mayurisjikoni

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT - NOV 2014 I am happy to announce that I will be hosting IN MY VEG BOX   for the month of November 2014 . The theme for the event is MUSHROOMS .   In my veg box was started by  Nayna Kanabar   of   Citrus Spice and all things nice   and  Simply food I chose Mushrooms as its my all time favourite vegetable.  Its not classified as a vegetable but as a fungi. However, its widely used in many cuisines of the world and labelled as a vegetable. Mushrooms have been celebrated as a source of powerful nutrients. Low in calories, fat free, cholesterol free, gluten free. low in sodium but rich in many nutrients. Its a good source of Vitamins B and D, selenium, potassium, copper. There are many type of mushrooms like the white ones, portobello, chanterelle, oyster, shiitake, cremini, enoki, truffles, porcini and so many more.  Mushrooms are used in soups to pastas, curries, sandwiches, salads, starters, stir fries, rice dishes etc. Beware that all mushrooms that grow in the fo

Diwali Event Round up 2014    The festive month is over and my experience of hosting the first ever event was exciting. I waited with anticipation for fellow bloggers to link their recipes to the event. Many  sent words of encouragement and also supported the event by posting multiple entries. Thank you all and hope that you will be constant supporters for other events that I may decide to host. By hosting this event I have met new bloggers, many have liked my facebook page or are following through google+ and google connect. Its a pleasant experience to share recipes and tips and encourage each other. A big thank you to Swathi (Zesty South Indian Kitchen) for letting me host the event. Check the recipes contributed by the following bloggers : Home Cook Food - Linsy 1) doodh pak with poori 2) dalwada 3) dudh poha 4) methi chakli 5) candied ginger 6) mango coconut burfi 7) rasgulla 8) gulab jamun with coconut flakes My Kichen Odyssey  - Sathya 1) avocado blueberry ragi cake 2) gulab ja

delightfully cooling    A few days ago I got a punnet of fresh strawberries that were fresh, large and sweet. Normally we get tiny and slightly sour ones. The season of strawberries will disappear soon as the hot season has set in. I brought the punnet home and thought of baking some strawberry muffins. But by evening I had served strawberries with fresh cream as dessert. I remember how my kaki and I would buy loads of strawberries and fresh cream to serve our large family as a treat on Saturday evenings. This is a very easy and quick dessert idea. Refreshing and cooling. We have sometimes served mixed berries and cream as dessert in London. Unfortunately I don't get all the berries here. Natural Ice cream parlours in India serve fresh strawberries and cream. Tastes absolutely yummy. Go on try this recipe out, its so easy. Some serve the strawberries and pouring cream. Some whip it. Do what suits you best. STRAWBERRIES AND FRESH CREAM Serves 2 250 g fresh strawberries 1- 2 tsp powd

back to normal     Now that the festivities are over, its nice to get back to routine. Don't get me wrong, I love Diwali. However, I tend to get so busy like everyone else and sometimes it seems that I am not going to be able to cope. Preparing mithai, full lunches, presents, treats, decorating the house, rangoli, diyas. The list is endless. I get so overwhelmed by the endless bookmarked recipes, that I want to prepare everything. Next Diwali I am going to make a list and stick to it. No stress and no fretting. The hot weather also does not help. By afternoon I am exhausted. This hot weather will now last till February. This time round for one of the Diwali lunches, where I had invited guests I wanted to make stuffed pepper as starters. Instead of buying the normal bell peppers, I decided to buy the long ones. The greengrocer assured me that they were just like the sweet peppers but only the shape was different. When I cut the pepper into half, instinct told me taste a wee bit. I d

Happy Diwali and a wonderful New Year          Diwali festivities are not the same as back in India. However, the Indian community in Mombasa, holds various functions to involve the Hindus during these auspicious days. Rangolis, creativity, fetes, competitions, firework displays, yummy food, poojas and havans. As soon as Navratri gets over everyone begins cleaning the house, getting sweets and savouries ready, shopping for gifts and new clothes. Every year our community Patel Samaj holds a fete. There are various food stalls and games. Most of the people, Hindus and non Hindus come for the yummy food. Papdi no lot , Kachri bateta, Bhel, pani puri, sev puri, dosa, khichdi, pav bhaji,etc. Every year new varieties are added to the list.          Other communities hold a dinner during the festive days for its members. Its the best place to meet and greet people as these days its not possible to go to everyone's home to greet them. Oh dear, as I am typing this, the power has gone... y

  Me time!           Do you ever get some time in a month or a week just by yourself and no one else? No kids, no family, no hubby, etc etc? I do. Not saying that I don't get my space with hubby dear around. He is my biggest supporter in whatever I want to do in life. But there are times we women need to be alone, with no one around. I get those days at least twice a month when hubby attends his medical meetings in the evening. For that evening I am free to cook what I like, which usually means something that he does not like and to watch any program or movie that I want. No one to tell me that candy crush is a kiddie's game, no one to tell me that I am taking too long to solve the sudoku or no one to tell me that I only buy the newspaper for the crossword! For those 3-4 hours, I am doing what I want. It's a great relaxing feeling. But when he gets home, I am happy not to be alone. When I tell him that, he thinks I am crazy, wanting time by myself and at the same time glad

tropical taste       Coconut is such a versatile fruit. Bake with it, add it in rice, curries, decorate with it. So many ways to use it. I love the taste of coconut combined with a tropical fruit. I hadn't baked muffins in a while, and yesterday managed to bake some. This time round, I decided to combine coconut and passion fruit. I use the sour passion fruit to make juice, add to desserts or add to a fruit salad. I had a few passion fruits left over and decided to use them up in the muffins.The muffins taste really good... tropical flavour.         These are early Diwali gifts for my neighbours as the coming week will be pretty hectic. Still got a lot more baking to do and make a few traditional sweet dishes for Diwali.  COCONUT AND PASSION FRUIT MUFFINS Makes 24 small ones 2 cups plain flour (all purpose flour) ½ cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened) 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda (soda bicarbonate) 1 cup sugar ½ tsp salt ⅓ cup oil 1 cup plain yogurt ¼ cup passion fruit pul

I have come a long way       I remember whenever I would try out a new recipe on my own or with my friends or kaki, we would follow the recipe word to word. But that was when we were learning. Now its getting the main ingredients and the method correct and then the recipe turns into my way, my method etc. Now, I have the confidence to explore and find easier ways. Don't get me wrong, certain recipes do have to be followed precisely. Can you imagine not adding baking powder or soda to the cake, over fermenting the bread dough, adding more liquid to the roti or paratha dough, adding more salt to the curry, etc etc. There are so many possibilities for a recipe to turn disastrous. I have had my share of failures and some have been beyond repair.      During my Polytechnic days, my friends and I would dine at each others place quite often. The fun part was that we would also prepare the dinner for us and the rest of the family. At that time, Tarla Dalal's books were our Bible. We wo