Can you believe Ramadan is right there at the corner? Sometimes it feels it came way too fast, but I can’t help it but say that it has come at a time when it is needed. I feel like I have a terribly parched soul, just struggling to get in terms with everything that is happening. For surely, this month comes like a relief at the right time. For me, Ramadan is like a breath of fresh air. A change in routine, a more balanced life, a peaceful thought process, a new hope… It literally recharges all the dying batteries within you. I am sure that feeling comes because the devils are chained during this precious month. There is no one but ourselves to beat when they are off our head. It takes some time to realize that there is a lot of inbuilt evil within ourselves, when…
Besan Aloo Mirchi ki Sabzi | Potato Capsicum Curry
I wish I didn’t have to crib. Everyday I have a tough time trying to decide what to cook for dinner. I seem to find that it is getting tougher as the girls grow up. When I started blogging, they were small so they would eat anything that was given to them. But now, they frown and scorn for anything that I make, except pizzas. 😕 Being a mother, this is totally frustrating. With a totally tight schedule these days, I look forward to cooking meals that get done in 30 minutes. Rasha loathes eggs and any dal curry, while Azza is indifferent towards chicken and meat – I wonder if there are kids like that these days! Vegetables are an even big no-no, except for a cucumber daily. My girls don’t even like whole lentils or potatoes. Sometimes, I feel so lost… but then I pull out my…
Dalia Upma | Broken Wheat Upma
There is a reason why I chose this week’s theme when Valli declared it in the Blogging Marathon #98 – “Cooking for Two”. You all know, we aren’t two, we are four. 😀 But most of the time, I end up cooking for two because the other two I have are very fussy that I don’t feel like cooking for them. 😕 HD is forever looking into my food, so for my safety, it is better to cook extra and serve him as well. Do you have husbands who want to eat your food? OK, so jokes apart, dalia or broken wheat is not something that I frequently cook with. But when I got the opportunity to try the ingredient when my mentor included it as a part of my carbs, I fell in love with this upma. Every second day, I was making it for my breakfast…
Ishtu ~ Kerala Vegetable Stew
While I posted the Idiyappam/ Noolputtu recipe couple of months ago, I had hinted that I would post the Ishtu recipe too. It was peaking from behind, so it didn’t make sense to delay this post indefinitely. Hehe… After all the combination of these two is quite a hit… I always wonder why Ishtu is called so. I am sure it is the Malayalamized version of the English word “stew”. Can you see the connection? When umma would make this, I would always think that she is making fun of the name, but lately realized that she was saying its proper name. 😀 I guess we all would have thought of it that way some time in our life! Ishtu is basically a potato stew, made with minimal spices and coconut milk. It is very easy to make, but the spices added gives it such a delicious dimension. …
Chicken Curry Pasta
Time for one of my favorite challenges, the Fantastical Food Fight! This month happens to be National Pasta Month and Sarah couldn’t have chosen anything apt that making anything with pasta! Since the theme was quite easy, I had to jump at it. I would have made pasta every week if my folks would eat. 🙁 HD and B likes it, but the girls are always so-so. Pasta is one of the easiest and laziest meals you can make and I wouldn’t be surprised if anybody told me that they made it multiple times a week. This Chicken Curry style pasta has a lot of memories to it. In the UAE, a lot of men live together in bachelor accommodation and they would usually cook their own meals then, unlike now, where they would simply flock the nearby restaurant. Every year, D and B would have an Iftar…
Aam Panna
Aren’t there drinks that you may like personally but none of your family enjoys it? And then you end up drinking the same thing over a few days to finish off the batch, but just because you love it, you really don’t mind it. 🙂 That is how I would term this Aam Panna to be! After the Mohabbat Ka Sharbat, here is another North Indian drink that is for the lovers of sweet and sour combination, as a part of the 3 back-to-back Ramadan Coolers… The first time I had Aam Panna was at Huma‘s place when I went to meet her for the first time around four years ago. As I looked at a drink which had an odd green color, I gave her a quizical look. She told me it is a drink made of raw mangoes and spiced with cumin. I really didn’t want…
Murgir Khorma ~ Bangladeshi Chicken Korma
One tenth to the next tenth just flies, I feel. 😀 I feel like I posted my last MFB post yesterday… hehe… This month, the theme was cooking from a country, and the chosen country was Bangladesh, which happens to be the third largest Muslim country in case of percentage. There is a lot of similarity between the food from this country and West Bengal, which is a state in India that shares its borders with Bangladesh. I kept searching up and down, as I wanted to make sure I cook up something easy and do not miss the challenge at all. A little peak into history and we will know that Bangladesh once belonged to the Mughal dynasty. It was a part of the India when the Britishers ruled it and then went to Pakistan when the declaration of independence was made in August 1947, when the…
Parippu Vevichathu ~ Malabar Lentil Fry
I actually didn’t know what to name this dish. Umma makes a thick parippu (lentil) side dish to go with Neychor, Koonthal Chor or Thenga Chor all the time. If it is one of these three for lunch on Fridays, then by default, this parippu has to be on the table. It is so ingrained into our minds, that if I go with these for lunch and this parippu is not there, then I get all sorts of questions regarding its absence from B and the girls. I haven’t seen this being prepared in HD’s side but in our side of Tirur, this dish is very common. I had already included it in the Koonthal chor post, but I wanted to give it a separate post, since it is eaten not only with it. I just named it “vevichathu”, which means “cooked” or “boiled”, but if any of…
Gajrela ~ Pakistani Carrot Rice Pudding
I am trying to get back to regular blogging and I am feeling quite rusty. Having said that, when it is the tenth of the month, I have to make sure that I don’t miss out on a challenge that I nurture and manage – the Muslim Food Blogger Challenge! It has been an amazing journey so far and each challenge has been accepted by my fellow bloggers with a lot of enthusiasm. It is this support that makes me want to keep the challenge going on. I am pretty excited by the fact that the challenge is approaching one year in November. Definitely another pointer to keep continuing, InShaAllah… This month, we are exploring Pakistani cuisine. We had done Indonesian cuisine a few months ago, and as per statistics, Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country in the world. Pakistani food is very similar to the Muslim…
Kaala Chana Chaat ~ Black Chickpeas Chaat
HD has this annoying habit of bringing in fried snacks from the nearby restaurant just before Iftar time. His intention is good – to give me relief from having to make something for tea time. But normally, I never do unless there is a request from the girls for something. They are not too much into fried snacks, and their liking is very limited to a small variety. When he buys, he brings in quite a lot and you end up over eating without even realizing it. 😕 The only thing I used to like of what he brings was this simple Kala Chana Chaat, which I now end up making it at home when I crave for it. This year, after so much coaxing, he has almost stopped bringing in snacks – such a relief! – though a couple of times he decided he must get some. 😀 …
Pasta in a Jiffy
You might be thinking – what a name! I didn’t know how to name it better than this! 😀 Ever since I discovered this way of cooking pasta, I have left aside the traditional way of making it. The original idea was given by Rini during her cook along segment in the UAE Food Guide. I have twisted and tweaked this recipe in many ways, and this is just one version. I will be giving some versions in the notes section for you to try. Just keep a few pointers while cooking pasta this way: Know your pasta. Most of the pastas available in the market quick fast. Hence do not even wait for your pressure cooker to whistle. As soon as you hear the “shh” sound, switch it off and allow it to cook in its pressure. I have used Quaker oats pasta here, so I allowed…
Varutharacha Sambar ~ Malabar Style Mixed Vegetable Lentil Stew
I would really call sambar as the ultimate comfort food of a South Indian. Why not? We would have sambar with everything. Recently, I discovered that sambar went amazingly well with porottas too! If you are wondering what a “sambar” is, it is a South Indian stew made with lentils, mixed vegetables and lots of spices. I had mentioned in this post that I am not fond of store bought sambar powders. Each brand tastes different and somehow I don’t seem to like any. I prefer to make my own little batch each time I make my sambar. When I discovered that we had our own version of making sambaar using roasted coconut paste, my joy had no bounds. Umma was never aware of a version like this, so I never grew up with one. I have adapted this recipe from many sources so can’t pinpoint just one….
Gothambu Kanji ~ Broken Wheat Gruel/ Konji
Season of flu is here! As much as I love the winters, I dread the illness which comes with it. Alhamdullillah, so far, I have never had any drastic issues as such at home and I sincerely hope it continues the same way, InShaAllah. “Kanji” or gruel is a dish made very frequently if you have illness loitering in the house. It is calm on the tummy, digests very fast and keeps your system clean. Mostly we make it with broken rice, and I have already shared this version previously. But at home,umma makes kanji with broken wheat as she is diabetic. The kids are so used to it that they love this version more than the original one. For umma, it’s an easy dinner, when she gets bored of eating chapathis. I was never fond of this earlier, but now I have gone to liking it, thanks to…
Chukandar Ghosht ~ Beetroot Mutton Curry
Something I like about our neighboring country’s cuisine is that they include vegetables in their meat curries. You will find spinach in their mutton curry, methi in their chicken curry, etc. I guess some of the influences are found in some of our North side states as well, though I am not very well aware of the same. I found “Chukandar Ghosht” in a group mainly of Pakistani members. The color and the recipe allured me. I am sure all of you agree how beautiful the color of beetroot makes any dish look. Just giving you some examples, like the Beetroot Raita and the Eggless Red Velvet Muffins. I had to make it somehow, since my kids are very fond of beetroot. This is such an easy-to-put-together curry, with no tough ingredients and tastes amazing with some hot naans or simple steamed rice. Try to use tender mutton…
Muringayila Parippu Upperi ~ Drumstick (Moringa) Leaves with Lentils
Allah has His own ways. Each time, my blogging enthusiasm starts taking a downturn, He immediately surprises me with something that helps me take the U-turn, Alhamdulillah. 😀 I have had two things happening over the weekend, the smaller one is winning a gift voucher from Siri’s space and the big one was a mighty surprise: a feature on Manorama Online as one of the six Malayalee foodie accounts to follow on Instagram! It was a real surprise, since I feel I pushed behind a lot of well deserving foodie accounts, but it made me a stronger believer on His Will that may have caused me to be in that list in between all top shots! So rest assured, I am not stopping my blogging in the near future, InShaAllah… 😉 I did a little story on “Muringayila” or drumstick leaves when I had done this post. Drumsticks…