Refreshing lemon, mint, ginger, and cucumber infused water

Why You Should Try Infused Water?

Infused water, is blended with various fruits and herbs that have enormous health benefits, in addition to just keeping you hydrated. Infused water is not only aesthetically appealing but also allows you to naturally consume more vitamins and nutrients along with increasing your water consumption. Water helps to speed up your body’s metabolism, boost energy levels, prevent cramping, and has many other important benefits. People who normally doesn’t like drinking water and prefer a soda or juice over water now have a much healthy and tasty option.

There’s nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold glass of flavorful infused water with all the goodness of lemon, mint, ginger, and cucumber.

First, simply slice the ginger, cucumber, and lemon into thin slices, roughly chop the fresh mint leaves and put them in your infuser bottle or any jug or pitcher. Finally, fill it with fresh filtered water and store it in fridge for minimum 1 hour so that the flavors and nutrients can infuse in the water. Your infused water is ready to refresh you, flush out the toxins in your system and keep you hydrated.

There are dozens of tasty and healthy ways to flavor your water. Some popular combinations are;

• Strawberry and mint
• Mango and ginger
• Blueberry and lemon
• Lemon and lavender
• Orange and basil
• Orange and Ginger
• Cucumber and Mint
• Apple and Cinnamon
• Blackberry and Orange

 You can mix and match your favorite fruits and herbs. What is your favorite combination??

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Pink Perch or Rani fish fry - healthy and yummy

This Diwali, we went to our friend’s house to celebrate a green Diwali, no crackers or fireworks, only lights, diyas, good food, and lots and lots of adda… simple fun, food, and masti 😊

Dinner was simple rice and mutton gravy.... we had lots of starters, roasted peanut masala and grilled charcoal chicken. Of course, the kids had ice cream too 😊

Next day, lunch was even simpler, rice, dal, chicken liver curry, and Pink perch or Rani fish fry. It was really yumm…this was the first time we ate pink perch, and instantly fell in love with it. I had seen this fish a lot of time in fish shop, but I was not sure about the taste, so never tried it. Thanks to Remya for introducing us to this fish and thanks to her wonderful cooking.

Pink Perch or Rani is a common freshwater fish in India. It is high in protein and low on mercury, moderate in terms of Omega 3 supply. You can definitely have Rani fish at least twice to thrice a week. If you are on a weight loss journey this can be a good companion as it is a very lean fish with less fat.

Ingredients:

• 6 medium-sized pink perch or rani fish, cleaned and sliced on both sides
• Oil as needed to fry, you can shallow fry in non-stick pan (I air fried, so I needed only 2 tbsp oil just to brush them on both sides)

For marination

• 2 tbsp onion paste
• 2 tbsp ginger, garlic, and green chili paste
• 2 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Black pepper powder 1 tbsp
• Salt as per taste

Method

• Marinade the fishes with all the ingredients and keep aside for minimum of 1 hour, I left them overnight in fridge
• Next day, before lunch I air-fried them. You can shallow fry them in a non-stick pan or deep fry them in a heavy bottom pan, just be little careful while flipping the fishes as the skin is very soft it sticks to the pan very easily
• Fry both sides till golden brown

Take them out in serving plate and sprinkle some lemon juice and serve hot with warm rice…

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Dalia khichdi - delicious one-pot meal and ultimate comfort food

Daliya or broken wheat is considered to be a good choice as a good choice for reducing refined grains. We can make khichdi, upma, pongal with Daliya and all of them tastes equally delicious. Daliya is mostly consumed during winter or monsoon as wheat helps to keep the body warm; however, for my family this is anytime favorite breakfast.

Health benefits of Daliya:

• Rich in dietary fiber, aids in managing diabetes and constipation
• Iron helps in overcoming fatigue and anemia
• Magnesium helps maintaining normal heartbeat
• Potassium is beneficial for controlling hypertension
• Low fat and high fiber content assists in healthy weight management
• Minerals helps building strong bones
• Protein helps growing kids and gives strength to the body
• Vitamins supports energy metabolism

Daliya khichdi is a delicious one pot meal made from broken wheat, moong dal and lots of veggies. It’s incredible light and healthy and is one of the simplest recipes to make, consistency of this khichdi is so soft that it is easy for kids to swallow and is also a perfect comfort food, more so during winters.

Ingredients

• 1 cup daliya
• ½ cup moong dal
• 1 cup of cubed veggies of your choice (potato, carrot, beans, cauliflower, peas)
• 1 sliced green chilli
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• Whole garam masala (2 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 1 cinnamon stick)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp red chilli powder (optional)
• Salt as per taste
• 2 tbsp ghee (I used my homemade ghee)
• 2 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander leaves

Method

• Heat a heavy bottom pan or pressure cooker and put 1 tbsp ghee in it
• Add the whole garam masala, cumin seeds, and sliced green chili in it
• Once the cumin seeds splutters add all the veggies and sauté a little bit
• Add the ginger paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and red chili powder in it
• Fry them for a while
• Add washed daliya and moong dal and mix well
• Add salt and then add 5 cups of water
• Cook for 2 whistles and let the steam release on its own

Once the pressure is down, open and serve hot with 1 tbsp of homemade gee and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves

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Banana fritters – tasty chai time snacks on a lazy weekend evening

It was Diwali season, visiting friends and family, lots of celebration and festive eating; naturally, healthy eating took a backseat, especially the fruits. The fruit basket on my dining table kept waiting for visitors, but only got some fruit flies 😊. Finally, I could not let them suffer anymore, the poor bananas were turning black and were almost about to be thrown away.

So, I thought of making something with overripe bananas…why not some banana fritters, a special Bengali delicacy; we were still in festive mood, a little fried food would not harm much 😊.

So here are the banana fritters to go with evening tea or coffee, crispy from outside and soft from inside.

Ingredients

• 2 overripe bananas
• 1 cup rice flour
• 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp grated coconut (you can use dried ones also, but fresh ones tastes good)
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp sugar (you can add more as per your taste, but as ripe bananas are naturally sweet, I didn’t add much)
• 3 tbsp milk (I used 2 tbsp of milk cream)
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of baking soda (optional)
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• Oil as needed for frying

Method

• Mash the bananas well in a bowl with a fork
• Add the rice and whole wheat flour and mix well, make sure that there is no lump
• Add the milk or milk cream and mix well again
• Add the coconut, fennel seeds, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cardamom powder
• Give it a good mix and keep the mixture in fridge for 15 minutes
• After 15 minutes, heat oil in a heavy bottom pain, keep the flame on medium
• Drop the mixture with the help of a spoon and deep fry the fritters till they turn golden brown from all side
• Take them out in a paper towel to soak excess oil

Serve hot with your favorite tea or coffee 😊

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Diwali DIY - Diya painting

This year during Diwali, my lil kiddo got a DIY project during her vacation, Diya painting or Diya decoration….wow, it was one of my favorite activity when I was a kid. It brought back all my childhood memories….I remembered that I had also put up Diwali stalls in one of my previous organizations along with all my hand painted T-shirts, Diya candles, some DIY crafts etc. 😊….so, when I saw her holiday homework, I got so excited that I bought a dozen of clay diyas to be painted and decorated by my lil one and of course I would also try my hand on a few of them. Kiddo was also super excited 😆. So, first day of her vacation, in the morning, after breakfast, she was all decked up with diyas, paints, decorative items, glitter and what not 😁😁.

We took two diyas each, and got into action;

• First we applied white paint on all of them as a base coat, we used Fevicryl acrylic colors 
• Then we chose one color each, kiddo chose light blue and I picked up yellow, all Fevicryl acrylic colors 
• Kiddo decorated with some golden glittery pain, she used Fevicryl metallic colors
• I chose to decorate with red.

All of them came out really nice, we were quite happy with the outcome.

Kiddo in action

Kiddo decided to gift the blue ones painted by her to her friends as we were visiting their house during Diwali.

The yellow ones, are still with us and we decorated our house with them. We had a wonderful and safe Diwali amidst the pandemic with lots of diyas and lights.

Hope you had a wonderful Diwali too, what was your Diwali DIY??

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Craving for mid afternoon snacks??

What do you do when a strong craving strikes somewhere around mid-afternoon?? Think 💭 about a piece of cake 🍰or doughnut 🍩 or a packet of chips or French fries 🍟?? irresistible right?

Hey! what about your healthy eating resolution??

Don't worry, good newz is that we can snack guilt free on something that's healthy and at the same time yummy as well 😋

One of my favorite is stir fried steamed veggies.

Ingredients

• 1 bowl of cubed veggies of your choice (I took carrot, sweet potato, and papaya)
• 1 green chilli (optional)
• 1 tbsp. cumin seed
• 2 tbsp. ghee (I took my homemade one)
• Rock salt to taste, you can take normal salt also
• Black pepper powder
• Garnish, 1 tbsp. cilantro chopped (optional)

 

Method

• Steam the cubed veggies in such a way that they are still crunchy.
• Heat 2 tbsp. ghee in a wok, add cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
• Add the sliced green chili and sauté it.
• Add all the steamed vegetables and sauté a little.
• Add rock salt and black pepper.

Your yummy and healthy mid-afternoon snack is ready to munch on 😊

My other healthy munching options are;

• Raw or steamed veggies with hummus
• Handful of dry fruits
• Yogurt with fruits
• Baked banana chips
• Any kind milkshake with fruits, banana milkshake is the easiest one 😝😝

Let me know which one is your favorite??

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My lil bunny loves carrots 🥕

Carrots have a wealth of antioxidants and loads of health benefits.

They are good for our eyes, rich in beta-carotene, that changes into vitamin A, which helps keep our eyes healthy, protects our eyes from the sun and lowers chances of cataract and other eye problems like age-related macular degeneration.

Antioxidants in carrots fight off harmful free radicals and can lower risk of cancer and heart disease. Potassium keeps blood pressure in control.

Dietary fibers helps in weight management, and helps in keeping our blood sugar under control thus lowering the risk of diabetes. Munching on some raw carrots can help ease constipation due to the high fiber content.

They boost our immune system. Vitamin C helps our body build antibodies that defend your immune system and helps our body take in and use iron and prevent infections.

Me and my lil bunny like munching on carrots and sometimes we don’t mind having carrot halwa as well  😋

Lil bunny says thank you to Sujju Maasi for the wonderful Bunny ears 😇

#carrots🥕 #healthylifestyle #healthymunchies #yummyfood #kidsfun

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The arrival of Durga pujo is marked by the beautiful aura of shiuli flowers, it is the seasonal flower of autumn, today morning I saw these pretty little flowers in our apartment garden and felt a little nostalgic about it.

Shiuli, also known as Parijat or Harsingar works as a great anti-pyretic. It cures various nauseous types of fever including malaria, dengue, and chikungunya.

Its medicinal benefits date back to the era where Ayurvedic herbs were the only remedies available for the cure to various diseases.

The decoction of the leaves shuili is widely used in Ayurvedic system of medicine for the treatment of internal worm infections, cough, sciatica, arthritis, fevers, various painful conditions and as laxative.

Due to its anti-arthritic properties, it helps to reduce inflammation and pain. Help treat dandruff, lice, vertigo, and anxiety symptoms, scurvy, and acidity. Additionally, it also treats high blood pressure, sciatica relieves menstrual cramps and is an antidote to snake bites in some cases, and also alleviates piles to a certain extent. It has strong antioxidants that fight against the detrimental effects of free radicals.

Recent studies suggest that Parijat leaf and bark extract are very useful to ameliorate fever instantly. It helps to increase platelet count in dengue and chikungunya fever.

The leaves can be cleaned and dipped in besan and shallow fried like pakora, it is one of the traditionally preferred recipe or home remedies for childhood pinworm and loss of appetite after chronic fever.

You can make tea also from the leaves, take two leaves of basil along with two parijat leaves and a flower and boil them in 1 glass of water, filter it and drink it after it cools down. You can add some honey or sugar to taste.

 

#healthylifestyle #morningvibes #homeremedies

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Wipe your stress away like dust on your houseplant’s leaves

Wipe your stress away like dust on your houseplant’s leaves

Stress can be positive; keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger.

Stress becomes negative ("distress") when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges

Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety.

To cope with stress, always keep a positive attitude, practice relaxation techniques, exercise regularly. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit. Eat healthy, well-balanced meals. Get enough rest and sleep. Make time for hobbies, interests. 

Taking care of my plants is a great stress buster for me after a long hectic week.

What is your stress buster??

#stressbuster #happyweekend #gardening #healthylifestyle #stressmanagement #relaxation

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Morning sun shining bright on the sunshine of my life

 My sunshine attending her art class early in the morning today!!!

We need vitamin D to help our body absorb calcium and phosphate from our diet. These minerals are important for healthy bones, teeth, and muscles.

Lack of vitamin D can cause bones to become soft and weak, which can lead to bone deformities.

Most people can make enough vitamin D from being out in the sun daily for short periods

But you should be careful not to burn in the sun, so take care to cover up or protect your skin with sunscreen before your skin starts to turn red or burn.

.

#art #morningsun #vitamind #funtimes #kidsfun

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Soaked peanut - healthy start of the day

A handful of soaked peanuts in my Lil one’s hand… provides her with good amounts of energy keeps her supercharged throughout the day 😊

Groundnuts or peanuts are abundant in protein, healthy fats and dietary fiber, that curbs your appetite, lowers the risk of heart disease and regulates blood glucose levels. They are immensely rich in potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins.

Peanut allergy is also very common and is a very serious food allergy that a child can develop. It's best to take a test if you suspect you have a peanut allergy.

#kidshealthyfood #healthylifestyle #superchargedkids #peanutbenefits #supermom #superkids #dailyroutine

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Millet Khichdi - Quick and tasty one-pot meal

In India, traditionally even 30 years ago, people always ate a broad spectrum of pulses, grains, legumes, and cereals on a daily basis, we have been using millets in our regular diet for centuries, but these are getting lost in today’s fast-paced life.

Recently, more people have started including millets in their diet. It is a known fact that millets are extremely healthy and are a powerhouse of nutrients.

One cup of cooked millet contains about 207 calories with over 6 grams of protein, 2 grams of dietary fiber, and less than 2 grams of fat.

High fiber levels found in millet may help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol while boosting high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol.

Millets are rich in protein which strengthens hair follicles and prevents them from breaking easily. It is recommended for people who experience hair loss.

This millet khichdi recipe combines millets with lentil and veggies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup foxtail millet
• 1 cup moong dal
• 1 tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 1 cup chopped vegetables (carrot, peas, cauliflower, potato) as per your wish.
• 2-3 green chilies sliced (optional)
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• ½ tsp. turmeric powder
• ½ tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• salt to taste
• Garnish, 1 tbsp. cilantro chopped (optional)

 

Method

• Soak millets overnight.
• Heat 1 tbsp. ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
• Now add ginger paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and green chilies and cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add all the chopped vegetables and saute a little.
• Add the soaked millets and moong dal.
• Add about 3 cups of water, garam masala powder, and salt.
• Cook for 2 whistles.
• Open the cooker. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. ghee and coriander leaves for garnishing.

Your yummy and healthy millet khichdi is ready to be served with a dollop of homemade ghee.

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Chocolate mug cake – a quick fix for that unbearable chocolate craving

 Yesterday, Baby S went for a birthday party in our apartment, and within a few minutes, I received a couple of pictures in the WhatsApp group. The birthday boy was blowing off a candle and cutting a delicious looking chocolate cake; and all the kids (difficult to identify who is who, as all of them were wearing masks 😊😊) are standing around the table and cheering for him.

Looking at the birthday cake picture, I started getting a chocolate craving, but this time I had my quick fix ready; I remembered the first the time I prepared mug cake 😊

It was almost three years back; was supposed to be a lazy Sunday, but alas!! it started with a recurrence of Baby S’s fever and as usual Daddy S started panicking, putting all the blame on me, why didn’t I take her to see the doctor in the first place? Why did I send her to school after two days of fever remission blah blah blah 😒…

I, though irritated at his comments, started looking for doctor appointments, and to my dismay, I found only a couple of doctors are available…doctors should take special appointments on Sundays……anyway, after not much thought, I reluctantly booked an appointment with the pediatrician who did ear piercing for Baby S. 

Baby S started crying as soon as she heard that we are going take her to the doctor which irritated Daddy S more and war broke out between them...oh god, give me a break.

However, the visit to the doctor was peaceful, so the afternoon actually turned out to be a lazy one.

Then it was time for our Sunday special evening snacks…ready to eat smiley, chicken nuggets with tomato ketchup & mayo and some fryums…and we were done…really???? Nooooo!! I wanted something else, I was craving for some chocolates…we had one coco filled cupcake left (MIL bought two) and both Baby S and Daddy S wanted to have it…what about me!!!!… I didn’t have a chocolate craving during my pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have one now.

I wanted chocolate cake within 5 minutes, I simply didn’t want to wait and didn’t want to go out…final outcome was yummy moist warm chocolate cake with chocolate sauce topping…and as by the time Baby S had already finished her cupcake, she wanted to share my mug cake also…and her the comment was, “Mamma, it’s so yummy, I like it” 😋

So, here is the recipe for a warm moist chocolate mug cake…put together in a jiffy within 5 minutes for your unbearable chocolate cravings

Ingredients:

• ¼ ^th cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• ¼ ^th tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar (you can add or reduce as per your taste, I like it more sweet)
• ¼ ^th cup milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp Nutella (optional, you can use any sweet spread or jam of your choice)
• 1 tbsp choco chips (optional)
• 1 tbsp of chocolate sauce (optional)

Method:

• Take a microwave-safe bowl or mug (take big enough mugs so that the cake can rise, mix all the dry ingredients together
• Whisk the milk and vegetable oil
• Add the spoonful of Nutella or jam of your choice on top, no need to push it down
• You can add a spoonful of choco chips or broken cashew also on top
• Microwave for 70 to 90 seconds depending on the type of your microwave.
• Carefully remove from microwave and enjoy.

What do you do for you unbearable chocolate cravings, especially as you can’t go out so often due to this Corona pandemic??

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Onion-cucumber raita

Raita is an Indian dish made with yogurt, spice powders, herbs, veggies like onion, cucumber, and carrot.

It’s a simple, fifteen-minute recipe, and has so many variations, it can become spicy or plain, sweet or savory. It’s an integral part of regional thalis; side dish for pulao, biryani, kebabs, or stuffed parathas. Raita is generally made to tone down the heat of the spicy foods like biriyani or kebabs, as yogurt, cucumber, and mint have a cooling effect it balances out the spicy food and helps digestion.

I like to keep my raita thick and add lots of veggies so that you get them with every bite.

When it comes to the choice of vegetables and fruits, there's no end to the options, you can choose any seasonal favorite and use it in the raita.

In fruits, our favorite is pineapple, before adding the pineapple cubes to raita, just caramelize them a little bit with sugar.

This recipe is the easiest variety with finely chopped cucumber, onion, and coriander leaves.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thick plain curd/yogurt, straight out from the fridge, I like my raita chilled
• 1 tbsp rock salt
• 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds
• 1 green chili, finely chopped (optional, you can increase or decrease as per your choice, I completely omitted it)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• An equal amount of finely chopped cucumber
• 1 small tomato, finely chopped (optional, in this preparation, I didn’t use)
• 3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

 

Method:

• Take out the chilled curd and beat well
• Wash and chop the veggies
• Mix all the chopped veggies with beaten curd, add little water if you want to make the consistency a little thin, I like it thick so I didn’t add water
• Add rock salt and roasted cumin seeds, mix well
• You can sprinkle a little roasted cumin powder on top as well

Your favorite raita is ready to be served with pulao or veg tehri or biriyani 😊😊

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Veg tehri – healthy and super easy one-pot rice meal

Tehri is a one-pot rice dish, you can say a variation of pulao that originated from Awadhi cuisine. This is very easy to prepare; you can add your choice of veggies or meat or chicken to it. I generally prepare it with lots of veggies because that way you can pack a lot of nutrition in your as well as your kid’s diet, especially if you have picky eaters at home 😊.

I learned this dish when I was staying in a ladies’ hostel in Delhi; there one of my roomies was from Nainital and she prepared this dish whenever we had a mid-week holiday. In our hostel they only used to serve breakfast and dinner as most of the ladies will go out during the daytime. So, if we had a mid-week holiday either we had to order from outside or go out ourselves. We preferred to experiment with our culinary skills, and this was one of our most popular dishes 😊.

This is one of Baby S’s favorite rice dish too, of course, after biriyani 😊. Anytime I am about to prepare Tehri, she would say, “Mamma, please prepare some extra, I want to have it for tomorrow also.” Before the pandemic sometimes I have packed this for our lunch boxes also along with raita.

So, let's get started and prepare this super easy, one-pot meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup basmati rice, you can use any rice
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tbsp oil or ghee/clarified butter
• 1-inch cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 1 black cardamom
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp jeera/cumin
• 1 green chili, slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ cup onion finely chopped
• ¼ cup tomatoes, cubed
• ½ cup of cubed veggies of your choice (I used potatoes, carrots, and beans)
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped; it gives a nice flavor, but unfortunately, I ran out of it, so I didn’t use it
• 2 tsp raisins/kishmish (this is a must if I am serving it to Daddy S also 😊, he loves raisins)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp roasted cumin powder
• ¼ tsp chili powder, adjust as per your taste
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• Salt as per taste

 

Method:

• Wash the rice and let it soak for 30 minutes, after 30 mins, drain the water and keep aside
• Heat oil in a cooker or a kadhai, I use a cooker, saves time and gas 😊
• Add cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves
• Once the cumin starts spluttering, add the onions and the slit chili, fry till the onion becomes translucent
• Add ginger-garlic paste and fry a little more
• Add all the masalas, coriander, cumin, chili, garam masala, and salt, and add little water so that the masalas are mixed well, fry for 2 minutes
• Add tomatoes and all the other vegetables, fry for 2 minutes on medium flame
• Add the rice and mix it well with the vegetables, fry for another 2 minutes on medium flame
• Add water, mix well and taste the salt, pressure cook for 1 whistle
• Once the pressure goes off, gently fluff the rice and sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves

Veg Tehri is ready to be served with raita…enjoy 😊😊

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Banana milkshake - healthy and yummy

 Last weekend after Ganesh Chaturthi was over, other than Ganesh’s blessings, we were left with dozens of bananas😀. Some were already there from our weekly grocery shopping, and the rest came as prasad from Ganesh Chaturthi. 

Seeing the pile of bananas, my mother in law kept on reciting “why don’t we make some banana milkshake?“ I knew that “we” actually meant “you” 😒but I was not in a mood to make milkshake during a busy weekday.

Finally, I gave up! I was fasting on Friday and by the evening I needed something to boost my energy😰. Banana milkshake felt like the perfect choice at that time. Also, it is Baby S’s most loved drink.😋

Bananas and dates are powerhouses of energy💪, a rich source of dietary fiber, potassium, calcium, vitamins, and various antioxidants, an instant energy booster.

So here comes my simple banana milkshake recipe, nutritious, healthy, and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas, chopped, over-riped ones are best
• ½ liter chilled milk
• 2-4 deseeded and chopped dates
• 1 tbsp crushed dry fruits, I used almonds, cashews, and pistachios
• 1 tsp sugar (optional), I didn’t add sugar, bananas, and dates were naturally sweet

Method:

• Add chopped bananas and dates along with the milk in a blender
• Blend until smooth and frothy
• Garnish with crushed dry fruits
• Serve immediately

My other fasting foods are sabudana khichdi, sabudana kheer, sabudana vada, boiled, and sautéed veggies.

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Rice kheer – Creamy and aromatic Indian rice pudding

Rice kheer (rice pudding) is an integral part of a Bengali birthday, it was Daddy S’s birthday, so I had to prepare kheer. He likes rice kheer very much with lots and lots of raisins in it; he likes raisins so much that if possible, he would put raisins in mutton biriyani also 😊😊.

Two days before Daddy S’s birthday, I had ordered 1 liter of full cream milk and 1 kg of Gobindho bhog rice from an online shop, but alas, in the morning they said Gobindo bhog rice was out of stock….oh God!!! What do I do now? With this Corona think going on, I just can’t step out of the house and get your stuff, but I had no option. Reluctantly, I put on all my protective gear and went to the nearest supermarket, no luck; then I went to another grocery shop, no luck there also ☹. I started feeling nervous and started blaming myself, why didn’t I stock it up earlier; I almost felt like crying in the middle of the road 😨. Suddenly, the shopkeeper of the grocery store told me to check one of the nearby chicken shops, the owner of that shop is a Bengali, they might stock this kind of rice…ohh, what a relief. I almost ran to that shop, I needed that rice before this shop also runs out of stock, and thank God, they had a couple of packets in store. My day was saved. Along with the rice, I bought some chicken drumsticks also for preparing evening snacks, as eating out was not an option we needed something spicy in the evening for @home celebration 😊😊.

I started the birthday preparation from the evening before Daddy S’s birthday; marinated the chicken and kept in the fridge for preparing chicken drumsticks next day and then I started preparing the kheer.

You can prepare kheer for any special occasion or even when you just want something sweet.

Ingredients for preparing kheer:

• 1-liter full cream milk
• ½ cup of rice, I prefer Gobindo bhog rice because of its aroma, you can use any kind of aromatic rice
• 4 green cardamoms, slit open or slightly crushed
• 1 cup of sugar or jaggery, Daddy S likes his kheer real sweet
• 2 tbsp raisins, soaked in water
• 2 tbsp chopped cashews, I soak the cashews and make a paste out of it to make the kheer more creamy

Method:

• Wash the rice under running water till water turns clear and keep it soaked for 30 mins
• After 30 mins, drain the water and keep the rice aside
• Heat a heavy bottom pan, I used a non-stick kadhai
• Add the milk and keep stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom (even in non-stick it gets stuck), keep the flame at medium to high
• Once the milk starts boiling, lower the heat add the rice and keep stirring
• Add the crushed cardamom pods at this time
• Keep cooking till the milk reduces to half and the rice is cooked very well
• Add in the cashew paste and stir it well
• Add the sugar or jaggery and mix well, cook for another 5 minutes
• Squeeze the water out from the raisins add it in the kheer and switch off the gas. I add the raisins at the end because sometimes due to the sourness of the raising the milk might curdle and all your effort will go down the drain ☹

Now let your kheer cool down, and as it cools it will continue to thicken and give that creamy texture to the kheer.

We like our kheer chilled but it's up to you, you can serve it hot also. You can garnish it with more chopped dry fruits, add a splash of rose water to add more flavor to it 😊

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Air fried Chicken drumsticks – yummy as well as healthy

It was Daddy S’s birthday and obviously, due to this pandemic situation, we couldn’t go out for the celebration. Also, it was a weekday, so the day simply started with me and Baby S wishing him on his special day 😊.

In the evening, Daddy S started missing the celebration 😔, he wanted something special, something yummy, and I knew it was coming. I kept my arrangements ready and quickly made chicken drumsticks for him 😊.

Homemade healthy and tasty air-fried chicken drumsticks, Daddy S’ favorite snack. Actually, we all love it, and when it is homemade and healthy you don’t have to feel guilty and you can eat as much as you want 😊😊.

 Baby S gifted him a cute hand-made card. She drew a scenery that she just learned in her drawing class. 

Drawing is one activity, other than watching cartoons or videos of course 😉, that she enjoys very much; and when it comes to giving a surprise gift to Daddy S, she is always ready. She had spent the entire evening, the day before, preparing this card for him; while I was preparing kheer, a must for any Bengali birthday.

Finally, Daddy S's birthday was spent well😍

Here is the recipe for my simple chicken drumsticks

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 1 tbsp of vinegar
• 3 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
• ¼ tsp of soy sauce (optional)
• 1 tbsp of mustard oil
• Salt as per your taste
• ¼ tsp of black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp of chicken tikka masala
• Juice of a half lemon
• 1 tbsp chaat masala

Method:

• Wash the chicken drumsticks very well and drain out the water completely, make 2 slices on the side so that the masala can go inside
• Marinate in vinegar for 30 mins
• After 30 minutes, take out the drumsticks and put them in another bowl
• Add ginger-garlic paste, soy sauce, mustard oil, chicken tikka masala, black pepper powder, and salt with the drumsticks and mix well
• Keep it in the refrigerator overnight, or a minimum of 2 hours
• Once marinated well, mix them well again.
• Pre-heat your Air-fryer for 5 minutes at 200-degree centigrade, and grease the air-fryer basket
• Place the drumsticks in the air-fryer basket and fry for 12 minutes, no need to add extra oil, the chicken will cook in its own juice
• Take out the basket, flip the drumsticks and fry for another 12 minutes

Yummy drumsticks are ready 😋, take them out carefully, squeeze the juice of a half lemon and pour on top of the drumsticks, sprinkle some chaat masala, and serve hot with salad.

If you don’t have an air fryer, don’t worry, you can make them on a non-stick pan on a stovetop, just lightly grease the pan and place the drumsticks, once brown from one side, flip it and fry from the other side till done. You can do it in the microwave also, just bake them on a baking tray.

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Kids T-shirt - fabric painting, Goldfish design on White T-shirt

Yesterday, while arranging Baby S’ cupboard, I found a plain white T-shirt along with some of her last year’s unopened birthday gifts. It was inside a gift box called Finger painting for kids.

The box contained this pain white T-shirt, some rubber stamps, and some washable watercolors.

Baby S was super excited to get messy 😊😊, her intention was to get her hands dirty and put paints all over her room. She wanted to paint the T-shirt with her fingers, but I knew if I would have allowed her, the paints would have ended up more on the walls and floors rather than the shirt and then 3^rd world war would have started between the father and daughter duo 😨. I didn’t want to waste my Sunday getting caught between them. So, I convinced Baby S that I will do a nice design on the T-shirt and she will get to choose the design from my kid’s collection.

She chose this one;

Now, I was super excited to paint after such a long time. Thankfully, I had all the colors I needed in my stock. Sunday afternoon and evening were well spent. No world war and Baby S was also very happy after seeing the final outcome 😍.

Art really has a soothing and relaxing effect on your mind, what do you say??

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Sabudana Vada – Air fried healthy cousin of the deep-fried version

 Sabudana vada, a very popular Maharastrian dish, is one of our favorite snacks.

They are instant energy boosters, high in carbs and glucose; made with tapioca pearls (sabudana), mashed potatoes, roasted peanuts, and herbs; crispy from outside and soft, light, and chewy from inside. Also, as it is mostly prepared during fasting, the recipe does not contain onions, garlic, wheat products, lentils, or pulses.

I first tasted it in Delhi when one of my colleagues brought it for lunch during Navaratri fasting. As it is, she was fasting, so I finished half of her lunch box 😊😊, it was really yummy. The next time, I tasted it in a very popular Maharastrian restaurant in Bangalore when we went out for an office lunch, I couldn’t resist myself from taking the second serving.😋

You can understand how much I liked it, so it was high time that I learn the recipe and prepare it myself. The only thing that was bothering me was the deep-frying part, traditionally it is made by deep-frying ☹. So, I had to give the recipe a twist, I tried Air frying them and the result was absolutely delicious, a healthy version without compromising the taste 😊😊, and the brownie point was both my picky eaters, Daddy S and Baby S liked it.

I have also tried preparing them in appe pan and baking them in microwaves, the results were more or less the same every time.

You can serve them hot with some green chutney or sauce as a teatime snack also.

How to prepare Sabudana Vada

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sabudana or tapioca pearls, medium-sized, soaked overnight or for a minimum of 5 hours
• 2 medium-sized potatoes, boiled and mashed
• ½ cup peanuts, roasted, deskinned, and crushed
• ½ tsp ginger paste
• ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• 1 green chili, finely chopped, you can adjust the amount as per your taste
• 4 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves
• ½ tsp rock salt or sendha namak if preparing during fasting
• 1 tsp chat masala (optional)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Oil as needed for deep frying, (I used only for greasing the Air fryer basket or appe pan and my hands while preparing the patties)

Method:

• In a large bowl take the sabudana, wash them once under running water, then soak in enough water. I generally wrap them in a kitchen towel, soak them and leave overnight
• The next day, Sabudana will soak all the water, swell up and become soft
• If there is excess water drain them out completely and keep the sabudana aside
• Wash the potatoes very well and boil them with skin, make sure not to make them mushy
• Once boiled, let them cool down, then peel off the skin and mash them. Keep them aside
• Heat a kadhai and dry roast the peanuts till the skin peels off
• Remove the skin and coarsely grind them
• Now put all the ingredients except oil, in a large container and mix them well, you can grease your hands with a little oil as the starch from sabudana starts getting sticky
• I added a little bit of chat masala also, you can skip this if you are preparing for fasting
• Mixing well helps to bind the sabudana vada well and prevents breaking. You can use little rice flour or cornflour also for binding if you are not fasting. If you are fasting, you can use kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour)
• Prepare medium sized balls from the mixture and flatten them between your palms to give the desired shape to the vadas
• Preheat the Air Fryer for 5 minutes at 160 degrees, then put the vadas in the Air Fryer basket and fry for 10 minutes, once done, flip and cook from the other side as well for another 10 minutes
• If you are preparing in appe pan, grease the grooves of the appe pan lightly with oil and place the vadas and fry till golden brown from one side, once done flip and cook from the other side as well

Sabudana Vadas are now ready to be served hot with green chutney or curd or sauce!!!😋

If you don't have an Air fryer, don't worry, you can still prepare these healthy and yummy snacks, simply grease a non-stick frying pan and shallow fry the sabudana vadas. Just make the vadas a little thin so that it can cook nicely from inside. 

My other favorite fasting recipes are Sabudana Khichdi and Sabudana kheer, boiled veggies with a pinch of rock salt, sauteed cubed paneer with a pinch of rock salt, and the best is a banana milkshake, the easiest one 😀

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