BACK TO BLOGGING!!

I am too glad to announce that I will be blogging again. I took a long break from blogging to complete my studies and now I am all set to continue this tasty journey of mine in culinary world.

ADDIOS US...HALO LAND OF QUEEN!!!

I have a news to share with all my blogger buddies and readers that we have moved from US to UK. My husband has taken a role at Aberdeen, UK. So, from now onwards I will be blogging from the land of Queen.

EID MUBARAK!!!

A very prosperous and blessed Eid to all Muslims around the world. In US we are observing Ed today.

• Eid-ul-fitr marks the beginning of new Islamic month and the end of a month long fast.
• An alm for Ramadan (2 kilograms of a basic foodstuff like wheat, barley, dates, raisins, or its cash equivalents) is mandatory on every Muslim who is able to pay. It is typically collected at the mosque. This is distributed to needy local Muslims prior to the start of the Eid prayer. It can be given at any time during the month of Ramadan and is often given early, so the recipient can use it for Eid purchases.
• This day Muslims wear new clothes and observe special eid prayers.
• Start the day with a short breakfast of dates as sunnah (as a sign of end of fast).
• People visit friends and relatives and greet each other by saying "Eid Mubarak to you".
• Children gets "Eidi"(in form of money) from their elders.
• Like any other festival, food is an important part, special sweets like sheer khurma is also associated with Eid.

SOFTY AND TASTY: PANEER PAKORA

Pakora or fritters can be turned into so much fun by adding so many different things and they are easy to make too. Onion, potato pakora (fritters) are the basic ones which every house in India and Pakistan enjoy once in a while specially in the rainy season, and they are a part of iftar too. I am always looking for new varieties or how to improve the old ones with some alterations. I had a packet of cottage cheese sitting in my fridge and I was in no mood of making any curry or tikka out of it, instead I wanted to try out something which I have not laid my hand onto and then something struck my mind, why not paneer pakora. I have seen many blogger friends posting about it but I wanted to do something else, but what??

I opened up my fridge and pantry and stared at the boxes and jars and packets of whatever laid in there and raced my mind, how to make my paneer pakoras different yet tasty?? Not getting any clue, I closed them and started making batter for pakoras, then came the turn of cheese to be cut down and now the picture was clear. I rushed to my fridge again and yahhoooo!! I had enough red chilli sauce and imli chutney in respective bottles to use. So I cut the paneer and sandwiched them having a mixture of both chutneys with chaat masala powder in between, wrapped in besan (gram flour batter) and fried . In no time these creamy softy were ready and not only my husband liked this new variety but also my daughter enjoyed it.

So here goes my version....

INGREDIENTS

BATTER OF GRAM FLOUR

1 PACKET COTTAGE CHEESE

RED CHILLI SAUCE

IMLI CHUTNEY

CHAAT MASALA POWDER TO TASTE

STEPS OF PREPARATION

1. Make the batter of gram flour (besan) as per directions from here.

2.Now cut the paneer(cottage cheese) into small chunks of 1/2 in thickness.

3.In a small bowl mix red chilli sauce, imli chutney (1:1 ratio or alter the ratio according to ur likings), add chaat masala powder and mix well.

4. Now take a plate and place half of them on it, apply the sauce you have just prepared and sandwich them with another piece, this way do all the pieces.

5.Roll them carefully in the batter and deep fry on medium heat till golden brown.

6.Serve hot with your favourite chutney or sauce.

***Lets continue celebrating last few days of Ramadan at Joy from fasting to feasting- season ii

IRRESISTIBLE: FRUIT CHAAT

Fruits come in mind as a powerhouse of energy, they are rich in vitamin, colourful and can not be resisted. Every age group can enjoy fruits. They can be consumed in any form, juices, shakes, smoothies, fruit salad, in custard, thus there are unlimited ways of having them. I sometimes wonder how many different types of fruits are bestowed upon us by nature, each having unique appearance and taste.


For iftar, I make sure that we tend to eat healthy, nutritious to make up for the entire day so that ample energy is retained in the system to get us going. Fruit chaat is one way to enjoy the many fruits, all spiced up, giving them a whole new height and us the opportunity to entertain our tastebuds in each and every spoon.

Any combination of fruit can be used. I too experiment with different combos and apart from banana and apple which are standard ones, and available throughout year and around the globe, other fruits accompany them pretty well. May it be peach, grapes, papaya, melon, pineapple, pomegranate, pear or kiwi fruit, each one imparts its characteristic taste and enhances the flavour.

Talking about kiwi, I heard a lot about this fruit, but never got a chance to have it in Pakistan so the very first time I had it was last year only and now when we shop for fruits, kiwi instantly finds its way in my grocery cart.

INGREDIENTS

1 BANANA

1 APPLE

3 STRAWBERRIES

1 PEACH

5-7 GRAPES (BLACK AND GREEN)

1 KIWI

1 TSP OR TO TASTE CHAAT MASALA

1/2 TSP BLACK PEPPER POWDER

1 TBSP LEMON JUICE

2 TSP SUGAR

STEPS OF PREPARATIONS

1.Wash and cut each fruit one by one in small chunks, cut grapes into halves and always cut apple and banana at the end because they tend to change colour quickly.

2.Now add chaat masala, sugar, lemon juice and black pepper powder, toss and mix so that everything coats the fruits well.

3.Keep it in fridge and serve chilled.

This fruit chaat is also going to be a part of 2 ongoing events:

• Joy from fasting to feasting
• AFAM: kiwi fruit by PJ of seduce your tastebuds, concept of Maheswari