Time for the Muslim Food Blogger Challenge post! After a couple of dull months as far as participation was concerned, I thought it best to keep the theme simple this month. It is “Cooking with an Ingredient – Cucumber”. Cucumber is something that everybody likes to eat. The beauty of this humble vegetable is that it doesn’t need anything to go with it, and makes a healthy filling snack whenever hunger pangs decide to hit you. I have cucumbers in my fridge all the time. My girls eat at least one every day, so I have to make sure I stock up. Did you know that cucumber was one of the favorite foods of our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)? He used to eat it along with dates. During Ramadan, my Iftar used to be a salad of lettuce and cucumbers, along with the mandatory dates. I tried the combination and…
Andhra Punugulu | Idli Batter Bonda
There are certain things in life that make you happy. They may necessarily not be something that makes you spend millions. Just the simple things in life… I haven’t shared any slides on this blog for so long. I thought I have to save this one up, since it has a list that really excites me, though for sure, more can go into this list… There are times when I end up with extra idli batter, that the kids don’t want it to be made into more idlis or loosened up for making dosas. That is when I discovered this fantastic street snack, so famous in our neighboring Andhra Pradesh, called “Punugulu”. Cute name, right? 🙂 Punugulus are basically made of freshly prepared or fermented rice batter, with some spices and extra ingredients added and then deep fried into fluffy and crispy fritters. Instead of…
Shivid Polow | Persian Dill Rice
I somehow can’t explain the feeling as of now. Ramadan is reaching its end. Saying this itself makes me sad. We start off with so much excitement and then once it reaches the last days, a sense of dejavu always comes by. At the same time, everybody looks forward to the days of Eid – the days of celebration for those who did their duties during the month of Ramadan. The day of Eid-ul-Fitr is a literal stock taking of our own soul and heart during the last 29 to 30 days for strict fasting for the Almighty. It is a chance for us to mend our ways and get closer to what is the ultimate truth. And yes, a reminder to pay the Zakatul Fitr as well – first and foremost to myself… The advancement of social media has actually sucked us up so much into worldly…
Bread Dahi Vada
Can you believe that half the Ramadan has just flown by? I am seriously in a shock. This year has been really hectic for me. Even though there is no change in my schedule from how it has been for the past few Ramadans, it’s been very tough to manage. My cooking doesn’t get done in time. I haven’t been making any snacks for the folks, especially with both my kids fasting. The younger one has taken to fasting very seriously and Alhamdulillah, she has managed to take all her fasts. She is 7 and everybody who is hearing about it is shell-shocked. I don’t discourage my kids or worry that it will tire them. In fact, kids tend to be more energetic in these cases because they are excited about the whole prospect of going hungry for a long time and not having to eat! 😀 I feel…
Mughlai Dal Kabila | Urad Dal Tadka
After the Muringakaya Parippu Curry, here’s the second recipe under “Dazzling Dals” for the Blogging Marathon #88. I don’t have a single recipe on the blog which features urad dal as its main ingredient, so I am glad finally it is being featured! For us, urad dal is for idli batters. Period… I never knew it was used in curries till I was wondering what to have for lunch one day in the office, and our Pakistani office boy mentioned, “Aapi, mash ki daal order karoo?” (Can I order “Mash Ki Dal”?) I had no clue what it was, but since it was “daal”, I told him OK. When he got it with a roti, I was shocked to find urad dal. Mash Ki Dal is what it is called in Urdu. I was like, “Esse curry bhi banaathe hai?” (Oh, we make curry of this?), he gave…
Paneer Butter Masala
This post is long overdue. Let me tell you why… I rarely receive requests for recipes. Many bloggers write on their blog that they try recipes due to requests received, but somehow, I have never received requests as such. I always receive mails and messages about the recipes that are already on the blog or what they have felt after reading what I have penned down in my moods, but never a request for a recipe. Believe me, I have no complaints about that too…. 😀 But, I have a very faithful reader. One day, I got an email from her, saying how much she loves my blog and how, as a newly married staying with her husband, with no relatives in Bangalore, has made her browse through my blog, search recipes and try them. Each time she tried them, they turned out amazing – Alhamdulillah! Slowly that…
Bagara Baingan ~ Hyderabad style Eggplants in Peanut-Coconut Sauce
I guess we all would love to travel some or the other time. I would love to travel, however having a spouse who is not very keen to go around and prefers to be stuck more with his work doesn’t make it a possibility. In turn, B keeps travelling on and off. After an expensive trip to UK last year, he took a break for six months to recoup and then travelled to Hong Kong and Tunisia this year already. My fridge is slowly filling up with his magnets. 😀 My girls keep cribbing that we go nowhere. I just tell them to be patient and InShaAllah, we will go someday. Travelling with a family isn’t cheap though, but with loads of options now, I guess we all must plan in at-least one trip a year, even if it maybe by skipping the trip back home. After having talked…
Pudina Matar Pulao | Mint Peas Pilaf
At times, I feel like I want to sit and type something on the blog, like I used to do before. My thoughts used to flow onto the screen and it used to relieve me so much. My heart used to feel light. But now, it feels stuck. Stuck of what, I really don’t know. Actually, my days are totally packed. From the time I wake up to the time I sleep, every minute is packed with activity that I don’t have time to think too much. I really don’t know if it’s a good sign. While I lie to sleep, I always thing to myself whether I took the time to breathe and enjoy the process, whether I cooked with pleasure… It feels like I am just going with the flow. One way, it is good that I have no time to attract any negativity towards me, but…
Instant Sambar
I really don’t understand why weekends wear skate boards. Or maybe something faster than that! 😕 They just come and go, with things done half and Saturday nights is for yearning and wishing I had more time. If anybody asks me what did I do over the weekend, I did nothing much but I still did something. Some shopping, sat simply at home working on the old posts on the blog, and then visited a friend of mine – I guess that does sound like a decently packed weekend! I guess I need to learn how to space out my time so that I don’t feel drained… hmm… Coming to today’s recipe… I had already mentioned how crazy my girls are for idlis. Leftover batter is usually loosened out and converted to dosas. Most of the time, my girls need it only with their favorite coconut chutney, but…
Daqoos ~ Garlic Tomato Sauce
I don’t know what to name the struggle I am going through. The first few posts of the month came through rather easily but at the moment I am fighting a demon inside me that is growing very rapidly despite my fight. At times, I really feel I am ready to give up on the blog but then I think to myself that it was my solace during my tough times, how could I give it up when I don’t feel like it. A complicated question to the confused soul… hehe… I guess I will keep it at that for now… I had promised to post this recipe for Daqoos when I posted it along side Fami’s Bedouin Rice. I guess it’s time has just come now, hehe… Daqoos is basically a cooked and garlic flavored tomato sauce, which is served along side meat and rice in almost…
Scandinavian Chilled Cucumber Soup
I somehow like taking part in the Blogging Marathon, that is spearheaded by Valli. It seriously keeps my creative juices flowing. Otherwise, with the way my life is, I would happily be depending on my drafts and go on rather than creating something new! 😉 This month, it’s the version 86 and for this week, I chose “Scandinavian Cuisine”. Scandinavia is a region in Norther Europe and consists of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Their food is said to be heavy on meat and fish, potatoes, dill, parsley, cucumbers and apples! I did quite a lot of search and as usual, finalized on three recipes, that I was sure my family would eat and enjoy. The first one had to be this cool and super easy Scandinavian chilled cucumber soup. What is the specialty? No cook!!! Yes, you absolutely need no gas, no stove, no saucepan. Simply dump in…
Tamatar Moonge Ki Phalli Ka Salan ~ Tomato Drumstick Stir Fry
By now, you may know I am a very impulsive cookbook buyer. Anything that catches my attention makes its way to my book collection. Most of the time I buy them through online sources, so usually it’s the reviews that get me through to the books. I must say that it has landed me into trouble by getting my hands onto really useless cookbooks. That’s a totally different matter… “The Jewels of Nizams” was one of my online purchases last year. I loved the way the book looked from the out, and then the phrase, “Recipes from the Khansamas of Hydrebad” really pushed me to get it through. The book is authored by Geeta Devi, whose other popular book is “Dastarkhan-e-Mughlai: 101 Easy to Cook Hyderabadi Recipes“. The book is done by Roopa Publications and the first edition released in 2013. In the introduction, the author does say…
Beetroot Pachadi
My kids love beetroot. So usually it’s not a fuss making them eat it. They love the upperi and Azza always asks for “red pooris” in case she is in a mood for some. 😀 I love using beetroots in bakes – it makes cakes amazingly moist, like this chocolate cake or these brownies. Anybody who has eating Keralite food would always think of a sadya – that meal on a long banana leaf, with rice and then so many curries. My colleague P once indicated a very funny incident when she was invited by a fellow classmate for a sadya. As they were seated in front of the leaf, she cringed seeing the quantity of each dish they were dropping off at the leaf – it’s never a huge quantity, mostly it’s a spoonful or slightly more. She didn’t notice the amount of dishes that were there….
Aloo Poha | Batata Poha ~ Beaten Rice Flakes with Potatoes
I am feeling sad. Winter seems to be going. We had a warm weekend and being in the kitchen wasn’t really comfortable. 🙁 We have had only one big rain this whole season and that is disheartening enough. Let’s hope there will be some rains before the summers officially start. Otherwise, the weekend was good. We dropped in to see HD’s local friend’s new born at the hospital. Their hospitality is amazing – they broke my diet royally by offering me too many sweets and also sending us off with a humongous box of chocolate that I have hidden in the fridge so that the girls don’t binge eat! Yesterday, we did a simple mall trot along with some grocery and then at night, I had to struggle to finish off my tasks for the day – always happens! My idea of eating poha – called aval in…
Kayi Curry ~ Malabar Sweet Plaintain Curry
In Malabar, we cook a lot with plantains, aka kaaya, kaayi, nenthrapazham… it is known by various names. There are so many ways we recycle our ripe plantains – it becomes nirachathu, a part of paal vazhakka, a combination with kooka or semiya, tossed up with eggs or with aval or just with coconut, as a part of puttu or becoming pradhaman, and how can we forget the favorite way of many Keralites – pazhampori and if it’s for the Malabar, then it’s unnakkaaya! I guess I have noted down all the ways that I have tried them into my cooking, even though there are many more ways, which InShaAllah, I will . Every Keralite will stock up their homes with ripe plantains, mainly because they are a very handy breakfast when you don’t want to cook anything and gets transformed into a snack, for unexpected guests! Such a versatile…