Plum lemon mocktail|Plum lemon fizzy mocktail

Mocktail. Mocktail. Mocktail. When its weekend I start craving for mocktails. The fresh colour, sweet and tangy taste, fizzy texture all this makes any fruit mocktail very desirable for most of us!!!

The elaborate act of making this plum lemon moctail from scratch works as a stress buster for me.
And yes its a great bonding activity with kids! Let them squeeze that lemon while you are cooking plums and Voila the mocktail  is ready in minutes.

This Plum lemon mocktail is also a great welcome drink in any party. Its also loved by kids . So what are we waiting for? Lets get cooking...

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:20 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For Plum syrup:

1. 1 cup water
2. 1 cup granulated sugar(table sugar)
3. 2 cups pitted plums

For Plum lemon mocktail:

1. 2 cups soda water
2. 1/2 cup lemon juice
3. Above mentioned plum syrup
4. Crushed ice while serving

RECIPE:

1. Take a pan. Add water, granulated sugar and plums to it. Let this cook on medium heat for 20 minutes till we get a thick plum syrup. Take it off heat and let it cool. Now strain the remnants of plum through a stariner. Keep this thick plum syrup for further cooling.
2. Take a jug. Add plum syrup, lemon juice to it . And mix well.
3. Now just before serving , add soda water. Serve chilled with crushed ice. 

You will also enjoy:

Masala lemonade

                                           Nutella choco chip cookies

Premio dardos Award Nomination!!!!

Thanks a ton Madiha Nawaz (Blogger at Cook Unleashed ) for nominating me For Premio Dardos Award.

So, what is it all about? 

The Premio Dardos Award

It is a wonderful honor to be awarded the Premio Dardos = Prize Darts (translated from Spanish). I am blushing because the meaning behind this award is beautiful. The Premio Dardos is given from one blogger to another, in recognition of cultural, ethical, literary and personal values that are transmitted in the form of creative and original writing.

Upon being nominated, the rules that we have to follow are:

☆Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.

☆Pass the award on to other bloggers of your choice and let them know that they have been nominated.

-This is for the ones who didn’t understand the meaning of this award(which includes me)
The Premio Dardos {means Prize Darts in Spanish} and it exists to acknowledge the values that every blogger shows in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

I nominate some of my fellow bloggers for this wonderful recognition:

1. Meet Amy who blogs at the gifted gabber...a  spanish teacher who holds a lovely lifestyle blog.Visit her page and enjoy!
2. Meet antonet who blogs Antos kitchen with all wonderful recipes and an awesome mobile application .Visit her page at Antos Kitchen.
3. Meet Piyaali who blogs at My tryst with food and travel .Have fun with delicious recipes and travel details on her page at My tryst with food and travel
4. Meet jennifer who blogs at Take two tapas.I am sure you would love to eat more than one two tapas once you start following her.Visit her at Take two tapas
5. Meet Renee who blogs at Joy at every season.follow her and you will surely have joy in all seasons.Follow her page at Joy in every season

Enjoy and follow all above blogs to have delicious food and recipes in your newsfeed!!!

Rachel Khoos rigatoni pasta with mushrooms|Rigatoni pasta in Bechamel sauce

Why walk when you can dance.Right!likewise why have a simple pasta in Bechamel sauce .Make a beautiful garden of pasta,mushrooms,mixed herbs and chilli flakes.Yes..now have it!

Today I am super active,happy and enthusiastic.
I am doing something that is keeping me on my toes(well literally)
I am dancing today....as it is said dancing is like dreaming with your feet!!!

I am practising my Bharatnatyam dance moves(thanking my dance guru every minute).I have been learning dance since 8 years of age!
All the dance Mudras...Pataka ,tripataka ..make me feel as if I am floating and when I tap my feet on every taal,its like poetry of the foot.

The better,more amazing version of you cant happen if you stay where you are.
Dance is helping me meet my better version since childhood.
And now writing all about food is taking me one more step towards a better me.

Life is about taking chances,trying new things.Never be afraid to try something new,because life gets boring when you stay within the limits of what you already know.

You cant buy happiness
But you can buy an ice cream
And thats kind of same thing

With all these poetic and motivational thoughts I present you my idol Celebrity chef Rachel khoo(rachel khoo ) 's Rigatoni pasta with bechamel sauce.

As always this dish is quick to make,good to look and delicious to eat!

Preparation time:30 minutes
Cooking time:30 minutes
Serves:2

Ingredients:
For Bechamel Sauce:

1. 1 cup butter
2. 1 cup all purpose flour
3. 2 cups lukewarm milk
4. 1 cup lukewarm water
5. 2 tsp crushed black pepper
6. Salt as per taste

For pasta:

1. 4 cups rigatoni pasta
2. 2 cups button mushrooms(roasted in 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil)
3. 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4. 1 pot full of boiling salted water
5. 3 cups of grated cheddar cheese
6. 1 tsp dried mixed italian herbs
7. Chilli flakes to garnish

RECIPE:

1. To make Bechamel sauce,melt butter in a large frying pan.Add all purpose flour to it and mix well till no lumps.
2. Take the pan off heat,gradually add milk,whisking constantly.Now add water,whisking at the same time.
3. Keep the pan back on medium heat,add salt and black pepper and let the sauce simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.Add milk if sauce is too thick.
4. Put the pasta in boiling salted water and cook for 2 minutes or as per packet instructions.After 2 minutes,drain water and add cold water to the pasta to stop cooking process.Add extra virgin olive oil to the pasta and keep aside.
5. Now add cheddar cheese in the bechamel sauce and stir well.
6. Take 2 small pots as seen in the pictures,arrange the rigatoni pasta upright tightly in the pots.They will look like honey comb.
7. Now pour sauce over the pasta.Tap the pots so that sauce can reach all nooks and corners.
8. Decorate the pasta with mushrooms on top .Garnish with chilli flakes and serve hot.

You will also like

Bhapa Doi

                                      

                             stuffed cottage cheese fritters

Slow cooker red lentil curry|Red lentil,onion and pumpkin curry with potao served in samosa wraps|Masoor daal with onion and pumpkin

The idea of going back to your roots and doing what your mother or grandmother cooked is quite therapeutic!A traditional recipe cooked traditinally in a SLOW COOKER on low heat is what is this RED LENTIL CURRY all about.

I always talk about fuss free and quick food with available local ingredients.This is one example but exotic example of that.

My grandmother whenever she used to cook this Red lentil curry on a small stove top,I used to wait to eat it.
The aroma in the house,the eagerness on everybodys taste buds !!Oh so tantalizing!

Food is fulfilment and nothing could be more fulfilling than sonmething familial!

Cooking this in SLOW COOKER OF CROCKPOT makes it all the more tastier and rich!
Also it gives me time to watch my favourite TV show,bake cookies,get my sons homework done!!yayyyy!!

Lets not wait anymore and lets get down to work!

Preparation time:30 minutes
Cooking time(Crockpot Slow Cooker):5 to 6 hours
Yields:4

Ingredients:
For red lentil curry:

1. 2 cups red lentil(Whole Masoor Dal)
2. 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
3. 1 cup finely chopped onions
4. 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes
5. 1/2 cup finely chopped garlic
6. 1 tsp ginger paste
7. 1 cup diced pumpkin
8. 4 to 6 cups water
9. 2 tsp turmeric powder
10. 4 tsp red chilli powder
11. Salt as per taste

For potato in Samosa/wonton wraps

1. 4 samosa/wonton wraps available in supermarket
2. 2 cups boiled potatoes  mashed with 1 tsp red chilli powder and 1 tsp salt
3. 4 tbsp vegetable oil for roasting the wraps

RECIPE:

1. Take one samosa wrap at a time,lay it on c hopping board .Place 2 tsp potao mash on one half of wrap.Fold the other half of wrap to completely enclose the potato mash.Brush water on edges of wrap for it to stick.Refrigerate for 10 minutes make such 4 wraps.Roast them with vegetable oil in a frying pan till they have a crisp golden brown cover.
2. Take a frying pan.Add vegetable oil to it on medium heat.Add onion ,garlic to it and saute till brown.
3. Add tomatoes to the frying pan and saute them till they loose moisture and shrink.
4. Add diced pumpkins and roast them for 2 minutes till they are brown and crisp.
5. Take CROCKPOT slow cooker.Add washed red lentils and all the ingredients of frying pan to it.Add water to it.
6. Add turmeric powder,red chilli powder and salt to the cooker.Cover it.Lentils should be cooked on low heat for 5 to 6 hours.Make sure lentils dont burn.Add water if needed.
7. Serve hot red lentil curry with potato in samosa wrap!

You will also like:

Buddha bowl                      mushroom masala