Pink Guava Granita....

Found these amazing pink guavas on my way back home in the fruit market and i grabbed them immediately as they are not very common to find. We always get the white varieties in abundance but this year i have been seeing these ones. They have amazing flavour and soft and juicy skin . They are not as sweet as the white ones though.

Found an interesting granita recipe sometime back . Made few changes for added flavour and colour.
Quiet happy with the result actually..

I took ...

Ingredients :

800 gms semi ripe guavas

300 gms sugar

juice of 1 lemon

300 ml water to cook the guavas

300ml chilled water

Finely chopped mint - 3 tbsp

Few drops of rose water for serving

Mix sugar and water and let it simmer.

Now gently drop the guavas one by one.

Let it boil for two to three minutes and allow it to cool completely.

Run it in the blender with the water and puree it. Add 300 ml of chilled water and puree it mix juice of 1 lemon and pour it into a dish.

Just to have a two tone and some flavour i added finely chopped mint to it. Mix well and keep it in the freezer for about two hours.

Now after about two hours take it out and fork it and scrape it so as to break the setting. Repeat it every one hour for two times.

Serve the lovely pink granita in a goblet topping it with few drops of rosewater and mint sprigs.

Enjoy!!.

Oyster Mushroom Curry....

Oyster Mushroom has been a regular at my mom's place during my growing years. Most of the population at home - ( btw 12 of us from two families - how else can i refer!!) converted to vegetarians at one stage. So this was the only thing that resembled and tasted like meat for the converts. I was always loyal to my chicken and fish. So this mushroom would take many forms and tastes and would be prepared only on Sundays as special treats for them. What a pity!!. All said and done it sure tasted good.

Its been a while since i made this at home. Honestly it had gone out of my memory until i saw the call for 'Cooking with seeds - Fennel' event hosted by Priya's easy and tasty recipes. I use fennel in almost everything i make , so i was wondering about something different and interesting. So here it is...


Oyster Mushroom Curry :

Oyster mushrooms 250 gms

Onion - 2 small ones

Tomato - 1

Garlic - 5 finely chopped

Fennel Seeds - 1 Tbsp

Curry Leaves - few

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Coconut milk - 1/4 cup

Oil as required

salt to taste

Method :

1. Heat the oil and add the fennel seeds Curry leaves and wait for few seconds.

2. Now add the onions and curry leaves and fry till the onions begins to brown slightly.

3. Add the coriander powder, Chilli powder , salt and a dash of turmeric powder cook for about two Min's.

4. Now add the chopped tomato and continue to cook for few Mins

5. Add the coconut milk and reduce heat. Cook for five to seven mins till the oil begins to float on top of the curry.

6. Now add the mushroom and cook it covered till done.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves

Tastes good with rice and can be served with rotis as well.

Enjoy!.

Cucumber Salad with pomegranates and toasted sesame...

Hello... I know i have been pretty slow and irregular with my posts these days. Apologies. This year i have taken on a new project of home schooling my twins along with another little dear. So my thoughts and my entire self seems to be occupied with organising and putting together things at my 'Little School'. (BTW that is the real name of my home school ). So do wish me luck... as i need loads of them.

Well i don't know if i can even write a recipe for this simple cucumber salad... as it is really nothing but assembling few things together. Now i am an out and out salad person and need to have it everyday. So variation and combinations are something i experiment to the ones that i regularly make. This is definitely not from my creative juices but from one of the magazines that i was browsing through while my boys were getting a haircut.



This salad requires very basic and few ingredients from your kitchen. A cool, colourful and crunchy salad with the flavours of mint . With the toasted sesame and sunflower seeds and pomegranate , it gives a certain smoky nuttiness and sweetness making it completely satisfying.

You will need :

3 Cucumbers peeled and diced

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup fresh mint leaves

1/4th cup Coriander leaves chopped fine

salt to taste

juice of one lime

2 tsp white and black sesame seeds

2 tsp sunflower seeds

2 tbsp olive oil to drizzle.

1. Roast the sesame seeds .

2. Toss the cucumber, chilli and pomegranate together. Add the mint leaves and coriander leaves.

3. Season with salt, lime juice, roasted sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. (I skipped the sunflower seeds as i didn't have them).

4. Drizzle olive oil and serve chill.

Imam Bayildi - Fainted Priest ....

Cooking - is it an art or a science?... To me it is certainly a science . I envy people who walk in to the kitchen without any plan and just throw in things and dish up a sumptuous meal. Though i love cooking i am definitely not a natural at it.. I need my measuring cups and spoons and scale and what not. Give me a recipe and i will follow it to the tee..I am not a creative cook yet.


During my stay in Istanbul this was one dish that i never failed to order..... I had this everyday. This dish is called 'Imam Bayildi' which translates to The Priest fainted'..There are several apocryphal stories about the origins of the dish. The imam (Muslim priest) fainted or swooned when he tasted how good it was. I did too!!!

This is a simple eggplant dish which is cooked in loads of olive oil , slashed in the middle and stuffed with tomatoes onion, garlic, parsley and dill.


you will need :

5 purple medium sized aubergines

Salt to taste

10 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 medium-size onions, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced

6 large garlic cloves, chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

Juice of one tomato/ half cup tomato juice


1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup water





Heat about 5 tbsp 0f oil and fry the aubergine for about 5 Min's while turning them frequently ensuring not to burn them.


Now arrange the aubergines in an oven proof dish.
With the help of a fork and knife gently slash the belly of the aubergine and split it open making sure not to cut them to the end.

To make the filling :

In the same skillet you cooked the eggplant, add the remaining oil and heat over medium-high heat, then cook the onion and garlic until soft, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't burn. Add the chopped tomato , parsley , dill and sugar . Half way through add 1/2 cup water and cook till done.

Spoon in as much filling as you can in the split aubergine halves.

Now mix lemon juice, tomato juice 1/4 cup water and 1/2 tsp sugar separately and pour it over the stuffed aubergines.




Put it in moderate oven (180) for 40 Min's . Garnish with parsley.

Serve it with plain buttered rice and Greek yogurt.


Verdict :

1. Please dont go by the pictures. They dont do justice to this utterly melting deliciousness. I guess some dishes are not photogenic.
2. The almost creamy aubergine with the falvourful tomato sauce is divine.
Variation:

You may also add currants and pine nuts to the filling for a sweeter and nuttier version.

Meat lovers can add minced meat for the filling.

Terrific Turkey.....

Potters village in Cappadocia

Back from Turkey after three wonderful weeks my days are still filled with thoughts and beautiful sights of this amazing country. What struck me first was the extreme landscape and the terrain. The charming old city of Istanbul , the fairy chimneys of Capppadocia, awesome beaches of Antalya, pristine Pamukkale and of course the incredible Izmir - ' Terrific Turkey ' it is !!!

Sharing a bit of Turkey with u... Whatever little my camera could do!.

Carpet factory in Ephesus
Ephesus....

'Travel' has different meaning to each one of us ........Get away, adventure, fun, retreat, relax, shopping... Though it is a mix of all these to me , most importantly it means 'time to be with myself'. Time to download, process, get in touch with my thoughts and rediscover myself.

The valley of Cappadocia

Food in Turkey is truly an experience. Apart from the regular bistro and pub menu the authentic home made turksih food is incredibly divine. Wide variety of vegetables prepared with succulent tomato based sauces, liberal use of yoghurt and feta... takes the experience to a different level.

My favourites were :
'Ekmek' - Turkish bread and olives and homemade grape molasses and 'menemen' ( Scrambled eggs wtih vegetables and herbs) for breakfast.
'
'Manti' - mini pasta pockets with minced meat cooked and served in a bed of rich tomato sauce and creamy yogurt. They look lot like mini raviolis and 'Mezze platter' was for lunch. Or Bulgar rice with 'Imam bayildi' - eggplant stuffed with minced meat and cooked in tomato gravy

Snacked on 'Simit' - sesame bread, Charcoal roasted chestnuts and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Dinner was wide variety of Kebabs like Iskendar kebab or Testi kebab which is cooked in claypots for eight long hours , with Cappadocian red wine on the side .

Mango Orange Smoothie!!!

Hello All!!!! I am Back and delighted to be behind my computer catching up with friends and fellow bloggers. One month seems to be quiet a break and so much seems to have happened in the blogosphere... so many colourful recipes , so many interesting stories and many more interesting new bloggers... hmmm feels good to be back!.

Honestly i have been avoiding getting into the kitchen and sort of having quick fix meals ..... But one thing that i have been loading myself since i landed back home is 'Mango smoothie'. Oh my !! All one gets to see in the fruit market now are these divine smelling mangoes in all shapes and sizes.

With Orange juice and a dash of cardamom for flavouring this smoothie is truly refreshing!!.

Try it !.

Ingredients :

1/2 Mango peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup orange juice
1 cup ice cubes
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp yogurt
sugar if needed.

Method :

1. Place the ice cubes in the blender and crush the ice cubes
2. Add all the other ingredients except the cardamom powder and blend till creamy and smooth and pour in a tall glass .
3. Sprinkle with cardamom powder.

Sit back and enjoy!!!.

Cardamom is not a favourite among many . It can be substituted with minced mint !.

Choco Chip Muffins

Well Its summer and my travelling feet has been itching for a while now...
Going on a month long vacation !!..

See you all in June!. Of course i will miss blogging! Anyways catching up will be fun too!.

Happy Vacation to all of you!

Signing off with a simple Choco chip muffins from Nigellas's Kitchen.

Super simple and super Yumm !

Choco Chip Muffins

(Nigella's Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Half-teaspoon bicarbonate soda
2 tablespoons best quality cocoa
175g caster sugar
150g chocolate chips (plus more for sprinkling later)
250ml milk
90ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
METHOD
1.Preheat the oven to 200C and fill a 12-bun muffin tray with paper cases. I used silicon cases which were a thouhtful gift from a good friend and a terrific cook herself.
2.Weigh out the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug.

3.Mix both together – it will be a runny batter - then spoon into waiting muffin cases.


4.Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top then cook for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen and springy.

Enjoy!!.