Mango Fool

A try at 'Mango Fool'...that didn't fool me at all. ;)...I had to start with that sad joke. But really, the name Mango Fool has fascinated me since a while. Rj n me...we are both huge fans of Mangoes. Ok, he is a huge fan of ripe mangoes n' I on the other hand, love mangoes in any form. I look forward to summers in India, just for the abundant supply of Mangoes everywhere(i ain't exaggerating!).






I have 3 mango posts with me n' I told myself, for the love of Mangoes, I better stop being lazy and do the Mango blog posts soon. So here you go, Mango Fool is my first post.





Ingredients:

1. Mango puree (Fresh n Raw) : 1cup *
2. Yogurt - 2 cups (preferably thick or thickened)
3. Sugar : 3-4tbsp
4. Mint leaves - few
5. Lemon juice: 1tbsp
6. Salt: to taste

* I used some mangoes which were between the stages of raw n' ripe. I used really sour mangoes, so had to adjust the ingredients a little in the end. So please taste as you go n' make adjustments while making the drink depending on the mangoes you use.

Method:

Step 1: For the Mango Puree. Peel and slice the Mangoes. Boil them in a little warm water till soft. Pass through a sieve and allow it to cool. (while slicing the flesh off the stone, don’t go too close to the stone, as this part is very fibrous and won't be nice in this drink.)

Step 2: Beat the yogurt till smooth. Add sugar and salt to this. Crush some mint leaves n' add it to the yogurt.

Step 3: Add the lemon juice to the Mango puree and mix well.

Step 4: Mix the mango puree and yogurt to get a thick mixture. Chill it before serving. Garnish it with a few mint leaves and its ready.

Reduce the amount of sugar and add more salt, if you love sourness in drinks as much as I do. This is perfect for a hot day. :)

Shahi Falooda or The Royal Falooda

Falooda is said to be an adaptation of the Persian dessert 'Faloodeh' and was brought to the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal period. It is a very popular cold dessert or beverage in India now. My mom used to make this for us every summer. Open the refrigerator and there will be this tall glass jar filled with pink milk n' I used to fall in love with it. I could never get enough of it. The best part of it was just not the color but the sabza seeds (basil seeds), I mean I had never seen anything like it before. When dry its all black n' dry n' the moment you pour some water over it, it just transforms. Not many children or adults even had heard about sabza seeds back when me n my sister were in school n' it became a popular drink with our friends n' cousins who would visit home.


This time when my nieces came over for vacation, I kept some ready for them along with the Mango Ice Lollies n' needless to say they loved it. Rj didn't get more than a sip or two n' its one of his favourite summer drinks too. So once my chechi (sister) n' the kids left, I had to make it again just for amma n' Rj. That's when I asked amma for the first time, how she used to add the sabza seeds back then. My mom is a home science major n' have always liked cooking. She says the popular Indian magazine, FEMINA was a galore of awesome recipes n' tips in the 70's n 80's. I think, maybe even the early 90's, but now, sadly, its mostly pages n' pages of articles on make up n' gossip....(which I have no use of). So for the first time, my mom had Falooda at a northindian restaurant in Kottayam Main Bus Stand (her older brother (my uncle Thuppan) had taken her there before heading home from college one day). This was when she was 15-16yrs old, and the drink had Sabza seeds in it.


Years later, after she got married, she found this recipe for Falooda in a Femina. She found the sabza seeds in a traditional ayurvedic herb shop in Kottayam Chandha/Market. That's how this was a popular drink at a small Keralite, South Indian household in the 80's. (the recipe itself is going to occupy only half the space my ranting has taken up...lol) So here you go...



Ingredients:

1. Milk: 1 Ltr
2. Sugar: 1 cup
3. Cornflour- 2tsp
4. Rose Essence- 1tsp
5. Red Color- 1pinch or a little more (feel free to decide how dark or light you want it)
6. Sabza/ Basil Seeds: adequate
7. Vermicelli: 4tsp (optional)
8. Long grain Rice (pan fried n' coarsely ground): 2tsp (optional)
9. Jelly: 4tsp (chopped) (optional)
10. Ice cream of your choice: 3-4scoops

Method:

Step 1: Cook the vermicelli in boiling water. Strain and keep aside to cool. Then chill in refrigerator till needed.

Step 2: Add water to Sabza Seeds n' keep it aside. They will soon start to swell and look transparent with a small dot-like, black center. Strain and keep it aside in a small bowl.

Step 3: Keep aside 1/4cup of milk. Add sugar to the rest of the milk and boil it. Add the milk kept aside to cornflour and mix it well to dissolve it completely. Once the milk and the sugar mixture boils, add the cornflour mixture to it along with the fried ground rice. Stir the milk to thicken the milk. Keep it aside to cool completely.

Step 4: Add the rose essence and color to the milk. Chill in refrigerator till needed.

Step 5: To assemble the Falooda, in each glass, put a tsp of jelly, vermicelli, pre-soaked Sabza seeds. Now the falooda over them. Add a scoop of ice cream to this.

Garnish it with some slivered almonds and pistachios, if desired (i didn't do so). Add a straw and long-handled spoon and serve! Happy Cooking!!!

a beckoning- Lime Mint Cooler

While in Bahrain, we used to frequent this South Indian restaurant by the name of 'Sangeetha', almost every Saturday after mass for breakfast. (Yes, since Sundays were working days we used to go for Mass on Saturdays). This Restaurant was right outside the Indian Club and used to be really busy. Irrespective of what we order to eat, we'd invariably end up asking them for a 'Lime Mint Cooler'. Just the name is so refreshing. Now that we are back in Bangalore and summer being particularly hot, I thought i'd surprise my RJ with this family favourite drink's homemade version today....:)

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

1. Mint/Pudina leaves - 1 handful
2. Lemon - 1 (whole)
3. Sugar- 1 tbsp(as per taste)
4. Water - 2 cups (pfrbly Cold)
5. Ice - 2-4cubes
6. Yellow/Green food color - a pinch (optional)

Method:

Step 1.Extract the juice from the lemons and keep it aside.

Step 2.Grind mint leaves with little water in a mixer until nicely grinded. Then add remaining water,lime juice,sugar and blend it for a minute.

Step 3.Filter it, then mix food color,add crushed ice and serve chilled.

Chopped Egg And Avocado Sandwich

My "Cooking for One" challenge is still on and i woke up really early today...spoke to my sister n' she wanted my Punjabi Paneer Makhani recipe n' i had to sent to her on email....so once that was done i still had time to get ready for work n' decided to make something that feels really fresh...I have 6 posts in my draft that i made which i haven't posted yet...just no time!!!! Month ends are a busy time at work. But this was so good...i just couldn't wait to post it....

Also, i really need to dedicate a post to two of my good friends, Veerendra Mishra and Preetha P (non-bloggers)who found it really hard to believe that i can cook... actually quote unquote..."cook, style n' take decent pics"....lol...sometimes even i'm still surprised...;)...so i'm dedicating this post to them ;)...also i have made an Avocado Milkshake along with this post...i remember when i was working with them in ABN AMRO Bank- Bangalore, i used to order this so often...i can't seem to remember the name of the chain of fruit juice shops we used to order it from..:(...anyways i'm told it's full of good cholesterol....

I'm a big fan of Avocado or Butter Fruit (as we fondly call it back home), when my friend introduced me to Guacamole for the first time....i got addicted to it for life....so when i came across this recipe i was 'Oh so keen' about trying it...so here you go...(pls note i'm going to give the measurements enough to make just one sandwich...please adjust accordingly if you want to make more....)

Ingredients:

1. Egg: 1 large (hard-boiled, peeled and chopped)
2. Onion: 2-3 tsps (chopped)
3. Parsley Leaves: 1 tbsp (chopped)
4. Dry Oregano: 1/4 tsp
5. Dijon Mustard: 1/4 tsp
6. Chili Mayonnaise *: 1-2tsp (yeah i went a little overboard with it...;) )
7. Ripe Avocado: half piece (the avocado needs to be halved, seeded, meat scooped out and diced)
8. Salt: to taste (just keep in mind that the Mayonnaise & Dijon Mustard will already have salt in it)
9. Black pepper: to taste (freshly ground)
10.Brown Bread: 2 slices (i have used a brown bun here but you can use any bread of your choice, lightly toasted)
11. Cheese of your choice: 1no (optional) (i didn't use it)

* i used chili mayo coz i love the flavour, you can use plain. but if you do want to use it and you only have plain mayo with you, all you need to do for a quick fix is just add chili flakes to your mayo n' mix well.

Method:

Step 1: In a bowl, mix the chopped Egg, Onion, Parsley, Dijon Mustard and Mayonnaise together.

Step 2: Toss in the chopped avocado, sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper and gently mix well.

Step 3: Lightly toast the bread slices. Scoop a generous amount of the chopped egg and avocado on a slice of bread, add a slice of cheese (if using) and top with another slice of bread.

Here's a snap of my Avocado Milk Shake, i had the other half of Avocado which i didn't use in the sandwich right? i made the milk shake with it...as you can see it's served in a Big Beer Glass...i was missing RJ n' decided to have the milk shake in his Beer Glass (a gift from me)...and as you can see it was a lot...so i could have only this for breakfast and i got the sandwiches with me for lunch...;)

Grapes and Banana Smoothie- My 'Remember Me by Smoothie'

Ok...i realise i made a big mistake by telling who ever was asking me that it isn't all that hot out here in Bahrain yet....this was last week n' this week it's scorching hot n' humid out here n' RJ is travelling for 5 Days...that means i'm cooking for one...normally it's with great difficulty that i reduce the ingredients and make a meal for 2...

Now that i have to reduce to a serving of one...i'm failing miserably n' that also means i'm sorta overeating...;)...but i'm blissfully making things i love to have n' hence i refuse to notice the fat on my thighs...;)...during this week's shopping RJ was commenting that 'i'm like a girl in a candy store' next to the vegetable n' fruits counters...which he doesn't understand...you see...he is an affirmed meataholic.

Leaving all that aside...i decided to make a smoothie...when i utter the word smoothie what comes into my mind are those extremely beautiful berry drinks in amazing colors...but berries other than strawberry are so expensive out here...i won't be able to justify my overindulgence...we get blueberry, raspberry, blackberry and redcurrants...they all look pretty in their cozy small box... a box the size of my palm will cost nothing less than USD 6 or roughly Rs.270/-.

As usual i'm digressing....so i wanted to make a smoothie for RJ before he leaves n' decided to make do with some really ripe sweet black grapes n' extra ripe bananas....i saw some smoothie recipes were asking for it to be served in Hurricane glasses..didn't have a clue what they were n' decided to look it up only to realise that the glass we got when we ordered a cocktail in Hard Rock Cafe- London was a Hurricane glass...quickly made up my mind to serve this smoothie in that glass....this was sorta of my version of "Remember Me by Smoothie" for RJ... was pretty nice...quick fix, tasty n' cheap...Oolala...

Ingredients:

1. Black or Red Grapes: 2 handful (seedless)
2. Bananas : 2 large
3. Ice cubes: 1 cup
4. Milk: 1/4 cup
5. Mint Leaves: 4-5 (crushed) (optional)
6. Sugar : 3-4tsp (optional)

Method:

Step 1 : Place the bananas and grapes into a blender and mix until it is a "smooth" liquid.

Step 2: Add the ice and blend until crushed.

Step 3: Add milk and sugar n' crushed mint leaves if using, mix until smooth.

Step 4: Pour into a hurricane glasses and serve immediately.

Hot White Chocolate

My attempts at making Hot Cross Buns for this Easter failed miserably, it's depressing to even talk about it. So just to prove that some does turn out right when i bake, i tried BC's Chocolate Swirl Cake again...and came out so nice and soft. I pinned up a smile back on my face. :)

I love Hot Chocolate from almost everywhere, even the ones we get in train stations back home....but my favourite has to be from Columbus Cafe. (a special note.... i don't like the ones from Starbucks or Costa Coffee.) So when i came across this recipe i thought, i just have to give this a try....so here you go...

Ingredients:

1. White Chocolate: 175g
2. Milk: 1.5 ltr
3. Coffee Essence: 1tsp (or Instant coffee powder: 2tsp)
4. Orange Flavoured Liqueur: 2tsp (optional)

For Serving:

1. Whipped Cream
2. Ground Cinnamon (optional)

Method:

Step 1: Finely chop the white chocolates.

Step 2: Boil the milk in a heavy saucepan and bring it to boil (bubbles will form around the edge of the pan)

Step 3: Add the chopped whitechocolates, coffee essence or powder and the orange flavoured liqueur, if using. Stir until the chocolate has melted.

Step 4: Divide the hot chocolate among 4 coffee mugs. Top each with a rosette of whipped cream and a sprinkling of ground cinnamon, if using. Serve immediately.

I had to do my bit n' deviate a little....i didn't have any whipped cream so decided i could use some froth instead...so after step 3 i waited a while n' poured it into a blender and gave it a whisk....i mean i didn't do it for more than 30secs...they say pouring hot liquid into the mixer/blender is not at all recommended...so the next time i try this (in a situation like this)i will use a hand blender.

Masala Coke

A friend of ours served this at a party. I have never ordered this at restaurants or juice bars and maybe never would have. But having had this once, I can say we love it esp during summer...:)

Things You Need

Coke (Cold)

Mint Leaves - 2 or 3nos

Chaat Masala- half a tsp

Lime Juice- 2 or 3 tsps

Salt or Black Salt (as per taste)

Pepper Powder- half a tsp (optional)


What To Do

Step1 : Mix all ingredients together except the soda and mint leaves in a tall glass.

Step2 : To this, add the Coke little by little, stir continuously with a spoon allowing the soda froth up.

Step3 : Repeat until the glass is full. Gently crush the mint leaves and add to this. Serve immediately.

The thing is these measurements aren't like a hard and fast rule, this works for me and you can try your own version of this...cola is commonly used but i have tried it with 'Sprite' and taste good as well.