After the Qahwa and the Laban – which are relatively no-brainer recipes – I was planning for something else as this post for the Blogging Marathon #105 for the theme of “One country, one category, three dishes”. But fate had it that I wasn’t to make the elaborate drink that I planned. I fell ill last week and I still had to prepare for this post. The lack of energy and mood reigned in and I gave up on myself. When you feel ill, there are certain drinks that play such a soothing role on your overall wellness. If we are back home, it has to be this turmeric milk aka masala paal. But when it is here in the UAE, I would vouch for this saffron milk, called colloquially as “Haleeb Mal Zafran”. Saffron is an expensive spice. It is definitely not something that we would use…
Laban ~ Salted Yogurt Drink
For the Blogging Marathon #105, for the theme of “One country, one category, three dishes”, after having chosen the Qahwa as my first Emirati drink, I chose a rather easy one for today. The reason is obvious – I was literally running against time to do more research on the drinks I would love to make. I would rather say that I procrastinated over my task, that I almost hit the panic button. I am not very fond of leaving things to the last moment, but of late, I feel that I am changing into someone I am not liking. Hehe… Maybe I need to buckle up myself a bit… Anyway, coming back to today’s post. “Laban” is a watered down yogurt drink that is flavored with salt. You heard it right – just three ingredients, served chilled. This drink is literally the most demanded during the hot…
Qahwa | Gahwa ~ Emirati Black Coffee
Each time I take part in the Blogging Marathon, I try to make sure I select easy themes so that I don’t struggle to finish up the cooking. But still, thanks to my lazy bones, I still ended up skittering through at the end! 😕 This week, for its edition #105, I chose “One country, one category, three dishes”. While I chose this theme, I had no other intention than to cover the country which is my second home – the UAE. After moving in between the category to choose, I ended up choosing “drinks” since that wouldn’t take much time to make nor shoot as well. 😉 The first drink I chose to make was the Qahwa or Gahwa. Qahwa is very well known all throughout the Arab countries. In fact, it is the sign of their hospitality. Every local home would have ready-made Qahwa in a…
Avil Milk {No Sugar Added!}
As for the final post for the theme “One Bowl Dishes” in the Blogging Marathon #102, I had no doubt what I wanted it to be! Avil Milk is something very synonymous to Malappuram. VH Bakery is the first one to introduce and make it a craze among the whole of Malabar. If you are wondering what this is, then it is a layered concoction of mashed small banana, crispy roasted aval (rice flakes/ poha), some ice cold milk and peanuts for an additional crunch. Anything over and above that are add ons. I wouldn’t call it a milk shake, since it isn’t blended together, but it is very close to being a falooda without any catches to it. Each time I go home, I would miss exactly that time when my family would go to Kottakkal for something or the other. Last year, for the first time…
Arseeyah Rubyan ~ Emirati Prawn Rice Gruel
It’s been long since I have posted an Emirati recipe on the blog, so when the theme of “One Bowl Dishes” was declared for the Blogging Marathon #102, I couldn’t think of any other dish as one-pot as Arseeyah. The cooking is done in one large pot, so what more for this theme! 🙂 Arseeyah is considered to be comfort food for the Emiratis. It is usually made with chicken, and has rice cooked along with it, with some mild spices and then ground to make it like a gruel. Just like Harees, it is eaten warm with a generous drizzling of ghee. When I landed up with some fresh huge prawns during Ramadan, I decided to make this as dinner for the folks. The inspiration to make this dish came from an article that I had printed out and kept in my archives, but can’t trace the…
Quick Chicken Fry ~ No Marination!
For the coming three days, you will see me posting for the theme “One Bowl Dishes” for the Blogging Marathon #102. Now the problem with this theme is that it can encompass a wide range of dishes. Either you cook in one dish, or you serve everything together in a dish, or you do from start to end in one dish. After scratching my head a bit and confusing Valli with my emails, I finally decided to stick to three recipes from my draft that I thought will justify the title. So here we go… Chicken fry is something that any household with a carnivores family would hog on. I mean I could fry a pot full and still see it empty. When compared to curried chicken that takes time to move out, fried chicken is always welcome. I am not a fan of deep frying, though it…
White Chocolate Goji Berry Blondies
At times, ideas play constantly in your head for a long period of time, but it doesn’t necessarily get materialized immediately. It always happens to me. Before I used to put into immediate action any craving or any idea I would have. But now, due to time constraints and other priorities, I often put my ideas onto the back seat. Sometimes I note it down, sometimes I simply forget. This white chocolate blondies were one that have been playing in my head since very long. I had picked up a couple of packs of cooking white chocolate that was up for a good deal. I had this pack of goji berries that Zerin had given me some time. The girls wouldn’t eat it since it had a sour after taste. I would nibble on them when I would remember that it was sitting in the fridge. When the…
Eggless Nutella Brownie Shortbread Bars
I actually had other plans for the second post for the theme, “Bring Some Brownies” for this week of Blogging Marathon #102. I was in fact planning to make some gluten free brownies with rice flour, since I have been intrigued by it for quite some time. But then the plan was not supposed to pan out as such, I suppose…. Ever since I had baked the Brookies, I wanted to try an eggless version. I mean it always helps to have options all the time, right? 🙂 During the similar time, my head was telling me to bake some Nutella brownies for the girls. Somehow, what happened is that both my thoughts amalgamated into one bake, and that is what I am going to post today. 🙂 Last Saturday, we had a lovely time at Fajee’s house. It had been long since we had all met…
Peanut Butter Brownies
This Sunday night, my girls went home. I was under so much stress over this past week due to this. I had few sleepless nights and thanks to that, I landed up with a massive headache. I must blame myself for not doing complete research before I took the tickets. My elder one is 12 and is automatically now an adult as per ticketing terms. Based on this, I booked both of them together, only to realize that for the eight year old to travel, she needs to be accompanied by an adult who is 16 years and above. I did try through all my channels to see if there were any family travelling on the same flight, but I received no good news. Once we went inside the airport, we realized that everyone was scattered and that made it even more challenging. HD was trying to keep…
Cheesy Yeastless Foccacia
While I was deciding on the posts for the “Savory Bakes” theme for this week’s Blogging Marathon #101, foccacia was playing in my mind. My girls love Foccacia, especially the younger one. She would walk up and down the kitchen till she finishes eating majority of the bake, just the way Rasha would walk up and down to finish a chocolate cake! Each time I have baked the yeast foccacia, and then I landed up on this link which gives you a foccacia in flat 1 hour. It has no yeast and comes together so quick. Who wouldn’t like to try such a recipe? But I wasn’t without any apprehensions while making this recipe. I read through all the comments and made sure I stuck to the recipe without playing around too much with it. To my surprise, you wouldn’t miss the yeast at all. The bread rose…
Simple Egg Muffins | Breakfast Egg Muffins
Making these egg muffins have been on my agenda since God-knows-when. Somehow, it just wouldn’t happen. So when I chose the theme “Savory Bakes” for the Blogging Marathon #101, I had told myself that I have to bake this somehow for this series. Even though this is the second post of the series, I had baked it only last week. Eggs are a good source of protein and fat, and we all know it. It has recently shed all its bad name and come into the group of super-foods. A couple of eggs in the morning or as evening snack can keep you satiated for quite a long time. I love eggs and eat at least two every day, especially after I have started my weight loss journey. If there is something that is present 24×7 in my pantry, then it is eggs. Most of the time I…
Spinach Labneh Rolls
Usually when the themes for the Blogging Marathon is declared, my attention always go on what I can make sweet, even though I don’t eat much or avoid eating nowadays. I guess that has been my tendency ever since I have started blogging. After all, what is my blog name? 😉 I have always loved sweets and will always love them, but just that the dimension now is changed from what it used to be before. Even though I still enjoy an occasional sweet indulgence, my focus has moved to have quality over quantity, and if I do love what I make, then I like to eat little of what is there rather than enjoy half the quantity cooked. I hope that makes sense. 😀 So when the Blogging Marathon #101 themes were out, I instantly jumped into selecting “Kid’s Delight: Savory Bakes” as one theme. Ramadan was…
Besan Kheer
For the Blogging Marathon #101, while I was deciding to make a sweet dish for the theme “Cooking with Besan”, my first intention was making some barfis or laddoos. I was planning to make it during Eid, since my cousins would be around and it would be easier to finish it off rather than make something that I am not sure my children would eat. But that didn’t happen. During the mad rush of those five days, time flew and I was still left with the task of having to make a sweet dish with Besan. I do make besan ka doodh occasionally, which is a hot thin concoction of milk and besan. That was when it clicked me, that there must be a kheer in those lines. My guess wasn’t out of place. Besan Kheer is prepared during the winter seasons in Punjab and some North Indian…
Capsicum Zunka | Shimla Mirch Sabzi
For this week’s Blogging Marathon #101 theme “Cooking with Besan”, after a lot of thought, I decided to make this dish, that has been in my mind for quite some time. Zunka is a dry dish with besan, made on its own or including vegetables, and is a part of the cuisine in Maharashtra and some northern states. I didn’t want to make a gravy on its own, because I was vary of the interest of my folks. So I ended up making it with capsicum. Capsicum is a vegetable that I have been eating almost everyday ever since I have cleaned up my diet. Not that I am diligently sticking to it and being a saint on a daily basis, but if I don’t eat at least a vegetable a day, I feel as though I am missing something. I have become this from a person who…
Besan Dahi Bhalla ~ Gramflour Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce
My intention of signing up for this month’s Blogging Marathon, which is in its edition #101 (wow!) was my usual thought – of pushing myself to cook some dishes and get some motivation to blog. Ramadan is actually a good time to try new recipes, since we have short working time and plenty of sunshine to ensure that we can click in daylight. But then whatever plans I had went totally derailed following the death of my elappa. Somehow, it disturbed my internal peace. It is expected, isn’t it? Somebody who you think is too young to depart from the world is not considered so by the Almighty. That makes me think how vulnerable life is. We plan days and years ahead, when we have no clue if we will even live to see that moment… However, I didn’t want to withdraw. There was enough time to recover…