Mango Lassi and a Childhood Tale

by Priya | Sep 24, 2012 |

This is a recipe from the Spring … I realized I had not blogged and found in my to be posted files…. This is a Mango – Mango Mango they chanted in unison – And after the first bite, they proclaim, “Sheer nectar from the heavens” – Yeah baby!  How many of you are fans for Karadi Tales – My little one cannot get enough of them!  And Ushu Utup at her best crooning the Mango ripe mangoes song Like Karadi, this post takes me back to the days of my childhood and the huge Surprise Mango Tree –Much like Meera the monkey, my little one is eager to listen to all my stories. Read along and feel free to click your tongues to three beats after each paragraph! THE MANGOLESS MANGO TREE Once upon a time, there lived a young officer and his wife with their children in a small but lovely home in a little town in Southern India. Their house was one among 60 or 70 others in the area which they called a “colony”. It was distinguished by a tall mango tree, which spread its branches over the street, offering shade to all passersby. Just about every hawker, be it the vegetable vendor or the balloon seller and every street dog, cat or cow parked themselves under its shady branches for their midday siesta.  The officer, although kind-hearted was irritated by the crowds that always gathered under the tree because it took several honks to wake them up since it was right at the edge of his garage. The other reason was since it had been...

Papineberry Juice

by Priya | May 8, 2012 |

This is an adaptation of a recipe that was presented in the Dr. Oz Show last week which gives a great kickstart to the day. It contains all the goodness of papaya, pineapple, blueberries, kiwi, flaxseed meal, a dash of ginger powder and a little sage to make it aromatic, this drink will have you hit the ground running. Ingredients 1 cup papaya 1 cup pineapple 1/2 cup blueberries 1kiwi 2tbsp flaxseed meal 3leaves of sage 2tsp of ginger powder 1tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup of ice cubes 1cup of water Grind them into a flowing shake and drink up and let me know what you...

Whey Berry Shake

by Priya | Jun 1, 2011 |

Hi folks,Back after a week or more of busy family visits and pooja and endless cooking – Had a blast, but really did miss my blogging! So I am back for a week before I get busy with the second set of visits – My last post was RoseMalai for which I’d made homemade paneer – This left me with a gallon of whey – the protein packed goodness which I loathed to chuck! So Here is a high-protein energy drink idea I had – There are several ways of using this – As mere whey, with a dash of milk and some sugar; with some buttermilk and salt, if you prefer; or  with a fruit as a whey shake I had it all three ways and I must tell you, that this is a totally awesome ingredient to make shakes with. For more information on the benefits of whey, click hereI have presented to you the Black Berry Shake I made with whey and one glass with milk and sugar …. Serve chilled for best taste! Perfect for the summer and a good thing to remember if your milk curdles in the heat of the summer –I will leave you with some delicious pictures – The blackberry lent a marvelous purple color to the drink!I look forward to visit all your blogs and catch up on all the wonderful dishes over the week …cheers and...

Veggie Juice Daliya (Cracked Wheat) Upma

by Priya | Mar 7, 2011 |

I’ve standardized my Upma formula. What started off as an easy way to feed my 2 yr old ended up being a super hit with my other two children as well – My son who can and used to be disdainful of Upma after asking for and devouring it day after day when he was 2. Now we are riding the Upma revival in our home. Mynnew method saves me the trouble of cutting veggies for which I am quite thankful. And it makes sure that veggies that are used are not picked out and set aside on the plate by my little one – what I’d describe as a win-win situation. This is the recipe I put out for the Veggie Patch contest. I decided to try with daliya or cracked wheat. Ingredients The veggies/fruits I favor are tomatoes, carrots and red bell peppers. I have also used green bell peppers.  Blended into a juice Cracked wheat or cream of wheat – depends on amount of juice the veggies can give you Preparation Set a pan with 1 tsp of olive oil. Splutter a pinch of mustard seeds, urad dal, asafetida, a whoe green chili, curry leaves. Add the juice and let it boil Add the salt Keep cracked wheat or sooji (cream of wheat) ready with a cup. With your preferred hand, keep stirring the juice while with the other, scoop the sooji/ daliya and dribble into the juice. When it is still liquidy but getting thicker, stop dribbling the grains Slow the heat to small, cover with a lid and allow it to cook for 2-3...

Brazilian Lemonade

by Priya | Feb 4, 2011 |

Want to try a new drink this Super Bowl weekend? Of course there will be the beer, but how about some Brazilian lemonade for those who want to a non-alcoholic something? I was seriously skeptical of this one until I made it and got some whopping raves from the family – I googles Brazilian recipes and this one jumped out at me from Food. com! This is a once in a while treat since it can get pretty high in calories, but as I said, on Super Bowl Sunday, who’s counting calories!!!! Ingredients  I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of Green Lime juice from bottle 6 cups of cold water 1 can of Carnation condensed milk (substituting it for the recommended 12 spoons of sugar) NO SUGAR – The condensed milk makes it sweet enough But feel free to add some if your taste buds require it 1 tray of ice cubes to float over the drink Some cut lemon wedges for decoration Preparation Blend the water, juice and condensed milk together Pour into a pitcher Add the ice and the lime wedges Serve immediately and cold and I have to add – GO PACKERS (since we used to live in Packer...