Limoncello Sangria

Limoncello Sangria, its a perfect summer cocktail. Light, citrusy and refreshing one. Its good to try during this festive season. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy. In Northern Italy its called Limoncino. Traditionally, limoncello is made from the lemon zest or peel without the pith. The zest is steeped in rectified spirit until the oil is released. The resulting yellow liquid is then mixed with simple syrup. Here is Limoncello Sangria recipe for you all to try. 

Chocolate Fruit Cake

🎅 Merry Christmas Everyone !! 🎄

Chocolate Fruit Cake, Its deferent from traditional fruit cake. This time I didn't soak dry fruits and all to bake fruit cake for this Christmas, then was searching for a fruit cake recipe and found this one and tried, recipe courtesy 'BBC Food'. We liked this version as its not a typical one as I said so if you are not keen into traditional fruit cake recipe then do try this one. Because of chocolate it has a bit of browny texture. It has dry fruits like our traditional fruit cake. So here is  delicious and rich fruit cake recipe for you all to try..

Guava Cocktail

Guava Cocktail, its refreshing and tasty cocktail with guava, vodka, mint leaves and lime juice. Its time to say bye to 2017 so its a perfect time to make this cocktail and have party time with friends and family. If you want to avoid alcohol please omit vodka and proceed with other ingredients. So here is recipe for you all to try. 

Idi Chaka Sambar / Tender Jackfruit Sambar

Tender jack fruit sambar, deferent from usual sambar and a variety dish with Jackfruit. It’s cooked tender Jackfruit pieces in roasted coconut gravy with mild spices.  I liked this hope you all will love this. Here is recipe for you all to try. 

Sambal Udang / Sambal Prawns

Sambal Udang / Sambal Prawns, Malasian sambal prawns. Its spicy and aromatic dish goes well with rice. Sambal is a spice paste, in this dish we are adding that paste and stirring with prawns. I have added sambal chicken recipe earlier. Here is recipe for you all to try. 

Spicy Vegetable Bread Pola / Spicy Vegetable Bread Cake

Spicy vegetable bread pola,as you all knew pola is a malabar delicacy. I already shared some other varieties of pola. So today I am sharing bread pola stuffed with spicy vegetable masala. There are deferent ways of making this recipe. Here is my version of bread pola recipe for you all to try. Its good to serve as an evening snacks or you can pack for kids lunch box or to pack for picnic snacks. Hope you all will like this.

Here is link for other polas which I tried Chicken Pola , Kai Pola .

Mutton Varutharachathu ( Mutton In Roasted Coconut Gravy)

Mutton Varutharachathu, thick and spicy gravy with roasted coconut and spices. When you cook this, the aroma of all spices stays whole day in the kitchen. All spicy food lovers will love this. And for a change I tired a new combination kappa(tapioca) with this mutton curry, its an awesome combination, we liked it. So here is recipe for you all to try.

Chicken Potjieoks With Spices and Coconut Milk

Chicken Potjieoks With spices and Coconut Milk, potjieoks is uniquely South African and traditionally made around an open fire preferably in the company of good friends or with a family members. So its a delightful and memorable meal. The best meat to use for potjiekos is what is known as stewing beef, sinewy and gelatinous cuts of beef which become deliciously tender when simmered for a long time, developing a strong meaty flavour. Other meat such as venison, mutton, chicken and even fish make ideal potjies. 

Last friday I got a chance to make this Potijeoks. It was my husbands year end office party and had Potijeoks competition. We decided to make Chicken potjieoks with our Kerala stew touch. It became flavorful and delicious , we got first place in that competition😊. 

Potjiekos (literally meaning pot food) has been part of South Africa’s culture for many centuries – since the days of the first settlement at the Cape when food was cooked in a black cast-iron potjie pot hanging from a chain over the kitchen fire. Later the black pot accompanied the pioneers who moved into the country. As the Victorian era unfolded, so the delights of the bubbling black potjie pot made way for magnificent oven roasts, and later still the traditional braaivleis in the 1950’s and 60’s. The re-emergence of potjie in the late 1970’s coincided with the increase in meat prices at the time, and it was then that food magazines and books started publishing articles on potjiekos cooking and potjie recipes.

It is believed that the potjie came from the Dutch ancestors of the South Africans, who brought with them heavy iron cooking pots which hung from hooks over the open hearth. These cast-iron pots retained heat well and could be kept simmering over a few embers. Rounded, potbellied pots were used for cooking tender roasts and stews as they allowed steam to circulate instead of escape through the lid. The flat-bottomed iron pans heated more quickly and were used to bake crusty loaves of bread in Dutch ovens. 

What sets potjiekos apart from these traditional cooking methods, is the fact that it is cooked outside. When the pot was moved from the kitchen hearth to a fire in the open bush, it became a potjie and part of the South African cooking heritage. The most common potjie is the rounded, potbellied, three-legged cast iron pot.

The fire is an important part of creating a culinary potjie masterpiece. Unlike a braai, the choice of wood or charcoal does not make much difference, as long as you can regulate the heat. That is done by adding or removing coals once the potjie is heated up. Timing is also very important, apart from the time the potjie needs to become cooked you have to factor in the time it takes for the wood or charcoal to become coals, so in most cases you will have to start long before serving. 

Here is my version of Chicken Potjies recipe for you all to try. 

Kovakkai Rice / Tindora Rice / Ivy Gourd Rice

Kovakkai Rice / Tindora Rice / Ivy Gourd, flavorful, simple and quick rice item. Ideal for  lunch box or for a lazy day lunch or for dinner. We both likes Kovakkai / Ivy gourd, so used to buy whenever available and used to make variety dishes out of it. When I made this we both liked it very much. Ivy gourd has lots of health benefits and nutritional values, it has iron, vitamin B2 and support to prevent kidney stone, fatigue, protects the nervous system. So try to include this vegetable in your diet. Here is recipe for you all to try.

Chicken Drumsticks In Cherry Tomato Gravy

Chicken Drumsticks In Cherry Tomato Gravy, its a nice and medium gravy dish with chicken drumsticks and cherry tomatoes. We have some cherry tomatoes in the garden. Used in salads and in pastas and still had few, its still coming also. Birds also started having that, thought let it be they also has a wright to have that. Then also some were there, so decided to make a chicken gravy with this. So used our regular spices and made this flavorful dish. So here is recipe for you all to try.

Spinach Rice / Palak Pulao

Spinach Rice / Palak Pulao, simple and healthy dish with cooked rice and spinach. Its apt dish to pack for kids and adults in their lunch box. Im sure kids will love this dish with some raita.

Spinach is nutritious green and this is the perfect way to add this green in your diet. Spinach has the possible health benefits diabetes management, cancer prevention, asthma prevention, lowering blood pressure, bone health, good for healthy skin and hair and promotes regularity. So you can include spinach weekly once in your diet. 

Please dont over cook the spinach. So here is recipe for you all to try.

Pasta With Minced Beef Sauce

Pasta with minced beef sauce, its a great and flavorful meal. Italian cuisine is one of my favorite cuisine, always have stock of pasta and other Iatlian seasonings, sauces etc.. This is the first time i tried pasta with minced meat and I liked it. Here I used Orecchiette pasta, brought from Italy. Orecchiette, from the Italian words "orecchio" (ear) and "etto" (small), is an ear-shaped pasta originating in the beautiful southern region of Italy. If you dont get that please use any other pasta which you have. Here is recipe for you all to try.

Grapes Chutney Chicken With Couscous

Grapes chutney chicken with couscous, something different from usual chicken recipes. Its delicious and flavorful dish. If you like the fruity flavor then you will love this. Grapes chutney which i used is little spicy one so the dish was spicy. Here is recipe for you all to try.

Chia Seed Pudding With Strawberry Sauce

Chia Seed Pudding with Strawberry Sauce, its a healthy breakfast or for simple desert. I think you all knew about health benefits of chia seeds, it has protein, fibre, calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin b2. It has high Omega -3 fatty acids also. So try to include this small seed in your diet whenever possible. Here is creamy and delicious chia seed pudding recipe for you all to try.

Here is link for Chia Seed Breakfast Pudding with Banana , can try this also .

Almonds Dates Ladu With Coconut

HAPPY DEEPAVALI !! 

Almonds dates ladu with coconut,its delicious and rich sweet recipe for  Diwali. Its very simple and we need only minimum ingredients for this and it won't take much time to make this. So everyone can prepare this. We liked the taste and all the flavoures are proper and its yummy. So here is recipe for you all to try this during this festive season.

Oats Soup With Vegetables

Oats Soup With Vegetables, an easy and healthy soup with minimum ingredients. Studies show that oats and oatmeal have many health benefits. These include weight loss, lower blood sugar levels and a reduced risk of heart disease. It has good source of carbs, fibre and protein. So try to include oats in your diet. This soup you can have for a quick breakfast or during a break time or for a lite dinner. Here is recipe for you all to try.

Pineapple Kesari With Pineapple Sauce and Ice Cream

Happy Vijayadasami / Dasara To You All !!

Pineapple Kesari / Pineapple Sheera, Its a popular desert  in the state of Karnataka, South India. Its delicacy to serve during wedding or any other auspicious occasions. Here I tried a fusion version of serving this kesari, made a pineapple sauce also. We liked this combination. Im sure you all will like this. So here is recipe for you all  to try. 

Kadachakka Baji (Breadfruit Frittres)

Kadachakka Baji (Breadfruit Frittres), its super tasty and deferent snack item. We all make bajjis normally with onion, potatoes, long chillies etc. Here I tried this and liked it, so thought of sharing with you all. Here is recipe for you all to try.

Kadachakka Payasam / Breadfruit Payasam

Bread fruit Payasam, its an interesting recipe. We Keralites calls "Kada Chakka or Sheema Chakka for breadfruits. I got breadfruit from my aunty during my Kerala visit and tried this recipe. It has high starch. We usually make curries and thoran with this. Here I tired payasam with this and it came out really well. Its delicious, easy and simple recipe for you all to try for this festive season. 

Chicken Pickle

Chicken Pickle, its delicious and spicy. Its the best way to preserve chicken with spices and its a good side dish with steamed rice or roti. One of my friend told me about this chicken pickle then I tried at home. I'm sure chicken lovres will love this pickle. My husband liked it very much😊. Here is recipe for you all to try. 

Mint and Coriander Raita

Mint and Coriander Raita, simple raita with refreshing taste. Generally we serve raita with main course. It has mild flavoures so goes well with biriyanis. Even you can serve with stuffed parathas. Here is recipe for you all to try. 

Souffle Omelette With Strawberries

Souffle Omelette With Strawberries, its a sweet omelette with apricot jam and strawberries. Its a great brunch dish. Seeing the photo you may think its a desert but actually not. The texture is light and fluffy and one omelette is enough for two people. So here is simple and easy recipe for you all to try. 

Quinoa In Italian Style

Quinoa in Italian style, healthy and delicious one pot meal. This is another best way to eat quinoa with Italian spices. If you don't want to add sausages can add some vegetables like carrots, zucchini etc. Here is recipe for you all to try.

I have posted quinoa recipe earlier in deferent style here is the link ' Quinoa Fried Style' .

Tuscan Creamy Chicken With Garlic

Tuscan Creamy Chicken With Garlic, delicious creamy garlic sauce with chicken, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Italian cuisine is one of my favorite cuisine. We have been to Italy few months back and got a chance to explore deferent dishes out there. Italian cooking is very regional. Tuscany is a region in Central Italy and the food of Tuscany is very different from that prepared in the rest of Italy. 

Tuscan tradition tends not to combine onions and garlic in the same dish. Butter is mostly used as a condiment at the table, rather than in cooking. Pasta plays a small role in the diet, but certainly not as big a role as it does in other parts of Italy. Tuscans, however, tend to eat more salads than other Italians, and a good deal of beans, particularly broad beans. In Tuscany they bake bread without salt. The downside about bread is that without the salt, it doesn't stay fresh as long, so Tuscan breads are often only good the day of their baking. So here I served this dish with bread slices and everyone liked it. 

I bought few food stuff from Italy and started using it now. Tried this dish at home and liked it, so here is recipe for you all to try. Enjoy!

Creamy Spaghetti With Mushroom and Carrots

Creamy spaghetti with mushroom and carrots, very easy and quick dish to make for a quick dinner. Its a flavorfull dish with Italian spices and garlic. If you want to add some extra flavoures then can add some chopped fresh parsley also. I have added 1/2 cup cream only for this dish. If you want can add some more cream so that you get nice smoothy creamy texture. So here is recipe for you all to try. 

Beef and Spinach Stir-Fry

Beef and Spinach Stir Fry, Its an easy and delicious dish. Stir frying is a Chinese cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred in a wok. Here I used beef strips as main ingredient, and accompanied by onion and spinach. You can serve this tender beef stir fry as it is as a starter or with steam rice. Here is recipe for you all to try. 

Squid Tentacles Stir Fry With Spicy Plum Sauce

Squid Tentacles Stir Fry, its an interesting dish as we normaly dont cook squid tentacles alone. When we clean the squid head and innards have been removed from the squid body tube. The tentacles and body tube are edible and we used to cook the tube and avoid tentacles. When you clean the squid tentacles please remove the pink color skin. Fried squid tentacles are crisp and have a delicate sweetness. Over cook them and the result is like chewing rubber so please take care while frying.  If you get baby octopus then can make this dish with that. Here I had some home made plum sauce so used that with squid tentacles it came out really well. So here is recipe for you all to try.

Quinoa Fried Rice Style

Quinoa is a grain crop that is grown for its edible seeds. Its one of the world’s most popular health foods and its also called as 'mother of all grains'.

Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids.It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B-vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.

It has been consumed for thousands of years in South America, although it only became trendy and reached “superfood status” a few years ago. There are three main types: white, red and black.

So try to include this grain in your diet whenever possible. Here is simple and tasty recipe for Quinoa fried rice style.