Who doesn't love the crunchiness of tomatoes ,topped with flavor of fresh herbs....this dish combines both in a perfect way.
I tried my hands at this recipe yesterday and loved it so much that I had to blog it for you foodies. The original recipe is from Jamieoliver ,I added a few more fresh greens which were available in my kitchen.
Here's a simple and quick recipe for a yummy appetizer customized for Indian household.
Ingredients(makes 8 slices)
1. Bread slices...original recipe calls for loaf of French or Italian bread
2. 4-5 tomatoes
3. 4-5 tbsp. of olive oil
4. 2-3 cloves of garlic
5. Fresh basil(Basil belongs to the same biological family as Tulsi).U can use dried basil easily available in food market.
6. Fresh coriander leaves
7. Fresh mint leaves
8. Salt and black pepper
9. Vinegar
10. Small quantity of chopped onion
Procedure
1.Wash and cut the tomatoes in half. Remove the seeds and squeeze the juice a little bit. Chop the tomatoes.
2.Add crushed(or finely chopped) garlic ,chopped onions,olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to the tomatoes. Mix these in a bowl.
3.Add washed and chopped coriander ,mint and basil leaves to the above mix.
4. Keep this mix aside for 15 mins and let the flavors soak in the tomatoes.
5.Roast the bread in a toaster/oven or on a non stick tawa.
6.Add the topping to the roasted bread and serve.
This dish can be a perfect party snack/appetizer .For a kids party, just add cheese on the bread while roasting...they will love it.
2014 has been a great year...why...well there are so many reasons to that: First: Me and my husband (fondly called B&B by friends) moved to a new country ;Second: My nephew was born bringing so much joy to the family; Third I rediscovered/repicked my hobby of cross stitching.
I can write/talk so much about the first twos...but I have decided to dedicate this post to Cross stitch.
A little bit of back ground first...cross stitch(also called counted cross stitch) is a kind of embroidery done on special type of fabrics like aida, evenweave and linen.
My mom introduced me to cross stitch when I was 8 years old. It was her way of channelizing my energy into something creative during my two month long summer break.
I remember I always liked cross stitch over the embroideries which my mom taught me in the coming years.
Living in a small town ,the only cross stitch supplies I had access to were anchor threads and 14 count aida. So until I was 19 years old, all I stitched was table covers with simple borders :)
My aunt who is an immensely creative person gave me a book of cross stitch in 2000 and I started trying hands at bigger designs.
I will post pics of things I have stitched until 2014 soon...
Coming to the present...what do you when the temperature outside is 50 deg C ,you don't have a car to move around and the office ends at 3 pm .....well you cross stitch.
My UFO which I started in 2011 ,then picked up in Dec 2013, was calling me. I had all the time now and started stitching ...
I have also found this wonderful cross stitch group on facebook where I am able to learn enormously about the art of cross stitch .Since then I have made wonderful stitchy friends who have patiently answered my silly questions.
I can now say that I'm crazy about cross stitching now and wonder how I ever lived without cross stitching
Being brought up in Punjabi household means that a person ends up eating curd as many as three times a day....
Even the punjabi breakfast of stuffed parathas is incomplete without a bowl of fresh curd.
Raita (condiment made with yogurt/curd, served cold) is also an essential part of Indian meal. It is served with sabji (cooked veggies with spices), pulao, rice etc.
I remember during childhood ,whenever my mom cooked a sabji which I particularly didn't like, raita would act as my savior. I would eat my chappatis (indian flat bread) with a huge bowl of raita. My mom used to make 3-4 types of raita to offer variety .
As I grew up, eating raita/curd became a compulsion for me ;).I still look out for raita in a party or wedding buffet, imagine that!
This simple maharastrian recipe is for all curd/raita lovers....
Bhoplycha Bharit (Pumpkin raita)
Ingredients
1.Curd
2.Pumpkin
3.Salt to taste
For the seasoning
1.Mustard seeds(Rai)
2.Red whole chilly(one should be enough)
3.Turmeric powder(optional)
4.1 tsp cooking oil
Procedure
1.Wash,peel and cut the pumpkin in big cubes.
2.Boil the pumpkin in a pressure cooker.
3.Mash the boiled pumpkin, add curd to it.
4.Heat the oil in a pan ,add mustard seeds, red chilly,Turmeric powder and salt to it.
5.Add the seasoning to curd-pumpkin mixture and mix well.
6.Garnish with coriander leaves.
Enjoy the raita with any sabji. I enjoy it with steamed rice....
Tip: The original maharashtrian recipe has less of curd as compared to the usual raita ,add curd according to your liking.
It’s been a
long time, so much so that I have developed a new hobby in the time ;)
My new found
love is Cooking….I know many would say oh that’s every females passion.
I have
always loved exploring new food. I remember trying new dishes every time my dad
used to take us to the local restaurant in childhood. These local restaurants
served local delicacies ( of course) along with their own version of other
cuisine like Chinese …I know many would agree how they grew up goggling on Indo
Chinese chowmein (other name of noodles), fried rice and Manchurian.
As I
ventured out of my hometown to pursue my graduation, I got to eat foods
of Punjab, one of the Northern States of India (yes…the state which gave the World “Chicken Tikka Masala").It’s
amazing how same dish can be prepared in so many ways in India, you end up
having 3 to 4 versions of the same dish from different states.
I discovered
that I like cooking when I made an attempt to impress my husband (to-be
husband, then) by preparing a full course meal. I just loved the look on his
face and it’s the same look which inspires me to try new recipes even after 7
years of marriage.
Its 2014,
and I have spent substantial amount of time in 5 states of India, adding all
lot of local delicacies in my kitty.
Now let me
tell you how my passion for travel has helped me develop this hobby of cooking.
When you are travelling, being a vegetarian can become really painful, not only
outside India but even in many parts of India.
As part of
my preparations for travel, I usually search for vegetarian food options which
make my stay in the travel city very easy.
Me and my
girlfriends often discuss our travels and share tips on “must-eat” of every
famous destination. I just realized yesterday that I end up giving out at least
one veg. recipe each day to my friends over the phone. So the idea of jotting
these down in my blog clicked.
With
thousands of food blogs available on internet, I’ll try to be
different by writing recipes of simplest of the food which is cooked daily in
Indian household plus the non-Indian recipes I have tried over the years on
request of my gfs.
I love travelling.....exploring new places .....these are some pics taken during my travel to various parts of India.... and Im surprised how much beauty does mother earth has in her store...
Backwaters of Arabian Sea
Toughest of the metals end up like this when water, which covers 70% of our earth, bashes on any surface....
A flock of pelican enjoying themselves....
Marine Sanctuaries in Gujarat are rich in such beautiful corals
Sunset at Narara
View from one of the highest points of Mount Abu
Curious formations in rocks such as this can be found all over Mount Abu....courtesy wind
The famous Toad rock at Mount Abu
Reflections of sunrise
We captured these flamingos playing, on the way to Narara Marine Sanctuary
This is my first blog ever.....was written way back in 2009.
Sometimes u come across certain things in ur life that force u to take a pause and ponder how different life can be for different people.
I am writing this not because I experienced something breathtaking but its just that these small encounters/incidents make me feel that life can be led in a simple manner with satisfaction. Sounds heavy isn’t it!
I am jotting down my thoughts because of two reasons a) I feel I should share it with people so as to know what the world feels abt thisand b) I feel these memories must be treasured (These days I tend to forget things easily).
Simplicity & Devotion –That’s Indian Soldier
Since childhood I had always admired people who worked for nation’s security, I mean people serving in the forces. I am not sure I ever wanted to be one of them (may be my physical built was not so) but I always wished that my brother should opt for serving nation. Two of my uncles serve in the Indian Army. Once I got a chance to visit one of them .He was posted in Pithoragarh then. It’s a city in the peak of Himalayas with limited connectivity. While in Pithoragarh we commuted thru Army trucks. It was a grand feeling. My uncle was a holding a rank of captain when we visited him. Every morning a uniformed soldier would come to arrange his uniform i.e. belt, stars worn on the shoulder and polish his shoes. I can recollect how my uncle valued the stars. For an Indian soldier, his uniform is a thing of pride.
That was the only exposure I had had to life of a soldier until November 2007, when I got a chance to live in Army cantonment.
We had chosen Jaipur as first destination of our trip to Central India. While making prior arrangements for Jaipur visit, it clicked to me that why not I talk to my uncle for arranging accommodation (He had been recently posted in Jaipur).Frankly, this thought came in my mindto save money and time spent in making accommodation arrangements in a famous tourist destination like Jaipur.
The arrangements were made and when I got off the train, two soldiers in uniform were waiting for us. They greeted us and drove us to guest house in Cantonment area.
Everything was so clean and in place that I felt its better than many 3 stars hotels in India. We were informed that during our stay we will be accompanied by two soldiers and they will drive us wherever we tell them.
After freshening up, we had a look at the prepared list of places to visit in Jaipur. It was already , so we discussed with them what can we visit in the span of 2-4 hrs. Till then they were treating us as Sahibs and we had limited conversation.
While roaming around we initiated the talk putting forward queries about city, culture etc. They told us that its first time that they were driving for civilians .Usually they drive their Sahibs to their offices/home and don’t talk much. The two had different personality, one of them Mr.Rajendra was a man of few words, sincere, calm while the other who in his late twenties had recently joined Army, was talkative, quick.
I had obvious interest in knowing life of an Indian soldier. I started asking questions abt their job profile, daily routine etc.
It seemed to me a leisurely job with all most nothing to do the whole day and wars with enemies happening once in 10yrs.I was amazed in my own imaginations that Is this what an average Indian soldier does, attending to guests of Sahibs and roaming arnd with them for sight seeing.
Mr. Rajendra told us that as part of their fixed daily routine, they woke up at dawn to follow a schedule of rigorous exercise for 2 hrs. After that they get back to barracks to get ready for reporting at arnd It is very essential for a soldier to always be mentally and physically fit and prepared for an emergency situation. They can be called for duty to any part of India .Their families usually don’t live with them and they get to visit them once or twice a year. Indian soldier is an independent human being who is expected to perform tasks like cooking, washing clothes as well as fight on the border.
While on our way to Albert Hall, Mr. Rajendra asked his companion to stop the jeep at Sainik Sthal. It’s a memorial of many brave soldiers who laid down their lives while fighting for nation’s integrity and security. He saluted at the Jyoti and showed the memorials of his regiment “The Rajputana Rifles”. We could see the pride in his eyes while he narrated the valor of those courageous soldiers. It’s amazing how a soldier feels proud about deeds of his fellows whereas we civilians at time feel jealous about achievements of our colleagues. They salute their seniors not because it’s their duty but because they respect them.
Mr. Rajendra told us about Kargil war. He was one of the many soldiers who fought in this famous war of 1999.He narrated his experiences with calm which astonished me. He told us how every morning they would get ready for war not sure whether they would return to their base in the evening. He said when you have experienced death so close nothing else can disturb you. Thoughts like whether they would meet their family again always lingered in their mind but didn’t deter them from their duty. Where on earth do they get such courage from?
He told us that most of Indian soldiers (unranked) come from a farming background. Financial status of their family is always bad and working with Indian army ensures a fixed income and timely pension post retirement apart from benefits like CSD.
While we visited places like Amer fort, they waited (almost idle) for us for hours without frown. I think that is what they learn by being in Army. They can’t complain about situations. Imagine who would guard our borders if the soldiers start complaining abt the cold (negative temperatures experienced in Indo-China Border) and heat (Rajasthan’s scorching sun).
I couldn’t stop admiring these two men who enjoyed life as it comes and thanking them in my heart for protecting us from the enemy.
Our two day stay at Jaipur soon ended and we were so fond of Rajendra by that time that we decided that we will remain in contact with him. When we asked for his address and mobile number, he was surprised. I think that’s because there is lack of appreciation for these brave soldiers amongst us civilians.
We have exchanged photograph and telephonic calls with him after we came back from our trip. It’s been long though we talked with him. I sometimes visualize him standing at some border post with same calm and poise in far away region of India with a confidence that nothing can dissuade him from his duty.
P.S. Mr.Rajendra Bhamboo stands tall in this pic,taken at Nahargarh Fort,Jaipur.
Hi guys, Its my first day at blogging.I heard abt Blogs few years back but actually started following a few since last year.I liked the idea of sharing ur thoughts to the unknown . Im not a much of writer so i think my blog will be a reflection of all the random thoughts that cross my mind daily. Im hoping that this will be a gud experience and ill get to know interesting ppl .
Thats it ...for now Lemme gather some stuff and ideas to make my blog interesting.
