Cranberry Spice Chutney....

Well a recipe to share,Finger licking chutney is something I always enjoy with my meals.Some food tastes are always haunting when we grow old and that is, the food on which we grow right from our childhood.The smells from our grandmothers kitchen is always associated with the memories of childhood and togetherness.In Indian food there is a lot that is peripheral but those accompaniments are integral to each course.Chutney is a word of Indian origin derived from sanskrit catni meaning 'to lick'.I would love to share a recipe of one which I tried and licked till the end.

4 cups of Fresh Cranberries
1 cup of Water
2 cups of Sugar
2 Cinnamon Sticks
6 whole Cloves
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tart apples,peeled,cored and diced
2 Red Bosc pears,peeled,cored and diced
1 small yellow onion diced
1 cup golden Raisins
1/2 cup hazelnuts toasted,skins removed and finely chopped
1/2 cup crystallized ginger,diced(1 teaspoon of dried ground ginger)

In a deep 6 quart saucepan,bring cranberries,water,sugar,cinnamon sticks, cloves and salt to a boil over medium heat.Stir frequently for about ten minutes until cranberries start to make a popping sound.this means their hard exterior is breaking down and softening.

Once cranberries begin to pop,reduce heat to simmer.Add diced apples,pears,onions and raisins and continue stirring frequently until mixture thickens(another 10-15 minutes).

Remove from heat.Stir in chopped hazelnuts and crystallized ginger.Cool to room temperature.Remove Cinnamon sticks and cloves before serving at room temperature and cool.

Cover tightly and store in refrigerator for two weeks.
Makes 12-14 servings.

Cute kids decor!!!

My daughters Kindergarten started and I am one mother looking for stuff around.Throwing in colors and organizing spaces is something I enjoy and it is a good way of keeping positivity around.There are some fun ideas which are easily available and workable to go with.

1)The idea is to hang our kids stuff in organized and fun way.Using a wall Organizer and hook imparts a character to the room.

2)We can use wall hooks for hanging their bags and caps.I use them to hang their purse and helmets.

3)A string of butterflies and flowers with clothespin is wonderful to use with pictures,cards and crafts.

4)I like to pin schedules and calendars on cork board.Newsletters and weekly notes go there.

5)We can try using colorful photo frames to frame their art forms from school.

Preserve kids creativity and motivate them by displaying their art forms to cherish the times in years to come.Play with colors and let the house speak of you!

Trip to New Orleans....Music capital of America

The Mississippi river

Live music in the air and cool breeze of Mississippi river takes you into old world charm.This city of Louisiana state boasts of Cajun food,Jazz music and arts on street.Our weekend trip planned on a short notice turned great with little one having her own time and picking the best from the city of NewOrleans.
A drive of five and half hours from Houston takes you to French quarters,Gumbo,Jambalaya and blackened catfish.
We being mix of vegetarians and non vegetarians got our own choices and trip turned to be exploring a new territory.
I tend to do brief home work before touching new soil and that took me to a breakfast place 'Cafe du monde'.Taking a street car and a day pass saves your day and hitting the 'arch' of Mississipi' is on our books.On the cafe a serving of coffee with famous 'beignets'(fried pastry coated with powdered sugar) starts your day.

Pedal car(ricksha of India)

Beautiful art by french artist

On to the Canal street and then to the French market is more an evening thing which makes you see anything creative all along,an artist posing long hours as a statue and artist singing their own creations all long the street takes you to the time when the city was a colony and still maintains its charms.The beautiful arts of local and international people is on display all through your walk.You can enjoy the sight of pedal cars,bicycles,scooters and all modes of transport which are not available elsewhere.

The 'gumbo'

Be open to try the 'Gumbo' which is available in chicken,shrimp and veggie broth.The 'Po boy' sandwich is another local recipe.Tasting Gumbo made me realize that soup must be the first food discovered all over the world with lentils,veggies and rice going in one pot and different staples in various proportions available must have landed different recipes.My toddler loved sipping it and I was one happy mother.

Tabasco shopping

We tried our hands on great 'Tabasco sauce' tasting outlets where you can try your hands on different chili sauces and come out with burning mouths and a

Audobon insectarium

memory of your choice of bottle to take home.'Peccan pralines' are another foodie goodie to come back home.
Going to a river side and not touching the waters is something I couldn't avoid so a ferry from Canal point touching Algiers point is a must.The ferry costs nothing and takes you around to give you a skyline of the city.
I would suggest to do go to the 'Audobon Insectarium' right in the downtown next to Shop on The Canals.It great fun to go and enjoy the world of butterflies and insects with your little ones.

Mutton Biryani!

The dish I always wanted to put my hands on but never felt confident of getting my fingers soaked.The idea of bringing out the original flavors and laying the right aroma on the table stopped me,then trying out my beginners luck on Fathers day gave me the recipe for lifetime.I have locked the process and I am ready for sharing it to all.This recipe gives you nice aromatic mouthful taste with right amount of spices,one can add Chili or more masala according to ones taste.
We start with Good quality of Basmati rice,I chose 'Indiagate' brand and soaked it for few hours.The essentials for pantry are all good quality whole spices(Cardamom black and green,Cinnamon sticks,Cloves,Whole black pepper,Bay leaves,Shahi cumin).Lets start with the recipe and the ingredients:
1)2 cups of Basmati rice

2)Red onion thinly sliced for deep frying
3)Ginger and Garlic paste for marinading mutton- four tablespoon
4)Star ingredient Mutton 1 kg
5)1cup Curd for marinading the mutton
6)Tomato pulp of two medium red Tomatoes
7)Fresh green coriander
8)Cooking oil for frying and and
9)Shan biryani masala(pakistani brand to look for)
10)Leaves of Mint for fragrance
11)Kesar/Saffron sprigs for soaking in milk
12)Diced almonds and raisins for garnish
13)Salt to taste

We start with lots of patience and time with deep frying our sliced onions in high flame oil.It should turn golden and little crisp as thats the perfect texture for it.Keep the fried onions aside.Next we start with frying our ginger garlic paste in oil with all whole spices mentioned,try keeping the amount balanced as no overpowering of one thing in there.Like four of each works for me(cloves,pepper cardamom etc)I would remind of marinading the mutton before hand with curd and rest of ginger garlic paste,salt so that its ready for sautéing.
We start with frying onions and tomatoes in the ginger garlic paste being already frying and then adding biryani masala to it.Two tablespoon of masala is good for the flavor.We expect the oil to separate and give us nice red masala consistency with bhuna(roasted)mutton.
We would boil the rice side by side and then keep it 3/4 done and strain it.Next comes the layering of rice and masala,with adding alternatively each and one after other in a baking dish where our recipe would go next level.Add lots of coriander and mint leaves.We add our deep fried onion too at this time on the top layer.Pour our Kesar(saffron) soaked milk all over the dish.Finally dress our dish with dry fruits and cover the baking dish with foil.
We will keep it in oven for half an hour at 275F Let the rice gets permeated with flavors and cooked to the desired quality and remain warm before serving.

The discovery of shan masala was a added bonus as it imparts all professional goodness to the recipe!
I would suggest eat the Biryani with raita and poppadums and keep writing back for reviews....

Pickle by chance!!

We shopped for groceries and ended up buying lots of vegetables.The idea of nutrition keeps ticking and we think of inducing all fresh food in our meals each time.This time cauliflower florets were too many to manage and I thought of pickling it with carrots and turnip,a pickle which I had at a punjabi house hold.This recipe is quick,tasteful and brings lots of fun on table.I would suggest having it with parantha(indian bread) and rice too.The whole prep takes few minutes and two days to mature for putting your fingers in.

yumm!

I would suggest to have the list of items before starting and then we are on:
1)Vinegar
2)Jaggery
3)Mustard seeds crushed
4)Red chili powder
5)Turmeric powder
6)Salt to taste
7)Ginger and Garlic paste
8)Florets of cauliflower
9)Diced carrots
10)Diced turnips
11)Green chillies if you like
12)Mustard oil to temper.(2 table spoon)


First step is to soak the jaggery(100g) in a bowl of vinegar for long so that it is dissolved in it completely.This is about one kg of pickle so all your veggies are cleaned,diced and blanched or else microwaved for seasoning.
For seasoning mix the turmeric(one teaspoon),red chili(acc to taste)and crushed mustard seeds(two table spoon) and salt in one bowl.Sprinkle all this mix of spices on blanched veggies.
We heat the oil and cool it add ginger garlic paste to let it brown and pour over the veggies and give a gentle mix.
Last we add the vinegar flavored with jaggery and stir for few minutes for uniform flavors.

The pickle is ready in two days for putting are hands in and enjoying with anything and everything.