A delicious nutty banana cake, thanks to the addition of Tahini! Like the past three years, I have decided to take part in the Bake-a-thon this year too. However, unlike the previous years, Valli has decided to keep it low key. So there won’t be too many people participating this year, but I am really looking forward to seeing all the bakes that my fellow participants are going to bring along. This year, I have decided not to go with any theme, however while I was placing my posts I decided I would do sweet – savory – chocolate posts, in this particular order. I was supposed to start the posting yesterday, since we schedule the posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday over this whole month, to make it a total of 13 posts. But this week, because of yesterday’s National Day special post, I did a little…
Sago | Emirati Tapioca Pearl Pudding with Saffron
An Emirati style dessert, made with sago or tapioca pearls, and delicately flavored with saffron, rose water and cardamom… It always feels nice to come back to this little space and write about the country that is our bread and butter. Having lived here since I was born, I have seen the country go through a lot of changes, improvements and diversions. This year has been the most challenging thanks to Covid, but it was a worldwide phenomena and many will agree that UAE has managed this epidemic well. In between, the country had its first Mars mission, which was a first of many kinds. The Expo 2020 may be delayed, but it is a hope of having a better event in place. I sincerely hope that the coming years will be a much better and productive year for this country, which is entering its 50th year of…
Easy Spinach Soup | Palak Soup
A simple spinach soup, apt for cold chilly nights… It is the last day of the month and usually I post a recipe related to the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge, if I am participating. I have been a part of this group for a long time and I look forward to the challenges being shared every month, and participate as much as I can, depending on my situation. This month, Prithi suggested to cook with winter vegetables and my partner is Jayasree. I have been reading her blog for some time for challenges and otherwise and love the collection of simple vegetarian recipes she shares. She gave me the secret ingredients of milk and cumin. Initially I was a little hesitant, because this combination is quite odd, but I decided to take it as a challenge and use it. I always pick up spinach and try to…
Be My Guest – Nasi Goreng
I don’t know if it is being noticed, but nowadays blogs are on a downward trend. Many aspiring foodies like the platform of Instagram, since it is the most cost effective way of expressing love for cooking and clicking available at the moment. Having a blog can be an expensive proposition, especially when you are not going to earn anything off it. But keeping them on a little space on the world wide web definitely does have a nice feeling to it. 🙂 The reason why I started off with the introduction is mainly because I found our guest for the day through Instagram. Initially, I thought she was only on Instagram, when I figured out that she did have a little blog of her own! Of course, that made me feel that she is different from the recent pack. 🙂 Let me welcome Hasna, who blogs on a…
Bhindi Sabzi | Easy Lady’s Finger Curry {With Okra Zero}
A super easy Bhindi Sabzi, using frozen okra zero, making it a hassle-free dinner or lunch side… When I have no clue what to write, I think the easiest is the weather. 😉 Yesterday, we had a beautiful morning. Lots of fluffy, dark clouds, making the sun play peekaboo, and nice chill breeze… I just wasn’t feeling like coming to work after that drive. There was a little drizzle which was only for dirtying the car and nothing else. Hehe… In the evening too, the sky was pretty dramatic. Sometimes I do feel that winter is coming in a tad lazier this time. It is taking its own time. Even though the temperatures are down, most of the time, the sky is extremely clear and afternoons are warm. Usually, as we approach the National Day holidays, it does get cooler. Just hoping for the best… 🙂 At…
Dejaaj Mandi | Yemeni Chicken and Rice Mandi
Yemeni style Mandi – an all-time favorite rice dish made with grilled chicken, and simple flavored rice… Aren’t there times when we feel scared to be excited about the days to come? Next week, we have a long holiday, thanks to the National Day holidays. After that, my sister and family will be with us for a couple of days enroute their journey back home. I feel I should also be going home just to catch a glimpse of my family. But thinking about the seven-day quarantine requirement, my mind tells me otherwise. What is the point in going home when you can’t even be in the midst of them and have to be locked up in a room all by yourself? Anyway, I am just trying to breathe and take days as it comes. Having said about breathing, the climate is beautiful these days, with a nip…
Chocolate Custard
A traditional and luscious chocolate custard, made with eggs, chilled to perfection… I think a 100 times before doing anything for myself. I don’t understand why that happens. When it is buying or doing something for HD or the girls, usually there is never any doubt but when it comes to doing something for myself, I have a hundred questions running through my head. One of them is, “do I really deserve it?” I always wonder why we have this predisposition that it is not OK to give yourself that one time of pampering. When I thought it was only myself, I understand that many women are automatically tuned to this thought process, unless they have grown in a different environment. Having said that, once when I was getting a facial done, the Pakistani beautician commented, “Aap South Indians sirf eyebrows karthe hai, aur kuch hi nahi karthe.”…
No Bake Lotus Cheesecake Shots with Butterscotch Popcorn
I think I should apologize if I managed to raise your expectations high by posting the Kifaya Pudding before this very humble dessert, that I am going to share for the Blogging Marathon #118 theme of “Single Serving Desserts”. I have already mentioned before that my family loves cheesecakes. At the same time, they love to munch on a lot of popcorn too. This was my simple attempt to club the two loves together in one tiny sized dessert… hehe… UAE has now become home to a lot of in-grown cafes that serve the most hideous milkshakes that you can ever have. The “freak” shakes, as they call it, comes in huge servings and even has toppings that can even include a whole doughnut. I remember sometime back I wanted to try one and ended up ordering a Lotus milkshake from an outlet, when the girls and I…
Kifaya Pudding | Pistachio Layered Pudding
A decadent layered pudding with pistachio cream, mangoes and strawberries, complete with a biscuit base… Kifaya is a name that was introduced by a local bakery chain called Bakemart. I must say that their cakes are amazing. When they had just opened, I bought a mango mousse cake, which disappeared in a blink of an eye. On a different occassion, I had bought their chocolate cake and it had the same fate. Hehe… It was after ages, I went to their cafe which is a ten minute drive from our home for a blogger meetup early this year. I had met some amazing ladies and we had some major plans for more meetups. One more did happen which I wasn’t able to attend, but then Covid happened and all plans went down the drain. One of the cakes we had ordered that day was the Kifaya. They mention…
Varutha Kozhi Masala | Fried Chicken Curry
A south Kerala style chicken curry, with a delicious thick sauce with tamarind and fried chicken… Last year, when we went on vacation and I got my TMJ tested, the doctor told me that I will have to keep coming every three months to get it checked. At that time, like any other nasty mind would do, I was worried about the costs that would be involved in the travel. I traveled end September over a weekend and then around the third week of December for four days. I must say that I totally enjoyed the change in scene, the time alone, nothing to take care of and all the love. I was set to travel in March when even though flights were on, Covid restrictions were on and then everything came to a standstill. After that I have been consulting a doctor here as per the India…
Caramel Tea | Restaurant Style Milk Tea
A restaurant style milk tea, sweetened with caramel… Chai is an emotion. I have never been an ardent chai drinker. I would have tea once in a while and enjoy it to the core. But of late, maybe because while I was trying to lose weight, I had been off chai for almost six months. Hmm yes, just green tea-black tea-black coffee… If you think it was a punishment, it was, but it helped me realize the value of good chai. Hehe… Nowadays, I have just one chai, but I make it my way, sit down on my favorite Ikea arm chair with a cushion on my lap, and slowly sip it in, relieving every moment of it. When the chai hits the end, I feel sad that is over. I guess that feeling only real chai lovers can related to. 😉 I have already shared my everyday…
Pooram Varuthathu | Poora Podi | Avalose Podi ~ Malabar Roasted Rice Flour Snack
A rustic Malabar tea-time snack, made of roasted rice flour, had on its own or along with it’s favorite friends, a ripe banana or a boiled ripe plantain… When we come back from home, something that we bring without fail is a minimum of two big packs of “pooram varuthath”- also called “poora podi” or “avalose podi”, though the latter is more of a South Keralite name. I haven’t seen this being eaten in HD’s side, so I guess it is more prevalent in the Malappuram side, thanks to its proximity to Thrissur. I store one packet in a container outside and another one in the fridge. It makes a very quick fix breakfast or chai time snack, either on its own along with a cup of sulaimani or with a banana mashed into it. B and Azza loves it a lot, but they have their moods to…
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