another detox smoothie with pineapple, pomelo and bhumiamlaki (Phyllanthus niruri), a liver tonic herb

This common garden weed called as Bhumiamplaki in Hindi (Phyllanthus niruri) or Chanca piedra has immense medicinal properties and is a very potent liver tonic. It helps prevent stone formation in kidneys too (source) and is actually beneficial in many more conditions (read more).

I have myself seen it being used to heal the liver after jaundice in my family, fresh herb liquidized with water is given to the patient everyday for a week or so and one notices a difference. Since this herb bhumiamlaki grows profusely in the garden I sometimes pluck and add it to my smoothies.

 It is the most easy thing to do as the herb doesn't need any preparation before being added to smoothies or juices. This is the season of grapefruits (pomelo) too and the generous tree in my garden is weighed down by several of those heavy citrus fruits. See the article I wrote for Down to Earth about pomelo and how it is used across the country.

I use them a lot in my salads and smoothies.

Some slices of pineapple are always there in my freezer and come handy when making smoothies or the pineapple soup that I love so much.

Recipe of pineapple and pomelo smoothie with bhumiamlaki 

ingredients for one serving... 

one fat slice of pineapple
one cup of pomelo segments cleaned
handful of bhumiamlaki leaves and tender stems (all parts of the plant are edible)

procedure ...

Blend to make a smoothie. There will be a mild bitter aftertaste in this smoothie but this is one of those smoothies that work wonderfully to detoxify the system.

Make this smoothie with orange or sweet lime if you don't get pomelo, some citrus fruit makes this smoothie much more enjoyable.

And see how just three ingredients make this smoothie a perfect recipe to detox.

You can add a little ginger too if you have been experiencing DOMS after heavy workouts.

Get the fruits prepared and frozen if you want the smoothie ready quickly. Or just enjoy playing with ingredients before you blend your smoothie. It is great any which way.

This smoothie may taste a little bitter if the pomelo has a slight bitterness too, Bhumiamlaki has slight bitterness too so the combined effect may make this smoothie taste slightly bitter. Add more pineapple in such a case and the smoothie will still be great.

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Amla or Indian gooseberry and using it to make spiced buttermilk | common every day super foods

Amla (Emblica officinalis) is a super food and only one small berry contains as much antioxidants as a basket full of assorted fruits. Amla buttermilk is an instant and delicious way to get a few super foods together in a mug. Affordable, local super foods.

Every now and then a new super food floats into the market and everyone jumps to buy it and use it in their smoothies and to top their salads. Yes most of the super foods have great nutritional value but many of them come at a cost that our environment pays, thanks to these super foods being imported from one part of the globe to another in this market oriented food system.

So if you are going to order Goji berries online at a hefty price tag, think twice and take a stroll into your local vegetable market instead. Please make an effort to find the treasures that your grandmother used to relish. You will find at least a few every time you go to your local vegetable market, wherever you are. Supermarkets stock only shelf stable produce, you may be missing a lot of valuable nourishment if you never consider shopping elsewhere.

Indian Gooseberry or Amla or Aonla (Emblica officinalis) as it is called in local dialects, it is the most important Kaya kalpa (rejuvenation) medicines of Ayurveda and makes a lot of medicines in combination with other herbs.

Amla contains all tastes (according to Ayurveda the six tastes are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent, pungent ) except salt and thus relates to all the three humours (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) and balances them in the body. Amla is a strong antioxidant helping the body and immune system, and helps fight Ama or toxins in the body on all levels (source). Super food indeed, that too with high potency in small amounts.

We make a chutney with boiled amla an another with raw amla and other ingredients, these chutneys are a great way to include the fresh herbs and amla in one's everyday diet.

The buttermilk I am sharing today is a very delicious refreshing drink that packs five super foods not one. Yogurt, curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and amla all are super foods in their own right. Your grandmother knew it all, may be you have forgot what she talked about. May be you overlooked.

Just use one amla per serving and add as much ginger, curry leaves, chillies and salt n pepper you wish and adjust seasoning as per taste. Have it chilled or at room temperature and see how you love this drink.

I like using 4 mature curry leaf springs, one green chilli, 2 slices of ginger (as shown in the picture above) and one amla per serving and love what the result is. 

Let me know when you make this drink. If you don't get fresh amla berries in your part of the world you can use amla powder (1/4 tsp per serving) soaked overnight or at least a couple of hours. Amla powder is as potent as fresh ones but the taste may differ a little bit. Frozen amla is a better option if you have access to that.

There is bottled amla juice available in the market too these days but using one amla everyday either in chutney form, or in this buttermilk will be much better as consuming amla in real form is the best way to get the benefits. Bottled juices may or may not be packaged rightly and must be consumed as the last resort.

What ways do you consume amla in your home?
Please don't tell me about amle ka murabba.
I want more savoury ways to consume amla every day. Please share your recipes and tips.

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pear rucola and walnuts salad in pineapple vanilla dressing

Nothing inspires me more than nature and fresh produce. When we see fruit bearing trees in season it is the most humbling experience. The way the branches bend down with the sheer weight of the fruits and the way these fruiting trees invite hoards of chirpy birds towards them, brings the truth to light that no matter what, you can always look up to nature and find your answers. That after every lull there is abundance of happiness.

Last week we were on a week long vacation to Raju's cottage Goshaini (Teerthan Valley, Himachal Pradesh) during the fruiting season of most fruits they have in their orchard. Peaches were dwindling down but plums blushed on the trees like plump round garnets and rubies, luscious Apricots were so abundant that the trees were shedding fruits by the kilos.

Apples hung studded on the branches like someone had tied them up in tight bunches. Rajiv Bharti, the owner of the home stay and the orchard said the fruits were good this season and while Plums and Apricots had reached their prime by now and were already going to the local markets, Pears will be over soon but the apples will keep coming till late August as he has many varieties of apples that ripen one after the other.

One good thing to know is that Rajiv never uses pesticides of chemical fertilizers in his orchards and yet he is not worried about reaching some organic market or distributor. He sells all his fruits in local Kullu mandi (wholesale fruit market of Kullu, the nearest town) and it comes to city markets along with the regular fruits. Good to know people are avoiding chemical means of growing foods not because they want better price for their produce but because they believe in the natural ways of farming. May his tribe increase manifolds.

It was our second visit to this home stay and we have already decided to go there twice a year if not more. It is such a recharge for us. This time Lata, Rajiv's wife packed some fresh fruits for us and we have been eating them religiously every single day since we are back. Actually many times a day to say the truth.

We love Pear and Rucola salad in many ways, one with mango sauce dressing I have already posted but this time I wanted the salad to be a little more flavourful and added an absolutely divine dressing.

Yes the dressing is made using minced pineapple, dry ginger powder, pinch of smoked paprika and real vanilla extract. And this dressing blew my mind away, even in this salad which is more on the sweeter side with so much fruit in it.

Did you know real vanilla is easily available now? You can order online or buy from specialty stores but please don't use the vanilla essence ever. You wouldn't want chemical flavours into your food and real vanilla is known to be a great antidepressant and mood enhancer. No wonder it is the most commonly used flavours for desserts, everyone naturally feels leaning over to vanilla.

ingredients ...
(2 servings)

large pears 2, sliced thinly or cubed the way you like
rucola leaves a handful or as much as you can handle
chopped candies ginger 1 tsp
chopped dehydrated papaya 1-2 tbsp
toasted walnuts about a dozen or more, broken into quarters

The dressing 
fresh pineapple cubes minced finely 3-4 or pineapple juice 3 tbsp
dry ginger powder 1/2 tsp
smoked paprika powder a generous pinch
salt to taste
vanilla extract 3-4 drops

procedure ...

Mix the dressing ingredients together and let it rest for about 20 minutes. It can be kept overnight or at least for 24 hours before use. Keep it in an airtight jar if you refrigerate this dressing.

Mix the salad ingredients together and pour the dressing, give it a good toss and serve immediately. This salad keeps well for a couple of hours even after mixing so it can be a make ahead salad or a great salad for lunch boxes too.

The first time I experimented with this dressing was when I tossed it with apple slices and that was also good. Interestingly that day I made this salad for both of us in a large bowl for our big evening snack but ended up finishing the bowl all by myself. Yes I am totally capable of ding that.

Make this salad if you love hints of vanilla in a fruity salad with a hint of paprika heat. It is an interesting mix of flavours and vanilla is not too prominent, though it makes the salad a very happy kind of delicious. I told you Vanilla is a mood enhancer.

Imagine this salad playing it's mood enhancer role during the lunch break in office? You could use a mix of apples and pears or even just peaches in this salad too. All these fruits behave really well with vanilla.

And since we are talking about lunch boxes, please tell me what do you like as a lunch box salads. Do you prefer savoury kind of salads or fruity ones? Do you want to carry salad meals to office or want the salad as a side dish to break the monotony of packed lunch? Any favourite ingredients that you like in your salads? Comment here and enter to win something interesting and useful for your office lunch boxes.

You can check a few giveaway options I have posted in the lunch box series earlier and wait for a few more announcements. The giveaways will be delivered only on an Indian address unfortunately, so if you are outside India you can provide an Indian address whenever required. Please don;t forget to mention your mail id in the comment section so I can contact you if you win.

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home made 'real' iced teas | basic recipe of Iced tea | staying away from synthetic flavoured iced teas

Iced teas are so easy to make at home that you would forget buying those hideous packets of crystalline sugar and tea concentrate. In the last one decade we have noticed that the flavoured soft drink concentrates have new competition by the flavored tea concentrates. Both these are loaded with sugar and artificial colours and flavours.

Trust me even the Iced teas served in hotels and restaurants are all synthetically flavoured. How else they would serve Peach iced tea when peaches are not in season and Mango iced tea is the biggest sham. Please try and look into the ingredients whenever you order Iced teas at a restaurant, however swanky, ask if they can make ginger or fresh lime iced tea and order only after inquiring about the ingredients.

Having worked in a few commercial establishments I am an insider telling you how the costing issues makes them compromise on real flavours and how demands for fruits and produce 'not in season' pushes them to use synthetic flavours. In a way, indirectly we as consumers decide what we get on our table always. So if you order something in season, something available locally you get the real thing. If you want cheap blueberry iced tea you never get the real deal. I would assure you that I always insist on using real ingredients wherever I work as consultant and there are people who believe in real food.

Ordering Iced teas carefully at restaurants is good, being aware helps and please know that any kind of Iced tea that comes in crystalline form in a plastic packet, ready to be dissolved with water cannot be real.

My question is, why we are even drinking them blindly when we can make our own real iced teas at home? India is a country where we take great efforts to make our milky chai and milky filter kapi (coffee) and serve these hot beverages proudly to all and sundry. Iced tea is way more easier than the milky chai and kaapi and we depend upon packets of iced tea? Not fair. 

To our advantage all Indian kitchens are well stocked with spices and green fresh herbs most of the times. Some of the spices and most of the herbs make great combinations with some read brewed green tea or any good tea that you like. My current favourite is Assam Golden tips from Mittal teas.

This peaches and basil seeds iced tea has been a favourite since long. Check out the recipe here..

Basic recipe of Iced tea 

Take a large jug or kettle and tip in your favourite green tea or black tea leaves. Add some spice that you like, and a fresh herbs that you think you would like or some fresh fruit slices or a combination f all these to the kettle.

Heat water to 90-95 C, just when the water starts emitting bubbles, and pour it over the spices and herbs and loose tea in the jug or kettle. Cool down the tea while it brews. Refrigerate to get it as chilled as you want.

Some of the spice-herb-fruit combination you might like for Iced teas ...

• Mint, lime and fresh turmeric shavings in green tea
• Ginger, pepper and lime in green or black tea
• Orange and star anise in green or black tea
• Strawberries, lime and mint in green tea
• Peaches, oranges and star anise in green tea
• Oranges and cloves in green or black tea
• Basil, lemongrass and pineapple in green tea
• Hibiscus and clove or star anise in green tea
• Roselle and Tulsi in green tea
• Tulsi and ginger in green or black tea
• Tulsi and honey in green tea
• Lavender and lime and green tea
• Matcha and Tulsi iced tea 
• Kokum with green tea and honey 

Add ice cubes if you want or have the iced tea chilled to your liking. Some basil seeds in the Iced teas make then more attractive apart from adding some health benefits too.

Tulsi can be easily added to any tea when cold or warm, just bruit the leaves to infuse the flavours well. The Kokum and honey Iced tea with green tea brew is something that we often take with a hint of coconut milk too. Here in the picture it is just plain kokum brewed along with green tea and chilled, served with a drizzle of honey.

When carrying iced tea for office you can keep them in the office refrigerator or just freeze the bottles overnight and carry them so they thaw and stay chilled after a few hours.

This Lavender and lime iced tea is so refreshing and exotic you would forget all fancy looking iced teas you order and carry this one to your long drives and even for office time beverages. 

This Matcha cold brew with bruised fresh Tulsi leaves is another favourite with a drizzle of honey.

To make this match and tulsi iced tea, just make a slurry of matcha powder with cold water and pour over ice cubes, fill with chilled water and add some bruised fresh Tulsi leaves. Add honey to taste and enjoy as you wish.

And our current favourite at home is this Roselle and fresh Tulsi Iced tea with silver tip green tea, chilled in the fridge and not with ice cubes as it dilutes the flavours. This is one flavour you wont like diluting. Roselle is from an organic farm Aiyor Bai, run by a dear friend Madhu Reddy. Tulsi is growing abundantly in my own garden this season.

You can always grow some herbs easily in your balcony or terrace garden and use the herbs for making iced teas. For an intense lime and tulsi iced tea I use my limes (nimbu) a lot. The iced tea below is made with a green tea brew with crushed lime leaves (nimbu ke patte), some crushed Tulsi leaves and fresh lime slices.

Another Lemongrass and Basil iced tea is made using a green tea brew, lemongrass infusion (made with boiling lemongrass leaves for 5 minutes) and freshly crushed sweet basil leaves.

I have been posting ideas about lunch boxes for adults and when I posted the picture of bottles of iced tea, infused water and buttermilk last week on my facebook page, many of my friends and readers asked where do I get those bottles and what other containers will be suitable for carrying beverages. A few friends even called and told me they have started carrying buttermilk and iced tea to office after reading about them in the last post.

If not iced teas, you can just infuse drinking water with tulsi, basil, mint or limes or ginger, turmeric, fenugreek seeds etc. I know the websites and blogs are full of attractive pictures of fruit or cucumber infused detox water but you must know this is just a fad. The fruit infused water just makes the drinking water more desirable, so you drink some more water and that is definitely cleansing. But if you want health benefits from this water it is better to infuse the drinking water with herbs that your body needs. 

Simple common sense things that work wonders for changing habits. If you have been ordering Iced teas or soft drinks from your office canteen please get some bottles and start carrying your own real beverages. I am putting up a couple of these bottles as a lucky give away for the lunch box series too.

Share your ideas about lunch boxes in general, or iced teas that you would like to carry to your office in the comment section below and get a chance to win two of these bottles. 

But brew some good tea, have it hot, warm, chilled or iced and relax. A good tea is a thing to cherish. 

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recipe of REAL food, some Magging and a pumpkin salad | caramalaised pumpkin salad with garlic-thyme butter and cheddar shavings

Yes there is a recipe of REAL food. And the recipe to real food needs a lot of unlearning, a lot of un-conditioning in modern times. The 'food markets' have conditioned us so much that we started thinking of food differently, we don't recognize an eggplant or pumpkin as food anymore and the 'dead' noodles coming out of a cheap packet is perceived naturally as the yummiest most desirable 'food'.

Caramelized pumpkin packs natural flavours, would it appeal to the palates paralysed by MSG laden 'tastemakers'?

Just think about the number of people who wouldn't feel hungry by the name of pumpkin and a packet of Maggi will make them hungry instantly and will bring back loads of 'happy memories' that they made in hostel rooms and mountain holidays.

Just imagine what Maggi has done to their growing up years not to mention to their system. They don't even realise there are chemical reasons behind this 'feel good addiction', the way a cheap small pack of instant noodles has clouded  and hijacked their sense of taste and satiety.

I have been watching some discussions and jokes about Maggi and MSG on social media lately and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time someone proclaims MSG is a natural component of many natural ingredients. See this facebook discussion to know how some people spread more ignorance about the facts. No wonder MSG has become the common salt in almost every home and street food vendors have been using MSG to make even sambar, daal and chhole tastier.

Maggi and their ilk have garnered such a following that people are not even believing reports from Govt. authorities regarding other toxic chemicals found in them, limits permissible or not. And then they claim that everything edible natural food also has some or the other toxic component. But is that equal to junk food being laced with toxins too?

The most frustrating discussions and arguments came from people who were comparing Maggi with pesticide ridden vegetables and even alcohol, nicotine and even spurious medicine. As educated and aware consumer we must know pesticide ridden vegetables and fruits are a different matter on it's own. Nicotine and alcohol are not even distantly related to the issues of junk foods that our bodies haven't even known as food.

All these convenience foods that have been made 'hyper-tasty' with the help of several chemicals including MSG, more chemicals go into them to prolong the shelf life. These food like objects find place on our tables and in our lives through a very strategic marketing that involves clever advertising and placement of the shiny packets on supermarket isles as well as the corner grocer of the colony.

Maggi and it's ilk creeped into our kitchens stealthily, hijacked the sense of taste and satiety so much so most of us started rejecting real food. And many of us even started arguing to defend Maggi.

True that Maggi has not killed anyone that the arguments are saying, but we can't be this shortsighted to ignore the metabolic disorder that is fast becoming an epidemic. Young innocent kids are getting diabetic and obese, adults develop multiple hormonal imbalances even before they reach middle age. I wonder why many of us do not realise that our body is equipped to heal itself if we stop eating trash and start nourishing it with real food.

Many said that they eat Maggi 'only occasionally' for a 'rare treat'. Just imagine Maggi being called a 'treat'. The trash being called a 'treat'. Need I say more to emphasize how Maggi and it's ilk has hijacked the sense of taste and satiety in today's world?

Aren't there real noodles tossed with real ingredients to make a tasty meal?

I wish a trend starts when there are fresh noodle makers just like the bread bakeries around towns, we already have dosa and idli batter makers who sell ready batter for everyone's convenience, the fresh noodles made with real ingredients will be a welcome business venture. One can use their own seasonings, sauces and vegetables to cook their own favourite concoction. That kind of real noodles will be better even if they are made of white flour, at least one would be saved from the load of chemicals.

Just do away with fabricated food friends. Period.

And now a recipe of REAL food, the kind that wouldn't even appeal to the 'tastemaker' addicted palates and minds. But I hope they try it sometime and know how pumpkins can pack more flavours than they imagine. All of you who come to find real recipes here know it already :-)

Caramalised pumpkin pan grilled with thyme-garlic butter, served with cheddar shavings ...

Just imagine firm yellow pieces of pumpkin being slow braised in a pan along with butter and thyme, some large slices of garlic that turn crisp by the time the pumpkin gets nicely caramelized both sides. The flavours seep in so well that no tastemaker can replicate this.

Choose a ripe pumpkin with tough flesh, orange yellow in colour and almost brown skin. Slice the pumpkin, peel off the skin and chop the flesh into bite sized fat slices. Get started to make this delicious salad.

ingredients...
(2 large servings or 6 servings as a party starter )

about 2 dozen bite sized fat slices of pumpkin (400 gm)
thyme leaves 3-4 springs
butter 1 tbsp
sliced garlic as much as you like ( I used 4 fat cloves)
salt to taste
mature cheddar cheese to shave over the cooked salad ( I used a small leftover cube)

procedure...

Grease a flat griddle with butter and arrange the pumpkin cubes and garlic slices over it. Sprinkle with salt lightly, sprinkle half the thyme leaves too and let the pumpkin pieces grill slowly on low heat. I prefer covering the griddle with a domed lid for this.

Turn over the pumpkin slices and sprinkle the other half of thyme leaves. The addition of thyme leaves at different phases of grilling ensures the flavours seep in really well. The garlic slices will start browning slowly alongside.

Cover again and let it grill and caramelize. Poke with a sharp knife to know the pumpkin has softened to your preference. The surface should be nicely caramelised and spotted.

Arrange in a serving plate and shave mature cheddar over the hot pumpkin slices and see the cheese shavings melt.

Dig right into it and see how it surprises you if you haven't loved pumpkin ever.

For party starters this salad can be served with some cocktail sticks or small forks so the guests can pick up he pumpkin cubes easily from a platter. Avoid serving it in a deep bowl, always a wide shallow platter.

Eat real food, forget Maggi and forget all reconstituted foods that come in shiny cheap packets. Eat local and seasonal vegetables and fruits and see how you get more nutrient value for your hard earned buck.

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food and coffee pairing session with Bonhomia and a recipe of apple peach walnut salad with home made feta cheese

Coffee and food pairing sessions make sense if you are someone who likes entertaining with a lot of coffee being served. I would probably have one shot of coffee during a meal or snacking session with friends, but when you are to learn the intricacies of coffee, you got to gulp down a lot of caffeine in one sitting. I was ready to take this caffeine assault greedily when Bonhomia hosted a coffee and food paring session at Le Bistro du Parc.

Le Bistro du Parc is a standalone French bistro located at the edge of a park in Moolchand market, a nice place to sit and relax while dining with the company of old trees. The bistro, founded by Naina de Bois-Juzan serves French cuisine using locally grown seasonal ingredients, not too difficult as we are growing almost everything now. The fresh ingredients make a difference and that is evident at Le Bistro du Park, of course I could witness the finesse with which the ingredients were handled too. More about that later.

Bonhomia is a premium brand of coffee that makes coffee blends packaged in capsules compatible to Nespresso machines, the coffee blend capsules are made for a single shot of coffee and are packaged in boxes of 10 capsules each. Now that is a convenient way to enjoy great coffee in the comfort of home. Coffee that gives a perfect crema, as I had learned with Illy coffee master barista Nicola Scognamiglio from Italy.

The coffee blends that go by the names like 'Free love', 'Dark deeds', 'Black viel' and 'Vanilla artisan' are blended creatively. Mr. Tuhin Jain (CMO, Bonhomia) introduced us to the nuances of Bonhomia coffee blends and that these are all sourced from high altitude coffee plantation of south of India. Mr Kunal Bhagat joined us later and discussed how these capsules of coffee are made locally using the best coffee beans.

A Tomato tartar prepped with lime juice, esplette pepper and basil wrapped in a pickled ribbon of radish was served in dainty portions along with the blend Free love. The freshness of the salad bites fits well with a medium strength espresso shot.

Next was garlic bread topped with baby romaine folded around goat cheese, sun dried tomato and radish microgreens paired with Dark deeds served as Americano. Sharp edgy flavours raising the bar to a stronger full bodied coffee blend.

Next came dainty bites of stuffed puff pastry with olive tapenade and confit peppers paired with Black veil, the most potent coffee blend of the day. It was served as cappuccino but I tried the espresso shot too and it is indeed a very robust coffee blend.

The dessert platter had an assortment of miniature almond financiers, lemon Madeleine, crisp meringues and pistachio tuiles with some fresh fruit bites. Vanilla artisan blend served as macchiato is perfect with dessert and the pairing was received well.

Now it was a lot of caffeine in my bloodstream. The food was beautifully done, the dainty lemon Madeleine proved that the French bistro is worth it's salt. The finesse in every little detail is very evident, the taste hits the spot perfectly.

And then I had to make the next meal that could hydrate me and be filling at the same time. I made this apple peach walnut salad with home made feta cheese and home grown rucola greens. Nothing could have served the purpose that day. The salad was so good it got repeated for the weekend breakfast too. Yes we do eat unconventional things for our meals.

Home made feta cheese makes so much sense for me, the reason being I love the creamy feta so much and the packaged feta is just too expensive. So I have to do the effort of making feta, it takes some time but I try and make large batches and refrigerate for about 2 weeks. Will share the recipe of feta cheese sometime soon. Have not been able to photograph the process for the purpose.

The dressing... whisk everything together

balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp
lime juice 1 tsp
brown sugar 2 tsp
salt and pepper to taste
crushed walnuts 2 tsp or walnut oil few drops

Chop one large green apple and 4-5 small peaches. The Himachal green peaches are starting to come right now and I love the complex flavours they pack. Chop about 15 walnuts halves and mix with the cut fruits. Tear a handful of rucola leaves and add. Drizzle the dressing and toss the salad.

Serve immediately topped with as much feta cheese as you want. We had kept some feta cheese on the side too and kept digging the fork to pick up the creamy cubes of goodness.

This apple peach walnut salad will be really great for a summer menu, especially during day time. If you chop the fruits a bit smaller the salad can be served over garlic bread too. But we eat breads very occasionally so the large bowl of this salad will be good any time. Check out another Peach and feta salad to see how you can make variations of this salad.

No coffee with this salad please.

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Thai green mango or raw mango salad recipe to wrap up a crazy weekend

We had a nice brunch of multigrain uttapam yesterday along with some fiery chutneys and curry patta flavoured buttermilk. A nice relaxed late breakfast that powered us for a massive clean up of the cupboards, sorting things to give away and to rearrange, in a bid to get a bit organised. We often neglect housekeeping issues and they keep piling up, this was the weekend we decided to take it head on. And we did. The big breakfast helped a lot.

This thick onion laden uttapam is quite filling and I had made a quick pressure cooker pumpkin mash with coconut cream, the garlic flax seeds chutney adds up taste and fills you up fast too. Quite an energising breakfast/brunch it was.

We decided we will eat some fruits in the evening as usual and then prepare dinner or order something for dinner if we get too exhausted by the end of this exercise. But once we started sorting things to rearrange and bundling up things to discard or give away it just kept stretching endlessly. We had iced tea in between that I had kept ready in the fridge but we really got hungry by late evening. The maid was on leave and I had to start dinner from scratch if I do. Not possible I said and suggested we order something new for dinner. Normally we just call the corner dhaba and get assorted tikkas and roomali roti with loads of onion rings in such times but I wanted something light healthy and yet tasty. Was it such a tall order?

Made some nice strong cold coffee and we sat down to search for online ordering. I was not prepared for the kind of deluge of food options flashing on the screen. We had been hearing about Foodpanda a lot and tried it for the first time. Once I selected my area of residence and cuisine I was amazed to see the number of small and big establishments from near and far offering almost whatever I wanted for myself. Ranging from student breakfasts which is basically cheap, light but tasty breakfast options to sushi and miso soups I could order anything. Amazing.

We ordered a miso soup, a cucumber and seaweed salad and chicken teriyaki with sticky rice, all this with a 20% discount that was offered for the day. Not sure if the discount was for the day or forever as I was ordering food this way for the first time. I am embarrassed a bit about not knowing the options but not sorry about not depending much on take-aways and home deliveries.

Anyway, we enjoyed our meal, too tired to empty it into plates and bowls, we dug into the bowls it came into, and did not regret one bit.

And today the next episode of the operation housekeeping was followed. Same multigrain batter was steamed into idli and had with ghee and garlic flax seeds chutney to be followed by tackling plumbers and electricians. But today I had planned better and kept some green raw mangoes and red onions ready to toss up a nice salad in the evening. And by the end of the day I am feeling accomplished to be able to post the recipe with you as well.

ingredients..
( 2 large servings)

raw green mangoes 2 large or about 300 gm
red onion 1 medium or 100 gm
chopped fresh mint 1/4 cup
chopped fresh green coriander 1/2 cup

the dressing..
minced fresh red chilly or red chilly flakes to taste (keep a bit higher as chilly heat gets denatured by the tartness of raw mangoes)
brown sugar or grated jaggery 1.5 tbsp
salt 3/4 tsp or to taste ( I used a mix of regular salt and black rock salt)
light soy sauce 2-3 tsp
cashew nuts shallow fried in ghee or oil 1/3 cup or about 80 gm

procedure...

Peel the raw mangoes and slice thinly from the sides of the fruit. Arrange the slices and chop them into very thin matchsticks. Chop about 1/4th of the raw mango in really small bits to add texture.

Peel, halve and slice the red onion thinly. Dice a few slices in small bits too to add texture. This salad is a very good mix of taste and texture.

Chop the herbs and chilly. Mix all these together and keep aside, reserving the chopped chili for dressing..

Chop the cashew nuts roughly. Some of the nuts can be whole as it adds to the salad in a very good way. You might feel it is too much cashew but the salad is packed with fiber and balances the overall glycemic index and calorie count both.

Mix the dressing ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork. Pour into the chopped ingredients and give it a good mix. Let it stand for 10 minutes before adding the cashew nuts and digging into the flavours right away.

This salad will cast magic on whoever digs into it. Such a wonderful mix of flavours you would crave for more. This was a huge bowl of salad and we kept digging our forks into the bowl silently till we polished off the last shred. That good.

There is a raw mango and sprouts salad with peanuts that I make and that can also be dressed to taste. Raw mangoes, onions and fresh chillies eaten together are supposed to keep the body cool and energized, thanks to the mineral and vitamins that they pack.

Make this Thai raw mango salad this season. You can pack it to your lunch box, all mixed up and it will get better in a couple of hours stays in the box. This salad makes a nice snack for a bunch of friends too for a weekend drink. Think about it, you might like it rolled up in a crisp paratha too.

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chilled fruit soup for summer | papaya and orange soup with feta cheese and hint of star anise

I know you would say why not a smoothie. But you know a soup is different and this papaya and orange blend makes a real soup with a hint of spice and a tang of kala namak. A chilled soup with fruits makes a nice raw soup, much like Gazpacho but a bit different. You can make gazpacho with whatever combination of vegetables and fruits you like, I often add chucks of papaya or half ripe strawberries to smooth or chunky gazpacho for my meals.

But this soup is totally fruity with a hint of spice. You can add a bit of marmalade for a deeper flavour but it tastes great even without that.

ingredients
(2 servings)

papaya cubes (over ripe is the best) 2 cups
deseeded orange segments 1.5 cups
kala namak (black rock salt) 1/4 tsp
star anise powder a pinch
white pepper powder a pinch
citrus marmalade (optional) 1 tbsp
feta cheese or sour cream to top 2-3 tbsp

procedure..

Chill the fruits before peeling and chopping. Or put them into freezer for 30 minutes if in a hurry.

Blend everything together till really smooth. Adjust seasoning and pour in soup cups, top with feta cheese and serve immediately.

Take a picture if you wish and send it to your parents to tell you are eating your fruits alright. It is important :-)

This chilled fruit soup is a really refreshing meal on a hot summer day. You know it had got a bit hot 2 days back here when I whipped up this soup, but it rained again and the summer heat is gone. I am still using the bathroom geyser and we are eating our hot soup dinners too sometimes, in mid April for a change. There is some serious climatic change to be seen definitely.

The cold fruit soup of Hungry looks interesting too, this cold fruit soup I came across is partially cooked. Making completely raw cold fruit soups or cooking them partially to get more depth of flavours is a personal choice. But be assured this soup is very different from a smoothie though technically it might be a smoothie flavoured and plated differently.

One more way to eat your fruits. Just blend it, pour it, top it with sour cream or feta cheese or even hung curd if you please. And devour in it for a quite lunch staring at the signs of spring in the garden, summer gone totally confused in Delhi.

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green goddess lemonade | the best natural thirst quenchers for summers

This green lemonade I have been making with an assortment of the herbs that I grow in my garden. I named them as green goddess just to make them sound fancy. I pluck herbs that I like in the season and blend them together along with strong citrus elements like the Pomelo leaves, lime leaves, lemongrass etc and refrigerate in a small jar mostly. Just a heaped spoonful of this paste dissolved with honey or sugar and a generous glug of lime juice is all what it takes to make a green goddess lemonade my way.

Yes I did that. It so happened last week that I had made the herb paste fresh and was planning to serve this herb infused lemonade to a friend who visited. But when I suggested would she like to have shikanji she took plain water and later had lemongrass tea. Shikanji or shikanjvi is the Hindi/Punjabi name for a lemonade FYI. Later I realised she must have thought about the plain lemonade made with just lime juice and sugar and hence refused. How would she know if I did not tell her the details of what this lemonade actually was. That is when I decided to name it as green goddess lemonade and corrected a mistake.

This lemonade tastes really great with soaked subza seeds (sweet basil seeds) or falooda. I am now running out of my stock of basil seeds I have been using them so much. Had bought a bag from one of my travels last year and had gifted some to my friends too. Time to look for more subza in old Delhi markets now, I hope to find it here and not burn holes in my pocket paying for it.

Note that these are not chia seeds, chia seeds are the seeds of Salvia hispanica while subza is the seeds of Ocimum basilicum. Chia seeds are brownish in colour while subza is black.

Green goddess lemonade recipe

ingredients
(2-3 servings)
Thai basil leaves 10 (or mint leaves 20)
pomelo (or kaffir lime) leaves 2-3
lemongrass shoot 1
honey or sugar to taste
lime juice 3 tbsp
soaked subza seeds 5-6 tbsp

procedure...

Chop all the leaves and lemongrass shoot in small pieces and grind them all together in a blender jar. This paste can be kept in a jar or refrigerated in ice trays for longer shelf life.

Add the paste to 500-600 ml chilled water, stir well and let it stand for 10 minutes. Strain, add lime juice and honey, dissolve well and pour in tall glasses. Top with subza seeds and serve right away.

This is an intensely flavoured lemonade, rich with layers of citrus flavours imparted by the lime juice, pomelo leaves and lemon grass. Pomelo leaves are used to make herbed salt and chutneys in Kumaon mountains, I love that too but we rarely use herbed salts at home so drinks are the best way to use herbs.

Another green goddess lemonade I love is a salty one. Yes we do love our nimbu pani and I like having some variety there as well. 

Blending curry patta leaves to make buttermilk, to be used in idli mixes and poha is something I keep doing regularly. The curry patta powder and the calcium rich curry patta chutney is another way to use loads of curry patta.

To make a savoury lemonade also curry patta is very useful. You might have tasted buttermilk flavoured with curry patta but lemonades are not that common. In this recipe I combined curry patta with tamarind and lime juice both for an intense salty-tangy taste that tastes so good one feels like having 2-3 glasses of it in one go.

ingredients 
(4-5 servings)
curry patta springs 20-25 (or a cup of leaves)
tender lime leaves 10
tamarind (deseeded) 2 pods or a lump about the size of a small lime
peppercorns 5-7
salt to taste
lime juice 1 tbsp

procedure..

Make a paste of everything together. Keep refrigerated if required or make the lemonade right away.
Dissolve the paste into a jug or water, adjusting the seasoning and sourness. You can actually make this recipe like a panna (like aam ka panna) or a buttermilk but keeping it simpler is always better. That way you get the intense taste of the herbs used.

Strain the lemonade and serve in tall glasses with or without ice cubes. The combination of curry patta and lime juice and lime leaves make a tingling drink. Add kala namak (black rock salt) if you wish and see how this drink seduces you.

All these herbs provide essential minerals, much needed Vitamin C and hydrate during summer months, teasing your taste buds all at the same time.

The best thing is that they look attractive too, so the kids would lap it up readily when you offer them such lemonades instead of packages juices and cola. Now don't tell me you don't grow herbs so you can't use them. We get all herbs readily in the markets and can grow them in pots if required. Blending them to make the paste is just a matter of 2 minutes and another 2 minutes to strain and serve.

Please don't let the convenience of packaged foods and drinks overpower your sense of freshness and real taste. Make green goddess lemonade and stay happy.

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stir fried vegetables with chicken mince for a healthy meal

Light vegetable based meals with a little protein thrown in is really easy to whip up. I have numerous recipes of stir fries on this blog and keep trying new things as the season changes. Seasonal vegetables are the best as I always insist, combining them together the way you like it shouldn't be very difficult. Here in this one pot meal of stir fried mixed vegetables with chicken mince, a meal that is very light a fresh and yet very very filling.

A friend was asking me recently about how to cook vegetables with different textures together and yet keep their own individual textures intact. There are a few recipes where I dump everything together and cook them all in one go but some vegetables need extra care when being cooked in a one pot meal. This recipe of stir fried vegetables with chicken mince will be a mush if you cook everything together. And while onion and tomatoes taste great when they get mushy in a recipe where there is a lot of chicken mince, mushy cooked veggies will taste horrible if there is more than 400 gm vegetables and 100 gm chicken mince. You get the drift.

Let's see how to keep the broccoli crisp like a salad, mushrooms soft and Zucchini with a bite in this recipe while the green garlic also remains fresh.

ingredients..
(2 light meal portions)

chicken mince 100-120 gm
broccoli florets 200 gm
zucchini slices (bite sized) 150 gm
mushrooms  chopped into quarters 150 gm
green garlic shoots 30-40 gm or 2-3 tbsp
marjoram dried or fresh to taste (or use any herb you like)
butter 2 tsp
salt and pepper to taste

procedure

Heat the butter and add the mushrooms before it melts. Add slat and pepper and stir fry on medium for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken mince and keep stirring till it starts changing colour, the mushrooms will keep cooking along with it and imparting their flavours to the mince.

After about 5-10 minutes depending on how coarse the mince is, the chicken mince will be cooked and yet will remain moist. Add the zucchini, marjoram and chopped green garlic and keep stirring for 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile boil water in a separate pan, add a little salt and dump the broccoli in it. Dip them for a minute, drain quickly and rinse in running cold water. Drain well and then add to the almost done stir fry. Mix well and serve hot.

While this stir fry is quite filling and satiating, it tastes great too. Each vegetable retains it's texture, mushrooms lend their juices and flavours to the chicken mince and zucchini and broccoli retain the much desired bite in them.

You might like to add some tomatoes or red bell peppers too in this stir fry or may be replace broccoli with cauliflowers and zucchini with turnips of knol khol, just go by the textures of vegetables you like. Some more herbs and may be some chilli heat too might suit the mood some day.This recipe is just a suggestion of how your dinner can be gluten free, light and filling at the same time with controlled calories too.

You know travel food makes me count my calories sometimes. Have been traveling so much in the past 2 months that I now want to stay back for sometime, cook my own food and relish everything in leisure.

Simpler foods rule in such times.

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