Tulsi- Ginger Tea: The warm blend of aromatic tulsi and spicy ginger

Allow the heat of strong ginger accented with Tulsi’s transformative energy in a cup to banish dull, damp - cold days………………

Ingredients:

1. 8-10 leaves of tulsi (Indian basil)
2. 4-5 gm ginger
3. 2 tsp honey

Method:

• Add Tulsi leaves and grated ginger in boiling water
• Simmer it for few minutes
• Sieve it and pour it in tea cups
• Add honey while stirring
• Serve hot but in summers you can have it chilled.

Note: if you want to add milk, it goes perfectly with it.

Ginger Tea

Winters have almost arrived and brought along with them common cold and sour throat……………….so I thought of sharing few recipes of herbal teas that my parents have been making for us since our childhood

Ginger Tea

Ingredients:

1. 4-5gm ginger
2. 1 lemon
3. 2tsp honey

Method:

• Grate the ginger and put it in boiled water
• Cover the lid and keep it boiling for 8-10 minutes
• Pour the sieved tea in the tea cup
• Squeeze a lemon over it
• Add honey while stirring
• Enjoy the hot and spicy ginger tea and get rid of the cold

Mint Tea

Mint Tea

Ingredients:

1. Half cup Mint leaves 
2. 3-4 grounded black pepper (you can get the best taste only if they are freshly grounded) 
3. ½ tsp grounded Fennel seeds (saunf) 
4. 4-5 gm ginger 
5. One lemon 
6. 4 tea bags 
7. 4 tsp honey 

Method:

• Add mint leaves, fennel seeds, black pepper, grated ginger and tea bags in boiling water 
• Simmer it for few minutes 
• Sieve it and pour it in tea cups 
• Squeeze lemon over it 
• Add honey while stirring 
• Serve hot, in summers you can have it chilled also 

Note: If you want to add milk in the tea don’t add lemon.

NAVRATRI SPECIAL

Crispy, Crunchy Potato Chips in microwave 




Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 potato peeled and sliced thinly 
• Rock salt to taste 

Method:

1. Coat a large microwave-safe plate lightly with oil or cooking spray. Arrange potato slices in a single layer on the dish.

2. Cook in the microwave for 2 to 4 minutes. Turn the slices over and continue microwaving until they start to crisp and brown around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes more. (Times will vary depending on potato thickness and microwave power) Transfer the chips to another plate. Repeat process with the remaining potato slices.

3. Sprinkle rock salt on it while serving

They will surely amaze you with their crispiness.


Crispy Phoolmakhana (Puffed Eurayle Ferox)




Ingredients:

• 35g Phoolmakhana 
• Rock salt 
• Black pepper 
• 2 tsp Desi ghee (clarified butter) 

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a pan add makhane (puffed eurayle ferox ) and Fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. 
2. Sprinkle the pinch of rock salt and black pepper, the hot and crisp makhanas are ready to serve with hot cup of tea……. 

Roasted Pea Nuts




Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw peanut 
• 1tbs ghee/oil 
• Rock salt 
• Black pepper 
• Finely chopped green chilly and coriander leaves for garnishing 

Method: 

1. Roast the raw peanuts in a dry and hot pan, stirring continuously on medium heat till they stop spluttering and changes to dark red in color. Add oil with continuous stirring till the rich aroma of peanuts fills the air. 
2. Sprinkle the pinch of rock salt and black pepper, the hot roasted peanuts are ready to be garnished with a finely chopped green chilies and coriander leaves. 

Tip:

•  All the above three preparations can be mixed together, and can be seasoned with oregano, mint chutney, tamarind chutney or lemon juice for their own unique tangy flavors.

Crispy Sabudana Vada

Ingredients

· 3 medium potatoes

· 1/3 cup sabudana( tapioca)

· Rock salt according to taste(Senda namak)

· 2 finely chopped green chili

· finely chopped hara dhania (coriander leaves)

· Oil to fry

Method

1. Wash the tapioca and soak it in 3 cups of water for 3 to 4 hours.

2. Drain the water

3. Par-boil the potatoes, so they are only half-cooked.

4. peel and grate potatoes

5. Mix all the ingredients together, and make the dough

6. Divide the potato dough into 16 parts.

7. Make vadas by using lightly oiled palms

8. Fry the vadas in hot oil until they turn golden brown

9. Remove the vada and place over a paper towel so the excess oil is absorbed.

10. Serve them with coriander or tamarind chutney.

Tip

- Refrigerate the vadas for 8-10 minutes before frying them as they will absorb less oil

-To check if the oil is ready, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. The dough should rise to the surface, and not change its color immediately.

- The frying oil needs to be sufficiently hot, or else the Vadas will turn out greasy and may break into pieces while cooking.

Sabudana  Khichdi

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sabudana (tapioca)
• 2 Green Chillies chopped  finely 
• 1/2 cup roasted and crushed to powder groundnuts 
• 1 boiled , peeled and diced potato 
• 2 tsp Oil
• 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds 
• 1 Pinch Hing (asafoetida) 
• 1/2tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste 
• Few Coriander leaves
• Few Curry Leaves
• 1tsp Lemon juice 

Method:

1. Gently wash the sabudana under running water, and soak it in about 1/2 cup of water for 6 to 8 hours and then drain off the excess water if any.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. (You can test by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away then oil is ready)
3. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds, after seeds crackle  add green chilies, Curry Leaves, Hing and  turmeric powder .
4. Add diced potatoes, stir for a few seconds.
5. Add the drained sabudana and powdered groundnut mix well and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Add salt and stir fry on medium heat continuously for about 6 to 7 minutes until sabudana becomes translucence, looks like pearls. Stir gently and making sure sabudana doesn’t get sticky and stuck to each other.
7. Add groundnuts, lemon juice and Coriander leaves (hara dhania), stir gently.
8. Serve hot garnished with chopped fresh coriander leaves, ENJOY! 

Jhattpat Sabudana khichdi in microwave

You can have the sabudana khichdi in a microwave , the nngredients are same as explained above , after the aloo tadka i.e step 4 , mix the tadka with sabudana and groundnut powder. Keep in microwave for 4-5 mnts at medium high, stirring after every minute. When the waxy looking sago turns translucent, the khichdi is done. Add coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Serve hot garnished with chopped fresh coriander leaves, the jhattpat sabudana khichdi , a perfect snack to go with tea during fast ………..

Optional : you can garnish it with freshly grated coconut .

NAVRATRI SPECIAL

                

Festivals in India are incomplete without delicious food, and Navratri is no exception. Navratri is a nine day long festival, which is celebrated through out India. Therefore, a variety of dishes are made and served during this festival. The Indian cuisines are famous for their wide variety. Special Navratri cuisine is a part of the multitude of culinary delights of the country. Since, in most of the communities, people observe fast during Navratri and eat only one meal a day at sunset, the Navratri meal has special courses and is strictly vegetarian. Even onion and garlic are not allowed.

Specific ingredients and vegetables are used for preparing delicious recipes on Navratri. The choice of vegetables may vary from region to region. Spices are restricted to red chilies, turmeric and cumin seeds and only rock salt can be used. However, one can eat milk, curd, fruits and nuts. In our related section, we have given some of the recipes that you can try during Navratri. Great care has been taken to ensure that the ingredients being specified here are in consistency with the allowed spices for the fasts. Yet, as this also varies from region to region, special care should be taken from your side as well.