mayurisjikoni

a healthy treat   These days the new health rage is seeds like chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, any thing that is coconut, mixture of fruits and vegetables. The list is endless. Even before chia seeds came onto the market, India has been using falooda seeds, Basil seeds or takmariya or sabja as its commonly known in faloodas and added in milk to give a cool refreshing drink. I remember pestering my mum to add spoonfuls of takmariya in my milk. She would tell me that too much is not good. Contrary to her belief basil seeds and chia seeds are very healthy.  There are slight difference between basil and chia seeds.  While basil seeds are derived from basil plant which is mainly found in the Mediterranean region and Indian Sub -Continent, chia is derived from a plant called Salvia Hispanica, a type of mint mainly found in Mexico and Guatemala.  The word chia comes from the Aztec word which means strength. Chia seeds can be eaten raw or soaked whereas basil seeds have ...

BULOCHKI#BREADBAKERS   Appetite comes at mealtime - Russian Proverb      #Breadbakers theme for the month of May 2016 was decided by Deepti of Baking Yummies . She suggested that we bake rolls. It took me a whole week to decide whether I wanted to bake some sweet or savoury rolls. My sweet tooth ruled and I decided to bake sweet rolls, Bulochki. While most bakeries use the term rolls and buns as they wish, the general rule is that rolls are usually stuffed or rolled with a sweet or savoury filling whereas buns are generally plain and not filled. However, there are no strict rules. Hard crusted breads are included in rolls like French rolls or Kaiser rolls whereas Hot Cross Buns are classified as buns.         Bulochki is a Russian sweet filled roll. Usually they are filled with apple, sometimes cherries, apricots,poppy seeds or other fruits. The apple can be stewed, made into butter or jam and then filled in the rolls before baking. I decided to f...

Happy Mother's Day   It's Monday (don't they come fast) and our 39th theme for      #FoodieMonday#Bloghop is #MothersDaySpecial . For this theme we were allowed to make something special for our mums or prepare one of their recipes. I chose to prepare one of my mum's all time famous and popular dish, her maida parothas. She would make these simple and yet so so so delicious parothas for breakfast. She always prepared hot ones for all of us. It was an absolute treat to have these parothas with masala tea and pickle. When she became too sick to cook, I had on occasions prepared these parothas for her and she enjoyed them.My mum mostly made Gujarati style food. Her secret was to keep it simple, using simple fresh ingredients. Part of the reason for starting my blog was to note down some of her famous recipes before they just got lost. Its a pity she never got to see how many of her recipes I have made. I've made her favourite dishes and her specialities. She loved idl...

Anytime is bhajia time    During my visit to Dubai, I was fortunate enough to meet up with two fellow bloggers, Rafeeda, blogger at The Big Sweet Tooth  and Huma of Gheza e Shiriin whom I have known through blogging for a couple of years now. I was super excited as I was meeting fellow bloggers for the first time. These two ladies are so friendly and we chatted away till eventually I had to leave as my family was waiting for me. Wish we could have had more time together. When we met, it didn't even feel as though I was meeting them for the first time. It felt like I've known them for years. I can never forget that when I was new to the blogging world, Huma was the first one to invite me to be a guest on her blog. I was on the top of the world and so thrilled. Rafeeda has always been there to answer questions about blogging and suggestions in groups that we are a part of without hesitation. Hoping that this meeting will develop into a strong friendship. As I keep on mentio...

Healthy start to the day      Many of us cannot begin the day without breakfast, some don't have breakfast at all and some just need their daily mug of coffee or tea to begin the day. I cannot skip breakfast especially when I am not fasting. I love to have bread and tea or cereal. However, I have recently got hubby dear to have oats instead of cereal as they say even though he has bran flakes, all cereals contain sugar. I prefer to have a nice thick smoothie. Whatever ingredients I use for his porridge mine go into the blender. My day begins with work in the kitchen before the water disappears, yoga and then after a cold shower, and my prayers I relax and enjoy my breakfast. Its during that time I catch up with all the messages, make calls when required, do a crossword and read the paper. For this month the shhh cooking secretly group decided to have #smoothies as the theme for April. My partner Priya of Priya's Menu   gave me banana and peanut butter as the two...