Shaheen Ali

GIL-E-FIRDAUS also commonly known as Kesar Firni is a pudding made by grounded rice, lots of dry fruits and saffron. It’s thick as compared to the normal Rice Kheer, garnished with lots of dry nuts and rose petals, it is served chilled in various festivals and special occasions. The Firni is rich, creamy, rose scented and loaded with lots of chopped dry nuts. In my house Firni is preferred more than rice keer. It’s served chilled hence the consistency become more thick after getting into the refrigerator….. simply divine. I usually make Firni is a large quantity so that we…

Sambar is a lentil based vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind popular in South India. Sambar is made either exclusively with one of these vegetables or a combination of them – okra, carrot, radish, pumpkin, potatoes, tomatoes, brinjal(eggplant) and whole or halved shallots or onions. Sambar powder is a coarse powder made of roasted lentils, dried whole red chilies, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves with regional variations including cumin, black pepper, grated coconut, cinnamon, or other spices. The vegetables, tamarind pulp, sambar powder, turmeric, salt, and asafoetida are boiled together, until the vegetables…

Peanuts are often found at our kitchen pantry. Apart from making chutneys and using a few in making Chivda, peanuts normally doesn’t have anything fancy to serve us. But No! hold on…this masala peanuts is not just quick but also gives you a kick on your palate. There are basically two kinds of masala peanut recipes… 1. Besan coated deep fried 2. Blanched and roasted with spices. Peanut itself carry a huge content of oil in it hence the deep fried option won’t be that healthy to consume. Hence i opted for the roasted one. It’s tangy and spicy and…

In continuation with the diabetic friendly recipes this month, today i brought you the most tastier version of lauki. For all those who make a fuss in eating lauki, this recipe is going to make them fall in love with the boring vegetable. Lauki Chana Dal is one such recipe that tantalize your taste buds and also can be enjoyed by children. It’s a perfect blend of taste and health for the diabetic patients too who want to keep their health in check. The recipe is adapted from my dearest mom but i tried to keep it simple using minimum…

Start your day with something healthy today. Usually breakfasts at my home is those heavy and oily parathas etc but today i opted for something healthy, light yet filling. Club sandwiches are my son’s favorite. So to make it a little bit more interesting, i chose to make Finger club sandwiches. The sleek sandwiches are much more easier for the kids to finish. I teamed it with some crispy french fries and some fresh fruit juice. My son loved it so much that he took for his tiffin as well. The mayonnaise gives a creamy texture to the sandwich where…

The month of August is dedicated to Diabetic friendly recipes. It’s a theme based post where i shall be posting diabetic friendly recipes in various categories. After my first post on Indian veggie its time to move on to some desserts. I have many diabetic members in my family … have grown up seeing few of my relatives suffering from this disease. Have closely seen them craving for sweet but were helpless at times. Rasgulla happens to be the most commonly accepted and loved sweet gifted by West Bengal to the entire country. In my house for every nice occasions…

Treat your tummy with an absolute melt in mouth paneer kofta dunked in a rich creamy badami gravy. I had the pleasure of eating this royal treat in a near by restaurant few days back. The badami gravy is not just rich but also provides a amazing flavor ride to your palate. Basically the recipe comes under Awadhi Cusine and is quite close to Malai Kofta. The paneer kofta recipe resembles to malai kofta a lot but the gravy makes a huge difference when it comes to taste. The royal gravy has a smooth texture but along with that it…

Momordica charantia, known as bitter melon, bitter gourd, bitter squash or balsam-pearin English, has many other local names. Goya from Okinawan and karela from Sanskrit are also used by English-language speakers. It is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, which is extremely bitter. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit. As the name implies, this vegetable is a melon that is bitter. There are two varieties of this vegetable: One grows to about 20 cm long, is oblong and…

CORIANDER – the other names as Cilantro and Chinese Parsley Internal use The herb has great success in treating loss of appetite and other dyspeptic complaints. When used in laxatives, it eases griping. The roots, leaves and leafstalks can be used to flavor soups, salads, beans and curries.

Indo Chinese food is the most favorite food amongst youngsters these days. Chinese food cooked with Indian spices makes it more delectable and scrumptious. The most common vegetarian Indo chinese food liked by Indian youth is Paneer Chilli and Gobhi Chilli. The recipe of both are same, the only difference is that one is paneer and another is gobhi. Here i have brought you the recipe of gobhi chilli. Its crispy and firey hot. Perfect for dinner if teemed up with some fried rice or noodles. Many call it as dry gobhi manchurian too. But it is not as saucy…

Chivda – an Indian snack that is full of flavors and equally keeps a check on calories. Light and tasty Chivda is commonly found at Indian homes specially during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi or Deepawali. I remember as a kid i had this at my neighbor’s place in Diwali. The chivda was light and fluffy and had and amazing crunch and flavor. Chivda has no particular recipe, it can be made as per your liking and choice of ingredients and taste. This particular version is guilt free as it has very less use of oil. I prefer making Chivda in…

With the onset of monsoon comes the season of pakodas, bhajiyas n fritters. In India specially we have a big craze of enjoying rains with variety of bhajjis and a hot cup of tea or coffee. The more the friiters are crunchy the more we enjoy the rainy season. If you have some cabbge left in your storage and thinking what to do with it…just make these amazing cabbage fritters binded with chana dal. Perfect tea time snack in monsoon and even a great tiffin option for kids. Bengal gram aka chana dal is a perfect binding agent when it…