C'est Magnifique !!!!

Have u had goose bumps and felt sexy speaking a language. Well, I am sure if you did it must be French. There is something about Paris and France that gives me goose bumps . The language, the food and the culture, so romantic and beautiful.. I have been obsessed off late with everything and anything French. I have been reading a book Lunch in Paris - A love story with recipes by Elizabeth Bard and its one of the best books because it is set in France, has a love story and even better has great recipes !!! Isn't that just "C'est Magnifique !!!"

I couldn help but write about it. In each chapter the author talks about her rendezvous with Pairs, her boyfriend-fiance-husband and with french food. After each chapter follow the tried and tested recipes, my favorite is the Moroccan Mint Tea . I know this is not typical french, but I do promise to cook up some other recipes ( typical french) in a few days. For now , lets get on with the Moroccan Mint Tea

I tried this recipe , after a tiring long hike and I absolutely enjoyed the flavors. Here's what you'll need to make it
2 tbsp loose gunpowder green tea
1 bunch of mint on stem ( 7 to 8 sprigs)
4-5 sugar cubes
2 cups boiling water
Pine nuts to serve
A few drops of orange flower extract (optional)

Place loose tea at the bottom of a teapot. Add some boiling water swish around the pot and rinse the tea. Drain out the water through the sprout slowly. Wash the mint thoroughly, place it in the teapot along with the sugar cubes and add the 2 cups of boiling water. Let it seep for around 5 minutes. In a crystal/glass teacup place pine nuts at the bottom, with a few drops of orange flower extract. I did not have the extract so I made it without, but if you do go ahead and add it, just a drop as it is very strong. Pour your tea high above the glass slowly into the glass. You might want to use a tea strainer while doing this.

I learnt from Elizabeth Bard that pouring tea slowly from high above is not only a gimmick for impressing your husband :), but also this process aerates the tea allowing it cool and release the sweet flavor of the mint.  I did not take a picture of the tea, but I will make it again in the next few weeks and will update soon. But I do hope you enjoy the sweetness of the mint and the crunchiness of the pine nuts while drinking the tea.

As a bonus, I have included a video I found on New York Times today about an American food cart in Paris, I hope you enjoy ( at least in video) the smell, sights, sounds and visuals of Pairs and food.

As the french say Bon Appétit et Au Revoir.. 

Spicy Healthy Indian Cookies ( Chai Poori)

After the relaxing long weekend, I cant wait to blog :).. I am enjoying the entire process of cooking, taking pictures , editing and finally blogging. Today's entry is for the Blogging contest by Nags, of the famous Edible Garden and Megha of The Balance Mantra. Before I start off my recipe, I want to say a little bit about Nags, I started my cooking blog because I loved cooking and also to keep me busy . But after reading about Nags and her success with her blog has given me more motivation in blogging and food photography. Thank you Nags for being such a great inspiration!

Spicy baked cookies

Well so when I was thinking about what is the healthy snack I like the most, I couldn think of a lot of things. I like having something spicy and light to go with my evening cup of coffee. This is a recipe of Tarla Dalal, which I have modified just a little bit.

The joys of simple things :)

These cookies ( puris) are easy to make, baked in the oven and really spicy. Here's what you ll need to make them

1/4 cup Bajri flour (Black millet flour)
1/4 cup Jowar flour ( White millet flour)
1/4 cup Irish oatmeal, roasted and blended coarsely.
1/3 cup wheat flour + extra

2 serrano peppers
1/2 inch piece ginger
2 tbsp yoghurt
salt to taste

1 cup palak
1/2 cup dried or fresh methi


Chop your palak and methi and sprinkle salt on top and leave for around 10 mins. The salt will help remove the water, which we will squeeze out and use to make the dough. In the meanwhile, with the peppers and ginger make a paste using a small blender or a mortar and pestel.

Take all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, add the ginger-green chilli paste and mix. Now add the palak and methi, with the water removed from them. After you mix for a while, slowly add the water to make a dough like consistency. At the end add 1 tbsp yoghurt and mix into the dough, you might not need more so add 1tbsp at a time. Once the dough is ready you can cover and keep aside for a few minutes.

Cookies ready to be baked !!

Preheat your oven to 360F. Make small balls out of the dough and either roll out or press with the palms of your hands to form small discs. I used my hands as it was easier. Make sure that each disc is of even thickness and not too thick in the center. Place the discs on to a baking sheet and make folk marks on it. Place your discs 2-3 cms apart and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until done. They should be a little browned around the edges.

Ready to be eaten now !!!

These cookies are crispy on the edges and soft and chewy in the middle, I really enjoyed their spicy flavor along with some chamomile tea and my favourite book ! I hope you enjoy making these for yourself and your family ! Happy Baking and let me know how they turned out



 As my husband says, " Chai Poori ho jaye !! " .




P.S: I have had butterflies in my stomach while I wrote this blog, have been wanting to write this entry for so long and being so excited about this :) Wohoo finally done : D and supper excited for all of you to read it ..

Cookies, tea and a great book for company, what more can you ask for !!!

Strawberry- Rhubarb Pie

I have always walked across these interesting looking pink stalks in the fresh produce section at the grocery, wondering how they taste and what could be cooked with them .. Well I finally picked up a few stalks of Rhubarb hoping to find a recipe to make them. But it was a week and I still had not and they had to go to the garbage bin. So last week when I had a lot of strawberries at home, I finally found something that I would want to try and make - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

I have never made a pie before and am not a huge fan of them. But I did want to try making this one, and see how it tastes. I used Debs Recipe from Smitten Kitchen to make this pie. And it turned out great. Here's what you ll need to make this pie.

Pie Filling:

4-5 cups of strawberry ( cored and sliced) - rhubarb ( sliced into small cubes)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup quick cooking tapioca
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter cut into small cubes.

Mix all the ingredients except the butter and keep aside. I recommend you do this while you roll out the pie dough so that, the ingredients are all mixed up and ready.

Pie crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter( very cold and cubed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
8 tbsp cold water

Make the pie dough a few hours before you actually get to bake the pie. Here's how you do it,

Put all dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse till the butter is almost pea sized cubes. Remove the mixture in a mixing bowl. Add the cold water 1 tbsp at a time , and make a firm dough. Make two parts of the dough. Mix the dough and knead it till it is firm and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. When you remove the dough from the fridge it will be firm, microwave for 20 seconds and it will loosen up. Place the dough on a clean counter surface and knead it for 2-3 minutes and using a rolling pin start rolling. Roll the dough into a 12-inch circle, fold in quarters and transfer it to your pie plate ( 9-inch).

In the pie plate open up the quarters and make sure the pie dough sits evenly on the pie plate without forming any air bubbles underneath. Now, fill with the pie filling. Take the second pastry dough you have left aside roll out a second 11-inch circle, make decorative slits and place on top of the filling.

Make sure you have enough (not too much and not too less) pie dough to crimp and form a decorative pattern. Take a large egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and beat it really well. With a pastry brush brush egg yolk on top of the pie to give it a shiny effect.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 20 mins, after that lower the temp to 350F and bake again for 20 mins.

The pie tastes best when eaten the next day :).. I loved this pie, though I am not a huge fan of pies. I hope you love it too !!