Mango Pineapple Smoothie

There are a very few things sweet that my little one will let touch her taste buds. She even drinks her daily glass of milk with no sugar. Chocolate is one thing she enjoys but although a total chocoholic when it comes to drinks she doesn't even like hot chocolate or chocolate milkshake - go figure. As far as drinks go, mango based drinks is one the recent finds the we discovered she thoroughly enjoys. It happened at a recent visit to an Indian restaurant at their lunch buffet. They had a dispenser with Mango Lassi. It took a little effort to get her to try it. We always make it a point to get her to try things, the conversation usually goes - "Try it, you don't have to eat any more if you don't like it". Well... those 30 minutes at the restaurant, that mango lassi is all she drank. Several little cups full.
Hence this drink. Granted its a variation of your typical mango lassi, I wanted to put a little tropical tang and twist with it. Yes she enjoyed this too.
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Mango Coconut Ice-cream

ango is undoubtedly the king of summer fruits for me. Now summer is not my most favorite of seasons but there are a few things that make the memories of summer good. Be it the long vacation away from school, being allowed to just go out and play, visiting grandparents, all the pampering, several of these things that I often talk about in my posts. These along with a lot of fun and cool food and fruits and berries - jamun, lassi, a million varieties of kulfi, soda pops, ice-chuski and the list goes on. The mango definitely figures in there somewhere as well. For some strange reason these things are what I think of first when I think of summer (of course followed by the reminder of the scorching Indian sun that I used to hate). Any conversation on food and summer is incomplete with mango featuring in it. Especially with its versatility, the mango is a fruit well loved in my family. Eat it raw, just peel it, chop it up, mix in a little salt and red chilli powder and tantalize your taste buds, or roast it, pulp it and make a nice cool drink with it or chop it up and cook with brown sugar to make a nice sweet and sour chutney... and then the 'achaar' of course, pickle it if you can't think of anything else to do with it. When in ripe form it of course can be had as a fruit but its pulp is also used to flavor many dishes.
Ice-cream is one such dish. It can be made using different kinds of mangoes however the pulp of Alphonso works the best. Use a sweet, ripe and a non-fibrous mango for best results. This time around I wanted to try the classic combo of coconut with mango to give it a nice tropical twist.The best part with this recipe is that it is extremely easy to put together without the need of an ice-cream machine.

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Coconut Daal/Lentils simmered in spicy creamy coconut sauce

aal or lentils is the ultimate comfort food for us Indians. Something we eat almost every day with either rice or roti or homemade flat bread. In keeping with the theme, I try to include it in some way or form in atleast one meal each day in our household. It is especially important for vegetarians as lentils provide a very good and oftentimes the only substantial source of protein. So I often look for different ways to incorporate them in our daily diet. So a few days ago when one of my dear readers mentioned that they had coconut daal in some restaurant and wondered if I knew how to make it, I got a pleasant reminder of a long forgotten recipe - another addition to my list of daal recipes.
Lentils come in different varieties and there are endless possibilities for how you can cook them. A little change in the seasonings and spices will allow you to create a completely new dish with new flavors. This is a simple, rustic recipe with simple subtle flavors of creamy coconut and the seasoning of mild spices and curry leaves. A comfort food which when eaten with rice and stir fried veggies, makes you all warm 'n fuzzy.
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Mirchi Ka Salan/Green Chillies in Spicy Tangy Sesame Peanut Sauce

 
es you read it right. A curry of green chillies! If you take my word for it, this curry is utterly lip-smacking and delicious besides of course being... yes... hot! Mirchi, in hindi, means chillies/peppers and salan is hyderabadi lingo for a creamy curry or sauce. This curry is not just something I made up on a day I was overzealous. It in-fact is a very popular curry from the hyderbadi cuisine. So much so that this curry was popular as a favorite of the royalty of the yesteryears.
Hyderabadi cuisine, the cuisine from a region in the south-eastern part of India is highly inspired by the Mughlai cuisine. The word "Nawabi" is as synonymous with the Hyderabadi cuisine as "Shahi" is with Lucknowi. Hyderabadi recipes are famous for their rich taste and unique use of ingredients, roasted spices and aromatic flavors. This  dish has all these components and more... chillies simmered in roasted peanuts, sesame, coconut sauce with lots of indigenous spices cooked to perfection give this curry its unique spicy, sweet and tangy taste. It is very easy to put together and has a very rich creamy taste that will compel you to make it over and over again.It is nutty with peanuts, has a distinct taste of sesame seeds and the  bite and heat from the chillies... ahh.

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Dahi Nariyal wali Bhindi/Okra in coconut and yogurt sauce

es I am back. I realize it is unusual for me to go without a post for a fortnight and thanks to many of my readers that missed me. Lets just say life gets in the way sometimes. Here I am with a simple homey bhindi/okra dish the recipe of which I've had for a really long time in my diary (remember the little 'yellowing' notebook). As I sat back and thought about my history of cooking, nostalgia struck and hence the thought of getting to my good old diary. I remember having taken down this recipe during my college days from a magazine. I still remember it was a dish by the famous Indian celebrity chef Tarla Dalal whose recipes were a regular feature in the magazine.

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Upside Down Banana Coconut Cake (Eggless)

I will start this post with an apology for my regular visitors. If you have noticed me not being very regular with my posts and feedback in the last few days, I sincerely apologize as during the holiday season family and visitors are getting a larger share of my day. Regardless, I am having fun and here's wishing you all a very very happy holidays!!

 Now to the post. I am personally not a big fan of ripe bananas as a fruit but it still is a regular in our house as hubby and my little daughter eat it practically every day for breakfast. I do however like them in breads and other baked stuff. I do bake a few different types of banana based breads and muffins but this time around this upside down cake caught my fancy. Now me being who I am, I had to make it as soon as I thought of it. Had the bananas, flour and other stuff. Just one problem, when baking egg less, I normally use either sour cream or buttermilk as a replacement. This time I had neither. That is when creativity kicked in I figured I'd try using some coconut milk instead. I had half a can left over (lucky for hubby or I would've made him drive up to the store :) Not sure whether the coconut milk did anything to make the cake light but it sure did add that nice creamy coconut flavor and yes the cake came out nice and light too.

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Virgin Piña Colada

This drink probably needs little introduction. It is one of the most popular drinks and rightly so as just the thought of it takes you in a flash to an exotic location. Think beach-side hut sitting on a wooden bench and sipping this drink out of a coconut and yes of-course with a little umbrella for the kicks. The cool thing is though this drink is so versatile, you can have it any time of the year come rain or shine.
When I decided to make it, I got a little curious and read up about it on Wikipedia. That is when I got a true sense of its popularity. Piña Colada is the official drink of puerto rico since 1978. The official record of its introduction is dated 1954 but apparently several others claim for the credit of its invention.
Simple ingredients, easy to whip up and a taste that is out of this world combined with the fact that it tastes great in its virgin form as well makes it perfect for that friday night party over a card game, or even for a large party.
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Hyderabadi Bhaghare Baingan / Eggplant in sesame peanut sauce

Hyderabadi cuisine refers to the cuisine from a region in the south-eastern part of India. It  is highly inspired by the Mughlai cuisine.The word "Nawabi" is as synonymous with the Hyderabadi cuisine as "Shahi" is with Lucknowi. Hyderabadi recipes are famous for their rich taste and unique use of ingredients, roasted spices and aromatic flavors. This eggplant dish has all these components and more... baby eggplants simmered in roasted peanuts, sesame, coconut sauce with lots of indigenous spices cooked to perfection. It is utterly lip-smacking... even if you are a eggplant hater you can't ignore this one. It is very easy to prepare and has a very rich creamy taste which will compel you to make it again and again :) or if you have an eggplantoholic hubby as mine..  he will compel you to make it again and always. Also you can bribe him with this to get him to take you shopping for the whole day or spa or just whatever. I have used it for this trick a few times lol.. shhhh....:D

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