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…
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…
Hearty Bean Barley Soup
Time for the Secret Recipe Club reveal day! I must admit this is one challenge I am so happy to be in! Every month, once our reveal is done, I eagerly wait to see which blog is assigned for the coming month. A food blogger never gets tired of going through another food blog. The only issue is that it gives a feeling that there is still so much to try! 😀 I don’t think that is bad at all. As long as we realize that cooking is a continuous learning process, it will make you feel fine. 😉 The blog assigned to me for this month was “Our Eating Habits“. The owner of the blog, Jamie is the mother of three lovely kids, who are home-schooled, and she absolutely enjoys cooking for them. It is so well evident on her blog. The range of recipes on the blog is…
DIY: Dulche De Leche in Pressure Cooker & DDL Coffee
I have written about DDL in detail in the previous posts. Dulche De Leche is nothing but condensed milk cooked to make it caramel like. This is one of the best discoveries when I fell in love with cooking. Adding DDL to a dessert just lifts it to another level. A few recipes on the blog that already use up this wonder ingredient: Mexican Flan Banoffee Pie DDL Ice Cream DDL Bundt Cake DDL Brownies – my absolute favorite! DDL Baked Cheesecake Making DDL from scratch is actually a tedious process. It is no fun cooking the tin for a few hours – 3 to 4 hours – soaked up in hot water on low flame. Instead, I use my trusted pressure cooker to do the job for me. It gets done so easily and you just need to leave it overnight to cool completely, to make it…
Lauki Chana Dal ~ Bottlegourd Chickpea Lentil Stew
Last week saw some awesome movement on the blog. All I did was share the Chocolate Biscuit Pudding on a few FB groups and what happened was the least that I expected! The day it was posted and the next day showed some really good hits on the blog, in fact last Wednesday showed the highest hits ever since I started the blog. The other time I got close to it was when I shared the Fluffy Biscuit Pudding. I get asked by all as to how to keep a blog running. In fact, there is no formula for it. If you are ready to spent a lot of time looking at ways to emaciate your blog in the way of social networking and otherwise, and if you are lucky, you will get in a healthy amount of hits. It is a lot of work. But more than work,…
Irachi Varattiyathu ~ Roast Meat with Coconut Peices
Last Thursday, my parents arrived. Alhamdulillah, the feeling of having them back even though for a little time is priceless. There is a little extra joy coming ahead as my sister and her boy will join us this Thursday evening for a couple of weeks, InShaAllah… Looking forward to a fun filled Eid… 🙂 Ramadan is moving at a dizzying pace and somehow I am not able to keep up the pace. No wonder it is said, that “Ramadan is like a rare flower, that blossoms once a year. Just when you begin to smell its fragrance, it disappears for another year.” Whoever said this, has said it so true… 🙁 As I was going through the posts over the past few weeks, I have not posted any “serious” recipes as such. They have all been quick fixes – like juices, and snacks. I must say that when…
Harees ~ Emirati Wholewheat Mash
Ramadan is incomplete in this part of the world without a regular supply of “Harees”. I bet anybody who has been here will agree. “Harees” is nothing that whole wheat slow cooked along with mutton and bones till nicely mashed. Umma would say that in those days (early 80s), she has seen the maids at the Arab houses would have a huge pot outside the house kept on a makeshift stove, with fire from dried date palm or wood and they would stir in once in a while to ensure it doesn’t stick. The harees would be cooked for hours till you are unable to distinguish the whole wheat nor the mutton. The bones that would be floating on top would be fished out and then the harees would be packed in casseroles with a generous topping of ghee, called as “smen”. These are then distributed to the…
Koonthal Porichathu ~ Squid Fry
Even though I love fish, the folks at home are not very fond of it. This includes the kids. It’s not they don’t eat, but fish alone as a meal does not satisfied them in any way. With the goodness of fish, this should be a meal I should be trying to be including at least once a week, but most of the time, that doesn’t happen. 🙁 Especially with me on a vegan diet, the cooking of fish has literally gone to zero. I am somehow surprised that none of my umma’s genes have gone to the kids. Umma and my sister are fish crazy. Umma seems to have mellowed down with age but my sister would eat fish morning, afternoon and evening. After moving to US, due to the lack of fresh fish, she has limited her eating but once she comes home, she fills herself with…