WE ALL CAN DO IT

Hi, 
   
Guess what happened yesterday?? No sooner than I posted FIRNI PE FIDA  I regretted it. The post has a recipe for firni , and I thought who dosen't know how to prepare it.........we all do !!!!!!!!!! So why am I doing this ??? writing blogs .......giving recipes.....

 Anyways I slept over these nagging thoughts. In the morning it dawned to me, I am writing these blogs as an outlet to all those ideas that keep on dancing in my head.
And I would like to share it with my friends......We all can cook and do too, but if one little tip /trick saves somebody 20 minutes then why not pass it on. And its not only about cooking, it is anything that revolves around our daily life. Or simply discussing something that takes place around us and we have an opinion on. 


Everytime I sit down to write , I think about who might read it and does it really do any good to them ........ I sincerely hope it does! Besides this is just a beginning, I hope to have a larger readership  and receive feedback so as to enhance  my  own knowledge. Because I am pretty sure that all of you have a treasure trunk full of ideas that can be shared and appreciated by the rest of us. 


So friends this is my request to all of you to send me what you have in mind or really like and I will broadcast it on the blog. Comments and reviews are more than welcome. If you have any queries or  recipes that are your specialties or a tip /trick that saves time and energy....... simply e-mail it to me on nafisanoronha@gmail.com and i will try to do the needful. And not to mention that the more readers we have the more exchange of information will take place , so let your friends know about this blog-site and widen the circle. To me it looks like a win-win situation.............how about you??

FIRNI PE FIDA

Life's good , especially if I know that there is dessert after a meal. Call me what you like, but the truth is that at a party I am more interested in knowing whats for dessert rather than the main course. In fact instead of having a sweet tooth ,  all my teeth are sweet.............how about that ??!! All I need is a reason to make something sweet, I can do it at a drop of an hat.

So thanks to the great cricketing feat by Mr. Sachin Tendulkar, I celebrated by making Firni. And the reason to prepare it was basically that it requires no more than 4-5  ingredients which are readily available in any regular Indian kitchen.  So are you in mood to be firni pe fida.............




BADAAMI FIRNI RECIPE


2 tbsp basmati rice washed and sooaked
500ml milk
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp blanched almonds (slivered)
2 tsp rose water


1. Boil the milk and keep the heat low while stirring.
2. Grind the soaked  rice (after draining) to a medium-coarse powder.
3. Add the rice powder to the milk and keep stirring on low heat until the milk     thickens and the riced is cooked.
4. Add the sugar, almonds and the rose water. Cook for  5-7 minutes and take off the heat.
5. Fill 4 dessert bowls and let it cool down to room tempreature before refrigerating. Serve chilled when slightly set. 


Earthen ware  will work wonders by further enhancing the flavour but glass is fine too.

Now that my firni has been chilled and set I will take your leave and enjoy my dessert, hope you too do the same soon and let me know .

UNPARALLELED TALENT

      Yesterday I had a spring in my step knowing that I am a certified blogger now and have a few followers. I received a few appreciative and encouraging comments on Facebook too. It was a good feeling and a good day overall.

    
     That was until evening, when I received a call from hubby dear asking me to switch on to the news channel. Not sure as to what I might find I did as I was told................and immediately jumped with joy (for a change it was good news ). Yes Sachin .................THE SACHIN TENDULKAR  had scored a double century in an ODI and in the process set a new record. The feat is a first in one day cricket history  as far as i know. I was and still am thrilled just thinking about it, got goosebumps and all. Wow I have no words............

     A long time ago I had noticed a poster during one of the matches where India was playing, it said "GOD PLAYS FOR INDIA....HE BATS AT NO.4 " ,  well do I need to mention who was batting at no.4. In any case that guy who made the poster surely knew what he was saying.
   
    Ofcourse I am a Sachin fan for his game but also for his conduct on  and off the field. With whatever knowledge I have of cricket and the buzz around it (courtesy - hubby dear and news /sports channels ) I can safely assume that he does not have any controvesies with any other players ( national /international ). This itself takes tremendous mental stability and a good dose of maturity not to mention modesty, which is ever present in him. Even when a few so called "enlightened cricket experts" said that he should retire, Sachin did what he does best......kept playing!!  They said he is way past his prime , he should retire ...blah ..blahh..............whoa what an answer he gave them.

    He has always been the greatest cricketer ever (atleast for me) and now there is no denying that fact. He is a LEGEND.....and will always be an INSPIRATION to the younger generations who aspire to reach to great heights  relying on their talent and hard work.

BRAVO ! BRAVO! YOU'RE THE BEST!

SACHIN THIS ONE IS JUST FOR YOU.....................

HEALTHY N LITE

Hi ,
      Yesterday I mentioned about my love for cooking, what I didn't say was that I am really not that crazy about slogging long hours in the kitchen. Its just not me, contradictory i know.............so i have some tricks under my sleeves to reduce my kitchen time to some extent. Like when I boil chickpeas for Cholay, I usually do it in a big batch maybe a kilo at a time, I know what you're thinking ..........thats a lot of chickpeas  especially if its for two. Then I divide it in 4-6 equal parts and freeze it, with some of the cooking liquid. And next time when I need to use chickpeas, all I have to do is defrost. Ofcourse while boiling I always add 2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of turmeric.

   This brings me to my latest twist on a lite n healthy lunch, coz if its just me for lunch I usually assemble rather than cook. Icall it the Healthy Hummus Sandwich.

Healthy Hummus Sandwich  Recipe ( serves 1 )

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas with a little cooking liquid
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin if possible)
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp of tahini paste or roasted seasme seeds
salt to taste
2 slice brown bread or 1 whole meal pita bread halved ( even better)
1 cucumber thinly sliced
1 tomato thinly sliced
some lettuce leaves
1 boiled egg sliced (optional)

1. Use a hand blender to make a paste of the chickpeas, garlic, a little olive oil , tahini and salt. The paste      should be very fine.
2. Garnish with the remaining olive oil and paprika.This is the Hummus.
3. Slather the the Hummus on the bread slices or in the pita bread pocket.
4. Arrange the veggies and the egg (optional) on one slice and cover with the other slice.As for the pita bread pocket, fill it up with the veggies and egg , yeilds 2 pockets.

There you go a lunch, healthy and light is ready to be savoured. It took me hardly 15 minutes.

Do try it and let me know your verdict.

A NEW BEGINNING

Hello All ,
                   Today I have done something quite unlike my usual self. I have kind of come out in the open!!

My near and dear ones know me as a quite and mostly private person..............but here I am writing a blog!

And this blog will be dedicated to all those women who really would like to do something on their own but are not courageous enough to take the first step . This my friends is the first step for me , although a small one.

The contents of this blog may vary from a new recipe i found or created ( i love cooking)
or my opinion on a movie or some tips and tricks , maybe even a funny incident worth sharing.

And I would love to receive advise and inputs from all of you out there because as the name suggests I am a NEW KID ON DA BLOG !!!