# 37: Cold Coffee

All these summer cooking adventures makes me feel like "Macaulay Culkin" in " Home Alone" :P


It was annoyingly hot and occassionaly sultry with the random rains! consumed all the fresh fruit tetra packs and had been hell lazy to replenish the stocks! what do i do.. thought will prepare something and have.


I am not very fond of milk.. although i do support those who insist on the importance of drinking milk.. Bt trust me.. i would prefer having it either as a milkshake or may be as cold coffee!


So with tons of milk in my fridge.. and my love for coffee bean.. decided to have Cold coffee.


Ingredients:

1. Milk - 3/4 glass
2. Coffee- 2 tsp
3. Ice cubes 
4. Sugar - 2 Tsp

Preparation:

To the milk, add the coffee, sugar, and ice. Mix all in a mixer.  Ta da! cold coffee is all ready.

Put some ice cubes in a glass and pour in the cold coffee. Sprinkle a little coffee powder!

# 36: Bulls-Eye

Some call it "Sunny Side up"... i have know it as Bulls eye all the while.. And this happens to be the 3rd dish i learnt while i was a kid.. Loved preparing it then only because of the challenge it posed to get the yoke perfectly in place on the pan as well as while transferring it on to my plate :P

I am sure every one know how easy it is to prepare.. just an egg, pinch of salt , and some pepper is all that goes into this yummy breakfast! :)

Just get the knack right to break the egg without hurting the yoke and yet spreading the egg white well... :)

I got it right after ages of practice..and now seem to have mastered the art! ;)

# 35: Bread Roll

Ummm....bread roll!!! do i really need to say something? :P   Love fried food so much that now it shows on me too.. :D

I am sure by now you know how much i love food and savour every bite.. so if i say this too is something i have loved.. i am so sure you might just wonder.. what is that one dish that i do not like much.. :D Isn't it?

Anyways, bread roll was made by mom especially on sundays as it is quick to prepare.. either for breakfast or evening snacks. Its filling, yummy, and yet can be a great way of finishing the mixed vegetables dish that mom made for lunch! :P  I have come to realise that any vegetable that a child would not like can be made to be loved by just frying it either as a filling in bread rolls or as pakodas. :P

Well, I decided to prepare the traditional mixture.. But believe me..from vegetables to just cheese cubes can be part of the filling! :P

Ingredients:

1. Bread slices -8
2. Mashed potates- 2
3. Green chilies - 2 ( cut into circular bits)
4. Peas - 1 cup
5. Bunch of Corriander leaves (finely chopped)
6. Salt to taste
7. Ginger -1/4 pc (finely sliced)

Preparation:

Mix the green chilies, peas, corriander leaves, ginger, and salt to the mashed potatoes.

Take a bowl of water and immerse a bread slice gently. Place between your palms and squeeze the water out from the bread. Put a spoon of the potato mix into the bread. Fold the sides of the bread and roll the bread between your palms forming a roll.

Heat a pan with oil in order to deep fry the bread roll... toss and turn till it turns golden brown!

Serve with mint leaves chutney and tomato ketchup! :)

 

Yummy tummy!

Njoi :)

# 34: Vegetable Banana Fry

It was early May when i got back home only to be warmly welcomed by our banana plant calling out loudly to tell me how thrilled she was to see me. So much so that she had bloomed and now wants to share her happiness with me with her whole bunch of vegetable bananas! :) I was so touched... that i almost fainted seeing the quantity that one flower could produce. :D

Its funny to put imaginary words into every living yet non-speaking thing around me.  I feel like Mr. Bean at times.. rather most of the time. :P

Coming back to my vegetable garden... I do not know what had happened that day.. but it poured silly! and i so needed help to get the fruit out from the plant. Luckily! i found help.. :) A sweet lady happened to come over that day to help with my domestic chores  :P (helps her earn a lil extra).. 

"rain rain go away, lil appu wants to remove the fruit today" was all that was ringing in my head! :D lol....

It was an ordeal!  trust me! firstly it was literally reaching the first floor of the house.. and top it all was towards the boundary wall.. and we had to climb up the ladder onto the wall and yet get ourselves on our toes with a knife in our hands stretching out all the way to the stem.. and yet missing every shot to get it down! Phew! I could have got my shoulder and biceps/triceps worked out that day! :D Finally we did it! We got the whole bunch down.. :) HURRAY!

But hello!!! wait on.. it did not quiet end there.  :(

Little did i know there a fruiting banana plant has the most nutritious stem that is cooked too... Oh! Good God.. You have created the most finest things in the world! and I so believe that even if i was Tom hanks in cast away.. I sure would have survived and thrived easily with the rich vegetation on that island! :D :P  

Now, guys do you have any wild idea how do you get to that stock/stem???? Well.. neither did i know..

I believe and now i know it for a fact that this tender stem has to be extracted by peeling off the outer layers of the Banana stem that's rooted. N how do you go about with it Its simple yet strenuous. :) Cut the stem from the very bottom of the plant. The portion between the leaves and the bottom holds the stem. Uff!

Peel peel peel peel .....................n more peeling out and finally you'l be happy to see the off white tender stem! Beware of staining your clothes.. Unless you think that's the best excuse to get rid of the old rag you are wearing.. :P

My banana plant offered me more than a 100 bananas and a 5ft tender stem! :) Thank you dear Plant. :)
What could i have possibly done with it..i could not think of consuming all of it myself..Best option- DISTRIBUTE. Aha! so it was.. since it was vegetable banana not many knew how to go about with it.. except the south Indians.. Well.. so while i distributed as much as i possibly could i was still left with more than 3 dozens!


I do like the fruit as a vegetable too.. and so thought about keeping some to ripen, while the others to cook instantly. While the stem was as well distributed to the one who knew and loved cooking it..

For starters with cooking the fruit.. decided on a quick marination and shallow frying! its probably the easiest and yummiest..

Ingredients:

1. Vegetable Banana cut into 2" flat pieces (Peel the skin such that the superficial green portion is removed leaving the rest.. When you fry it.. the left over layer will add to the crispiness.. )
2. Red chili powder- 1 tsp
3. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
4. cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
5. Salt - 1 Tsp
6. Oil- 1 Tsp

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients into the banana pcs and marinate it for a while approx 30 mins.
Heat an oil pan and place the marinated pieces on to the pan. Shallow fry it till they are slightly crispy yet soft!
Serve hot.. either as a snack or in the main course lunch. :)

:)

# 33: Banana Fritters

Its funny how we women love food and yet do not want to even allow an inch around us. We are so contradictory.. ;) I guess we just take the liberty to be this way.. now that the whole world refuses to hope anything better from us.. :P

Ok, its summer.. occasionally a drizzle and just sets the mood for some yummy snacks and beverages.. ;)

Got back home to be greeted with Bananas in mom's vegetable-fruit garden!  I would have literally fainted seeing the bunch.. was wondering what to do with it all.. especially since they were vegetable bananas!

Well this story is endless.. and the thoughts that went through my mind are hilarious.. I guess i'l just cut the details at the moment and narrate it later.. loads of banana dishes where prepared is all i can tell u at the moment. :)


I started mission banana distribution!!! :P though still had loads to give away.. In the bargain to accomplish my mission..some of the bananas got ripe.. and since i was so engrossed trying to deal with the bunch.. i ended up letting them over ripen.. So what could possibly be done apart from trashing them! cant waste food after all.. The best option.." BANANA FRITTERS"

One of my favorite snacks .. the Banana Fritters!

Ingredients:

1. Ripe/over ripened bananas - 4
2. All purpose flour/Maida- 2 cups
3. Sugar- 1.5 TBsp
4. Milk- 2 cups (depending on the required consistency)
5. A pinch of salt
6. Baking Soda- 1/4 tsp
7. Oil for deep frying

Preparation:


To the bananas and add the maida, sugar, salt, baking soda, and mash and mix them together. Add the milk little by little to the mix. The batter's consistency should be a little firm and not watery. Else it'l take up oil!

Using a spoon, add a spoonful of the batter into the pan of hot oil and Deep fry!

Ta da.. the banana fritters are ready! :)

Phew! so glad i dint waste anything..and yet ended up pacifying my cravings.. :)

NJOI!

# 32 :Chocolate Mousse

Its been a really long time I blooged.

Well, sometimes along with being busy even laziness creeps in..and I guess my laziness took over me this summer! :P    But enjoying cooking and eating has not stopped.

I have loved preparing every dish and meal with equal enthusiasm and zeal.. and today onwards I am finally gonna be able to compile the recipes and share it too..

So what better to start with but from where i left it... and the best.. "KUCH MITHA HO JAYE"...CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!

Was in Malaysia, when i prepared this.. Honestly with the truck loads of chocloates I kept feasting myself to.. I was given standing instruction to even finish them.. Did not want to make my self sick of having chocolates and wanted to do something new to keep my craze going and yet finish the chocolates...

Happened to write down one of Nigella's quick recipes on preparing the mousse.. And so it had to be tried out..

THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE...

Ingredients:

1. Marshmellows - 150 gms
2. Unsalted Butter - 50 gms
3. Dark Chocolate (Bournvillle fruit & nut) - 1
4. Dark Chocolte chips - 50 gms
5. Cream - 280 ml
6. Vanilla Essence - 4-5 drops
7. Water- 4 TBsp

Preparation:

Ideally Nigella uses 250 grams of chocolate chips.. But Since I had chocolates to finish.. I decided to try out using the chocolates bar itself! The Twist in the mousse is the fruit & nut Bournville chocolate.. the nuts just add the desired surprise element to it.. :)

Heat and melt the Marshmellows, Butter, dark chocolate, & water. The marshmellows do take a little longer to melt. So do not get worked up! Just be patient and wait for it to melt and then cool the mixture.

Whisk the cream till its firm and add the essence as well.

Fold the chocolate-marshmellow mix into the cream. Pour into the bowls and grate some white/dark chocolate on it.

 

Refridgerate for 2 hours..and the mousse is all set to be served! :)

Njoi!