RAMADAN KAREEM!!! MONTH OF BLESSINGS

A very happy and prosperous Ramadan Mubarak to all the muslims around the world!!!

Ramadan is the 9th month of Islamic calendar(also known as hijri calendar) and like other hijri months sighting of moon marks the beginning. We fast whole month, every day before sunrise till sunset. The food which we eat to start fasting is called seher and the food which we eat to break fast is called iftar. Besides 5 times prayer, another prayer called taraveeh is offered every night after isha prayers in which whole quran is recited. It comprises of 20 rikats and is offered daily from the night of ramadan moon sighting till the night before eid moon sighting.

I will be posting some seher and iftar recipes this month to celebrate Ramadan.


http://www.123greetings.com/events/ramadan/wishes/wishes18.html

AWARDS, AWARDS AND MORE AWARDS!!!

The rules are:

Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 7 blogsLet them know that they have received this Scrumptious award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.










Inspire you
Encourage You
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Any other reasons you can think of that make them Scrumptious!





I already did the tagging part here.

I have got some more awards this time from Shama of easy2cook...thank you very much Shama of remebering me and pasing me these lovely awards.

I am spreading the recognition which one blogger can give to other through these lovely awards to my following fantastic blogger friends,

Tulip of Amader Rasona

Divya Vikram of Dil Se

Priti of Indian khana

Bergamot of Cooking Escapades

Tea of Tea and cookies

Mansi of Twist to the taste

EGGLESS FAT FREE BANANA CAKE: TASTE AND CREATE

I made eggless fat free banana cake for taste and create event started by Nicole of for the love of food and hosted this month by min of The bad girl's kitchen. I was paired for the very first time with a fabulous blogger, who in the very short span of time has given the blog world the beautiful creations most of which are her original recipes. Yes, I am talking about Parita of Parita's world. I am very happy that the cake turned out great and my husband who is a picky eater liked the taste.

I did quite a few changes to the original recipe, following are the changes:

• used yogurt


• no vanilla essence


• no baking soda


• used pineapple juice

This recipe is definitely a keeper and next time I want to incorporate eggs in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2 OVER RIPEN BIG BANANAS

2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

2 TSP BAKING POWDER

3/4 CUP BROWN SUGAR

3/4 CUP YOGURT

1 TSP PINEAPPLE JUICE

STEPS OF PREPARATION

1.Preheat oven to 350 F, and grease a rectangular baking tin.

2.Blend together banana, brown sugar, pineapple juice and yogurt till smooth.

3.Sift together flour and baking powder and add 1 tbsp at a time and beat, till all become mixed properly.

4.Pour the batter in a greased baking tin and bake for 40-45 minutes.

5.Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or knife, if comes out clean then take it out of the oven.

6.Cool for 10 minutes and cut into slices.

MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP: COLD, COLD GO AWAY!!!

AAAAAAAAAACHHHUUUUUU.....SNIFF..SNIFF....itchy,red, watery eyes, runny nose, headache, fever......these are some classic signs and symptoms when one gets a pretty bad cold...I caught cold past week and it was getting worse and I was not able to do my daily chores, was afraid of kissing and hugging my li'l angel in fear that she would get it too, didnt want to treat it with antibiotics which I hate (although I am a pharmacist..hehehe) so what to do????

I wanted something hot and healthy at the same time to fight with the nasty cold.... So, I went over to my refrigerator in high hopes to find something suitable and once I looked at some wilting spring onions, few green beans, asparagus, I wanted to use all of them. My grey matter instantly gave me a hint...something hot and warm, something warm and hot....and there I was all set to make this lovely, warming, veggie soup.....

I threw any and all vegetables I had on hand, mixed with spices and oh yeah it came out amazingly superbbb!!!...A thumbs up from hubby who happen to like soups and my cold, it was gone,history... :)


Ok, no more ranting, I am unveiling the secret formula, go ahead,

A STEAMING HOT BOWL OF SOUP IS WAITING FOR U:):):)





This is going to be a part of an event "original recipe" by Lore of culinarty.

INGREDIENTS

1 ONION (SLICED)

1/2 CUP GREEN BEANS (WASHED AND CUT INTO PIECES)

1 ASPARAGUS

1 CARROT

1 TOMATO (SLICED)

HANDFUL OF SPRING ONIONS

1 EGG (WELL-BEATEN)

1/2 CUP GREEN BELL PEPPER (CUBED)

HANDFUL OF CILANTRO

1 TSP CUMIN SEEDS

2 CINNAMON STICKS

3 CLOVES GARLIC (GRATED)

1 INCH PIECE OF GINGER (GRATED)

SALT TO TASTE

1/2 TSP RED CHILLI POWDER

1/2 TSP CUMIN POWDER

1/2 TSP GARAM MASALA

5-6 BLACK PEPPERCORNS

1TBSP SOYA SAUCE

1-2 TBSP CORNFLOUR+ 1/2 CUP WATER

2 CUPS WATER

STEPS OF PREPARATION

1.Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot, add cumin seeds, black peppercorns and cinnamon sticks, once splutter add onion and saute till translucent and soft.

2.Add garlic, ginger, fry for a minute then add tomato, beans, carrot, asparagus, bell peppers, spring onion and saute for a few minute.

3.Add all spices, soya sauce, give it a quick stir and add water.

4.Once water is reduced a bit, veggies become soft and tender, add egg, stir, cover and cook on low heat till egg seems cooked, add cilantro.

5.Make a smooth paste of cornflour with 1/2 cup water and add to the soup, stirring frequently and it thickens the soup, adjust salt and consistency of soup to your liking and ENJOY!!!

DINNER CONQUERED: ACHARI MURGH (PICKLISH CHICKEN)

When I was looking at my archives today, I realized that I havent posted a non-veg dish this month and the month is coming to a close end...... so, I quickly glanced through my drafts and decided to post this tangy, spicy, hot chicken dish which I made few days ago.

I grew up having achar gosht which my mom used to make with mutton in masala out of shan achar gosht mix, and it tastes so damn good. After coming to US, I made achari chicken in the same way. But, as a foodie, I always wanted to get rid of packet-aided-curries and was looking for the recipe of achari chicken for a long time. I did come across few achari chicken recipes, but did not get the desired results, the outcome was not even close to the one achieved by using the shan one. But, I did not lose hope until one day I found the recipe in one of the forums...:)

The recipe calls for pickle (achar) masala which can be taken out from any Indian or Pakistani pickle and to add an Xtra zing add lemon juice to it and there you go....This dish is for those who love spice, the tomatoes-yogurt based gravy with hot jalapeno filled with pickle masalas what makes this dish everyone's favourite. An advantage is that next time you are enjoying this dish knowing what you are eating, free of additives,preservatives and food colours..

I do not know the name of the person who posted the recipe, but wanted to thank he/she for providing me with a great substitute for the readymade masala mix....Awesome recipe!!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 LB CHICKEN

2 MEDIUM ONION (FINELY SLICED)

3 TBSP PICKLE MASALA (I USED CHILLI PICKLE MASALA)

1 1/2 TSP CUMIN POWDER

1 TBSP RED CHILLI POWDER

SALT TO TASTE

2 TOMATOES

1 CUP YOGURT

2 TSP GINGER/GARLIC PASTE

GARAM MASALA POWDER

6 JALAPENO PEPPERS

1 TBSP LEMON JUICE

1/2 CUP MUSTARD OIL

STEPS OF PREPARATION

1.Heat oil in a pot, add onion and fry till brown.

2.Add ginger/garlic paste, finely chopped tomaoes, chicken and salt and fry till all water dries up.

3.Add red chilli powder, cumin powder in yogurt, give it a whisk to break the lumps and put it in the chicken and cook on medium- low heat.

4.Meanwhile slit jalapeno peppers, remove seeds and fill it with achaar masala (mixed with lemon juice).

4.When chicken is almost done, add filled peppers, remaining star of the show that is, achaar masala, fry it till oil separates.

5.Before serving sprinkle garam masala powder and serve hot with tandoori roti and ENJOY!!!!