Mint Ginger Lemonade

ummer is almost here. It is the season that is welcomed in many parts of the world and dreaded in others. I happen to hail from the part that falls under the latter. Mere mention of summer makes me start thinking about anything cold or refreshing that helps cool you down in the sweltering heat. My foodie brain starts to visualize different kinds of drinks that I can make and enjoy. Guess you can say in some rather strange way summer also gets the creative juices flowing, no pun intended. Refreshing oftentimes to me means some combination of mint and what better to put it together in a drink that I have rarely seen anyone dislike, the lemonade. A simple recipe that done right can get you rave accolades.

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Minty Raspberry and Blueberry Spritzer!

ime flies. Probably the most corny yet the most profound phrase of all time. Summer is already coming to an end. Can you believe it appears like it was only yesterday that we celebrated the New Year 2011 and it it already September, even feels funny writing 2011, want to think its still 2006! While we get ready to welcome the fall with the thoughts of celebrating Dussehra, Diwali and Thanksgiving, this is one pretty pinky summer cooler you must try. Summer is 'berry season' so here is an ode to summer with this 'berrylicious' cool vibrant drink which  is perfect for a lazy summer afternoon or a casual get together or even those fun weekend pool parties. Kids will love this and you can even add a splash of vodka for a little adult treat!

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Roasted Baby Potatoes Indian Style!

here is something to be said about the versatility of potatoes. Fry 'em, bake 'em, roast 'em, saute 'em, cook 'em in a curry, mash and stuff 'em, well just mash 'em, heck if you fermented them right, you could even drink 'em :) There are a few people I have come across that don't like them but I can count them on my fingers. The biggest potato lover I have seen among them all is hubs, so much so that his friends tease him of being one. This will give you an idea - I made these roasted potatoes this past Sunday afternoon intending them to be a side with lunch. He ate a whole piled plateful and he emphatically declared that to be his lunch.
It wasn't just his love for potatoes, this recipe is out of this world. Very simple and elegant yet completely full of flavor with an added twist of Indian masalas. This recipe is out of a cookbook from the celebrity Indian chef Suvir Saran. I recently became a proud owner of one of his best work, (incidentally) named 'American Masala'.
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Minty Fresh Berries and Fruit Couscous Salad

y
hubs is not the biggest fruit lover. Just about the only fruits he likes (read: can eat) are banana,
guava and ripe mangoes. I on the other hand love all kinds of fruit
(except banana and mangoes, go figure) and can live on the fresh fruit
juice and salads for a few days. Also, because of all the goodness of
fruit, I try to incorporate them in our meals at-least once a day. Hubby
always takes one or two bites and I am the one left to finish my plate and his. Same with my little one. She is even stranger with her fruit
habits. She only likes fresh pineapple and orange juice. Her reasoning
why she doesn't like a particular fruit is because of the color,
watermelon is too red, papaya is too yellow, guava is too green. But
then who's to argue with her that my dear pineapple is yellow too, lol!

Anyway,
thats a little 'fruity' detail about my family, back to the post. Summer brings in colors, brightness, vibrancy, fresh fruits and vegetables and 
also the sun and the heat. The local markets got crates of fresh berries and fruits and mostly on sale nowdays which means I completely go crazy and bought us more than we could handle. It was not possible for me alone to finish
(although I did finish most of them all by myself). Now, hubs is a salad fan mainly couscous salad and last weekend I was all set to make some veggie salad and I opened the fridge and saw the rack full of fruits wanting to get my attention and hence this recipe. Some time back I had a similar kind of salad at the salad bar of the local Whole Foods market so this is slightly inspired from that. Mixed in a
few home grown organic mint leaves and a lite lemony dressing. To
my surprise both hubby and kiddo loved it. It was refreshing, gorgeous
and a great alternative to regular salads and helps with your daily fruit intake as well.

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Aam Panna/Green Mango and Mint drink

hopping in air-conditioned malls is the modern trend. If you have ever shopped old-school on the streets in India in the scorching heat of summer you would know that it gives the saying 'shop till you drop' a whole new meaning. Just when you have shuttled around twenty odd stores and looked through scores of dresses and hundreds of accessories and are about to 'drop' from the heat and exhaustion but still want to go to the store around the corner - who knows maybe they have the perfect accessory to go with the dress you just bought - you feel a serious craving for this drink. You crave for a glassful of Aam Panna to give you that much needed relief and recharge yourself. You start looking around for the nearest push-cart vendor or stall that is making them fresh and yes you are bound to find it around every street corner.

This drink basically comes from the streets of northern India and is popular because of its cooling properties. A nice and refreshing drink made of raw unripe mangoes which gives it a tangy flavor and  the refreshing mint that gives a cool fresh taste. Freshly roasted cumin for a smoky taste, the black salt adds the flavor which cannot be substituted by anything else. Complete with the right amount of sugar makes it a perfect thirst quencher.

Back home where I come from it is always made with roasted charred mangoes. Some people also boil the mangoes. It does work both ways, but the charring process gives it a nice smoky touch. Mom would make a big jug full of this Aam Panna during the months of late April and May when raw mangoes were found in markets in abundance.

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Vegetable Seekh Kebab with Green Chutney

he word "Kebab" has always fascinated me. I don't know... just the sound of it is so sophisticated and exotic that whether you have ever even seen it or not, you want to try it when you hear it... and believe me you will love it when you do :) But sadly for me they have always been synonymous with meat based preparations and being a vegetarian I just never could have any. Lately I came to know about veggie kebabs. I was elated by the thought that I could now eat kebabs and tried to recreate these beauties and it was exactly as I though it would be... exotic, elegant and heavenly tasting. These are perfect appetizers for get-togethers and pot lucks. Super easy to make and your guests will definitely go WOW when you serve these. 
You may find several recipes for kebabs if you look around but in my opinion this is an easy and no-fuss version that you will want to make over and over. Also, traditionally they are made in a tandoor or deep fried but I just shallow fry or broil them in the oven so they are very healthy too... lots of veggies and very little oil. As everything that goes in it is already cooked so very little oil is needed.
If you are making a large batch of the kebabs say for a big gathering, you can also bake them on a baking sheet. Just spray the sheet with cooking oil and broil them on high in your oven for 5-6 minutes on each side.
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Watermelon Cooler

y hubby is not the biggest fruit lover. He likes (read: can eat) banana, guava and ripe mangoes. I on the other hand love all kinds of fruit (except banana and mangoes, go figure) and can live on the fresh fruit juice and salads for a few days. Also, because of all the goodness of fruit, I try to incorporate them in our meals at-least once a day. Hubby always takes one or two bites and I am the one left to finish his and my plate. Same with my little one. She is even stranger with her fruit habits. She only likes fresh pineapple and orange juice. Her reasoning why she doesn't like a particular fruit is because of the color, watermelon is too red, papaya is too yellow, guava is too green. But then who's to argue with her that my dear pineapple is yellow too, lol!

Anyway, thats a little 'fruity' detail about my family, back to the post. Days are getting hotter by the day in this part of the world. I had this big seedless sweet watermelon sitting in the refrigerator that I recently got from Costco. It was not possible for me alone to finish (although I did finish half of it all by myself). I thought why not make a drink out of it. The thought of adding a little sparkling water came to me, which in my opinion does wonders to any cool drink. Mixed in a few mint leaves and a little lemon juice and served it over some ice. To my surprise both hubby and kiddo loved it. It was refreshing, gorgeous and a great alternative to soft drinks and helps with your daily intake of fruit too.

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Minty Cantaloupe Salad with Caramelized Walnuts

t was the day after Valentine's Day and the taste of the chocolate cake still lingered. Along with that thought there was obviously this feeling that I probably should've eased up a little on my sugar intake... lol... anyway so the following morning was the perfect occasion to start the day with a light yet absolutely flavorful fruit based breakfast. Hence the idea to make this cantaloupe salad. This salad not only looks pretty, the taste does its looks justice too. It obviously has the refreshing taste of fresh cantaloupe and watermelon and it becomes a complete meal with the added flavor of mint and the crunchiness of lightly candied walnuts. If anything, hubby and I are not big cantaloupe and melon fans and we absolutely loved it.

Here's how you make it.

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Assortment of Raitas

To me, raitas are yogurt done the right way. I can literally live off of them. Raita is actually a generic name of yogurt diluted to a given consistency, mixed with seasoning and any chopped or grated fruit or vegetable or even boondi (small fried gram flour balls). The idea is to have raw yogurt the main component of the dish. Raitas pack the nutrition of yogurt without being the boring old 'yogurt' besides being refreshing, tasty and extremely easy and versatile; what more can you ask for. It is an Indian accompaniment and goes very well with spicy Indian food. It is particularly served with Biryani and spicy Pulao.
I make raitas almost everyday as an accompaniment for our lunch. It has the ability to jazz up even the simplest of meals and can be whipped up in matter of minutes (sometimes even seconds, no kidding!). I prefer raita any day over plain yogurt. Here are a few of my favorites -

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Kathal (Jackfruit) Biryani

If you have been following my posts recently you are probably familiar with my kathal (jack fruit) adventure. So as promised, here is my second dish in the kathal series.
This dish also was very timely as my brother was visiting for Raksha Bandhan and he is a die hard fan of chicken biryani. So I had to make that for him (will post the chicken biryani sometime soon). Being vegetarians, I couldn't leave us, specially dear hubby, biryani deprived... and I took it as a challenge to make something as good, if not better. Jack fruit biryani seemed the most logical choice. Followed my mom's recipe for chicken biryani just replacing the chicken with jack fruit and it turned out great. Both hubby and bro were happy and I got to use some of my huge pile of jackfruit, win win :).This recipe is simple and easy yet incredibly delicious.

Here's how I do it.

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Paneer Bharvan Bhindi (Paneer stuffed Okra)

Humble okra gets a  glamorous makeover with this recipe and gets a "WOW" from whomever you are serving it to. A very innovative and always popular recipe from my mom's cook book (the best there is). This recipe came to existence one day when some special guests arrived and mom had only bhindi in the fridge... which is not always considered the best vegetable to offer to special guests at our home. So she made some paneer added some masala in it and stuffed the okras and boom... okra got a makeover. Guests loved it. My papa became its biggest fan and now he always asks mom to make these whenever we have guests over. In fact if we were out of bhindi, he would go and get some from the market. He just loves it :). Mom used to fry the bhindis first then stuff them then saute again with the masala in a makhani kind gravy (which I will be posting soon). I use my microwave for this and it becomes so quick and easy. It is great for lunch and dinner when paired with either rice or roti..have served as an appetizer too.

Here goes the recipe (see notes for the 'microwave-only' version) -

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Ginger tea lemonade

t may sound a little unusual for an Indian household but we do not drink tea in our home. Neither me nor hubby really liked it ever. The concept of iced tea however always had our fancy but again we never liked the taste, funny eh! So this recipe met me one day while I was watching Giada's show (again). As I usually like lemon flavors in my drinks, be it lemon tea, lemon soda or lemonade (you get the idea), this recipe struck home with me as she was making it. I went ahead and tried making it as-is and it was fabulous. It has a feel of a sophisticated mock-tail with tea and lemon flavors and a hint of ginger. Something you would want to sit sipping on the beach on a hot summer afternoon (yes you can put an umbrella in your glass :)

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Artichoke Hummus

If you like hummus and if you like artichokes you gotta try this.. the creamy dip with a hint of mild tartness and taste of artichokes, some Indian spices, lots of garlic and olive oil.. yummy... my kinda stuff!! Perfect for dipping also can be used as bread spread. Heres how I make it.

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