This is time-consuming, if you choose to use fresh fenugreek or mint leaves, so plan ahead to make it on time. Maybe you can prepare the spice mixture one day and next day prepare the dough and dough balls. Or you can totally save time by replacing kasoori methi or dried fenugreek leaves or mint leaves instead of roasting the fresh leaves. Flatten and roast close to the serving time. I did all on one day as I have the luxury of time! The folding technique for this Paratha is like that of making pleats of a paper fan. If you are new to this technique, do not get intimidated, it is fairly easy to make them and I am sure you will find your easy way once you start trying.

Methi Lachha Paratha | Fenugreek Spiced Layered Flat-bread

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough:
1/2 cup tightly packed fresh chopped methi leaves
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 garlic clove grated
2 teaspoon melted ghee or butter
1 teaspoon salt or as per taste
Water as required (I had used close to a cup)

For the spice mix:
1/2 cup tightly packed fresh methi leaves (1 tablespoon kasoori methi)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
Prepare the dough: In a bowl, add whole wheat flour, methi leaves, garlic, salt and ghee. Use your hand to mix the flour while adding water little by little up to a cup (you may not require all of the water) and knead it well to form a smooth dough. Divide the dough into 8 to 10 equal balls and cover it with a cloth or lid. Let it rest for about 10 to 20 minutes

Contrary to what I thought, it was actually easy for me to stay away from the blog for almost a week! and surprisingly it has not affected my stats at all! Though I landed back here on wed morning, I took all day yesterday to catch up with fellow bloggers wonderful posts to just ensure I still have it in me :-) I see that smoothies and fruit juices are making appearance indicating winter is fading away... now is that a good news?

I am lazy to write up a detailed posts of a complicated dish.. so here is a simple easy dessert that can be had guilt free just to break the silence in the blog. Inspired from cheese cakes, I put together this dessert with whatever I had in my pantry on one of the weekends. I served as is to F and I was totally surprised when he relished the first bite.. and he asked me, "Did you click pictures of this?". I hadn't as it is not a special treat.. but he said it is so much like a cheese .... before he finished his sentence.. I grabbed the pan and clicked couple of pictures.. that is why you see a piece missing :-D

So, as the name suggests, the crust is made with biscuits and butter and filled with yoghurt that is flavoured with a choice of berry jam and some gelatin to make it firm. Chilled for 5 to 8 hours and you have a dessert ready! I have used salted biscuit called Taib that we get in KSA... I am not sure of other ME countries.. I have used Raspberry jam, you can use any of your choice.

No-Bake Berry Yoghurt with Salted Biscuits Crust

Back with dill leaves! :-) This time in a Vada!

Update 10th July 2017:

Made Aloo Amaranth leaves paratha when I got my hands on a bunch of Red amaranth leaves at Jeddah Lulu! 

Potato Fenugreek or Amaranth Leaves Stuffed Flat Bread | Aloo Methi Paratha

INGREDIENTS

For the dough
2 cups wheat flour
1 tablespoon oil or ghee
Approx. 1 cup of water
Salt

For the stuffing
4 to 6 medium potatoes; washed, boiled, peeled and mashed

1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 medium onions,  finely chopped
2 to 3 green chillies, finely chopped
up to 2 cups of fenugreek/methi leaves OR green or red amaranth leaves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon dry mango powder or chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
mashed potatoes
handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

For rolling
Flour to dust and roll

For roasting
Oil or ghee

METHOD:

Prepare the dough

1. In a wide bowl, mix the wheat flour, salt, oil and start kneading while adding water little by little. 
2. Knead for at least 10 minutes until you get a soft smooth dough. 
3. Divide the dough into 8 to 9 balls and cover it to prevent from drying. 

Prepare the stuffing: 

1. In a shallow pan or Kadai, heat very little oil or ghee and fry the coriander seeds until golden, 
2. Add the onions and green chillies. Saute them until onions become translucent. 
3. Now add the methi leaves or any greens and saute until wilted. 
4. Add in the spice powders and roast for a few minutes. 
5. Mix in the mashed potatoes and switch off. 
6. Once cooled, transfer the content into a bowl and use your hands to combine everything well. 
7. Mix in the fresh coriander leaves and keep aside. 

Assembling:

1. Take one ball and roll it into a round shape in the size of small poori - 3" diameter
2. Place 2 tablespoons or more of the prepared stuffing in the middle of the rolled dough
3. Use the spoon to spread it across leaving little space around the edge
4. Bring the edges together; pinch and twist the collected edges and press it down 
5. If you find air pocket, then use a fork to get rid of the air pockets 
6. Repeat this for rest of the dough balls, ensuring to keep the stuffed ones covered

My memories of Neypathal goes back to childhood summer holidays at Umama's (grandma) home. We cousins used to take turns to grind the rice on the Ammi Kalu (a flat stone with a rolling pin made of same stone) for any pathals (flat bread) or chutneys. Being kids, we had to stand over a low stool to reach the stone grinder and then move the rolling pin back and forth while simultaneously rolling the pin too while another cousin sprinkles water to the rice and another one waiting behind for her turn... It was an activity that I personally enjoyed and a reason I got into the good books of the elders :-P. I never once felt it as a labour instead enjoyed it so much that sometimes we fight if one of them stays longer on the stool.. :-P Of course it is always the girls who were fond of doing this activity. They still use the ammi kalu and these days every house has one at least as a show piece.

Now there are Pathals that are flat breads roasted on tawa with some ghee and then there are these Neypathals that are deep fried as the name suggests. It is made with coarsely ground long grain rice with some coconut, onion, fennel seeds etc. This is a common dish in every Muslim home especially in the Malabar region. In this recipe I have added rice flour only to make the dough workable as we are using electric appliances to grind the rice. This is served with chicken curry, mutton fry, beef masala and can be a breakfast or dinner.. I would't mind even for lunch as it is deep fried!


As I knew F never enjoyed pathals when he was served back home, I never had to make them here. I cook food that both enjoy, even if it means I don't get to eat my favourites. It is totally personal choice, as I hate to cook for one. And building up on the craving will make the journey to home a lot more fun isn't it?

Recently in some random conversation F said that he likes neypathals - it came as a total surprise to me as I got to know this after almost 2.5 years of marriage! I called my mom immediately for the recipe. This is my first attempt, and I have been wanting to try again before I blog about this.. but I couldn't wait any more. This being the 100th post, I wanted to share something that is connected to my roots and that is not widely known or made.

You sure do will miss the authentic taste as we use food processor, but it is better to keep the recipe alive than totally miss it. Even though I have used brown rice, dessicated coconut, basmati rice - all these scream "not authentic", yet this tasted so good and close to the usual ones. This is the best I could do to recreate the old recipe here in Yanbu.

Neypathal | Deep fried Rice Poori

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup white basmati rice or any long grain rice
1/2 cup brown basmati rice (can be replaced with the same long grain rice)
Enough water to soak both the rice
1 medium onion
1/2 cup dessicated coconut (or 3/4 cup fresh grated coconut)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 cup water
5 tablespoons rice flour (unroasted)
Salt to taste
Oil to fry



METHOD:

1. Wash, soak both white and brown rice together in enough water for at least 3 to 4 hours and then drain all the water from the soaked rice (you can transfer the rice into mesh colander to drain the water)
2. In a mixie, add the rice and grind coarsely for a few seconds and then add chunked onion, dessicated/fresh grated coconut, fennel seeds, garam masala, salt and grind again adding up to 1/2 cup of water - do not make it too fine. The final texture should be grainy.
3. Transfer the content into a bowl and then start adding unroasted rice flour one tablespoon at a time and mix well until you feel comfortable working with it. We are looking for a stage when it will stop being too sticky and be able to make patties. I used 5 tablespoon, it may be less or more depending on the rice quality. 
4. Test and adjust the salt and spices for the last time
5. Keep a freezer bag or any similar plastic sheet ready on the work area. Take a lemon sized dough and place it on a plastic sheet and cover it with another plastic sheet and flatten it using your palm or rolling pin. The thickness to be maintained is more than pooris or chapatis... 
6. Heat enough oil in a deep pan or kadai. Test the oil by dropping a tiny bit of the dough, if it sizzles up to the surface, then your oil is ready. Prefer to keep the flame at medium as the dough needs to get cooked. 
7. Remove the top sheet, and carefully release to your other hand and slide it into the hot oil. It will sink to the bottom of the kadai and will surface only after a few seconds. So wait until it surfaces and puffs up. Use a slotted spoon to flip carefully and fry other side too until evenly cooked. Drain and keep aside to drain excess oil if any. 
8. Serve hot with any non-veg curry. I served with boneless chicken curry. 

If you are new to this and you like rice, then you have to give this a try. Make sure to have it as soon as possible.. so prepare the curry ahead and start frying only close to the serving time. If you want to re-heat the leftovers next day, then best way is to steam it or microwave it with a glass of water inside to prevent from drying. I don't think there will be any leftovers with the above recipe :-)


I did the rolling and dropping in oil and F fried them, once done we began to eat.. and all of a sudden I realized I hadn't clicked a picture, so grabbed the left overs and took the above pictures... So again, I am not sure how many naypathals I made, but roughly it was 10 to 12 and we were left craving for more...

You guys! I have crossed 50 recipes on my this blog and this post happens to be the 99th! Woohooo! I am so glad I was able to make it this far, and have to thank all of you for encouraging me. So calls for a sweet note.. If you have made my Strawberry Coulis, then lets get to making this easy portion controlled cheese cake. If you have avoided cheese cakes because you dislike cheese, then I would strongly recommend to give it one chance and let that be the best! I too never was a cheese person, spread or cubes or slices... more of butter person. All thanks to F and his love for cheese in anything.. there is always enough stock of cheese which is not helping me :-(. But I being Manager, Controller, and Chef of my kitchen, try to cut him some slack whenever possible.. because I ain't cooking much on weekends :-)

So coming to cheese cakes, it is again fairly new to me because I was never a dessert lover but when you are married to a family who are all so sweet toothed it soon became a habit to end every meal with a sweet note. When I came to Yanbu, I always resorted to Betty Crocker's mix until I started serious cooking and saw plenty of cheese cake recipes all over the Internet with tips and tricks.

My spring-form pan was too big for two and so when I make a cheese cake in it, it turns out very thin which doesn't appeal to us.. we eat through our eyes and then the nose right? :-P I tried making cheese cake shots from scratch and it was received well but I was not too happy with it as it missed the fruity topping. So now that I have the strawberry coulis, it is going to be a complete cheese cake. :-P


The pie pan I have used here is of 6.5" diameter and 1.5" deep. I have no clue about sharing the measurements, I have used the inch tape to find this. But I hope this gives you an idea of the size I used. Else, you can just use two shot glasses and divide the contents into each with a strawberry slice on the rim.


Also, if you noticed, I do not mention the time taken for making a dish, because I never do from start to finish in one go. :-( However, making this cheese cake with strawberry coulis is jiffy.

No-Bake Strawberry Cheese Cake For Two

INGREDIENTS:

6 to 8 Chocolate Graham crackers OR Oreo, digestive, any biscuits of your choice
1 and 1/2 teaspoon sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter
6 cubes of cream cheese in room temperature
3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk
2 to 3 tablespoons of Strawberry coulis/sauce
Fresh strawberry to garnish - optional

METHOD:

1. Put graham crackers in a  zip-lock or plastic bag, and crush them with a rolling pin to fine crumbs.
2. Pour crumbs into a bowl and stir in sugar. 
3. Add butter and stir until well combined.
4. Press the crumb mixture into a pie plate/pan ensuring to to spread the mixture up to 1 inch up the side. Use a flat bottomed cup or back of the spoon to press the crust flat.
5. Chill this crust in freezer for at least 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a bowl, add the cream cheese cubes and with hand electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat it until smooth. 
7. Beat in the condensed milk until everything is combined into a smooth mixture
8. Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. 
9. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 3 to 4 hours
10. Before serving, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the prepared strawberry coulis
11. Dig into the cream cheese rich cheese cake and enjoy a romantic dessert

I realized that both F and I have an amazing appetite when I got to know my fellow blogger's portion of cooking for five. So I seriously have to cut down lot more and that is the reason I made this tiny pie pan no-bake cheese cake. You can use any biscuits for the crust, I saw a pack of graham crackers here in Yanbu (that is strange!) and so used that. But I think next time I will go for oreo or digestive biscuits. Also, it is very important that you bring the cream cheese cubes to room temperature before working on it. Even without the strawberry coulis, you can still make this cheese cake and just spread your choice of fruit jam.

Happy Weekend! I am still contemplating what to share as my 100th post!

I grew up only seeing strawberry flavoured gums and candies which I used to abhor! and I don't think we used to get berries in the market those days like we do now. I am talking about at least 20 years ago in India. And I had this aversion to anything pink which was the reason I avoided eating anything strawberry - silly isn't it? Only in my late 20s I saw an actual strawberry and  loved how pretty and bright they looked...until I popped one into my mouth and ewww.. it was so sour! I never gave them a second chance feeling confused why people were in so much love with it?

So, how did I come to like it? As newly wed, I was served strawberry mousse made with fresh berries by my co-sis-in-law. I was hesitant at first as it was pink but had it anyways and was totally surprised how good it tasted. Totally! Really!... I wondered how I missed out on this all these years! I became a fan of strawberry mousse. nothing else about it. :-)

Shift to Yanbu, I got to know F loves strawberries, but I was zero in dessert making. I learnt to make the egg-less mousse recipe that co-sis was happy to share. I made it so many times, that F got bored of it :-) (why doesn't that happen with eating as such :-P ) I then began to mix the berries with chocolates like I did with this chocolate strawberry cake or just devour the nutella dipped berries! yum! By now my perceptions have changed, there are sweet and sour strawberries and it all depends on how ripe it is. It still does hold on to the sour or tangy taste so the only way to relish the fresh berries are by adding sweetness to it.

Two years down the lane, I believe I have tried quiet a few desserts and cakes with strawberries and so wanted to do the mousse again just for old times sake. So chopped the strawberries, tossed them into the sauce pan with some sugar and let it cook while I was doing my dinner... the fruity berries aroma filled the kitchen and I was imagining a cheese cake with strawberry compote... immediately shifted the gear and off I went to check on how to make compote. I followed the idea from Food 52 article and did my first ever compote. Sorry mousse! am really sorry!


For newbies - compote is a fruit cooked in syrup and coulis is when the compote is cooked further and pureed.  As my strawberries were boiling away in sugar turned syrup, I added some lemon zests and waited for it to reach the thick sauce like texture with no lumps which was my personal preference. I did not want any lumps or runny sauce like the usual compote so blitzed it in the blender and transferred to a glass, clicked pictures, cling wrapped and stored in the fridge.

Now for some knowledge sharing do read this article by Serious Eats which will help you to differentiate jams, preserves, conserve, compote, etc. It helped me identify the sauce I made as Coulis which is a cousin of Compote.  :-)

To avoid wastage while trimming the strawberry top, use a straw to core out the top. I saw this video accidentally and have been doing that ever since.

Strawberry Coulis | Compote

INGREDIENTS:

12 large strawberries washed and trimmed
5 tablespoons sugar
zest of half a lemon

Yields: 1 cup of thick strawberry coulis

METHOD: 

Please note, no water is added in this recipe. 

1. Wash, pat dry and core out /trim the strawberries 
2. Chop each of them into chunks and toss into a sauce pan  along with sugar 
3. Set the saucepan on the stove-top on lowest flame and occasionally stir to prevent from getting the berries burnt
4. When the chunks have started to lose its shape and become more liquid form and in lemon zest and let it cook for couple of minutes
5. For making compote, you can stop at this stage and let it cool before packing. If you are like me, fan of Coulis, then let it cook further until thickens completely with fewer lumps  
6. Do a taste test and add more sweetner or zest and give a final stir before switching off 
7. Once cooled, blitz it if required and transfer into a air tight glass jar 
8. Refrigerate and use with a clean dry spoon as needed on ice creams, yoghurt, overnight oats, cheese cakes, bread, etc...

I never thought of posting dal fry recipe as it is something I make quite often and thought it is too simple for a blog post. But when I posted this picture, a school senior, and Facebook friend requested for the recipe, so here it is for her and for all my true readers.

Channa Dal or Split Bengal Gram is my favourite one because it is so versatile as it can go into sweet or savoury dish making delicious food. I have already posted a sweet coconut bengal gram parcels which are the most popular post here. Dal fry can be made with other dals like tuvar or split moong too. but I prefer to use channa dal.

Mom makes Dal fry mostly to pair with ghee rice just as a vegetarian option :-) and this is almost her version but with the addition of Kasoori methi at the end. Though I enjoy the yellow colored dals with minimum spices, F likes dal flavour packed or I guess it is the "Fry" word that entices him.


I like to soak my channa dal for some time as its quicker to get it cooked in pot or pressure cooker. I have used 2-litre prestige pressure cooker, so it may vary in each kind I suppose. So ensure not to over cook it as we need the dal in its shape and not totally mushy. While the dal is cooking, I chop the veggies - garlic, onion, tomatoes and ginger, and green chillies to save time. I prefer to add some salt when sauteing the onions as it helps to break it down faster without getting dried. Sometimes the tomatoes I get are too hard or not too ripe, I add a little water right after adding tomato to help it breakdown so the spice powders don't get burnt. The kasoori methi is a must as it takes the dal fry up a notch. Finally adding the fresh coriander leaves should be done right before you serve to keep its freshness throughout.

Channa Dal Fry

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup channa dal
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoons ghee or any cooking oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 garlic cloves crushed and chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes chopped
1-inch ginger grated
2 to 3 green chillies slit

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon dry mango powder OR lime juice
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon kasoori methi
Salt to taste
Handful chopped fresh coriander leaves

METHOD:

1. Soak the channa dal for at least 4 hours and then wash and drain the water 
2. Cook it in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water and turmeric powder for 3 whistles. You can choose to cook in a pot too. Switch off and do not open the cooker, let it cool on its own. 
3. In a deep pan or pot, heat ghee or oil and add cumin seeds to splutter 
4. Add the grated garlic and sauté until it starts browning 
5. Add the chopped  onions and a little salt and sauté until it starts browning - not burnt or not just translucent 
6. Add the chopped tomatoes, ginger and green chillies 
7. Sauté this mixture until the tomatoes break down and then add all the spice powders. Mix until everything comes together and you see oil getting separated or oozing from the sides of the mixture - if the tomatoes aren't the juicy type, you can add a few tablespoons of water after adding the spice powders 
8. Add the cooked dal with its water and mix everything together and let it boil 
9. Test the salt and adjust the spices as required
10. Mix in crushed kasoori methi 
11. Cover and simmer for couple of minutes 
12. Open and cook until it reaches your desired consistency 
13. Switch off and fold in the chopped coriander leaves 
14. Serve hot with any kind of Indian flatbread, pulao. or ghee rice

I did not want to delay this post any further.. so I will come around again to update the pictures.. inshaAllah.  (updated! )

Consider you just need about five items to pick up at the grocery store. It should be a jiffy shopping isn't it? and even more quicker if you know exactly where each item is. Wrong! You should be using the extra time to discover newer things that you never looked at. Like me. I take the time to scan through items in the imported sections, chocolate bar, snacks counter, etc. and also pick out of just being curious or get thrilled when I spot things that I saw on the internet. You come out of the store with the long bill! Fash tries new things, Fash is smart, Fash is also frugal, Be like Fash! hahaha Gosh! Did I just say that... blame it on the FB feed! :-D

Brussels Sprouts came with me to my kitchen in one such event. Brussels sprouts are like mini cabbage and so I knew I will use it in a salad. It took me almost a week to get to making it and I added all possible things I could get my hands on in my pantry. Got my inspiration from here and knew it was the perfect way I imagined to make when I first spotted these tiny cute little sprouts on that imported shelf.


Weekend cooking is still not my thing, but I some how put up lunch for Friday and I prepare breakfast for Saturday. Other times, it is leftovers, snacks, chocolates, or fruits, or tea. When I was chopping the brussels sprouts, F came to check what was being made for lunch. I said it is raw salad and he went  eeewwwww... My heart sunk as I had no other back up plan. Honestly, I make salads very rarely that it is almost never. The times I did make were mostly with fruits which he was happy to have.

I was just hoping the other stuffs that go into this salad will do the magic. It looked amazingly bright and fresh, so much that anyone sees it will take a grab but pleasing the taste-bud is the challenge. As he made it clear that he doesn't like raw green veggies, I added a lot more color to camouflage the rawness and it worked for me. :-)  I do believe that the sprouts is the star of the dish but what made it more appetizing are the cranberries, pomegranates, nuts and then the citrus punch by the orange juice and vinegar.

Sunshine Salad with Brussels Sprouts

Serves just two hungry people

INGREDIENTS:

Brussels sprouts (I added about 6)
Violet cabbage shreds - handful
Baby cucumber grated or chopped finely - 2
Dried cranberries - handful
Almonds toasted and crushed - 10
Pecans toasted and chopped - 10
Pomegranate arils - handful
Orange juiced and shredded - 1 orange
Vinegar - 2 tablespoon
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon
salt and pepper - to taste

METHOD:

1. Rinse, trim the ends and chop the brussles sprouts - add these into a bowl 
2. Similarly chop the baby cucumbers and cabbage leaves and toss into the bowl
3. Toast and chop the nuts and add them in the bowl along with Pomegranate arils and dried cranberries 
4. Cut an orange and squeeze the juice into the bowl and remove the carpels/segments off the rind and add them to the bowl 
5. Add vinegar, salt and pepper 
6. Toss all the contents well and drizzle olive oil 
7. Serve immediately 

This was our lunch and we ate from one bowl... romantic eh? :-)

Umma's Balaleet | Middle Eastern Breakfast Dish

INGREDIENTS: 

1. Boil the vermicelli as per packet instruction 
2. Drain the almost done (al dente) vermicelli in a colander and pour very cold water over it. This is to bring down the temperature and stop further cooking
3. On a low flame, in the same pot, add half quantity of butter, sugar, cardamom powder, rose water and quickly add the drained vermicelli and toss it to coat the mixture
4. Add the remaining butter, sugar, rose water, and cardamom powder 
5. Pour the saffron water and again toss the contents or use a spoon and gently mix
6. Cover the pot and let it sit on lowest flame for about 20 to 30 minutes. You can open once or twice and stir to prevent from getting burnt or sticking to the bottom of the pan 
7. Meanwhile, prepare your omelettes as per your taste
8. Switch off the pot and serve the balaleet on a plate and top it with an omelette

Lychees, litchi, liechee, or lichee is a tropical fruit which I got introduced to a few years ago while in Bangalore. I never bothered to buy them again because of the peeling task involved in it and not to mention that big fat seed residing inside just puts me off as after all the discarding.. you just have a few tiny pieces to actually eat.. with a full time job those days I resorted to cartons of Tropicana to satiate my lychee craves.