If you have a microwave in your home, then there is no excuse of missing breakfast, isn’t it? 🙂 When I selected eggs as my “Protein Rich Ingredient” theme in the Blogging Marathon #88 – the other posts being Double Cheese Omelette and Akuri, I really wanted to try the omelette in mug, which has been doing rounds for quite some time. With the microwave oven becoming a part of almost all households, despite what all negative image it may have, we all still use it for something or the other. It makes a lot of cooking quite easy especially when you have some time constraints. I wouldn’t say that this omelette tastes as good as the one you make slowly on a frying pan, but for breakfast on the go, this is such a good option. My only advice if you are trying this is to…
Akuri ~ Parsi Scrambled Eggs
I love umma’s scrambled eggs so much that I have never tried making any other way or even trying to eat it from out. 😀 So when this month’s theme came in for the Blogging Marathon #88 and I decided on choosing egg as my “Protein Rich Ingredient”, my attention went into trying a creamy scrambled eggs, associated with the Parsi community, called “Akuri”. The name of the dish is itself very cute, isn’t it? The difference between the Egg Burji and Akuri lies in it’s basic preparation method and ingredients. The Akuri is quite spicy, with the green chililes and red chilli powder used, so if you can’t take the spice, disregard the green chilli. I actually regretted adding the only one I used. I kept biting into it, and gulping down water to tame my tongue. 😀 The main thing for your Akuri to be…
Double Cheese Omelette with Sauteed Mushrooms
I seriously needed some push and motivation to continue my blogging. Even though you can see posts appearing on my blog, there is a lot of mental struggle behind it happening. When Valli’s post on the Blogging Marathon #88 was up, I decided to let my lack of motivation get a hit and signed up for two weeks. This week, the theme is “Protein Rich Ingredients” and I chose to focus on something that I am having on a daily basis now – eggs. Eggs is one ingredient that wasn’t without a bad name until some time. Eating eggs on a daily basis was taboo, especially considered to be a source of fat and weight gain. When I had my first attempt at losing weight, which happened when Rasha was 2, I was told to eat maximum three eggs a week. When I am repeating my attempt to…
Salmoriglio Sauce
After the Mixed Herb Pesto and the Ragu Sauce, this is the third Italian Sauce for the Blogging Marathon #86. I was actually going to make the well known tomato sauce, but I was somehow not comfortable going for it. I thought it was too simple or too common and set searching for more easier, and acceptable versions. That’s when I landed up on this interestingly named sauce. Salmoriglio is a pungent Southern Italian sauce flavored mainly with oregano. The sauce is usually prepared fresh and used for drizzling over fish or grilled meat cuts, though you can use it as marinade for your vegetables or chicken too. The sauce is really so easy to make – all you need to do is to whisk up all ingredients till smooth and use it immediately. I have used dried oregano but you can use fresh if available to you…
Ragù Sauce
After the pesto, the second one I chose for the Italian Sauces theme for the Blogging Marathon #86 is this delicious Ragù Sauce. I had never heard of Ragù till I used to constantly read about it on Jehanne’s posts, as topping for her spaghetti and pasta. It did intrigue me to cook it but it didn’t seem to happen till this theme was declared. Like I mentioned, I took it up because I didn’t find myself with more choices, and then when searching, discovered that Ragù was indeed an Italian sauce and I could make it a part of this theme! 🙂 Ragù is said to be a meat sauce commonly served with pasta, especially spaghetti and created in the 18th century. The main base of the Ragù sauce is one part of meat and some amount of liquid along with some basic ingredients that make it…
Mixed Herb Pesto
While Valli’s post came up for the Blogging Marathon #86 went up, though selecting Scandinavian Cuisine wasn’t tough, the second option really did play around with me. In fact, I had even decided to skip this edition. But then thinking that next month is the mega marathon and after that Ramadan would start (already? :O ) I didn’t want to give too much of a break, so I decided to take up “Italian Sauces You Need to Know”. And I am glad, I somehow pushed myself through to making them and getting the posts ready in time. 😀 The first one I chose to make was a pesto. A pesto is an aromatic green sauce which is a blend of basil and pine nuts, at times walnuts too. I did an instant pesto pizza sometime back and posted a version there. This time, I was thinking how would…
Drømmekage | Danish Dream Cake
After a soup and a main course, it has to be a dessert, right? And what more than this soft, melt in the mouth cake which is so aptly titled as “Dream Cake”! While I was searching for desserts for the Scandinavian Cuisine theme for the Blogging Marathon #86, I was totally confused between which one to choose. From their chocolate cake to apple cake to the round pancakes, each seemed to be really tempting. Finally, I gave in to this cake when I saw it here. What really attracted me to baking this was the delicious coconut topping and the less fat sponge. 🙂 This cake is said to have won the a nationwide cake competition in Denmark in 1960, and ever since then has been a very well received and enjoyed cake in the country. How can’t it be a cake of dreams! A super soft…
Swedish Meat Balls
As soon as I saw “Scandinavian Cuisine” for the Blogging Marathon #86, the first thing my head said is “Swedish Meat Balls”. Anybody who has access to an IKEA nearby will agree with me. The girls and I go for dinner there at least once a month. It’s not that the food matches our taste buds, but we really love the feel of the place. We sit on the high chairs, while I eat and sip my coffee looking into the merchandise, the girls will be busy chit-chatting and eating from each other’s plate. Most of the time, the menu is fixed, Rasha has the meat balls with rice and Azza has the kid’s meal nuggets. I keep moving around with whichever option is available, but if I am undecided, then I also go for the meat balls since it is cheap and filling too. I always have a…
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…
Watalappam ~ Sri Lankan Jaggery Egg Pudding
As soon as the “Sinhalese Cuisine” theme was declared in the Blogging Marathon #84, the first and foremost recipe I wanted to make was the Watalappam, come what may! As I was chatting with Rizna for ideas for Sri Lankan food and I mentioned this one, she told me, “But that’s not Sinhalese?” Like I mentioned in the Kukul Mass Curry recipe, influences do make recipes not 100% “Sinhalese”. When Valli assured that we can do recipes that are prepared in Sri Lanka irrespective of ethnicity, my breath fell in place. Alhamdulillah, I could make the Watalappam finally! 😉 Watalappam or Watalappan is a steamed jaggery pudding, which sounds so similar to the kinnathappam made in our place, with the only difference being that the latter doesn’t use the coconut milk. It is believed to have originated from the Malays, who came to the country during Dutch rule….
Batu Moju | Wambatu Moju ~ Sri Lankan Brinjal Relish
After the Kukul Mas Curry, the next recipe I chose to try under the “Sinhalese Cuisine” theme in the Blogging Marathon #84 was this delicious brinjal relish called Batu Moju or Wambatu Moju. I was first informed about this dish by a Sri Lankan friend, Rizna on the JorenQ FB group. From then on, I had noted it down. I am not a fan of brinjal at all, but the spicy mishmash looked like a nice side dish. She had mentioned in her post that it goes really well with a dish of rice and curry. As usual, I set my Google search on these lines. I was bombarded with so many ways of cooking it as well! It is said that the dish is of Portugese origin, as Sri Lanka was once-upon-a-time a Portugese colony around the sixteenth century! Not much has been written about the dish…
Kukul Mas Curry ~ Sri Lankan Chicken Curry
When the themes for the Blogging Marathon #84 were declared, I didn’t think twice about the second theme to choose. It had to be “Sinhalese Cuisine”. There was a little confusion when I started with it. We know Sri Lanka as a country, but a little digging indicated that Sinhalese are the largest portion of people in Sri Lanka, and they are Buddhist. Their food reigns majority in the country. There are then the Tamils and the Muslims who have slightly varied ways of cooking. Sounds similar to how it is in Kerala too! So having cleared up the confusion of what cuisine I can look for, I ended up getting so confused with what I should be trying. Somehow the first to catch my attention was their chicken curry and I had to make it. Though the curry feels so much like our style, it is different in…
Papaya Chia Overnight Smoothie
After the Chocolate Chia Pudding and the Laban Overnight Oats, here is the third overnight breakfast idea, for the Blogging Marathon #84 under the theme “New Year Challenges”. I have already shared an overnight smoothie recipe before. Like I mentioned in that post, an overnight smoothie is for people who want to eat oats but not in its bite format as is in most of the overnight oats. I had made this smoothie when I landed up with a papaya which was hardly sweet enough to keep in the mouth! I love papayas and each time I get a chance to eat it, I would have one whole without even sharing it! I have now one competition in the form of Rasha – I discovered her love for papaya this time when we were on vacation. She literally snatched the last piece of papaya right out of her…
Overnight Oats with Laban
For the Blogging Marathon #84 under the “New Year Challenge” theme, I had chosen to share three overnight breakfast ideas and after the Chocolate Chia pudding, here is the second one. I have a lot of overnight oats recipes on the blog already on the blog, so it feels like I am adding one more, but of late, this has been my favorite way of having overnight oats. I have no other than Fami to “blame” for bringing in me this love for laban. Laban is thick buttermilk that is available across the shelves here in the Gulf countries. It is used a lot in Arab cooking, and is awesome to have on its own. I won’t say I love laban but I have it on and off. With she sharing her smoothies made in laban on her IG handle, I decided to get a bottle to try…
Chocolate Chia Pudding
This year, I have decided to put less pressure on myself as far as blogging is concerned. Even though I still have loads in my drafts to complete, I am going to take it light. I have been wanting to do so since last year but it hasn’t happened. But this year, I am really going to concentrate on one post at a time and make it easy for me, so that I don’t loose the charm of blogging and can sustain my interest as much as I can. Let’s wait and watch out… 🙂 I am starting off with the Blogging Marathon #84 and the theme I chose was “New Year Challenges”. I am not a person who makes resolutions nor do I lecture anybody to do it too! If you are resolved at doing something, it is not necessary it needs to start with the new…