All posts filed under: Salads

Moutabel with Crumbled Feta

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This delicious dip is a popular selection of mezze served with most Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. A mix of the simplest of ingredients which include roasted eggplant,Tahini (sesame paste),minced garlic,lemon juice and olive oil.Put these together and you have a delightful accompaniment which goes really well with grilled meats,crisp pita bread or even just some chopped vegetables. My original recipe takes on a wonderful twist by the addition of some crumbled feta and sumac. This one’s a winner. How about giving it a try? Ingredients: 2 Medium eggplants (roasted, peeled and mashed) 2 tbsp. ml tahina(recipe below or store-bought) 25 ml lemon juice 2 cloves garlic(minced) 2 tablespoon olive Oil Chopped parsley sprinkling of sumac (optional)salt to taste Directions: 1.Mash the roasted eggplant. 2.add in the olive oil, salt ,minced garlic and lemon juice. 3.Mix well and add in the tahini. 4.Drizzle with some more olive oil. 5.Garnish with crumbled feta and sprigs of parsley…Serve with crisp pita. Ingredients for Tahini Paste: 1 cup sesame seeds 2 tablespoons  olive oil and/or a small amount of sesame …

Ramadan Kareem: Kiwi & Coconut pudding

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Ramadan Kareem Having lived in Dubai for over 15 years now one has become fairly accustomed to this greeting during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and Muslims all over the world observe a month in fasting. Ramadan Kareem literally translates into “May you have a blessed and peaceful Ramadan” Looking deeper into the essence of the Holy month of Ramadan there is a lot more I’ve discovered over the years. The true spirit of Ramadan would mean looking beyond eating at dawn, fasting through the day and breaking one’s fast at sunset. It is a period of introspection and self-healing. A  time to reflect on one’s deeds and actions. A time to exercise self-control, restraint and sacrifice. A time to encourage actions of generosity and charity. The fasting of course is the essential part of Ramadan. This consists of two main meals. One is the Suhoor which is the pre fast meal eaten at dawn and Iftar which is the meal eaten after breaking one’s fast at sunset. An Iftar forms a large part of …

Kiwi & Raw Papaya Salad

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This is one of my favorite salads. It has a lovely crisp bite to it. With summer at its peak and the temperatures soaring high  there are times when just a fresh salad can be so refreshing and satisfying. I’ve adapted this from my usual Thai Papaya salad that I make. The carrots used are a good variation and add a nice crunch to this salad. The kiwi fruit give this salad a burst of flavor and add a great Zing to it. Of late I’ve been receiving a lot of gorgeous Kiwi fruit. All thanks to Zespri for their kind gesture. Well naturally I’ve been testing out various recipes using Kiwi. This salad went off really well with the Thai chicken curry I made for dinner a couple of nights ago. Some fun facts about Kiwi     Apart from being high in vitamin C   It’s quite unusual for a low-fat food, let alone a fruit, to be a good source of vitamin E. However, kiwifruit is a great low-fat natural source of vitamin E, which is well-known for its heart …

Happy Holi- A riot of colors & flavours

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Holi– A colorful festival and a festival of colors indeed. A festival that marks the end of winter and ushers in Spring. Happy Holi everyone! Well it’s been ages since I played Holi. Perhaps the last time was when I was a teen.However we’ve  just been invited  to celebrate and play holi at a friend’s this year. Naturally I’m quite excited and hence was inspired to make something special as well. Any celebration is not complete without a delectable “something sweet” I decided to go with a family favorite-“Gajar ka Halwa” or a Carrot pudding. The recipe calls for grated carrots, milk and homemade mawa ( recipe included) to be cooked together. The carrots used for a halwa should be preferably the red variety most often found in the winter months. You could however use the orange ones if the red are un available. This halwa could be served hot or cold. It is even more decadent when served with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream. Go ahead and indulge a little. INGREDIENTS: 500 grams Carrots (peeled and grated) …

Gluten -Free Banana Nut Muffins

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Experimenting with gluten-free recipes is my new mantra.I like to say I’m still fairly new to this,and of late have been trying to widen my knowledge of Gluten free cooking. While I’m not really sure that I’m Gluten Intolerant,I just prefer it and feel so much better not eating it. I actually got around to making these Gluten free banana nut muffins for a Teen cooking workshop recently.I was of course overjoyed to find this lovely Plain Flour Blend (gluten-free) in the Organic section of Geant supermarket.The flour is a blend of Rice,Potato,tapioca,maize and Buckwheat and worked really well for this muffin recipe.The brand used is Dove Farms. There’s just one word to describe these muffins: Simple!!! I looked up Dove farms and came across a whole lot of GF recipes using their products. I have tweaked the original recipe a little bit.I’ve substituted chocolate chips with raisins. Love walnuts in my muffins…so in went a handful of those.The recipe called for 150 grams of sugar.I ‘ve reduced that to about 100 grams.Turned out sweet enough as …