mayurisjikoni

  a must have in most indian homes When  we were travelling from Gondal to Anand  on Ram navmi day, we stopped at a restaurant just near Anand to have our dinner. It was very very hot that day and I cannot remember the number of cold drinks, mainly nimbu pani and limca we all must have drunk. As we all could not fit on one big table, our family decided to occupy 5 small tables and each table ordered for themselves. On our table, Vibha bhabhi and I decided to stick to the good old water whereas Ajay and Snehalbhai ordered lassi. They both enjoyed the cool drink and Snehalbhai said 'Vibs we should have this everyday at home.' Vibs did look at him oddly and asked ' even in winter?' And the answer was ' its cold outside the house not inside.' Whether Vibs makes chaas everyday or not, its a must have in our house for lunch. Considering the weather in Mombasa, its the most cooling and invigorating drink that the Indian subcontinent has invented. It goes by many names

For my Nunu   As I have mentioned before, I have learnt to cook from my mum, kaki, other women in my life and most of all from Nunu. Nunu is my mother in law. The patience that my mum didn't have with me, Nunu had in abundance. Lots of dinners, lunches, parties was the norm when I entered the V.V. Patel household as a new bride. To top it up my sister in law Arti too was under training.... learning how to cook. At breakfast time Nunu would explain to her how to make a particular dish and at that time I didn't have just a pair of ears but perhaps 2 or 3 pairs open ready to pick up new recipes, ideas, tips etc.       Nunu had to learn cooking by herself. She lost her mother when she was very young and had the responsibility of cooking for her father and brother. She learnt the basics from her aunt (kaki). When she got married and moved to Mombasa, she slowly formed her own group of friends who were more like family members. She learnt recipes from them, from cook books and from l

Ajay's favourite        Its almost the end of April and I have only blogged 28 recipes.Will my mission of 366 recipes by the end of the year be fulfilled? So many upheavals and events have prevented me from blogging on a regular basis. Two days ago I spent nearly 40 minutes composing, editing, etc a recipe and just as I was about to insert the picture, the computer just freezes. So I lost my work. It was really frustrating but today is a new day, so a fresh start, hoping that there will be no technical gliches today.          Hot flaky pies, be it cheese, chicken or vegetable are everyone's favourite. Most normal coffee or snack places in Kenya serve pies and they are very popular. My friend and I have had umpteen number of hot cheese pies and coffee when we were in the Polytechnic. However with food prices rising, the filling in the pies is getting smaller and smaller. So I tend to make pies at home and most often Ajay's favourite which is the spinach mushroom pie. He love

A CRUNCHY TREAT FOR HIREN Everyone loves desserts, well almost everyone, but not as much as my cousin Hiren.  What do you make when you don't want to just serve ice cream on its own? Some fresh fruit and ice cream is the answer. But add a little bit of crunch to it and its a perfect ending to a chinese meal. This recipe will take care of any leftover wanton or samosa wrappers. For Hiren it will be a perfect ending to any type of meal as long as Heni makes it.  Its amazingly  refreshing with mangoes but feel free to use any fresh fruit. CRUNCHY DESSERT perfect for 2 2 cups of any diced fresh fruit ( bananas, mangoes, peaches, berries, fresh figs) 1 cup of fried wanton or samosa wrappers. Cut into pieces before frying. 3 tbsps honey 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds 2 scoops ice cream. Flavour of your choice. Cut the fruit just before serving to prevent it from turning brown. Roast the sesame seeds in a pan over low heat or in the microwave oven for 30 seconds. Put the honey in a medium si

A TREAT FOR DENIS Theme: ReDo Old Posts BM#85 Week 4 Day 3 26/02/2018    Sandwiches in any form make a great snack for a peckish tummy, as a light meal at night or a great brunch treat. Can't imagine what the world would do without the humble bread. Eat it on its own with tea, layer it butter or fill it with vegetables, leftovers, meat, practically anything. This particular recipe I dedicate to Denis, Namrata's first friend in Bangalore when she started her textile design course at NIFT. We had just moved into a rented apartment near the college and the kitchen was not fully functional. Denis was coming home to help us settle in and the only thing I could make at that time were masala sandwiches and of course we were dying to try out our new sandwich toaster. The number of triangles he went through with the famous maggi sauce left me baffled.Whenever I make these sandwiches I remember him. So Denis this one is for you.    Masala sandwiches are ever so popular in most Indian hom

All time family favourite   Rice plain or with other ingredients is a very filling dish. Easy to prepare with almost any vegetable, yogurt, stock, leftovers etc. Rice is comfort food for most people. I haven't come across anyone as yet who doesn't like rice.Did you know that uncooked white rice has a shelf life of 8-10 years if stored in a cool place. Did you know that rice is used during pujas to symbolize longevity, prosperity and fertility.    This particular recipe is a family favourite. We tend to make khatti kanki ever so often. I think the children loved it not so much because of the rice but more because of  the nice crispy crunchy chips (french fries) that we make with it.The first time I had kanki  was after I got married and loved it. I learnt to prepare it from Nunu, my mother in law. The most important ingredient for this dish is sour yogurt. Usually the ready made or home made yogurt is not too sour. I usually leave it out at room temperature for 4-5 hours to make