A Healthy Alternative To Frying

No more spills and splatters

   

Made the juiciest and crispiest chicken 

Cooking with Tefal actifryer  is a better alternative to fry your food.With only a spoon of oil you can make the crispiest food that you have ever imagined.What's more it’s a lot more easier and less messier.No more spills and splatters when you deep fry your food. The actifryer is an awesome  appliance that fries your food with only a push of a button and once it’s done it will beep to say its ready for the table.I must admit,I was a bit hesitant at the beginning when  a friend suggested that I use one.After giving it a hard thought I decided to go for it.However after  my husband purchased one  for me I was pondering whether it was  a wise choice. Untouched ,I left this appliance to idle in the box.Whenever my husband, children and friends asked me when I was going to make use of it. I gave them many excuses and  left it at that. In an unfortunate twist of fate, my husband fell ill and was  advised to a strict diet with less oil .This left me with no option but to go ahead and use the air fryer.I am glad I did .With only a spoon or sometimes with no oil ,the food has always come out delicious and my husband and the whole family is relishing every bit of the   food that is  being served on their plates.Moreover they are absolutely healthy. And I am one proud and happy housewife who has wholeheartedly accepted and embraced the Tefal actifryer into my kitchen.

Mushroom Soup

I love mushroom soup but I have never taken the trouble of making it from scratch.When the need arises to indulge in a delicious soup,I immediately go for the  ready mix packet that I keep stored in my shelf  for quick a  preparation.However I add a little bit of extra ingredients into it  to make it  scrumptious and have a home made effect.

I open a can  of mushrooms and  drain off  the liquid in it.Then heat  some butter in  pan and saute  sliced onions and garlic and ginger.Once it is cooked,a  little  pepper is added and kept aside till I prepare the broth.In another pan I stir the ready mix packet with water, the amount of water to be used is given in the packet instructions.When it is boiling,I throw the cooked mushroom mixture into it.Then I keep stirring  constantly and lastly  season it with salt.That’s my version of home made mushroom soup with the help of the ready mix packet.

The other day when we went to a restaurant for dinner I ordered mushroom soup.It was outrageously delicious.

Orange Lemon Cake

Thanks to Betty Crocker’s  cake mix which made it possible for me to   bake a cake for my daughter who turned seventeen yesterday. As I am not an expert in cake making,I find baking easy with the cake mixes that are found in shelves at the supermarket.I simply followed  the instructions in the packet but added  a twist to it.Since I was baking an orange cake,I threw in some fresh orange zest to the mixture.My daughter was not too keen  to glaze the cake with icing so I covered the cake  with lemon frosting and did a little decoration with some colourful smarties. 

Multicultural Food

Today was my second daughter’s birthday and to celebrate the  happy occasion the whole family went to Classic  restaurant to lunch.The restaurant was  located in the busy King Fahad Street.Once we stepped  inside we were amazed at the  interior  settings,it was simply awesome.We got a  table by the corner.There were a range of delectable dishes to choose from the menu card.As a matter of fact,intially it was definitely purely Indian flavours that was  going to pamper our taste buds but then we decided to go multicultural.And guess what! We had  Indian flavoured,Chinese fried rice, Hong kong chicken and  Russian salad. How about that?

Chinese Fried Rice

Russian Salad

Hong Kong Chicken

Fancy Fruit Cake Dessert

I made fruit cake using  Betty Crocker's chocolate cake mix as the base.It came out delicious as excitedly vouched by my family.I threw in a lot of dried fruits and a combination of nuts.I had made extra as I had planned to join some friends for a potluck but unfortunately had to cancel our get together due to unavoidable circumstances. Suddenly I was left with too much of cake.I was wondering what to do with the additional which was now neatly tucked away in an airtight container in the refrigerator.After  a few days wrecking my brains what to do, I decided to make use of it in a new dessert. Previously I  had made a  dessert using  crumbled cookies as the base of the pudding.This time I used the cake and topped  it with a  thick creamy custard. It was heavenly. Every bit was deliciously savored.

I used almost the same ingredients that I had used for my semolina custard pudding but instead of crumbled cookies I used  the cake.

I used the fruit cake as the base of my pudding

 

My son digging into the dessert.

Making Kothu At Home

Kothu roti ,meaning chopped roti ,is a Sri Lankan dish made from Godhamba roti  ( wheat roti). Kothu can be found in  restaurants  in  all parts of Sri Lanka and is usually eaten for dinner.It is relished among the young especially during parties. You can enjoy  a variety of kothus with ingredients like beef and chicken  added according to your taste. Even vegetarians,like my second daughter gets  to indulge in the vegetable kothu ,with vegetables like spring onions,carrots and cabbages added.  In recent times, Cheese kothu also has been introduced in the menu  by  kothu enthusiasts.

Routinely the kothu is made  on a large hot iron surface ,exclusively  used  for  mixing  the various ingredients to assemble  the  kothu .Even from a distance ,you will know that the kothu is being prepared because of the unique sound the metal blades make, when cutting and mixing all the ingredients together.

Kothu can be made from scratch ie you make the rotis at home and then make the kothu or simply buy the  parathas  from the shop and assemble the kothu with the  other ingredients.I was wondering what to do with the  left over parathas( roti) from last nights dinner.So it was a good idea when  my husband asked me to make some kothu for dinner.The rest of the ingredients I had at home so it did n’t take much time to get the dinner fixed. Next time you have some left over parathas, don't hesitate to  try out this recipe and impress everyone at home, like I just did.

Preparing Kothu at home

4  parathas ( roti)  ( shredded)

1 big onion

2-3  green chillies

1 tsp  fennel seeds

1 tbspoon ginger slices

1 tbspoon garlic crushed

1 tomato chopped

½ tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin powder

3-4  pieces of cooked chicken ( shredded)  with  gravy.( 1/2 cup)

2 eggs

A handful coriander leaves ( cilantro) chopped

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon oil.

Method

Heat oil in a tawa.Add fennel seeds .Then  add  the chopped  onion and cook until translucent. Next add ginger and  green chilies and cook for 1 minute, add the crushed garlic. Mix in  the curry powder, cumin powder  and the  tomatoe and cook  until soft. Add shredded Parathas  and cook until  the heat penetrates  all the way through. At this stage add the  shredded chicken and the gravy. Break the Eggs into the mixture and continuously  keep mixing till the eggs are completely cooked. Add salt to taste.

Toss the  Cilantro in and give it a final mix .Cover with a lid. Turn off the heat. Serve hot.( serves 3-4 persons)

Welcome Home

A rousing welcome To Hubby!

Semolina Custard Pudding

This pudding is solely my creation.I have not borrowed any ideas from other recipes.My aim was to prepare a custard pudding but then  I decided to play around with some other ingredients too and thus emerged this delicious dish.

Ingredients

1 litre milk

1/4 cup slightly roasted semolina

½ cup sweened condensed milk

¾   cup custard powder-(mix into ¼ cup of water and make a thin paste)

Sugar according  to taste

1 tablespoon Orange zest

¼ cup fresh orange juice

A pinch of salt

1 tsp Vanilla essense

8 coconut  cookies ( or any of your favourite)

Method

Crumble the cookies coarsely and spread it evenly Into  a medium sized pudding dish. Pour the orange juice over it and keep aside.

In a pan add the milk, condensed milk, semolina ,sugar, salt and the custard  powder paste and bring to a boil stirring all the time.Reduce heat and keep stirring .Once it starts to thicken,add the vanilla essense and the orange zest and mix it well.Remove from heat and pour over the layered  cookie .Serve it at  room temperature  or  refrigerate if you prefer to eat it cool.

Soft Crusty Bread

During the recent Eid holidays I had a lot of time on my hands and the children asked me to bake bread.Bread making needs a warm temperature in order to activate the yeast so that the dough is properly risen,almost double the original size.Only then the end results will be effective.Even though it was not the right temperature that day, my kitchen had a little warmth to cope with the bread making procedures and to keep the yeast moving.Once you learn the basic techniques of bread making,you will find the recipe very easy to handle.Moreover you don't have to go through a  hassle finding the ingredients because they are found right in your kitchen.
Here's the recipe for a loaf of bread weighing 750 grams.Go ahead and try.

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 teaspoon  salt

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoon oil

1 ½  cup  lukewarm water

The Bread Making Technique

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients and then add the oil and water ( use the water little by little till you get the correct consistency) and knead it to a soft dough.It should feel smooth and elastic to the touch.If its too wet add a little flour and knead again.Grease another bowl  and  place the dough in it covering  with cling film or cloth and leave it to activate in a warm place.When it doubles the size in 1-2 hours,shape it out like a rectangle log and put  it in a well greased  loaf pan. Leave it to rise for another hour and  then bake it in a pre heated oven at 350F for approximately 40-45 minutes.

Before baking-Don’t forget to slit a few times on top of the bread and brush with olive oil.

Pre- heat -the oven with a bowl of water in the lower rack of the oven so that the steam will enable the bread to get a lovely crust.

Add caption

Remove  the loaf from  pan and cool it on a wire rack.Once it's completely cooled,cut into thick slices and enjoy with garlic butter, jam or any other accompaniments  that go well with  bread.  

Chicken 65 With A Twist

Chicken 65-

Sometimes the children get exasperated eating chicken prepared in the same cooking style. At that juncture I turn to the internet,hoping desperately to find an easy recipe to satiate their taste buds. However one particular day my eldest daughter came home from college and said that her Indian classmate had brought some snacks for the them to relish during their break time.As she had really enjoyed every bite of it,she was very  eager to try making it at home. She was however told to refer the internet for assistance.The recipe was too complicated for her to comprehend fully. And  she passed  the task over to me .Nevertheless I took up the challenge  to recreate  this dish. But then again, to start with,I  had to do a Google search to  get an idea how it looked like .Eventually  I found an appealing one  that caught my attention and inevitably was drawn toward the recipe.The instructions were quite simple and everything else fell into place .This recipe is sans gravy and could be eaten as a snack. In my first attempt,I made it according to the instructions.Thereafter I decided to put my own  twist to it.I added much more than what was called for in the recipe .

I marinated  and fried the chicken according to the recipe -chicken 65  in the video via you tube.Once that was done I started playing with my senses to prepare the gravy.I sautéed  an onion in a little oil, added ginger/garlic and cooked till the aroma was released.Then mixed in some spices like,curry powder and garam ( about ½ teaspoon each).Next step was to  add  a diced tomato and  about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and cook further.Finally a  cup of yoghurt was stirred in to get a thick consistency of gravy.

Let me stop blabbering  and lead you to the recipe courtesy of you tube. Chicken 65-

the dish may look appealing but doesn't it sound intriguing ?? 

I made this for a potluck gathering with friends

Made with great labour of love

Healthy Start

                                     Life is a combination of magic and pasta - Federico Fellini

Delicious Finger Foods

The savouries,better known  as short eats or finger foods  have  become the central  itinerary at large and small parties.They  are included  in every menu and  at every occasion.Savouries can be served hot or cold and usually served as starters.We give prominence to them at  tea parties,birthday parties ,family get to-gethers and picnics.Whenever my children invite their friends over,they prefer to serve savouries to them. And I am one happy mom ,who enjoys making them.The most popular at home are cutlets,pastries,buns and sandwiches.

savouries served at a recent get together  at home

Savouries I prepared for my son's birthday

Served during the festive season

Maalu paan or fish buns

My savoury recipes can be found here;

Tuna fish and potato cutlet

Savoury rounds

Fried Okra In Spicy Coconut Sauce

Okra is a well-liked  vegetable  as it contains high fibre and  vitamin C.It  is also rich in antioxidants.Okra is also a good source of calcium and potassium.Many English speaking countries refer to this vegetable as Ladies Fingers. In order to eliminate the slimy effect when cooking okra,I tend to fry them before adding it to my dishes.The recipe I am about to present to you is very easy and there is no hard and fast rule to follow.You can adjust the seasonings according to your taste.

Take a pound of okra,cut the stalk.Wash them and  and rub turmeric powder all over and rinse in water.Fry them till crisp and set aside.Slice two onions, 4-5 cloves of garlic and 3 green chillies and fry them in hot oil and set aside.

To make the spicy coconut sauce-In a pan,heat a tablespoon of oil.Add a few fennel seeds and  a few mustard seeds.As soon as it begins to splutter,add one large chopped  tomato and cook it till it softens.Stir into it a teaspoon of  red chilly flakes,1 teaspoon of curry powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric,.Once it is thoroughly blended, add the coconut milk.( 3-4 tablespoons of coconut powder mixed well  in a cup of hot water).Season with salt and bring to a slow boil. Finally add the fried Okra ,Onions and garlic and simmer.

Eating The Right Kind Of Food

A friend asked me the other day from where I get my inspiration, to get into the kitchen and cook without complaining.I guess I have to thank my dear Mom who taught us the basic culinary skills.Whenever,she  prepared food, we would  with keen enthusiasm watch  how she skillfully made those delicious dishes. At that time as young as we were, we would, with pleasure, munch away the morsels shoved  into our mouths by Mom ,to get our  opinion on  the taste. She took great pride in preparing  new recipes and we were like  good students observing everything she did in the kitchen. I also got to thank the many  articles and cookbooks that have guided me throughout.The  various websites that cater good recipes from all over the world encouraged me further my love for cooking. Whether they are continental, oriental or mediterranean dishes, I love to try my hands on them.

Ever since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I have tried as much as possible to curtail carbs in my diet.I have  even switched  from white rice and everything refined to whole grains.When I come across articles on diabetes whether on the internet or magazines, I am somehow deeply drawn towards them.There are so much of useful information that I have gathered on the web regarding diabetes that helps me  greatly  and has motivated me tremendously to monitor my blood sugar on a weekly basis .When a good article from a reliable source recommends something worthy,I make sure I follow their guidelines and learn a few tips as well.There are studies which has proven that  eating barley  can help in managing our sugar levels.Barley is  an excellent  choice for a diabetic because it  is high in soluble fiber.It makes  a good substitute for white rice. I came to know of one website, which has a number of delicious and mouth watering recipes for everyone.I love the fact how  they guide and help you step by step with their interesting articles.This is a wonderful  family friendly site where you  could find articles and useful information on any topic.I also love the variety of  healthy recipes they have on their website  for health conscious people like me. 

Cooking Fish

If I can eat fish everyday I would, but I  limit it for  once a week.The reason behind this is that  my children detest the smell of  fish.I try hard to eliminate the fish smell with my cooking, using  a lot of flavouring and seasoning  and a good amount of  spices and condiments,yet though,the children hate the aroma that wafts through their nostrils. Mmm..I love it though..
We  eat a lot of  Kanad Fish once a week.My husband gets it fresh from the market, all washed cleaned and cut according to our preferred sizes.There are many health benefits eating fish regularly because fish is low in fat and has a high protein level and  is an excellent  source of omega 3 fatty acids.More over, eating fish at least once a week can  diminish  the risk of various health disorders.

Fish cooked with tomato paste

Here's how I cook Kanad fish

Ingredients

2 slices Kanad ( thick slices)
1 large onion sliced
4-5 cloves of garlic chopped 
a thumb size piece fresh ginger crushed
1 tomato chopped 
1 teaspoon cummin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
A sprig of curry leaves
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon curry powder
1-2 teaspoon chilly powder ( according to your taste or you can skip this)
a stick of cinnamon
2 tablespoon oil
salt to taste 
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon tomato paste ( optional)
1 cup water
3 tablespoon coconut milk powder

(some extra  tablespoons of turmeric powder to clean the fish.)

Cut each sliced  Kanad into quarter.Gently Rub turmeric all over the fish pieces,wash well and rinse.Set aside .I recommend you to freeze the pieces till you make the gravy.By doing so ,the fish becomes firm and does n't break into flakes during the cooking process.

Now make the gravy-Heat the oil.Add the cinnamon stick,the cummin and fennel seeds.When they begin to cackle put  the onions,ginger,garlic and cook it to a light brown colour. Next add the coriander,curry,turmeric and the chilly powder.Mix it well.Add the tomato and cook till it becomes  soft.Pour in the water,salt and bring it to a boil.Take the fish off the freezer( remember you cleaned  it and placed it into the freezer to get a firm texture).Put the pieces of fish in the boiling liquid and cook for about 5 minutes. (don't cover with a lid).Throw in, the sprig of curry leaves.
Then add the tomato paste ( you can skip this  to get a light coloured gravy) and whisk  in the coconut powder.Lastly add the lemon juice.
Enjoy  this dish  with rice,chappati or bread.

Fish cooked without  the tomato paste

Cooking Bean Sprouts

Sometime back,while on our fortnightly grocery shopping,I came across beans sprouts,with was well packed and looked very fresh. Though I had never  cooked it before, I have had  read enough about bean sprouts that I didn't hesitate to pick one pack for my trolley. Back in the kitchen after having done all the grocery shopping, I decided to cook beans sprouts for lunch that day.I did n't even know how this was cooked but my basis culinary skills guided me to make an extraordinary dish.The taste was so good that I could n't help  indulging myself with more servings. My husband too took an instant liking to the new dish.

I put the sprouts in a colander.Washed them well and let the water drain.In a pan,I  added a little oil and sauteed an onion,which was finely sliced,with 2-green chillies and some crushed ginger/garlic.To this I added,a few mustard and fennel seeds.It took about 2 minutes to get them cooked to a light brown colour.Then I mixed a tablespoon of curry powder,a teaspoon each of turmeric and red chilly flakes.Once that was thoroughly blended I added one whole tomato chopped roughly. A sprig of curry leaves and then, went into the pan,the  washed sprouts.I kept mixing all the ingredients together so that all the flavours would blend in nicely.As I love gravy,I poured in about 3 tablespoons of water.Lastly,I added salt according to taste.By this time,a sharp aroma was wafting through the kitchen and believe me  I could n't wait patiently  till it was done.I must say it was absolutely delicious with red rice.As a matter of fact,I had to eat in moderation because of my diabetes.All in all,I enjoyed this new dish and eagerly awaiting to prepare  it again.

Beans Sprouts before cooking

Cooked Beans sprouts

Cooked red rice

Kitchen Disasters

I was reading a favourite magazine when I came across some interesting  tips to follow, when cooking disasters take place in the kitchen. How many times have we  got to a stage where we think we have to  throw away  the food because we have added too much of salt in the food. And  how much does it infuriate you  when everyone starts complaining  that the food is too oily and leave their plates barely eaten. I find that in most instances  when making ,soups and stews,I unsuspectingly tend to   add extra salt and hold my hands in my head wondering what  I  am going to do with a pot full  of salty soup and  who on earth is going to eat it after that.. Many times I have added cupfuls of extra water to reduce the saltiness but  have ended  up with a pot of  watery soup.

By following some procedures ,I am sure we can relish the salty food too which otherwise would probably go waste.I found these tips very useful and easy to handle. So make sure  to  try  them  next time  you  encounter similar mishaps when cooking.Try adding raw potatoes to the soups and discard  them once they are thoroughly cooked.The cooked potatoes absorb the extra  salt ..Another method is to mix  a teaspoon of cider vinegar and sugar.To get rid of excess fat from soups ,refrigerate the soup after cooking.The excess fat will come up to to the surface and can  be easily removed. Lettuce leaves also absorb fat. Place a few in the pot and the fat will  cling onto it. Simply remove the lettuce leaves. This is a good technique to  adapt to prevent wastage of food  from  possible cooking disasters .


               A pot of soup can turn disastrous if too much of salt is added

Sago Pudding

Sago is a cereal acquired from the powdered pith of a sago palm. A type of flour, called sago flour, is made from sago It is starchy and  used for making  puddings and pancakes and for various other purposes. Sago is commonly used for cooking  in India, Bangaladesh and  Sri Lanka.

Traditionally,in our home,sago is  cooked and eaten in the form of a pudding.It is in  the spotlight during the festive seasons.It makes a good dessert  and keeps us feeling warm and cosy during the  cold wintry days.In summer, you can chill the pudding and enjoy it's thick texture. Sago is  widely sold  in the form of "pearls". Sago pearls can be boiled with water or milk and sugar to make a sweet  sago pudding.I usually  purchase white sago pearls to make  a warm dessert.Some prefer to eat  sago pudding or porriage  with a serving of thick coconut milk.

Ingredients

¼ pound sago pearls

6-8 oz jaggery

½ teacup coconut milk

5 cardomom pods

A piece of cinnamon stick

A pinch of salt

A tablespoon sugar ( optional)

Method

Wash and soak the sago pearls for about 15 minutes.Put the pearls into a pan,add the water ,cinnamon ,and the cardamons and bring it to a boil.Scrap the jaggery and add it to the cooking sago.Add a pinch of salt.At this point,( optional)  you can add an extra tablespoon of sugar if you want the pudding to balance your taste buds..Now pour the coconut milk and stir it very well.Remove from heat and pour the contents  into a glass dish.This will taste good when eaten warm. Some love to serve it with a spoonful of thick  coconut milk/cream.

Remove the  cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving.

Tip: Add an extra cup of water to the above recipe to make sago porridge. And add sugar according to taste.

 

 

Brinjal,Aubergine,Eggplant

Brinjal  is a cherished vegetable among my family members.It is also known as aubergine or eggplant They come in two colours :purple and white.

When uncooked it has a bitter taste  but becomes soft and pulpy when cooked. As soon as the vegetable is cut for cooking,the vegetable pieces are soaked in turmeric powder to get rid of the bitterness.Then it is washed and rinsed well before getting to the stove.I love to try my hands cooking brinjals in a variety of ways.Brinjals can be cooked,fried baked and roasted .More than often ,I fry the brinjals and then use them accordingly in a recipe.My family’s favourite is the baked brinjal dish,which I prepare for special occasions.Another specialty is the brinjal curry ,which is commonly cooked in my home.With added ingredients it becomes  a delectable dish.This is usually served with rice and curry.l

Brinjal Curry

4 medium brinjals

1 onion sliced

A piece of ginger chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 tomato

A dessertspoon mustard seeds.

A sprig of curry leaves

1 tablespoon chilly powder or chilly  flakes ( you can add more  or reduce the amount)

1 ½ teacups coconut milk.

Oil for frying

Salt to taste

Method

Wash and cut the brinjals  lengthwise .( should be a little thick).Fry them in oil.Drain them in paper towel and set aside while you prepare the gravy.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan.Cook the onions till it turns pale in colour.Add the ginger ,garlic,chilly and the rest of the ingredients and cook for a further few minutes.When the gravy thickens , add the fried brinjals and let it simmer .Enjoy with a plate of rice and curry.

 

You can see more pictures of brinjal dishes ( cooked in a variety of ways) 

Favourite Sandwiches

Each day for breakfast , I prepare sandwiches  for my school going children .The night before,,I  plan out the type  of  sandwiches that  I will be making  and organize everything  in advance ,like washing and slicing  the stuff  needed for the sandwiches  and    keep them neatly   covered  in the refrigerator.This makes it so easier to cope the pressure that awaits me every morning. Undoubtly each morning even If I am  well organized with the breakfast menu, something will  spruce up unexpectedly  and  outrighly stress me  out.Making  an assortment of sandwiches  can be  fun  when  the mood is calm and controlled.However  when you have a houseful it becomes a tedious task because you got to cater according to each ones preferences. At home,each one has  his/her  favourite.With a  little extra effort  on our part,we can delight the family with their choice.My oldest daughter likes her sandwich spicy.My second daughter  is a vegetarian,so I have to make something that she is  fond of.Whereas my two sons love the cheese and egg toast .When it comes to hubby, there’s no fuss at all from him.He’ll eat whatever I have prepared that day.Most  days I make  My favourite  tuna fish sandwich.It’s really easy making with canned tuna.I crumble the the fish add butter,cheese cream,pepper and salt if necessary and mix this spread on sliced  bread.My husband  also loves when I add some tomatoes and salad leaves to his sandwich.Obviously when an occasion arises,I do everything I can, to make the sandwiches more presentable.During  these  instances,I make them  a scrumptious treat.Imake  rainbow sandwiches which give colour to the bread and a  glow on the  children's face.

 

Rainbow sandwiches