The house has been looking so beautiful all decorated for Christmas; the small tree, the fairy lights and the wreath. It was my 3 year olds idea, but yes, we just had to have a Christmas party, and we had the extended family over.
Here’s the menu, we had a rather un-Christmas meal – Potato Mayo salad, Chicken Farchas, White rice and Spicy Prawn Curry with Kachumber and easy Chocolate Banana Crepes for dessert.
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Chocolate Banana Crepes Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS
5 bananas at least 6 inches long
2 tablespoons drinking chocolate powder
1 tablespoon coffee
3 tablespoons cinnamon powder
Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce

For the crepes
4 eggs
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 banana

PREPARATION
- Beat together all the ingredients for the crepes except the bananas. Mash one banana smoothly and mix in only just before making the crepes.

- Slice the 5 bananas down the center and then chop into 1/2 inch pieces. (more…)

I don’t think there’s any doubt about how much I love crepes and pancakes. But I usually eat them sweet and on their own.
Last Saturday, I looked into the fridge and didn’t see any very interesting stuff, I decided to jazz up our lunch. The lucky vegetable of the day turned out to be the lone cauliflower. Here how it went. For a change I thought to take step by step photographs. Enjoy!
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Savoury Cauliflower Crepes Serves 4
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For the crepes this recipes is perfect but leave out the sugar.

For the mixture
1 Caulifower – broken into small florets to fill 2 cups.
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic
1 small tomato, chopped small
1/2 tsp chilli powder

For the sauce
1 cup milk
1 tsp butter
2 table spoons all purpose flour (maida)
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste

Also mix together in a cup
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 teaspoon chilli sauce if you want to add some bite!

PREPARATION
Set the cauliflower to boil in adequate water and a teaspoon of salt.

In 2 teaspoons of oil start sauteing the chopped onions. As they brown, add the garlic after crushing.
Now add the tomato, salt and chilli power and half a cup of water. Let it cook well on low heat.

Meanwhile start making the crepes. Don’t forget to leave out the sugar. Keep them thin, no bigger than about 6 inches in diameter. Set them aside on paper the drain the grease. (more…)

My parents visited Kerala, – God’s own country, as they claim. Mom picked up some packets of “Ann’s” mixes – for fried fish, and an assortment or curries. I just tried the one for fried fish. All that had to be done was add a very little water, coat the fish slices – I used pomfret, keep for an hour or so, and then fry. My usual quick marinade for fried or grilled fish is a mix of salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder, in a tablespoon of brown vinegar. That’s always worked well enough. Occassionally, I add a tablespoon of chickpea flour (channa atta). Unbelievable how this packet of masala transformed the fish! A lovely red, slightly spicy crust formed over the fish. Delicious, it definitely has my thimbs up. Cant wait to try the other mixes!

And another breakfast, and another picture of what I had with the left-over Tofu. Tofu on crackers ( Britannia Cream Crackers, by the way – if you haven’t tried them, do) with tomatoes, cucumbers, salt and pepper and topped with black Kalamata olives and a tiny dollop of Weikfield’s Sweet Chilli Sauce.
While I was confirming online the paneer vs tofu fat content I came across this site. I’m going to take Yasmeen’s info as correct because I couldn’t really find any other clear comparisons, and it’s shocking to me. She calls herself a ‘health nut’, but really, looking at these figures, even though I agree Tofu’s lower on the protein and calcium, you don’t need to be a health nut to make a better choice. At least that what it looks like to me ! Wheeeew! I feel half a kilo lighter already.

Actually there’s still a lot of Tofu left, you’re going to be hearing more.

When everyone’s talking Christmas goodies, it’s a little weird I guess to have a Tofu Sandwich right on the top of my favorite things list. Well, for one, I’m not a huge sweet-tooth, for another, everyone is giving you those recipes anyway, aren’t they? For a third, I just got my camera working again, have Tofu in the house and managed to have time around breakfast rush-hour, all on the same day!

This is a little embarrassing to admit, but till about 6 months ago, though I’d had Tofu in various forms at restaurants, I’d never thought to buy it myself. I used paneer instead. As everyone knows, that’s a favorite on any vegetarian Indian menu especially across northern India. Paneer Tikka, palak paneer, kadai paneer, paneer paratha, you name it! The thing is I don’t really like cooked paneer; I avoid it on the buffet every time. I love it raw. And I often started the day with a Paneer Sandwich, until I read that it was really huge on fat – I get the store bought kind. It put me off for a few months till I suddenly thought of trying Tofu. And that, contrary to what many think, turned out to be the perfect substitute, and had a fraction of the fat.

Coming back to my Tofu Sandwiches… At their most basic, they have thick slices of Tofu / Paneer between sliced brown bread, a small, stingy scrapping of mayo, salt to taste and black pepper. And then a pinch of sugar because I like the touch of sweetness. Today’s sandwich was a season special; slices of a sweet fig, topped off with the last of my black olives. (more…)