Kokum Sherbat#SundayFunday

The Summer heat is full on now and the never ending thirst to have cool treats and drinks which will soothe the swelter, scorching heat. One such drink that will cool down the heat and give a soothing effect to our body and its system it this apt drink. Kokum is a berry like fruit native to Western Ghats and the coastal region of India, it's an Indian Super fruit.
In English Kokum is known as Garcinia indica, a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), which in India known as kokum, which is used in culinary, pharmaceutical and industrial. This drink is prefect and prepared in a jiffy it's no fuss. So lets go to the drink and cool down. 

Ingredients  

5 -6 Nos Kokum
1 Green chilly - de seeded & finely chopped
2 Tablespoon Jaggery or according to your taste
A pinch or two of roasted Cumin powder
4 Cups water
Shendav Namak/ Salt to taste
1 Teaspoon Lime juice
2 Tablespoons Coriander leaves finely chopped

Method
Rinse the kokum fruits in water. Lightly heat the water and add all the ingredients except coriander and green chilly, stir well and let it rest for a hour or two. When the juice and color of the kokum has been absorbed in the water, strain the juice. Then keep this in the fridge to cool. When ready to serve add the coriander leaves and green chilly, ice cubes. Serve chilled kokum sherbet and feel super cool. The lime juice in this drink gives a lovely tangy feel.  

My Notes 

 This juice can be prepared with sugar also. You can also store this juice in the fridge for a two to 3 days. If you want to store it for more days then do not add the green chilly and coriander leaves .

This is what Maharashtrian's used as a souring agent (apart from tamarind and before the tomatoes came along.)

Labels: Kokum, Juices, Healthy, Preservative free, Summer Fruits, Maharastrian Cuisine, Maharashtra, Sunday Funday

Magic with Berries

• Berry Spinach Salad by Making Miracle
• Blackberry Spinach Salad by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Blueberry & Grape Smoothie by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Blueberry Picking and a Summer Salad with Microflowers and Berries by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Eggless Strawberry Banana Muffin by Cook with Renu
• Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Sandwiches with Blackberry Jalapeno BBQ Sauce by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Kokum Sherbat by Sneha’s Recipe
• Sparkling Strawberry Cocktail by Food Lust People Love
• Summer Berry Turnovers by Karen's Kitchen Stories

A Healthy Salad With Sumac Yogurt Dressing#Improv

This is a salad with sumac yogurt dressing. It's makes a filling meal too. You can make the salad and dressing the day before, separately, cover and chill. Serve it just when you want.

Makes 2 Large Plates Salad
Ingredients
1/3 Cup Brown Rice
1/3 Cup Sabut Masoor / Puy lentils
2 Firm Tomatoes - de seeded & diced
1 O0ty Carrot - diced
2 Celery sticks - diced
1 Cup Colored Bell Peppers - diced
1 Cucumber - diced
1 Small Onion - diced
1 Green chilly - deseeded & finely chopped
A Juice of One Lemon
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 Tablespoons Chopped Coriander
Salt & Black Pepper to taste
For The Yogurt Dressing
250 Ml Fresh Thick Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
A Juice of One Lemon
1 Teaspoon Sumac
1 Clove Garlic - grated
Method

Wash and soak the brow rice and lentil separately for at least 2 hours.
Cook the rice and lentils in pressure cooker separately with water one inch above the rice / lentils and salt to taste.  The lentils are cooked on high flame for one whistle. Drain well and set aside to cool. In the same cooker, add the brown rice, water and salt to taste, cook it on high flame for one whistle then reduce the flame and cook it for 15 minutes on low flame.  Drain well and set aside to cool.
In small jar mix in the lemon juice, oil, season it with salt and pepper. Set this aside.

Mix the yogurt dressing ingredients, season and sprinkle with sumac.

In a large plate arrange each in color contrast. Sprinkle the chopped coriander and chilly on top.  Cling wrap and refrigerate till ready to serve. 

Stir the lemony oil into the salad just before serving; serve the yogurt dressing on the side.
Labels: Sabut Masoor, Salads, Carrots, Tomato, Brown Rice, Garlic, Radish, Healthy, Improv Cooking Challenge, Sumac, Yogurt, International Cuisine

Improv Cooking Challenge: June 2021

Sumac & Yogurt

• Iranian Beef Stew with Yogurt Sauce from Pandemonium Noshery
• Persian Kebab Kubideh from Palatable Pastime
• A Healthy Salad With Sumac Yogurt Dressing from Sneha's Recipe
• Garlic and Herb Marinated Chicken from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Curried Eggplant and Chickpea Fatteh by Magical Ingredients
• Mussakhan (Roast Chicken with Sumac and Red Onions) by Making Miracles
• Mediterranean Chicken Gyro from Cookaholic Wife

Chakalaka With Pap-Pap/A Vegan & Gluten Free Stew With Cornmeal#EattheWorld

Lesotho chakalaka and pap-pap is a very typical meal. The national dish of Lesotho is Pap-pap, made from cornmeal. Chakalaka is a vegetable stew made with baked beans, peppers, carrots and onions, it's delicious. The Chakalaka is vegan and gulten free. You can make the Pap Pap also vegan instead of butter use vegan butter, substitute the milk with water. 

I made this chakalaka mild, add more chilly powder for chopped chilly for a spicy version.

Serves 3
Ingredients
For the Chakalaka/Vegan Vegetable Stew
1 Orange/ Ooty Carrots - grated
1 Medium Onion- thinly sliced
1 Cup Colored Bell Peppers - Orange, Red & Green - diced
¼ Teaspoon, Turmeric
1¼ Teaspoon Curry Powder
1 Teaspoon Red Chilly powder
1 Cup Baked Beans
1 Small Veg Stock Cube
2 Tablespoon Oil
For the Pap Pap
½ Cup Cornmeal
1 Tablespoon Heaped Butter
2½ Cups Boiling Water
½ Cup Milk
1 Cube Cheese 

Method

To Make The Chakalaka

Heat the oil and add the onions sauté till the onions turn translucent, add the dice colored bell peppers saute for a minute, add the grated carrots and saute till they wilt a little, now add the baked beans and all the dry spices - turmeric, red chilly and curry powder, the stock cube and ½ cup hot water , cover and cook for 7 - 10 minutes. 

Taste and then add salt if necessary. Switch off the flame. 

To Make The Pap Pap

In a large sauce pan add the water and butter, when it comes to a rolling boil add milk and the polenta, keep stirring till it form a lump free batter. Keep stirring for another two minutes. Then cover and cook for 7- 10 minutes, stirring after every 2 minutes, till all the water is absorbed. 

Add the cheese and a salt to taste give it a good mix. Pap Pap is ready.

Serve the Pap Pap with Chakalaka and Enjoy!!
Labels : Main course, Lesotho, African, Stew, Vegan, Gluten free, Coloured Bell Peppers, Carrots, Eat the World, Cornmeal, International Cuisine

Check out all the wonderful Lesotho dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us! 

Pandemonium Noshery: Butha Buthe - Spinach and Tangerine Soup 

Palatable Pastime: Lesotho Likhobe 

Magical Ingredients: Lesothan Chakalaka With Papa 

Making Miracles: Lekhotloane 

Sneha’s Recipe: Chakalaka With Pap-Pap/A Vegan & Gluten Free Stew With Cornmeal 

Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Borotho - Bread from Lesotho 

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Makoenva 

Cultureatz: Butha-Buthe, a Spinach and Tangerine Soup 

Kitchen Frau: Chakalaka with Pap (Vegetable-Bean Stew with Cornmeal Porridge)

Homemade Aam Roti/ Mango Papad#SundayFunday

Aam Papad is called Amba Vadi in Marathi, which is an Indian fruit leather made out of mango pulp, sugar and its sun dried. This is famous all over India, since mango is the King of fruits.

From my childhood and even now I, love to eat this tasty, delicious and mouth-watering roti. My hubby and daughter to love it, we just can't stop eating this. Its so easy to make, only requires a little effort in keeping it to dry for 3 to 4 days depending on the thickness and sun heat.

Ingredients
4 Cups Mango Pulp - I used ripe Alphonso
1 Cup Heaped Granulated Sugar
A Pinch Cardamom powder - optional
A Pinch of Salt

Method

Wash, peel the mangoes & cut into pieces. Blend these mango pieces into a fine paste. Pour this blended paste and sugar into a heavy bottom pan or kadai, place it on the gas flame on medium high to boil. 

After it comes to boil, reduce the flame and cook for 10 - 15 minutes more until pulp becomes thick or sticky

and reduces to half, keep stirring continuously.

Grease a steel plate or tray with clarified butter, pour the cooked mango mix in the plate and spread it out thinly.
Now keep this plate out in the sun to dry. If the sun's heat is strong then the aam roti will dry in 3 - 4 days. 

Else you can keep the plate in your room or the kitchen, you can cover the Mango Papad with a thin cloth or net. It will take 5 - 6 days. Once the Mango Papad has dried completely, first loosen it from sides and lift it with a knife. As you see in the pic, it's very thin, that I really want it. 

Turn the plate as you hold it with your hands. You can roll out this Mango Papad very easily. 

Cut it according to your desired shapes and sizes. 

I cut it into squares.  

Enjoy!!

Labels: Mango, Aam Roti, Homemade, Sunday Funday, Vegan, Gluten free  

MANGO RECIPES

• Aam Panna with Jaggery (Raw Green Mango Summer Drink) by Cook with Renu
• Dragonfruit, Mango, Jicama, & Corn Salad Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Grilled Steaks with Mango Chimichurri by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Homemade Aam Roti/Mango Papad by Sneha's Recipe
• Mangonada - Mexican Mango Sorbet Smoothie by Palatable Pastime
• Mango Chicken by Making Miracles
• Mango Falooda by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Mango Margarita by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Spicy Mango Salsa by Food Lust People Love
• Stir-Fry Mango Ginger Chicken by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• White Chocolate Mango Mascarpone Mille Crepe Cake by Pandemonium Noshery

Fluffy Omelette#Foodieextravaganza

We all make this basic egg omelette at home with some slight here and there variations but this recipe would help you make an epic classic fluffy omelette which kids and your family are just going to simply love it! . This fluffy omelette works well as a main course for brunch or breakfast along with sausages, veggies, and toast! To make this omelette it's the technique is what matters the most.

Serves One
Ingredients
2 Large Eggs - yolk & whites separated
½ Tablespoon + ½ Tablespoon Butter
Salt & Black Pepper powder to taste

Method

Separate the egg whites and the egg yolks in two separate bowls.

Whisk the egg yolks until they become homogenous and pale in color. Add in the salt and black pepper powder, mix it well. Set aside.

Transfer the egg whites to a large bowl and whisk with an electric beater until they start to become fluffy and continue to whisk till they triple in size and become white with soft stiff peaks.

Carefully fold the egg yolks into the egg whites until fully incorporated.

Heat a medium nonstick frying pan with ½ tablespoon butter, pour the egg mixture, cover the pan with a lid. Cook over medium low flame until bottom of omelet has set, about 4 - 5 minutes and the omelette puff's up. 

Then lift up the sides of the omelette and drop the remaining ½ tablespoon of butter underneath and rotate the pan so that butter spreads to all sides of the pan. Cover the pan and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes, or until the top of the omelet has set (to check if its cooked or not, touch the upper surface of the omelette, if they are done they won't stick to your fingers). Remove the pan from the heat.

Fold the omelette onto a plate and Enjoy!

My Notes

This Omelette is like a souffle.. it does sit down as it starts cooling.

Labels: Foodie Extravaganza Party, Egg, Omelette, Asian Cuisine, Main course, Side Dish, Single Serving, Gluten free

Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly food fest, where a group of bloggers all create and share a recipe around one of the monthly food 'holidays' as detailed in The Nibble. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook pageFoodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.See all the other recipes for today's Foodie Extravaganza

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.

Check out the other #FoodieExtravaganza recipes this month! 

• BBQ Deviled Eggs by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Brown Sugar Seasoned Deviled Eggs by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Chorizo Scotch Eggs + 2016 Bodegas Jorge Ordonez Málaga Moscatel Old Vines by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Fluffy Omelette by Sneha's Recipe
• Italian Frittata by Our Good Life
• Jersey Royal Potato Salad by Food Lust People Love
• Mexican Baked Eggs by Making Miracles
• Sous Vide Ham and Cheese Egg Bites by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tuxum Barak (Khorezm Egg Dumplings) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Yoda Avocado Deviled Eggs by Simply Inspired Meals