Egg Delicacy - A Sweet beginning to my NY food blogging :)

'Shubh Aarambh' - A Good Beginning, in fact a sweet beginning :)

This is my first recipe which i am posting after moving to NY and it is a sweet dish. In my earlier post i had mentioned all that i did since i came to NY. And now since the summer is here, our family has been planning on BBQ's and trips and camping and what not! Today, Friday, the whole family is going for BBQ and i am thrilled! Its my first here with Zuhair's family and i am so looking forward to it! Gonna miss my folks back home! Sigh!

As everyone is supposed to get one dish to the BBQ party (ofcourse other than the chicken), i thought lemme make something sweet which everyone would relish after a heavy BBQ'd meal! I decided on an Egg sweet dish - Ande ka Meetha!  I just got done with it and its tasting yummy ;)

Ingredients:
Eggs - 8
Khova/ Mava / Milk powder - 200 Gms
Ghee - 2 Tbsp
Sugar - 16 tbsp ( i.e 1 egg= 2tbsp)
Almond & Cashewnuts - 1 cup ( Grounded)
Cardamom - 2 tbsp ( Grounded)
Pinch of Baking soda

Method :

1. Beat eggs well using a beater.

2. Once it is well done, Add Ghee, sugar and Khova and mix well. Use the beater itself.

3. Now add baking soda, Almond - Cashew powder, grounded cardamom and mix well.

4. Bake it in a microwave for around 20 mins or till done or Preheat oven and bake at 300 for around 45 mins or till done. Make sure you keep an eye on it to avoid getting a burnt dish ;)

Thats it! Tan tanaaaaaaaaaa! Your Sweet tooth is all ready for a feast :)

Hope it becomes a hit at the BBQ party today ;)

And so i am BACK to Blogging! :)

Hey Friends! How you all doin? Yeah i know i am back after a real nice break :) As you all know i moved to NY and met my hubby and in-laws after nearly a year, this break HAD to happen! ;) Actually its not that i was busy with work and stuff! It was just that i took my own sweet time to get busy with blogging! ;)

In the meantime what i did was, to spend time with hubby and in-laws, roam around NY, click dozens of pictures, share them with my family back home, Shop *wink wink*, eat, and yeah Cook! :) Its close to 3 months now that i came to NY and i soooooooooooooo LOVE IT! :D Alhumdulillah!

India is THE BEST but there is something so good about NY that you would love to explore. I love my family here. I love the other people here too. I love the cleanliness here. I love the enegry here. I love the calmness here. I Love the trains and the buses here. I love the streets and the avenues here. I love the.. I Love the.. I love EVERYTHING here yaar! Alhumdulillah! :)

I wanted to get back to blogging earlier actually but was just lazzzzzzzzyyy! I used to cook, learn new recipes from my MIL, try new ones from books and blogs but was just a lil lazy to type :p Today, i said enough to myself and signed in to my blog and i am typing! So random! LOL!

Anyway, i am glad to be back and i hope to be active at the blogging world like i 'used to be'! :) All the best to me! 

Hello from New York! :)

Alhumdulillah! I have reached NY.

I came here on the 23rd of February and it was such a longggggggggg flight. Mangalore - Bangalore - Dubai - NY. Total travelling time - around 25 hours! But thanks to Emirates, i LOVED the journey :) I had so many options to pass my time that i simply did not feel like i was having such a long flight! The food.. Aaaahh.. So yumm..Movies, flight cameras, tv shows, news, gorgeous air hostesses all kept me occupied. And i guess i was a little xtra lucky coz the other two seats in my row wernt booked and so i had the ENTIRE row to myself. Yawnnnnnn.. what a peaceful sleep i had! Hehe!

The best part was yet to come. The reception i got at the JFK airport was mind blowing! I ofcourse knew my hubby and my in-laws would come to receive me and i was looking forward to see only them. But when i got out of the airport, what do i get to see!! Zuhair - My hubby with a beautiful bouquet, my in-laws, Zuhair's uncles, aunts, cousins, Grandma! Around 15-20 people to receive me at the airport! And each one had a bouquet! My face was burried with the bouquets and all the hugs , kisses and love i was receiving, all of it made me  feel soooooooooo happy! Trust me i did not feel so important even on my wedding day! LMAO! :D

Thanks to the winter here, everyone were packed with sweaters and jackets and i was just in my abaaya ( burqa).  Though i had my sweaters and jackets with me i decided not to wear them cuz i wanted to 'feel' the cold! Hehe. Staying in Mangalore you never know what winters are, so i wanted to feel this. I got out of the airport lounge and Oh my! It was seriously real cold. All kept asking me if i wanted a sweater but i kept on saying no just enjoying the weather. But the car ws parked a little far and as i reached the car i started to shiver cuz of the cool breeze. I quickly got in to the car and sat next to Zuhair. What better warmth can i ever get ;)

I reached home and to my surprise there was another young reception committee waiting for me! Snow sprays, paper crackers, wishes, sweets and gorgeous girls (Zuhair's cousins) with a banner saying - 'Welcome to the Family Mehnaz Bhabhi ' )! I will never forget that day as i was welcomed by each and every member of the family with so much of love and open arms! Maasha'Allah! Let the love remain forever and ever! Aameen!

And since that beautiful day to this day - a week later i have been enjoying every bit of my life here. Ofcourse i do miss India and my family - Nothing can match that - But here is a different country with different people, different lifestyles, food, weather etc etc. Alhumdulillah i am loving every moment here. I pray to Allah (swt) to bless me with good health and patience to help me live a life filled with love, care, happiness and success in this world and the herafter. Aameen! :)

I have been BUSY!!!

*SIGH*

My last post was on Jan 27th!!! - Sad part!

My visa interview has been scheduled for Feb 15th - AWESOME part! ;)

So yeah i have been so very busy with my preparations for the interview and to fly to NY, which calls for trips to Chennai , medicals, shopping, shopping and more SHOPPING! I just came back frm Chennai a day back and guess what, i am leaving to Chennai again tomorrow morning! I am so tired of traveling, Phew!

I miss blogging but yes this phase is very important for me so i am leaving no stone unturned ;)  I need your prayers Friends, so that i may clear my interview and have a safe journey to NY and join my hubby and in-laws! Please pray for me and wish me all the luck in living a ''Happy Married life'', Insha'Allah ;)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tiramisu cake

If anybody visits Mangalore , there is no way they go back without having an ice cream at Ideal ice cream parlor here. They got some really amazing drool worthy ice creams and we almost go there every weekend, like every other Mangalorean! There is this real awesome ice cream you get there named Tiramisu! My sister's all time favorite. It is basically chocolate ice cream with the Tiramisu cake and choc chips!  I wanted to try making the cake and I got this recipe from my friend Ayesha which i tried out for my younger bro's birthday! It was a huge hit at our place! :) Thanks Ayesha! :)

Preparation Time : 30-40 minutes
Cooking Time : 20-30 minutes
Sponge cake , 6 inch - 1
Vanilla Custard powder - 4 Tsp
Milk - 1/2 Cup
Sugar - 6 tsp
Instant coffee powder - 1 tbsp
curd - 4 tbsp
Whipped cream - 3 tbsp

Method
1. Slice the cake horizontally into three slices.

2. Mix custard powder in a little cold milk. Heat the remaining milk in a pan, add the custard powder mixture and cook, stirring continuously, till it begins to thicken.

3. Add sugar and stir till it dissolves. Set aside to cool.

4. Heat a cup of water in a pan. Add one teaspoon instant coffee powder and mix. Set aside to cool.Add hung curd to the cooled custard and mix. Add the whipped cream and mix well.

5. Place the base slice of the cake in a glass bowl. Pour some of the coffee decoction over it and let it soak well. Spread some of the custard mixture all over it.

6. Soak the remaining cake slices in the remaining coffee decoction. Place another cake slice over the one in the bowl and spread some of the custard mixture all over it. Cover it with the third cake slice. Pour the remaining custard mixture over it and spread it over the top and the sides of the sandwiched cake.

7. Put the remaining instant coffee powder in a small sieve and sprinkle it all over the top of the tiramisu. Keep it in the refrigerator to set for at least one and a half hour.

Serve Chilled!! :)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tandoori Paneer Tikka

This is one of the super easy and quick vegan side dish one can prepare. Srivalli of Spice your life had shared this wonderful recipe and i couldnt wait to try it! Thank you so much Srivalli for sharing this, we all really loved it! :) The smoky aroma which came out of it was truly mesmerizing! Truly Tandoor! ;)

The recipe below is the same like how Srivalli had explained!

For marinade:
Paneer - 250 gms
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder / Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Corn Flour - 2 tbsp
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Curds/ Yogurt - 1 cup, hung
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tsp

For Garnish:
Capsicum - 1
Tomatoes - 1
Onions - 2

Method:
1. Mix the Paneer cubes along with Onion, Capsicum, Tomato pieces with the marinade and keep it aside for 15 mins. 

2. Arrange the Tomato Cubes, Onion, Capsicum in between the Paneer Cubes on the skewer.

3. Light up your stove, and take it right over it.

4. Pour drops of oil over the Paneer. When the oil comes in contact with the masala and the flame you get that smoky effect and taste as how it is made in a Tandoori Oven.

5.Turn over all sides to make sure the chunks get equally burnt and cooked on all sides.

6. Once done on all sides, Tikkas are ready to serve!

Enjoy with Roti or Rice with a nice gravy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Domestic Tips!! WE NEED THESE!!!

Sometimes we have these silly day-to-day issues which we want to get RID of! We either want things to get done quickly or we want a solution to a domestic problem! I managed to few of such issues and their solutions which really came in handy for me and i wanted to share with everybody. Do check these out, who knows its gonna end some of your daily woes ;)

* Ants Problem

Ants hate cucumbers. Keep the skin of cucumbers near the place or ant hole.

* To get pure and clean ice

Boil water first before freezing.

* To make the mirror shine

Clean with spirit.

* To remove chewing gum from clothes

Keep the cloth in the freezer for an hour.

* To whiten white clothes

Soak white clothes in hot water with a slice of lemon for 10 minutes.

* To give a shine to hair

Add one teaspoon of vinegar to hair, then wash hair.

* To get maximum juice out of lemons

Soak lemons in hot water for one hour, and then juice them.

* To avoid smell of cabbage while cooking
Keep a piece of bread on the cabbage in the vessel while cooking.

* To rid the smell of fish from your hands

Wash your hands with a little apple vinegar.

* To avoid tears while cutting onions

Chew gum.

* To boil potatoes quickly:

Skin one potato from one side only before boiling.

* To boil eggs quickly

Add salt to the water and boil.

* To remove ink from clothes

Put toothpaste on the ink spots generously and let it dry completely, then wash.

* To skin sweet potatoes quickly

Soak in cold water immediately after boiling.

* To get rid of mice or rats

Sprinkle black pepper in places where you find mice or rats. They will run away.

Are you ready to handle your problems now?  ;)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------