Onion Pakora (Fried Snack)

Ramadan (fasting) is a special month where really good food is prepared at my house. My mom makes the most delicious iftar (dinner) appetizers during this month. Since, I am away from home, I have started making the same appetizers she makes during Ramadan. This is an easy recipe that can be used as party food, snacks or appetizer.

The list of ingredients are pretty short and can be found in most households:

• oil for frying
• 1/2 cup soaked lentil (1-2 hrs)
• 1 large sliced onion
• 1/2 cup shredded potato
• 1 chopped green chilli
• handful of chopped coriander (cilantro)
• 3 table spoon of chickpea flour (besan)
• salt to taste
• pinch of tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (adjust heat to your taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

First, grind the soaked lentils in a food processor until you get a coarse paste. Then, mix the lentil paste with all spices into a bowl.

Then add the rest of the ingredients to the mixture. Once everything is mixed well, now your ready to fry these delicious snacks.

Heat your oil til it is ready for frying. Using your fingers make small almost flat balls and drop them into the hot oil. Let the Pakora fry til it turns golden brown and remove from the oil onto some paper towels.

Let the pakoras rest for a few minutes before eating them. They are made to eat hot and with a dipping sauce of your choice. I usually go for ketchup.

 Enjoy this easy snack.

DIY: Abstract Painting

Tonight I feel restless, so I decided to paint. I took out my acrylic paint, my brushes and my blank mini canvas.

I sat for a few minutes before I decided to paint an abstract using a mix of colors. Tonight, I am leaning towards the neutral nude shades and some pinkish tones. The result of the painting was rather amusing and enjoyable. Therefore, I am going to share exactly how I went about making these cute abstract paintings.

On a side note, if you have never painted before this is a pretty easy DIY. Don't hesitate to go wild on this painting.

The items you will need:

• 2 mini canvases or large (whichever you prefer)
• 4 to 5 shades of acrylic paint that suits your mood
• Paint brushes
• a sharpie
• Ruler

The first thing you are going to do is randomly add drops of paint on your canvas. I went for 5-6 drops of acrylic per shade.

Once you have added all the drops onto the canvas, take the brush and run it through the drops of paint. There is no accurate way of painting. Just go with the flow and enjoy the random movement of your brush in different directions.

Let the paint dry. At this point you can stop and use these as decor items or gifts.

I took it a step further to make one of the 2 mini canvas unusual and interesting.

Using a sharpie and a ruler, start drawing connected triangles of various size from one corner of the canvas to the other. 

Draw alternating geometrical patterns inside triangles. The end product is quite unique, an abstract painting with defined geometrical lines.

You can draw other shapes like circles, squares etc. the idea is to overlap the painting with something constructed.

This is a fantastic way of letting yourself enjoy painting regardless of your ability. Go paint :)

Savory and Simple Breakfast Dish

Every time I make this particular food for breakfast, I recall memories of my dad making this dish, whenever my sisters and I were hungry and mum was not home. It is a simple, quick dish that can be whipped up in no time. Its filling and has all the right flavors for a hearty breakfast. 

Those of you, who have never tried it before, should definitely try to make this dish. You simply cannot go wrong. Every ingredient you need is already in your pantry. So there is no excuse not to try making this breakfast dish.

For this recipe you will need:
4 slices of bread cut into squares
2 whole eggs
half and onion chopped into pieces
1 tomato chopped into pieces
1 green chilli chopped
salt to taste
and 1 tablespoon of oil 

First beat the egg until it is mixed. Add in the chilli, onion and tomato. 
Pour this mixture over the bread and mix to evenly coat.

In a pan, heat the oil and add in the bread mixture. Cook the mixture for 10 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on it before serving. 

I usually eat this hot with some ketchup. Enjoy :)

Gujarati Kadhi

This a traditional gujarati dish that is usually eaten with khicdhi (lentil rice). This recipe is easy to make and can be done in less than 30 mins for a quick meal with minimal ingredients and prep time. It is one of my husbands favourite dish and he swears by it. So lets get started on this easy indian dish.

In a bowl mix together the following ingredients into a paste:

1/2 cup fat free greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons gram flour
1 cup water

Set aside. In a pan, heat the following ingredients until the fenugreek seeds turn brown.

1 tablespoon clarified butter (ghee)
1 green chilli split into half
few curry leaves
few clove and cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 

Add in the yoghurt mixture and a pinch of turmeric powder. Keep mixing the everything at low flame. 
When the mixture begins to boil add 
1 tablespoon Sugar
salt to taste
Cilantro (coriander leaves)

Once the mixture becomes thick (about 10 minutes) its complete. Switch off the flame and serve with hot lentil rice. Enjoy :)

Vegan Recipe: Spinach Rice

Eating plain rice can get tiresome after awhile. To make things a little interesting I attempted to make spinach rice. This idea is inspired from Trader Joes spinach rice. To my surprise it came out better than I expected.

Heres my recipe for this wonderfully flavored rice made in your rice cooker.

Ingredients:
For the rice,
2 cup rice
4 cup water

For the spinach mixture,
2 bunch of fresh spinach (washed and stems removed)
1 table spoon cumin seeds
salt to taste
1 cup vegetable broth

In a pan, saute the spinach till it wilts and reduces in size. 
(Tip 1: Do NOT cover the pan or the green color will be lost)

Remove from heat and blend it into a fine paste. Mix it with 1 cup of vegetable broth.

In a rice cooker, add the spinach mixture, salt, cumin and the rice with 4 cups of water. Switch on the cooker.

Mix occasionally, to evenly distribute the color.

There you have it. Spinach rice in a few easy steps. Enjoy :)

Banofee Pie Stole My Heart

This dessert is my all time favourite. It is an old English dessert loved by many. Of course with all things yummy there is a lot of sweetness in the dessert.

Lets start of with a little bit of history on this english pie, Nigel Mckenzie and Ian Dowding from Sussex (UK) way back in the 70s. The name of the pie is derived from the terms 'Toffee' and 'Banana', which are the two major ingredients of this pie.

Now that we have that little bit of info out of the way, let me tell you how I go about making this amazing pie.

The ingredients you will need are as follows for 6 mini pies:

For the base of the pie:
2 cups of Crushed Digestive biscuits or graham crackers
1/2 stick unsalted butter

The filling:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Topping:

4  bananas
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup grated chocolate
1/2 cup grated banana chip

Step 1:
Crush the digestive biscuits in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin. Transfer the crushed biscuits into a bowl and add the melted unsalted butter.

Mix the two together then spoon in the mixture into you mini pie or serving bowl. Using the spoon compact the mixture to create a base.

Step 2:
In a saucepan heat up the condensed milk with the brown sugar and butter. Continuously stir the mixture until it thickens and begins to look like caramel. Then set it aside for it to cool down slightly. Spoon in the caramel mixture onto the base. Pop the mini pies into the fridge for 15 minutes.

Step 3:

In the meantime, whip the cream into soft peaks. Slice up the bananas and arrange them on top of the caramel. Pipe the whipped cream on top and finally sprinkle on the topping.

Keep the pie in the fridge until your ready to serve,


You will see that, your guest will drool and compliment this pie to no end. It is the perfect ending to a lovely meal.

Vegan Recipe: Giant Doughnut Cake

Let me start with saying banana's are the best fruit to use for yummy desserts. I have made many desserts with this fruit and it has always impressed my family, friends and guests.

This is a very simple and easy recipe that is great to make if you are a first time baker. So here it goes.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Grease your bundt cake pan with oil 
(Tip 1: use oil instead of butter to make this banana bread moist)

In a bowl, mix together the following dry ingredients

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix well and set aside

In a different bowl mash together 4 ripe full size bananas with a fork.
(Tip 2: Ripeness of the banana will dictate the level of sweetness of your bread)

Now mix in the wet ingredients as follows:

Egg substitute: Flaxseed mixture
(use 3 tablespoon flaxseed meal in 9 tablespoon water microwave and mix)

1/2 cup agave light 

1 table spoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup water

whisk your wet ingredients with the mashed banana. Slowly add your dry ingredients and mix. Stir gently. 
(Tip 3: The more you stir the tougher the bread will become. So control the urge to do that and be very gentle)

Add in 1/2 cup pecans, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup cranberries
Mix and transfer into your greased bundt pan. Smooth it out and bake for 55 mins. 
(Tip 4: The last 10 minutes you will want to cover your bundt pan with foil to ensure the inside of the bread is cooked)

Remove it from the oven and let it rest. Once you take it out onto the rack you will see you have a giant doughnut banana bread which yo can decorate as you wish.

On mine, I used powdered sugar mixed with water and drizzled on top with some crushed banana chip flakes.


Enjoy this delicious moist giant banana bread doughnut :)

I made 2 bundt banana bread and stacked them for the picnic with a large group of friends. Plenty for all.

Needless to say, it was loved and enjoyed by vegans, vegetarians and non-vegetarians all the same.

Definitely, try this recipe and let me know how it turned out for you all.