mayurisjikoni

Cheers!    Go to any party, bar, pub, lounge, restaurant,  reception, and you'll see people clinking their glasses and saying cheers. Whether young or old, men or women, kids or adults all raise their glasses, filled with alcoholic or non alcoholic drinks to toast a host or for general good wishes to all present.    The word cheers originates from the French word chiere which meant face or head. By 18th century it meant gladness and was used as a way for encouragement. Today cheers is simply a way of wishing one or a group, good health and happiness.     It is believed that glasses were raised up as an offering of wine to the Gods. Clinking of glasses has many theories. However, no one is really sure which is the right one. When one has a glass of an alcoholic or non alcoholic drink in their hand, the sight of the drink evokes sight, taste, smell and feel. However to evoke the fifth sense, hearing, glasses are clinked resulting in the enhance...

Spreading Love    This is the first time I'm participating in the annual event #FoodBloggerLove Valentine's Day. This event is organized by PinterTest Kitchen . This blog is run by Sharon Boyer and her two daughters Allison and Jessica.  Basically, you sign up for the event (it was a group I'd joined to share recipes and to get to know other bloggers, but forgot about the group till I got the invite to join in this event). Here, it works like  secret Santa. I got assigned a blogger and some else will get me.The deal is to either prepare something from the assigned blog or prepare something that he/she would like.We share our recipes on the same day ( Please scroll down right to the bottom to see what other bloggers have prepared ). I was waiting with much excitement to see who I would get...seriously this is the first time I'm actually participating in this 'Secret Santa' game. Never ever participated in it but have heard all about the excitement and joy from m...

MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON -SEPT 2017 #80TH BLOGGING MARATHON THEME: PROTEIN RICH DISHES DAY:24     What is Moringa? Its considered as the 'new' superfood with plenty of health benefits. Moringa is what we know as drumstick tree, the tree of life, horseradish tree, ben oil tree etc. One can consume the pods, flowers, seeds and leaves of this tree. India is the largest producer of moringa. My all time favorite is making the pods or sarghvo as its called in Gujarati, in a yogurt and chickpea flour gravy.     Moringa powder is a rich source of protein, 28g in every 100g. It's one of the few plants that contains what is known as the complete protein. It easily can compete with animal based protein. It contains all the essential amino acids. Besides being rich in protein it is also rich in Vitamins A,C and E, calcium and potassium. It fights free radicals in the body to and therefore helps to keep the organs healthy, fights inflammation which is good to fight inflammator...

A quick dessert fix Theme: No Bake Desserts BM#78 Week 3 Day 2    I must admit its all these theme based cooking that is motivating me to either prepare bookmarked recipes or try out new recipes. I've come across so many mug cakes but never really bothered to try them out. For the No Bake Desserts theme, we are suppose to make a dessert which we would normally bake in a convectional oven but not bake it in an oven...confused?? Basically no using a convectional oven.     Taking advantage of the abundance of berries available in the markets in Montreal, I decided to make a mug cake in the microwave oven instead of using the convectional oven. I must admit I still love my 'properly' baked cakes but as a quick dessert treat... and I mean really quick, mug cakes are not a bad option at all. Even my sone was surprised that I could bake a cake so quickly. Last week when we went to the supermarket, I was looking for brownies to prepare my other no bake dessert and ...

Spread the Fragrance     Did you that flowers have been used world wide as a part of cooking? Usage of edible flowers can be traced all the way back to the Roman times, its a major part in the Middle Eastern, Indian Sub Continent and Chinese culture. Use of edible flowers became a vogue during the Victorian period usually used to decorate cakes and desserts.         Flower culinary is fast coming back into 'fashion' with high end flowers and fine dining restaurants are now using fresh flowers right from making starters, in soups and salads to main dishes and desserts. And not forgetting infused teas and drinks. The options are endless.         Growing up I'd seen my mum and aunts use rose petals to decorate shrikhand, kheer and gulab jamun. We would pluck the flowers of the fennel plant and eat them as they tasted like fennel seeds.  Rose jam(gulkand), rose essence and fresh petals are used in a lot of Indian sweets, biryanis a...

A Healthy Ramadan    The holy month of Ramadan is observed by Muslims all over the world.It is the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar.Its the month when the Holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammed. During this month the Muslims fast for the whole month from sunrise to sunset. The holy month of Ramadan is much more about purifying the soul, focusing attention on God and about self discipline and sacrifice rather than focusing on food and drink.    After sunset the fast is broken by taking a few sips of water and a few dates during Iftar or the evening meal. Suhoor is the meal served before sunrise. This meal is usually hearty and healthy meal to provide one with energy.    Keeping in mind my intention of preparing healthy recipes (well, at least trying to) I decided not to make a rich fried snack but a healthy, replenishing, hydrating soup. Shorbat Adas is a Middle Eastern soup usually served at the beginning of Iftar...