Fruit Salsa

A quick and super healthy dish as side or even as main. We had fruit salsa for our breakfast today. :)

Ingredients:

1. Papaya, ripe and sweet, cubes - 1 cup
2. Mango, ripe and sweet, cubes - 1 cup
3. Apple, cubes - 1 cup
4. Honey - 1 tbs(optional, use only if fruits are not sweet enough)
5. Salt to taste
6. Red onion, chopped - 1/2 cup
7. Green chilli, chopped - a pinch
8. Coriander leaves, chopped - 2 tbs
9. Lemon juice - 2 tbs

NOTE: You may add other fruits like pineapple, pear etc too.

1. Method:
2. Chill all the fruits in fridge
3. Mix all the ingredients and serve immediately

Chickpeas Burger

Ingredients:

For Burger:

1. Chickpeas, cooked - 2.5 cups
2. Bread crumbs - 5tbs
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Red onion chopped - 1/2 cup
6. Oil - 3tbs
7. Salt to taste

For serving:

1. Thin onion rings- 8-10
2. Tomato slices - 8
3. Tomato Ketchup - 4 spoons
4. Burger Bun - 4

Method:

1. Mash chickpeas well,( you may pulse it few times in a blender). There should be some bites of chickpeas after mashing. (no water should be added)
2. Mix turmeric powder, salt, chilli powder, 3 tbs bread crumbs and onion to chickpeas and mix well using fingers or spoon
3. Make 4 balls with your  palm and flatten it to make burger.
4. Lightly press both sides of burger in rest of the bread crumbs and keep the burger in fridge in a an airtight container
5. When you are about to serve the burger, fry burger in minimum amount of oil in a hot pan, 4 minutes on each side. (2-3 tbs of oil should be enough for this)
6. Arrange burger on bun with a dollop of ketchup, few onion rings, tomato slices and top it with the second bun. (You may also cut a bun into two and keep the burger and vegetables in between for servin. I served it like that))

This recipe is participating in My Legume Love Affair:

http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/2015/09/my-legume-love-affair-88-october-2015.html

http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/

Grapes Surprise, a Grape juice with a twist!

Who doesn't like some tender grape surprise bites in Grape juice?? Here is a must try recipe for all those who love grapes..

Ingredients:

1. Red/Black seedless grapes - 300gm
2. Sugar - 1/4 cup (adjust according to the sweetness of grapes)
3. Water - 1.5cups
4. Cardamom - 2
5. Cinnamon - 1 cm piece

Method:

1. After thoroughly cleaning the grapes, cook grapes in a pressure cooker with all the ingredients in it for 3-5 minutes in medium flame.
2. Once pressure is gone, open the cooker and let the mixture cool.
3. Remove cinnamon stick and cardamom from the cooked grape mixture.
4. Using a ladle, take out 10-15 grapes from it and keep it aside..
5. Blend the rest of the mixture well in a blender .
6. Mix the grapes which were kept aside with the grape juice and chill it in fridge.

Grapes surprise is ready to be served!

7 cups

As the name says 7 cups have 7 cups of main ingredients in it. It tastes like ghee Mysore pak + coconut burfi. Super tasty sweet for the next festive season!

I got this recipe from our lovely family friend and neighbour Vimalaunty. She is such a fantastic cook that every time I visit here there will be something homemade to welcome me. I have tried 7 cups few times from her and it is very tasty. So here I come up with Vimalaunty 's recipe for 7 cups with minor modifications made on it. I used almond flour instead of besan/ chickpea flour. Also I have added some saffron milk and edible silver leaves to it.

Ingredients:

1. Besan flour or Almond flour - 1 cup
2. Ghee/clarified butter - 1 cup
3. Coconut shredded - 1 cup
4. Milk - 1 cup
5. Sugar - 3 cups
6. Saffron milk- 2tsp(optional)
7. Edible silver leaf - 1 or 2 sheets

Method: 

1. Mix all ingredients except saffron milk in a  wide heavy bottom pan
2. Make sure that there is no lumps
3. Move the pan on to stove 
4. Cook 7 cups in medium flame and stir continuously so that the batter doesn't stick to the bottom 
5. Once the batter is thickened ( you should be able to pour it , but not smooth flow. After you pour, you should be able to smoothen it using spoon or spatula without pressure) and add saffron milk and roughly mix it. 
6. Pour it in to a tray with parchment paper in it and let it cool
7. Place edible silver leaf on top of it
8. Using a knife cut it before it gets fully cool and hard

Note

If you have used almond flour, your 7 cups will be softer. If besan flour, then it is slightly harder

This Recipe is an entry to The KitchenAid India Navratri Challenge for The Hub @ Archana’s Kitchen.

Mango Raspberry Popsicle

You don't have to be a child to love these colourful Popsicle. But it will take you to your childhood memories of having those ice lollies during the festive seasons with your cousins.

Ingredients:

1. Mango, cubes - 1 cup
2. Raspberry - 1/2 cup
3. Sugar - 2 tbs ( optional)

Method:

1. Purée mangoes with a tbs of sugar( only if mangoes are not sweet)
2. Separately purée raspberry with a tbs of sugar
3. Fill in the Popsicle mould with both purée , alternately using a spoon
4. Dip ice lolly stick or using stem part of spoon, give one or two vertical movements in the pop sickle mould. 
5. Close the Popsicle mould (I used mini popsicle mould) and freeze it overnight
6. Enjoy the frozen mango raspberry Popsicle with or without chocolate dip

"Beat the Heat" with above recipe. This is recipe 3 from beat the heat series.