Banana smoothie

Banana Smoothie

This year the rains have a strange pattern...it comes in fits and starts...it is certainly more scanty than earlier years...not at all like Mumbai monsoon...and since it is not a sustained rainfall there has not been any appreciable cooling down of the temperatures...we have been having more of summer like  rather than monsoon like weather...

Our regular (for the summer ) cooling drink of lassi along with our meals have been carried over to this supposedly rainy season too...and today with the heat still on, thought that instead of our mid morning regular fare of fruits, it would be great to have a smoothie...a cool refreshing healthy and yummy drink.

Smoothies are something we have had quite regularly in the recent past...earlier whenever we had to make a drink with a fruit it would be more like milkshakes - e.g. banana or mango or chikoo pulsed with milk and sugar...and there you have your typical drink...
Then the concept of smoothie was introduced...though the smoothie could be made with milk as well...the more popular ingredient is yogurt, along with or without milk, & ice.
And due to health conscious folks - sugar free sweetners, or honey etc replaces regular sugar...
I also tend to add some nuts to give it that extra punch....

Many recipes call for crushed ice ....I prefer to use frozen fruit - generally when a banana has ripened and is being ignored by all and sundry - I quickly peel it and put it in a container and freeze it for further use...sometimes it is in a muffin or bread ...and as today in a smoothie...

In my quest for the perfect Nankhatai...Indian Cookie

Nankhatai

Nankhatai is one of the most popular Indian cookie, it is very light, crunchy and sweet of course, as a kid it used to be one of my favourite cookies, another was the coconut cookie, and a cookie similar to the Nankhatai was the very famous Shrewsbury biscuit which we would get when ever any one came from Pune ( which is where they were available at a bakery called Kayani's  ).

So where and why did my quest begin ? Well it all started when I came upon a recipe for Nankhatai....and I was like oh! wow, now I can make my own and that was the start of all my travails ....am wondering whether I should trouble all of you with all my troubles...but what the ????....why not...so here goes...

So continuing with my story.....I came upon this while browsing some other recipes on the net ( this is one of my favourite pasttimes....I know...I know...it seems like I have lots of time on my hands..not quite so...but nyways )....and  decided to try it out.

This recipe had all-purpose flour and desi ghee in it...and of course sugar...sounded yumm...so got out my ingredients, bowls...fired up the oven ...tried to follow the recipe as mentioned, but the end  product looked no where liked the picture in the recipe...tasted good, but was a bit crumbly...

Some more research ...( basically googling )....and got another recipe with butter this time...so tried that ...very different flavour and texture...but felt something was still missing...it was more salty ( mainly cause I used salted butter instead of using the unsalted one and adding salt as per the recipe called for ) and it was a bit dry...

Then lightbulb moment...decided to try with a slight modification ( a combination of first and second ) and voila...a much better version....I felt like shouting "Euraka" and dancing around ( though a more censored version than Archimedes's)....

Beetroot Salad - Beetroot Kosambari

Beetroot Salad

When you read newspapers or magazines re. what to eat, what is good for you, you get so confused ....every day there is a new diet, new idea, a new fad....lots of confusion...should you follow it....or continue with the way things are?

A long time ago...( sounds like the start of a fairy tale, but is not so )...I too had  joined up along with a friend....a lady was conducting some classes - re. nutrition and healthy eating...would rather not mention the actual name of that organisation...do not wish to create any controversy....not sure how I feel about their ideas now....but at the time I was very convinced about their philosophy and thoughts etc...and followed it in totality....
Their concept was that in the morning our systems are busy with the cleansing process and so should be given energy to do their job !?!....and hence we should not eat a heavy breakfast...it should be just fruits...tons of it ( supposed to be energy givers )....
Lunch at around 12...the heaviest meal of the day...should definitely contain sprouts, and salads ( better if raw )...less or none oil in our meals...
Dinner light meal...
Milk to be avoided, yogurt good, nuts yes, along with fruits or salads.

There is a lot more in the same vein and as I mentioned ...that I had been a convert for a while...until regular life intruded and it became quite difficult to continue with that scheme of diet.

But certain points still remain with me...I try to reduce oil in my cooking...have as much as fruits as possible...and add nuts in salads for taste...whether it is fruits ( with walnuts ) or the above beets with peanuts....it adds a crunch to the dish and you do not miss the oil...a simple salt, pepper, lemon and you have an dish out of this world.

Sheera - Rava Halwa

We got good news today in the morning - my nephew ( brother's son ) had got admission in the college of his choice for engineering...and also got the stream he was looking for..electronics.

Nowadays the competition is so stiff with re. to schools, colleges, jobs...etc...regardless of how hard you work - you still have the stress when applying...and along with the kids, so do the parents, aunts ( in my case ), uncles, grandparents ( Mom & Dad )....well you get the picture !!!

So when we were all relieved of our nail-biting ( ?) tension, we decided ( me & Mom ...I was at her place at the time ) to celebrate with something sweet...( this was after our hugs and kisses )....

The first thing I could think of was sheera...actually not true I thought of a lot of other stuff - but either they required a lot of pre planning or preparation...or ingredients that I did not have on hand...so the easiest and quickest sweet that I could immediately whip up was sheera...

This is a dish which we all love, it is made many a time as a prasad when it is a festive occasion...sometimes we make it just to have as dessert after a special occasion meal...and sometimes just because... and sometimes cuz we want to have something sweet to eat...or like today to celebrate ...
We used to have it at times in breakfast instead of powa or dosa or upma - it would make a sweet change :-)
Whatever the reason or occasion - it is a quick and easy recipe and the results are awesome...

Pesarattu Dosa - Green Gram Dosa

Pesarattu
Green gram dosa

A few days back it was raksha bandhan / balev...and I wanted to make some sweet for the occasion - decided to make puran poli / vedmi...though that is not the ideal sweet for decorating the rakhi thali...but it has been some time since we had made it and it is a particular favourite of Mom's ( which is another odd thing...you would have thought that I would have probably made something my brother liked...but he is not that fussy about sweets - so it was ok ...I guess ...I hope...I think I had better ask?!?). Regardless it was a good raksha bandhan.....got calls from my sister-in-laws too wishing me...thank you To & Ru....

So nyways thought I would post that down - but the past few days was too busy, besides which I had not taken any pictures of the process or the end product....and now it is all eaten and done with...so maybe the next time I make it....

I had missed blogging the past week...and so when I made dosa yesterday, immediately got out my camera - took pictures before, after and during...and here I am...pictures and post all set to go...

.....In Ahmedabad.....Poha with Beans

Generally when I think of a new post it is with some recipe in mind - some new dish or an old one with a new twist...but today I just felt like putting down some thoughts ...

Have been here in Ahmedabad for a week now - and boy is it hot....that is the first thought that comes to mind...there have been no rains here at all and it is almost end of July - so everyday all of us look to the hopeful skies, and after seeing the gray clouds hovering above us, we all predict ( like the weatherman ) that today it will rain...and just like the weatherman - the Gods, and heavens, and rains prove us to be wrong....so there we go taking cool showers, sitting under fans or a/c's and eating ice creams - all in a desperate attempt to cool off....

The past week has evoked a mixed bag of emotions...on the one side my mother-in-law ( who we call Ma ) has not been well - but her spirits are so high, she is a very strong person and is bearing up very well ...and does not let us feel down either...it is an education spending time with her...she is still as involved in life ( people, recipes, events ) as ever....
I admire her a lot, she has been a good mentor, advising without preaching or judging...and always letting us be...allowing us to live our own lives, gently guiding us if she felt it was required....I could go on and on....but it suffices to say that I feel she is a great lady...and I am very proud and honored to have her as my mother-in-law....

From thoughts of Ma ....automatically my thoughts move on to one of her passions...cooking....she loves to try out different recipes, any new dish makes her very curious to figure out the ingredients and how it was made....
Under her guidance her cook ( at 3B, as this place is more fondly referred to as ) ....churns out dishes which could be compared favourably with any fancy restuarant chef's...

This week we had a quite a few...some dishes are complex and some simple - but all absolutely delicious ....a couple of days back, we had poha but with a healthy twist...it was made with moong beans and matki (moth ) beans...instead of the usual potato...
I thought I would try it out once I get back to Mumbai...but decided to put down the recipe...( is it cheating a bit to put down something I have not as yet made myself...only observed and eaten?...well...nyways never mind...)

Sweet Appam

When we were kids mom used to make a lot of the typical Karnataka dishes both sweet and savoury...but slowly our cuisine changed incorporating a lot of Mumbai cosmopolitan flavours and tastes, our neighbours were a mixed lot and it was from them that she picked up new dishes, recipes, masalas etc...

Many of the south dishes are time consuming to make, most involve soaking, grinding etc...earlier most of our veg curries included coconut which had to be ground to a paste with other spices ( so the first step is to grate the coconut before even grinding)...and me and my brother and sister were pressed into service ...we had the old stone grinder ...where in we had to sit on the floor and rotate the oval stone in one hand over the base which had a flat portion and centre hollow...not sure I am explaining it properly enough - and do not have a picture of the same...suffice to say that it was not an easy task...but according to Mom it would not taste the same if ground in an electric grinder...
Even our idli and dosa batter were ground the same way...

Later we started using the electric grinder for all our tasks - age and lack of time contributed to the change ..I think....

But as I mentioned all these south delicacies reduced to quite an extent and our general fare was quick and easy meals....

Recently we moved from our apartment ( due to redevelopment of the building complex ) to another part of Mumbai...our new apartment was quite close to a cousin's place - my Dad's nephew V....his wife (A) is a very lovely lady who still makes all the traditional dishes of Karnataka and since we are now close by she drops in at Mom's place often with some dish in tow...
Mom relishes all of them...and it tempted me to try it out too...one of them being the sweet appam.