QUICK MANGO DESSERT

Mangoes are called the king of all fruits. Back in India, this time of the year people get into "mango mania".

With tons of variety mango becomes staple in every household.

Since I have been here, I always miss the sweet mangoes that I had in India. After there was news that they are going to export mangoes from India to here, we were elated. But still haven't seen anything remarkable in San Diego. So we have to do with what is available in the local markets hoping they satisfy our taste buds.

This recipe was actually a result of the mangoes failing to satisfy our taste buds. My husband refused to have them and there was no way I would let them go. So I checked in the freezer section and found vanilla ice cream. that was it. a desert ready in no time.

With so many fruit based events going around, I was relived that I managed to come up with something right on time. I am sending this to Mythreyee of Pajaaka creations for her Sweet series, cool desserts event.

this recipe also goes to Aartee who is hosting the Summer Splash event.

You will need

• mango pulp- 2 cups
• vanilla ice cream- 2 cups, 2 tbsp for the topping
• milk- around 1/2 cup- 1 cup
• sugar- to taste
• blanched almonds- 1/2 cup

You have to

1. in a blender, blend together the mango pulp, sugar vanilla ice cream along with the milk.
2. check for the sweetnees.
3. pour out into glasses. add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. sprinkle some sliced almonds.
4. chill in refrigerator.
5. and done. your mango dessert is all set.
6. isn't that super cool????

enjoy.

SWEET AND SOUR WATER MELON JUICE

Each time I cut through a watermelon, the anticipation kills me. will it be nice and red? will it have lots of seeds? will it be sweet? Most of the time, I get good results.

I feel there is no other fruit in summer that actually can quench your thirst other than watermelon. with ninety eight percent water, why do we need artificial flavoured waters when we have one that is so abundantly available in summers.

have it all by itself with a little rock salt sprinkled on it, make a juice out of it, make a salad. make Popsicles out of it for kids. the options are endless.

I made this watermelon juice the other day. Gave it an Indian twist. With jaljeera powder and lime juice. trust me it was cooling in the afternoon and the mint simply made it refreshing. the best part is you can make it way in advance and chill it.

I am sending this in for the WFY-Juices and Ice Cream event hosted by easy craft of simple Indian food.

You will need

• watermelon- 1 small
• lemon juice- 1/2 cup
• sugar- to taste.
• mint leaves- 4-5
• rock salt or kala namak- 1 tsp
• jaljeera powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)
• roasted cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
• water- approximately a glass

You have to

1. in a blender, first blend the watermelon .
2. strain it through a strainer. add little water if required.
3. now add all the ingredients along with the strained watermelon juice to the blender and pulse it for a few seconds.
4. check for the taste. you should be able to taste the sweet and the sour taste. if not, adjust the taste by adding the required ingredients.
5. pour it out in glasses or into a jug. chill it.
6. serve chilled on a hot afternoon.

enjoy

A NEW MENU, AND THE MAGIC LAMP

wowow, its already Thursday, well actually its fri (considering the fact that its one at night). Was not getting sleep, so I thought that let me update my blog with a few notes.
first things first, my menu for the week is still pending so here is what I made for my last tiffins.

MON: pao bahji

TUE: ragda pattise

WED: bhindi masala with moong masoor ki dal

THU: kala chana with veg masala pulao

FRI: palak aloo with kheera raita

Now on a more playfull note.......Usha of veg inspiration tagged me. the rules are

"At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 or 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog".Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers."-

1.What was I doing ten years ago?

joined college to pursue my career in food and nutrition.

2. Five things on Today's "To do" list

right now,
sleep
sleep
sleep
sleep
sleep

3.I am addicted to

am i addicted to something.....nope. but i do enjoy walking, blogging, and googling.

4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire

travel a lot. and may be open up a restaurant with a unique theme.

5. Places i have lived

kolkatta, new delhi, san diego

I was even sent the Magic lamp of luck by Usha.




The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere.

We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all!* Start Copy Here*1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-Happy Life 108-My Discoveries 109-Strangely Out Of Place 110-Rooms of My Heart 111-The Paper Vision 112-Luxurious Retreats 113-Reef 114-Weekend Snapshot 115-Blessie's Finds 116-Confessions of An Army Wife 117-My Pooch Life 118-Five Martini Lunch 119-TIPS FROM THE TRAILER 120-PoeARTica 121-STAY AT HOME MOM 122-Rantings of a Woman 123-Sjtl's Weblog 124-Turn-u-Off 125-My World in My Own Word 126-Shawie 127-A New Saga 128-Janeth Vicy's Life Journey 129-Simple Reveries 130-Berry Blog 131-Touts4u 132-My So Called Life 133-La Vida es Hermosa 134-Speedcat Hollydale Page 135-mangosteenskin 136-Choc Mint Girl 137-Of Colors And Styles 138-Pinaymama's Diary 139-My Life's Rollercoaster Ride 140-My Life...My Journey! 141-Bonoriau 142-Jenny and Belle 143-Read My Mind 144-A Sweet Taste Of Life 145-Shopping Blog 146-Precious Moments 147-Feydakin 148-Hot Shit Form Here 149-A Mother's Simple Thoughts 150-Daily Ramblings Rendezvous 151-Miss Moneypenny's Comical Posts Undercover 152-My Precious Niche 153-FunFierceFabulous 154-Colorful World of Shiela 155-Me,myself+2 156-Ozzy's Mom 157-Let's talk about MJ 158-Great people make us feel we can become great 159-A Family Man 160-Just the way it is... 161-In Depth 162-Attitude, the ULTIMATE POWER 163-Are You Grateful? 164-Complain Complain Complain 165-My Little Black Pot 166-Notes By Marvic 167-Aku Pelukis 168-Jiwasintetik 169-Foster Me Up 170-Life: Thoughts & Inspirations 171-The Callalily Space 172-Mommyhood and Me 173-Bits and Pieces 174-La Place de Cherie 175-Through The Rain 176-Blogfixes 177-New England Lighthouse Treasures 178-Chez Francine 179-Tsinay 180-Hailey's Domain 181-Hailey's Beats and Bits 182-My So-Called Life 183-Kai Kriye 184-Easycrafts 185- My creations 186- My Kraft 187- Cooking Station 188- Creative saga 189- Recipe Center 190 - Veg Inspirations 191-Foodie by nature. 192-you


now its my turn to pass of the good luck and tag a few of my blog friends.

I am tagging notyet100, divya, uma, sowmay and shweta and passing on the magic lamp to them.


enjoy.

STUFFED BUNS

Even though its a Tuesday and I should be posting my week's menu, I feel its much more exciting to post my "bun-ny" experience..

I wanted to post this recipe earlier but somehow that was not happening, so I thought why not postpone the menu for a day.

OK so talking about my bun-ny experience, well I did search for a lot of burger bun recipes and came across tons of them. One in particular looked simple, and I did not have to go through the trouble of making any conversions or changes in ingredient quantities. With just the addition of an egg, I went on to follow the recipe (that I found online) and voila........there they were fluffy, round and soft burger buns.

Now comes the question of, why stuffed? Well I wanted to send these in for Breadbaking day event hosted by Aparna of My diverse kitchen. I thought why not try stuffed buns instead of regular buns. Back in college in Kolkatta, there was this bread shop called hot breads, they served delicious stuffed masala buns, so that was it, I got into my apron and kneaded up some dough.

Here is the recipe

You will need

for the bun

• warm water- 1 cup
• sugar- 1 tsp
• dry yeast- 1 tbsp
• warm milk- 3/4th cup
• butter- 1/4th cup
• salt- 1,1/2 tsp
• flour- 3 1/2 cups, (1 cup additional for the rolling out process).
• egg- 1 whole
• egg white- 1
• red chilli flakes- 1/2 tsp
• sesame seeds- 1 tbsp
• olive oil- a little

for the filling

• ricotta cheese- 1/2 cup
• thawed and boiled spinach- 1 cup
• crushed garlic- 1-2 pods
• salt and pepper to taste.

You have to

for the filling

1. In a bowl,mix the ricotta cheese along with the spinach. add the crushed garlic along with the seasoning. You can add other seasonings too.
2. combine everything together, check for salt. keep it aside.

for the buns

1. proof the yeast in 1 cup of water with sugar. let it foam for around 10 mins.
2. knead together the flour, butter, red chili flakes milk and salt and egg.
3. add the foamed yeast to the flour mixture and begin to knead.
4. here the dough gets sticky.
5. let it stand for around 10 more mins.
6. knead the dough. here you might need some dry flour,use it. knead the dough till smooth and elastic.
7. grease a big bowl, and place dough in it, covered.
8. leave it to rise for at least an hour to hour an a half.
9. punch the dough down.
10. take it out on a floured surface.
11. knead the dough. shape them into balls.
12. to add filling, roll some dough into a ball, make a depression in the center of the ball, and add the filling in the middle. pinch the dough back to seal it.
13. roll again into a round.
14. cover and let it stand for another 30- 40 mins.
15. preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
16. brush with an egg wash (egg white and water mixture). sprinkle sesame seeds.
17. bake for 20 mins, or till nice and brown.

some points to note.

1. while taking the dough out of the bowl onto the floured board, make sure you dip your fingers in oil. this way the dough won't stick.
2. while shaping the dough, it is important to keep adding some dry flour, so that shaping becomes easier.
3. keeping the dough soft and sticky will help in producing soft buns.

enjoy

PEARS,APPLE AND SPINACH SALAD WITH BALSAMIC VINEGRETTE DRESSING

Last night was again a salad night. My husband got a huge bag of baby spinach from Costco. I really don't know when the entire packet is going to get over, but for starters I made this salad. Used up some pears and an apple.
Still mastering the art of getting the right mix of vinegar, olive oil and seasonings.

With the addition of almonds, raisins and sliced apricots it actually turned out to be a nice bowl of a healthy, refreshing, wholesome salad. So I thought this recipe would fit right in for the Healthy Cooking hosted by Mansi of Fun and food.

Here goes the recipe

You would need

• A bowl of baby spinach
• 1-pears
• 1-granny smith apple
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/4th cup raisins
• 3-4 dry apricots
• 1/2 cup blue cheese

for the dressing

• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

You have to

1. mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. and refrigerate
2. wash and dry the spinach
3. dice the pears and the apple, slice the apricots
4. toss everything with the dressing. top with crumbles blue cheese and serve.

enjoy

YOUR RECIPE ROCKS- MINESTRONE SOUP

Since nearly four days now, I have been making "light dinners". last night I thought of making minestrone soup.

I made Sia's version of the soup with just a few changes. you can get her recipe at http://www.monsoonspice.com/2008/04/spring-cleaning-minestrone-soup.html.
we loved it

This is my entry to the Your Recipe Rocks (YRR),event, hosted by Madhuram of eggless cooking.

here is the recipe

You will need

• small Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 large Carrot, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 1 Green Pepper, chopped into bite sized cubes
• 1 Red Pepper, chopped into bite sized cubes
• 1 cup Spinach, fresh/frozen
• 1 cup Pasta (I used frozen, stuffed tortellini pasta, boiled according to package instructions)
• 1cup baked beans
• ½ cup Tomato Puree
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
• 1 tsp basil and oregano
• 5-6 cups Vegetable Stock
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

You have to

1. heat oil in a pan. saute onions and garlic.
2. add all the chilly flakes, oregano and basil.
3. add the chopped tomatoes, and saute till pulpy.
4. add the tomato puree.
5. add the chopped carrot, bell peppers, and spinach. saute
6. add the vegetable stock or water, along with the boiled pasta.
7. add salt and pepper.bring to a full boil. check for seasoning.
8. serve hot.

enjoy

SPROUT SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE AND PEACH HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

When I worked as a nutritional food consultant back in India, I always told my clients to keep dinners light, and have soups, salads and veggies. I try to keep up to that myself too and off late my husband decided to cut down on chapatis at night as well.

So now I have to think of different, tasty, vegetarian salad recipes, and oh ya not forgetting to add some protein too in the salad. I made this last night it tasted really nice. Looks like I will be making a lot of salads, lets see for how long. Will keep posting all that I try out.




You will need

alfalfa sprouts- 1 cup
cucumbers (diced)- 1 cup
tomato (diced)- 1/2 cup
spring onions (diced)- 1/2 cup
grapes- 5-6
lettuce (chopped)- 4-5 leaves
roasted walnuts- 1/2 cup
feta cheese

for the dressing

peaches (chopped)-1
store bought honey mustard salad dressing- 1 tbsp
red wine vinegar- 1 tbsp
olive oil- 1 tbsp
salt and pepper- to taste
sugar- 1/2 tsp


You have to

1. in a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the dressing along with the peaches. cover and refrigerate.
2. mix the lettuce, chopped cucumber, tomato, spring onions, lettuce and grapes.
3. to serve, add the dressing to the chopped salad.
4. take a plate, place the alfalfa sprouts. top with the salad, sprinkle the walnuts and then the feta cheese.

enjoy
I loved the mixed flavours of the sweet peaches and the vinegar, along with the texture of the crunchy walnuts and sprouts.

NEW MENU

There are days when I simply feel lazy to get up and cook. yesterday was just one of those days. But I still had to cook, or else my husbands friends who come to take their weekly tiffins would have had to make different arrangements.

So I ended up making pretty simple, no fuss "desi" food. this is what I made

Mon: capsicum aloo payaz masala with lobiya curry (black eye pea curry)

Tue: cabbage fry with gujrati toohar dal

Wed: chana dal with aloo chokha

Thu: rajhma masala

Fri: peas onion masala rice with boondi raita.

enjoy

finally I decided whom I should pass on the yummy blog award, that was passed on to me by Uma.

and the award goes to

Sri from cooking 4 all seasons.

Sunita from sunita's world

Sia from monsoon spice.

Lisa from lisa's vegetarian kitchen

enjoy

more later.

Its fresh, its warm, its home made wheat bread......

I simply love the warm aroma of freshly baked bread. I remember as kids, back in Kolkatta (India) every morning as we walked to school, a few of the bakeries there would be baking fresh bread. And on Sundays, dad use to get fresh bread from the bakeries, still warm. We watched as mom spread butter on it, and it slowly melted right into the bread. simply delicious.
I guess my taste for bread developed right there. I love bread, all types. So when it came to my internship in my college, (I had specialised in food and nutrition), I opted for an internship in the bakery of a five star hotel. Though one month was not enough, however I managed to pick up as much as I could.
It was only yesterday, after a long time I thought of finding out, whether I still remember any of it. So I decided to bake some fresh bread at home.

Looked around for a few recipes, and found two. Made a few changes and baked this warm, whole wheat sesame bread. here is the recipe

You will need

1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1, 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4Th cup butter, melted
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds




You have to:

1. Mix the flours and the salt together. keep aside.
2. in a bowl, take the warm milk, add sugar, yeast and around 1/2 cup of the flour. keep aside for 20 mins. till the mixture ferments and rises up.
3. now make a hole in the center of the rest of the flour. add the melted butter.
4. slowly add the fermented mixture little by little. mixing it with the rest of the flour.
5. knead into a soft dough.
6. here the dough can get sticky. take little olive oil in your hands and knead the dough. make sure the dough is soft and not very dry.
7. cover and keep in a warm place for at least 1- 1,1/2 hours.
8. take little olive oil in your hands, and punch the dough down. take it out on a floured surface.
9. knead the dough, pressing it with your palms. stretch it, and fold it. knead till smooth. You will need to keep adding flour to the surface for kneading.
10. grease a loaf pan. shape the dough into a loaf.
11. place it in the loaf pan, and leave to proof. this will take another half an hour.
12. brush the top with little milk. sprinkle the sesame seeds.
13. the loaf should be double in size. bake in a preheated oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes or till golden brown.
14. cool on wire rack. slice.

It tasted really good toasted. I have wrapped it in foil and kept it. Lets see its shelf life.

enjoy.

I AM BACK

I did the vanishing act yet again..........this time it was our trip to Yellowstone national park.
we went for the 4Th July weekend. It was unbelievably pretty. its Americas first national park, established in 1872!!!!!!!. Its that old.
picturesque landscapes, wildlife, hot springs, geysers..........it was all just so wonderful. the entire park actually covers three states, its that huge. we were there just for three days, but people usually spent four days to a week to actually absorb all that serenity.

I wish I could put up some pictures, but thanks to our early morning flight, in all the rush we forget our camera.!!!!!!!!!!!!!. simply foolish. we then had to get the disposal cameras, and make do with pictures taken on our cell phones.


got back Monday night, and had tiffins to make on Tuesday. hence the delay in posting my menu, and not being up to date with my blog.
As I sign in to check all the latest happenings and posts in the blogger world, I am pleasantly surprised.

Thanks Uma for making such a thoughtful and warm gesture, by passing on the friendship award. its really sweet of you.

thanks a lot Usha for passing on the blogging with a purpose award. It feels really nice. thank you once again.

Thanks guys once again.

oh ya, and as per the routine, here is what I made for my tiffins yesterday.

MON: aloo dum with garlic naan.

TUE: panchkuti dal with mixed vegetable.

WED: palak makkai with kheera raita

THU: macaroni vegetable with garlic bread

Fri: gobi mutter korma with sukhi moong dal.
enjoy.

SUMMER BERRY PARFAIT

Its actually difficult to keep a track of all the events going around the blog world. I just missed the deadline for one. Probably we need to think of an innovative way to get reminders, you know how we get email reminders for our due dates for credit card payments.....(please let me know if something like this already exists!!!).


well, that was just a random thought. lets get back to what I do best and that is talk food. The other day I went to our local farmers market (its called Henry's) and went berserk over berries. picked up black berries, strawberries raspberries. they were all looking so good and fresh.

its only when I got back home that I realised that I needed to use them fast, or they were all going to get spoilt. thanks to the guests I had over the weekend, I got a chance to prepare something, well, berrilicious (is that a word!!!! or I just made it up!!!!!)



Sometime back I had purchased these beautiful, Irish coffee mugs from bed bath and I so wanted to use them, so I thought what better time. I knew I had to use the berries, and the cup.....hahaha!!!!! So I thought of making a parfait. cool, refreshing and summery.

I would like to send this to the WBB-Summer Feast, hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice.

Here is the recipe

You will need

• custard powder (I used brown and polson)- 1/2 cup
• milk- 1 cup
• light cream cheese- 1/2 cup
• sugar- to taste
• mixed berries (chopped)- 1- 2 cups
• granola cereal- 1-2 cup.
• nuts (almonds, walnuts)- 1/2 cup

You have to

1. bring the cream cheese to room temperature.
2. warm the milk. I did this in the microwave.
3. in a small bowl, take little warm milk and dissolve the custard. mix this to the rest of the milk.
4. bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. add sugar. the custard should be thick. add some more custard powder, if its not thick. cool completely.
5. add the cream cheese to the custard mixture and beat well.
6. take a tall glass. start with the granola layer.
7. then add the berries. top it with the custard mixture.
8. add the nuts, and repeat the layers.
9. repeat till you reach the top of the glass.
10. chill.

serve it up. a great brunch recipe, you got your cereal, your fruits and your dairy......enjoy.

MENU TIME

The day went by so soon, that I did not even realise that I have not updated my blog with my new set of menu.
keeping it short and sweet here is the menu.

Mon: chana bhathura

Tue: muth and gujarati kadi

Wed: undhiyu with meethi thepla

Thu: aloo mutter masala with boondi raita

Fri: lemon rice with mixed veggies and tomato rasam

enjoy