RECIPES

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Fresh and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes! Store bought ones come nowhere close to these moist and melt in your mouth beauties. These are perfect for a lazy Saturday brunch and are ready in under 30 minutes, unless of course, you are preparing to feed an army! :) Options for toppings range from the usual maple syrup to fruits and caramel sauce, which we tried this weekend. Lip smackingly delicious! 

Ingredients 

1 cup self raising flour (or whole wheat flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon caster sugar

300 ml buttermilk

a generous splash of vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten well (optional if you want to make it eggless)

2-3 tablespoons oil

Toppings, as per taste

Method

1. In a large bowl, add in all the dry ingredients and mix well. (You could also sieve them all together.)

2. Add in the buttermilk. Combine gently with the flour mixture.

3. Add in the egg and the vanilla extract and mix it all together. You should now have a nice thick batter.

4. In a pan add a teaspoon of the oil. Heat well. Drop a large spoon of the pancake batter. Spread it as thick or thinly as you like.

5. When bubbles appear on the top of the pancake, it is ready to flip. Cook the other side well until both sides are golden brown. Continue till you have used up the batter.

6. Plate up the pancakes and top with maple syrup or fruit or even peanut butter! 

Notes: I used two pans simultaneously to cook all the pancakes as quickly as possible and to be able to eat them while they were still piping hot. This recipe makes 6-8 pancakes, depending on the size you choose to make them

BEAN SALAD

The Bean Salad is a delicious salad with a burst of flavors and textures with all the fresh ingredients. The addition of parsely, red onions along with the ground pistachio brings out a delectable taste to the palate and you are sure to love this recipe.

Ingredients

1 can baked beans
1/2 cup finely sliced red onion
1 finely sliced red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoon parsley finely chopped plus extra for garnishing
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Salad greens – as required
1 tablespoon ground pistachio 

Method 

Place the beans in a large bowl. Add the bell pepper, onions, garlic, parsley and toss well. Beat the oil and lemon juice in a small bowl with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss well.
Cover and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. When you are ready to server, sprinkle the ground pistachio and serve with salad greens.

Raspberry crush cheesecake

This luscious Raspberry Crush Cheesecake from BBC Good Food makes the most of the raspberry season. And if you love Baked Cheesecakes, this one’s a winner!

I tweaked the recipe slightly as you will see below.

Cheesecake about to go into the oven

Who wants a slice?

Tah-dah!

Ingredients

• 8 ginger biscuits
• 50g butter , melted
• 600g cream cheese
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 175g caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 medium egg plus 1 yolk
• 142ml natural yogurt
• 300g raspberries
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C or gas 4.
2. Crush the ginger biscuits in a food processor.
3. Mix the crushed biscuits with 50g melted butter. Press into a 20cm springform tin and bake for 5-7 minutes, then cool.
4. Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 1 yolk and yogurt until light and fluffy. Stir in 100 gms of the raspberries and pour into the tin. Bake for 40 minutes and then check, it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre. Leave in the tin to cool.
5. Add another 100 gms of the raspberries to a pan with the icing sugar. Heat until juicy and then squash with a fork. When cool, pour over the cheesecake.
6. Use the rest of the 100 gms raspberries to top the cheesecake.
7. Pop into the fridge to cool.
8. Cut into wedges and serve---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adai is protein packed lentil crepe, similar to a dosa. It is typically had as a tiffin dish in the south indian homes. The tiffin dishes can be had for breakfast or for dinner. The Adai is typically heavier than a normal flour crepe or a dosa.

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 SUMMER CARE - BEAT THE HEAT WITH FRUIT JUICES

Posted by sangeetha |

Summer Care - Beat the heat with Fruit Juices

Try out juices of grapes, watermelon, banana, jack fruit, lemon and pineapple during summer. Consumption of fruits and juices reduces body heat and benefits in controlling body temperature.

SUMMER is one of the six seasons of the year. Every two months will make a season or Ritu. Summer is in between the 16th May to 15th July. The strength of the body will be lost during this period. People feel tired and exhausted during the season due to extensive heat rays of the sun, the watery portion (or Kapha) of the body of people, animals, plants, foods and the entire environment will become dry and the vata will become more in the body and the atmosphere. The skin will become dry and may precipitate skin diseases as eczema..

What to Drink and Eat: One must drink the juices of grapes, watermelon, banana, jack fruit, lemon and pineapple. This is to say foods and juices of sweet and cold and easily digestible must be consumed. The preparations of sugar, barely/green gram, sharbats, buttermilk with sugar candy are to be used daily to cool the body. One must take the food of white rice with meat soup of meat of animals reared in cold areas.

The juices of dry grapes, cucumber, kharjura with Dalchini, Cardamom must be drunk along with pure cold water kept in a pot or a freezer or these must be kept at night in moon light and used along with buffalo's milk. Water with parijatha flowers and usheera can also be used for drinking.

- One must not take foods of pungent, sour, dry and salty foods. Foods of rice with milk, sugar candy, butter milk, lassie are good for good health. Ghee can be used.

- Coffee and tea are not all good as they stimulate the central nervous system. Taking them on empty stomach is harmful as they mix with acid and circulated all over the body producing several diseases.

- Alcohol is a hot drink and must not be used druing this season, either avoid it or drink it with plenty of water.

REGIMEN

One must spend time in a place surrounded by water and green trees, or mountains, with the family and children. Must sleep during day. Swimming is also advisable in a pond, lake or river. Stay exposed to moon's rays at night. Should wear light cotton clothes. Must have minimum coitus during this period.

Wear Pearls and flower garlands. Body must be anointed with sandal and usheera paste which cools the body. Cold-water bath is good for the body. Exercise must be limited. Avoid exposure to sun's rays especially during peak hot time.

Man is a microcosm of the universe that is macrocosm. Man is made up of Panchamahabutas in mini form and the universe is made up of Panchamahabutas in mega form.

Any changes in the environment of nature will have deleterious effects on the health of people. So one must adjust and adopt measures suitable for the particular season for maintaining good health.

In this season satvic type of foods is advocated to promote and to preserve good health.

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RAVA DOSA

RavaDosa is a semolina crepe that is flavored with black pepper, ginger, green chillies and coriander. I like to call it a lace crepe because of the many holes the crepe forms while making it. Rava dosa is one of the popular instant dosa's that you can make at home. It is a favorite with my family especially for dinner.

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Recently I tried the Soulfull's Rava Dosa mix, as it is, without the addition of salt and without the addition of any more flavors. It was very very fresh, tuned out crips and delicious. I served it for breakfast along with thakkali vengayam sambar and my family loved it! 

The variations you can add to this is by adding some finely chopped cabbage or finely chopped onions to get a rustic flavor to this traditional south indian tiffin dish.

I typically dont buy ready made products, but Soulfull's product was of high quality with full of freshness. The instructions in the back of the product was simple and easy to understand. This is something I would stock in my pantry for those emergency days when I dont want to cook, but yet want to have something nutritious.