Butter Chicken

Today I borrowed a recipe from the internet.I was getting quite  bored cooking chicken my way for quite sometime now.Although I know to cook butter chicken I wanted to try a recipe totally different from what I am usually accustomed too.Hence for a change I tried chef Vah's  butter chicken recipe.You can find the recipe here,which can be easily understood.Unfortunately I didnt have a few ingredients like full cream and garam masala but yet the final product looked good and tasted extraordinarily delicious.Since I didn't have the ingredient called  for in his recipe ,I did use  a substitute.I added  milk powder to the chicken curry instead  of full cream.

If you cannot find cream,go ahead and add milk powder to your butter chicken and  enjoy the distinct taste.Add  a few tablespoons of milk powder to a cup of boiling water ,mix it well and then stir it into the butter chicken  and continue cooking in slow heat till the stipulated time.

How to pamper your taste buds

How we eat is just as crucial as what we eat. That is what I learnt a few days ago while reading an attention-grabbing feature in the Readers Digest. It got me deeply absorbed in the interesting explanation on how we all have a propensity to be imprecise on  the aspect  of eating. This is typically experienced during the festive season when we find ourselves in the midst of a throng of people. At a gathering we could finish a whole plate of food while our concentration is focused entirely on the conversation and  not  on our meal. And then we stare at our empty plate in doubt wondering if we had really eaten it. Given that our attention was more towards the conversation, we were not aware what was shoved into our mouth. As a result we will be consuming more calories. On the other hand, if we eat with awareness we  are more likely to  enjoy the food  with a minimum amount  of calories.
Moreover I was amazed ,reading further into the article, which elaborated how to draw out  maximum pleasure from the food we eat. Take this for instance, when eating a piece of chocolate, pay attention to   the flavors and the texture and take note how they transform as the chocolate melts  in the mouth. Even after  the chocolate has been ingested our taste buds just mull over the sweet essence that take place in the next few minutes.
On the whole, this particular magazine feature  taught me to be mindful of what I eat and  pay close attention to my meal by using all of my senses , whilst  observing the combination of the beautiful colors, the different textures and the extensive assortment that assemble in my plate. And prior to pushing a morsel hurriedly down my throat ,I am encouraged to take a few seconds to inhale intensely the aromas released from the food, appreciate and enjoy the moment. With that perception sharply penetrated in my mind, I succumb to my plate of delicacies.
My tastes buds are already getting tantalized with this scrumptious array of vegetables assembled on my plate.

A typical sri Lankan Meal

A healthy meal - cooked in Sri Lankan style

Fancy Bread Cones

A great recipe to make in a jiffy.

Ingredients:
Bread slices, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, chopped cucumber, tomatoes, mustard, two boiled eggs, salt, pepper

Instructions:
1. Cut the corners of the bread slices and flatten them with a  rolling pin.
2. Shape the slices into cones. Press the corners together to keep them firmly intact.
3. In a separate bowl, mash the boiled eggs (eggs should be boiled and kept to cool)
4. Add the Cream Cheese and mustard to it and mix well.
5. Fold in the cucumber and tomato into the mixture.
6. Season with salt and pepper
6. Fill cones with this cheese egg salad mixture.

Decorate as desired.Serve immediately .
This would have tasted even better if   I had baked the bread cones  cooled and then filled  them with the cream cheese mixture. But no one had the patience to wait for an extra five minutes

Flatten slice of bread and make a cone 

DAIRY FREE AND GLUTEN FREE PANCAKE AND MUFFINS

Pancakes are ideal for breakfast and the children love it very much. Despite it being a messy task, I love making it. It's funny but quite true that it's almost as though the utensils used are more than the ingredients itself. By the time I wash the dirty pile of utensils and settle down to eat the pancakes, I'm exhausted. But then the other day to my greatest surprise, I found a very unique kitchen hack on youtube. It shows how to make pancakes using only a bottle and a funnel. All you have to do is pour the pancake ingredients one by one into the bottle through the funnel. Tightly close the lid and shake the bottle vigorously till you get everything into a batter consistency. Then heat a non stick crepe pan and make your pancakes.

We recently discovered that our second daughter is gluten sensitive - along with being lactose intolerant. I had to do a lot of research through the internet so that I would know what type of meal I could prepare for her. I experimented with all sorts of flours and milks but nothing seemed to work. It was not until today that, as a first attempt, I tried my hands on corn meal. And I am happy to state that it came out quite well. I used the bottle technique to make pancake batter with cornflour.
In addition to her lactose and gluten intolerances, she had also been avoiding eggs as it caused her abdominal discomfort and bloating. However, through my online findings, I have read that eating egg as it is can cause those problems but incorporating with other ingredients may alleviate it. So I decided to add them as well into the pancake batter. And thank God, she did not experience any side effects.
I also made a syrup with jaggery: made using a sweet substance from palm trees.

Ingredients for cornflour pancake
1 cup corn flour
1 cup almond milk
salt to taste
1/2 tsp baking soda and I added a little water to make it a batter consistency

Method
I used the bottle technique as mentioned above.


Blue berry Muffins  were made using the corn flour pancake recipe .

Fruit Salad

Apart from being lactose intolerant, one of my daughters has gluten sensitivity so I have to carefully plan what I make for her. A few days ago, we bought some fresh fruits from the super market and it had been in the fridge ever since. I hadn't touched them because we went out of town for a couple of days. Personally I'm not a dessert person but coming back to a fridge full of fruits, I decided to do a fruit salad. Fruit salad is a combination of different fruits chopped into pieces and with a squeeze of lemon juice served chilled or served with whipped cream or ice cream. I love to eat my bowl of fruit salad just as it is without any accompaniment. It's an ideal dessert for the summer. I had a couple of mangoes, kiwi fruits, pears, apples, plums, mandarins and a medium sized papaya.My daughter was full of smiles when she figured out that she could enjoy the bowl of fruit salad without any guilty feelings.

Instructions
Wash and peel whatever fruits you have in your refrigerator
Cut into small bite size pieces (best if it's cut into the same size)
Toss them into a glass bowl
Squeeze in juice of a lemon
Chill for 2-3 hours so that  the fruits get well blended with its own juices
Serve into individual dessert cups and enjoy

My daughter and I ate it without any guilt

How to make cake made from cake mix taste like home made

One thing I am sure to find in my pantry is a box of cake mix. The reason I buy extras is whenever my children get hungry for home made cake, I just have to grab a box from the pantry, add or switch ingredients and make my own twist to it and la voila, my children are happy to eat an almost homemade cake. All I do to tranform the store purchased mix  into home made one is to play with the cake mix and try to enhance the look and flavour so that it gives a more home-baked taste. Here are some things I add to replace the ingredients to be used as per instructions  in the box; I substitute milk or orange juice for water. I add half a cup of mashed bananas to a vanilla or yellow cake mix to get  a taste of banana cake. Sometimes,just before placing the cake mix batter into the oven I  add chocolate chips to get a shiny finish and throw in some crushed walnuts or pecans to bite into.once it's done,the aroma fills the whole house inviting everyone into the kitchen.

Here I have made a pineapple upside down cake with a pound cake micx

My son helping me with the batter

To this strawberry cake mix I added choco chips.It tasted great

Cooking Vegetables

Basically all the vegetables cooked at home are prepared in the same way.The basic ingredients will be onion,garlic,curry leaves,mustard seeds,curry powder,turmeric powder,coconut milk.Optional ingredients would be Maldive fish flakes and tomato.Ingredients  could be adjustable and should be used according to preference and taste.You could increase the quantity of the ingredients accordingly.Increasing or decreasing the amount of spices  depends on  your taste buds

For  cooking vegetables this is the procedure that I follow-Sautee onion with a little oil,add crushed garlic,chilly flakes,mustard seed curry leaves.Mix in the  curry powder and turmeric.(If you want to add the optional ingredients ,do it at this stage and cook till soft).Put the desired vegetable and add a little water.Salt to taste.Cook till tender.Add thick coconut milk.Simmer and serve with rice and curry.

Sweet potato

Beet Root

Green Beans

Drum Stick

Creamy Leeks

Uncooked leek is  crunchy and firm and has the taste of onions.Leeks can be used in a variety of dishes and it makes a delectable side dish.One of the most popular uses is for adding flavor to stock.The dark green portion is usually used for stir fries and stocks.This scrumptious stems can be used or cooked on it’s own or blended with  many other ingredients to bring out the extra flavours.In my home country we eat leeks cooked with   variety of ingredients. My children love it when its prepared with sliced onions and tomatoes. However the rest of my family members  love  to eat  leeks cooked with a few tablespoons of  coconut milk which  makes the leeks tastier and gives a more delicate and creamier flavor.We eat this with steaming rice and a meat dish on the side.Raw leeks is ideal to bring the extra crunch to the salad and also used as a  garnish.Leeks also  bring a distinct flavor  to stews and  soups.So today,let me show you how leeks is prepared in my kitchen.

saute the leeks with other ingredients

Ingredients

A salad bowl of washed and chopped leeks

An onion sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic crushed

One tomato chopped

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

 ½ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon curry powder

1-2 tablespoons  oil

½ cup water

2-3 tablespoon coconut milk powder

A sprig of curry leaves ( optional)

Salt to taste

Adjusting a little more or less of the ingredients won’t make a difference..

Method

Heat the oil in the pan.Saute the onions,mustard seeds and the crushed garlic. Add the,turmeric powder and the curry powder and the curry leaves ( optional).At this stage a wonderful aroma will waft through the kitchen and will start tantalizing your senses.Mix in the chopped tomatoesand the leeks and cook in high heat for 2-3 minutes. Reduce  heat add the  salt and water.Let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes.Finally stir  in the powdered coconut milk. ( this has to be mixed in quickly so that no lumps form).Enjoy with rice and  any other curry.

 

Final touch - with coconut milk

 

Curried Chicken

This is the  curried chicken I often mention in my blogs.I  make  this frequently and  is loved by the whole family.This recipe can be adjusted according to your palate.Be generous with the spices If you prefer the curry more  spicy or else be kind enough  to  reduce the fiery stuff.Its all in your hands how you want to pamper your taste buds.
These are the ingredients  you need to make this scrumpious curried chicken.

Chicken about 8-10 pieces (washed and  neatly cut with the bones)
I medium sliced onion
1 medium tomato chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic chopped
A piece of ginger chopped
1 teaspoon cummin seeds
2 tablespoon curry powder ( available in Asian supermarkets)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
A sprig of curry leaves
A cup of water
2 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoon tomato paste
salt to taste
Juice of half a lemon
Yoghurt ( optional)

Method
Heat oil in pan.Add the sliced  onion and cook till it turns pale.Add the cummin seeds,ginger and garlic.When the aroma  starts wafing  through your nostrils ,turn in the chopped tomatoes,curry leaves and cook for a minute or two.Blend  in the curry powder and the turmeric powder with the ingredients thats being cooked.Then carefully place  the chicken pieces into it.Add  salt and water and mix well.Cook till the chicken is tender.Lastly add the tomato paste and the lemon juice.Simmer till the gravy thickens a little.
Delicious with Rice/ Bread/Chapattis .

Tip: Here's where the yoghurt comes in handy
*You can add yoghurt instead of the water.
*You can mix in 2-3   tablespoons of yoghurt into the curry to reduce the spiciness.
*Simple make a yoghurt sauce as an accompaniment

Beef Hot And Spicy

Ingredients
1 pound beef washed and cut into long strips
1 big red onion sliced 
2 green chillies sliced
5 capsicum coarsely cut
1 large tomato cut in small  chunks
4-5 cloves of garlic crushed 
1/2 inch ginger finely sliced
1-2 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon safron
A  few curry leaves
2-3 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon cummin seed
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon vinegar


Method

Heat oil in a pan.Roast the cummin seeds slightly.Cook the onions,green chillies,garlic and the ginger until it turns pale in colour. Add the curry  leaves ,safron and curry powder into the cooking ingredients.Stir it well.Now add the beef and salt.Let it cook in a slow fire.Halfway through the cooking,add the tomato paste,the lime juice,vinegar and then the  water.Cook for another 5-10 minutes .Allow to simmer.When the gravy has thickened, mix in  the  capsicum and the tomato.Keep the pan covered.Turn off heat.Serve with steaming rice and a crunchy salad . 


Tip : You can add some colourful Bell peppers in the last stages of cooking for an extra appeal at the table.


 Hearth and Soul Blog Hop

Tomato Toast

Here are the ingredients needed for this recipe

1 gill tomato puree
1/2 lb grated cheese
2 tablespoon powdered breadcrumbs
1teaspoon made mustard
A pinch of cayenne or finely powdered dry chilly
Hot Buttered Toast

Mix  the cheese,breadcrumbs, chilly and the mustard with the tomato puree and stir over the fire uintil hot( do not boil).Spread this  mixture on hot buttered toasts and serve immediately.