Broccoli smoothie bowl

Starting the day with a healthy breakfast is the best favour you can do to your body.Breakfast literally means breaking the fast after a long  gap of 6- 8 hours.Obviously our body needs some energetic food to carry on the tasks for the whole day. A healthy whole some start refreshes your body and well as your mind .Milk, yogurt ,dry fruits ,fresh fruits are the best to start with.As I have already mentioned  earlier smoothies are my favourite on the go breakfast for my kids. I am a south Indian and love my traditional breakfasts too ,but due to time constraints and my kids choice to have it hot from kitchen to table I restrict idli and dosa for weekends.

Mango shrikhand | Aamarakhand | Hung curd with mango puree | Summer special | mango special | kids friendly

Mango Shrikhand or Amrakhand  is one of the easiest  and healthiest dessert option .Shrikhand is an Indian sweet dish made of strained yogurt. It is one of the main desserts in Gujarati cuisine and Maharashtrian cuisine. Preparation of this dish is very simple but it takes some time to process yogurt properly.

To prepare shrikhand, yogurt is tied in a cotton cloth and left under pressure to drain.The strained yogurt, referred to as "Chakka", and sugar are mixed thoroughly in a deep bowl.Cardamom, saffron, and any other flavors are then added and mixed. It is then left in the refrigerator for the sugar to dissolve. The dish is served chilled.

Sundried yogurt chillies| Mor milagai |Majjiga mirapakaya | chillies coated with yogurt and dried in the sun|summer special

Mor milagai  in Tamil or Majjiga mirapakaaya in Telugu is an inevitable part of south Indian cuisine .Be it the curd rice , chutneys , Dal's or lemon rice ...these chillies find their place in every dish a south Indian mom makes. When I was carrying my 2 child I was having the spiciest cravings ,I used to add chillies to every thing .....my kids and hubby being non- spice tolerators used to give a weird look!!!!I had to do some thing to satisfy my cravings and at the same time my family doesn't feel the spice in it .Suddenly I remembered these majjiga mirapakaya or dahi wali mirchi which my grand mother used to do in summers .So that I can have it when I felt to have some thing spicy. 

AAh!!those good olden days when summers symbolised a long summer vacations to schools and helping granny in making fryums,chillies on the terrace .As soon as the summer starts terrace(s) all around would be filled with muslin cloths holding these home made fryums to sunbathe. And big thalis with these chillies preparing themselves to be relished by us .Hey!! i am feeling nostalgic.

Those were the days with minimal Internet access ,so I called my mother to ask about the method and made a large batch of it which lasted for 4 -5 months .It was 5- 6 years ago .After the baby i was busy nurturing him and hardly found time to make these.

    My FIL likes to have it with plain rice and Dal .Once on our trip to India my princess had tasted it with her grandpa and she liked i very much ,after coming back she was asking about these chillies .
So tried my hands on it again and she liked it very much .This recipe calls for ample sunlight and a time of 4 days .

Spinach oats smoothie

Due to the sedentary lifestyle these days ,knowingly or unknowingly we gulp down so much of the junk food!!!!

Actually we don't agree its junk food ?right ......the pizzas ,burgers ,fries and what not .....?every thing that we love to enjoy at the call of a phone or simply relax with family in a food court of a mall is loaded with so much of trans fat ,salt ...etc ,that our body needs to flush out those toxins on regular interval to avoid any bitter health consequences .We have incorporated these food habits in our lifestyle that we don't even realise that these are junk .

Even my self , not a bare exception .I too love to be lured by such occasional indulgence !!!!(to be read... occasional only!!!  hhmn).But aftermath carry the guilt on my shoulders and weight over my waist line !....) 

And coming to the smoothie......

Spinach is  recognised as one of the functional foods for its wholesome nutritional, antioxidants and anti-cancer composition.

Oats  of course are the power house of nutrients and fibre....

Spinach ,oats  and yogurt are blitzed together to smoothie.I love smoothies and smoothies I think are the easiest and nutritious way to quench the thirst 

So go ahead and make  one for Ur self and your gut is going to say thank you!!!!

Badami murg /Almond chicken

Badami murg / almond chicken  is -chicken cooked together with a smooth fine paste of onions and almonds with spices.First time I had this at khazana .Which khazana ?The famous Sanjeev kapoors khazana restaurant here in Qatar .

It is apt to call him the father of Indian cuisine .Each and every dish  we ordered had a unique taste of its own ,unlike the ones we generally have (loaded with colour ,onions and tomatoes).Its for sure a food connoisseurs paradise  .

Of  all the dishes ordered this was the show stopper ,a smooth, luscious ,creamy gravy with a hint of saffron  and the tang of yogurt ,slightly sweetened to balance the flavours .I have come up with the recipe with all the flavours my tongue could feel .I definitely cant say that this is exactly the recipe ,but for sure nearer to it .

So what are you waiting for ...go ahead and make one for you to pamper your taste buds .I am sure you will not regret it .

Lets start cooking...........................

Strawberry- oats smoothie

Aah!!winter is officially  in ,thank God at least by mid Jan we are able to enjoy the winter season .

Though winter has knocked a bit late this year ,but arrived with a bang !! .Before we feel the change in climate one comes to know the change in season by merely seeing this great winter produce .

Be it the luscious strawberries ,oranges .....you just name it and its there in the market .During my last visit to the farmers market was lucky enough to get  some red,juicy ,luscious  strawberries .I couldn't behold my self to make a cake or a dessert ,just wanted some thing easy,refreshing and fulfilling.Finally decided to blitz a smoothie and gulp it down .

Smoothies are nothing but yogurt based drinks which are very popular in this part of the world....in Indian terms you can call it a thick lassi with addition of fruits ,cereal, oats and the list continues...... 

It serves as a great breakfast  on the go option ,can be had as a pre lunch snack  or simply your evening snack.A healthy and of course yummy drink with a fibrous- tag-  the oats ...

over to recipe.......