“You don’t have to eat less, You just have to eat right.” Unknown
Green Goddess Apple Cucumber Coconut Water Smoothie, quite nice actually! Packed with nutrition too. You might have heard about Spirulina. Well if you haven’t, it is one of the most potent sources of easily digestible vegetarian protein available, a powerhouse of nutrients available in nature. It is harvested form blue green algae present in water bodies, and has been used in food for centuries.The primary challenge is making sure the water that hosts the algae is non contaminated, and this brand is certified organic, cultivated in an environment free from pollution, ground water contamination, pesticides and herbicides.I used Spirulina powder for the first time with much apprehension. Not because I doubted the source or the nutritional value, but because I had been warned a plenty that it was an acquired taste. Since this dark green powder, almost jade like in colour, is harvested from algae from water, the first impression is of a very fishy, concentrated seaweed like aroma. Anything fishy doesn’t work with me, you can promise me it’s a 100% vegetarian never mind. The challenge is to use this superfood in ways that tease the palette to enjoy it everyday in a form that is easy and fun.
The positives are plenty, enough to make me reach out for a daily health boost. Spirulina is largely made up of protein and essential amino acids, and is typically recommended to vegetarians due to its high natural iron content. This unassuming supplement is a natural source of essential phytonutrients, omega 6 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, said to be the most effective and safest way to compensate for your incomplete daily dietary intake. It’s classified as the most nutrient dense food on the planet. Algae here I come!!
Time to make each drink a SuperDrink. Adding Spirulina is a nice way to include a highly nutrient rich Superfood in our daily diets which with only minimal effort. Spirulina is said to work towards improving immunity levels, energy levels and boosting metabolism. With hectic and busy schedules coupled with the use of chemicals in fresh produce, it’s not easy to reach our daily nutrition and protein levels. Spirulina aims to fill this gap helping you use Spirulina shakes or smoothies to renergise any time of the day.I took it on gently, very unsure of what to expect, my initial ‘meeting’ face to face with the powder not very promising. Best to keep it natural and in season, as also too consume this in raw form, or if cooked, below 70Degrees C to gain maximum advantage. Seemed quite natural to begin the morning with a nutritional boost, so I thought smoothie. Green smoothie obviously!! With winter here, there are the juiciest apples from Kinnaur lining the bazaar shelves these days. Thought I’d keep it simple. So in went cucumber, honey, some coconut water since I had some on hand. The electrolytes in coconut water as a great substitute for plain water, so why ever not. Gingerly added 1 tsp of Spirulina and braced myself. I was pleasantly surprised!! The green jade came to life in seconds, an intense smooothie that looked like it meant business. A teeny taste later, and I threw in another teaspoon of Spirulina. No bad offsetting flavour, quite pleasant, naturally sweet too. Who would have thought?Spurred on, I experimented a little more. This Currypatta Buttermilk Lassi below is now a daily routine!
Spirulina added in your daily diet gives you a number of benefits:
Working out?? Grab it! It Increases Muscle Strength and Endurance
It is a powerhouse of easily digestible protein
It is a natural detoxifier
It’s rich in vitamins, antioxidants and other essential daily nutrients
It’s filled with calcium, phosphorus and magnesium content found in milk
It keeps your heart healthy
It promotes Liver health
Parrys Organic Spirulina is NOT a drug, but a 100% vegetarian and safe nutritional supplement also available in a tablet form for your convenience.
Happy with the success, I marched on to try yet another savoury version. It turned out quite pretty. Quite delicious as well! Here take a look. A Beetroot Buttermilk Spirulina Lassi as delicious as it was pretty! The recipe is simple. blend the following until smooth. 1 medium beetroot, microwaved for 3 minutes, or boiled, cooled, grated + 2 cloves garlic, grated + 250ml cultured buttermilk +1/2 tsp black rock salt + 1tsp roasted cumin powder + 2tsp spirulina.
Green Goddess Apple Cucumber Coconut Water Smoothie
The Green Goddess Apple Cucumber Coconut Water Smoothie comes together in seconds, an intense drink that means business. Quite pleasant; naturally sweet too!
Course Drinks
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 5 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Ingredients
1applecored, diced
1cucumberchopped
200mlcoconut waterchilled
2-3tspshoney
2tspSpirulina
Instructions
Place all ingredients in blender and whiz until smooth.
Taste and adjust sweetness if required. Serve immediately.
“In fine, the truffle is the very diamond of gastronomy.” Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip … earthy, rustic, nutty, slightly tangy, creamy, smoky delicious. Some things come together with small beginnings, and for strange reasons. This dip was no different and found it’s origins in a wizened old forgotten pomegranate that I discovered while cleaning out the fridge. Also popped out a bowl that held an eggplant I had roasted 2 days ago, a small carton of Greek yogurt, and the plan was made.
It was going to be a Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip which would use up all the goodness that lay forgotten in the fridge. AND a chance to use some fabulous Black Truffle Sea Salt from Olive Tree Trading, a special product that really shines when used. It might be an expensive product, but a little goes a long way. On pasta, on toast, over dips, on artisan bread, in pasta sauce, over popcorn, on salads; really steps up the flavours!
With it of course some really really good quality extra virgin olive oil from the same company, a product that speaks for itself. As always, a dish is only as good as it’s ingredients and this Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip was just that. You could always use sea salt but a black truffle sea salt is a noticeably charming addition, quite different. The rest of this Persian inspired dip has humble origins, almost staple pantry ingredients. How can you go wrong with eggplant {or baingan as locally called}, walnuts, garlic, yogurt and olive oil? Not possible right?
And the good thing is that if you blend it smooth, picky eaters can’t figure out what’s in this pâté like dip. It’s a win win; a delicious one at that too. Serve with wholegrain crackers, crudites etc. Great as a sandwich spread, with crusty wholegrain bread, etc.
A simple recipe with humble origins, this Smoked Eggplant Walnut Truffle Dip is a great addition to the party table. Serve with wholegrain crackers, crudites etc. Great as a sandwich spread, with rustic wholegrain bread, etc.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 50 minutesminutes
Servings 3minutes
Ingredients
1medium eggplant
6clovesgarlicunpeeled
1/2cupevoo
2clovesgarlc
Sea salt
1/4cupwalnuts
2tbspGreek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
1/2tspBlack truffle sea salt
Instructions
Wash and pat dry the eggplant. Make 4-6 slits around and tuck in unpeeled garlic cloves.
Roast over a low open gas flame, or in oven until charred all over and soft.
Place in a bowl covered, until cool enough to handle. gently peel the charred skin off, squeeze out the garlic from pods. {This can be done a couple of days in advance and refrigerated}.
Place all ingredients in bowl of processor or blender and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Transfer to a bowl, drizzle generously with good quality extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle over some black truffle salt, garnish with pomegranate pearls. Serve with wholegrain crackers, crudites etc. Great as a sandwich spread, with rustic wholegrain bread, etc.
“A land of promise, a land of memory, a land of promise flowing with the milk and honey of delicious memories!”
Alfred Tennyson
Rich Spiced Hot Chocolate might well be the simplest thing to enjoy this season. It’s simple things that matter, and with recipes like these, ingredients are of prime importance. You can’t go wrong if you use good quality ingredients. This Rich Spiced Hot Chocolate is just that. Indulgent too. Made with Premium Milk from Mother Dairy, single origin couverture chocolate, dark cocoa, vanilla beans and spices from South India, it’s hard to go wrong. The milk was the biggest surprise though!It’s the best milk I’ve ever had! Words of praise from a dairy lover at home, one who lives to enjoy a chilled good glass of milk. The genes are the same. I love everything dairy too, but I am always surprised by how advanced his taste-buds are. One sip of the newly introduced Premium Full Cream milk from Mother dairy swiftly knocked his current favourite from another brand right off. It’s so good that I don’t even need flavouring mama he exclaimed!This new variant from Mother dairy which has the highest FAT content of 7% along with 9% SNF is ideal for those looking for a rich milk diet and also for folk like us who enjoy making home-made sweets, ghee and curd. It offers 15% extra malai {cream} in comparison to full cream milk. For someone like me who makes clarified butter / ghee at home every weekend, this new variant is ideal. I increasingly use clarified butter or ghee in baking now, and as my preferred medium of fat in cooking now that winter is here. The greens use mustard oil, and almost everything else goes the ghee way! Tadka is always ghee, the ‘icing on the cake’!Think little ghee cakes, think shortbread with ghee, think stuffed radish and cauliflower parathas, and think dollops of melting homemade sweet butter on hot sarson ka saag! After all in India, Ghee is equivalent to love. Finger licking good stuff this! There is just so much you can do with this indulgent product. I can only imagine setting Greek yogurt at home now. Also simmering a rice pudding into creamy goodness, maybe a tapioca pudding or a chocolate oat pudding too.
With a traditional Indian households still enjoying the top of milk cream for so many reasons, the malai that the premium milk yields is impressive. Just 2 litres boiled, cooled and chilled overnight offered almost a cup of malai. This Dark Chocolate & Walnut Wholewheat Cakeisa nostalgic favourite with ‘top of the milk cream’ or ‘malai’. It brings back memories of the quintessential ‘malai’ or ‘top of the milk cream’ cakes from yesteryear. Decades ago, every Indian household use to boil milk, collect the top of the milk cream, use some as is and make sweet butter of the rest. The more adventurous ones used to bake a delicious homey comforting cake with ‘malai’.Then the mind wanders into more delicious spaces like a lighter panna cotta, maybe a Vietnamese coffee. The possibilities are endless as I grabbed the few remaining pouches from the kid who is happy to guzzle down his new favourite. To prove my point to him that the milk makes things oodles better, I quickly stirred him a Rich Spiced Hot Chocolate. With winter around the corner, this drink is a winner, a simple winner! It’s a great hit with kids and adults alike. In summer I’d do a chilled version in bottles which is equal fun and very addictive!Then to dive into the past, how can I not make my husbands childhood favourite, a Masala Kadhai Doodh. This is where dessert meets milk, a quintessential Indian favourite, a concoction you would find across North India. It’s simple, it’s bursting with goodness and flavour AND a big hit always. It’s quite similar to a thandai, infinitely customisable.Masala Kadhai Doodh is simply simmered with a powdered nut & spice mix in a large kadhai or wok for the flavours to steep and milk to thicken. Only with this high fat content milk, the time to thicken is substantially decreased. I used a mix of almonds, melon seeds, cardamom, nutmeg, a pinch of turmeric and saffron.We are a dairy loving home, and I set yougurt at home everyday. With quite a welcome high fat content, Mother Dairy’s Premium Milk yields far tastier home made yogurt, paneer, quark etc. It is also far easier to use in puddings, traditional kheers, halwas. With winter here a gajar ka halwa is calling my name. Simmered in this beautifully thick milk, I can only imagine how good the end result will be. What would be your favorite way to use this?
Good quality ingredients and a simple simmering results in this indulgent Spiced Rich Hot Chocolate. Use a full fat milk like Mother Dairy Premium Milk for best results.
Course Breakfast, Drinks, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 35 minutesminutes
Servings 2
Ingredients
500mlMother Dairy Premium Milk
2-3star anise
1stick cinnamon
1/2vanilla beansplit
2tspbrown sugar
75gdark couverture chocolatechop
25ggood quality cocoa powder
Instructions
Place milk, star anise, cinnamon, vanilla bean and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes for flavours to steep.
Add the chocolate and cocoa powder, stir often to mix, and simmer gently until the chocolate melts.
Sieve and serve immediately, else steep for an hour, then reheat and sieve before serving.
Notes
Note: You can add a shot of Baileys irish Cream for an adult version. You can also add or remove spices as required. This also makes a nice chilled spiced chocolate milk. Stir well or sieve before serving.
‘Hard & dry, a chickpea is inedible. Hard & dry, a heart is unlovable. Presoak it in dance, music & art.’
Khang Kijarro Nguyen
CholeMasala / Curried Spicy Chickpeas the way my Mum makes them. Try as I might, my cholemasalaflavours are always different, the taste not quite not same. Must be a thing of the hand, the way she cooks them, but it’s a simple dish which makes me hungry for more. So now I let her make them for me which she gladly does. Chole Masala / Curried Spicy Chickpeas is a quintessential recipe from the Indian sub continent, one of the most popular perhaps. Every house has it’s own recipe, and you can keep them as spicy or light as you like. The Chole Masala / Curried Spicy Chickpeas are a meal in themselves, a treat for someone like me who would rather just enjoy them like a one bowl meal. Sliced onions to top them, finely sliced green chilies, a squeeze of lime juice, sometimes some crispies sneaked in! You get the drift!!
My mother often calls me in a hurry to pick them up as she makes them, wanting us to enjoy them warm. Often as things go, I am out or in the middle of something. The good thing about her cholas are that she makes them in large quantities, and they taste even better after an overnight rest. All you need to do is reheat them and dig in! That’s just where this the latest addition to my kitchen is quite handy.The Milton MicroWoW Casserole is microwaveable {dishwasher proof too} with stainless steel inside which makes it absolutely unique. It allows you to microwave your food and also retain heat of the food in the same casserole for 4 hours. Such an innovative concept; one we loved the minute we heard of it.
Like me, if you set curd/yogurt at home everyday, this casserole doubles up as a curd maker. With winter around the corner, when I am constantly looking for warm spots for the curd to set, I think my search ends here! Until then, this is a great way to store ice cream for a short while. Seems to pack quite a punch, quite like the Chole Masala / Curried Spicy Chickpeas !My mum’s recipe is simple, and a little different from how I cook them. Most of her recipes, like this one, are based on andaaz, or eyeballing of ingredients. A little of this, a pinch of that, toss something in. Oh did I forget that? Never mind, maybe next time. I’m sure it’ll taste fine, a little different perhaps. As all mothers cook, recipes are generally ‘taste as you go‘, and that’s the best way to cook really!
Chole Masala / Curried Spicy Chickpeas is a quintessential recipe from the Indian sub continent, one of the most popular perhaps. Every house has it's own recipe, and you can keep them as spicy or light as you like. This is my mums. Most of her recipes, like this one, are based on andaaz, or eyeballing of ingredients. A little of this, a pinch of that, toss something in.
Drain the overnight soaked chickpeas, wash well, and place in pressure cooker with enough water to cover them, about an inch over.
Cook under pressure on simmer for a 45 minutes to an hour until soft and almost double in size.
Meanwhile, add 1 tbsp mustard oil to a heavy bottom wok/kadhai.
Add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Make sure they don't get dark brown or the flavour gets bitter.
Add the ginger, green chilies or red chili powder if using, or both, chana masala and tomatoes.
Saute over low heat until the tomatoes are mushy soft and leave oil.
Add the cooked soft chickpeas and toss well to mix in masala, reserving the liquid for later. Add as much of the liquid as you like, stir well, adjust seasoning, turn the whole prep back into the cooker and give the chickpeas one more pressure. This will allow the spices/masalas to be absorbed by the chickpeas.
Serve with naaan or rice. Or like me, serve in a bowl with a squeeze of lime juice, sliced onions, ginger, fresh coriander and some sneaked in crispies!
“While there is tea, there is hope.”
Arthur Wing Pinero
Tea Rose Chocolate Truffles, simple chocolate goodness with a few of my favourite things. Chocolate, single cream and Mountain Rose Tea from Teabox. The tea is a fragrant blend of jasmine-infused winter flush black tea with rose and cardamom, and you can well imagine the lilting flavours it added to the truffles. Just right for the festive season. It’s also an extremely pretty tea. Take a look!Teabox is a brand I greatly admire, a brand I have been associated it since it was rebranded by Pentagram in 2015. Teabox, Kaushal Dugar’s brainchild for online tea retailing, aims to revolutionise the tea industry by selling products directly, days after it has been picked. It’s a model that works and works well, growing from strength to strength!Teabox is an experience, a tea experience which is crisp, simple, neat, offers great quality and above all, warmth. I’ve been styling the tea shoots for Teabox the past few years, and loved the very first lot I styled. In particular this banner below shot by the very talented photographer Mallikarjun Katakolin Bangalore is one of my favourites, a reflection of all things I love. The last lot I styled was for the Diwali shoot, and those are now up on Teabox. Here’s a few of those…With so much tea styling of late, it was but natural I develop an affinity to these leaves the world loves so much, even though I’m a ‘coffee person‘. I might not sip a cup of hot tea everyday, yet I’m happy to dive into iced tea, and of course play with the leaves!!Also happy to do recipes using tea leaves/blends which is something I increasingly enjoy. You might remember a batch of Mountain Rose Tea Cookies {below} that I baked a short while ago. I had such fun doing these cookies and shooting the images, the latter which is now quite addictive, that there’s been no looking back. From tea leaves are boring, to tea leaves are so happening, my world has come a long way. Teabox is leading in many ways, the latest it’s innovative concept called Teapac.TeaPacs are the first individually packaged tea bags sealed at the source using a natural Nitrogen flush that keeps the tea as fresh as the day it was picked. With them doing all the hard work, it leaves me a lot of time to get creative.Making chocolate truffles is probably the easiest thing ever. No rocket science here. Needless to say, make sure you use the best quality ingredients. The flavours really shine through, teasing the palette gently, making these the most delectable little bites ever. It’s great to involve kids in making these. Then sit back and see them disappear!Just right for the festive season, Tea Rose Chocolate Truffles are as simple as can be. They are also one of the best and most loved gifts ever. Vegetarian, eggless, gluten free, healthy, make ahead too, and indulgent in a guilt free way, can things get better? You could make these vegan using almond milk or coconut cream/milk. Feel free to experiment.As usual, I had a great time styling and shooting these. Served two ways, with a cup of brewed hot tea after dinner, or chilled Mountain Rose Iced Tea, my way, these make for great eye candy. They’ll be a great addition to your festive platter.Else make a batch, buy some tea and gift them to make someone happy something to remember! My next batch of truffles is going to be using the Kashmiri Kahwa Chaifrom Teabox. A blend of smoked green tea, spices and saffron from the valley, that tea has me smitten! Tempted to join in?
Tea Rose Chocolate Truffles, simple chocolate goodness with a few of my favourite things. Chocolate, single cream and Mountain Rose Tea from Teabox, so you can well imagine the lilting flavours it added to the truffles. Just right for the festive season and the recipe as simple as can be. Vegetarian, eggless, glutenfree, healthy, make ahead too, get indulgent in a guilt free way! You can make these vegan using almond milk or coconut cream/milk. Feel free to experiment.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 2 hourshours15 minutesminutes
Servings 16truffles
Ingredients
Truffles
250g52% dark couverture chocolateroom temperature
100gsingle/low fat creamroom temperature
2tbspor 2 teabags Teabox Mountain Rose Tea
Topping
20ggood quality cocoa powder to toss the truffles in
Instructions
Place the cream and tea leaves or teabags in a heavy bottom saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, finely chop the chocolate, or run it in the processor until almost ground. {I ran it in the Thermomix for 20 seconds, Speed 10}
Place in a large bowl.
If using tea leaves, strain the simmering cream over the ground chocolate. If using teabags, gently squeeze the teabags, and dispose, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate.
Whisk with a spatula or balloon whisk continuously until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
Cover the bowl with cling-wrap, and chill for 2-3 hours or until firm to touch.
Using a cookie scoop or round measuring spoon, portion out approx 16 bits. With very clean hands, roll into balls, then toss in the cocoa powder. You could toss a few in tea leaves as well, pressing gently to fix for a je ne sais quoi feel!
“Food is something that manages to find a way in to approximately 12 out of every 10 conversations we have at Chumbak.”
Chumbak
Wholegrain Chocolate Buckwheat Sables – dark chocolate, a mix of wholegrain flours, a little all purpose too, brown sugar, sea salt, of course butter. All these come together to make an eggless cookie, the indulgent sable, a shortbread cookie is a French round shortbread cookie. Another eggless cookie, this time loaded with chocolate, and almost wholegrain, with the goodness of buckwheat {kuttu ka aata} makes for a great gift!
It’s a good time too, at Diwali, when it’s fun to bake and gift good things. With mithai or sweetmeats dwindling in popularity, chocolate always ensures happy gifting. I like to either gift handmade truffles, nut clusters, or then cookies paired with either a lamp, a birdcage, platters, jars etc. The new Gold Collection from Chumbak, with the already beautiful existing range, makes for beautiful gifts with my cookies. Gifts I would love to receive too. Take a look!
With wholewheat and buckwheat in this buttery chocolaty shortbread, I didn’t expect things to go so well. That they did, was amazing. I can safely say these are my best chocolate shortbread cookies to date, best eggless cookies too! They’re inspired and adapted from Chocolate Sables @ The Boy Who Bakes, and HE is so good in everything he bakes! I found them on Instagram and decided to bake a wholegrain version. I figured the food loving folk at Chumbak would love them too!
The dazzling beautiful range of lifestyle products from Chumbak, the quintessential owl included, has me smitten as you can probably see. Hoot Hoot!! I’ve been in love with their quirky designing, innovative products, Indian humour and what not! From a souvenier store for India and Indians in 2010, they’ve grown phenomenally over the past few years. Today, Chumbak is a design led lifestyle brand for products across apparel, home and accessories driven by the best philosophy ever – Make Happy!
This Diwali sees Chumbak creating absolute magic. Take a look at some of their range. I love the fact that I can mix and match infinitely, that I can do daytime setups with flowers, do a drop-dead gorgeous one for the night, build a terrarium within like Madhuli just suggested. There is so much goodness for gifting. Wrap some baked goodies or chocolate truffles {recipe coming soon}, with them to make that perfect gift.
Chumbak retails over 75 categories across 30 plus stores pan India across formats. To buy any of these looks, a a whole lot more, do stop by here.
“This is what we live for, this is our philosophy and those big words that are synonymous with it. This is #makehappy!”
These few products are just the tip of the iceberg. They have something for every budget, something for everyone. I picked a gold and teal line, a touch of yellow, owls galore. Oh and this wooden cake platter above. Precious like the rest of the wood accents line. Now for the recipe of these cookies!
Crisp, deeply chocolate, buttery, wholegrain, eggless, Wholegrain Chocolate Buckwheat Sablés are the yummiest cookies ever! Adapted from The Boy Who Bakes.
Course Snack
Cuisine French
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Total Time 2 hourshours25 minutesminutes
Servings 2dozen
Ingredients
Dry mix
50gwholewheat {aata}
50gbuckwheat
50gplain flour
1/2tspbaking soda
1/4black truffle sea salt {or sea salt}
Wet mix
115gunsalted butterroom temp
1tspvanilla extract
100gbrown sugar
125g52% dark chocolate, ground {or finely chopped}
Instructions
Dry Mix
Stir dry ingredients in a bowl to mix. Reserve.
Wet Mix
Place butter, brown sugar and vanilla in bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment. Whisk on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until smooth.
Add the dry mix and ground chocolate, and mix on the lowest speed just enough for the dough to come together.{You can do this by hand to play safe}. Don't over-mix else the cookies will become hard.
Bring the dough together, either make a cylinder like roll, cling-wrap and chill for a couple of hours.
Alternatively, you could always use the dough for cut out cookies.
