Russian Salad

Salads form a very important part of our meal. They give us some variety and much needed fibre in our diet.

Some salads work as a side dish whereas some salads can be had as a complete meal . Russian salad is one such salad . The variety of fruits n veggies included in this salad makes it a complete balanced meal option.

Though the addition of mayonnaise makes it heavy n rich you can also substitute it with low fat eggless mayonnaise. Try this delicious salad for dinner after a heavy lunch.

Ingredients :


2 ......................potatoes
1/2 cup.............pineapple cubes
1/2 cup ............apples cubes
1/2 cup............fresh green peas
1/2 cup............corn
1/2 cup............french beans ( chopped )
1 bunch............lettuce ( salad leaves)
1 cup...............mayonnaise   ( See the eggless recipe here )
                                          ( see mayonnaise-with-eggs recipe here )     

Method :



Peel the skin of the potatoes and cut them into cubes.

Clean the pineapple and remove its skin and middle rind and chop it.

Remove the core of apples and make cubes , keep the skin of apples.

Shell out the peas and corn from the cob.

Remove the strings of french beans and chop them.

In a vessel boil water and add 1 tsp salt to it.

Boil potatoes, peas, corn and french beans separately till just cooked.

All the vegetables should retain their shape and should be crisp so don't overcook them.

Drain the water and chill the cooked vegetables along with the fruits.

While serving mix 1 cup mayonnaise in the cut salad.

Serve chilled on a bed of fresh lettuce leaves.

Apple Kiwi Smoothie

When the sweet juicy apples combine with the tangy sour Kiwi what you get is this  heavenly delicious smoothie . This smoothie instantly refreshes you and gives the packed energy required for starting your day.

So what are you waiting for ? Try out this simple yummy smoothie for breakfast . It will give you the much needed boost to deal with for the entire day.

By now you all must be aware that we , a group of blogger friends post Vegan entries on every first and last thursday . So I have made this smoothie as my today's entry for the Vegan Thursdays an event started by priya .

Ingredients :

2 ....................big juicy apples
1....................Kiwi
sugar if needed
water


Method :

Wash and cube the apples keeping the skin on.

Peel the Kiwi and cube it.

Now in a processor add both the fruits and make a smoothie.

You can add sugar if you want.

If the smoothie is too thick add water to dilute it.

Tadgole ani Shahale Icecream ( Ice Apples And Tender Coconut Icecream)

Icecreams and Summers are almost synonymous but still I couldnt make any other variety of icecream other than the below one. The reason being everyone in the family having cough and cold and so finally when all are back to normal decided to make this icecream as the summers in Mumbai are about to end .

The Ice apples and tender coconut give this icecream a very delicate flavour which was loved by all.
I also kept some chunky pieces of fruits in the icecream which tasted super yummy while eating .

Though unfortunately my icecream remained in the freezer for almost 3 to 4 days and so became rock hard. As I couldnt scoop it out I had to cut it and serve the slices.

Sending this to

kids-delight   at   nivedhanams 

 foodabulous-fest-celebrate-april at dailychoresrecorded

Only chilled or frozen desserts   at cooking-goodfood  

Ingredients :

6...................Tadgole (Iceapples)
2.................Shahale (Tender coconuts)
1 litre.............milk
3/4 cup..........sugar
1 cup...............fresh cream
5 tbsp............milk powder(Nestle)

Method :

Gently remove the skin of the ice apples ( If done carelessly you may lose the water inside which is very tasty and sweet)
Remove the malai from tender coconuts and also keep the water .
Cut two iceapples and half cup malai in small pieces and keep aside.
Grind the remaining iceapples and malai along with little coconut water.
Now reduce 1 litre milk to almost 1/2 litre on medium gas stirring occasionally and taking care not to burn.
Remove from fire.
When still hot mix the milk powder in little coconut water to make a thick mixture and add it to the milk.
Let this cool completely and then add the fresh cream and mix well.
Now add the cut pieces of iceapples and malai.
Pour this mixture in a rectangular aluminium container and keep it in freezer for 2 to 3 hours.
Take out the container and slightly mash the mixture with a fork and return the container to the freezer.
Repeat this one more time and then freeze it till done.
Serve plain or with any citrus fruit sauce.
I served it with blueberry sauce.

Blueberry Sauce :

2 tbsp...................dried blueberries (soaked in water for 2 hours)
2 tbsp...................sugar
1tsp.......................cornflour
2 tbsp...................water

Method : 

Mash the soaked blueberries.
Add 1 tbsp water and sugar and keep it on slow flame.
Dissolve cornflour in 1 tbsp water .
When the sugar in blueberry dissolves add the cornflour mixture and stir till the sauce is thick and shiny.

Ambe Sasam ( Mango Sasam )

In summer you start getting mangoes of different varieties and tastes. Though mangoes like Alphonso are popular world wide due to its taste , there are other lesser known varieties which are equally interesting and are relished by locals .

 Other than Kesar, Neelam, Totapuri and Dasheri there are also mangoes like Ishaaddt which are very famous in North Karnataka . I have seen my parents and in-laws dying to eat this variety as they feel that without eating Ishaaddt during the season they have not eaten real mangoes.

Then there is Payari which is used in making Aamras as it is very juicy.

 There is also a small variety of local mangoes called Ghota ( in Marathi or Konkani) which are used to make cooked varieties of mangoes or eaten just like that.

Today I have made this mango sasav with this Ghota variety .Hope you all like the recipe.



Ingredients :

6.................ripe mangoes (preferably small and juicy ones)
1 1/2 cups............grated fresh coconut
1 tbsp.................red chilly powder
1 tbsp................mustard seeds
2 to 3 tbsp..........jaggery
salt

For tempering 

1 tsp....................mustard seeds
1 sprig ...............curry leaves
2 /3..................broken pieces of red chillies
1/2 tsp..............asefoetida (hing)

Method :

Wash and peel the skin of the mangoes.
Mash them a bit so make them mushy and juicy.
Heat a small pan and add the mustard seeds without any oil.
After a while they will start spluttering and turning somewhat whitish in colour.
When the spluttering sound stops remove from the gas.
Add these seeds to coconut along with chilly powder and grind to a paste.
Mix this paste to the mashed mangoes , add jagerry and salt according to your taste.
Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in a small vessel.
When hot add mustard seeds, curry leaves, broken chillies and hing.
Add the tempering to the sasam.
Delicious and fingerlicking sasam is ready to be served.
Serve it with rotis or with plain rice and mango pickle.


Linking this Mango Delight to following events :

mango-delights at kausers-kitchen 

walk-through-memory-lane-april at nivedhanams

foodabulous-fest-celebrate-april at dailychoresrecorded 

Eggless Banana Oats Muffins

Bananas as you all know are very perishable and have to be consumed within 2 to 3 days of purchase. Since it is mango season I had some bananas in the kitchen which were out of demand and so decided to do somthing so that they get finished easily.
This easy and simple cake is nutririous and eggless. The addition of oats and wheat flour also makes it a healthier option for afternoon snack as well as for breakfast.
Instead of chocolate chips you can also add any other nuts or dry fruits of your choice.
After making the cake it vanished so fast that everyone regretted having only three bananas left
and wished I had made some more.

Ingredients :

3 ....................ripe bananas
1/2 cup ..............oats
1/2 cup ...........oats ( ground to powder)
1/2 cup.............wheat flour
3/4 cup ............sugar
1 1/2 cup................curds
1/3 cup ................vegetable oil
1 tsp................baking powder
1/2 tsp.............baking soda
1/2 tsp..............vanilla essence
2tbsp................chocolate chips

Method:

Till the oven is getting heated start with the following.
In a bowl add oats, ground oats, wheat flour, soyabean flour, and mix well.
In another bowl add 3 mashed ripe bananas, sugar, curds, vanilla essence and 1/3 cup
vegetable oil and mix well .
Keep aside for 1/2 an hour.
Preheat the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees celcius.
Now add the baking powder and soda and mix well to the banana curd mixture.
Also add the dry ingredients from the first bowl and gently fold everything taking care not to overmix .
Grease a cake or muffin tin and dust it with wheat flour and pour this mixture in it.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top .

Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 25 minutes in cake tin and 8 to 10 minutes in muffin tin.

Linking this to :


Tangymind - blog anniversary and giveaway

 know-your-dairy - yogurt  at seduceyourtastebuds

soul-food-show-give-away  

gain-popularity

vardhinis  event hosted at nivedhanams - bake-fest-18 

  kids-delight  at   cooks-hideout

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Banana Cream ( A healthy shake)

Bananas are known as common man's fruit. They are very tasty and easily digestable. Bananas are also one of the first solid foods given to a small baby.
This is a very tasty shake made from bananas . It can be made within minutes. I made it on Sankashti along with other fasting dishes. This is a very filling drink.

Ingredients :

4.....................ripe bananas
2 tbsp..............honey
1 to 2 ...................oranges
4 cups...............chilled milk
chocolate shavings for garnishing

Method :

Blend together bananas, honey and ornages.
Add chilled milk.
Make chocholate shavings by peeling the cadbury with a peeler.
Sprinkle the shavings on top of each glass and serve immediately.