Healthy Salad and much more......

Allhumdulliah as the fasts continue, it is bit difficult to choose quick and healthy recipes for Iftar all the time. Iftar (Arabic: إفطار‎), refers to the evening meal when we break the fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Dates are the first to consume. Depending on the country and their relative traditions the recipes for Iftar vary. People of Hyderabad, India relish on much popular Haleem as it is perfect to boost the energy levels and filling too.. Festivals, fasts, celebrations, events,….will come to life when we are staying with whole family. It’s always boring to think what to cook for only two people and that to when one has to go office and other has to stay back. Times like that a simple salad with a healthy touch is quite filling and satisfying.

Kala chana/Black chickpea are rich with Vitamin A, B1 and B3 and has small amount of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and Vitamin C in it. They also carry potassium, phosphorus, iron and calcium with good amount of sodium with them. So a cup of these to go with fresh, juicy red pomegranate seeds, carried by green chilli which gives spicy taste along with juicy red tomatoes, crunchy onions, lemon giving that tangy taste with fresh coriander leaves making it healthy, tasty and indulging……..

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Black chickpeas/Kala chana, soaked and boiled until soft
• 1 Onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
• ½ Cucumber/kheera
• 1 Green chili, deseeded and finely chopped
• 6-7 tbsp fresh Pomegranate seeds
• 3 tbsp fresh Lime juice
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped Coriander leaves
• Salt

PREPERATION:

• Mix and indulge.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

NOTE: I soaked kala chana overnight and pressure cooked until soft.

Now coming to much more as I mentioned in the title.......

First to come are my entries to WYF:Breakfast Event by EC of Simple Indian Food, who is hosting this event in celebration of her blog's second anniversary. Happy Bloganniversary dear EC.

Second in the row is, I did a complete makeover to my Food Blogroll. Now it is not only a place where you can see the yummy updates of the fellow food bloggers but also you can know the current food and food photography events running in the blogs worldwide. If you are missing out there then drop in a comment to get added....http://foodbloggerhub.blogspot.com/

Third to annouce is I am pairing up with Siri of Siri's Corner to maintan Events and RoundUps page. If you are hosting any event, do drop a comment there to let know more and more people about the event(s).

RAMADAN SPECIAL: Check out for an updated list of members participating globally in Joy From Fasting To Feasting (Season-II)

Egg Pudding

Shama's First Cooked Food Event made me think what I learnt to cook for the first time. May be like most of us it is making maggi, improving to omelet then to watery tea and then simple dal. Mostly my cooking skills were refined after marriage, may be because it is full time job now. But whatever I use to prepare before marriage, my mom, dad and sweet lil sis used to say superb and finish it all. My dad and sis are very fond of sweets; they can have sweets anytime of the day or even at midnight. My mom makes this egg pudding very often and it's of my favourites. Being not so sweet liking person, this one sweet is something which I never ever say no to indulge. As this pudding calls for some simple and handy ingredients, I started preparing this whenever my sis demands for it. This is one among the first to learn (cook) recipes. As today is first fasting day of Ramadan, I thought of begning my Ramadan posts with simple and sweet recipe. Egg pudding is simple to make and yummy to indulge!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 lit. Milk
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 2 tbsp Ghee/clarified butter
• 1/4 tbsp Cardamom powder
• few strands Saffron
• few Cashews, lightly fried in ghee

PREPERATION:

• Boil milk and leave it to cool. Beat eggs until foamy.
• Take 1 tbsp of lukewarm milk and soak saffron strands in it.
• Take a heavy bottom cooking vessel*; to this add beaten egg mixture, milk, ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well and cook on a low flame till water separates from milk.
• Now add sugar and soaked saffron strands. Cook till all the water evaporates.
• The consistency of the pudding should be thick and it should start sticking the spoon.
• Serve hot garnishing with fried cashews.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.
  

This pudding is going to particiate in Shama's First Cooked Food event and also to Sanghi's Fall In Love-Milk.

NOTE: It is very important to use thick bottom cooking vessel to avoid sticking.

Ramadan Special: I am hosting season-II of Joy From Fasting To Feasting. Click on the sidebar logo for more details.

Joy From Fasting To Feasting (Season-II)

UPDATE : Click here to view the updated entires picture gallery. Scroll down to view the global member list participating in the event.

Assalamvalekum and warm welcome to season-II of Joy From Fasting To Feasting. With Ramadan starting in a day or two, I am here to showcase or bring you the celebrations of Ramadan round the globe. Last year me and Yasmeen from HealthNut has teamed up and conducted this event. It is major success and I was not only glad to know new food bloggers, but also happy to know their Ramadan stories, customs, celebrations, traditions and food delights. This time when Ramadan is nearby, I dropped a mail to Yasmeen regarding the event and logo. Then she said logo with dates would be great and without any delay I clicked some snaps and sorted two from them and sent her for a final word. With out any delay she selected the following one. Hope you like it. Come join me in this yummy ride where we will meet new foodies, new flavours, new destinations, new foods, new cultures and soulful traditions. It’s much more fun……Come indulge with me…….

As a part of this event, attach the above logo in your sidebar. This not only paints all the blogs with oneness but also many people visiting your blogs will know about this event. Inshallah we will have an yummy Ramadan this year too.

If you are a non-muslim/non-blogger and want to write any thing on Ramadan or wanna share any recipe or just remember your muslim friends or know how people around you celebrate Ramadan, feel free to write down in your blog and link back the page to this blog. If you are not having blog then please do drop a mail at kitchen.flavours@gmail.com. Event starts from the first fasting day of Ramadan month and ends by celebrating the "Eid".

You can find the details of the previous Ramadan event, Joy From Fasting To Feasting here. Thank you Yasmeen for the support and warmth. A special call to Arfi, Dita, Sefa, Nazarina, Noor, Retno, Farina, Fitri, Ayesgul, Jin Hooi, MamaFami and Syeda.

Global Member List With Recipes:

Aysegul - NY's Delight

Aysha - Life Today

• Haleem

Faiza - Faiza Ali's Kitchen

• Falafel and Dip

Fitri - Rumah Manis

• Getuk Lindri (Ground Steamed Cassava)
• Saffron Rice Pudding
• Es Cendol (Indonesian Cold Dessert)

Humaira - Humaira's Food Passion

• Chicken Fry

Jin Hooi - Smell & Taste Are My Memory

• Kuih Ketayap & Honecomb Cake

Lubna - Yummy Food

• Healthy Salad
• Fruit(s) Custard

Mallugirl - Malabar Spices

• Chicken Samosas

MamaFami - Mamafami's Spice and Splendour

Mona - Zaiqa

• Blueberry Lassi~Smoothie
• Palak ki Pakodi along with Til ki Chutney
• Marag –Rich and Aromatic Chicken soup
• Mirch Bhajiye – Stuffed deep fried Green chillies
• Wada – Spicy Indian Donuts
• Aloo Bonda – Potato Croquettes
• Spicy Black Chickpeas – Chatpate Kale Chane
• Qaeema Bhare Aloo Cutlets – Potato Cutlets/Cakes stuffed with Minced meat
• Shakkarpaare – Sweet Bites
• Spring Rolls
• Baingan Bhajiya – Eggplant Fritters
• Dahi-Wade – Lentil balls in Yoghurt relish
• Spicy Groundmeat/Kheema Samosas
• Cholay
• Khatti Ubli Dal – Boiled Lemony Bengal Gram
• Daliya Soup – Broken Wheat and Lentils Soup
• Haleem – Slow Cooked Lentils, Wheat and Meat/Vegetables Porridge
• Colourful Pasta
• Minty Strawberry Banana Lassi ~ Smoothie
• Qaeema ke Luqmi - Minced meat parcels
• Ande Ke Bhajiye

Muneeba - An Edible Symphony

• Hummus
• Fun With Figs
• Zucchini Pakoras or Pancakes
• Lukhmi

My Comfort Food Network

• Chatti Pathiri

Nasrin - Luv 2 Cook

• Haleem (using wheat Rava)
• Meat Puffs
• Umm-E-Ali
  

Noor - Ya Salam Cooking

Priya - Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes

• Harira
• Moroccan Almond Milk
• Moroccan Sweet Carrot Salad
• Moroccan Vegetarian Couscous

Rahin - Lazzat

• Chocolate Fudge

Rekha- Plantain Leaf

• Aavadalu or Perugu Garelu Or Dahi Vada
• Baklava
• Jallab

Retno - Kedai Hamburg

Saraswathi - Sara's Corner

• Rose Milk
• Thenga Burfi
  
  

Shab - Shab's Cuisine

• Aana Pathal/Kozhippidi
• Tharikkanji (Thari Kaachiyathu) - Semolina paayasam
• Mutta Porichathu (Egg Fritters)
• Pazham Nirachathu (Stuffed Plantains)
• Asabia el Aroos (Brides Fingers)
• Kaayada (Unnakkayi)
• Dumplings (Luqaimat)
• Usbu al zainab (Zainab's finger)

Shaista - MixCalculations

• Fried Black Chickpeas
• Samosas (minced meat stuffed pastry)
• Potato Fritters
• Irresistable Fruit Chaat
• Paneer Pakora

Shifa - Sugar And Spice

• Aloo Bonda
• Badam Milk
• French Toast
• Meat Samosa
• Pazhampori
• Tarikanchi
• Unnakaya

Sheerin - FoodGoddess

• Celebrating Eid
• A Perfect Date is Sweet And Delicious
• Ramadan Iftar Snacks
  
• Shorba Mumtaz

Umbelbanat - أم البنات

Umm Salihah - Happy Muslim Mama

• Chicken Kebab's

Yasmeen - Health Nut

• Yakhni Pulao

Zainab and Meedo - Arabic Bites

• Mahshy-warqenab (stuffed grape leaves)
• Roz bil halib (Rice Pudding)
• Chicken&Oats Soup

Zerin - Food...The joy of life

• Chatti Pathiri

Click here to view the updated entires picture gallery.

Meethi Dal (Dal+Chawal+Paapad=Ultimate Comfort Food)

Ultimate comfort food according to any Indian is dal, chawal and paapad (Lentils soup, steamed/boiled Rice and crispy flat bread). This combo is not only comfort but makes a filling meal of the day. Lucky is the man who gets the time to indulge with a hot bowl of rice along with a dollop of ghee, dal together with his family. Eating together not only creates a bonding with in a family but also enhances the flavour of the food. Don't you agree with me? The family who eats together stays together says a popular quote.

Coming to today's recipe meethi dal it is a simple and flavourful dal. It is simple because it is very easy to prepare with handy ingredients in the kitchen. It is flavourful because of its tempering, which involves ginger-garlic paste and onions. May be the abscence of tamarind or any other vegetable in the recipe gives the name meethi dal (sweet dal) but there is no sugar or sweetener in the dal. Try it....it's simple....it's yummy.....

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Toovar dal, washed and soaked for 10 min
• 1 Onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1/2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp Red chilli powder
• 1/4 tbsp Turmeric powder
• Salt
• Oil

PREPERATION:

• In a pressure cooker, cook dal till soft. To this add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and mash with a spoon or wooden masher.
• To this add 2 cups of water and 1/4 tbsp ginger-garlic paste. Allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes.
• In a heavy bottom cooking vessel or kadai, add oil, sliced onions. Fry till light brown in color and add 1/4 tbsp ginger-garlic paste. Fry for 1-2 min and add this tadka or tempering to above dal.
• Serve hot with steamed hot rice with a dollop of ghee and paapad.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

This dal is going to participate in MLLA-14 by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. My entries for Show Me Your Breakfast won the poll conducted by Divya of Dil-se. Thank you Divya for such a yum event.

Happy Independence Day

Quote Of The Day

Melon Duo

Past 2-3 months due to increase in pollution, a cool and green rich place like Banglaore boiled to its extreme. With the mercury levels kept on increasing, leaving behind a hot and humid climate, a cool and refreshing juice is the best way to keep the energy levels boosted. Juices are more adorable in summers. Most of the times juices are most convenient way to indulge with fruits. Fresh homemade juices are nutritious and can play an important role in a healthy diet. Juices are fat-free, full with nutrients and rich with vitamins. They also carry minerals and phytonutrients.

A glass of simple, fresh and homemade juice is always a better choice than a soft drink. Three juices which are pretty much regular at my home are Mosambi, Watermelon and Muskmelon. These three tastes good when they are eaten raw or made into a juice. Most of the times, I just blend fruit pieces and water, skip adding sugar to get the complete goodness of the fruit. A cool and refreshing glass of fresh and homemade fruit juice is comforting at anytime of the day. Just a little effort in blending and sieving, you get a gorgeous glass of fresh juice. Drink fresh…Be fresh….. is the motto….

Melons are good source of potassium and vitamin C. They are fat free and cholesterol free. Low in calories and high in water. A perfect way to indulge with them is by eating raw or by blending into juice. So here is a duo juice for you…..The pretty gorgeous glasses you see in the pictures were gifted by Valarmathi on my birthday.

FOR WATERMELON JUICE:

Blend a cup of watermelon pieces along with water until smooth. Strain and serve chilled. Last but not least add your 'love' to make the juice 'YUMMY'.

FOR MUSKMELON JUICE:

Blend a cup of muskmelon pieces along with water until smooth. Strain and serve chilled. Last but not least add your 'love' to make the juice 'YUMMY'.

This duo melon juice(s) are going to participate in Monthly Mingle-Marvelous Melons hosted by Chew On That. Montly Mingle is brainchild of Meeta of What's For Lunch Honey?

NOTE: Peel the skin, deseed and cut into 1 inch long pieces. Then put them in a blender. Adding sugar/honey is optional.

Aloo Methi Ki Sabzi

Monday.....Monday....Monday....first working day of the week....the day which comes by taking a long 5 day week with it.....Monday's are always bit lazy as I am still in the mood of weekend and most of the times I wonder whether my weekend was for 12 hours or less than that....because it vanishes so soon and starts yet another week. With so many plans 'to do' on weekend....and ending up doing nothing......and most of the times scheduling them for the next weekend.....weekend passes by......

Roti's for dinner has almost become routine at my home. Thinking of a different side dish every time is a bit tough thing. As I said earlier my pantry will never run out of potatoes. Yet times having a routine aloo ki sabzi is boring and it is said that variety is spice of life......Aloo is such a pleasant-tasting vegetable that it can flavour any other vegetable it is combined and cooked with. Aloo is not only good with vegetables, it also rocks with leafy green veggies. One such combination is Aloo Methi. When the delectable and versatile aloo is combined and cooked with methi ki bhaji/fenugreek leaves a robustic flavoured scrumptious recipe is born. Fenugreek leaves are rich with calcium, iron, vitamin C amd A.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 Kg Aloo, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup fresh Methi ki bhazi/fenugreek leaves *
• 1 Onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 tbsp Red chilli powder
• 1/4 tbsp Turmeric powder
• Salt

TEMPERING/TADKA:

• 1/2 tbsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2 Jeera/Cumin
• 9-12 fresh Curry leaves
• 2 dry Red chillies
• Oil

PREPERATION:

• Pressure cook cubed aloo until soft. Drain the water and set aside.
• Add oil to a heavy bottom cooking vessel/kadai, when the oil gets heated up add the ingredients listed under tempering.
• When the curry leaves start to change color add onions and fry till translucent. To this add methi leaves, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.
• Fry for 2-3 minutes and add boiled potato pieces. Mix gently.
• Cook and cover for another 4-6 minutes. Serve hot with piping hot rotis/chawal.
• Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish 'YUMMY'.

NOTE: Seperate the leaves from the stalk and wash thoroughly.