mayurisjikoni

Steamed and Healthy     Last weekend was my second visit to Niagara Falls and I thought I will not be as impressed with this natural wonder as I was the first time. However, I was so wrong. It was as though I was watching the mighty falls for the first time. I guess that the feeling of awe will never cease no matter how many times I may get an opportunity to visit the Niagara Falls. Its one of my favourite places on this Earth.     We took my dad who is visiting Canada for the first time, to Niagara Falls. We booked him into a falls view room and boy was it spectacular. My niece from Atlanta paid us a surprise visit(my son knew) and she too joined us for the weekend trip. It was her first time too to see the falls. Come evening and we all would gather in my dad's room to watch the different colours lighting the falls. Its such a pretty sight. Three falls make up the Niagara Falls, the largest being the Horseshoe Falls that borders between USA and Canada, the Ame...

Narendra Modi rocks!        Last night got back from a late show of the movie Equalizer and couldn't fall asleep immediately. One shouldn't watch violence before bed time as sleep disappears. I decided to check out my facebook page and the first thing I see was the speech by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the Madison Square Garden shared by a friend. http://goo.gl/47tJIi      A true leader, a great orator and a humble man. His speech captivated the audience and was inspirational. For a person who wants to do so much for India its every Indian's duty inside and outside India to support this great cause. We all dream of a better, cleaner India and if we put our minds to it, it is possible.      I am usually not interested in politics as everywhere in the world, politicians promise a lot and leave the people disillusioned. However, what I have noticed about Narendra Modi is that you cannot help but get capitvated by what he says. T...

A tribute to Dada It exactly one year since Dada, my father in law passed on. We miss him in every step of our lives but he has taught us quite a few lessons which helps us to walk through life. Dada's humble beginning as a farmers's son made him what he was, a humble, kind hearted and benevolent person. He always liked to help others be it through social clubs, the temples or friends. He was a simple man with simple needs and little jestures pleased him the most. He loved feeding the destitutes through food for life programs and the bramacharis of the ISKCON movement. A satiated look on the faces of the bramacharis or the less fortunate made him happy. As much as he loved feeding others, he loved food himself. Though he never learnt how to make a cup of tea or heat up some milk, he knew what would be missing from a cooked dish and loved a good balance of taste... a bit of salt, a wee bit more of chillis and generous amounts of sugar. For him that was a perfect balanced taste t...

 versatile potatoes Potatoes are everyone's favourite. Baked, boiled, fried or steamed they can be an excellent accompaniment to a dish or as a main dish. Used in stews, curries, soups, salads, breads etc. The humble potato is  truly a versatile vegetable. Today I am going to share my favourite recipe, baked potato or jacket potato. For this you need the nice flaky or powdery types of potatoes. In UK they sell potatoes just for baking and in Kenya I prefer to use the Meru potatoes. Unfortunately in India the potatoes do not bake too well. So they have to boiled first and then baked for while before stuffing them. I have written about just a few of the stuffings that I use for baked potato but you can use anything that you wish. Its an excellent party idea. Have loads of baked potatoes ready and keep all sorts of stuffings ready. The guests can top the potatoes with their favourite stuffing. BAKED POTATO (JACKET POTATO) For 4 4 large flaky potatoes Mushroom stuffing : 4 cups ch...

Niku's idea Coleslaw is such a basic salad, widely served with burgers, baked potatoes, chips or french fries, in sandwiches and so many other things. Unfortunately all those who don't eat eggs cannot really have it as it has mayonnaise. I make my coleslaw at home without the mayonnaise. Once when I made the coleslaw to go with the baked potatoes, Niku said 'Mum, make the cabbage salad a bit more interesting. Add some grapes'. That was when he was just about 7 or so. Then and there I should have figured out that my son will choose a career where food is the major interest. He is not a chef but works for the hospitality industry. Over the years many more suggestions have poured in from him to make that slight difference to a dish. So Niku, the coleslaw recipe is yours with my dressing recipe. updated : 24/05/2016 EGGLESS COLESLAW Serves 4  1½ cups shredded cabbage 1 cup shredded carrot ¼ - ½ cup finely chopped fresh fruit of your choice  dressing : 1 cup thick yogurt...

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 ...