This is the second time that I am participating in the Ssshhh… Cooking Secretly Challenge. The first time, my partner was Ramya and with her ingredients, I had made Bappa Doi . This time, my partner was Prachi, who blogs at Prachi’s Veg Kitchen. The ingredients that she challenged me with was soya nuggets and paneer. Now, already I have mentioned on this blog before that both these ingredients are not favorites at home, in fact we hardly buy them or prepare them. That is well explained with the lack of recipes featuring both these ingredients. I was in a fix, but still I did not want to change the ingredients she gave me just because of this reason. Of course, I knew I could make it work in some way and so went ahead with it. And what did I make? Cutlets nicely concealing both these ingredients!!! I…
Koova Kaachiyathu/ Arrowroot Milk
Today is already Ramadan 17… in the next three days, the last ten days of Ramadan will commence of which the Blessed Night will appear on one of the odd nights… the way days are going, it is so usual for us to feel that we are not taking full advantage of this blessed month. Work, home, kids, parents, and umpteen number of things to do and the feeling of guilt is always there that “I am not able to get the spiritual boost I needed”. That is when my friend, Shazia, shared this beautiful article on her FB wall, and believe me, once we realize what is mentioned in there, we will be at ease. Alhamdulillah for everything that He has blessed us with… the ease, and the calmness… After all, “Allah intends for you ease, and does not want to make things difficult for you.” [Surah Baqarah 2:185] So InShaAllah, looking…
Mango Cinnamon Milkshake
Almost half way through this Ramadan… so quick! Days are passing by in a hurry, waiting for none, making us think whether we are taking full advantage of these precious days… Alhamdulillah, I am so pleased that just like last time, Rasha is taking her fasts this year as well. Last year, she managed to hold on to 13 fasts, as we didn’t want to pressurize her and allowed her to go one on and one off. But this time, even though we didn’t force her, she was mighty excited about the month of fasting. It gives me, as a parent, so much joy when I find that she has no hassles waking up as early as 3:45 am to have her cup of milk with cereals or a bread sandwich, and a few dates as suhoor. She quickly eats whatever is kept in front of her, drinks down a…
Kluai Nam Wa ~ Bananas in Coconut Milk
The first International Food Challenge that I had participated was in April and I had tried the Bavarian Dampfnudel. For the month of June, Sangeetha had challenged us to some delicious Northern Thai cuisine. There is no doubt that Thailand is one place that is blessed with abundance of nature and definitely a place on my radar to be visited – hopefully when my HD gets time in hand enough for some travel! The staple food is rice, soups and noodles, flavored with their variety of condiments, and desserts are usually fresh fruit or cooked in coconut milk. I decided to choose the easiest sweet dish that I have ever tried in ages now, I guess!!! Kluai Nam Wa is basically a banana dessert, where a particular type of banana, known as kluai nam wa is cooked in a concoction of coconut milk and palm jaggery till soft. By…
Hot Chocolate
A little slide to explain what the month of Ramadan signifies to my readers. Alhamdulillah for this blessed month…. This Ramadan is really different for me… really different… in what sense, I would not like to comment, but life has changed, and has changed for good, Alhamdulillah… The main part is on my attitude, my thought process, my direction in life… There are times when we are so lost in the path of life that Allah decides to put in certain situations that will define what actually life is. Alhamdulillah, I find myself settling into my little zone and looking forward to some exciting times in life ahead, InShaAllah… first definitely would be on the blogging front… I guess I have on and off been a bit stressed about my non-stop blogging, which I have decided to take it up on a slow basis. I started blogging as a stress…
Kashmiri Chai
The restaurant made Kashmiri chai… My tryst with Kashmiri chai was by accident. On a holiday, when we were back home after a long trip and didn’t know where to have our dinner from, we randomly decided to barge into the new Pakistani joint that had opened a couple of buildings away. We definitely enjoyed the charga, the rotis and the kadai and as usual, me and D craved for something hot. I always prefer to sip tea after a heavy meal at a restaurant, but somehow this time, I wanted to try something different. That’s when the waiter suggested that we try the Kashmiri chai. It was winter during that time and therefore this tea was quite a hit, he said. I did not understand the logic but we ordered for both of us. A tea with a nice hue of pink, sprinkled with chopped pistachios and…
Nawabi Vegetable Biriyani
Not being in a mood to tap is not something new now… I found this beautiful quote, that requires nothing to go with it, so sharing it with all of you… I could easily say this is the first vegetarian biriyani to be featured on my blog! Somehow biriyanis in our house has to be chicken, mutton or beef, but never vegetables or eggs. I have always tried to convince my folks at home how good they taste, but to no avail! If you don’t have people who don’t want to eat what you prepare, then there is no use, right… I prepared this one night when my parents were away and my “bakras” were HD and B. Normally, we never make rice at night, unless and until I really feel like making something. B was a bit hesitant when he saw that I was making biriyani with vegetables….
Wholewheat Banana Buttermilk Pancakes
Breakfast is always a difficult choice at home. On working days, it’s always quick fix. Oats, upma, breakfast dosa, cereals… it’s always jhatpat. Only on Fridays, I literally put my head to test, but then I normally finalise on kichadi, chakkara gothambu, puttu or some pancakes. Even though I love pancakes, my folks back home are not very keen on them as they call it a thicker version of maida dosa! Hehe… Once in a while, I do make them and make them limited so that I know I don’t end up having extras and feeding myself more! On Saturday, my B insists on having scrambled eggs with bread and we all love that combination. These pancakes are just so smooth and fluffy, that thankfully the kids loved them – so unusual! – and the HD had a couple of them with honey without any complaints. This is one…
Chicken Paratha Sandwich
Just sharing this beautiful slide for today… only demonstrates how loyal Allah is to us… such a mind-pleaser, such an assuring thought… Sometimes, a weekend calls for a lazy dinner. When umma is not around, I hesitate to go out with the kids, especially on Thursdays as coming back from work makes me feel really tired and yes, Rasha hates that excuse!!! One Thursday, when I had a balloon-faced Rasha sitting in the hall, upset with me for not taking them out, I whipped up this easy, ready within 30 minutes dinner and you wouldn’t believe how fast that “balloon” deflated! She and Azza absolutely loved their sandwiches to the core. Nothing much fancy, but really filling… Chicken Paratha Sandwich Save Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 20 mins Author: Rafeeda Recipe type: Sandwich Cuisine: Indian Serves: 3 Ingredients 1 tsp…
Kozhi Kurumulak Soup ~ Chicken Black Pepper Soup
Umma and I always have our dinners from outside on Thursdays. We stick to the tried and tested tastes, as umma is more bend towards her Kerala taste buds. Most of the time, we move on to eat some naadan food, like porotta, beef roast, chicken varattiyathu, etc… which normally tastes much better at a restaurant than when we make it at home! Grr… There is this little restaurant in the Nahda side of Dubai where we go at least once in a couple of months, as umma loves the food there. When we run out of ideas where to eat from, we normally jump in there. When my sister had come for a visit and we went for our dinner on a Thursday, I was really not in a mood to hog – read in between the lines as in a mood to have just diet food!!! Hehe……
Sweet Corn Vadas
I would hold on 100% to this little quote. I am one person who tries to express my thoughts and feelings in thousands of words, in different combinations and permutations, yet get misunderstood and misjudged as much as possible. Sometimes, it makes me feel whether it is a problem of my communication or the problem of judgement to the party who hears me speak. Slowly but surely, I am starting to realize how much damage control can be done by just being silent. Words, how much ever you feel that it is being used “wisely” may not be wise enough or convincing enough for the other person listening to you. I was somebody who could not keep quiet much, but now slowly I am trying to inculcate myself with the habit of responding only when it is required and keeping quiet and being patient when it is really required….
Coconut Milk Rice
My Rasha turns seven today, Alhamdulillah…. seven years ago, we waited for this little blessing to come into our hands… when I think of all those days of hospital rounds, the endless prickings to take my blood for checking my sugar count, my HD’s pampering lunches and dinners, the long walks holding hands at nights when there would not be a single soul on the streets, lovely times at work and at study (I was doing my MBA at that time, which completed in time for her arrival!), so on and so forth… of course, like many of us, I enjoyed my first pregnancy to the core… Somehow I knew it was a girl in the reckoning and I held HD from asking the doctor regarding the child because I just didn’t want to know, and just like I had guessed, Rasha turned up… a tiny little child who…