Strawberry Coconut Lime Juice

Hello Friends,

A new recipe I found (just on some of my searches, so, I do not remember the source and I modified the recipe a bit to suit my needs and what I had in my hand).

It is a very simple recipe and can be modified in anyway you want to suit your tastebuds. In anyway you try, it will be delicious, thirst quenching and very low in calories.

As it stands, these ingredients with quantities I mentioned, it is ONLY 77 calories (1 serving) and it is 1 serving per recipe without using honey. If you add honey, it is about 100 calories, which is still great. Now, it won't get any better than 77 calories for this yummy goodness. I hope I have inspired you enough to try it soon :)

Without further ado, here is the healthy and quick recipe.

Strawberry Coconut Lime Juice

Ingredients

Strawberries - 1 cup roughly chopped

Lime or Lemon Juice - 1 tsp or adjust according to your taste

Coconut Water  - 1 cup

Crushed Ice  - 1 cup (optional)

Chia Seeds - 1 tbsp. (again totally optional but gives such a good texture that you don't want to miss it)
Honey - 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Preparation

Real Simple. Blend Everything together and enjoy !!!

Serving

Just pour it in a glass of your choice and chill !!!

Note: Lemon Juice and Honey, please use both per your taste. First blend other ingredients, taste and then add lemon juice and honey as needed. You may not need both.

I am sending this to The Healthy Me & Healthy Us event for May 2013 Edition is being held by Jayanthi @ her Home Made Food Ideas for Toddlers and Young Children blog.

Also sending this to A Berry Merry Summer - June 2013 event hosted by Jayanthi.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Priya

Morning Sunshine

Hello Friends,

I am here with your “Morning Sunshine”. This is something that most of my mornings these days start with. I am calling it “Morning Sunshine”. It is the simplest juice once can make and it definitely is a great start for your day, not sugary at all.

This juice (it will be a 18-20 oz. depending on how much juice your orange has) has 181 calories in total. Here is the breakup:

9 calories from fat

255 mg sodium

1096 mg of potassium

35 g of carbohydrate

3 g fiber

3.4 g of protein

10% of daily Vitamin A

307% of daily Vitamin C

9% of daily Calcium

7% of daily Iron

20% of daily Thiamin

12% of daily Riboflavin

6% of daily Niacin

9% of daily Vitamin B6

9% of daily Phosphorus

10% of daily Copper

3% of daily Selenium

22% of daily Magnesium

3% of daily Zinc

Whew!!! I am exhausted just writing it all down, but boy what a good list. What do you say? 

Do you agree it is a great start?

So, why delay, here is the simple recipe and pic.

Morning Sunshine

Ingredients

Oranges – 2 medium sized (it comes to about 1 cup of juice)

Fresh Coconut Water – 1.5 cups (you can used can ones too, but make sure the ingredients only say coconut water and no additives)

Preparation

• Juice Oranges and mix the juice with coconut water. Stir and Enjoy!!!

Serving

Serve it chilled or at room temperature. You can keep it in fridge up-to-a-day, but as always fresh is the best. I usually eat this with my morning Banana and that is a great breakfast to begin your day with. It has Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat, what else do we need, right? :)

This is my contribution to Healthy Me & Healthy US event that I am hosting this month.

That’s all for now. Take care till next post.

Priya

Makhaniya Lassi -मखनिया लस्सी (Creamy Buttermilk Drink) - BM # 5

Hello Friends,


This is day 4 of blogging Marathon # 5 which was started by Srivalli. 


I wrote a nice post (at least I would like to think it was nice), but somehow blogger ate up my post in the whole chaos of last week. Now, I don't think I have time or energy to do it again. Sorry about it friends. I am sorry to have lost all of the wonderful comments you guys had posted for this recipe :(


This is one of the most common drinks we get on the street (in markets) in summer and even at home. Perfect and better than any cold carbonated drinks as it not only cools you down but also replenishes you with nutrients and keeps you full. Even though we call it a drink, I sometimes feel that I eat it more than drink due to it's consistency, know what I mean :)

Makhaniya Lassi -मखनिया लस्सी (Creamy Buttermilk Drink)

Ingredients
Creamy Yogurt - 2 cups (make sure it is not sour and make sure it is cold as we are not adding any ice to this drink)
Ice Cold Water - 3/4 cup

Mishri (Rock Sugar) Powder - 3 tbsps
Mixed nuts - 1/2 cup - I used a mix of Cashews, Pistachio and Almonds, feel free to use any blend
Malai (Cream) - 4 tbsps. - Home made is the best kind. To make it, boil whole milk in a heavy bottomed pan and let it cool down. As it cools down, it will form a thick layer of cream on top, skim it off, save. Now, repeat the process till you have enough cream :)
Saffron - few strands
Preparation

• Blend Yogurt and rock sugar powder to creamy consistency.
• Pour it in a glass and top with malai (home made cream), saffron strands and nuts.

Serving

Enjoy on any summer day :)

That's all for now. Till next post, take care.

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me.
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Cool Lassi(e), Harini, Kalyani, Priya Mahadevan, Suma
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Priya Suresh, Veena,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Shylaja, Srivalli
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Priya Yallapantula
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast:Aarthi, Vaishali

Jau Ki Ghaat - जौ की घाट (Barley and Yogurt Raita / Drink)

Hello friends,


The name could be a surprising one. Yes, this is what we call something that you may know as "Barley Raita". The process is also very different from what you may have known or eaten from.


This is a very authentic Rajasthani preparation which I obviously learnt from my SIL, Manju didi. It is such a wonderful and great thing for this summer season as it cools you down. You also may notice that I am calling it as a drink and that is because it is actually drunk just like that in villages to cope up with all the heat from deserts of Rajasthan.


The preparation is actually very simple, but it is not done in few minutes. I mean the whole cooking time is just few minutes, but it is done over a period of time, actually overnight, so to speak. So, without further delay, here is the recipe.


Jau Ki Ghaat - जौ की घाट (Barley and Yogurt Raita / Drink)

Ingredients
Jau (Pearl Barley) - 3 tbsp
Onion - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Chaas (Buttermilk) - 1 cup
Dahi (Yogurt) - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup
Bhuna Jeera (Roasted Cumin Powder) - a pinch per serving
Lal Mirch (Red Chili) Powder - a pinch per serving, optional, only if you like
Salt - as per taste
Preparation

• Take barley in a blender and blend it to a coarse powder.
• Take one cup water, add chopped sliced onion and salt and let the water come to boil.
• Add one cup buttermilk to coarse barley powder made in first step. 
• Add this buttermilk / barley mix  to the above boiling water and mix well.
• Keep stirring till it starts boiling (about 4-5 min.) or else the mix will start to curdle.
• Boil for another 5-6 min. The mixture will become slightly thicker.
• Turn off the heat and let it sit overnight (no need to put it in fridge). Just let it be there on the counter. It will become even thicker kind of like thick rice pudding.
• Add yogurt to this ghat in the morning and mix well.
• Sprinkle roasted cumin powder and red chili powder in individual serving cups or glasses.
• If you want to drink it (it will be chunky, but I like chunky drinks), you may want to make it little thinner than if you are eating it in a cup.

Serving
Serve it as a side dish with roti or rice. It can be simply eaten in a bowl separately in the morning in place of breakfast as guess what it has whole food, veggie and dairy all that we usually eat for breakfast. Or, as I mentioned above, just fill your glass with it and just drink it up like a savory yogurt drink :)


Did you notice something else as well, this dish doesn't have any fat in it, I mean nothing obvious like oil or butter :)

I am sending this to CWF : Barley event started and hosted by Kiran, Side Dish Showdown: Anything Goes of Cinnamon Girl

   

Also sending this to Side Dishes from India event of Suma.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Nutella Cold Coffee from Aipi

Hello friends,


My new blogger friend Aipi posted Nutella Cold Coffee and when I looked at that cup of coffee, I just knew I had to make it. Can you believe that I made it within 2 hours of reading it? That's how much amazing it was. Go ahead and check out the recipe and try it out. It is such a perfect recipe for this hot summer. The temps were in late 90s here in my area today, so it cannot get better than this drink :)


I have only recently started using Nutella spread. So, you can imagine my happiness when I read Nutella and I was like, cool, I have it. The only small change I made was not adding "Vanilla Extract" as I do not like it in my coffee, but it was just mind boggling. There is another small thing I want to mention. You may notice little mess in the rim of my cup. You know why? Because as soon as I made it, I decorated and then totally forgot as it was so tempting and I took few sips and then realized that I had to take a picture, so I quickly topped it again and tried to cleanup the mess, but still some was left there.


Do you notice that rich color of the drink, it was simply delicious to drink it, you could taste that nutella and coffee at the same time.

Enjoy this visual treat and I am sure you will make it as well.


Please do check out Aipi's blog for her more lip-smacking-delicious recipes.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Jal Jeera - जल जीरा (Indian Cumin Lemonade)

Hello friends,


This is a very common drink usually served with lunch/dinner mainly and then anytime else you feel like drinking something cold. Cumin is supposed to be something that cools down your body and thus a perfect drink for summer. I was checking net and someone called it Indian Cumin lemondae and I really liked the English name of it :)


Jal Jeera - जल जीरा (Indian Cumin Lemonade)

Ingredients
Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 2 tbsp roasted and coarsely powdered
Pudina (Mint Leaves) - 10-12 leaves
Amchur (Mango Powder) - 1 tsp
Kala Namak (Black Salt) - 1/2 tsp
Nimbu Ras (Lemon Juice) - 1 tsp
Cheeni (Sugar) - 1/2 tsp
Cold Water - 3 cups
Namak (Salt) - as per taste
Preparation

• Paste everything in a blender except for cold water.
• Mix the paste with water and chill it further if serving later in fridge.

Serving
Strain the water (or leave it if you do not mind the powders) and serve it as a drink right before lunch/dinner.


That's all for now. Till next post, take care.

Badam - Saunf - Shahad Thandai - बादाम - सौंफ - शहद की ठंडाई (Almonds - Fennel Seeds - Honey Milkshake)

Hello friends,


Another chilling thandai (milkshake) on a hot summer day.


Badam - Saunf - Shahad Thandai - बादाम - सौंफ - शहद की ठंडाई (Almonds - Fennel Seeds - Honey Milkshake)

Ingredients
Badam (Almonds) - 15
Saunf (Fennel Seeds) - 1.5 tsp
Shahad (Honey) - 4 tbsps (reduce or increase per your liking)
Milk - 2 cups (I used 2% milk)
Malai (Whipped Cream) Optional
Preparation

• Soak badam in hot water for about an hour and peel them before blending.
• Grind badam and saunf first in a grinder with just little milk nicely. 
• Then add everything else and blend them till nice and rich and frothy.
• Garnish it with some malai (whipped cream) if you like.

Serving
Serve it anytime of the day without any guilt on a hot summer day. And guess what, serve it anytime of the day with just a change of adding hot milk on a cold winter day :)

I am sending this for Thanda Mela event of Srivalli, Show me Your Smoothies event of Divya.

Thanks Arthi for mentioning it. I am sending this to Sizzling Summer Contest as well :)

That's all for now, rest later.

Kaju aur Pista Ki Thandai - काजू और पिस्ता की ठंडाई (Cashew and Pistachio Milk Shake)

ello friends,


So, something good came out of something that didn't exist. OK, sorry that is not very helpful. Here it is, I wanted to make this chilling Badam (Almonds) milkshake this afternoon for evening time, but just happened to notice that I ran out of badam, doesn't happen very often, but today was one of theose days. Anyways, so, I am like ok, so what else do I churn into my milkshake, so I came up with this idea of mixing kaju and pista, so here you go with the milkshake.


Kaju aur Pista Ki Thandai - काजू और पिस्ता की ठंडाई (Cashew and Pistachio Milk Shake)

Ingredients
Milk - 1 cup
Kaju (Cashew) - 1/4 cup (Soak in warm water for 1 hour)
Pista (Pistachio) - 1/4 cup (Soak in warm water for 1 hour)
Saunf (Fennel Seeds) - 1 tbsp
Condensed Milk - 3/4 cup
Kesar (Saffron) - few strands soaked in little bit of warm milk
Ilaichi (Cardamom Powder)
Ice Cubes - 1 cup
Preparation

• First grind kaju, pista and saunf in a blender
• Then mix the rest fo the ingredients and blend them till a nice froth forms on the top.

Serving
Serve it chilled either at breakfast or snack time or any other time you feel like having a milkshake. If you use low-fat or skim milk instead of milk and instead of using condensed milk, simply use regular sugar, you can drink it anytime guilt free :) But, the real taste is in drinking the way it is here... lol


I am sending this for Thanda Mela event of Srivalli, Show me Your Smoothies event of Divya.





That's all for now, rest later.

Kesariya Thandai - केसरिया ठंडाई (Saffron and Nuts Milk Shake)

Hello friends,


I am here with a very yummy and cool milkshake, perfect for summer and a regular in my family :)


Sorry, the pic is not the greatest, little blurry.


Kesariya Thandai - केसरिया ठंडाई (Saffron and Nuts Milk Shake)

Ingredients
To Grind
Badam (Almonds) - 1 cup
Khaskhas (Poppy Seeds) - 1/4 cup
Saunf (Fennel Seeds) - 1/2 cup
Pista (Pistachio) - 10-15
Black Pepper (Whole) - 8-10
Ilaichi (Green Cardamom) - 5-7
Rose Water - 2-3 tsps
Kesar (Saffron) - 10-12 strands (in Warm Water)
To Make The Drink
Milk - 8 oz. (1 cup) - for one serving
Sugar - 2 tsps (or as you like)
Malai (Heavy Cream) - 1 tbsp (Here the actual malai we get from boiling milk will be better than using ready-made heavy cream from the market)
Rose Petals - to garnish (optional)
Crushed Nuts - to garnish (optional)
Preparation

• Make a paste of everything listed in "To Grind" ingredients with very little water (as little as needed). Make them coarse, if you like the bite of nuts when you drink thandai, but if you are making it for kids, it is better, you make it into a fine paste.
• Now, the above paste can be stored in refrigerator for almost a year or more. The above measurements will make about 20 cups of thandai (I mean just the masala).
• Keep the ground paste in referigerator before using.
• To make the thandai, take one cup of chilled milk, 1 tsp of masala and desired amount of sugar.
• Blend it well in a blender. You can mix it with spoon, but blending will give the best results.

Serving
Serve it in a nice tall glass topped by malai and may be some spirnkled nuts (if you like) and of course with some crushed ice or ice cubes.


Enjoy it in this coming summer season.


I am sending this for Thanda Mela event of Srivalli, Cooking with Seeds - Cardamom event of Priya and CoL - Summer Challenge event of Daisy Blue.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Chikoo Milkshake

Hello friends,


I see lots of summer fruits and vegetables around and their recipes floating everywhere. It is so nice to see and eat these juicy fruits and vegetables.


I eat chikoos (many of you may know it as sapota) but never had a milkshake before. My sister-in-law suggested making this and it really came out well.


Chikoo Milkshake - चीकू milkshake

Ingredients
Chikoo - 1 cut into slices
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 tsp (or as per your liking)
Coco powder - 1/2 tsp 
Cardamom Powder - 1 pinch
Malai (Heavy Whipping Cream) - per your liking - I skipped this step :)
Preparation

• Puree everything together (except malai and coco powder) in the bledner.

Serving
Take the milkshake in the desired cup, sprinkle coco powder and top it with malai (whipping cream). The picture I took is not at all good, so please don't pay much attention to that.


Sending this to Thanda Mela event of Srivalli. Hope you all like it.



This also goes to Cooking with Seeds - Cardamom Seeds event hosted by Priya.

Till next post, take care.

Happy Ramnavami - Bhune Chane, Halwa, Aloo Tamatar Ki Sabzi and Meethi Lassi

Hello Friends,


Happy Ramnavami to all of you. My 9 day (one time only meal) fast ended today. For me, it was the end of navaratri, a 9-day festival. For many others, who celebrate Rama Navami, it was the celebration of birth of Lord Rama (Son of King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya).For more info about it, read Wikipedia.


My Navaratri Ending thali consisted of - "Bhune Chane and Halwa" (a traiditonal Ram Navmi prasad in my family) and Aloo Tamatar Ki Sabzi and Chapati. I am including recipes below.


Bhune Chane - भुने चने (Fried chickpeas)

Ingredients
Kala Chana (Black/Brown Chick Peas) - 1 cup (For people who may not know what I am talking about, above is the picture taken from Wikipedia along with the recipe picture)
Lal Mirch (Red Chilli) Powder - 1 tsp
Haldi (Turmeric Powder) - 1 tsp
Dhaniya (Coriander) Powder - 1 tsp
Amchur (Mango Powder) - 1 tsp
Meetha Neem (Curry Leaves) - 3-4 leaves
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Namak (Salt) - as per taste
Oil - 1 tsp
For Garnishing
Onion - finely chopped
Tomato - finely chopped
Preparation

• Wash and soak kala chana for 8 hours or overnight.
• Pressure cook chana with haldi and namak till they are done.
• Take a non-stick pan, add oil.
• Once oil is hot, add jeera and meetha neem leaves.
• When they are spluttering, add chana along with dry powders
• Mix well and let them fry for 3-4 minutes

Serving
Serve them as snack anytime by garnishing raw chopped onion and tomato. Great snack with evening tea. Adjust spices per your liking. I also like to  fry onion along with chana and then just garnish with chopped tomatoes (I didn't add it today as I made it as offering to God). Some people like to substitute amchur with lemon juice. So, adjust things per your liking and make it your very own :)


Bhune Chane goes to Vegetable Marathon - Beans event.

Sooji Ka Halwa - सूजी का हलवा (Semolia Pudding)

Ingredients
Sooji (Semolina) - 1 cup
Cheeni (Sugar) - 3/4 cup (increase the quantity if you like it sweeter, we prefer it mild)
Kaju (Cashew) and Kishmish (Raisin) - 1 tbsp
Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 1/2 cup
Ilaichi (Cardamom) Powder - 2 pinches
Water - 2.5 cups
Preparation

• Boil Water in a pot.
• Fry kaju and kishmish in little ghee and keep aside
• Take a wide pan and add half of the ghee, add semolina and fry (don't let it brown a lot)
• Add ilaichi powder towards end of the semolina frying and mix well.
• Add water slowly and mix it well.
• Mix fried kaju and kishmish.
• Add sugar and mix well. At this point the halwa will become a bit runny, but don't worry.
• Add the remaining ghee , mix well.
• Cover and let it simmer on the slowest setting for 2-3 minutes.

Serving
Serve it as a dessert. Make it for prasad. We even eat it at breakfast along with warm pooris.

Sending this to Celebrate Sweets - Halwa event of Nivedita.

Aloo Tamatar Ki Sabzi - आलू टमाटर की सब्जी (Potato and Tomato Curry)

Ingredients
Aloo (Potatoes) - 4 medium sized
Onions - 1 cup finely chopped
Tomato - 1 cup finely chopped
Ginger - 1 piece crushed or grated
Garlic - 3-4 cloves crushed
Haldi (Turmeric Powder) - 1 tsp
Lal Mirch (Red Chilli) Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya (Coriander) Powder - 1 tsp
Jeera Cumin) Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt - per taste
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Rai (Mustard Seeds) - 1 tsp
Hara Dhaniya (Cilantro) - 1/2 cup chopped for garnishing
Oil - 1 tsp
Preparation

• Boil potatoes and cut them in bite size pieces.
• Take oil in pan and heat it
• Add rai, jeera and let them splutter
• Add onion, garlic, ginger and fry till onion becomes translucent
• Add chopped tomatoes and al dry masalas
• Cover and cook till tomatoes are mushy
• Add potatoes, mix, cover and cook for 4-5 min.
• Garnish with cilantro

Serving
Serve it with poori/roti/paratha/naan and even rice.


I am also including this recipe of thirst-quenching Meethi Lassi for spring/summer days or actually any time of the year.


Meethi Lassi - मीठी लस्सी (Sweet Yogurt Smoothie)

Ingredients
Dahi (Yogurt) - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 tsps
Water - 1/4 cup
Malai (Heavy Cream) - 1 tbsp (optional)
Salt - a pinch
Preparation
Blend all the ingredients (except malai) together till a nice froth forms.
Serving
Serve it in a big glass (with ice cubes, optional) with malai at the top. This can be served chilled or at room temperature any time of the day. I have enjoyed it at breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and many times in between. This is my regular beverage during navaratri as I only eat once a day. I just do not add salt in it during navaratri. You can increase or decrease quantity of water depending on how runny you would like it to be. Please also feel free to change the quantity of sugar based on your taste.


This goes to Summer Soothers event.


Till my next post, take care, good night !!!