Garden Salad

A refreshing bowl of salad can be made with vegetables picked  from your garden and when you know how to put together some delicious vegetables and make a basic garden salad, you can add your own twist to it. Vegetables like tomatoes,onions,carrots and radish add taste and colour to the salad.If you are health conscious and counting calories you can eat it as it is or else add your favourite dressing to it and enjoy a scrumptious bowl of pure goodness.

A  meal is not complete without a bowl or a plate of salad.Some love to eat salad anytime and on its own whilst others prefer to add a good amount of protein like chicken or meat. Some vegetables that can be used in your salad :
A combo of salad leaves like iceburg lettuce, romaine lettuce,Cucumber,Onions,Carrots,Raddish,Celery ribs


Here is my plate of salad made  with colourful bell peppers,salad leaves,and cucumber.

I made a dressing with buffalo curd, chopped onions,green chillies,salt and a squeeze of lemon juice and I enjoyed every bite.  crunch,crunch,nom,nom

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

Food Eaten At Lunch Time

The children come home from school late in the afternoon tired and hungry.Everyday I see that they are given a well balanced home cooked meal.As a stay at home mom I can afford to spend some extra time in the kitchen planning out the day's menu and cooking: rice,vegetables and meat  to satiate the taste buds of my children.The meat is always cooked a little spicy  with enough gravy,sometimes the children love it all marinated and fried. The vegetables are relished when done  in mild spices and coconut milk.If I have some carrots,lettuce and any other leafy green in my refrigerator I tear them and throw into a bowl.To make a salad in an instant. Rice and curry is the  typical lunch eaten at home everyday.Once in a way the children  would want to eat something other than the usual food.I eat  my Lunch  with the children but my hubby has his lunch when he  comes home after office in the evening.I serve him everyday and discuss the days events with him..If I am hungry I have a second serving  along with  hubby ( of course in  small  quantities) ..

Cooking Beans

 A few days ago I was assigned to do a pot of beans for a farewell party. Since it was a large quantity, my daughters helped me with the cutting and chopping. I was glad I had some extra help. Beans could be cooked in many different ways. I decided to  do a curried dish.

I had to fry the beans in batches as the frying pan couldn't hold a lot at the same time. Once all the beans were fried, I put them into a  large platter lined with paper towels for  the excess oil  to be absorbed.

The beans went through many  cooking stages to reach  the finish product. First it was fried and cooked on the stove and then went into the oven to simmer. A lot of tomatoes, onions, garlic and a few spices were added to bring out the flavour. This vegetable curry is a good side dish with  rice cooked in saffron.

Shrimps And Noodles

When I have less time I prefer to cook noodles.It's easy to prepare  and can be tossed  together with any  vegetables available in the refrigerator.However I prefer on  my bed of noodles some curried Prawns or shrimps which to a great extent   tantalizes my tastes buds.Shrimps or prawns tastes the same but can be cooked in many different ways.I love to eat  shrimps with a lot of spices and herbs .The noodles can be cooked according to instructions in the packet.And  vegetables and meat added according to your choice.I have earlier posted the recipe for Deviled Shrimps which is  an  ideal accompaniment for Noodles.

Garden Salad

The colors of a fresh garden salad are so extraordinary,no painter's pallet can duplicate natures artistry


- Dr Sun Wolf-

Curried Zucchini

We usually eat our vegetables curried. And all the vegetables are cooked in the same way. I have never eaten Zucchini back at home but once I came to the Middle East I started seeing more and more of these greens, which looks so much like the 'cooler' gherkins. At first I started using them in soups and as time went by, I experimented it with various other dishes. Soon we all got acquainted with this wondrous vegetable. And that's when I started cooking it with spices, herbs and coconut cream.

Cut 2-3 Zucchini into small pieces and put into a pan, with a cup of water, one small sliced onion, one chopped green chilly, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder, one clove of chopped garlic, a slice of green ginger, 2-3 crushed curry leaves and salt to taste, boil until the vegetable is cooked. Then add a tablespoon of coconut milk powder and stir quickly so that no lumps form. Heat 1/2 a tablespoon of oil in another pan and fry the onions till it becomes quite pale in colour. Then transfer the fried onions (with the oil) to the cooked vegetable pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve with rice and curry.