I am wondering how should I start this post. Most of the time, these days my head is really blank. There has been a lot happening – good and ugly and my thoughts are all muddled up in that process, not knowing which way to think and keep my mood. But one thing I know – that what is destined, good or bad, will surely come our way, come what maybe. Sometimes thinking that way makes sense more than becoming tensed about what is going to come. I keep telling HD that we have always been relieved of the tensions we face, so maybe we just need to stay positive and hope that everything will settle, InShaAllah. Having said that, winters are slowly sweeping in and is releasing a very laid back air in all. I find it hard to do anything, forget about cooking. Even though I love…
Pazham Vaatiyathu ~ Malabar Caramelized Plaintains | Guest Post for My Sizzling Taste Buds
It has been a long time since I have contributed to guest posts. The last one I did was more than a year ago. So when I received an email from Kalyani, asking if I could do a guest post for her blog, I was obviously excited. I have mentioned before that doing a guest post literally feels like going with a dabba of home made food to the host’s house. 🙂 Kalyani had only one request, that the recipe would be a forgotten family recipe. I had a few ideas running up my head. But then, Malabar food is usually non-vegetarian and most of our snacks somehow have eggs sneaked into it. After brainstorming myself and digging into my deep memory recesses, finally I ended up making this Pazham Vaatiyathu aka Malabar style caramelized plantains. The recipe is so simple that I was worried if Kalyani would…
Easy Paneer Burji – Scrambled Cottage Cheese
I had a little startle as I looked at the calendar today. We have exactly two months to go in this year. How fast does time fly! I don’t want to judge this year now itself since we have the remaining days to see how things fare up. Just hoping that they get better, or at least stay stagnant, InShaAllah… I always believe that meals need to be quick yet filling and comforting. However, the idea of comforting is not likely the same for all of us in the family, isn’t it? 😀 What I find delicious is totally rejected by the girls. As they grow up into their own little individuals, it is a constant fight for me to see what they like and what they don’t. Unfortunately the latter is more than the former, thereby limiting my options as to what to cook for the girls….
Low Calorie Gajar Halwa | Carrot Sweet
The heart seems so much at peace when it sees that the climate is changing finally! We had a really hot September and October was also not showing much respite, making us wonder if we would have the “beach and barbeque” climate all the UAE residents look forward to. Finally, the last week showed a slight change in the scales. There were rains in some interior parts of the country and that surely affected the temperatures. Early mornings are cozy and the times after sunset are just apt for those long walks. Afternoons are still hot at times but hopefully soon they will become more comfortable. This means that it is nice to do some baking and hogging, and more cups of tea and coffee… 🙂 With the wave of healthy eating all over, it becomes difficult to sometimes control ourselves from not having sweets at all. After…
Nutella French Toast
After a little hiatus, we are back with the Muslim Food Blogger Challenge this month. Of late, we have been looking at easy themes to get in a bit of participation. How much that strategy has helped, I don’t want to comment. 🙂 When it comes to blogging, it becomes the last priority when life keeps throwing things at you on a constant basis. It is happening at the moment for me too. It is just that I don’t want to let my passion die and I am fighting it as much as I can. I have been doing the same for the past two years and so far, I have been successful. But how much I can hold myself up needs to be seen… 🙂 Coming back to the challenge, the theme for the month is “Sandwich”. So what is a sandwich? In layman terms, it is…
Haleeb Mal Zafran ~ Emirati Saffron Milk
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…
Karivepilai Sadam ~ Curry Leaves Rice
When I came back from home, I bought a lot of curry leaves. It is not what I had intended. Mattamma – my maternal grandmother – has a lovely curry leaves tree in her plot, and even umma gets her dose from her. She asked me if I wanted some, so I told her, I would but very little. What she sent with my cousin was a big pack with a lot of curry leaves! I simply loathe the curry leaves we get here, they smell so artificial! The ones we get from home – not from the market, but made at home – smells so heavenly that you could sit with it for hours just enjoying the aroma… For this month’s Shh Cooking Challenge which is coordinated by Mayuriji, the state in question was Tamil Nadu – the place of dosas, idlis, vadas, sambars and some awesome…
Aloo Paneer Tikki Chaat
If I say I am still sulking past my vacation, I am not lying to anyone and myself. My mood to cook nor work out has come back to being normal, even though I would say things have got back to routine and is moving well. With my weight snuggling happily upto me, I have to sooner or later get my act together and start pushing as much as I can. My couple of years of working out has made me realize that just workout won’t help you in losing weight. What you feed into your system does make a huge difference to your overall journey. I have been happily eating without much thought these days and that is directly affecting my weight. After having hit my lowest in so many years during Ramadan, I have come back to a level where I must be seriously thinking of…
Passion Fruit Limeade
This year while going on vacation, I lunged my camera along with my lenses, thinking that I would learn some freelance photography. After all, Kerala, the state I come from, is blessed with greenery and beauty in every corner. A peep into my phone and you would understand. I hardly have any selfies in it. I was only clicking the coconut palms, the areca nut (adakka) palms, the thick black clouds, the flowers, sometimes every interesting insects and birds I would find… But I absolutely was in no mood to pull out the camera and click, so I allowed my whole set to nestle itself comfortably in the cupboard and ensured that I bring it back with me. Hehe… Something that I have eaten quite a lot this time was passion fruit. My earliest and only memory about passion fruit was eating it from my elder ammayi’s house….
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…
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…
Cucumber Milkshake
If you have been following my blog since long, you will know that on the tenth of every month, we run the Muslim Food Blogger Challenge. Last year, we all decided we will take breaks for months where participation will be expected to be minimal. Accordingly, we took a break from posting last month, due to Ramadan and Eid. We are back this month with a very simple theme, which will be followed by another two months of break, due to school closures, holidays, travelling, etc. When that happens, the blog is always the last thing in mind. 🙂 So this month, the theme chosen was “Refreshing Drinks”. We have a bunch of bloggers living all around the world, so instead of concentrating on hot or cold, we allowed them to choose and make something that goes with the weather in their particular country. Since UAE is on…
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…