A week back V had to go out of town and I was left home alone for three days and two nights.

Two very painful and scary nights.

With V gone all those scary movies, CSI , criminal mind episodes flashed in front of me and I just couldn’t sleep the whole night.

See, I love watching scary movies, and all those crime, murder mystery shows. But then later, I imagine all the different scenarios that they show in horror movies or the crime serials happening with me and every tiny little noise is made out to be a serial killer trying to get in the house and murdering V and me in our sleep.

And because of these fears I take many precautions. Like, if I get up in the middle of the night to pee, I let V know by repeatedly saying his name and as a result waking him up, so that if anything happens to me while on my way to the bathroom, he knows and comes for my rescue. Of course, now he is so used to it, most of the time he sleeps through it, so now I make sure I am little louder while saying his name. Yep, he is really lucky to have me in his life.  :)

I also lock our bedroom door, because I believe if someone does break into the house and we don’t hear it, we will for sure hear him trying to unlock our bedroom door. I also have been playing with the idea of putting a heavy piece of furniture in front of the bedroom door, just in case the killers do manage to open our door and we do not hear it. V thinks its a little bit too much because we do live in a very safe town. But one can never be too sure, can one?!

And athough I have a terrible time later, I never learn and continue to watch scary movies. I do try to reduce the chill factor by covering my eyes with my fingers, just enough to watch, sbut enough to not get that scared. I remember Rich Hall made a sniglet (snig’ lit: any word that doesn’t appear in the dictionary, but should) for watching a scary movie like that- SNARGLE. And to V’s and others’ amusement, and to my embarrassment I snargle a lot!

Besides being sleep deprived during V’s absence, it wasn’t THAT bad being home alone. It was nice to be on your own schedule for once- not rushing through lunch, or thinking of elaborate meal preparations. Not that V is a difficult person to cook for. He never cribs much and I can get away with slacking a lot many times. And even though he doesn’t complain I know that he truly only enjoys Indian food, even though he says that he doesn’t mind eating other non indian dishes. And since I know his true love is for Indian food, that’s what is mostly cooked in our household, and if I do cook other cuisines at the back of my mind I always have this guilt. But with him gone I could make things that he generally does not enjoy and not second guess myself whether anybody else will like it or not. So I made grilled fish for dinner, and this artichoke chicken for lunch. And with enough leftovers of both to carry forward to the next day, I was good.

I found this recipe for artichoke chicken in Taste of Home 100 Best recipes, 2011 issue. It is a winner of one of Taste of Home recipe contests, where home cooks share their most requested recipes. The person who submitted this mentions that it’s always a big hit with her family and now I know why. Its easy to put together and “the rosemary, mushrooms and artichoke give the chicken a satisfying, savory flavor”.

I used only two chicken breasts since I was cooking for one, with the hopes of having leftovers to be used later. I also made a few changes to the original recipe by adding white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar and worcestershire sauce and I loved these changes.

Before leaving you with the recipe, I thought it would be fun to share some more sniglets. Growing up, we had a sniglets dictionary (popularised by Readers’ digest) that  I loved going through and my brother loved drawing from. I don’t have the dictionary with me anymore, but then I have google. I found a few food related sniglets, so thought would share them. Sharing some others as well that I liked and can totally relate to. I am definitely including these in my day to day conversations!

Do check here for more fun sniglets. Also if you remember any that you particularly liked, please share!

Pig slice : the last piece of pizza or pie or cake that no one wants to take for fear it will make them look like a pig.

Askhole – someone who asks very annoying questions

Passhole: The person who has been driving slowly for miles but speeds up the minute you try to get ahead of him. (my personal favorite)

Expresshole- A person who goes through the grocery store’s 12-item express lane with 22 items.

Snackmosphere-  The empty but explosive layer of air at the top of a potato chip bag.

Musquirt- The yellow water that first squirts out of a mustard bottle. ( I always wanted to know that!)

Flopcorn –  The unpopped kernels at the bottom of the cooker.

Elbonics- Two people fighting over an arm rest at a movie with their elbows.

Eufirstics- Two people waiting on the phone for the other to hang up first.

Porchlag: the time between when you say goodbye and the time you actually leave.

Carperpetuation (kar’ pur pet u a shun) – n. The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string at least a dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance. (been there, done that!)

Scribblics: Trying to get a pen to write again by scribbling funny lines on a paper until you see the ink.

Chalktrauma- The body’s reaction to someone running his fingernails down a chalkboard.

Doork:  A person who always pushes on a door marked “pull” or vice versa. (guilty of doing this always!)

Frust : The line of dust that accumulates when sweeping dust into a dust pan and frustratingly backs you up because you can never get it into the pan.

Some other sources for the sniglets: here, here, and here.

Artichoke Chicken

 

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Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 8 boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tbsp butter ( I used herb and garlic butter)
• 2 jars ( 6 oz each) marinated quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 8 ounce packet mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ⅓ cup all purpose flour
• 1½ tsp rosemary, dried (crushed)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups chicken broth or 1 cup broth and 1 cup dr white wine ( I used just the chicken broth and instead added balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and liked these additions a lot)
• minced fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large skillet, brown chicken in butter. Remove chicken to an ungreased 13 by 9 inch baking dish.
3. In the same pan, heat a little more butter and saute the mushrooms a bit.
4. Arrange the mushrooms and artichokes on top of the chicken and set aside.
5. In the same pan, saute the onions in the pan juices until crisp-tender. Combine the flour, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add to the pan and mix until blended.
6. Add the chicken broth, the vinegars, worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and spoon over chicken.
7. Cover and bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with hot cooked noodles.

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3.2.1230

In our small mining town, we are a total of eight people from India; three couples and two bachelors, one of whom is actually a forced bachelor, since his wife is in California doing a one year course.

Its nice to have people from your country in the same city, especially in a place like this. And more so when it means you get to eat home cooked Indian food that is not cooked by your own hands. So every time we get a dinner invitation from our Indian friends I get super excited. And the joy is double since both the couples belong to states in the south of India, and since I am a complete novice with cooking south Indian food, I revel in their dosa, biryani, sambhar, and curd rice.

Its not that I have not tried my hand at South Indian cooking. During the first few months of our marriage, I tried making dosa, but it was a complete disaster that ended with me throwing the dosa batter away. After that misadventure, I have kept my distance from cooking anything that is south Indian totally relying on my South Indian friends here to satisfy my idli-dosa cravings. And it doesn’t hurt that my friend makes amazing food.

The other day this amazing cook friend of mine called all us Indians over for dinner and served this soup as a starter. Everyone loved it. The light, watery soup with a not so light urad dal fritter made the perfect combination. And she was kind enough to share her recipe with me.

She and her husband belong to Karnataka, a state in the south of India. And this dish is supposed to be a specialty in their home state. Few restaurants in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, have this dish on their menu, where a large bonda(vada) is dipped in a kind of lentil “soup” and served.

To make the bondas, you soak urad daal (check this photo if you are confused as to how it looks) for a few hours and then grind it with a few other spices, making this dish gluten free as well. You then fry the batter to make a fritter with a crispy outer shell and a soft, fluffy inside.

The bondas do not traditionally have holes like the ones in my pictures, but I was trying something. Well, the last time I made a vada I could not get the holes, and this time I wanted to see whether I could and ended up with a medu vada lookalike, but the recipe for both is the same. My friend did not make holes in her bondas when she served this soup to us, so feel free to make them without holes. Its easier and less messy that way, and more traditional as well.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Bonda Soup

 

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Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

For the bondas:

• 1 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
• 3 green chillies, roughly chopped
• 3 to 4 peppercorns
• 8 to 10 curry leaves, finely chopped (kadi patta)
• 1 tsp ginger
• salt to taste
• coconut oil or any other refined oil for deep-frying

For the soup:

• ½ cup mung bean dal
• ½ cup toovar dal
• 3-4 cups water (depending on how thin you want the soup to be, the soup is supposed to be very watery)
• pinch Asafetida
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• Red chillies, according to taste
• salt, to taste
• bunch of coriander/cilantro leaves,finely chopped for garnishing
• juice of a lemon, optional

Instructions

For the bondas:

1. Soak the urad daal in enough water for about 4-5 hours.
2. Drain, add the green chillies, pepper, curry leaves and ginger and blend in a mixer to a smooth batter, adding little water. Do not add too much water while making the batter, lesser the better, but enough for the blender motor to run smoothly. Grind for a good amount of time, until the batter becomes fluffy and you see some bubbles on the top.
3. Add salt and mix well. The salt should slightly be on the higher side as most of the saltiness goes away when deep frying.
4. Heat oil on medium high in a thick bottomed pan sufficient enough to deep fry.
5. To check if the oil is at the correct temperature, put a small amount of batter in the oil. If there is a sizzle that means the oil is ready.
6. Wet your hands and take about about a golf ball size amount of the batter and deep fry. Add about 4-5 depending on the size of the pan at the same time.
7. After about 20-30 secs turn them around, making sure all sides get cooked evenly.
8. Transfer them to a plate with absorbent paper so that the extra oil drains. Continue tthe above with the remaining batter. I got about 12 medium sized vadas.

For the soup:

1. Pressure cook the dals with a little salt and water.
2. For the tempering, heat oil in a small pan. Once hot, add the asafetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. Add the grated ginger once the seeds begin to sizzle. Add these tempered spices to the cooked daal, and cook a little. If required add hot water to thin down the soup to a more watery consistency.
3. Serve the soup with the bonda dunked in the soup. Add a few drops of lemon juice at the end for taste, if you like. Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves.

Note: My friend told me that you can add a pinch of soda for the urad dal batter just before frying for crispness but she usually doesn’t as soda makes the bonda little oily. Rice flour, or semolina flour can be used instead.

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3.2.1230

Though I share the updated recipes on facebook and sometimes on twitter (I am still getting used to tweeting, so am not that regular with twitter updates), I realised people who have subscribed to the blog via email, do not get notified of the updates.

So this post if for you guys. Also, a big thanks to all of  you for still sticking it out with me!

For the recipe, either click on the picture or on the link given in the description under the picture.

 If you are fan of black forest cake, then this is the recipe for you.

Moist chocolate genoise cake, with whipped cream and brandied cherries in between the chocolate layers!

Delish!!

 This is an adaption of Heidi Swanson’s whole wheat bread recipe, and it is great.

I made it for the first time right after I got messages from people who saw my pictures on Facebook and congratulated me on getting pregnant (when I clearly was NOT!).

This bread is packed with whole wheat, wheat germ, flax seeds and thus great for you if you are on a diet.

Find the recipe here.

 The last revisited recipe I am sharing today is a favorite of many: Pav Bhaji.

It is a popular Indian street side food with a thick potato based curry served with buttered, toasted bread.

Its only befitting to follow the last post that was on Mother’s Day with a recipe from my mom’s repertoire. In my last post, I did not mention how great a cook she is. I did not forget, but I did not for once want it to be about her cooking. But there is no doubt that she is an amazing cook.

My mom never cooked before marriage, and all that she learnt was after marriage. With a foodie for a husband and a few trusted Indian Tarla Dala books, and a willingness to always experiment new dishes, she became famous for her cooking. As a result my dad grew a truck tyre for a stomach and her children became gourmands (or well more aptly gluttons).

I have in the past shared her famous date cake recipe. Believe me when I say, this is one recipe you should always have with you. My sister-in-law made it recently for her friends and she said out of all the things she made, the date cake was the star. And she and I both get that every time we make it.

My mom’s homemade chocolate balls that she sent to my hostel are the reason why I was always in the good books of my hostel seniors. It’s only half true when they say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I think it holds for everyone.

This recipe for stuffed mushroom homemade buns is also one that she made quite often when my brother and I were kids. It was actually handed to her by my father’s aunt who is a canadian and an amazing baker.

I am sharing the mushroom version of the stuffed buns but sometimes she would stuff the buns with keema (minced lamb meat). But mostly, mom would always stuff half with keema and half with mushrooms.

Mom always used fresh yeast and the long hours that the dough would sit, would lead to this really yeasty flavour in the dough. I still have a recollection of the first few times she made these buns. I have this picture in my mind of how our kitchen looked. Dad was posted at the Hindan Air Force Base which is about an hour’s drive from Delhi. The refrigerator was in this type of hallway that led to the kitchen, and to the right of the refrigerator was the pantry that always had nestle toll house chocolate chips, and mama’s nice pots and pans, which she never used, because she thought they will get spoilt. She had picked them up from US when Dad had come here for a course and since she did not know when we would get a chance to come back to US for new pots and pans, she did not want to spoil the ones she had. The only times those pots and pans came out were when Dad cooked spaghetti sauce. I should share the recipe for the spaghetti sauce some day. We still request him to make it when we go home.

It was fun making these buns at my own house, because each step took me back to those days. They were happy days, not that these present ones aren’t, but Hindan still tops my list of favorite places and one of the best times of my life.

I managed to take step by step photos of making the buns . Anyway, I really wanted to do a video, but making one working alone is kind of difficult. Maybe its time for V to get his hands dirty so that he can do the cooking and I can shoot him.

The only prob with these step by step photos is that I forgot to take the photos after the rise of the bread and the whole filling of the buns. I think I got too excited to make my mom’s recipe in my own kitchen. But since I had put in so much of effort for the rest of the pictures, I am posting half of the steps. The stuffing isn’t too difficult to do though. But make sure you stuff them well to get a good end result ratio of filling to bread in your bun (balls and buns are two words I can not NOT write and go on a tangent- does anybody else do this?).

You can also put cheese in the filling. Since I made these for just V and myself, I chose not to add cheese, but feel free to. I don’t see how that wouldn’t work!

My mom used to top the buns with sesame seeds. I chose to add a few hemp seeds as well, just for the little extra nutrition.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Mom’s Homemade stuffed buns

 

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Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: bread

Serves: 12-18

Ingredients

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 4½ tbsp oil
• ½ cup lukewarm water
• 2 tsp yeast
• 4½ tbsp sugar, plus ¼ tsp sugar
• ½ glass milk ( I needed to add a little more)
• 1 tsp salt

For the stuffing: (I doubled the recipe for more stuffing to bread ratio)

• 1 tbsp garlic herb butter
• 4 cloves garlic and 1 tsp ginger made into a paste
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 227 grams pkt mushrooms, chopped
• Finely Mixed vegetables of your choice- my mom uses beans, capsicum (bell pepper)
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• salt and pepper, according to taste
• sesame seeds, to sprinkle on top of the bun
• egg white, to brush on top of the bun

Instructions

1. In lukewarm water, add the yeast and ¼ tsp sugar and leave it for 5-10 minutes till the yeast is frothy.
2. In a large pan, add the flour and salt. Mix and make a well in between. In the well add the yeast, egg, oil, milk and sugar.
3. Mix all together and knead. My mom slaps the dough in the air to knock the trapped air off. You can use your muscle strength to knead or do it in a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. You should get a soft smooth dough.
4. Keep the dough covered with a moist towel in a well oiled bowl for 2-3 hours or till double in size.
5. While the dough rises make the filling.
6. In a skillet, heat the butter, add the ginger garlic paste. Add the chopped onions, and saute till translucent. Add in the mushrooms and other chopped vegetables and cook till water dries off. Add in the sriracha and season to taste.
7. Punch the dough down, once doubled in size.
8. Divide dough into 12-18 pieces (depending on size), and stuff well with the filling. Let rest again covered for 2 hours tills double in size.
9. Gently brush with white of egg, sprinkle sesame seeds and bake in a preheated 425 F (225 C) oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

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3.2.1230

Ok this post was supposed to be posted yesterday, but because of some technical difficulties (some call it procrastination, but I just don’t like the sound of that word), I am posting it today. And well, why can I not. Isn’t every day supposed to be mother’s day. Isn’t every day supposed to be a celebration of these superwomen that hide in plain clothes in our houses?

So, mama, even though belated (actually I did wish you on time yesterday), here’s wishing you a very happy mother’s day today as well!

Your children may not always spell it out to you, Mama, but you are everything to us. We thank you with all our heart for being the wonderful person that you are, for  loving us unconditionally, caring for us without limits and making us feel special every day.

From celebrating our birthdays

to now celebrating your grandkid’s

You have always been here.

And you have always been here with a smile and that beautiful face of yours

I know mama you worry about me a lot but know this that I’ll be fine and the reason I know that, is because I’ll always have you by my side.

Yes, you might not always agree with what I am doing but I also know that you will still be there to support me. And even when I am upset with you for not understanding, know that I know you only have the best of intentions.

And finally know this, that I love you.

I love you not only for being my mother, but for being all that you are- one of the sweetest persons I know; and as Vicky puts it a magnificent soul whose affection and compassion to everyone around you will always be an inspiration to Vicky and me.

As you can see I got Vicky to write a few words for you too, because you know how he is so much better at putting feelings into words. Did you know, mama, that when he had his ejection after his aircraft caught fire, as he pulled the handle to eject, to calm his fear of the unknown he involuntarily shouted out ‘mAma’.

I do that too. Well, when I see a scary movie. Or when someone jumps at me suddenly and scares me. Or when I get hurt. Because it’s your name that calms us. I guess that’s just one of your superhuman abilities. Even without being there physically, you are always there watching and protecting us.

I know you pray every night for our happiness and well being. Even when you are tired, and just want to sleep, you pray for us.

If there could be a day dedicated to everything you did for us, it would be your day all year round.

And that’s why Happy Mother’s Day Mama, today and always. Love you.

P.S: Papa, we love you too , but today is Mama’s day!

I started the Garam Masala Tuesdays series in April of 2011, and finally after 2 years, I am posting a recipe for homemade Garam Masala! If I wasn’t embarrassed enough, I would be laughing at the irony of it. But in all fairness when I started the series I did mention that I hardly ever use garam masala in my cooking. So why the name Garam Masala tuesdays? You can read about that here.

If I hardly use garam masala, why the recipe then. Well, ever since I have started making my own garam masala, I do use it more than I previously did, because it just adds that touch of flavor which makes my dishes come together perfectly.

Garam Masala literally translates to warm/hot spice mix. Garam In Hindi means Hot, and Masala means blended spices.

But when I say hot it doesn’t mean that the spices are spicy hot. It means that the spices raise the heat of the body by raising the metabolism and hence the name garam masala. And that is why you should always use garam masala sparingly in your cooking. Too much of it and your stomach will bear the brunt of it.

There is no single recipe for Garam Masala, and every region, family, house, cook has his/her or their version of this famous spice mix. The spices that one uses in South indian cooking differ from one used in the north, the spices used for vegetarian dishes differ from those used in meat based dishes and hence there will be different variants in each case and depending on the cooking preferences and individual palate, the garam masala recipe will differ. Most common of all the spices are cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and black pepper though.

Since most of the cooking I do at my house is mainly Punjabi style, my recipe for garam masala uses more north indian cooking specific spices. I do use a different garam masala recipe for meat based dishes and will hopefully share that soon as well (and not after another 2 years!)

The list of spices might be a little long, but all it really requires is just grinding the spices. If you are not roasting the spices then it just takes a few minutes to get your homemade garam masala ready. I sometimes roast the spices until they release their aroma and then grind them to a powder. It takes a little longer but the results are worth it.

A word of note though, if roasting do not roast the black cardamom as roasting makes the cardamom slightly bitter.

A lot of people confuse Garam Masala with curry powder, but the truth is that curry powder is a very non-indian term. Nobody uses it in India. And unlike curry powder, garam masala is not based on turmeric, but on a mixture of cardamom, coriander and black pepper, among other spices.

The recipe I use is adapted from a Jiggs Kalra’s recipe. I love his cookbook. His recipes have never failed me. Nor have they failed my mother, who gifted me his book.

The blend he uses is of cumin seeds, black and green cardamom, black peppercorn, coriander and fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, mace, bay leaves, ginger powder and nutmeg. He also uses dry rose petals, but I dont keep those. Instead I use a little saffron, but knowing how expensive it is, you can surely do without it. I have made the masala without saffron and results are still fine.

Dont be afraid of the long list. Whole spices keep long, and making your own homemade version of garam masala is not only cheap but it will also bring to your dishes an exotic and aromatic touch, where the cinnamon adds sweetness, cumin the pungency, pepper the heat, nutmeg a little complexity, and a citrusy touch from the coriander and ginger.

Feel free to use this masala in salads, soups, vegetarian dishes and even cookies, cakes or bread. But add with a gentle hand, always towards the last few minutes of cooking, as a final garnish to the dish.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Punjabi Garam Masala

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Recipe type: spice mix

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 150 gms

Ingredients

• 15 gm cumin seeds
• 10 gms black cardamom
• 25 gm black peppercorn
• 15 gms green cardamom
• 30 gm coriander seeds
• 10 gm fennel seeds
• 6 gms cloves
• 7 sticks cinnamon ( 1 inch)
• 6 gm mace
• 3 gms bay leaves
• pinch saffron (optional)
• 3 gm ginger powder
• 1 nutmeg

Instructions

1. If roasting, heat them on a dry thick bottomed skillet on medium high heat, making sure you mix the spices so that they are evenly heated. Roast each spice individually until just fragrant. Cool before grinding. Do not roast the black cardamom.
2. Use sparingly on dishes and at the end of your cooking, as a garnish to the dish.

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3.2.1230

I know I have mentioned this enough on the blog, but I’ll say it again for the ones who are here for the first time – V is not a sweet tooth kind of guy. I have managed to turn him a bit but still the dessert devotee in me doesn’t think it’s enough. He is quite the health freak and the kinds who doesn’t need dessert to conclude a meal. I, on the other hand, have been known to actually eat a meal so that I do not feel guilty for having just desserts on my plate. Probably that’s why I am constantly struggling with my weight, while V actually exercises to gain weight! Some guys do have all the luck!

But, V does have a weakness. Its strawberry ice cream. That he will buy even when I am not there. Something he will eat without me having to emotionally blackmail him to eat it so that I dont feel guilty of taking a bite myself.

So, it was only obvious that I had to learn how to make at home a dessert that he enjoys so much. It also gave me a chance to inaugurate the ice cream maker for this season.

I have tried both eggless ice cream recipes and recipes with yolks and while eggless recipes are not bad, I have realized the creaminess and taste you get with a recipe that calls for making a custard with the yolks first and then churning the ice cream is far more superior than when it is an eggless recipe.

I adapted the recipe from this ice cream recipe I got off allrecipes.com. I followed the advice of a few reviewers who decreased the amount of cream listed in the original recipe and also followed the steps that one reviewer had listed since it eliminated the need to strain the custard, and also eliminated the possibility of the yolks turning into cooked egg bits, which I am always afraid I will do.

And because roasting strawberries is my new obsession, what with the local grocery store having such sweet deals on strawberries and the ease of doing so, I decided to adapt the recipe to make a Roasted Strawberry Ice cream. And believe me when I say, we have a winner here.

So silky, smooth and oh so flavorful- not trying to toot my own horn, but this is even better than store bought strawberry ice cream. This remained creamy and soft till the very end. I took it for one of my friends and her daughters. The daughter, a five year old, after tasting it said that even though she preferred other flavors, this was “deeelicious”! And I couldn’t agree more- it sure is delicious- again sorry for blowing my trumpet but a fact is a fact.

On another note, I visited one of my favorite antique stores today.

I love antique stores with their quaint things that hold so many years of memories in them. Of course they are a food blogger’s paradise, making me giddier than a kid in a candy store when I am in one. I am a sucker for vintage flatware for food photography with its beautiful patina that has a story in them that adds to the character of a photo (as if someone has used the spoon or fork for many years and will continue to do so- it might gross someone else out, but for me its like re-living someone else’s memories while making my own).

While browsing through the stuff, I chanced upon this book of poems, and thought it would be fun to pick it up. At $2 it didnt hurt to buy it. Plus, it had a rugged, used cover that attracted the photographer in me.

Now, I am not a very poetry kind of person, and always had a tough time understanding the deeper meaning of a poem when I was in school, but as I am getting older (and wiser in some respects), I am getting better at appreciating some of the words.

Flipping through the pages, I found quite a few poems that I liked but one of the best was the one I found on this folded piece of paper which probably the peson who originally had the book must have kept in the book. The poem is called “The world is mine” by Tunnyson Guyer. It reminds us to be grateful for all the small things we take for granted. It’s a nice thought and one that you will enjoy while feasting on this ice cream!

Today upon a bus I saw a girl with golden hair;
She seemed so gay, I envied her, and wished that I were half so fair;
I watched her as she rose to leave, and saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and wore a crutch, but as she passed–a smile.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I have two legs—the world is mine.

 

Later on I bought some sweets. The boy who sold them had such charm,
I thought I’d stop and talk awhile. If I were late, t’would do no harm.
And as we talked he said, “Thank you, sir, you’ve really been so kind.
It’s nice to talk to folks like you because, you see, I’m blind”.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I have two eyes—the world is mine.

 

Later, walking down the street, I met a boy with eyes so blue.
But he stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do.
I paused, and then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?”
But he looked straight ahead without a word, and then I knew, he couldn’t hear.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I have two ears—the world is mine.

 

Two legs to take me where I go,
Two eyes to see the sunset’s glow,
Two ears to hear all I should know,
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;
I’m blest, indeed, the world is mine.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Roasted Strawberry Ice cream

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves: 4½ cups

Ingredients

For the roasted strawberries: (I doubled the recipe)

• 450-500 gm fresh strawberries, quartered
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1½ tbsp white wine

For the ice cream:

• ¼ to ½ cup granulated sugar ( depends on how sweet you want your ice cream and how sweet your strawberries were in the first place. I used ¼ cup)
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup half and half

Instructions

Fore the roasted strawberries:

1. Place the strawberries in a glass baking dish.
2. Sprinkle over the vanilla sugar, followed by the white wine. Mix gently.
3. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool. Resist to finish the whole thing off.
4. Drain strawberries. Churn half of the strawberries in a blender and keep the other half as is.
5. Put the liquid into a sauce pan, and reduce to a thick concentrate. It will thicken a bit as it cools and can be used as a topping in the ice cream. Chill before use.

For the ice cream:

1. Whisk the half and half with egg yolks until completely mixed.
2. Add sugar and corn syrup and stir until dissolved.
3. In a saucepan, pour the mixture and add the cream, then whisk until completely blended.
4. heat over low heat. Once hot increase the flame to medium low and cook until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
5. Refrigerate till chilled. Mix the churned and whole strawberries.
6. Fill an ice cream maker with the mixture, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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Note:

In case you do not own an ice cream maker , see the intsructions here to make your own ice cream at home

And since I have been a little crazy about GIF images lately, I thought I would do one for this post as well. Since I don’t know how to use photoshop to make GIF images and actually rely on gifninja.com, please excuse the quality .

It also shows a little (or maybe I just need an excuse to put the GIF) on how I shot the second shot in this post – the towering scoop shot. I took 5 scoops of ice cream before hand and froze them separately on parchment paper. Two were extras, just in case something happened to the three main ones. Before shooting, I placed a stand in light pink cloth, and with the camera on the tripod, adjusted the settings of the camera till I got it right. When ready to shoot, I placed one scoop, and released the shutter. Then I carefully placed the other on top of the first and repeated the same and so on and so forth. When shooting ice cream it helps to freeze your props also sometimes so that the ice cream takes a little longer to melt. I didn’t need to do so, because it wasn’t as hot in the house that day.

And here it is my new GIF image obsession.

Sukaina of Sips and Spoonfuls recently blogged about a topic that resonates so closely to what I feel as a blogger.

The post talks about how Sukaina got an email from one of her readers and how the reader thought she had a perfect life with everything about it perfect- ”the perfect house, the perfect blog post, the perfect meal, the perfect recipe, that perfect image, the words or story that sounds just perfect.” But, of course, as she points out in her post, in reality, things are far from perfect.

For me, Sukaina’s blog is perfect. Her recipes look and sound great. The pictures are bang on in terms of styling, lighting, sharpness, and focus. The video she made is still, in my opinion, one of the best cooking videos I have seen. So it was refreshing to know that she goes through the same doubts as I do, that like me, she too is constantly struggling with getting everything perfect and somehow that more often than not does not happen.

Take this post for example. I made and took pictures of this “oats khichdi” a few days back. I was not happy with the pics. So I decided I will have a go at them again. I made the khichdi again, and I had a picture in mind as to how I wanted to style it (which I did even the first time but this time I improved on it). I tried different surfaces, different stylings but somehow what I wanted I couldn’t achieve, mainly because that would have required props I did not have. So I ended up with these pics that I am posting today and I am just not satisfied. None of them were how I had imagined it to be. But, since the recipe is good I decided to post anyway with what I have, mainly because of what Sukaina had to say.

I know I have come a long way from where I started almost 3 years back, but I still look at blogs and sigh to V, when will I be THAT good!

I also know there are people who have started blogs with the perfect pictures, the perfect recipe and everything about their blog being perfect; but I have come to terms with the fact that while some people catch on quickly, some take their time. I am the latter, but then, I try every day to improve myself and I think that says for some thing. So even though I am not happy with what I have to put forth today, I know tomorrow I will improve on it. But because of my insecurities I should not let a good recipe go by and as Sukaina puts it:

There would be no blog if that moment of perfection is coveted. Perfect is not always possible. And that shouldn’t be our aim. If you succeed each time, you will stop trying. And if you stopped trying, you would stop creating.

With that said, here I am trying, and creating, another Garam Masala Tuesday.

I know I seldom post breakfast recipes on GMT, so this should be a change. Its just that even though I cook Indian breakfast I hardly get time to photograph it in the morning, and we never have leftovers for me to take a picture later. And hence the lack of such recipes. And as I just mentioned this too would have been shelved away, but somehow it fought its way through.

This is a recipe I got from my parents’ cook in Allahabad, Heera (our dear, dear, sweet Heera, how I miss you and your food!)

Heera would make this savory masala oats dish or Oats khichdi as we would call it for breakfast almost every other day, because well, we would request it almost every other day. The fact that it is chock full of veggies and healthy had nothing to do with it. It was because it just tasted so darn good. The health benefits were just a freebie. And when I got to know it was so simple and quick to make I had to get the recipe, because breakfast should be just that- easy and quick. You do not want to spend an hour in the kitchen early in the morning when all you want to do is get something in your mouth.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Oats Khichdi

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• ¾ cups oats
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tsp green chillies, finely chopped
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp kadi pata/curry leaves
• 1½- 2 cups water (depending on my mood- whether I want it soupy or not, I increase or decrease the quantity of water)
• ¾ cup finely chopped vegetables (carrots, beans, peas- you can use frozen veggies – I sometimes use corn as well even though Heera never put corn but since its mixed in the frozen vegetables packets I end up putting corn as well)
• ½ cup fresh spinach, finely chopped (you can also use frozen spinach if you want)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro/ coriander leaves
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Once hot, add the mustard seeds and let them sizzle. Add the ginger, chillies and curry leaves, and saute lightly for 30 seconds on medium-high flame.
2. Add the chopped onions, and cook till translucent.
3. Add the veggies and salt. Let cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the chopped spinach, and saute for 30 seconds. If using frozen spinach, add it when adding veggies.
5. Add the oats and mix. Add in the water and let cook 3-4 minutes. (Feel free to increase the water if you would like your bowl of masala oats a little more soupy)
6. Mix in the cilantro and serve hot in bowls and have a nice day!

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I have finally come to admit to myself that I suck at throwing. I don’t play cricket for the same reason because I literally throw like a girl. I would rather walk the distance and hand you the ball then embarrass myself by throwing it and having it land 100 feet away from you. Yes, I speak from experience.

This realisation strengthened yesterday when we played darts at my friend’s place. It was painstakingly embarrassing, but luckily I had enough drinks in me to not be too bothered about making a fool out of myself. V, on the other hand, was perfect. Maybe it has something to do with all the yoga he does. *Mental note to self- practice yoga to get better at darts.*

One of my friends said I just need practice. But in my heart I know this is just how I am. Throwing big balls I am fine with- I can pass a basketball or play throw ball fine, but small balls I just don’t know what to do with them (seriously, there should be another word for balls that doesn’t lead to a double meaning :/ ).

Anyway, who cares. Games are for fun, right. So what if the dart that I throw goes and hits the person standing on the right. Maybe that was what my intention was all the while.

But what does throwing and darts have to do with today’s post?

Well nothing.

Its fun to be random at times. I know I overdo it a lot, but it’s ok since sometimes you do get some awesome recipes in the bargain.

This is one of them.

Mainly because its the kind that you just throw everything in and let the crockpot do the trick. And we all know, we all loooooove such recipes.

And if the word crockpot did not get your attention, I am sure the word beer would.

At least for me it did, and it gave me enough reason to make this soup.

But if you have to make it kid friendly, I will totally understand. You can easily substitute the beer with chicken stock with similar end results.

Slow Cooker Love: Chicken Taco Soup

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

7 hours

Total time

7 hours 10 mins

 

Author: adapted from allrecipes.com

Recipe type: slow cooker, crock pot, dinner, main course

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 15 oz can black beans (you can also add a can of chili beans if you like)
• 1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained (you can also use frozen)
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer ( I used corona)
• 2 10 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained ( I sometimes replace the can of diced tomatoes with medium hot chunky salsa and works great that ways as well)
• 1 package (4 tbsp) taco seasoning
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• cilantro, for garnishing
• juice of lime (optional)
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Place the onion, black beans, corn, beer, and diced tomatoes (and/or chunky salsa) in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning,cumin, garlic and chilli powder and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with chopped cilantro, shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, juice of a lime and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

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 Enjoy!

My friend’s daughter got very sick last week. She had to be admitted to the hospital and after four traumatizing days for my friend and her family she was finally released to come back home. She is still under observation but she is a trooper and fighting her way through her sickness with a smile.

Since the poor little girl went through so much, I decided to welcome her back home with cupcakes. I remember when I used to get sick as a child, I would crave for something sweet- anything to get rid of that bitter taste that medicines leave in your mouth.

I knew she loves funfetti, well which kid doesn’t? And, I had recently stumbled upon this recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction. They seemed the perfect amount of fun to greet a child with.

Sally uses a vanilla buttercream for the frosting and while I am sure that tasted absolute heaven, these days my latest frosting craze is the chocolate malt frosting (originally by Sweetapolita) I used for the five layer cake. And since I love the combination of vanilla with chocolate, you do get the best of both worlds, I paired these fun funfetti cupcakes with the chocolate malt frosting.

The cupcakes are great on their own, and fun to look at with colorful speckles all over the cupcake. So if you do not want the extra calories, skip the frosting and just make the cupcakes.

But, I’d rather you not.

Instead, I would suggest you have only one, or even half but make sure you have it with the frosting since it is so darn good. Since that’s how it is supposed to be. Because that’s what makes these divine. I can not say it enough, but treat yourself with this frosting now!

And, since these were being made for a kid in mind I made sure I topped each cupcake with a LOOOOT of frosting. <3

And even though the chocolate malt frosting is great on its own. With sprinkles, you just take it up a notch and any frosting debacles you have are covered up with the colorful funfetti on top. There is just something about funfetti. It just makes everything that much more pretty.

And, not that I have anything against plain vanilla cupcakes but when you add funfetti to them, you add fun to them.

So here are some fun cupcakes with a seriously addictive frosting.

Make them now, will you !

And just because I am in a fun mood, I thought I’ll make a GIF and name it “now you have sprinkles, now you don’t”.

Funfetti Cupcakes

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1⅔ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup yogurt (Sally mentions you can use any- plain, vanilla, greek or even sour cream. I used greek yogurt)
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup sprinkles

for the Malted chocolate frosting:

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 37.5 gms ovaltine classic malt powder
• ½ tbsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 125 gm dark or semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 60 ml whipping cream

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners..
3. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter with the sugar – mixture will be gritty. Chill in the refrigerator for a minute.
5. Stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.
6. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick.
7. Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.
8. Divide batter among 12 cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before you frost them.

For the malted chocolate frosting:

1. In a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter and beat on the lowest speed for a minute till mixed.
2. Add the malt powder, vanilla, salt and again beta on low till combined.
3. Add in the melted and cooled chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. This is when you will see things shaping up. Resist the temptation to stick your hand in and get a lick of the frosting.
4. Add the whipping cream and beat on medium high for about a minute. (This frosting is best used right away.)
5. Top with more sprinkles. Eat. Enjoy. Indulge.

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