Strawberry Lassi (Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie)

by Trisha Vaz
One really popular drink especially during the hot summers in India is a Lassi. A lassi is nothing but fresh yogurt sweetened to your liking and top with a dollop of cream. I like mine without the cream. Its refreshing and healthy. Restaurants here serve two varieties a sweet and a salty lassi. I’ve never tried the salty variant, I don’t think I’d like it.

Summer seems to have found its ways here a little to early. Its as hot as it would typically be during the peak of summer in the month of May. I can only imagine what May will be like. What better way to cope with the crazy heat than a delicious, cool, fruity lassi. Surprisingly the only fruity yogurt we can find here is processed and honestly, doesn’t even taste like yogurt anymore. I’d picked up a whole bunch of strawberries on our last trip to Panchgani and decided to add a few to the lassi. The result was delicious, refreshing and as REAL as real food gets without any funny stuff (read preservatives etc.) added to it and its so simple to make. I used fresh strawberries since they were in season but I’m pretty sure frozen berries will do just fine as well. You can opt to use a sweetener of your choice or if you prefer you can leave it out altogether.

Strawberry Lassi
(Serves 2)

1 tub natural unflavored yogurt (We get it in 400g tubs)
A few fresh stawberries (I used about 8-10 strawberries)
2 spoons superfine sugar (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blitz till is well incorporated.

Serve.

This recipe is linked to –
This Week’s Cravings
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Indulgence – Series Summer Coolers

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Beverages, Breakfast, Recipes

Crunchy Bombay Duck Fillets

by Trisha Vaz
UPDATE: Just wanted to let you guys know that Bombay Ducks are actually a type of fish and not meat. They are called Bombil in Hindi and Marathi. You can get more information here.

As a child, I hated fish, or so they thought. My mum and nana would try everything they could think of to try and get me to eat fish. Of course, I wasn’t a stubborn child except where eating fish was concerned so they had their work cut out for them. Eventually they realized that the reason I wouldn’t eat fish was that I was okay with eating fish but what I actually hated having to debone the cooked fish before eating. Ironically I didn’t mind eating fried sardines and fried karli (silver barfish), the boniest of the varieties available here, go figure! So my loving grandma would patiently sit and debone the fish on my plate, which I would very willingly eat up. Oh, the memories.

Anyway, moving on to the current day scenario, I love fish. And one of my current day favorites are crunchy (fresh) bombay duck fillets. The best part is, my husband, Ashley, is a genius at filleting these guys. Lucky me!!! Nothing could be simpler that making this dish. You really should try this. I want you to enjoy something this delicious. This is not so much a recipe, but simple pointers to making the fillets. Please adjust flavors to your liking

Crunchy Bombay Duck Fillets


Bombay ducks, cleaned and filleted
Turmeric powder
Red chilly powder
Salt, to taste
Lime juice to taste
Apple cider vinegar, to taste
Besan (chickpea flour)
Bread crumbs, to coat
Oil, for frying

Wash the fish and pat dry. Lay the fillets out flat on a plate.

Sprinkle the salt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, lime juice and apple cider vinegar over the fish. Gently, turn over to make sure that both sides are seasoned. Its hard to give you quantities for the spices, since everyone has different preferences. I make sure that there is a little sprinkling of the spices on all the fish on both sides. Handle lightly as this is a delicate fish.

Sprinkle some chickpea flour over the fish on both sides till lightly coated. You can add a few drops of water to help you with this. The chickpea flour will help the fish stay together so please don’t omit it. Since this is a delicate fish, leaving it out will result in the fish breaking up while you try to move it around in the pan. You don’t want a thick layer or a chickpea batter coat, just a light sprinkling to bind it.

Keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan.

Dredge the fillets in breadcrumbs to coat them well. This will give you a crunchy fillet.

Shallow fry on a medium flame. Do not move the fish around in the pan, till a crust has formed on the bottom. Moving it to early will break the fish up. Once the bottom side has formed a nice brown crust, turn over and cook on the other side till done.

Serve hot.

This recipe has been linked to –
Delectable Tuesday
Whats Cooking Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Fun with Food Friday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Mains, Recipes, Seafood, Sides

Salads at the Barbecue Party #3 – Cole Slaw

by Trisha Vaz
This is a simple side dish that you can throw together in a very short time if you have a food processor. If not, it takes a few minutes more, but I think its well worth the effort. I hand chop the veggies, and its really not that bad. I love a good slaw. You can serve it as a salad, stick it between 2 slices of bread for a simple sandwich or use it as an add on in a burger.

This is not so much a recipe as a few ingredients thrown together, so feel free to adjust the quantities to suit your liking, or whatever you have available in the fridge. 🙂 
Since I was making this for the barbecue party, I jazzed it up by adding some pine nuts. Feel free to leave it out or switch it for pumkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts etc.
Cole Slaw

Cabbage, finely sliced
Carrot, julienned 
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt, to taste
Crushed pepper, to taste
Pine nuts (optional)
Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl. 
Check  for seasoning and adjust if needed. 
Thats how simple it is. Enjoy!!!

This post is linked to –
Rook No.17
Hearth and Soul
Made by you Mondays
Tuesdays at the Table
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Tuesdays Tasty Tidbits

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Recipes, Salads

How to make your own Mayonnaise

by Trisha Vaz
A lot of sources tell you that making mayonnaise at home can be a very daunting process. And so many of us, not wanting to waste precious time and ingredients simply buy the stuff that comes in a jar from the store. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t condone the store bought stuff. As a matter of fact, we always bought ours from the store till a few years ago, when my husband and I decided to try making some at home one weekend. What brought this one, you ask? Well, honestly, till date, we haven’t been able to figure that out but I’m really glad that we tried it out. The outcome – we never bought mayo from a store again.

Its a very simple process, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If we can do it, so can you. I did a little bit of reading before we tried it out and a lot of sources tell you to keep a 1:1 ratio. ie. 1 egg to 1 cup oil. Thats the basic. I suggest you tweak the flavor to your liking.

We made a double batch of this mayonnaise for the barbecue party and used it for both, the cole slaw and the cucumber salad. Both recipes to follow.


Homemade Mayonnaise
1 egg
1 cup oil
1 tsp. mustard
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
A few drops of lime juice or vinegar

Put the egg, mustard, a pinch of salt and a little sugar into a blender.

Blitz for a few seconds to get it started.

Keeping the blender running, carefully and slowly add the oil in a stream through the top of the jar (the opening through which you can add liquids). Make sure that you add the oil slowly.

Once it starts thickening, stop the blender, taste adjust seasoning, add the lime juice or vinegar and blitz again for a couple of seconds.

NOTE: If you find that after thickening, the mayo looks like it has sort of split, don’t worry. This simply means you’ve added a little too much oil. Simply add another egg to it and blitz again. You may need a little more oil but add gradually only till it thickens.

While the 1:1 ratio works most of the time, its success also depends on the size of the egg. So start of with about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of oil. If you’ve reached the desired consistency, you can stop adding the oil. If you need more of it, feel free to do so.

Transfer to a clean and dry glass jar and refrigerate. I use this in salads, sandwiches, and other dressings as well.

I hope you try making your own mayonnaise at home.If you do, I’d love to hear how it worked for you.

This recipe is linked to –
Not Baaad
Meatless Mondays
Mouthwatering Mondays
Just Another Meatless Monday
My Meatless Mondays

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Condiments, Pickles & Spice Mixes, Recipes

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

by Trisha Vaz
This post is a relatively exciting one for me. In my part of the world, some baking ingredients, tools and bakeware that many of you find in every possible store around you, is practically impossible to find. So whenever I go shopping, I keep my eyes peeled for something I’ve not seen before. Imagine my joy a few days ago when I was on one such grocery shopping trip and I spotted a bundt pan, a silicon one. I wasn’t going to be fussy about how it was not the likes of a typical Nordicware pan, so I quickly grabbed one. Yay! my very first bundt pan. I had recently seen a post on a cream cheese pound cake and I knew that was what I was going to bake in this one. Now shocking as it may sound to many of you, I must admit I’ve never baked a pound cake before. I can’t figure out why. So yes, for me it was another first, my very first pound cake. I also baked some burger buns that day. Yeasted bread, another first for me – I will post about that later. Getting back to the cake, I was a little concerned at first, when I found there was no baking powder listed in the ingredients for this cake. I crossed my fingers and followed the recipe closely. I ended up with one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever tasted. It was moist and light and tasted heavenly. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
Preheat the oven to 165ºC.
Cream the butter and cream cheese till it is silky.
Add the sugar and beat well till fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
Add the vanilla and beat well. At this point you may want to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix well.
Add the flour and gently fold it in until it is just incorporated. Do not beat the flour.
Bake at 165ºC for an hour. (The original recipe said 1 hour and 20 minutes but mine was done in a hour.)
 
 
This recipe is linked to –
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
Sweets for a Saturday
Remembrance Cakes for 9-11

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Recipes

Bombay Street Food Special #2 – Bhajiyas (Vegetable Fritters)

by Trisha Vaz
UPDATE: Edited to add a video recipe using the same great recipe.

For the second edition of the Bombay Street Food Special, I’ve chosen Bhajiyas. These are nothing but vegetable fritters. My mum used to make this for us as an after school snack and we always enjoyed it piping hot with some spicy tomato sauce. Today I’m going to share with you not one, but two, yes two types of bhajiyas and based on these, there’s a whole range of vegetables you can use to increase the variety. Have this with a piping hot cup of tea, there’s nothing better than this on a rainy day.

This one’s for all the potato lovers out there.

Aloo Bhajiyas (Potato Fritters)


2 potatoes, peeled and sliced and kept aside in salted water (Take some water in a bowl, drop in about 1/2 tsp. salt and stir.) till you’re ready to fry.
Oil, for deep frying


For the batter – 
1/2 cup besan (chickpea flour)
Salt, to taste
A pinch of turmeric powder
A pinch or two of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp. ajwain (carom seeds)
Water

Mix all the dry ingredients together and gradually add the water, a little bit at a time, till you get it to a dripping batter. It shouldn’t be too thin, it should coat the back of a spoon. (If its too thick, add a little water, if its too runny, add some more besan). Ensure you are left with a lump free batter.

Heat oil for deep frying.

When the oil is hot, pick up the potato slices from the salted water and drain off any excess water, dip well in batter till its coated and carefully drop it into the oil.

Fry on both sides till it gets a nice golden brown on a medium flame. Drain on some kitchen paper.

Serve hot with some spicy tomato ketchup.

If you have any excess batter, you can either slice up some more potatoes and make some more of these delicious fritters or you can use it for the next kind of fritters. You’ll see how in just a bit.

In the same manner, you can make fritters using cauliflower florets or spinach leaves (dip whole spinach leaves into the batter) instead of the potatoes and the same batter.

Kanda Bhajiyas (Spicy Onion Fritters)


2 onions, sliced
1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 cup besan (chickpea flour)
Salt, to taste
A pinch of turmeric powder
A pinch or two of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp. ajwain (carom seeds)
Water 
Oil, for deep frying
Mix all the ingredients except the water in a bowl. 
Add water a little at a time to form a medium consistency batter. It shouldn’t be too thick or too thin. 
Heat the oil. Carefully, using a spoon, place spoonfuls of the batter into the oil. Leave to cook, untouched for a few seconds. Then turn them around to ensure even cooking on all sides using a medium flame. 
Once they’ve turned a nice brown, drain on some kitchen paper. Serve hot.
Make sure you don’t burn them, or you’ll be left with bitter-ish fritters.
Serve hot with some tomato ketchup.
You can also add some grated lauki (bottle gourd) to the mix and make some lauki bhajiyas. If using grated lauki or bottle gourd, peel and grate it in advance. Sprinkle some salt and keep aside for about half an hour. Squeeze out all the water from the grated vegetable and add it to the mix.
So there you go, using these two methods, you can make atleast five different types of fritters, using a variety of vegetables.
Go on then, give it a try and tell me what you think of it!
These recipes have been linked to – 

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Recipes, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan

Bean and Spinach Bake

by Trisha Vaz
This is a baked dish that I really enjoy. I’ve been making it for about 4 years now, though I don’t make it very often. I’ll bet you’re wondering why. Let me start by telling you that this is one tasty concoction, however, my husband isn’t fond of baked beans. He isn’t a very picky eater and he’s had to sample some of my not so good creations as well, and I must say he does that without complaining. But his opinion of whatever I make means the world to me. And to make up for it, I try and keep his not so favorite stuff to a minimum. So if I’m having folks over for dinner or I’m cooking a bunch of other stuff as well, thats when I sneak this one in. This is a recipe from Nita Mehta’s Continental Cooking for the Indian Kitchen.  

 
 
Bean and Spinach Bake
Serves 8
 
200 gms mushrooms, sliced
100 gms baby corn, cut into 1/4″ thick round slices
3 tbsp. butter
4-5 cups spinach leaves, finely chopped
1 cup tinned baked bins
1/2 tsp. red chilli flakes
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. bread crumbs
50 gms mozzarella cheese
For the sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. cornflour (Sometimes, I use all purpose flour and it works just fine)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3-4 flakes garlic, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Crushed black peppercorns, to taste
In a pan, add 1 tbsp. butter and cook the spinach till all the water dries out.
Stir fry for a couple of minutes, till it appears fried.
Add bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. The bread crumbs prevent the spinach from turning runny.
Transfer to a shallow baking dish.
Layer the baked beans over it.
In the same pan used to cook the spinach, heat 2 tbsp. butter.
Add the mushrooms and baby corn and sauté for 5-7 minutes till it starts getting brown spots. 
 
Add red chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
 
Arrange this over the baked beans.
 
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in the same pan used to cook the veggies and cook stirring till it thickens and begins coating the back of the spoon. 
 
Pour the sauce over the baby corn and mushrooms. 
 
Grate cheese on top. 
 
Bake at 200ºC for 15 minutes.




This recipe is linked to – 
Tasty Tuesdays
Tasty Tuesday
What’s on the Menu Wednesday 
Real Food Wednesday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Mains, Recipes, Vegetarian

Salads at the Barbecue Party #2 – Simple Tuna Salad

by Trisha Vaz
Here’s another easy peasy salad that can be thrown together in minutes. You don’t even need to make a dressing. But I must say this is delicious tossed in some mayonnaise. Since I was looking for fresh sides to go with all the meat at the barbecue party, I skipped the mayonnaise. Its also healthier without the mayo and equally tasty. But don’t take my word for it. Try it out yourself and let me know what twist you put on it. What I love about these kind of salads is their versatility. Sometimes, I also add olives, lettuce, cucumber, pickles and some bell peppers to the salad. Really, you can add whatever you’d like in your salad and leave out whatever you don’t fancy. 



Simple Tuna Salad


1 small can of tuna flakes
3 large onions, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Sour lime juice, to taste

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl.

Check for salt and sourness and adjust accordingly. It’s always better to start with a small amount of salt and lime juice. You can always add more after tasting, but if it’s too salty or too sour,  there’s not much you can do, except add more veggies and fish to the bowl.

Also, most canned tuna is also salted. So taste the salad before you add any salt to it.

Have fun!

This recipe is linked to –
Hearth and Soul
Made By You Monday
Tuesdays at the Table
Tuesday’s Tasty Tidbits
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Recipes, Salads

Aloo Parathas – Whole Wheat Flatbread with a savory potato stuffing

by Trisha Vaz
There are many variants of the paratha that are made across the country. All sorts of veggies can be used for the stuffing. I hope to share some of the others with you soon. Today, I’m going to share with you one of our absolute favorites. This takes a little time and effort so I usually make these parathas when my husband has the day off and we don’t have to rush anywhere early in the day. A lot of folks serve this with plain curds and a spicy pickle. Personally, we find curds a little too tart for breakfast and pickle isn’t really our breakfast thingie. We like to have it plain and with a dollop of butter on top. Ooh yummy! The thought of it makes my mouth water. The recipe is very simple. I do hope you give it a try. Let me know what you think of it.

Aloo Parathas


For the dough – 
3 cups wholewheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Water

Mix the flour and the salt well.

Bind with a little water at a time to form a soft pliable dough. The dough should not be sticky.

If you find the dough sticky, add some more whole wheat flour. If the dough is too dry and difficult to knead, add a little water.

Knead well, roll into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and keep aside while you make the filling.

For the filling – 
3 potatoes, boiled
1-2 onions, finely chopped
1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 tsp. amchur (dry mango) powder (optional)
Salt, to taste (Make sure the mix is sufficiently salted)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Adjust seasoning, if needed.

Shape into balls about the size of a ping pong ball and keep aside.

To assemble – 
Shape the dough into balls a little bigger than the ones made for the filling.

Roll the dough into 4″ disc on a lightly floured surface, making sure it doesn’t stick to the work area. Don’t flip the dough over while rolling.

Place the disc in the palm of your add, add a few drops of clarified butter / ghee on the side facing you and spread it out on the disc.

Place a ball of the filling in the centre and bring the sides of the dough together and press to seal the edges. Roll between your palms to form a ball again, without pressing. (The layer of dough around the filling shouldn’t be too thin or else the filling will come out and burn while roasting).

Roll this out to a disc on a floured surface. Don’t roll too thin.

Place this on a well heated tawa / griddle and roast for a while moving it around till light brown spots appear on one side. Turn over and cook on the other side till light brown spots appear on the other side as well.

To finish off, spoon a few drops of clarified butter on the paratha and spread. Flip over and repeat this on  the other side letting it roast for a few seconds after you add the clarified butter to the side.

Serve hot with butter and a mug of hot coffee.

You can leave out the clarified butter if you want an even healthier version, but it does wonders for the taste.

If you have any dough or filling left over, simply refrigerate and use the next day.

You can also make a plain paratha by simply rolling out the dough, spreading with ghee, wrap, re-roll and roast it without the filling. This can be served with your favorite jam or cheese or scrambled eggs or an omelette or anything else you’d fancy.

This recipe is linked to –
Meatless Mondays @ Midnight Maniac
Mouthwatering Mondays @ A Southern Fairytale
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
What’s Cooking Wednesday
Just Another Meatless Monday
My Meatless Monday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Bread, Breakfast, Recipes

Vanilla Custard In Guava Cups

by Trisha Vaz
This is a fairly simple dessert that my mum used to surprise us with every once in a while. I still have fond memories of coming home to be greeted to some of this. As a child, I think this was one of my favorite desserts. It is so simple to make, yet tastes divine. I used some Brown & Polson Vanilla Custard, but I’ve always wanted to try making my own custard. I’ll probably do that the next time I make this. I can’t believe I haven’t made this on my own before. This dessert is served refrigerated, so its lovely for the summer months when you need to take an edge off the heat. I consider this one a healthy dessert and I’m sure you’ll agree once you’ve taken a look at the list of ingredients.

Vanilla Custard in Guava Cups


For the Vanilla Custard –
1/2 litre milk
2 tbps custard powder
3-4 tbsp. sugar, superfine or to taste

Mix the custard powder and the sugar with the cold milk.

Place on a medium flame, stirring continuously till it has thickened.

Cool and refrigerate.

For the Guava Cups – 
3 guavas, ripe but firm and not bruised (Use as many guavas as you would need to serve the number of people for the meal. You can serve half a guava to a person.)
1 1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
5 cloves

Wash and cut the guavas in half. Cut off the brown parts near where the stem would’ve been.

In a large vessel, place the guavas cut side up.

Pour enough water to reach a little over the top of the guavas and add the sugar.

Bring to a boil and continue cooking till the seed portion of the guavas start popping out of the flesh.

At this point, you can pick out the guavas using a slotted spoon, cool the stewing liquid and place the guavas back in it and refrigerate till you’re ready to serve.

I picked out the guavas and let the sugar syrup continue boiling till it had thickened a little.

The stewed guavas are delicious even by themselves.

For Assembly – 
When you’re ready to serve, scoop out the guava seeds and discard. Place the guava on the serving plate/bowl.

Spoon out the chilled custard into the guava cup. I always like a little extra custard for me.

Enjoy!

This recipe is linked to –
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
Fun with Food Fridays
Sweets for a Saturday

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Dessert, Goan Recipes, Recipes