Sista! Look I Cook Keralas For You!!!

My sista from Lagos calls me to ask for a recipe of Karelas (melon bitter). I promised to send her one by posting it on my blog. How else should I share? It is difficult to explain it on the phone. Posting and sharing a recipe through my blog is the easiest way. Moreover, I am always hunting for content to post on my blog; when any member of my family asks me for a recipe, I am always happy to share. So, here we are, with one more recipe, this time on bitter melons or Karela as we know it.

In the recent times, I have learnt to develop a taste for this vegetable and am actually enjoying its’ bitterness. Moreover, this bitterness is not too strong because most of it is replaced by saltiness. But it has great medicinal value, besides cleaning the system; it also plays an important role in reducing the diabetes. Not sure if this works but I have seen people drinking the cups of karela juice early in the mornings during their walks at Carter road.

I like the cooked vegetable or simply deep-fried too.

This is the method I use.

I chop the ends off, slit it length wise and put 2tbsps of salt and keep it overnight. Next day, I wash it in two changes of water, squeeze it dry and deep fry.

The deep fried bitter melons can be cooked in different ways. I have cooked in onion masala.

Step one

In a pan add oil, 2chopped onions, 1tsp crushed garlic, 1inch grated ginger and 2chopped chilies.

 Step two

Place the fried bitter melons on it

Step three

Add 2chopped tomatoes

Step four

Add the dry masala like 1tsp of turmeric powder, 1tsp red chili powder, 2tsps of coriander powder, 1tsp of cumin powder and salt. Add 1/2cup water. Cook it on medium heat till onions are light brown.

Step five

When onion begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, mix it well. Add coriander leaves and slit green chilies

Step six

Cover the pan and let it cook for 5 minutes or till the oil separates.

Serve it with hot roasted chapattis.

The deep fried bitter melons do not get spoilt if you leave it in the fridge for several days. In fact, the flavor improves with age.

I like to eat the fried bitter melons with khichree or plain roti.

Also fusion roti turns out great.

I stir fried bakchoi and chives and added little salt.

I had made pesto some days back by mixing in the blender: 50gms of cheese, 50gms of mixed dry-fruit (almonds, walnuts and cashew nuts) 6green chilies, 1small bunch of basil leaves, 2tbsp of lime juice, and 2tbsp of olive oil.

I used this pesto for my fusion roti.

Take a hot roasted roti.

Layer it with pesto

Arrange the stir-fried bakchoi and chives

Arrange fried bitter melons

Roll it

The combination of saltiness of bitter melons, the sweetness of greens and spicy pesto was quite good . It tasted yummicious.

Try it

image source: Dr. Health Press

Also the Dr. Health Press suggests this lovely drink…

Dunkin’ Donuts Comes To My Town

I am having spongy, melt-in-mouth chocolate donut, stuffed with dripping hazelnut cream; dusted with Dunkin’s special sugar and I am immediately transported to another world. When was the last time I tasted this delicious bite? I think it was in Europe.. oh yum!! I am so glad that now I don’t have to travel abroad to get the taste I like, it is now in my home town, so close to my house, that I can feast as often as I want.

Yes, Dunkin’ Donuts is on my mind and it has opened its doors at Linking Road (actually two restaurants on the same day-10^th May2014). It is the world’s leading baked goods and coffee chain hub where young adults can relax and munch on delicious ‘wicked’ wraps and sandwiches, or get ‘whipped, cut up, baked, and be so imperfect” for the brief time when they stretch their minds at their donut outlets.

Speaking at the grand opening, Mr Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant Foodworks Limited said, 

“We are encouraged by the appreciation Dunkin’ donuts has received from consumers right from the time we opened our first restaurant in Delhi. This opening of our restaurant in Mumbai marks the beginning of this exciting journey for us. We are confident that with the differentiated, all day part food and beverage menu that we offer, consumers in Mumbai will love Dunkin’ Donut”

Dunkin’ donut does not only boast about its big variety of donuts that range from classic to shell to ring donuts, it also has sandwiches, burgers and wraps too.

I tasted the ‘tough guy Burger’ that had spicy and succulent meat patty in the bed of salad and coated with creamy mustard sauce. I was happy with the rich taste of the sauces that is perfect for Indian taste. Most of the restaurants have food that is initially very good but it loses its luster after some time but Mr. Dev Amritesh, the President & COO, cleared my doubts by saying that their products have always tasted the same at all their outlets.

I just loved the wraps. Wrapped in Multigrain tortilla, they were just plain wicked. The crunchiness of nachos, the sweet tang of raw mangoes, the spicy jalapenos and chipotle sauce..It was superb!!

And then came the great Stirr’accino, the one of its kind, a unique brand. One cup with two coffees- Espresso shot of dark roast Arabic beans for strong coffee experience and original blend of light roast Arabic beans for mellow fruity flavor. I didn’t need sugar, the sweetness was just right for me.

Okay, my tummy was protesting.. “STOP” it grumbled… but still I went for ‘Spiked Iced Tea’….

The tea is actually brewed with fragrant sweet spices. It was very refreshing. It was a good experience and I am sure I will be spending many more evenings at Dunkin’ Donuts for sure!!!

You and Me and Cuppa Tea

I have seen Prasik hill many times from a distance, on my way to my SBP Special School at CBD but never really ventured that far. Yesterday, my friend suggested we go up the winding path to admire the view from the top. It’s a beautiful drive up the narrow snaky lane with a panoramic view of the city below, a beautiful temple, some interesting villas and now an artistic tea store called You, Me & Cuppa Tea.

I was utterly besotted by the entrance itself. Cluster of umbrella, Warli painting on the walls, large jute curtains, and teacup designs everywhere. The ambience was good. The mood was set perfectly to relax on wooden tables.

It is a large place suitable to socialize during ladies tea party, or high-octane social events, or even have small lit-groups and there are smaller cozy rooms with floor furniture for private gathering to write, compose and bring ideas to life.

Everything revolves around tea, not the cutting chai, mind you; the Rs5 cuppa chai that you get at every Mumbai street, Nah! This is a place for tea ceremonies. This is the place where you can experience a wide range of assorted tea of around 170 varied flavors that are fruity, minty, peach, chocolate, citric etc. and different types of tea like oolong, blooming, rooibos, herbal infusion, green, black, mate, etc. of different seasons like winter, fall. It’s a place where there are different pots for brewing different types of tea, in different shapes of cups/mugs and different bites of snacks with every sip.

We left the choice of selecting the tea for us to teaologists, who knew how to brew a special blended tea for us to have a different experience.

He brought blooming bud and inserted in the transparent pot containing warm water. It was fascinating to watch the bud open in the glass teapot and bloom into pretty colored flowers as the bud seeped in.

This is called artisan or flowering teas. They were hand tied by tea artists and include some flavor of fruits and jasmine along with a beautiful design.

The saffron tea was served in tiny glasses that contained almond scrapings. The flavors were very refreshing

We had cookies and cakes with tea, but on their menu card there were some interesting sandwiches and pizzas, maybe next time when I am more hungry

 “TEA LOVERS SOCIETY” Now that is what makes this place so interesting! A community where like minded people and Tea Lovers from different walks of life share experiences, Art, Culture and Business, this is one of the prime objectives behind the conceptualization of "You Me & Cuppa Tea".

Rating ; good

Ambience; good

Bathrooms: unclean, needs improvements

Address:

Everest Housing Society

Parsik Hill, sector 26,27

CBD, Belapur.

Navi Mumbai