Skinny Coleslaw

Coleslaw is a most widely known and a commonly made salad in the world and esp. in this region, everyone has their own recipe/method of making it. It won't be an exaggeration if I'd state that you'd find this continental salad in every 'distorted' way possible to suit the local taste buds! 

What exactly it is? Basically its a salad made with shredded cabbage and grated carrots dressed with a mayonnaise and vinegar dressing and seasonings. Some people do add more vegetables to it and sometimes I do too but we have given a different name to it locally and call it "Russian Salad" that I shall share the recipe of in my future posts, In Sha Allah (God Willing)

As a kid, I remember there was one Kebab place in Jeddah, K.S.A that made very nice Seekh Kebabs (Barbecued Skewered Kebabs) and over the weekends, my dad used to get Kebabs from that shop when he'd crave for some good Pakistani Kebabs and they served this Coleslaw with them which was dressed with mayonnaise and cream mixed together. We siblings used to be more interested in it as the spicy food didn't attract us and maybe for the spiciness of the kebabs, they paired this cooling salad with them which was a bit sweet too. My Mom then started making it at home by keeping this fact in view that how much we liked it. 

Over our vacations to Pakistan, there was one burger joint close to my Paternal Granddad's house,  which was famous for their 'Cream Salad' they served with all of their sandwiches and burgers and we were often treated with those because as kids, we really wanted all that stuff that we ate in Jeddah and those burgers were the only solace we got at the time and it was also able to lure us into to eating our dinner happily :) That salad was cream based Coleslaw which was nice but not something that we loved.
As I grew up and got more health conscious, I am always on the look out for the healthier and tastier alternatives of the classic sweet, tangy and fattening Coleslaw dressing. The idea I came up, after various experimentation, was to use one part light mayonnaise mixed with one part of thick curd, some apple cider vinegar, a touch of regular mustard and just a tiny bit of honey all mixed together and Voila, you got the best tasting Coleslaw ready in no time which is kind to your waistline too! Shall we read the steps in detail now?

Lets get some salad-making Unleashed today! :D

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

Cabbage: 1 small head (shredded)

Carrots: 2 large (grated)

Light Mayonnaise: 4 tbsp. 

Thick Curd/Greek Yogurt: 4 tbsp.

Mustard: 1 tsp.

Honey: 1 tsp.

Apple Cider Vinegar: 1 tsp.

Salt: 1/2 tsp.

Black Pepper Powder: 1/4 tsp.

Method:

1. Put both the shredded cabbage and grated carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In another small mixing bowl, put the mayonnaise, curd/yogurt, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper and mix everything together with the help of a whisk.
3. Add this dressing to the vegetables and toss everything well. 
4. Take out into a serving bowl and refrigerate till ready to serve.
5. Ideally make it 4-6 hours prior to serving and keep it refrigerated.
6. Serve chilled as an appetizer, main salad or as a side dish. Goes great with Pizza, Burgers and Sandwiches too. 

Serves 4-6  

Notes:

1. Light mayonnaise and yogurt can be replaced with the vegetarian/vegan version of them.
2. You can omit adding mayonnaise altogether and double the quantity of the Greek yogurt if you do not wish to add it for any reason. 
3. If you wish to make Coleslaw a day ahead, just prepare the vegetables and store them in an airtight box. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and store it in another airtight jar. Keep both refrigerated and just mix about 30 minutes before serving. Keep it refrigerated.  
4. Leftover salad can be stored in an airtight box and stays well up to a day if kept well in the fridge.
5. In the countries where the Coleslaw mix is easily available in the cold salad section of the stores, the fresh vegetables can be replaced with that.

That's all folks! :) The quantity of the ingredients can be always be adjusted according to your need and desire. I hope you enjoy making and eating it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones. Jazak'Allah Khair! (May Allah reward you) 

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!

Homemade Pizza

Pizza is a favorite of everyone; young and old alike! It's Italian by origin but you will find different flavor's of Pizza in every region of the world and in every household, everyone has their own way of making it. Pizza is something that I have literally grown up eating and that my Mom made quite often for us. She learnt making it from one of my Dad's friend's wife, they became our family friends later and we used to visit each other regularly. Both the Uncle and Aunty has passed away now but the memories of the time spent with them are still alive with us. May they both rest in peace, Ameen Sum Ameen.

As a little girl, I remember watching my mother making Pizza with quite an interest and with the anticipation of eating it soon. All of us siblings used to get so excited whenever she announced that she's making Pizza for dinner. I then started offering help to her with putting the toppings on the Pizza base smeared well with the Marinara Sauce or in other words the Pizza sauce which was available commercially. She made Pizza with cooked beef mince mostly with loads of other delicious toppings and lots of cheese covering them all. In it went to the oven to get baked then and the aroma wafting from the kitchen made us expectant children incredibly hungry and happy :D Those were the days when just eating your favorite food made you immensely happy but I still have that child alive inside and I am not willing to let it go ever.
As we grew up older, we always wanted chicken on Pizza therefore, my Mom switched to making with it. 

I remember we once held a Pizza party at home and that was the time when I actually learnt making Pizza from my mother. I was 13 at the time and observed how she kneaded the dough. The recipe that my Mom learnt to make from the Aunty used egg and milk and she always used the jar of Pizza sauce but after some years when I took on the role of the Pizza making myself, I simplified the dough recipe after reading several authentic Italian dough recipes and started making my own Marinara sauce as well.

The Pizza dough that I make, I add wholewheat flour to it along with the all-purpose one and my recipe does neither include any egg or milk powder and nor does it require milk to knead it. The addition of the wholewheat flour not only gives a beautiful color to the pizza crust but does enhance the flavors too. The authentic Marinara sauce recipe does not have any mention of adding dried Oregano leaves in it but I do add it in mine hence, you can say that's the only exception I've made to the authentic method as I love both the aroma and flavor of this herb.

The another trick my mom used and that I have continued using is that after spreading the sauce all over the Pizza base, sprinkle some of the cheese and then put all of your toppings over it and without topping everything with the grated mixed Mozzarella and Cheddar, bake into a preheated and very hot oven.This way it is ensured that both the crust and toppings are well cooked as the ovens at home aren't designed the way they are specially for pizza making in the commercial kitchens hence, by the time the pizza is cooked at home, the cheese gets hard and dark in color. To avoid that mess, we add the cheese after the pizza at cooked. By putting some cheese on the pizza base helps in keeping all the toppings in place and just sticks to the crust and you won't be getting it all over the place :)

After the Pizza is baked and everything including the crust is cooked through, we then top it with loads of cheese and in it goes again to the oven but this time just to melt the cheese and to give some color to it just by turning the top grill on. Once done, we take it out and let stand for a few minutes before serving it with Coleslaw and chilled Coke. This is not a healthy meal by any means but I do make a lighter version of the Coleslaw that I have shared the recipe of in my next post. Please find it here 

We have one round baking pan and the other is square so we always have two shapes of Pizza that we don't mind about at all as long as the Pizza is yummy! :D

Let's get some Pizza love Unleashed today! :D 

Homemade Pizza

Ingredients:

Dough

(for one large Pizza)

All-Purpose Flour: 2 1/2 cups.

Wholewheat Flour: 1 cup
Salt: 1 tsp.Yeast: 1 pack (yields 2 1/4 tsp, active dry yeast or instant)
Sugar: 1 tbsp.
Olive Oil: 4 tbsp.
Lukewarm Water: as much as required to knead the dough.
Fine Semolina: 3 tbsp.

Marinara Sauce/Pizza Sauce:

Ripe Tomatoes: 500 gm/1.10 lbs (cut into small cubes)

Onion: 1 medium sized (chopped)

Fresh Garlic: 5,6 pods (finely chopped)

Olive Oil: 1 tbsp.

Salt: 1/2 tsp.

Brown Sugar: 1

Dried Oregano Leaves: 1/2 tsp.

Toppings:

Chicken: 1 cup (cooked and shredded or cubed, however you like it)

Bell Pepper/Capsicum: 1 large (sliced)

Onion: 1 large (sliced)

Canned Mushrooms: 5,6 (sliced)

Olives: 1/4 cup (sliced)

Mozzarella Cheese: 1 cup (grated)

Cheddar Cheese: 1 cup (grated)

Dried Oregano Leave: 1 tsp.

Red Chilli Flakes: 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients for the dough together in a large mixing bowl expect for the semolina.
2. If using the dry active yeast, then activate it according to the package instructions.
3. Make a well in the middle of the mixed dry ingredients and pour the liquids in to it. 
4. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. 
5. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. 
6. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough. Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. 
7. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth/tea towel and place it at a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. 
8. While the dough proofs or doubles in size, prepare the Marinara sauce.
9. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, pour the olive oil and let it heat over medium flame.
10. Now add the chopped onion and the garlic. Add the salt, mix and let everything sweat away for a bit.
11. Once the onions and garlic softens, add the chopped tomatoes to them along with the brown sugar.
12. Mix everything together well and cover the pot with the lid.
13. Let this simmer over slow flame for 10-15 minutes.
14. Uncover and you will see that lots of juices has been released from all the ingredients mixed together and the tomatoes have turned mushy.
15. With a help of a hand-held blender, blend everything to the smooth sauce.
16. Return this sauce over to the flame and cook for a few more minutes. Be careful while cooking the sauce. It will be bubbling over the flame and their is a possibility of the hot sauce getting on to your hand therefore, keep it covered and stir it carefully every now and then.
17. Once the sauce thickens a fair bit, turn off the flame and let it cool down completely before using. You can store it in an airtight jar and keep it refrigerated and it can stay well for up to 1 week.
18. Once the dough doubles in size, remove it to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands - this is called punching down the dough. 
19. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. 
20. If using straightaway, sprinkle semolina over your greased pizza pan. Roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick and gently transfer it to your pan.
21. Leave it resting for 15-20 mins while you prepare your toppings. 
22. Preheat the oven over 200C/400F/Gas-Mark 6.
23. Spread the sauce over the rolled out pizza dough and sprinkle a little of both the cheeses over it.
24. Now put all the toppings over it and let the pizza bake into the preheated oven on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes or till everything is cooked through.
25. Take out the pizza when its done and top this cooked pizza with the remaining cheeses, sprinkle the dried oregano leaves and the chilli flakes over the top.
26. Place the pizza back into the oven and turn on the top grill. Let it stay under the grill till the cheeses melt and obtain golden color.
27. Turn off the grill and take it out of the oven. Let it stand for a few minutes before serving.
28. Serve hot with the salad and drinks of your choice. Enjoy.

Makes one 16 inches Pizza

Notes: 

1. Dough can be kneaded with the help of a stand mixer and a hook attachment if you do not wish to use the classic way of making it.
2. Sauce can be made with the canned tomatoes too instead of using the fresh one. 
3. If you wish to make the sauce spicy, just add a little bit of red chilli powder to it while its cooking. 
4. The leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight jar and keeps well refrigerated for up to a week. This sauce can also be used in pasta, lasagna or any other dish that requires the use of a Marinara sauce. 
5. You can use any topping of your choice

That's all Pizza Fans! :) Baking time can always be adjusted according to the type of your ovens. I hope you enjoy ,making and eating it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you! 

Summer Mixed Fruit Jam

Summer in this region comes early and leaves us late but brings so many juicy, pulpy and delicious fruits along. Mangoes are certainly one of those luscious fruits that I have mentioned about in my posts on it previously. You can check out the recipes and know more about Pakistani sweet and aromatic mangoes that I have shared on my blog already (please look for mango recipes on the search bar at the right) The other fruits that this summer gifts us are peaches, apricots, lychee, watermelon, melon, plums, cherries e.t.c. These beauties not just let us enjoy on their exquisite flavors but keeps us hydrated too to beat the scorching heat. We do make drinks, salads, jams, chutneys and sauces by using these fruits. Since I had been doing posts on mangoes, the jam recipe I'm going to share today will be the last seasonal recipe on my blog that uses this succulent fruit. Oh, how I'll miss thee, o dearly beloved Mango! Until next time, farewell, my love! oh well, enough of the drama and lets get on with the recipe ;)

My regular readers know that in my household, we make jams and chutneys and I have already shared the recipe of Strawberry Preserves/Jam and Mango Chutney along with some other chutneys on the blog. I think that homemade are always best, not only in taste but good for health too as they are chemical free and does not contain any foreign sounding preservatives. We make seasonal fruit jam and in summer season, we do make apricot jam and peach jam but we never make mango jam as its extra sweet and our palates doesn't find it pleasing for that reason; that's something strange as we love mangoes in any other form. So, this year instead of making apricot and peach jam separately, I decided to mix these fruits together along with the mango for the sweetness; this way I could incorporate mango in the jam and the final product would have resulted into a heavenly tasting mixed fruit jam. Now, to be honest with you, I had never made a mixed fruit jam before but I knew that these three combined together will turn out amazing and the texture would be smooth and thick too cause of the pulpy nature of the fruits used. I then got on with my task and was able to produce something that not only wafted a sweet and tempting aroma but the flavor imparted is something that got us all hooked on it. I know this jam is something I'll be making again next year, In Sha Allah (God Willing) but in a larger quantity ;)

Let's get some jam making unleashed today, shall we? :D 

Summer Mixed Fruit Jam

Ingredients:

Mango:1 large sized
Peaches: 2 large sized

Apricot: 6 regular sized

Granulated Sugar: 2 cups/500 gm

Lemon Juice: juice of 1 medium sized lemon

Method:

1. Wash the fruit. Peel and slice the mangoes and discard the stone/seed. Further cut the slices into cubes. Cut the peaches and apricot in to wedges/halves and discard the stones/seeds. 
2. Put the fruit into a heavy based non-reactive pot along with the sugar and mix. 
3. Leave the mixed fruits for a couple of hours to release their juice upon mixing with the sugar. Best to refrigerate overnight for better results.
4. Later, cook over medium flame till the sugar syrup is formed with the juices.
5. A layer of froth will appear over the top while jam is cooking. Remove it gently with the help of a slotted spoon every now and then to get the clear jam.
6. Keep stirring while cooking and do not leave it unattended.
7. Once the sugar syrup starts thickening a bit and the fruits turn mushy in and looks cooked. Turn off the flame.
8. Now either pass the fruit through a strainer to obtain a smooth texture or blend it with a help of a hand-held blender.
9. Transfer the jam mixture over the medium flame again and cook till it thickens. 
10. Drop a small amount of the jam over a plate (preferably have been kept in the freezer for a while) if the jam gels, add the lemon juice, stir and turn off the flame after 2 minutes. If not then cook more till it starts gelling.
11. Let it cool down a bit before pouring into the sterilized jars. Seal well and keep at the cool place or keep refrigerated.

Check how to sterilize the jars here.

Yields 1 1000 gm jar

That's all, dear readers! :) The quantity of the ingredients can always be adjusted according to your desire and convenience but do stick to the ratio. I hope you enjoy making and eating it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you! 

Mango Cheesecake

This is quite amazing and interesting at the same time that I am a popular baker amongst my friends and family yet, I have posted just one cake on my blog so far but I have shared recipes of some other baked goods like muffins, rolls, cookies and stuffed bread that you can check the recipe of in my previous posts (click on the highlighted text to get the recipes) There is a valid reason behind not doing more cake posts yet which is that, I have been covering seasonal recipes mostly but you will see a lot of baking; cakes and muffins in the future, In Sha Allah (God Willing)

The recipe that I am going to share today is something that I tried both my hand at making as well as for tasting it for the first time. It is a cake, yet a no-bake one and a very delicious, rich and decadent dessert that almost everyone loves and is known as a Cheesecake! 

I've eaten a baked cheesecake many times and it is one of my most favorite desserts but unfortunately, I've never tried making it at home ever besides, in this scorching heat, I am avoiding turning my oven on and then sweat away while trying to prepare some baked goodies! Hopefully, as soon as the weather gets a little mild, I'll get my baking mode on again but I do have a few recipes saved in my archives that I shall be posting on my blog in future.

Since cheesecake is also a family favorite so I thought to try making it with mangoes but keeping in mind the heat index, I wanted a no-bake version of it. I then looked for different recipes on the web and came up with a recipe by making a few exceptions to the ones I liked. I used fresh Pakistani mangoes for this recipe but you can use the canned pulp in place of the fresh mango's puree. Another great thing about this recipe is that you can use any other fruit you like instead of mangoes to make your favorite fruit flavored cheesecake. You can make this cake into single servings too if you like. The wonderful thing about this dessert is that my parents loved it though they are not a fan of these kind of cakes so, I was one happy being! This recipe has undoubtedly become another family favorite now :)

Get your dessert cravings unleashed today! :D

Mango Cheesecake 

Ingredients:

Base:

Digestive Biscuits/Graham Crackers: 20-24 

Butter: (softened) 1/2 cup/113 gms/4 ounces 

Granulated Sugar: 4 tbsp.

Filling:

Mango Pulp/Puree: 1 cup
Cream Cheese: 8 ounces/225 gms

Heavy Whipping Cream: 250 ml/1 cup

Gelatin Powder/Agar Agar Powder: 3 tbsp.Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp.

Topping:

Mango Pulp/Puree: 1 cup

Gelatin Powder/Agar Agar Powder: 3 tbsp.

Method:

1. Put the biscuits/crackers along with the sugar into a chopper and chop them into fine crumbs. 
2. Add softened butter to the crumbs and put this crumb mixture into a 9 inch round spring-form tin.
3. Press down the crumbs in to the base of the cake tin either with the help of the back of a spoon or a bottom of a glass. Let it reach up to an inch around the walls of the tin. Refrigerate till set. 
4. Whip the cream with a help of a stand mixer or a whisk till stiff peaks are formed. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, add the softened cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add lemon juice and mix well.
6. Prepare the gelatin/agar agar powder according to the instructions on the package. 
7. Add whipped cream and the mango pulp/puree to the cream cheese mixture and mix well. 
8. Add the gelatin/agar agar to the filling mixture and mix well.
9. Take out the prepared base tin from the refrigerator and pour the cream cheese mixture over it. Level it with the help of a spatula. Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate until set. Takes about 6-8 hours.
10. Once the cheesecake sets in the fridge, prepare the topping by mixing mango pulp/puree with the prepared gelatin/agar agar. 
11. Take out the cheesecake and pour the topping over it. Cover with the cling wrap and refrigerate again till sets. Better to leave overnight in the fridge before serving.
12. At the time of serving, loosen the sides of the cake with a knife by running it along the edges against the sides of the pan. You can wet the knife with hot water to do this step more easily.
13. Remove the sides of the spring-form pan and gently lift away the side. Slide the spatula under the pan bottom and keeping sliding as far as possible to loosen the base from the cake. Remove it carefully. This step can be left out.
14. Gently lift the cake and place it onto the serving platter.  
15. Serve chilled.

Serves 8

Note: add sugar, according to your taste, to both the filling and topping if you want your cheesecake sweet.

That's all Cheesecake fanatics! :) The amount of ingredients can always be adjusted according to your taste and desire. I hope you enjoy making and having it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!

  

Mango Chutney

When the mango season is upon us in this region, we tend to make the most of it by preparing whatever we can with this luscious pulpy fruit! Not just in its ripe form but even when its raw and a complete opposite of its ripened self in terms of flavors and texture yet, equally delicious!
I have shared a couple of recipes by using fresh Pakistani mangoes in my previous posts on the blog. You can check them in the list of recipes.

At my household, my Mom makes Acchaar (pickle) with raw mangoes, called Kairee in Urdu, and also Chutney with it. She never made these before and only started making after we moved to Pakistan. She got the recipe from her Khala (maternal aunt) of both and since then, we've never had store bought Achaar :) But Chutney is something that she has only made a couple of times in all these years and the only reason because nobody is that fond of it in my family except for me and it also lasted for an entire year every time since I was the only one who ate it.
I love pairing it with a flaky, crispy plain Paratha (a flat bread made with using Ghee/Butter) any kind of stuffed Paratha and Daal Chawal (lentil curry with boiled rice) 

Washed Kairees are peeled 1st

Then cut into thin chips

Last year I made this Chutney with my Mom's help. She did all the preps and I just cooked it and took the photos although I wasn't blogging at the time but it sure was on my mind that maybe some day I will :) I used to take photos with my iPhone, that I still do, that's why my photos aren't anywhere near to all those fancy photos I see on my fellow blogger's blogs but I'm happy with mine at the moment and trying to improve my photography skills while still using my iPhone :)

So, this Mango Chutney we made last year and shared with everyone. The best thing about this Chutney is that it can stay well in the refrigerator for up to an year but only if you have canned it right and the temperature of the fridge hasn't been fluctuating. The best time of making this Chutney is now as the raw mangoes available in the market are not completely raw and you get some ripened bits of it with the fruit too. The method of making this Chutney is time consuming and the entire preparation requires patience but its totally worth it! 

Let's get some spiciness unleashed today! :D

Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

Raw Mangoes (Kairee): 2 kg/4.40 lbs
Granulated White Sugar: 6 cups/1,206 gm/3 lbs
Salt: 1 tbsp.

Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp.
Red Chili Flakes: 1 1/2 tsp.

Garam Masala Powder: 1 tsp.
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp.
Garlic Powder: 1/4 tsp.
Ginger Powder: 1 tsp.

Green Cardamom Powder: 1/2 tsp.
Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp. (Roasted)
Carom Seeds:1/2 tsp.
Nigella Seeds: 1 tsp
White Vinegar: 1/4 cup
Water: For boiling
Almonds: 1/2 cup (blanched)
Sultanas: 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Wash and peel the raw mangoes. Slice them and discard the stone/seed and cut them into thin chips.
2. Take plenty of water in a large pot and boil the mango chips. Once start boiling, turn off the flame after 2,3 minutes.
3. Drain out all the water by putting the boiled mangoes into a colander.
4. In another heavy bottomed, non-reactive large pot, put the boiled mangoes along with all the ingredients except for the vinegar, almonds and sultanas. Mix well.
5. Let this cook over medium heat. You'd see that once the sugar and rest of the ingredients are mixed with the mangoes, a lot of juices will be released. keep stirring the mixture from time to time.
6. Once the juices released starts boiling, lower the flame and let it cook for 20-25 minutes while again stirring regularly. 
7. After 20-25 minutes, you will see that the juices have thickened. We are aiming at a jam like texture therefore, if you feel that the chutney has thickened enough then turn off the flame otherwise cook for a few minutes more.
8. After the Chutney is cooked, add the vinegar and stir well. 
9. Now add the almonds and the sultanas and mix well.
10. Let the Chutney cool down a little before pouring it into the sterilized jars. To find out how to sterilize the jars, please look at my post of Strawberry Preserves/Jam here.
11. Can stay good up to an year.

Yields: 3 1000 gm jars

That's all, Chutney Addicts! :) The quantity of the ingredients can always be adjusted according to your desire and convenience but do stick to the ratio. I hope you enjoy making and eating it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you! 

Mango Kulfa

Kulfa is a traditional Pakistani/Indian ice-cream that doesn't need to be churned. It is a summer dessert that's not just served at traditional occasions, dinners, parties but also is enjoyed regularly to beat the heat. Authentically its made with full fat milk, Khoya (milk solids), cardamom powder or saffron and nuts and then frozen till set. It is then cut into slices and served. The same mixture is poured into cone-like moulds to turn them into popsicles called Kulfi.

Kulfa/Kulfi is also added into a milk dessert-drink called Falooda in which a special kind of vermicelli is used along with thickened full-cream milk called Rabri, nuts, chilled milk, and soaked basil seeds called Thukm-e-Balanga is Urdu and is a very popular and refreshing dessert.

Kulfa mixture should be chilled before freezing to prevent crystallization.

During the mango season, I try to make full use of the fresh fruit available in abundances here by incorporating it into the desserts, jams, chutneys e.t.c. I've shared the recipe of my Mango & Coconut Frozen Yogurt on the blog already but this year I have also tried making Salsa with it. The recipe of my Mango Salsa can be found here. 

As I am more of a dessert person and I most definitely like our traditional Kulfa. My family always gets annoyed when I suggest we get the family pack of it every time we have ice-cream for dessert as no one else is a fan of it at mine :D But I had never tried Mango Kulfa before. My best friend Fayee was preparing a dessert for her sister's baby shower and during one of our conversations, she mentioned that to me. I then had to ask her for the recipe of course as I was intrigued and wanted to give it a try at home myself. I got the basic recipe from her that I had to improvise a bit cause of me being me :D I hope she doesn't get offended after reading this but I felt my version turned out more like Kulfa and hers was just a no-churn version of a homemade mango ice-cream :P She used canned pulp but I made pulp with fresh mangoes. You can use the canned one if fresh mangoes aren't available; we do not want any excuses to not to try this dessert. I also used white bread slices as the addition prevents crystallization, added cardamom powder, saffron essence and garnished the Kulfa with some chopped pistachios. I couldn't share my creation with her because of her living in a different country but she did approve of the photo of it I sent her :) My family however loved it and while I'm typing these lines, I got a request from my sister to make it again as she got a peek of the photo of the Mango Kulfa on the computer screen :D

Let's get some dessert love unleashed today, cooks! :D

Mango Kulfa

Ingredients:

Mango Pulp: 1 1/2 cups (made with 2 large mangoes or use canned instead) 

Condensed milk: 1/2 cup.

Evaporated milk: 1/2 cup.

Full Fat Cream: 1 cup.

Full Fat milk: 1 cup.

Sugar: according to taste (add only if the mangoes aren't sweet enough)

Bread slices (edges removed): 2 (the addition prevents from crystallization)

Green Cardamom Powder: 1/4 tsp.

Saffron Essence: 1,2 drops

Chopped Pistachios: 1/4 cup (save some for garnishing)

Method:

1. Put everything into a blender and whiz until well blended. 
2. Pour the prepared mixture into an airtight plastic, freezer-safe box and let it chill well before placing it into a freezer.
3. Freeze it for 8-10 hours or over-night and cut into slices/pieces once frozen. 
4. Sprinkle some chopped pistachios on top before serving.
5. The same mixture can be poured into the Kulfi/Popsicle moulds instead for the individual servings. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

That's all cooks! :) the amount of ingredients can always be adjusted according to your taste and desire. I hope you enjoy making and having it. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you!

Premio Dardos Award Nomination- yay!

Four months into the blogging world and an award nomination already! Yes, I'm truly honored as I'm just a beginner and have to learn a lot but all thanks to this lovely fellow blogger Roy who blogs by the name of "Piece of Cerebrum" for nominating me. She not just shares about the traditional Bengali Indian recipes but gives us the insight into her culture and heritage too, through her writing. I love the caption of her blog "a piece of 'mind' in writing" :)
Do check out her interesting blog here

My heartfelt gratitude to her once again for nominating me for this award! :)

So, what is it all about? 

Upon being nominated, the rules that we have to follow are:

☆Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.

☆Pass the award on to other bloggers of your choice and let them know that they have been nominated.

-This is for the ones who didn’t understand the meaning of this award(which includes me)
The Premio Dardos {means Prize Darts in Spanish} and it exists to acknowledge the values that every blogger shows in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

☆I will add a new edge! I would love to know you fellow blogger/foodie & so I request you to say 3 things about you. Keep it fun! It needn’t be food related :) :)
If you don’t own a blog then you could make a Facebook or Twitter post too.
Don't forget to drop a link below for all of us to read. :)

Since I'm still new at blogging and have begun to meet some great and successful bloggers who are really nice people as well therefore, I'd be able to nominate just a couple of fellow bloggers at the moment. They are truly deserving of this award also. So, here are my nominations. Do check out their work, people. You'd really love the time and effort they put in to bringing all those wonderful posts to us and that also quite regularly. Kudos to them!

I'd like to nominate Byron Thomas of "Pretty Practical Pantry" 1st. I love his work and he has not only been sharing some great recipes with all of his readers but he's truly a gem of a person also and has been always supportive to all of his fellow bloggers including me :) Do check out his pretty and mouthwatering healthy, vegetarian recipes here. While you're at his blog, don't forget to check out his "Crafts & Decor" section as well where he has shared that how he transforms an old furniture piece into a totally new one and how he made a beautiful blanket in 4 months so, be prepared to get highly impressed! :) You'd fall in love with his Christmas decorations as well! :)

My 2nd nomination will be a South African sister who now resides in Dubai. She is neither a trained chef nor does she hold any certificate in culinary arts yet, she'd amaze you with her cooking skills, creativity and photography that shall tempt you to get your hand at trying her lovely recipes. Now imagine how talented she would be who baked a cake successfully at the age of 8, you gotta be kidding me! But not at all respected ladies and gentleman. Do check out for yourself here :)

My 3rd nomination is of a very talented cooking expert who not only blogs but conducts cooking classes as well as does catering. Wow! Manal's recipes are close to my heart because she shares Middle Eastern recipes on her blog that really takes me back to the time when I was growing up in the K.S.A and easily got all of those delicacies and enjoyed eating them but now, thanks to her that I can prepare them at home. Do visit her blog here to get some taste of the Middle Eastern cuisine :) 

My 4th and final  nomination is of a very talented blogger who happens to be my neighbor as well :) Yes, an Indian dental surgeon who has a penchant for healthy vegetarian cooking and has a very interesting blog name " Veggie bus on a simple route" She shares delicious, healthy and lovely looking recipes on her blog. Here, I'd like to take the liberty of mentioning that also that she sure is a woman of multiple talents as she's a Bharatnatym trained dancer as well. I'm impressed! Visit her lovely blog here :) 

These are my nominations, folks :) I hope to connect with more bloggers in future and hope to make some more friends in this process. I feel all of the bloggers who take out time to share about their passion, talent and the part of their lives truly deserves to be appreciated. Hats off to all the talented people out there! 

Now, as the last part of the rules state that I have to share three things about myself so, I would say that I am at the loss of words when it comes to talking about myself :) But I can say that I love to learn new things everyday. I love to travel and to connect with like minded people. I love to know about different cultures and believe in this mantra that "Live and let live" :)

On this note, I'd like to thank once again for this nomination and to all of my respected nominees, I really appreciate your work! My words couldn't do justice to your talents and that includes yours too, Roy! :)
Look forward to reading all of the acceptance posts so, don't forget to link me up :)

Enjoy and keep doing the best that you all are doing already! :)