Easy Pear salad with Feta Cheese and walnuts

 Easy Pear salad with Feta Cheese and walnuts 

So the saying goes : When life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade.

I improvised on that saying ..... 

So when life gives you pears, you should make a delicious Pear Salad. 

When I recently visited the Bandra Bazar I noticed an abundance of pears being sold at every street vendor's stall. I got really excited to pick up a bagful of fresh soft juicy pears at a really good price. On  returning home, I wished to make the best recipe with them hence I tried this Pear and Feta Cheese Salad. The secret ingredient that makes it extremely palatable and delicious is Mustard. 

It was light refreshing and extremely delicious. The fresh pears, salad leaves when combined with soft Feta cheese made a  great combination to relish.  

Note the ingredients for the easy Pear  Salad with Feta Cheese and walnuts..

Ingredients 

For the Salad 

1 Bunch lettuce or rocket salad leaves 

2 Sweet & crunchy pears

1 cup crumbled Feta Cheese

 Handful mixed nuts ( walnuts, almonds, Cashew Nuts) 

Pomegranate seeds/Corrinader for garnish (optional) 

For the Dressing

2 tsp honey 

1 tbsp mustard 

1tsp Balsamic vinegar 

1 tsp  Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste 

Juice of half lemon

Method 

1. Roughly chop the lettuce leaves. Also chop the pears into small cubes.

2. Now make the marinade dressing with ingredients and keep aside.

3. Take a large bowl, add the Pear, nuts, lettuce leaves and mix it together lightly.  

4. Add salt, pepper and a dash of lime juice to this. 

5. Keep it in the refrigerator. Just before serving mix in the marinade.

6. Now add the crumbled Feta cheese and toss it lightly. 

7. Garnish With Pomegranate seeds and Corrinader leaves. Serve the salad chilled and fresh.

Trust me it's a refreshing change to your regular salad. You can add cubes of cottage cheese if feta cheese is not available. 

Hope you liked my easy Recipe. If you have any other interesting salad recipe do share it in the comments below. 

Sukhdi or Goud Papdi - Traditional Gujarati Winter Sweet

 Sukhdi or Goud Papdi is a traditional Gujarati sweet which is made up of Wheat flour which is coursely crushed, jaggery & Ghee. 

"Sukhdi" happens to be a winter delicacy, no doubt but can be enjoyed in moderation all throughout the year.  We don't need any occasion or season to grab this desi gujarati sweet.

Like yesterday,  when we visited Ms Meena Parikh's home, she had especially prepared a fresh batch of these tasty treats.

And when I asked her for the recipe she instantly explained the entire recipe in detail. The basic three ingredients remains the same, Wheat flour, Ghee and jaggery. But you can add edible gum, coconut, sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, pistachios etc. 

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup jaggery

1 cup ghee (clarified butter)

1 tsp Cardamom powder (optional) 

Handful of nuts

Method

1. Heat 1 cup of Ghee in a kadhai

2. Now add 2 cups of wheat flour. Add in small portions.

3. Keeping the flame on slow, see that all the flour gets mixed well ensuring no lumps are formed.

4. Now patiently roast it until it changes colour, and the ghee starts getting separated. 

5. You will also get a delicious aroma at the time of Ghee separating. 

6. Here you can add the jaggery,  keep flame on low. 

7. Stir it until it starts melting and becomes smooth. When you notice bubbles forming keep stirring  and combine it properly.

8. After it is completely cooked take it out on a greased  plate and let it cool on room temperature. Remember take a flat surface plate and let the sukhdi set in it. 

9. Cut out the sukhdi into square/diamond shape. Top it with crushed nuts and press on the top. Keep it aside for an hour, allow it to dry completely.

10. Now you can separate the pieces and store in an airtight container. 

 

 

Note

You can add crushed Elaichi powder when it is cooking with jaggery. 

Now enjoy Sukhdi in winters or just any time of the year.

Fruity Ice cubes - New Fun Recipe - Summer Recipe

 Fruity Ice cubes - New Fun Recipe - Summer Recipe 

I decided to try a really cool  recipe this Summers. The heat is exhausting and the warmer days just  has us feeling like numerous trips to the freezer and having those icy drinks. Well, so here I was jazzing up plain water to make these Fruity  icy tap treats - just add fruit to your next round of ice cubes 🌞 in Summers will make all the difference.

 

 

What more? These Fruity ice cubes are extra fun in martinis or sangrias too 🙃 balance, right?

INGREDIENTS

Filtered water

Fruits like 🍓🍊🍋🥝

Orange 

Lime

Mint

Kiwi

Mango

Pomegranate 

METHOD

1. Wash the fruits and chop them into tiny bits; arrange in the ice cube tray.

2. If you’re using mint or any herbs, press them slightly with a knife or spoon to allow them to release their flavor.

3. Now pour the filtered water over the fruit pieces.

4. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until the cubes are set. 

4. You can pour over Club soda, juices, add them to smoothies, lassi or even aerated drinks to enjoy in the Summers.

 

 

 

 

 

Do try out my Fruity Ice cubes to beat the Summer heat. 

Let me know how you liked my recipe.  

Candied Orange Chocolate Peels

 

I am utilizing my second lockdown period as well as I first.  This quarantine time I tried to reduce my scraps to convert them into foods that can be consumed. For starters I tried to convert the peels of oranges into some delicious treats – Candied Orange Chocolate Peels.

Candied fruit has existed since the 14th century. It was served in Arab culture at banquets before spreading to the West where it became a key ingredient of some of the most famous sweet dishes such as Panettone.

 

I admit I've often binned orange peels. But this time I tried this recipe with orange peels and Voila!! Made these dynamite sticks of deliciousness. Candied orange peels are not only a tasty sweet treat, but also are great to add to cake batters. So note the ingredients and recipe for this.

 

Ingredients

Peels of two oranges
1 cup of sugar + extra for coating
2 cups of water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Half cup melted chocolate

Method

 

1. Thinly slice the orange peels into long strips.

2. Now boil them in water for 15 minutes to  and boil in water to remove  the bitterness.

3. Now drain the orange peels and repeat this process one more time. 

4. Now take a pan, add 2 cups of water,  1 cup of sugar, vanilla extract and the orange peels. 

5. Bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to a simmer. 

6. Simmer this for about 30-35 minutes until all the liquid has dried up. 

7. Use thongs to remove orange peels and keep aside to further dry for minimum 8 hours. Or you can keep it overnight. 

8. Now melt some dark chocolate. Dip each orange peel into melted chocolate. Set it in the fridge to harden.

Now enjoy this candied orange chocolate peels, Its going to be a new obsession.

Low calorie Homemade Chocolate Protien Pudding

 Low calorie Homemade Chocolate Protien Pudding

So today I made a really healthy chocolate pudding. And you will love this recipe as the secret ingredient is hidden and cannot be tasted. The only good taste you get is of chocolate along with the crunch of nuts. It is a vegetarian recipe with no eggs. 

In this recipe I am using Nuturamore Protein Powder. It has 40% Protein,  considering the different nutritional needs of women and children of all ages. It is fortified with Shatavari, Haridra, Calcium, Iron & Folic Acid, Biotin & Omega 3 DHA.

I took the liberty to mix this protein powder in my new recipe today. You can even try mixing it in biscuits wheat flour, milk, juice, cake batter etc. So let's  check out the ingredients and method by using Naturamore protein powder. And it turned out so delicious😋

Will make 4 small size bowls.

Ingredients

2 cups cauliflower florets, 

½ cup fat-free milk

4 tbsp chocolate cookie whey protein powder 

½ tsp  vanilla extract

Honey to sweeten

Handful of pumpkin and Sunflower seeds

Fresh fruit of your choice 

Method 

1. Steam cauliflower in a steamer or in the microwave until it gets tender.

2. Now drain well and keep aside to use later in recipe. 

3. Add all the ingredients to a blender and puree until it gets smooth in texture. 

4. Divide the puree into 4 bowls. 

5. Garnish with pumpkin seeds, walnuts and fruit of your choice (pomegranate, banana, figs, mango etc) 

6. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and serve chilled. 

This makes a great breakfast bowl option. It can be combined with Muesli and chia seeds too. 

Holi Recipe - Mango Yogurt Thandai Shots

 Holi Recipe -   Mango Yogurt Thandai Shots

However much I love Alphonso  mangoes, my first mangoes of 2021 was of a different kind. During my regular visit for fruits and groceries to Bazar road, my fruit vendor strongly recommended this sweet freshly variety of mangoes from Kerala. It was at that time, I decided to stir up a simple dessert for the festival of Holi.

So instead of the regular gujiya, malpractice, thandai, and jalebis this was my humble tribute to the sweet tooth without adding sugar. 

So here is my recipe of Holi  Mango Yogurt Thandai Shots

Ingredients 

2 big mangoes 

1 cup hung curd

Handful of nuts (cashew, pistachios and almonds)

1 tbsp thandai powder

1 tbsp raisins (kismish)

2 digestive biscuits( powdered)

Pomegranate pearls (for garnish)

1 tbsp honey (optional, only of mangoes are not sweet)

Method 

1. Wash, peal and make a pulp out of the mangoes 

2. Now add the hung curd and mix it well. 

3. Powder the digestive biscuits, add the thandai powder, and half of the chopped dry fruits and raisins to this.

4. Take cutting chai glasses to make the dessert.  First put in a layer of mango Yogurt.

5. Now add a thin layer of powdered biscuits and nuts.

6. Add another layer of mango Yogurt. 

7. Garnish this with pomegranate, chopped mango bits and nuts. 

8. Place this in the chiller for minimum an hour before serving. 

Note 

You can mix cream to mango instead of yogurt to make mango mousse jars 

Add a cake layer instead of biscuits for another variation. 

The result will be phenomenal and finger licking good. 

Carrot Rice Pudding/ Gajjar ki Phirni

 Carrot Rice Pudding/ Gajjar ki Phirni

Weekends are always the time to try out desserts. And I especially like to try out Indian sweet recipes in my kitchen. So today, I am trying a new recipe today, phirni with a twist. Adding carrots to the dish proved to be a good idea in this dish, so before the Indian carrot season (the one we make gajjar ka halwa with) was over I prepared Gajjar ki phirni....

 

 

Ingredients

2 Carrots

4 cups Milk-3 cups

½ cup Jaggery

½ cup Basmati rice

½ tsp Cardamom powder

6-8 Almonds

4-5 strands of saffron

Method

 

1. Start by soaking the basmati rice in the water for an hour. Strain the rice, and then grind the rice with this remaining water in a grinder until you have a fine paste.

2. Grate the carrots and keep aside.
3. Now in a saucepan, heat the milk and add the grated carrot and cook for ten minutes.

4. Add the rice paste and mix it with a whisk so as to ensure that no lumps remain.

5. Add the jaggery granules, and slow cook the mixture.
6. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn at the bottom.

7. Now add the ground cardamom, and saffron to the thickened mixture.

8. Set the firni in terra-cotta or glass bowls and refrigerate, covered.

9. Garnish with crushed almonds and serve chilled.

Now enjoy a chilled bowl of phirni and give in to your sweet tooth cravings. This is just another a worthy treat, like creamy traditional pudding 'Phirni' loaded with the goodness of carrots. Welcome your weekends on a sweet note.