasting to Feasting event

Homemade Almond Milk with Almond Meal & Wintry Almond Nog

I have been trying to make vegan milk at home and nut milks are popular vegan diary alternatives. I have tried few recipes from the net rather unsuccessfully but recently tried almond milk from   Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick Goudreau. It turned out excellent and am very happy that I did not give up the experiments with such vegan alternatives.

Ingredients:

Almonds: about 1.5 cups

Water: 4 cups  + for soaking

Dates: 3-5

Vanilla: 1/2 tsp

Salt: 1/4 tsp (optional)

Sweetener of choice: as per taste (optional)

Preparation:
Soak almonds overnight in enough water or for atleast 12 + hours.

Next day drain out the water,rinse the almonds and add them to a blender. 

Add in 4 cups of drinking water and blend to a smooth puree adding dates,salt and vanilla.You can reduce the amount of water if you want a thicker creamier milk.

Do the taste test and add in the sweetener to increase the light sweetness given by dates. I did not add any at this stage. But I did add salt. 

Sieve through two layers of cheese cloth over a bowl to remove all the sediments ( almond pulp) Try to press the pulp within the cheesecloth to squeeze out more liquid. 

Almond milk is ready to be tasted. This can be stored in the refrigerator for upto 1 week. I have tried keeping it for 6 days and it did not change in texture or taste or any such thing.

We can use the almond pulp in cookies or other bakery items and even rice and sauteed veggies that use almonds as per the Joy of Vegan Baking. But I have converted them to almond meal or almond flour - in my case slightly toasted almond flour courtesy this recipe. This recipe has a nice pictorial representation for making almond milk and meal. Both the recipes are almost same with very little variations.

Almond meal:

The pulp left in the cheese cloth or sieve will be wet and chunky. So try spreading it in a layered fashion in  a lined baking sheet and dry them in the oven heating at the lowest possible settings. This as per the original source was supposed to take minimum and hour or two, but in my case it was done very early . I started to preheat the oven at 100 and then placed the baking sheet and let the door open slightly so that the moisture is released outside. You can turn off the oven when you find the bits browning too much and let the pulp sit in the hot oven. Mine were actually baked to a light brown and this happened within 10 minutes of placing the sheet. So I turned off the oven and let the chunky pulp cool inside. The timing depends on your oven I presume.

Once the chunks are dry, powder then to a smooth powder in a dry blender. The almond flour is ready to be used in bakes and cakes and also as a thickening agent or you can even add while making the roti or chappathi dough etc. This almond meal has traces of dates and vanilla as well but it is not sweet. Atleast till now thats my perception. I have used it in curries and rotis and till now its ok. You can store the powder in a airtight container and optionally in the fridge.

Wintry Almond Nog:

Take a cup of almond milk and add in 1 ripe banana and 1/4 tsp nutmeg and blend to a thick smooth puree. Decorate it with another pinch of nutmeg and you have a filling, tasty and interesting drink ready to beat the winter (monsoon) chill.

I have not tried boiling the milk though. I am planning to make another batch soon and will be experimenting. Earlier when I had tried boiling or even blending with banana it had simply and visibly curdled. This time  however it was not the case and the wintry almond nog was creamy, tasty and comforting. 

Homemade Peanut Butter & Peanut Butter Smoothie

It was a long time since I had made almond butter. Though it was good, I never tried making any other nut butters. Just did not feel like making these. I had better use of nuts in baking, I was thinking. But peanuts was one such I did not use much in baking as nuts themselves. I used them for sundals and chutneys but baking, nah..For the Blog Hop Wednesday Week 19 edition, an event by Radhika,This time while going through Anisha's Flavours for U, my partner blog for BlogHopWednesday Week 19, an event by Radhika, I came across homemade Peanut Butter and decided its high time, I used up my pack of peanuts. 

The recipe is very simple, and is done within 20 minutes. You can use up the peanut butter for baking cookies or turn into smoothies and shakes or even the classic American PB& J sandwich. The recipe is basic and you can improvise on it as well, adding sweeteners like honey or sugar, coarse grinding to make chunky butter etc.

Ingredients:

Shelled Peanuts: 1 cup preferably not skinned

Salt: to taste

Peanut Oil: 1 + tsp

Preparation:

Dry roast the peanuts for a few minutes and let it cool.

Add them to a blender and in short spurts make a fine powder. Add in salt, blend again adding oil to blender to get a creamy texture. 

As simple as that. Now it is better to use peanuts with the skins though feel free (and if you have time to pass) to skin the shelled peanuts. 

Now I whipped up a simple peanut butter banana smoothie.

I blended together about 1/2 cup milk, 1/4-1/2 cup yogurt,2 tbsp of peanut butter and sugar/honey/choice of sweetner as per taste along with a 2 small bananas (or 1 big banana) to obtain a delicious smoothie. The estiamtes are just approximate and feel free to change as per your needs. You can even add cocoa/chocolate sauce/chocolate powder to make it chocolatey. A simple but filling smoothie made with a delectable nut butter.

Mango Lassi - Indian Mango Smoothie

When I first heard the term smoothie, I wondered was it not same as lassi?. You blend fruit and yogurt with occasional milk and make lassi. The same goes for smoothie ofcourse, which makes them same.What you call smoothie in US and other parts,its called lassi here in India. Anyways come mango season, we get to see the mango lassies or smoothies or whatever you call. Its typically a part of North Indian and Punjabi culture (FYI, Punjab is a state in North West India). South India has more savoury lassies or chhaas or sambharam or 'neer mor' or in plain English the spiced buttermilk. I prefer savoury buttermilk and and had once considered the fruit yogurt combo as a dangerous one- thats another story. But an occasional glass of sweet mango lassi does not hurt.

Ingredients:

Mango :chopped : 1.5 cups (preferably alphonso)

Yogurt: 1.5 cups or more as needed (preferably thick and not too sour)

Milk: 4-6 tbsp as needed

Sugar: 2+ tbsp as per taste

Optional:

Cardamom: powdered : 1or more pinch

Saffron: few strands dry roasted and mixed with milk

Mint leaves: few

Nuts: cashew /pista: handful 

Garnish: chopped nuts/mint/saffron/your choice

Preparation:

Blend all the ingredients to a smooth puree, adding more or less milk/yoghurt to adjust the thickness and smoothness or tang and sugar according to taste.

Serve in glasses/cups optionally garnished.

You can add any one or more of the optional ingredients to enhance the taste. Mango and cardamom is an excellent and traditional combo. Mango and mint add a refreshing taste as well. When using mint leaves, if needed you can strain to obtain a leaf free lassi/smoothie.

Not much of a recipe and though I can describe it as tasty, the proof of the drink is in this pic.My daughter laps up mango but is choosy with her yogurt based dishes!. But definitely the picture says a thousand beautiful words.:)

Mexican Paletas for a Cool Summer

Paletas are nothing but simple ice pops made using fruit juice. You freeze the fruit juice in appropriate molds and you get an easy summer dessert. You can even add dairy ingredients to obtain creamier paletas. Most of the paletas or ice pops are sweet except for the cucumber paleta or the pepino con chile y limon which has the heat of the fresh green chilly in it. I have tried my hand to make the spicy cucumber paleta and the sweeter rose paleta (using rose syrup).Recipe is based on this post in Myrecipes and also referenced this post in NYTimes.

Cucumber Paleta:


Ingredients:
Cucumber: peeled,seeded and chopped 3/4 cup
Sugar: 2-3 tbsp
Salt: a pinch
Lemon Juice: 2 tsp +/-
Green Chilly: 1 small or medium optionally deseeded as per preference
Water: 1/4 cup +/-

Preparation:

Blend together all the ingredients to a smooth puree. Strain the puree using a fine seive or a cheese cloth. Do the taste test and adjust the sugar. Freeze by pouring in molds overnight or atleast 3 hours. 

On tasting the sugar is one that touches the tongue first, but then the heat of the chile takes over and you will definitely feel the spice along with iciness.

Rose Paleta:

This is a very simple and easiest and tasty ice pop or paleta. You mix in 3-4 tsp of rose syrup into a cup of water and then freeze overnight by pouring in appropriate molds. 

For releasing the ice pop from the molds, hold the molds under warm water for  few seconds and you can see them releasing from the sides.

Simple and delish paletas are apt for summer and also for Cinco de Mayo which is celebrated today in US and Mexico.

Tangy Summer Coolers - Indian & Mexican

Now that summer is its full fury and cola and juice companies are making merry, its time that we make old fashioned summer coolers with an ingredient that is regularly available in majority of Indian homes : Tamarind. Tamarind is used in Ayurveda to aid digestion and is a coolant.Tamarind pulp is useful in treating fevers and even in curing sore throats. Remember the South Indian Rasam, is perfect while having fever.The list continues, but lets get back to today's post...

Jal Jeera :

I was under the belief that majorly South Indians used tamarind as a regular ingredient in their chuneys,gravies, rices etc, till I came across Jal Jeera. Ofcourse there are other ways to make jal jeera or minty cuminy cooler, but the one which I made using Nita Mehta's Punjabi cooking uses tamarind. I suppose if you do not have tamarind you can go for additional lemon juice, but traditionally it was a tamarind cumin cooler. I am posting the original recipe with the correct estimates for ingredients, but feel free to change as per your taste.

Ingredients:

Tamarind: 1 lemon size ball or around 1.5 tbsp of syrup

Lemon juice: 3-4 tsp 

Ginger: 1" piece

Mint: handful of fresh leaves: 3-4 tbsp around

Black Salt: 1/2 tsp 

Roasted and Powdered Cumin: 1 tsp

Salt: to taste

Sugar: 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak tamarind in 1 cup hot water for about 30 minutes. Extract the pulp and strain. If using tamarind syrup/ concentrate then just mix it with hot water.

Grind ginger and mint together with little water to a smooth paste and add to the tamarind water.Add around 2 -3 more cups of water to this along with the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Chill in the fridge and serve garnished with more mint leaves or boondis (light chickpea flour balls).

While making check the seasonings and salt as per taste and adjust. Cumin and black salt are the formost in asserting their flavour. Mint refreshes, and sugar slightly contrasts, but tangy tamarind and sharp tastes of cumin and black salt tickles your tongue and increases your appetite.

Agua de Tamarindo:

Again the surprise element here was that tamarind is widely used in parts of the world like Kenya, Trinidad and Tobago and even Mexico. Come summer and the fruit pulp is used to make drinks called agua frescas. But if our jal jeera was sweet and sour and spicy then this one made with tamarind is slightly sweeter. I have adapted my recipe from the umpteen sites google has thrown open and majorly this post which looks very mouthwatering.

Ingredients:

Tamarind: 1 lemon sized ball or 1.5 tbsp of concentrate/syrup

Brown Sugar/ Jaggery/ Mexican Piloncillo: 2tbsp /-

Preparation:
Add tamarind and sugar/piloncillo to about 2 cups of water and boil together for  few minutes till the sugr dissolves. Remove from heat and let it site for atleast 30 minutes.The more the merrier.

Extract the pulp by pressing the soft tamarind in water with your clean hands. Check for sweetness and add more sugar if needed. Strain and add more water if needed to reduce the intensity of tamarind.

Serve chilled adding ice cubes.

A delectable drink that cools you down after a nice workout or cooking in the hot kitchen.

Figs& Banana Smoothie

This is a simple smoothie recipe that I had seen in Tarla Dalal Food magazine. My daughter loved it and hence I thought I would post it here. Its pretty simple and uses dry figs though fresh figs would also work fine. Fresh figs are more preferable to me than dry figs, but the former is very seasonal and expensive and the latter or the dry ones are avaialable anytime of the year. 

Ingredients:

Dry figs: 8-10 soaked in water for about 30 minutes and then chopped

Banana: about 1 cup chopped

Medium thick yogurt: 1/2 cup

Milk: about 3 cups preferably chilled

Sweetener or sugar: 1 tbsp or as per taste

Garnish: cashew halves, chocolate gratings etc

Preparation:

Blend together all the ingredients into a smooth puree. Pour in glasses and serve chilled garnished with cashew halves or chocolate shavings,crumbled cookies  or even soaked halved figs etc. I always prefer chocolate :).

A simple and healthy drink, which is good for all the people. I can see it becoming almost regular fixture in my house. You can go for vegan substitutions in this as well such as soy milk and soy/cashew yogurts

Baked Pears

This is again a recipe I tried recently along with Roasted Pears. I have always been awed with the poached pears and have bookmarked several delectable or unique ones. Though any pear can be technically poached, realistically only Bosc or Anjou  ones give a pe(a)rfect result. Other types might simply fall apart. Not one to take risks, I decided to bake the Asian pears I had with me based on this recipe and with the addition of choco chips and you have an easy healthy delectable dessert ready.

Ingredients:

Pears: atleast 1 

Cinnamon: 1/2 tsp

Sugar: 1 tbsp +/- 

Butter:almost 1tbsp +/-

Chocochips: handful

Preparation:

Make cinnamon sugar. you can go with either brown or white or a mix - I went for a mix.

Cut the pear lengthwise,core them and place each half in suitable sized aluminium foils. The foil should be large enough to enclose the pear half completely (like a purse!). Also you can optionally peel the pear, but I did not.

Dot each  pear half in the foil with cinnamon sugar, butter and chocochips as needed. 

Bring the ends of the foil together on top to completely enclose the pear half.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F /180C for about 15- 20 minutes. 

Take out, open the foil slowly. You can check whether the pears are tender or not with a fork. Also depending on the quantity of butter and sugar added, you can also see butter sauce formed within the foil along with the pear juices. The chocochips will not be completely melted, but starting to melt stage.

Serve as such within the foil along with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon and chocochips. A delectable and healthy dessert with just little work.

Healthy Pear Smoothie

This is the easiest and the first dish I made with my bag of pears. The recipe is adapted from USA Pears and is perfectly vegan. We can also play with this and add our choice of spices and fruits. Perfectly simple and filling.

Ingredients:
Pear: 1 peeled and cubed
Banana: 1 medium size
Orange: 1/2 of an orange or 1 small

Soy milk: 1 cup
Sugar/ Honey/Your choice of sweetner: 2 tbsp +as per taste

Orange Zest : for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

Blend together all the ingredients except the zest and serve in tall glasses optionally garnished with zest.

The recipe is easy to make and as I have mentioned do play around with it to make it more healthy and tasty.You can use regular dairy milk to make this as well or even a combo of milk and yogurt. You can even refer the original recipe if needed.

My assumption is that the drink is called smoothie as it is not dairy based. If using dairy milk then call it a shake. Shake or smoothie, this is perfect for anytime especially breakfast.

Carrot Tomato Cooler

I love tomatoes and try to incorporate as many of these in my daily cooking in several forms like rice, soups, pasta sauces, juices, pickles or chutneys, etc. Recently I came across a cooling Carrot Tomato juice in Kaveri's blog -with whom I am paired with this BlogHop Wednesdays , an event by Radhika- and it was quick and easy. This was also perfect for the rising heat these days in Bangalore. 

Ingredients:
Tomato: 5
Carrot: 3
Ginger: a medium size piece

Honey: around 2-3 tsp
Lemon Juice: 2 tsp +/-
Salt : a pinch
Pepper: as per taste

Preparation:
Blend together the carrot, tomato and ginger adding little water if needed to get a fine paste. Strain the paste and mix in honey,salt,pepper and lemon juice -as per taste.

Pour into glasses and serve garnished with mint sprigs.

Simple yet warm I must say about this cooler. I actually added more pepper and required salt to get a warm drink perfect for all seasons.

Apple Dates Smoothie

These days I have started the gym again and am also trying my hand at badminton. Praying that either or the other  works out for me and I reduce atleast few kilos. But after a hectic and sweaty workout, I rarely feel like cooking but would be very happy if someone else is there to take care of me. Is my mother listening? or atleast something that could be put together quickly and is healthy and filling. This is a simple yet healthy delight which I have adapted from KurryLeaves ( my namesake with a different spelling) with whom I have been paired with this wednesday for the BlogHop Wednesdays by Radhika. 

Ingredients:
Apple: 1 cubed
Dates: 4-5 deseeded and chopped
Milk: 1-1and 1/4 cup
Sweetner: optional but as per taste

Cinnamon: garnish
Chopped Apples or Dates: Garnish

Preparation:

If your dates are hard and dry,soak them in 3-4 tbsp of milk for about 15 minutes or so. Then blend together all the ingredients to a fine puree /juice adding milk as needed. Adjust the sweetness by going for a healthy sweetner like honey or even more dates puree or maple syrup.

Serve as an intermediate filler for dinner garnish with more chopped apples/dates and sprinkle of cinnamon.

Healthy filling drink. A sweet start at breakfast for a hearty day ahead.You can even make it spicier with the addition of choice of spices and even other dry fruits.

Aam Panna -Cooling Indian Raw Mango Drink

As I had mentioned in several previous posts, I am not a great fan of ripe juicy mangoes.Of course I use them, but has not great affection for the supposed king of fruits. Instead it is the tangy or sour raw mango that excites me. You can have them as such,use in gravies, dals, pickles etc .There are several varieties of mango and several ways of using it. One way of enjoying the raw mango is making a cooling summer drink out of it. You cook the mango -roast it,steam it,boil in water,squeeze out the pulp and add required amount of sweetner or spices and liquid. A simple cooling, sweet-sour drink  called Aam Panna is ready.

Aam panna/panha or kairi panna is a cooling summer drink popular in Northern and Central parts of India like Maharashtra,Gujarat, UP etc."Aam" stands for mangoes and "panna" or "panha" or the South Indian "Panaka" stands for Drink. There are also regional variations of making the drink. Some add cardamom to it and dish out a sweet drink whereas others prefer it tangy and spicy. Growing up in the Southern most part of India,this drink was unknown in my childhood,but after tasting it I have made it a regular in my kitchen.Given below is my version of Aam panna .

Ingredients:
Raw Green Mangoes: atleast 1 big whole
Cumin :1/4 tsp + roasted and powdered
Black Peppercorn: freshly grated/crushed as needed
Black Salt: as needed
Asafetida/Hing: a pinch
Sugar: 1/4 cup +/- as per taste

Water: as needed

Garnish: Ice Cubes,Mint Leaves (optional)

Preparation:

Wash and boil mango in enough water till it is soft.This takes about 10-15 minutes. Cool,peel ,squeeze out the soft flesh.An easier way to do this is peel the mango,remove the stone,chop into small pieces and grind/pulp it in the mixer.Normally,you have to squeeze out the juice from the soft mango,but the mixer makes it easier.Also instead of cooking the whole mango,you can peel,chop and then cook it though traditionally it is the whole mango that is cooked and then pulped.

Add the roasted cumin powder,pepper,black salt,hing and sugar and mix well till sugar is absorbed.Do the taste test and adjust the seasonings.

Our Aam panna concentrate is ready.

For serving,add 2-4 tbsp of concentrate in a serving glass,add enough water,stir well and serve with ice cubes.Garnish with mint leaves.

The concentrate can be spiced and sweetened according to your taste.You can also go for a sweeter version by adding just sugar,powdered cardamom and saffron and removing spices and black salt.I prefer the salty-spicy version given above.Another version also adds ground mint leaves to the the already refreshing drink.

Aam panna is known for its heat resistant properties and is effective remedy for gastro- intestinal disorders thanks to the presence of pectin in green/raw which is a soluble fibre and a stabilizing agent. It is also high in Vitamin C and increases body resistance against TB,cholera,dysentery etc or typical summer diseases.Black Salt in the drink also acts as a coolant spice.Cumin also aids in digestion.

Enjoy the refreshing drink and beat the heat.

Chilled Cinnamon Horchata

Horchata  is a general name for Spanish or Mexican beverages made traditionally rice,barley,almonds etc.There are regional variations and some countries go for a thick milky drink whereas other may like thinned down version.In Mexico, the rice is traditionally made with rice alone, or in comb with other grains along with cinnamon,vanila etc. I have referenced several sites and tried out this simple horchata with just rice & here it is.

Ingredients:

Short grain Rice: 1/4 cup

Cinnamon Stick : 1' long or as per taste

Water:as needed

Honey/Agave Nectar/Sugar: as per taste

Preparation:

Soak rice and cinnamon stick in enough water for atleast 8 hours or overnight.If some picking or cleaning of rice is to be done do so prior to soaking.

Next day grind the soaked ingredients together adding more water if needed to get an almost-smooth creamy liquid. Add in required sugar/sweetner and give a final blend/pulse so that the sugar is fully dissolved.

Pour in glasses and chill till serving time.

On sitting the creamy rice paste settles at the bottom of the glass. So serve after giving a final stirring along with icecubes and  sweetners.

A different yet refreshing drink. I was surprised more that the drink was tasty.Though I love trying out different recipes,I sometimes am not sure what the outcome will taste like. Especially this time, it was the first time I am trying a drink with rice in it. So the first feeling was surprise which then led me to heartily enjoy the drink.Now I am game for any such drinks.

The simple rice drink also goes to Celebrate Sweets -Sweets with Rice at Priya's, an event by Nivedita

Tomato Two Ways

What do you do when your fridge is full of tomatoes and you are about to go on a holiday?

Well,lets start from the beginning. I love tomatoes and buy them every week from my nearby supermarket.Few weeks ago,I found that the tomatoes there were not so fresh or ripe and you know what,that was the week I had planned to do tomato dishes.Naturally I gave up the idea.Then the next week there was a fresh crop and I purchased double the quantity and this happened twice.Finally,my fridge was full of tomatoes -almost 3kilos! and I was too busy  to make the planned dishes and had also planned a short vacation! But I took time to go through my bookmarked recipes and found a simple and easy solutions- a savoury homemade tomato juice and also sweet Vietnamese Tomato shake.

Homemade Tomato Juice:

This is not just the ordinary juice where you blend tomatoes and serve. This involves cooking tomatoes with onions and spices and celery and as usual blending.I had bookmarked the recipe from Elise's Simply Recipes,but I changed it a bit with the addition of cinnamon and red chillies.

Ingredients:

Dried Red Chillies:1-2 medium size as per taste

Cinnamon:1 big piece or as per taste

Tomatoes: almost 1.5 kilos (5-6 cups coarsely chopped)

Onion: 1 small chopped (around 4-5 tbsp)
Celery: chopped around 1-1.25 cup

Sugar: a pinch
Salt & Pepper :as per taste


Preparation:

Coarsely chop the tomatoes,onions and celery.Heat a heavy bottomed pan.Add dry chillies and cinnamon.As soon as they start roasting,add all other ingredients.Mix well and cook in a medium-low heat for about 25-30 minutes until the mix turns soupy.Cool and then blend removing the cinnamon piece and red chilly. Strain and serve chilled. I did not strain and served at room temp or a bit warm.This gives you about 4 cups .

 I am a sucker for savoury drinks and loved it.Cinnamon and red chilly combine beautifully with tomatoes. Adjust the red chilly with pepper.Apart from this you can also add other spices like and adapt it to your taste.

Vietnamese Tomato Shake (Sinh To Ca Chua):

This is a very simple and sweet tomato juice where tomato is blended with icecubes and sugar.I adapted it from Wandering Chopsticks.I actually got the link to this recipe from SimplyRecipes. I was surprised about the fact that the tomato shake is supposed to be a street food in Vietnam.A simple search also confirmed the fact. The recipe (if I can call it) is toooooo simple.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes: 3-4 medium

Ice Cubes:1/2-1 cup

Sugar: 1-2 tsp or as per taste

Preparation:

Blend all the ingredients together till the ice cubes are crushed.Serve it tangy or sweet adjusting the sugar.

Ripe tomatoes are to be used in this and the juice will be tangy as well as sweet.Add more sugar for sweetness.My family preferred it sweeter with more sugar while I liked mine tangy.

If you are not a tomato lover then you can avoid this.Anyway now,I know what to do when I have extra tomatoes. :). This tomato shake also goes to AWED:Vietnam hosted by Priya, an event by DK. This is first time, I am sending 4 entries to an event and 3 of them are tomato based!