TOMATO AND CHIVE FLAVORED CREAM CHEESE

This cream cheese is home made! You can flavor it with whatever herbs you wish but i did so with tomato and chives and a bit of mint and coriander
Its easy to make and refigerates for a few days. Those who are counting calories can make it from fat free yogurt
INGREDIENTS:
3 big cups of plain white yogurt
1 red tomato, deseeded and chopped fine
1 tablespoon of finely chopped chives
1 huge pinch of black pepper
1 teaspoon of finely chopped mint leaves
1 teaspoon of finely chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
METHOD:
put the yogurt in a thin gauze like cloth and hang it over the kitchen tap for at least 3-4 hours so that all the water drips off
place it afterwards in a bowl and beat it well with the salt and pepper. It should be thick and smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix very well. Refrigerate till you need it.
Serve with crackers of your choice or crudites!!!
ENJOY!!

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WATERMELON AND GRAPE GAZPACHO

This GAZPACHO is similar to the last one but with the addition of grapes… It is soo refreshing i just have it as a drink! Every morning i have been having this and skipping breakfast. You can just imagine how nutritional it is….SO LETS START! It keeps well in a covered large jar for 2-3 days in the fridge
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups of cubed watermelon
1 cup of cubed cucumber
1 cup of peeled and cubed red tomatoes
1/2 cup of red capsicum
1/4 cup of sweet onion
1 cup of peeled de-seeded grapes
salt to taste
vinegar to taste if you like ( i did not add)
3 tablespoons of  extra virgin olive oil ….you can also sprinkle it on the top
METHOD;
Blend this all in the blender. If you want to splash the extra virgin olive oil on the top then dont add it in the blender.
You can strain the gazpacho if you wish, but i did not
Serve chilled as an apertif in a fancy glass with crackers and a splash of olive oil
OLE!!!

NITU DIDI TIP: If you dont like the taste of tomatoes you can add less…. or omit it totally 🙂 and if you find it too thick you can add some ice cold water 🙂 or ice cubes to make it like a slush after its blended 🙂

Posted in Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Soups-hot and cold, Veg Starters, Vegan | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CHOCOLATE BALLS

CHOCOLATE BALLS!! This recipe as a story behind it…. you can skip it if you dont wanna know!!
I had left over pancake batter lying in the fridge and i did not want to throw it away so i just removed the thin layer of water which was on the top and transferred it into a bowl and decided to make a cake out of it. The pancake batter was about 1 cup and was made with eggs, flour , sugar and vanilla so to this i added more flour (whole wheat) more sugar, a bit of oil, vanilla, cocoa powder and some boiling water. i had peanuts at home so i added some and i baked this. What i got was an awesome brownie…BUT… it wasnt sweet enough…so i decided  to make chocolate balls!!!! here i will give you the recipe more or less ok????? HAVE FUN!!
MAKES 20 BALLS
1 full sized chocolate cake, crumbled
250 grams of condensed milk
1 slab of milk chocolate of your choice melted
nuts of your choice chopped, my cake had peanuts so i didnt add any
METHOD:
in a bowl mix the crumbled cake with the condensed milk and the melted chocolate slab… add the condensed milk a bit by bit and mix it so it doesnt get too soggy. Add the nuts and shape into balls and refigerate!! Hide them from yourself else there will be none left once you start to taste them!!!
ONCE AGAIN SORRY FOR THE PIC THAT DOESNT DO JUSTICE TO THE TASTE…

Posted in A Piece of Cake???, Floury Matter | Tagged | Leave a comment

CHICKEN TERRIYAKI WITH HOME MADE TERRIYAKI SAUCE

Terriyaki chicken is simply chicken marinated in terriyaki sauce and then cooked in a hot grill till browned and tender. I made my own home made terriyaki sauce because i know that some of you dont get all the ingredients where you live!! For those of you who want to use the ready made terriyaki sauce you can do so… But if you cant buy it and you want to follow my recipe..PLEASE DO!!:):):)
INGREDIENTS:
350 grams of cubed chicken breast
FOR THE TERRIYAKI SAUCE:
mix together: 2 tablespoons of soya sauce
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of chinese cooking wine (optional) or 1/2 teaspoon of brandy
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar
a pinch of white pepper
METHOD:
Marinate the chicken overnight in the sauces… and then when its time to eat just heat a grill till hot and add a sprinkle of oil and then sautee the chicken it in making sure the chicken pieces are well spread out and dont overlap each other. When they are nice and browned i just added some chopped leeks
Serve with white rice

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INDIAN SWEET RICE (NON DAIRY)

RECIPE FOR THIS RICE

1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes

1/2 teaspoon each Nitu Didi fennel seeds (saunf/anis) and ground cardamom

a pinch of Nitu Didi Pure Spanish Saffron

1 big tablespoon butter or olive oil (i used butter)=

3.5 tablespoons sugar

pinch of salt

almonds for garnish

To buy my amazing pure spanish saffron click here

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Ideas for meals, Indian Restaurant Dishes, Jain recipes, Quick Recipes, Saffron, Typical Sindhi Dishes, Uncategorized, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

GULAB JAMUNS

This recipe and pic has been sent to me by my dear follower SARITA WADHWANI. Everyone has their own way of making gulab jamuns with their own tried and tested recipe. So its a matter of trying and then staying with that one recipe that suits you best!!
INGREDIENTS:
12 tablespoons full fat milk powder
4 tablespoons self raising flour
3 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon of soda bicarbonate
3-3.5 tablespoons of yogurt (for kneading the dough)
FOR THE SYRUP
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
pinch of Nitu Didi Pure Spanish saffron
1/4 teaspoon of Nitu Didi crushed cardamom powder
chopped pistachios
Oil for deep frying
METHOD
Mix the milk powder, oil, soda bicarb, flour well and make a dough with the yogurt. Knead the dough well and cover it for 30 minutes while you make the syrup by boiling the sugar, water, saffron for 10 minutes. Make small balls out of the dough and see that there are no cracks in the balls. If the dough is a little dry you can re-knead it with some more yogurt. Its important the balls are smooth and crack free. Heat oil to deep fry and deep fry the balls on slow heat. Fry them all and then put them into the syrup to soak. They should soak at least for an hour. Add the cardamom powder, and rose essence if you want. Garnish with chopped pistachos.
ENJOY!!

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Indian Restaurant Dishes, Saffron | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

EGGLESS DOUGH FOR MAKING ALL KINDS OF BREADS

EGGLESS DOUGH TO MAKE CRESCENT ROLLS, CHOCOLATE ROLLS AND HONEYCOMB CHEESE FILLED BREAD WITH SAFFRON GLAZE
This is a versatile dough for making all types of bread…and its EGGLESS!!
I will write down the recipe of the basic dough and then with each pic write the recipe of how that particular bread was made 🙂
FOR THE DOUGH
1 packet dry yeast (7 grams)
1 cup of warm milk(not too hot, not too cold..if its too hot the yeast wont rise and too cold the same thing-wat i do is heat the milk and i put my finger in..if its comfortably warm, i use it.)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of melted butter
white flour, as much as you need to make the dough
METHOD
in a bowl put the yeast and mix it with the sugar and salt. Add the warmed milk and let it get frothy(it takes about 10 minutes…if it doesnt get frothy means the milk isnt at the right temprature,
add the butter and as much white flour you need to make a soft dough. Keep it covered in a warm place to rise. I keep it in the sunshine…but keeping it in the oven is also a good idea (dont switch the oven on!!)
Once its risen you can work with it…

CRESCENT ROLLS
Roll the dough into 1/2 cm thickness and then cut into triangles. From one tip of the triangle roll it and turn it so it forms a crescent. Make as many rolls as you wish out of the dough. Bake at 180 till golden brown and done. I brushed them with honey
CHOCOLATE ROLLS
Roll the dough into a small rectangle and fill it with a piece of chocolate of your choice. I used milk chocolate bar. Fold it and seal it carefully, Bake at 180 till done.

HONEYCOMB CHEESE FILLED BREAD WITH SAFFRON GLAZE
INGREDIENTS
to make the saffron glaze: 3/4 cup of sugar boiled with 3/4 cup of water with a few strands of Nitu Didi PURE SPANISH SAFFRON for 6-7 minutes, keep aside
Make balls out of the dough and roll into tiny rounds. Fill each ball with a tiny piece of cheese (i used the triangle laughing cow low calorie cheese)
Seal it well so that it doesnt seep out while baking.
Place them on a round baking tray next to each other so they resemble a honey comb(see pic)
Bake at 180 till golden brown and when done pour the syrup on it immediately. I did not pour all i still have some syrup left…am going to make saffron mojito with that!!
So this is it:):) ENJOY…One dough and soo many different types of breads 🙂

 

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter, Saffron | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

EGGLESS CAKE BALLS (POPS)

EGGLESS CAKE POPS
I decided to make these as an offering for some prayers which are being held in my friends place. It is the festival of the god GANESH ..Ganesh Chathurti in India and here also in Valencia some of my freinds are celebrating it.
Cake pops are made with cake which is crumbled and then you can either add chocolate, cream or whatever you wish to bind it so it can be shaped into balls. These balls are then cooled and dipped into crushed nuts or melted chocolate. Wooden skewers are usually poked into them but i didnt have anything to balance them on so i just put them into an aluminum use and throw container.
INGREDIENTS:
1 eggless cake, crumbed (please refer to my youtube video)

.i flavored it with saffron and cardamom)


5 tablespoons of cream beaten with 4 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of rose essence
dessicated coconut
M&Ms for decorating
METHOD:
mix the crumbed cake with the sugar cream mixture and shape into balls. Roll in dessicated coconut and insert an M&M into each. Refrigerate if you want to have them cold!!
ENJOY!!!

Posted in A Piece of Cake???, Eggless Sweet Temptations, Everything Vegetarian, Floury Matter | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

SAFFRON COOKIES (EGGLESS)

These are eggless saffron and cardamom flavored cookies which will just melt in your mouth. The pic was sent to me by Arunima Chatterjee and the recipe is mine from my cooking page on facebook. Thank you so much Arunima 🙂 She used the saffron she bought from me and look at the amazing color!!

SAFFRON COOKIES
PIC BY ARUNIMA CHATTERJEEE
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
SHE USED NITU DIDI PURE SPANISH SAFFRON
here is the link to the recipe
EGGLESS SAFFRON COOKIES

2 Cup white flour

3⁄4 Cup Powdered Sugar

Pinch of ground cardamom powder

1/2 cup butter, softened

big pinch of NITU DIDIS PURE SPANISH SAFFRON
vanilla essence
a little full fat milk
pinch of baking powder

METHOD
heat oven to 170 deg
cream butter with saffron and sugar. add the white flour and the ground cardamom powder vanilla and mix all well. add a bit of milk and baking powder, mix all verry well. it should be a nice pliable lovely smelling dough.
shape into cookies and put on a baking sheet lined with either foil or butter paper. bake for about 15-20 minutes
MAKES THE MOST AWESOME COOKIES

Posted in Eggless Sweet Temptations, Floury Matter, Saffron | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

NUTRITIOUS SALAD

They say the more colorful a salad the more nutritious it is! I  have always enjoyed a simple salad dressing..salt, olive oil and lemon and maybe a few herbs or a pinch of cumin powder….
I had cooked some peanuts with the skin on in the pressure cooker and i wanted to make a salad out of it
The peanuts were yummy on their own too (to boil them add water in a pressure cooker and the peanuts and salt and pressure cook them for about 10 whisles – add ample water coz these peanuts tend to increase in size once boiled)
You can add your own ingredients to the salad but this is what i did
INGREDIENTS
1 small bowl of peanus
1 bowl of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 spanish cucumber cut into rounds
1/4 cup each of chopped green capsicum and onion
DRESSING
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
salt and olive oil
OPTIONAL: a pinch of cumin powder and black pepper
Arrange the vegetables in a pretty plate and top with the peanuts and capsicum and onion
drizzle the dressing on the top and serve!!

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