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…
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…
Chocolate Tea
Today is Ramadan 17 – the day when the Battle of Badr happened. This war had a lot of significance as being the first major battle with the Quraysh and despite being a small group, they emerged victorious. “Remember when you [O Muhammad, peace be upon him] were saying to the Believers, ‘Is it not enough for you that your Lord will reinforce you with 3000 angels sent down?’ Of course [it is enough for you]! [In fact,] if you all are steadfast and God-fearing, and they rush in attack towards you, then your Lord will reinforce you with 5000 angels bearing distinguished markings.” [Surah Aal Imraan:124-125] The main stress is on being “steadfast” and “God fearing”. The victory was a testimonial that if you have both the characteristics, the help of Allah will surely come in some way of the other. I don’t think I need to dwell…
Masala Oats | Easy Savory Oats
As I sit to type this post, I realize we are almost half way through Ramadan. This month has been very stressful on all accounts, but trying to take into account that life is always meant for surprises and we need to take it into our stride. With my mood not very conducive for long posts, I think I will just stop over here… When time is of essence, then quick meals are the call of the day. This masala oats is something I can eat anytime of the day. Just like this paneer capsicum rice, this meal appears very frequently, usually for breakfast. It is so quick to make and so delicious, that you would want to eat it every other day. I have always had oats in sweet form, but this recipe has changed my mindset for good. The whole cooking takes hardly 15 minutes, and…
Spiced Chickpea Burger
There is one thing with life – it never goes as per planned. On Sunday, I went home with a pathetic headache after work. I just wanted to sleep till a little before Iftar time, so that I could just put together something and call it a day. I was planning to skip this month’s Fantastical Food Fight challenge initially – which was to make “Burgers”, but when I saw the reminder email in my inbox, I thought, “Why not? It is easy to put together. I shouldn’t miss it.” I had etched down on my magnet notepad of making some chickpea burgers for dinner. But it was not to be. I did wake up late, but as I finished my prayers, I was in for a rude shock… My youngest paternal uncle had an untimely death at the age of 49. Maybe he dying of natural causes,…
Chicken Vermicelli Soup
It is the tenth of the month and it is time for the Muslim Food Blogger Challenge! This month being Ramadan we decided to keep the theme simple and also take a break for next month, since the post date would come immediately after Eid and the last thing you want to do during Ramadan is cook for a challenge! 😉 This month, we decided to make some soup. Now soup is one of the best meals you can have during Iftar. A complete blend of good carbs, proteins and fiber, it is a filling meal, that won’t make you bloat! With everyone looking at options to make their Iftars or dinners more healthy, soups definitely comes in as priority for many of them. Here are all the soup options that are already there on the blog… Meanwhile, I present to you my simple soup filled…
Payyoli Kozhi Curry | Chicken Curry
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…
Naga Spicy Ginger Chicken
The month end is usually the day of posting for the Shhh Cooking Challenge whenever I decide to participate. As I had mentioned in the past few posts for the challenge, the group is doing an Indian state every month and this month, it is one of the lesser known North Eastern states called Nagaland. I don’t know what was my mental status when I confirmed a “yes” for participation, only to realize that it was really difficult to find authentic sources of this state’s cuisine! The state’s food is an amalgamation of its influences of its surrounding territories, and the food uses limited ingredients, yet high on flavor. One of the main ingredient is the Bhut Jalokia or ghost chilli, as it is called, and has the reputation of being the spiciest chilli in the world! Their food is high on the use of meat and fish…
Easy Chewy Granola Bars | Granola Bars with Goji Berries & Chia
I am usually very prompt with doing my challenge posts. But for this month’s Muslim Food Blogger challenge, I delayed it as much as I possibly could. It wasn’t that the challenge wasn’t tough. I had a lot of ideas floating in my head. Oh, I didn’t tell what was the challenge. This month, we went with Lubna’s suggestion of making some healthy bites. It is summer vacations back home, and even here, schools were off the past month. When kids are off, then naturally, they are constantly hungry and searching the home up, down and center for something or the other to eat. So this theme couldn’t have come at the correct time. If you have noticed, I did three recipes with the similar theme in the last month’s Blogging Marathon too. 🙂 My first thought was to do something in line with the Dates Bliss Balls….
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…
Easy Palak Paneer
I owe this Palak Paneer recipe to Huma. She shared this recipe with me before she posted it on her blog and made me fall for it head over heels. I never liked making palak paneer before. If you see most of the recipes online, they involve a lot of steps. It makes you feel like making this humble dish is such a pain. But this recipe changed my whole thought process. This recipe is the second one to feature in this week’s theme of “Cooking for 2” in the Blogging Marathon #98. Paneer is something I have been eating every single day since last January, as a part of my protein intake. It is something that we Keralites never eat. I have already mentioned before on the blog that my family shares a mixed relationship with this ingredient. So I don’t cook it frequently. But for myself,…