mayurisjikoni

Easy to make     This is my second scone recipe. I don't know why I don't make them often enough. Maybe just the mental block that they are difficult to make. Trust me they are not. There are two reasons I came up with recipe. Firstly, my partner for Shhh Cooking Secretly, Jolly who has a wonderful blog Homemade Recipes  gave me the ingredients condensed milk and plain flour(maida, all purpose flour) for our July theme#MonsoonTreats. Monsoon means hot treats like bhajias, soups, curries. I really couldn't think what Monsoon treat to make using those ingredients.I narrowed it down to baking something but what was the question. Coming to my second reason.. my brother, bhabhi and niece are here in Mombasa. They've come to attend a wedding. They were going to stop by for breakfast before going to the beach resort where the wedding is. I was suppose to bake a bread to serve for breakfast but didn't manage that. Before going to bed was thinking what I should make when the...

Sometimes you need some spice             Its time to post our bake for the 'We Knead to Bake' group. For the month of July our host for the #41st bake was Ankita Dave of Anki's Cakery . She requested us to bake Vegetable Masala Buns. Whatever international cuisine is made in an Indian kitchen has to spiced up. Bread also is spiced up to give it that typical 'chatpata' taste. Ankita suggested we could use pizza sauce. However, I thought of using a typical Indian option. What better 'sauce' to use then a chutney.Besides being a masala or spicy bread, what was unique about these buns is the way they were shaped. Loved the shape.          We Knead to Bake is a group of enthusiastic bakers who bake a chosen bread every month. Previously, the initiator of the group Aparna would choose the type of bread we should bake. But now members participate by hosting. They choose what sort bread others have to bake. Its through this group that...

Celebration Time     I joined the #FoodieMonday#Bloghop group in the month of March when they were on their 31st theme.This week we are on our 50th theme...wow. Its time to celebrate. Celebration is usually with something sweet.The group decided on #Traditional Sweets. I decided to make an authentic Gujarati mithai (dessert), mohanthal. I get a bit nervous when I have to prepare traditional Indian sweets. I would have opted for easier traditional sweets like shiro (sooji halwa), lapsi , shrikhand , basundi , but I've already posted those. Had Mohanthal and Magas on my 'to do list'. I decided on Mohanthal as I prefer that to magas.     Before I go into explaining how to make mohanthal, I must tell you a bit about the #FoodieMonday#Bloghop group. Right now we are 10 members. One stays in US, one in Singapore, five in India, one in Qatar, one in Scotland and I live in Kenya. So how do we decide on the theme every week? Our life saviour is Whatsapp. As soon as everyone h...

Date and Chai Muffins#BreadBakers Natural Sweeteners   While browsing on Facebook one night, I saw a message from Stacy the initiator of Bread Bakers group, requesting members to host the coming months. Quickly, she found hosts for August to December 2016.The only month left was July! For a long time I wanted to host but what put me off was the too technical sounding google documents and htmls and all those alien technological terms. There are files explaining how to go about it, but a mental block was making the whole task sound just too difficult. Knowing that in July I would be spending time with my son in Montreal, I quickly "whatsapped" him asking if he will help to create the document. "Of course mum," he replied. So, I decided to 'jump into the deep end knowing that I don't know how to swim'.     The next step was to go through the previous themes and decide on one. Natural Sweeteners came to mind and I wrote to Stacy that I will be the host for J...

Mexican is a popular cuisine   The Mexican cuisine staples are corn, beans, chili peppers, avocados,tomatoes, honey and chocolate. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire,Mexican cuisine has a strong Spanish influence. They introduced meats(beef, chicken, goat and sheep) and dairy products, mainly cheese and various spices and herbs and grains like wheat and rice.Traditionally, the inhabitants of Mexico were nomadic hunters and gatherers. Corn tortillas with bean paste was a common meal. They also ate wild game, fish and local fruits. During the slave trade era the cuisine was influenced also by African and Asian elements. Most rural areas still prepare meals using corn, beans and chili peppers as their main ingredients. Dishes vary from region to region. The most popular food in Mexico is enchiladas.  What we know as Mexican cuisine is also popularly known as TexMex cuisine. Mexican cuisine is as popular as Chinese, Italian, Indian and Japanese cuisines.   Did you...

Hot and Spicy       It's very hot in Montreal so when the #FoodieMonday #Bloghop group decided on Monsoon Madness, as our 47th theme , I must admit I was in a dilemma. What do I make that's apt for the Monsoon season without frying pakodas! For me monsoon season in Bangalore meant hot kheer or raab and dal vadas. I love the hot spicy vadas that are sold in the market areas around Bangalore. Monsoon also reminds me of the hot roasted corn(bhutta) in Mumbai near my sister- in -law's apartment and Juhu beach. Roasted corn with lemon and red chilli powder is so delicious.      A couple of days ago we had bought some fresh corn to boil and have with some butter or lime. The corn was really sweet and tender. That's when the idea struck.... why not make makai no chevdo which is a typically Gujarati snack, very tasty and easy to make.It's a perfect monsoon treat. I remember my kaki would make this for us during the corn or maize season in Nairobi. Its best to get...