mayurisjikoni

Enjoying the cold weather      I am thoroughly enjoying the cold weather in Bangalore. Makes me feel more energetic. While my family is posting pictures of still hot summers in UK, hubby is saying that weather is getting hotter in Mombasa, Bangalore seems to be getting colder. We get the occasional showers and its pretty windy where we are living. Cold weather means cups and cups of hot drinks, mostly green or herbal tea or plain hot water.(can't drink those in Mombasa!) I love sipping on mint tea. The 'sabjiwala' who comes thrice a week to our complex to sell vegetables and fruits has a policy of not giving small bunches of coriander and mint. I have to buy a fat bunch and land up using the mint for tea. What a change from the few stems of coriander, spinach and mint I get back in Mombasa to these fat bunches.     Our #FoodieMonday#Bloghop team decided on #stuffed vegetables as our 59th theme. I've already blogged stuffed bhindi and brinjals (photos need seri...

 Feel the Light    Songs can uplift the soul, calm your mind, create a peaceful environment, bring smiles on faces, sometimes tears, transport you to a different level and make your heart beat. One such song I heard recently was Feel the Light by Jennifer Lopez. She has sung the song for the upcoming movie Home.The song is wow but what makes it even more wow is the dress she had worn for the American Idol. The 20 foot radius and 40 foot diameter long dress almost covered the whole American Idol stage. Called a projector dress it acted as a blank canvas projecting a variety of special effect lights.Watch the video to believe and at the same time enjoy the beautiful lyrics of the song - Feel the Light    Have you noticed how all the animated movies have beautiful songs. Love listening to them. I love watching animated movies.Its amazing how one can watch them again and again and still enjoy them.When my kids were growing up, we've watched Little Mermaid, Dumbo, Ju...

 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...

unique vegetable Ladyfingers,okra or bhindi is a very popular vegetable in India. Its cooked dry, used in sambhars, made with tomatoes or a  gravy. Depends on the type of cuisine. Gujaratis normally cook it dry. The Japanese use okra to make tempura. In Malaysia its stuffed with fish paste and in other parts of the world, the slime helps to thicken a soup.  It is a slimy vegetable, which is reduced when cooked dry. Most kids  love bhindi.  Nikil my son loves stuffed bhindi. Whenever we visit Ajay's aunt (foi), she always gives me some vegetable that has been either grown at home or at their office yard. Right from brinjals, doodhi to spinach. This time round she gave me these fresh young tender ladyfingers. The first thing I could think of to make was stuffed bhinda and I had a bit of stuffing in the fridge. I tend to wipe the ladyfngers with a damp cloth to avoid the vegetable getting all slimy.If the ladyfingers are dirty, then wash it in a colander and dry out on ...

aubergines with a difference Most people hear the name aubergine, brinjal or eggplant and make a face. That includes my lovely daughter Nami. Try this recipe out and brinjals will not have tasted better. With the limited number of vegetables available at present in Mombasa, I constantly have to figure out a way to repeat the vegetables but by cooking in a different manner. I remember my mum and nunu only made stuffed brinjals when we would have guests over for lunch or dinner. But I make them pretty regularly as its one of my favourite dish. I usually go to the market to pick out the tiny young brinjals or the long tender ones.The best ones for this recipe are the purple coloured ones. The green ones have a tougher skin. Eggplant is loaded with vitamins and minerals. Its a rich source of iron, potassium, manganese and dietary fibres. It is rich in nasunin, an antioxidant which helps to lower bad cholesterol, helps the blood vessels and controls blood sugar. STUFFED BRINJALS or BHARELU ...