mayurisjikoni

Team Love     For the past few days the weather has completely changed in Bangalore...its chilly cold and rainy. It could be due to the cyclone Ockhi that hit Kerala.Unlike homes in the western world, there is no central heating system so one has to wrap up pretty warm. I hate wearing a sweater as I find them too itchy so come evening and I wrapped myself in a shawl and topped with a thick bed sheet. After that didn't want to budge even a millimeter. Hot water and hot milk becomes one's best friend. It also meant that I didn't want to have my usual smoothie for breakfast. I wanted something hot that would warm up the body. What better breakfast treat is there than hot parathas and masala tea.      The #121st theme for FoodieMonday/Bloghop is Pushpita's recipes. Who is Pushpita? She is one of the members of the FoodieMonday group. In all we are 15 members. We usually take turns to decide on the theme. The 121st theme was to be decided by Pushpita. However, she h...

Where is my dahi?     Dahi is the hindi/gujarati word for yogurt. When my kids were growing up, yogurt was a part of their meal every single day. Plain yogurt or made into lassi but mostly good old plain home made yogurt . Dollops of the thick creamy goodness was eaten with dals, rice, khichdi and vegetable curry.If anything was slightly chilli for the kids a dollop of yogurt took care of it. While the boys were not too fussed about yogurt or lassi, my daughter on the other hand would throw a tantrum if she didn't have her bowl of yogurt for lunch.She'd cry out "where is my dahi?" if we didn't serve it with her lunch.    As you may have guessed by now, the #FoodieMonday #Bloghop 92nd theme is yogurt. Preethi our group member requested us to make anything using yogurt.         Yogurt is known to have many health benefits.  Its easier to digest than milk, its rich in calcium, it has high levels of Vitamin B especially Vitamin B12.  I...

A New Home   Moving homes is not a joke at all. In fact its very stressful. When one accumulates all the things one has into boxes, you realise that its a lot of stuff! How much can one person own in a lifetime? A lot! New gadgets, new crockery, new clothes, new shoes, all with different designs and colours and we  buy it. The world of advertisement is certainly doing a very good job. Though I may own a frying pan which can double as my tawa and use it to roast rotis on, I still want one for the parathas, one for the eggs, and perhaps different sizes too, a small for the fried eggs, a medium for the chilas and perhaps a big one for the dosas or crepes. Our wants and needs are endless.    We had got the removal company to help us. I realised that they didn't really understand the concept of packing a box to the maximum, using every empty space to fit in all the goods. They just dumped everything in the box and packed it up, half empty or with still with a bit more spa...

 Magic box cooking   Travelling is exciting but what I don't like is all the preparations I have to make before the travelling. I leave for India on Sunday. Excited that I will spend some time with my daughter. However, all these little chores that I have to get through before we travel is stressful. Clear the fridge, make sure lentils are stored away properly, must pack up all the different flours and store them in the fridge, check out the masalas, make sure no perishable stuff is left in the kitchen otherwise on my return will find a stinking kitchen! So the last few days are actually like the magic box they offer to the contestants on Masterchef.  Odd ingredients have to be put together to prepare lunch or dinner. I get so tempted to buy other ingredients but actually have to stop myself. The minute Esther or Amena (our daily veggie ladies) ring the bell, I get a wee bit excited but quickly have to come back to reality. To top it up today my househelp Julius reminds m...

It's potatoes again Nice creamy potato salad is a hit at any party. Kids and adults love potatoes and the salad goes well with hot crispy pizzas. I am already drooling.... not for the salad but for the pizzas! To make it an absolute veggie salad I do not use mayonnaise or salad cream. Combining thick yogurt and fresh cream makes this salad refreshing. POTATO SALAD 4 TO 6 Servings 500g baby potatoes 3½ tsps salt 1 cup thick yogurt or ½ cup thick yogurt and ½ cup fresh double cream 3 tbsps chopped fresh dill (suva bhaji) 2 tbsps roasted sesame seeds (tal) 8 to 10 chopped walnuts ½ to 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp green chilli paste Wash and put the potatoes in a pan. Cover it with enough water. Add 3 tsps of salt and boil the potatoes till they are done.  Drain out the water and let the potatoes cool down completely. Peel them if you like. If some of them are big cut into half. You want bite size potatoes. Mix remaining salt, sugar, dill, cream and green chilli paste into the yogurt. Pour the yo...

 Prina your savaa ni bhaji is ready! Prina my niece, loves savaa ni bhaji with rotli and so does her dada. Savaa, suva or dill leaves are prepared as a vegetable in India either with lentils or potatoes. In the western countries these feathery green leaves are used mainly to flavour a stew, salad or soup. It is a herb but grows in abundance in India during the winter season. Big fat bunches sometimes sell for just under 10 rupees. My visit to the Mombasa market this week was a delight as I saw only one seller with a few bunches of the bhaji. I quickly grabbed a few and made the vegetable on the same day. This herb does not stay for too long as the leaves start to turn yellow within a day or two. I love savaa ni bhaji with the lentils but Ajay prefers it with aubergines. SAVAA NI BHAJI (DILL AND LENTILS) 4 servings ½ cup yellow split green gram lentils ( yellow moong dal) ½ cup water 4 cups (lightly packed) finely chopped savaa or dill 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp chilli paste 1 tbsp o...