Category Archives: FOOD

About quick meal, healthy food, nutrition, healthy-tasty food for kids

The perfect restaurant for an authentic Onam Sadhya in Delhi

August 23, 2019 Ancy Abraham Leave a comment

We went to Mahabelly for a family dinner on our wedding anniversary. We waited for our turn for one hour outside the restaurant because they are very strict about serving on a first-come-first-served basis. You can either book your table online or book on the spot outside the restaurant.

If there was any irritation about being made to wait, especially on a wedding anniversary, it was washed down by the unlimited chilled lemon juice that the waiters served to those who waited outside.

Art & Design

Onam Sadhya in Delhi — A perfect blend of the tradition and the modern

Once we went inside, what struck me was that this Restaurant stood apart from all the other Kerala Restaurants that I visited so far. Usually Kerala Restaurants give priority only to food, however, at Mahabelly there is a Kerala ambience because of the art and design of the restaurant. There is a mix of tradition and contemporary in every aspect, right from the name of the restaurant, ‘Mahabelly’. Mahabali, the legendary king is believed to visit Kerala during Onam.

The Funny Posters

The funny posters attract everyone’s attention because they reflect the current demography of Kerala. The bar named ‘Mala Bar’ ostentatiously displays the signboard of a Kerala Toddy Shop. And the washbasin is shaped like an Urali, traditional copper cooking vessel of Kerala.

The customers of Mahabelly are of mixed demography, “We have a mixed group of people coming here and it is not restricted to a single demography as such. We have a lot of Malayalees visiting us who are our bread and butter. Apart from them also have people from the North, the locals from here and also a lot of foreigners.” Says Zachariah Jacob, one of the three partners, of Mahabelly.

The Food

On that day, we had Kappa, fish curry, Kerala porotta and Chicken roast. The food was tasty, authentic and attractively served. Located in Upscale Delhi, the rates seem reasonable. We all were of the opinion that this is the best Kerala Restaurant in Delhi. I emailed to Zachariah, to allow me to write a review about the restaurant. He invited me to experience an Onam sadhya when there was a shooting going on by Red FM. Mahabelly has got great reviews by almost all leading media houses in India.

So this review is not a sponsored post. This is a usual lifestyletodyanews blog, written to inform and inspire you. Just to inform you that if you want to experience one good Onam sadhya in Delhi, during the Onam season, Mahabelly in Saket, is the right option in Delhi.

Onam Sadhya

On September 10th, 11^th and 12^th Mahabelly restaurant will be exclusively serving authentic Onam Sadhya, during lunch and dinner with ingredients brought directly from Kerala. There will be around 21-25 dishes, including two yummy payasams, served on original banana leaves. The rate is ₹888 per head, which is all-inclusive.

For those who cannot do without non-vegetarian even for an Onam sadhya, there are a few non-vegetarian starters also available.

Kerala Toddy

On being asked whether Kerala Toddy is being served, Zachariah said, “We are not serving Kerala toddy. Unfortunately, the licensing rules do not allow us to serve Kerala Toddy here. At the same time, we have a lot of other options, especially southern themed cocktails, which are specially curated for the kind of cuisine we serve.”

So this Onam, if you are in Delhi on September 10^th, 11^th or 12^th, celebrate the visit of our beloved king Mahabali by having an authentic Kerala Sadhya at Mahabelly Saket.

HAPPY ONAM

Cooking Daily

5 Kerala breakfast recipes with Wheat flour

March 31, 2018 Ancy Abraham

Nowadays many Keralites are either giving up having rice completely or reduce the consumption of rice. There may be various reasons for the abstinence. They might have been asked to stay away from rice because of diabetes. Or they might want to reduce weight. In some cases, the abstinence from rice helps to reduce inflammation.

For a Keralite, there is nothing as torturing as staying away from rice and rice flour food. So they have their cheat day. Some say that it is better to die than to live without having rice.

A doctor opined that ‘wheat is heat and rice is ice’. Since people suffering from arthritis must have warm they must have wheat and avoid rice says the doctor.

Here are a few Kerala breakfast recipes with wheat flour or atta. Recipes like idiyappam, kozhukattai, vellayappam, vattayappam and puttu which are traditionally prepared with rice flour, are here prepared using wheat flour or atta.

To some extent, the craving for the rice-based Kerala recipes can be subsided by having the wheat-based alternatives. All the traditional combinations go well with the recipes. For instance, chickpea curry and atta puttu taste as good as the chickpea curry and rice flour puttu.

A surprise recipe!!

While trying out the atta variation of the Kerala recipes I stumbled upon a new wheat flour recipe – Yeast made of wheat flour. The recipe for the homemade wheat flour recipe is included as a bonus in this post.

Idiyappam

How to squeeze out, effortlessly, the idiyappam dough through the idiyappam maker is the main issue. Preparing idiyappam with rice flour itself requires a good amount of effort. Watch the video to find out how to prepare atta or wheat flour idiyappam easily.

Kozhukattai

I searched the internet thoroughly but could not find the exact substitute for the Kerala Kozhukattai using wheat flour or atta. Here is the wheat flour Kozhukattai which I am experimenting for the first time. The texture was good and the inside portion also cooked well. My family said the kozhukattai tasted good too. You can watch the recipe and improve on it. Send your version of wheat flour kozhukattai and we can publish it.

Vattayappam

Vattayappam is mainly made on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday to remember the last supper that Jesus had with his disciples. Traditionally vattayappam is prepared without yeast. Since the unleavened vattayappam is a bit hard nowadays people add a little yeast. Here is atta or wheat flour vattayappam in particular for those who cannot have food prepared with rice flour.

Vellayappam

Vellayappam with curry is the main food to celebrate Easter and Christmas. And what if you are not allowed to have rice-based food. No issues!! Prepare vellayappam with wheat flour. The appam came out very well and tasted yummy with the festival special curries. Watch the video to know more.

Puttu

Atta or Wheat flour puttu recipe is as old as the arrival of wheat flour to Kerala. It is an easy and commonly prepared breakfast. However I am sharing the wheat flour puttu for those who are yet to learn the art of preparing atta or wheat puttu.

Bonus Recipe

Homemade Yeast with Wheat flour

This happened accidentally. I wanted yeast for a recipe and there was no option for shopping at that moment. That is when I came across various options to prepare homemade yeast. Here is one method using wheat flour. This yeast is good and effective. Probably takes a bit longer than the dry yeast for fermentation. Check out the recipe here.

4 Lent food of Kerala Christians

3 Kerala Style Apple recipes: When apples are cheaper than onion and vegetables

5 summer drink recipes to beat the heat

Seven Onion Substitute For Everyday Cooking

12 Seasonal Fruits chart in Delhi

3 Recipe with Milk Powder – Nido

Cooking Daily, HOME

Celebrate this Christmas with Meetha Paan Cake

December 23, 2017 Ancy Abraham Leave a comment

During the Christmas season, there is one more day, other than 25th December, which is very anxiously awaited. That is the day of baking cakes.

Since the baking has to be done on a large scale we get the cakes baked in a bakery.

There will be a long queue waiting for their turn to bake their cakes. So we have to book the date and token number in advance. This year our token number was 3, on last Saturday.

When we wait our turn inside the bakery we can learn a lot of tips on how others mix ingredients for their cake.

First, the workers mix the eggs, butter and sugar with a huge whipper. Then the mix is poured into a large wok. And the flour is mixed.

Now it is the turn of the customer to add his or her ingredients that give the customized, specialized or homemade flavour, taste and texture to the cakes.

Some add orange juice. Others add sugar syrup. Others add lemon rinds and so on.

When you see the ingredients, you feel like “oh my God! why didn’t I think of these ingredients. This would have given a special taste to my cakes. No problem, I will add next time”.

When we reached, the bakery, this time, the mixing process of token no. 1 was going on. The customer was coolly monitoring the mixing of the ingredients. When the Baker asked him to finally add his secret flavours the entire scenario changed.

He politely ordered them to divide the batter into three parts. And each part was put a different wok. Now he added pineapple essence in one part. In another, he added cocoa flavour and cocoa chips. The way he administered the measurement of ingredients, I was sure he was not an amateur. Someone whispered that he is a Chef at Hotel Siddharth.

When I talked to him, his name is Hansi Gomes, he said that the third flavour he prepared today was Meetha Paan Cake.

I was on the lookout for a Christmas special article. I knew Meetha Paan Cake would be the best Christmas gift for the readers of lifestyletodaynews.com.

I requested him to share the recipe for the website. He not only agreed to share the recipe but also gifted me one Meetha Paan Cake.

The cake was yummy and refreshing.

For those who were born and brought up in north India, meetha paan brings childhood memories. Meetha Paan, which was the served at the weddings in the past, has a nostalgic feeling.

If you had enjoyed chewing meetha pan, in your childhood, at wedding functions, you are surely going to like this cake.

Meetha Paan Cake

Ingredients

Butter -1 Kg

Maida – 1 Kg

Sugar Powder – 700g

Vegetable Oil – 50g

Vanilla Essence

Eggs – 21 No.s

Baking Powder – 1 tbsp

Gulkand (Rose petal) – 1/2 Kg

Food Colour Yellow

Paan Petta (fine Julienne Cut)- 5

Dry Fruit (Tutti Frutti, Badam, Kajun) -150g each

Peppermint – One pinch

Preparation

Take the butter in a bowl and add sugar powder.

Mix it well until the butter is foamy. Now add the eggs one by one.

Whip well for a while. Let the mixture become soft.

Now add vanilla essence, food colour and baking powder. Mix well.

Add the flour little by little and make a lump-free batter.

Add gulkand, peppermint and paan petta and mix well.

Bake it is a tin mould with a butter paper placed at the bottom.

The baking takes at least 45 minutes. In order to know if the cake is properly cooked poke a toothpick at the centre of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, then the cake has been perfectly baked.

Happy Baking for Christmas!

Hansi Gomes is a Chef at Jaypee Siddharth Hotel, New Delhi.

He was kind enough to share his recipe for Meetha Paan Cake. A novel recipe for aspiring cooks and passionate bakers.

Thank you Mr Gomes for sharing the recipe.

Cooking Daily

Beetroot Oats Kheer

November 24, 2017 Ancy Abraham Leave a comment

Iron is an important mineral for our body, especially for pregnant women, and children. Here is a recipe with iron-rich food items which will help in an increased intake of iron in your daily diet.

The dish is prepared tastily which even the children will love the recipe. I know because my Children like the beetroot Oats Kheer that I prepared today.

Preparation

1 Cup Oats

Put the Oats in a Sauce Pan

1 Cup Water

Add the water to the Oats.

3 Cup Milk

Add Milk to the Oats.

3 Tablespoon Sugar

Mix all the ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

1 Beetroot (Small)

Peel the Beetroot.

Grate the beetroot.

Remove the cooked oats from the fire.

Add the grated beetroot immediately.

Mix well and remove to a serving bowl.

Fry a few Cashews and Raisins in ghee or butter.

Add to the Oat.

Beetroot Oats Kheer is Ready!!

Have the Kheer Hot or Cold.

Festivals, FOOD

How to prepare Unniyappam for Nercha (religious food offering)

November 1, 2017 Ancy Abraham Leave a comment

St Gregorios is a Kerala saint. His death anniversary, on November 2nd, is celebrated by devotees who are settled in different parts of the world. There are Churches with St. Gregorios as a patron saint in many places in India and abroad.
During the festival, the devotees bring unniyappam as offering to the Church. And the unniyappam is distributed to all who come to the Church.
Unniyappam is a fried rice snack with jaggery and sugar, prepared in a special mould. My mother’s generation were experts in preparing Kerala dishes. So they prepare hundreds of unniyappam as offering to the Church.
I learned unniyappam by trial and error method. Searching for recipes on the internet and taking tips from mother and aunties.
This year two weeks before the festival, I made a trial version of unniyappam, so as to get myself prepared for the main day when I have to fry more than a hundred unniyappams.
My friend Manju visited me just a few minutes after I finished preparing the unniyappams. She liked it so much so that she asked me to share the recipe on youtube.
I am sharing the trial version itself. Newly married girls who are preparing unniyappams on a large scale for the first time, will find the video useful.

The video is shaky and not of high quality since this video was not initially taken for publishing. I hope the video gives some helps you prepare the large number of unniyappams.

In cities like Delhi, where the devotees lack time, they have found some tricks to prepare large quantity unniyappams quickly. I will share the recipe here.

Ingredients

Rice flour – 2 Glass (All purpose rice flours available at Kerala Stores)

Jaggery – 250g (I used a dark brown, chocolaty taste version. Hence the colour and taste were good)

Coconut – 1 full (cut into small pieces)

Sesame Seeds (Til) – 2 tblsp

Ghee – 5 tblsp

Robusta Banana – 4 Nos

Oil – 1 litre

Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp

Method

Melt the jaggery in 1 glass of water. Mash the bananas in a blender. Mix the jaggery and mashed banana.

Roast the coconut in 2 tablespoon ghee, until golden brown.

Mix the coconut, sesame seeds and baking soda in the batter.

Keep aside for 45 minutes.

Keep the unniyappam mould on one gas stove burner. On another keep a frying pan with 2 glass oil.

When the mould is hot add 1/2 teaspoon ghee in each mould. Now fill the moulds with oil. Let it get very hot.

Now pour the batter. If the batter is thick, add warm water or melted jaggery.

When the unniyappam turns brown at the bottoms turn them using a fork or a thin skewer. When both sides are a bit brown, transfer them to the frying pan. Fry until the unniyappam is Crisp and brown. Remove on a plate spread with tissue paper.

With 2 glass of rice flour, I prepared 50 unniyappams.

FOOD, HOME

Indian diet 50% short of high-quality Protein

July 21, 2017 Ancy Abraham Leave a comment

After food shortage in India was resolved by the green revolution, nutrition experts in India found that the Indian diet was inadequate in the intake of good quality protein. According to experts, the diet should be balanced including carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Protein is an essential component for every stage of life.

During pregnancy, the vegetarian mother should take milk for high-quality protein. After birth, the requirement of protein is very high in 0-2 age group and Adolescence. In the old age, people consume less food and proportionately the consumption of protein is also reduced. During the old age, the amount of protein should not be lowered.

There is a misconception in India that protein is for body building only. Protein is required in every stage of human life. On the other hand, if you have a protein only diet and do not exercise then the protein will go out of the body with urine. You must have a balanced diet of high-quality protein, carbohydrates and fats.

For instance, you can have idli with sambar, rice with rajma and a glass of milk. All the three meals in a day and the two snack must include a high-quality protein food. Milk, poultry and meat are sources of high-quality protein which is digestible. Vegetables are less digestible compared to the nonvegetarian sources.

Nutrition experts say that cereals are a good source of protein, and the ideal ratio of consumption of cereals and proteins is 60:40. Too much or too little protein is not good for health. During the healing process of some diseases, protein is essential.

To maintain a healthy lifestyle we must follow the right ratio of protein, energy and exercise.

In order to increase the awareness of protein among the Indians and to clarify the misconceptions, Indian DIetetic Association (IDA), Delhi Chapter on 18th July declared 24th-30th July 2017 as ‘The Protein Week’. Dr B Sesikeran, renowned nutritional pathologist said, “In India, there are many myths around the sources of protein, people are confused about their dietary protein intake and often assume that it is for body builders only, however, protein is a fundamental nutrient across life stages that helps in maintaining good health and active ageing.”

The initiative is supported by Protein Foods Nutrition Development Association of India (PFNDAI). Protein intake impacts every life stage. “Our vegetarian diets are already deficient in protein both in quantity and quality, so we need to supplement with protein which not only fills up the gap but is high quality enough to ensure our cereal and pulse-based protein quality would be elevated,” said Dr J S Pai, Executive Director, PFNDAI.

Speaking at first such initiative in the country, to spread awareness and discuss myths and realities of protein, Ms Anuj Agarwala, Nutritionist, Department of Pediatrics, AIIMS and Former President, IDA Delhi Chapter, said “It is important to begin early and focus on a protein rich diet right from the start, which should be continued through all the life stages of development and growth. Children particularly have high protein demand to propel their growth during growing years, as they grow in spurts. Demands for protein among children is particularly high during preteen and teen phases of growth spurts.”

During The Protein Week, IDA with PFNDAI, will hold educational seminars across the country to spread awareness and discuss myths and realities of protein.

FOOD

COOKING DAILY (A Necessity to maintain a healthy lifestyle)

Video July 15, 2017 Ancy Abraham

FOOD, HOME

4 Lent food of Kerala Christians

April 17, 2017 Ancy Abraham Leave a comment

Yesterday, was Easter and the 40 days of fasting and 10 days of the passion week has come to end. This year many people said that they never knew that Christians fasted and abstained from non-vegetarian food, including milk and alcohol, for 50 days in a year.

Fasting, abstaining from certain food, penance and praying have relevance in the Christian religion, from the time of Christ itself. Christ went on 40 days fast in the wilderness, before beginning his 3 years ministry leading to his Crucifixion and Resurrection. 40 days lent is one of the basic foundation the Orthodox and the Catholic churches, founded by the Apostles. Believers get purified, detoxified and they get the energy to survive spiritually for the next one year.

Christianity came to Kerala in the early days itself, when St. Thomas (who is known as Apostle of India), came to India in AD 52. In the past 2000 years, Kerala Christian’s tradition of prayer, food, and culture is a blend of the Bible, the life of Jesus, the association with other Apostolic Churches in the world and Kerala tradition.

The first forty days of fasting is purely full of prayers, fasting even without drinking water up to 12:00 pm; and having lunch after the Midday prayer and kneeling 40 times. The simplest form of fasting is abstaining from meat, fish, and egg for 50 days. The toughest form of fasting depends on the one who fasts. Some of the Ashram priests, it is said, have light lunch that includes kanji (water rice or gruel) and stir-fried moong (green gram). And they have even lighter supper — Such men do not live by bread alone but by the word of God.

There is a lot of symbolism connected with the lent season, which raises nostalgia. Certain lent food prepared during the last 10 days of the passion week has a lot of symbolic value. The 40 days of fasting ends on the Friday before Good Friday, and the next 10 days are dedicated for more prayers and more spiritual activities.

Here are some the food items which are symbolic of certain holy days of the Lenten period:

Kozhukattai Saturday

The family of Lazarus, and his two sisters, Martha and Mary, was Jesus’s favourite. Lazarus died and was buried. On the third day, Jesus came and rose Lazarus from the dead. It is said that Kozukattai was one of the favourite food of Jesus. He had kozukattai with Lazarus family. The raising of Lazarus from the dead is remembered on this Saturday.

People make kozukattai at home and share it with friends, relatives, and neighbors. Kozuattai has steamed rice dumplings with a stuffing of coconut gratings, jaggery and a pinch of cardamom.

Vattayappam/Pesaha Appam

The tradition of Pesaha Appam dates back to the Jewish tradition 2000 years before the birth of Jesus. The Jews remember the Passover day when the Israelite’s left Egyptian slavery and started their Exodus to Israel. During the preparation to leave Egypt, the Israelite’s were asked by Moses to prepare unleavened bread. That was because they had to leave early in the morning and so there was no time to ferment the dough.

Yesterday someone commented on the Pesaha Appam video given below that this is not an authentic traditional way of preparing Pesaha Appam. As the batter is not fermented for making Pesaha Appam. On consulting many elderly and experts preparing the Pesaha Appam, there were different opinions,

Some prepare the batter and immediately make the appam. Others keep the rice and urad dal batter mix aside for 3-4 hours before preparing the appam. Some use yeast. Because they are preparing the appam to be given in the Chuch as offering after the Passover Service. While in other places there is a ceremony in the house on Thursday evening where Pesaha Appam and Pesaha Pall (Coconut milk recipe) is given as a dip.

The video given below was intended for the working young women and men in cities who want to prepare appam as an offering for the Church, The intention was to help them be part of the tradition even when they have time constraints. This is how my family and friends prepare appam for Pesaha.

On the day before his Crucifixion on Good Friday, Jesus observed the Jewish Passover festival with his 12 disciples, at the house of Mark. The ‘Last Supper’ painting of Michelangelo depicting the event is very popular.

Kerala Christian prepare unleavened bread or Pesaha appam (Pesaha mean Maundy Thursday) with rice flour and urad dal as the main ingredients. There are a number of different varieties of preparing pesaha appam.

And an accompaniment called Pesaha pal is also prepared. In traditional homes, all the members of the family gather around the table, with the head of the family at the main chair. The youngest member of the family will ask the head of the family about the relevance of the festival. He will explain and distribute the appam to the family members.

Good Friday Kanji

Rice Gruel (kanji) at the end of the long Good Friday service is nostalgia for Kerala Christians. After fasting for the whole day, and having Chorukka (bitter drink) at the end of the service, the Rice Gruel, with stir-fried green moong (green gram) and kadu manga(a special mango pickle) is an incomparable delicacy blended with spiritual and traditional values. In the olden days, the Kanji was served in an earthen pot with jack fruit leaves shaped like spoons.

Vellayappam

Vellayappam is a kind of dosa prepared from rice flour, grated coconut and; fresh coconut toddy or yeast used as the leavening agent. On the two main festivals of Kerala Christians, Christmas, and Easter, vellayappam is prepared in large numbers for the relatives, neighbors, and helpers.

For a Kerala Christian Christmas cake is exotic. For them, vellayappam with chicken or mutton stew symbolizes the celebrations of Christmas and Easter.

Watch this video for Holy Week Recipes. A quick recipe is provided to prepare Pesaha Appam for Maundy Thursday, A recipe on how to make kanji, payar, and kadumanga (Mango Pickle) at home for Good Friday, as it is Lockdown. And for Easter, there is the recipe for Vellayappam and Chicken Stew.

5 Kerala breakfast recipes with Wheat flour

5 summer drink recipes to beat the heat

3 Recipe with Milk Powder – Nido

12 Seasonal Fruits chart in Delhi

Seven Onion Substitute For Everyday Cooking

3 Kerala Style Apple recipes: When apples are cheaper than onion and vegetables

FOOD, PORTRAITS

Food Stories of Saint Teresa of Calcutta

September 5, 2016 Ancy Abraham

Yesterday during Mother Teresa’s canonisation there were two trending topics – ‘SaintTeresa’ and ‘FraudTeresa’. Many considered here a Saint, other’s viewed her sainthood with doubt “how can this be”.

Two thousand years back a 12 year old girl asked the same question to an angel that appeared to her and told her that she will bear a son. She said to the angel, “How can this be, when I haven’t known a man”. From that moment, Mary the mother of Jesus underwent many pains and sufferings. Now she is the most revered, after Jesus Christ, and the foremost among the Saints of Jesus.

Man is fallible, and so there will always be doubts about how human beings with all their inherent faults can be declared saints. A saint is one who is in heaven with God because of their holiness and virtue.

We only have third party knowledge of saints, mostly through verbal stories passed on from generation to generation, because holy people are declared as saints years after the death of their contemporaries. I couldn’t meet Mother Teresa, so all the that I know about mother is third party information – through books; and the experience of others. Stories about her inspired me all through out my life. Many prominent people have shared their rendezvous with mother, which changed their life forever; and listening to their experience changed my perception of life.

Saint Teresa took care of the sick people, infected and dying on the street in a way which is unimaginable to replicate for an ordinary human. There was a story, in a newspaper, of a woman who was a strong anti-campaigner for Mother Teresa, but when she saw the missionaries of charity helping a sick man lying on the street, she changed her opinion. Because, the Sisters were doing a service which she couldn’t imagine herself doing.

Mother Teresa inspired people to share food, and to give the left over food to the needy. Giving away food is the simplest act of charity which any human can do. The inspiring food stories , share in this post, resonates Saint Teresa’s famous quote; “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” Here are some of St. Teresa’s food stories that inspired many to do charity:

The story of the broken biscuits

In Khushwant Singh’s book ‘Unforgettable Women’, he says that once he went with Mother Teresa to a biscuit factory where the Manager was ready with excuses like there was a Union Strike, they were already doing charity, and so on. She thanked the Manager for all the broken biscuits they had given in the previous years and continued **”You must have lots of problems. Everything is in short supply— flour, butter, sugar.’ It was evident that Mr Mukherjee’s speech had been taken out of his mouth………….** When Mother continued with stories of the hungry destitute, Mukherjee finally delivered forty large boxes of broken biscuits to Mother Teresa.

Picking up waste food at parties

Usha Uthup the popular singer, has 47 years of association with Mother. She says mother had tremendous influence on her and St. Teresa never talked about religion though she was from a different religion. Once Mother told Uthup that when she goes to parties, she should pick up the left over food and give to the needy. Though her assignment was embarrassing Usha Uthup did her job dutifully.

Charity in the air

Jiji Thomson, former Chief Secretary of Kerala, said that once when he boarded a flight there was an announcement that Mother was also on board. Everyone clapped their hands. When the food was being served there was another announcement that if there is any leftover food, the passengers were requested to hand it over to Mother. Every single passenger gave their food packet to Mother.

The flight story shows the universal impact of Mother. Imagine who all might have been on board- atheists, youths enjoying life, Kids waiting for the tasty meal, etc. All of them forsook their meal to be part of a great service to humanity.

**Excerpts from ‘Unforgettable Women’ by Khushwant Singh

FOOD

3 Recipe with Milk Powder – Nido

August 17, 2016 Ancy Abraham

While rearranging old books, I discovered Mother’s recipe book in which she noted down recipes she prepared 30 years back. I remember mother trying out all the recipes and I had also helped in the experiments. Sometimes the recipes came out well in the first trial and sometimes we had to retry and tweak to get the recipe perfectly made.

Since it is Raksha Bandhan I thought why not try out few desserts in the book. I decided to try Gulab Jamun, Milk Chocolates and Rasagulla recipe with milk powder. There was also a Rasgulla recipe with milk, but to add a new twist to the old recipes I thought why not try to make Rasagulla recipe with milk powder instead. Mother used to prepare all the milk powder recipes with Nido, so I too used the same Milk Powder.

Before sharing the recipes I would like to apologise that I am not a cooking expert. I try out new recipes so as to give a creative twist to the daily routine diet, hence there will be a lack of perfection and professionalism in the presentation of the desserts. However, believe me, they are tasty, healthy and nutritious.

Do try out these recipes and post pictures of the desserts in the comment section of this post. I am sure, your preparations will be much presentable than the pictures used in this post. Also, tell us what changes you made to the ingredients, and methods, mentioned in this recipe. The best recipes will receive attractive Gifts.

Rasgulla

Ingredients

Milk Powder 10 tbsp

Water 1litre

Essence 1tsp

Vinegar 1/4Cup

For Syrup

Sugar 11/2Cup

Water 3 Cup

Preparation

Boil the water, add the milk powder and stir well. When the milk boils, lower the flame and pour the vinegar. When the milk curdles strain into a cloth. Tie the cloth and hold under a running tap for two minutes. Hang the cloth for three hours. After three hours, squeeze the cloth well to remove any excess water. Transfer the coagulated milk or Chenna from the cloth to a plate. Knead the Chenna well with the palm of your hands till they are soft and make small balls.

Mix the sugar and water in a big vessel. After the sugar boils and becomes a bit sticky, add the chenna balls. Cover and cook on medium heat, turning the vessel around slowly after every 10 minutes. Remove from stove after 35 minutes and add rose essence.

Milk Chocolates

Ingredients

Icing Sugar or Sugar 200g

Milk Powder 50g

Cocoa Powder 50g

Vanaspati Ghee 175g

Preparation

Mix the powders and sift three times. Double boil* the mixture in a steel bowl. Add the ghee and stir in one direction until the mixture becomes soft and smooth. Pour the mix into a chocolate mould and refrigerate for an hour. To make chocolate cookies, dip the cookies in the chocolate mix and refrigerate.

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

Milk Powder 18tbsp (tablespoon)

Maida (All purpose Flour) 4tbsp

Oil 3tbsp

Milk Cream 200ml

Baking Powder 1tsp

For Syrup

Sugar 3 Cups

Water 6-7Cups

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients with milk cream and make a soft dough. Make small balls and deep fry them on a low heat. While frying, let the dough balls remain in oil for a while before turning them slightly.

Mix the water and sugar and boil till the syrup become a bit sticky. Remove from the stove and add the fried balls. Close with a lid and let the jamun’s soak in the syrup for an hour.

*Double Boil: Boil some water in a vessel, and when the water boils remove from the stove. Now place the chocolate mix, in a smaller vessel, in the boiled water and stir.

5 Kerala breakfast recipes with Wheat flour

4 Lent food of Kerala Christians

3 Kerala Style Apple recipes: When apples are cheaper than onion and vegetables

5 summer drink recipes to beat the heat

3 Recipe with Milk Powder – Nido

12 Seasonal Fruits chart in Delhi

Art & Design

The Funny Posters

The Food

Onam Sadhya

Kerala Toddy

HAPPY ONAM

A surprise recipe!!

Idiyappam

Kozhukattai

Vattayappam

Vellayappam

Puttu

Homemade Yeast with Wheat flour

Meetha Paan Cake

Ingredients

Preparation

Happy Baking for Christmas!

Preparation

Ingredients

Method

Kozhukattai Saturday

Vattayappam/Pesaha Appam

Good Friday Kanji

Vellayappam

The story of the broken biscuits

Picking up waste food at parties

Charity in the air

Rasgulla

Ingredients

For Syrup

Preparation

Milk Chocolates

Ingredients

Preparation

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

For Syrup

Preparation

Re-emphasizing News that Matter