Strawberry Jam

The seller at the farmer's market was very generous and handed me a pile at a great price. Since they were beautifully ripe , i knew i couldn't keep them for long. Hence decided to make some jam!




All you will need is ...
Ripe strawberries
Brown sugar (white works too)
Lemon

Step one
Scope out the strawberry stem in a conical shape with a knife to remove the hard portion just beneath the stem. If they are too hard on the top , just cut the complete hard portion out.


Step two
Mash away....


This is the most fun part. If you have kids at home , give them a bowl full and ask them to mash it with their hands. Trust me the mess will be worth it. i had great fun with it myself.

since i like my jam lumpy with pieces of fruit , i keep the above consistency. You are free to mash it more or experiment with a small quantity and decide how you like it

Step three:


Now measure the puree in a bowl. If you have 2 full bowls of puree add one fourth cup of lemon juice and three fourth cup of sugar. If making for kids add one whole bowl of sugar to one bowl puree as they like it sweet. add all of this together in a sauce pan

Boil on a slow flame till the sugar melts and then boil on a high flame stirring it regularly. Now you need to decide the consistency of the jam. I like mine a bit flowly as the bread absorbs it well. Once the jam has thickened stop the flame and allow it to cool down . Remember the jam will be much thicker when it has cooled down than what it is now.

Step four :
Pour it in a clean and dry glass jar and refrigerate. I don't know how long this lasts as i have always finished mine within a fortnight. Spread on fresh bread, warm chapatis (flat bread) , dip crackers in it , pour on vanilla ice cream or simply scoop out a big spoon and enjoy it as dessert.


Look at the deep, red colour and its all natural . No colour, no preservative and so much fun!


Note : The texture is different from the store bought jam as this is all natural. The taste however is much better and the guilt , far far less. Make a small batch and then once you know how you like it exactly, tweak the recipe to your taste. 

Rice Magic

I love to work with left over rice, so much that every time i make rice for dinner i cook more than i know i will need. There is so much that can be done with that rice in the morning which is easy ,quick and so tasty. Sharing a recipe which can be prepared in the morning to be packed for lunch or simply enjoyed as a brunch on Sunday mornings when you wake up at leisure.

Here i have used :
Broccoli cut into small florets
Carrot sliced thin and long
Zucchine same as the carrot
Onion thinly sliced
Left over rice which is now a bit dry
Giner ,Garlic and Green chilly paste (please make a fresh one )
Soya Sauce.
Oregano
Extra virgin olive oil or any other oil you cook regularly with


Step one 


My mom gifted me this flat , heavy bottomed pan , perfect for this dish. Pour 4 to 5 table spoons of oil in the hot pan and add onion, broccoli and carrots.

Step two 
After cooking for a while ,add zucchini and ginger garlic chilly paste and sauté for a while.


Step three 
Add salt and check if the veggies are cooked by running a knife through them. At this point they should be cooked but firm. If needed cover for a minute with a lid or plate to cook . Now add rice and soya sauce and gently mix everything


Step four
At this stage taste for salt and add oregano (or rosemary if you prefer). cover the pan for the steam to flavour the rice.
And Viola !!


Important 
1.Remember soya sauce has salt so under season it than your normal taste ,as the sauce at the end will add more salt to the whole dish.
2.Do not over cook the veggies
3.Rice grains should be firm and a bit dry . if rice is very soft it will get mashed and everything with get mushy. The rice used here was cooked in an open pan and the excess water drained off to remove the starch, while the firmness of each grain remained.
4. Do not use very little oil , the whole dish will be too dry 

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

Yum yum...Chocolate Mousse . Well while i am thinking that, I am also thinking about all that goes into the mousse when it is store bought. i am a big fan of Natural Ingredients and hence tried this with Avocado and now this is a regular dessert for my guests at dinner and they love it. Of Course you have to be a avocado fan for you to like this ,but then whose not!!

Don't worry too much about the proportions here, taste along as you go. Just pull out that blender and have some fun :)

You will need :
1. one ripe Avocado.(the avocado has to be perfectly ripe and of a good quality or else don't make it)
2. two spoons of organic honey or whatever honey you have at home
3. one spoonful of unsweetened Coco powder. (or more if you like it a bit chocolatey and slightly bitter)
4. two tablespoons milk** (for a creamier version see bottom)
5. a dash of vanilla essence (optional)
5. a blender


Step one :
Peel and slice the avocado directly into the blender/mixer.

Look at the beautiful green colour

Step two :

Add the honey and the coco powder and couple of drops of vanilla essence(optional) whisk away.

Step three :
This is how it looks at this stage .


Step four :
Add milk and blend. now it is time to taste and decide if you need to add more honey if you like it sweet or/and more coco it you want more chocolaty ,a bit of milk if it is too thick for your taste.
and Viola!!

Refrigerate for few hours or overnight. Remember it thickens after this so keep the consistency accordingly. On mornings when i am lazy to make breakfast,  a big bowl feels like a treat to start my day with. Other days it makes the perfect light dinner substitute when i have had a heavy lunch and don't want to have soups or salads.

**To make it extra creamy
Use condensed milk (milkmaid) if making for guests or when you don't want to bother about the calories. adjust the honey accordingly as we don't want it to turn out too sweet.

Jaggery Granola Bars

I had picked up a pack of sugar free Muesli ,beautiful roasted , but couldn't enjoy it with milk as much as i thought i would. It had been waiting in my pantry for some attention since a while .

Decided to experiment with it, into making Granola bars and sharing the beautiful result here 

For this recipe you will need 

1. Unsweetened Muesli with nuts , if it doesn't have nuts add whatever you have on hand. i like Brazil nuts, Macadamia and Sultanas in my bars 

2. Jaggery 

3. A high edged plate for setting and cutting the bars (i used a small baking tray)

4. thick bottomed vessel  

The reason i have not given proportions here is because you have to melt the jaggery and mix the muesli till you it completely coated as below 

Step one :

lets melt the jaggery 

Step two :

Slowly keep adding the Muesli till you think it is coated with Jaggery completely. if the Muesli is less it is ok, it just comes out a bit sweet. but don't add it more as we you won't be able to make a bar out if it.

Step three:

Transfer onto a greased plate or pan and tighten it together  towards the edge ,with the help of a spoon or your hand( take care it is very hot at this stage ). now cut them into bars of your choice of size.

Step four :

Invert the tray on to a plate. now the bars are not so hot. i generally pick them up individually to tighten or/and shape. And Viola !!

Alternate to Muesli:

if you chose to make this recipe without  Muesli , just mix roasted oats (easily found at stores), raisins, any nuts you like  (walnuts ,cashews, almonds, pistachios ....) and then add to the jaggery.

I find these bars very useful as a snack ,either as a mid day meal or an evening snack. I wrap them in an aluminium foil and carry them in my purse on a busy day when i anticipate missing a meal. 2 bars can keep you full for several hours and provide a good alternative to biscuits, chocolates and any other form of junk. 

Please feel free to comment and suggest. Happy Snacking!!