Roasted Cauliflower Salad … not sure why it took me so long to discover this. There was a time that I disliked everything cauliflower other than a cauliflower based lamb curry or Gobhi Gosht that my mother made every winter. Cauliflower was the most boring vegetable at our place, and we looked in wonder as the literal truckloads that the farms around our place produced.Then I began gently trying a few things. First the raw nibble,then a quick stir fry, a vinegar based raw ferment. Then soup. Hmmm, now so bad. The big breakthrough came when I began making stuffed parathas {flatbreads} and everyone at home began enjoying them. Next a quick Indian stir fry that became one kids favourite. Yes, there was hope!Then one day I thought the oven is on, let me toss a quick lot of sliced cauliflower in olive oil and grill it. Turned out quite delicious and I couldn’t stop eating them off the tray. Be warned that this is addictive as it comes out of the oven, especially the bits that are crispy brown on the edges. Also be warned that the cauliflower shrinks quite a bit while baking, so a medium head of cauliflower might yield enough for 2 servings only.This Roasted Cauliflower Salad a great salad for winter, and also for spring. I have served this warm from the oven, as well as chilled overnight. It’s addictive good both ways. I have to say I love it because the garlic just shines. I usually up the garlic quite a bit. If you love garlic, you might consider doing that too!
Grilled Cauliflower Salad is a great salad for winter, and also for spring. I have served this warm from the oven, as well as chilled overnight. It's addictive good both ways. I have to say I love it because the garlic just shines. You can play around with the dressing as you like.
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 40 minutesminutes
Servings 2
Ingredients
1medium cauliflower
Dressing
3tbspextra virgin olive oil
3-4clovesgarlicminced
1tspred chili flakes
Sea salt
Juice of 1/2-1 lime
Garnish
1/2cuppomegranate pearls
fresh rocketbeet greens etc.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Slice the cauliflower vertically to get a cross section of florets.
Dressing
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, red chili flakes, sea salt and lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Place cauliflower in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss gently to coat.
Lay the florets out on a baking tray in one flat lot. Do not overlap else the baking will be uneven.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the edges begin to brown.
Serve warm or chilled pomegrabate pearls, rocket, beet greens etc.
Mushroom Cashew Rosemary Soup, yet another favourite soup I created with available pantry ingredients a few days ago. Simple to make, beautifully flavoured and quite creamy because of the cashews within, I’m going to make this often. Like an earlier soup I recently made, this one too is thickened with oats {and cashews this time} making it healthy, delicious and gluten free too. I’m sure you’re going to love this one as it is a great winter warmer, just right for the current cold spell we are experiencing.
I’m not a huge soup person and don’t have great expertise in making them. I stick to a few basics, and really make soups in a hurry, often throwing in whatever I can salvage in ten minutes. Yet with these brrrrr freezing cold days and the mercury dipping day after day, sometimes soup is all that warms the soul. I like subtle flavour in my soup. I also prefer them creamy to clear possibly because I don’t know how to make a good clear soup.
Maybe it’s time to sharpen my skills as I had a really good miso soup a few days ago, and that was amazing. Until I get there, sharpen my skills a little, here’s one of my favourite soups for now. With cauliflowers literally falling off carts this winter, it’s a great way to use the humble vegetable.I did make a finger licking good roasted cauliflower salad the other day. So garlicky, so good! I loved how well the cauliflower roasted in the dressing, how beautifully the fresh beet greens and rocket from the garden complimented it. And oh, the pom pearls that add fresh flavour and a burst of colour. Would you like the recipe?
Mushroom Cashew Rosemary Soup ... truly a winter warmer!
Simple to make, beautifully flavoured and quite creamy because of the cashews within, Mushroom Cashew Rosemary Soup is a winter favourite. Thickened with oats and cashews makes it healthy, delicious and gluten free too.A great winter warmer!
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Ingredients
2tbspbutter
1larger onionchopped
5-6clovesgarlicchopped
1/4cupcashews
200gbutton mushroomssliced
1TSP dried rosemary
1sprig fresh rosemary
1cupWater
1cupmilk
2tbspquick cooking oats
Salt & pepper to taste
balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Heat butter. Saute onions and garlic, then add cashews, saute.
Stir in mushrooms and saute on high for minutes.
Add rosemary, saute for 10 seconds, then add water andilk.
Bring to simmer, add oats, bring to a boil, them simmer 5 minutes.
Blend slightly for chunky finish (or smooth if you like), then return to pan
Season with salt and pepper, add balsamic vinegar, and simmer for 5 minutes.
If you'd like thicker soup, simmer a little longer.
“Love yourself enough to live a healthy lifestyle.”
To juice or not to juice is often the question, and it’s a tough one to crack. Having given it a good thought, as old school as I may be, I think a juicer is a boon for people who live fast paced lives, have demanding schedules, fussy kids, love clear juice and fancy the idea of making the most of seasonal produce. For me, usually fussy kids who shy away from fruits are the ones will benefit most.Nothing can be better than knowing what goes into your glass of juice and serving it fresh, like a farm to table feel! It’s also real fun to have kids make their own juice. Once they get involved, see them enjoy the fruits of their labour, or virtual labour since their work is cut out. They can use a whole lot of combinations. Ideas after juicing – have as is, make mocktails, popsicles, granita, sorbet, slad dressings. The juice is also a great base for cocktails for adults!Then again, it’s quite fascinating watching fresh, clear colourful juice pour out into a jug, then bottle it up and enjoy it! The Tefal Juice Extractor allows you just that. Points to remember are that the quantity of juice pushed out depends on the water content of the produce. For eg 2 large mangoes and about 1/2 a pineapple will yield 2 glasses of juice. Since pineapple has a high liquid content, the juice output is higher. In season, sweet lime or orange juice is a great add. Also all pips, stones etc must be removed before fruit is put in.Produce like beetroot and spinach yield a small quantity of juice due to the dense nature of beets and that spinach leaves have little water. It’s best to combine them with a fruit or vegetable with a high liquid content. I like adding seedless black grapes to beet juice as it enhances the natural sweetness of beets. You could always add beet greens to the juicer as well if you are lucky to get a nice organic supplier, or are lucky to grow some at home. If you’d like to cut back on sugar, add cucumber instead of grapes. Throw in some celery, add a squeeze of lime.The possibilities are endless. I did three juices and it took all of 30 minutes. I think prepping the veggies takes far longer. The juicer is intuitive, easy to use and has a very smooth dial in front with 2 settings. Love the bright blue light that shines in front while juicing is in progress. There is also a generous jug to collect the juice quite neatly, and yet another larger jug to collect the pulp.If you are like me, where I don’t like wastage, then the thought will definitely creep into your head “What to do with all this pulp?“. Wastage feels bad and you can’t just throw out the pulp. The mango and pineapple pulp I just happily ate, but you can add it to your breakfast bowl, top with granola, some yogurt if you like.Stir it through a bowl of yogurt maybe, or add to that favourite smoothie.A quick search online adds to some thoughts I already had while juicing. There’s so much you can do with the pulp, that you should be happy to have the juice extractor on your shelf!! Here are a few ideas to set you off…
Add it to stock or soup
Up the fibre in a burger patties
Throw it into a smoothie
Deydrate it, grind to a flour. Bake with it
Blend it and use as a soup/gravy thickener
Make a dip using pulp as a base
Use it in pancakes
Make a iced tea. Steep with water, maybe tea leaves or tisae, strain, drink
Add it to nuggets
Use in pet feed as is, or make doggie treats
Freeze into ice cubes, and add to meaballs, or pasta sauce, or curries
A juicer is a boon for people who live fast paced lives, have demanding schedules, fussy kids, love clear juice and fancy the idea of making the most of seasonal produce. Here are 3 quick and fun juices to make in your Tefal Juice Extractor.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Total Time 5 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Ingredients
Beetroot Grape Spinach Juice
3beetsscrubbed well, quartered
1black grapesbig bunch
2cupsspinach leaves
Peach Cherry Juice
6peachespitted, halved
2cupsof cherriespitted
Mango Pineapple Juice
1large mangodiced
1/2a pineapplecubed
Instructions
Feed the fruit/vegetables through the tube of the Tefal Juice Extractor. Turn on the machine to speed 1, then speed 2.
“If you wait for the mango fruits to fall, you’d be wasting your time while others are learning how to climb the tree”
Michael Bassey Johnson
Mango Coconut Pudding …when you can’t get enough of the mango season, and you can’t stop yourself from bringing together favourite flavours! These were everything they look like and more … delicious, delicate, flavourful, smooth, satisfying, elegant, sublime. I think it’s just one of those puddings that were meant to be …The better halves office in Bombay sent him a box of the most delicious Alphonsos. This variety of mangoes is possibly the most famous one across the globe, and most coveted. It is also most pursued by lovers of the fruit for the very short season that it shows up for.How better to explain Alphonsos than in Sejal Sukhadwala’s poetic and charming words as he writes in The Guardian “As anyone who’s tasted an Alphonso mango knows, its short season, from now until the end of June, is a major cause for celebration. Often making an appearance on “1,000 things to eat before you die”-type lists, this Indian variety has become more and more popular in the UK. It’s easy to see why. Alphonso’s voluptuous shape and sunshine-yellow skin reveals succulent saffron-coloured flesh that’s smooth and buttery: imagine a cross between peach, nectarine, apricot and melon with notes of honey and citrus. But better.”And I’m one of those people who find it hard to leave good enough alone. That mango was phenomenal but I wanted to do a dessert with it. Being summer, more of my fruit based desserts are quick and simple, often light puddings or a panna cotta. I did a series of desserts with mango juice not so long ago. Take a look!IMHO, if there are mangoes, it calls for a celebration. The good thing about the king of fruits is that it is so versatile. You can practically enjoy it at every meal. Our mornings and sometimes evenings are spent lazily sipping a Mango Fresh Turmeric Buttermilk Lassi these days. What’s not to love about fruit in season? More importantly, what’s not to love about mangoes? My entire childhood was spent climbing mango trees and eating mangoes!Aam ki chutney or a quick mango pickle also rule the roost. Aam panna or a Mango Cooler is one of the best things ever to keep the heat at bay. There’s no end to how versatile this fruit can be. For today, let me share my current favourite Mango Coconut Pudding. Like all good things in life, there is a small story behind how they came to be.
The Mango Coconut Pudding inspired by a popular dessert in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mango Pudding. The pudding is said to have Indian origins, and it seemed apt since the better halves company is Hong Kong based. This is my take on it, topped also with phalsas {a native Indian summer berry, drewia asiatica} and fresh mint.And before I leave you with the recipe, just sharing the announcement for my 7th Food Styling & Photography Workshop with Darter at Dirty Apron, New Delhi. All details can be found here, or click the image below.
Mango Coconut Pudding ...when you can't get enough of the mango season, and you can't stop yourself from bringing together favourite flavours! These were everything they look like and more ... delicious, delicate, flavourful, smooth, satisfying, elegant, sublime. I think it's just one of those puddings that were meant to be.
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 4 hourshours15 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Ingredients
Mango Coconut Pudding
400gmangofrom 4-5 Alphonsos
250gsingle cream
400mlcoconut milk
4tspgelatin
1/2cupraw sugar
Topping
1mangodiced
1/4cupphalsa berry
Few sprigs fresh mint
Instructions
Sprinkle the gelatin over 100ml coconut milk, and leave to soften. Stir.
Place mango and 200ml coconut milk in a blender. Blend to a smooth puree.
Place remaining coconut milk plus cream with sugar in a heavy bottom pan. Simmer until small bubbles appear at the edges. Stir in the gelatin, then mango puree.
Stand until it becomes slightly cool, then strain into glasses. Leave to set for a few hours or overnight.
Top with unsweetened cream, diced mango, phalsa berries and fresh mint. {Can be made 2-3 days in advance}
