A memorable lunch in Rochester

Enjoyed a delicious meal all put together on our table at the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant in Rochester, with my children. It was amazing to see how wine, cheese, herbs and a few other ingredients put in a fondue maker, on a hot top on our table got converted into mouth watering and finger licking good fondue. We savored it with different types of bread pieces & exotic vegetables.

We followed it up with the highly recommended chocolate fondue which again was a delight to watch while it was being made in a couple of minutes. The fondue had two distinct types of chocolate, dark and milk which was relished with an assortment of exotic fruits, cakes and cookies.

The whole experience of watching the fondue being made with nothing precooked from the kitchen was fascinating. The afternoon was made special by the warm and efficient service and interesting conversation with the restaurant owner. A must try if you find a Melting Pot in your city in the US.

 

Innovation in Indian Food in London

Looking for interesting breakfast options for kids on holidays and weekends?

Daliya or broken wheat is a healthy, nutritious and high fibre  food that's good for both young and old. Try this quick recipe for a yummy breakfast/snack.

Ingredients:

1 cup daliya

2  -3 tbsps  pure ghee

4-6 cardamoms , de seeded and lightly crushed

3 tbsps Jaggery powder ( add extra to taste if needed)

8-10 almonds sliced fined ( optional)

Procedure:

Heat ghee in a thick kadhai or pan . Add daliya, lower flame and sauté for a couple of minutes till you get a nice aroma. Now add 2 1/2 cups of boiling water and crushed cardamoms and allow to cook on medium flame for a couple of minutes. When the water is almost dry and you see holes in the daliya, add the jaggery powder, cover pan with lid and cook on low flame for about 5  minutes .turning around the daliya once or twice. When it is nice and  steaming, put off flame and serve hot garnished with almonds.

Weekend Breakfast : Rice Chila !!

It's weekend and everything goes finally at our sweet slow pace! While we yearn to stay in bed for a couple of more minutes, kids and family demand for something new and lip smacking for breakfast.
So here's what you can serve them without compromising on the much need beauty sleep!

Rice Chila

Ingredients

• 1 small bowl of rice flour
• 1 tbsn suji
• 1 tspn ginger chopped  
• 1-2 chillies chopped
• few corriander leaves finely chopped
• 1/2 tspn shahi jeera
• salt to taste 
• 1-2 lemon juice optional

Method

Mix all the ingredients in the rice flour and add water to dosa batter consistency. Keep it aside for 15 -20 mins. If the batter soaks all water then add more water to maintain the desired consistency.

Take a dosa pan/tawa and grease it with little oil/ghee/butter. Spread 1 ladle full of batter on the pan and spread it out into a small round. Keep the thickness more than a dosa. Check if the side turns golden brown and flip it to let the other side turn golden. Keep the flame low throughout.

Serve it hot with ketchup/chutney/tomato sabji and win hearts of your family as you always do.

Left over Rice not a vice Anymore !!

A 10 minute transformation of left over white rice into a yummy pulav last night !!

Tadka:  mustard seeds, green chillis , ginger , curry leaves, veggies added , finely chopped onion sauted,
1 chopped tomato cooked with the onion and then small pieces of boiled potato added.
Spices : pinch of turmeric and red chilli powder. 1/2 tspn coriander powder, salt to taste

Add rice, Mix well, add a sprinkling of water and steam on low flame for a couple of minutes

Enjoy it hot,  garnished coriander with pickle and papad.

Shahi Tukda

With the extended weekend, one is always looking for new and interesting ideas to satisfy the taste buds. Here is one !

Shai tukda : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq4DFO0vwcU

How to Set Dahi

Chilled Dahi - A must have with every meal in summer. I am sure most of us enjoy a bowl of dahi or raita with every meal, specially in summer because of its cooling and healing benefits to our digestive system. Most of us end up buying packaged dahi, because we feel we will never get it right at home. Actually setting dahi in your own kitchen is one of the easiest things to do and gives you the flexibility to customize the taste to your palate.  I am sure when you see the attached video it will inspire you to make your own dahi and enjoy it immensely.

Here is the link to 'How to Set Dahi'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPeIzjfpFNM