MASALE BHATH

Cravings that were what my second pregnancy was dotted with!!

I wanted to eat the strangest possible things   “adki” i.e. betel nut powder that my Papa makes (mind you I could barely stand the stuff before and used to wonder how my siblings could stuff themselves with it) to masala bhath I wanted it all.

I still remember stuffing myself with this delicious bhath at a party and then because my friend insisted drinking a lot of buttermilk, just to prevent heartburn as she put it.  Wow that was bliss!!

The effects of these cravings can be seen even now, for my younger one loved this rice preparation while the older one said it was strange, yes strange! Her choice of words left me feeling that I should make this rice more often.

How to Freeze Strawberries

Summer heralds heat, mangoes, watermelon and ice creams and holidays.

I do not know about you but I am busy emptying the freezer to make space there. Space for ice cream and so I do wonder where I should keep all the dry fruits, chocolates etc. The girls are of course are ecstatic most of them are in their tummies especially the chocolates.

There are still lots more on the hit list. First are the frozen strawberries.

Yes in the month of December when we went to Pachgani, Mahableshwar I had brought strawberries which ended up in the freezer.

How? It’s very simple. So simple that I was sure that the method was a mistake and the shopkeeper was “Lambi lambi chod raha hai”!!

But I still brought the strawberries thinking I could always make puree.

Back home I was a curious and I Googled the poor fellow was right with my sincere apologies to him I post the method of freezing strawberries. 

The strawberries have to be just sliced thin.

 Spread on a foil in a single layer and freeze them for about an hour.

 The frozen slices are very easy to handle transfer them to a container or a ziplock bag. Let them reside in your freezer as long as you can hoard them.

It’s now that they are all getting used up after 4 months.

I had all the stages from full strawberries to slices to frozen chips in pictures but I when the computer was reformatted I have lost them all.

Sorry about that I will update the pictures next year.

Chocolate Souffle'

My younger daughter now makes time for her breakfast and it does not roll in her stomach as earlier (I want to roll my eyes here) as she has a soufflé, hot, straight out of the oven.

 I am happy for she has eggs and milk in her tummy.

Till Tuesday she did not know that it is generally eaten with ice cream or whipped cream. Thanks to me she is better educated but now, I feel I do have a battle as I don’t want to feed her ice cream in the morning and she does not like whipped cream.  Why do I insist in making things difficult for myself I don’t know.

Reposting Iced Tea

With the summer heat soaring we are consuming more and more of chilled beverages. Most often Kid no 2 asks me for Iced Tea. I serve the same Lime Tea only to suit her tastes it is called Iced tea.

I avoid the packaged iced tea as always. Why should I pay so much for something that can be made easily at home? Not only do I monitor what goes in the beverage it’s easy on the pocket.  

Ingredients:
1 litre water
2 cups sugar
3 lemons
4-5 springs of Pudina/mint
½ tsp green tea

Method:

1.    In a vessel add the water, sugar, and green tea.

2.    Bring to a boil. Switch off the gas and add the pudina/mint leaves if using.

3.    Let the leaves steep in the water till it cools down.

4.    Strain and add the lime juice.

5.    Adjust the sugar.

6.    Chill. Serve in tall glasses iced.

Here I have made ice cubes using slices of strawberries and grapes in the water. Pretty are they not?
P.S.    

v You can substitute lemon grass leaves, sugar with honey.

v As kid needs a lot of sugar I use sugar syrup as it is easier to mix. You can also add honey.

v Green tea can be substituted with ordinary tea only reduce the leaves, say 1 pinch.

As my brother says”EEnjoy!”

Oats Bisi Baali Huli Anna

Oats the wonder grain is a new addition to our diet. The most easily available (read I have not checked) form being the rolled oats that I try making on a regular basis. The girls refuse to do anything with it claiming all sorts of reasons from downright stinks to tastes yucky. We have heard them all.

So how do I get them in them? Well I sneak them in like today’s Sunday special being Bisi Baali Huli Anna. Their favourite!!

I generally do not make the masala that Amma used to make for making this rice so special.  I promise I will post the authentic recipe soon. In fact I am surprised that I have not posted the recipe as yet.   No wonder so many of you have commented that I have Goan style cooking featured in my space. Maybe because cooking Karnataka style food is comfort cooking.

Tomato Gralic and Onion Chutney with Paneer

I am sorry that I could not post my Blog Hop on 11^th April as I had migraine and could not work. In fact today is the only day that I have done some work, barely managed to cook. Please accept my sincere apologies.

With this as the rules of Blog Hop say I will not be able to participate anymore so this is a bye bye from me. I really enjoyed myself and had a great time. I will definitely join in the next round of Blog Hop.

Coming to Blog Hop recipe Week #16 recipe I was paired with Sona of Spill the Spices. 

Jal Jeera

Imagine this scene it’s Saturday, about 1.35pm and the Sun is very pleased that that finally he has caught you,  when you  have forgotten your cap and sun coat at home in the morning.

He turns his on his devilish smile and grins just at you!!

 To add to it you are sweating (you cannot escape that in Goa). All the way the down from Office to home, a mere 5 kilometers turns in a nightmare, for I am allergic to the sun’s rays.

Usali the Goan Way

I have been living in Goa for many years but still one article that was printed in the Times of India was an eye-opener.

The author of the article was Melinda Pereira Kamat and she wrote about The Perfect Usali, in case you are interested it is featured in the Times of India, Goa edition on Tuesday, July 13, 2010.  I was supposed to scan and post it here but... hope will do so in near future. 

Till I read this article my view about usal or usali was that it is made in Karnataka and Maharashtra/Gujarat and the method that I followed was about similar to what my mother and MIL made. That is it has garlic and onion for Kaku (my MIL) made it that way and it had coriander and coconut ground for Amma. So I had mixed both and made my usal.

Triple Schezwan ~Guest Post

When Nupur asked me to guest post for her I was honoured, pleased & proud that I have finally arrived.

Arrived on the blogging scene!! Yea!!!!

From the time I stated my place as an online  diary for my experiments, where my brother kept on pestering me to post pictures to now that is quite a journey.

From the few tremulous steps where my brother kept on guiding me every step to now (he does check out things for me, answers my queries, why should I search when he can easily answer).I have become more independent I don’t follow his suggestions at all!! Ha-ha!! His ideas are wonderful but I do not have the time to put them in practice immediately will work on them slowly.

Do check out Nupur’s place for my recipe here.

Is that all? No,do check out Nupur’s U K Rasoi where she chronicles her travels as she says “mediocre to food lover”, my current favourites  to name a few are

Scrambled cauliflower stir fry

Paneer masladaar

Brown rice idli

Herb Polenta with chili tomato

Not to say anything about her beautiful pictures.

Thanks Nupur  it was a pleasure.