mayurisjikoni

shopping delight It has been a week since we arrived in Montreal. The city is full of restaurants and cafes. Its a clean, green and a very arty place. There are a lot of quaint little shops in the area my son Neel lives selling ceramics tableware, crockery,plants, clothes, organic shops, grocery stores, bakeries and so much more. Its wonderful to walk on pavements and where pedestrians have the right of way. Old Montreal is a wonderful place, full of art galleries, restaurants, huge parks, art stores and souvenir shops. The cobbled path, horse drawn carriages is contrasted by a very modern cocktail place right near the port. Our first trip to a small (according to our son it is small and basic) Metro grocery was a delight compared to our enormous Nakumatt. The small store had a much wider choice of breads, fruits, vegetables,cheeses, fresh pasta and I could just go on. Since it is barely a 5 minute walk to Metro, my husband and I go daily to shop for our dinner. A few days ago I saw a ...

yummylicious snack I had sesame honey chilli potatoes for the first time at a food court in one of the malls in Bangalore. it was so delicious and yummy and I was baffled that potatoes too can be made into a yummy Indo-Chinese snack. Paneer, tofu, cauliflower, mushrooms, mixed vegetables, baby corn are all used regularly but potatoes.. that's surprising. However, nowadays its not new for most indo-chinese restaurants to use potatoes as a starter or for a main course. I have made this dish a number of times and never get fed up of it. I have tried both the versions, frying the potatoes and also shallow frying them in little oil. Both taste equally good, but the stir fried ones are a bit soft and the fried ones more crunchier. I love using baby potatoes whenever they are in season. SESAME HONEY CHILLI POTATOES 4 servings 500g potatoes (use either normal or baby potatoes) For the coating: 1 tbsp garlic paste 1 tsp red chilli powder 2 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup) ½-¾ tsp salt 2 tbsp cor...

healthy, healthy, healthy It has been a while since I have posted a salad recipe. I am at the moment in the process of closing down my house for 6 weeks. For all those who have been following my blog, remember all the hassle we went through to get our Canadian visa, we finally are travelling on Saturday. Since Mombasa is a hot and humid place, things do not stay too good and fresh for a long time, so things like powdered spices, flours etc have to be stored in the fridge. While going through my kitchen cupboards I came across quinoa (keenwah) which I must have bought a while ago to try. Quinoa is not grain but edible seeds which have originated from the Andean region. I know of two types of quinoa, red and white. I used the white one. Quinoa is rich in amino acids and minerals like calcium, phosphorus and iron. Its cooked like rice and used as a salad, in place of rice and as a base for many dishes. Any type of vegetable, fruit and a dressing can be added to cooked quinoa to make an ex...

a meal on its own The first time I tasted avocado in a sandwich was some years back when my son suggested it. Initially,I just looked at him thinking "what avocado in a sandwich"! I allowed him to make the sandwiches for us, not wanting to deter his culinary exploratory journey. The sandwiches were delicious and added a unique flavour and since then avocados feature a lot in the sandwiches whenever they are in the season. For this sandwich I have used eggs and carrot but feel free to use any other fillings of your choice, sweet pepper, fish, chicken, cucumber, tomatoes,onions etc. It was the end of the week meal whereby I had only carrots left in the fridge besides the avocado and eggs.  guacamole GUACAMOLE EGG SANDWICH For 4 Gaucamole: ½ avocado (give 1 cup of mashed avocado) 1 tbsp lemon juice ½ tsp garlic paste ½ tsp green chilli paste or 1 chilli finely chopped ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp pepper powder 3-4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander 8 capers (optional) 3-4 tbsp finely chopped spri...

I love kadhi    Kadhis (yogurt curry) is made in numerous ways all over India.Some make kadhi thin, some make it thick. Some add pakoras(fritters) and some add vegetables to it. Whichever type it is I simply love kadhi with rice, parathas or rotlis. Years back when we discovered that my husband developed an allergy to chana (chickpeas), he was disappointed as he was unable to have a variety of foods. Its amazing how many things are made of chickpea flour. Initially whenever we made kadhi at home, we would make some dal for him. But obviously he missed his kadhi. One day my father in law remembered that when he was growing up in the village in India, his mum would make kadhi using millet flour (bajri) as most villagers could not afford to buy besan or chana(chickpea). Chickpea flour was used only for special days and during the festival. So Nunu made kadhi with millet flour. After a lot of trial and error we got it right. Now, whenever I make kadhi, I use either millet or moong...

exotic aromas Making home made spices is delightful and in the process we can make them in the proportion that we want. Adding a bit more cinnamon, less cloves, just enough jeera etc. The recipes are just a rough guideline and eventually one develops their own unique masala or spice mixture. I have had several requests for home made spice recipes. So finally I have managed to compile the recipes and its time to share them with you.  The trick is to roast the spices over very low heat so that they do not get burnt. Let the spices cool before you grind them. Dhana jiru is used a lot for most gujarati dishes. DHANA JIRU 1 cup dry whole coriander (dhana) ¼ cup jeera (cumin seeds) 1 tsp oil Heat oil in a small pan over very low heat.  Add the coriander and keep on stirring till it begins to turn a bit brown. Add the jeera and keep on stirring till the whole mixture turns golden brown. Let it cool before you grind it. Store in an airtight jar. TEA MASALA 100g black pepper 75g cinnam...

Happy Teachers' Day "A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning". Brad Henry          My love for the English language, Geography and Biology is all because of the wonderful, encouraging and inspiring teachers I have had during my school days. Teachers can either make a child hate or love a subject according to how they treat their pupils. My fear for numbers probably started when I was in the 7th standard and we had a horrible teacher. If you did not understand how to tackle a formula or understand any of the geometry or algebra, she would just shout out stating that she is just wasting her time with brainless kids. Yes she was like a witch for all who hated maths and was a fairy to all who were her pets.    Till today, I try and stay away from numbers and physics. There are some teachers, students remember all their lives either for the good things or bad things. Overall I have been lucky to get wonderful t...

your protein boost Sandwiches are such versatile meals, be it as a light lunch, a quick snack, to go along with some soup or salad or for lunch boxes and picnics. The variety of breads makes sandwich making even more fun. The Ennsvalley breads sold at Nakumatt are not bad at all. Buy slices, buns or french loaves. Sandwiches are made quite often at our home for dinner. Egg and avocado combined is an amazing taste and very refreshing. Today I am going share a recipe using avocado mayonnaise. I didn't bother to make mayonnaise at home as I have a huge jar of ready made mayonnaise sitting in the fridge. To mask the vinegary taste I added avocado to it and hey presto I got a sandwich which hubby dear loved. Whenever I am in London, I tend to use a lot of watercress in salads and sandwiches. EGG AVOCADO MAYONNAISE SANDWICH For 2 as a meal or 4 as a snack 2 or 4 buns or a french loaf 3 boiled eggs 3 to 4 tsp butter ½ cup finely chopped lettuce For the avocado mayonnaise: 3 tbsp avocado p...