Add Color To Your Meal With Cucumber-Beetroot Salad

Colorful and well laid out food never stops to inspire us. Even the most disinterested people will halt in their step, if they see a well laid out table. Being an Indian, the usual table fare is all about dal (Lentils), subji (vegetable), roti (flat bread) and rice. This can get boring after a point. This is why chutneys, salads, raitas are a regular on my table to at least get the family to come and see whats on the table. An extra 10 minutes, when you get children or husband to lay out the table can add the much needed zing to the table.

Time: 15 min
Serves: 3

Get together:

• 2 Cucumbers - Medium Size
• 1 Beetroot
• 2-3 springs of Dill
• 1 tsp Lemon juice 
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts (optional)
• 1 tsp black salt
• 1 tsp cumin powder

Now just do this:

• Peel and finely dice or grate cucumber
• Boil beetroot and finely dice
• Wash and chop dill
• Combine all these ingredients and add lemon juice, peanuts, salt and cumin powder
• Chill and serve

You could also:

• Add sesame seeds
• Temper it with 1/2 tsp oil and mustard seeds

Enjoy the dash of color!

Nutrition information for beetroot, dill and cucumber.

Disclaimer: Nutrition link leads to another site, and I cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of this information. The photographs are owned by the author. Please give due credit to the author and blog when referring to this recipe.

Start The Day With A Refreshing Chickoo Smoothie

I usually end my morning run with a glass of home made smoothie. This is the first meal of the day, and keeps me going for at least another hour after my run. This weekend when I shopped for fruit, I was spoilt for choice, There were at least fifteen fruits available in the store. I ofcourse, only bought 10. I just cannot stop myself once I see fruits in all their myriad colors. As the strawberries are on their way out, summer fruits like melons, mangoes (is that a fruit), are on their way in, making for a delicious overlap period. Check out my weekly fruit shopping here.

I am sharing a very simple recipe this time - Chickoo (Sapota) shake / smoothie. I usually mix in both home made yogurt and milk to get that lovely, easy to gulp in large mouthfuls, consistency. Sapota or Sapodilla or Chickoo is a sweet, calorie rich fruit. A sweet concoction where you do not need to add any sugar or sweetener at all. No wonder the smoothie tastes like it does after a run!

Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 3

Get together:

• 4 sapotas / chikoo - Peeled and diced
• 1 cup low fat curd / yogurt (Vegans can try other curds)
• 2 glasses of chilled low fat milk (Vegans can try almond, coconut or soy milk)
• 6 almonds
• 6 walnut kernels
• A blender

Now follow the procedure

• Add fruits, almonds, walnuts, curd, and 1/4 glass milk to the jar and blend. 
• Once you get a paste like consistency, ad the rest of the milk and churn. 
• The refreshing drink is ready.

You could also

• Substitute 2 chickoos with one banana
• Add some strawberries
• Use only milk or only curd - will change both consistency and taste
• Add honey
• Add all the milk in one go, if you like chunks of fruit and dry fruits, rather than a 'smooth' texture

Enjoy the variations!!

Sapota nutrition information here.


Disclaimer: Nutrition link leads to another site, and I cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of this information. The photographs are owned by the author. Please give due credit to the author and blog when referring to this recipe.

The Food Stories

In India, the first time a child eats solid food is an occasion to celebrate. I now know why; it is because each one of has at least one good 'food story', and who doesn't love good stories? So the earlier a child starts to eat, the faster the stories get made! And let me tell you, food stories always make for great conversations. You listen, you laugh and you eat, because dining table is where these stories are told - over food!

Here are some of them that I have heard over the years, some of them repeatedly! I must confess I have told mine again and again too, though I sincerely hope for the sake of my audience that it was a different set of people each time!

So here goes!

Once upon a time - 

• I poured a mouthful of groundnut oil into my mouth from a carton, believing it to be fruit juice. The two cartons were the same size and right next to each other on the counter. Yikes! I still feel the need to rinse my mouth every time I think about this!

• My sister invited 13 friends for her birthday, my mother cooked for 14 young girls and two turned up. The leftovers were enough to feed the family for the next week!
• We all went out to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of my parents (mom, dad, and the three of us) at a restaurant, our first dining out experience as part of a celebration. When we came back home, we realized the manager forgot to charge us for rotis! (Roti - type of Indian bread)
• My daughter was exactly a year old when she tasted chicken, and fifteen years down the line, her love affair with chicken continues.

• My husband ate Aloo paranthas (Indian flat bread with stuffed with potatoes) and Mutter Paneer (Indian green peas and cottage cheese curry) 20 days in a month for almost a year (every working day) at an eatery near his office. The owner and the staff suggested at first and then pleaded with him to try other things on menu. He of course refused!

I have hundreds of these stories. I guess I will be sharing these from time to time on this blog. Next time you have a family get-together try and see how many of the stories that are shared and laughed at are related to food! You'll be surprised!

I look forward to hearing from you about your food stories!