Cake House

Here is a summer salad for you all. Strawberries and almonds paired with lettuce and onion is a healthy way of eating your meal. I have used a lemon and honey dressing for this salad which complimented the sweetness of the strawberries. Here is how to bring it together. All you need is Lettuce leaves - 2 cups ( washed and chopped ) Strawberries - 1 cup ( thinly sliced ) Almond slivers - 1\4 cup Red onion - 2 tbsp ( thinly sliced ) Lemon and honey salad dressing - Recipe is here . Method of preparation Mix all the ingredients in a serving bowl. Chill in refrigerator for  15-20 minutes. Pour the dressing when ready to eat.

Summers are approaching and it's the time when I like to eat light and fresh salads. I always try to look out for new dressing recipes and make my meals more interesting. Lemon and honey is one of my favorite dressing and it gets whipped in no time. I had a few passion fruits lying in the fruit basket, so thought of giving my usual salad dressing a twist. The slightly sweet and tangy flavor of the passion fruit went well with lemon and honey and I had a different dressing for my salad. If you don't have access to passion fruit, just skip using it. Here is the recipe. All you need is Olive oil - 1\4 cup Lemon juice - 4 tbsp Honey - 4 tbsp Salt - 1\4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper - 1\4 tsp Passion fruit - 3-4 Method of preparation Cut the passion fruits and remove the pulp. Pass the pulp through a soup strainer and collect the juice. Mix all the ingredients in a jar. Cover the lid of the jar and give it a shake. Chill for a few hours in refrigerator.

Hello readers. As promised, I am here with yet another Holi special recipe. Dahi vade is a must make for the festival of Holi. There was a time when I used to struggle with this dish and always had a hard center in my vadas. It was then that this recipe came to my rescue and although now I can make vada's with a soft and pillowy center, I wanted to share this recipe with all my readers. I use bread slice to make the center of the vadas and then coat them with the regular vada batter to get a more authentic taste. Trust me, no body till date have made out that vadas are made up of bread and you get a soft center every time. Sometimes I do not use the batter at all and just make vadas with bread. In that way their is no need of frying and the vadas are healthy yet delicious. Try the recipe this Holi. You will definitely love it. Here it is. All you need is For the vada Bread slices - 20 Dhuli urad dal \ Split skinned black gram - 1 cup Dhuli moong dal \ Split skinned green gram - 1\4

I n Kerala, we use green grams in various forms, like in curry, stir fried or as thoran (adding coconut) and the sprouted ones I like to have it in the form of salad. This time I made a stir fry by adding garlic, which will be a treat to your taste buds. This is a very healthy and a nutritious dish, which should be tried by all, especially because it is a perfect nutrition pack for kids. Ingredients: Green Gram (sprouts)- 1 Cup Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp Garlic- 5-6 Pods Red Chillies- 4 nos Shallots- 7-8 nos Oil- 1 tbsp Mustard Seeds- 1tsp Curry Leaves- few Salt- as per taste Method: Cook the green grams along with salt and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker till 2 whistles. Grind garlic, red chillies and shallots coarsely. Heat a kadai with oil and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the ground mixture and stir till the raw smell disappears.Mix in the cooked green gram well. Serve with hot steaming rice.

Holi is one of my favorite festival. Apart from getting drenched with colored water and putting gulal on everyone, I love the food that we get to eat. When we were kids, my mom used to make different types of snacks for the festival.There were a few which she made throughout the year, but a lot of them were this festival specific. Gujiya, gajar ki kanji, aloo ke chips, aloo ke papad and papdi were only made once a year on this festival. After I got married, my mom always send me my share every year, so I never tried my hands on these things and never cared to learn the recipe. But last year, I tried them with my mothers guidance on phone and got them perfect. I always thought, making gujiya is a tedious and difficult process, but after making these, I can bet any novice cook can try them and get a good result. I posted  this recipe on my other blog Whiskaffair last year, but sharing it here too. Go ahead and give this recipe a try. Here it is. All you need is For the dough All purpose

This dip is very easy and quick to make and can be served with variety of snacks. I served it with crispy herb, garlic and cheese smashed potatoe s and everyone loved the combination. Here is the recipe. All you need is Cream cheese - 3 tbsp Fresh cream - 2 tbsp Milk - 1\4 cup Roasted cumin powder - 1\4 tsp Salt to taste Garlic - 2-3 cloves ( grated ) Fresh chives - 2 tbsp Method of preparation Whisk cream cheese with fresh cream and milk to a smooth consistency. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Potatoes are the most versatile vegetable and can be used in many ways. Make a curry or a sandwich filling or top them on a pie or make a variety of snacks from them. This particular snack is a family favorite and is a breeze to make. Just boil some baby potatoes and toss them in olive oil mixed with herbs and garlic and pop them in an oven and you have a snack worthy of applauds. I serve these herb, garlic and cheese potatoes with a creamy cream cheese dip. You can use any dip of your choice. Here is the recipe. All you need is Baby potato - 1\2 kg Olive oil - 4 tbsp Salt to taste Freshly ground black pepper - 1\2 tsp Dried oregano - 1\2 tsp Dried rosemary - 1\2 tsp Dried thyme - 1\2 tsp Dried basil - 1\2 tsp Chili  flakes - 1\2 tsp Garlic - 5-6 cloves ( grated ) Cheddar cheese - 50 g ( Grated ) Spring onion greens for garnishing - 2 tbsp Method of preparation Wash the potatoes nicely. Boil the potatoes till tender. Smash them using a potato masher. Arrange them on a baking sheet. Mix

Za'atar is a very versatile Middle eastern spice mix which is used extensively in middle eastern cooking. It is used as topping on the breads, mixed with olive oil as a dip and even in marination for vegetables and meat. It is basically a blend of dried herbs with sesame seeds and sumac and imparts a lovely flavor to the dish. Although it is easily available in the stores, the homemade version is much more flavorful. Here is the simple recipe to make your own Za'atar mix. All you need is Sumac - 1\4 cup Dried thyme - 3 tbsp Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp Dried oregano - 2 tbsp Sea salt - 1 tsp Marjoram - I tsp Method of preparation Dry roast sesame seeds till slightly browned. Cool. Mix all the ingredients in a blender and blend to make a smooth powder. Store in an airtight container for up to 15 days.

Mathri is a snack which is mostly found in all Indian homes and is enjoyed with morning or evening tea. There are many variations to make mathris and each house has it's own recipe passed on through generations. In the earlier times when there were so little ready made options available, home made snacks were relished with great pleasure. I remember having a small cabinet in my dining room specially used to store all the home made snacks and pickles. Ladoos, mathris and home made namkeens were always there along with a range of pickles. When the festivals approached, this cabinet used to be packed with variety of stuff which was made specially during that particular festival. Now that holi is around the corner, I thought to make all the special treats that we enjoyed as a kid during this time. The list is long and I will try to make maximum number of things, but to start with here is the easy recipe of crispy and crunchy Methi mathris which can be stored for a few days in an airtig

The days have started to get a bit warm in Bangalore. I have already started to draw the curtain of my living room during the day time and water my plants twice a day. Before I could savor all the warm and hearty soups that I love to sip on the cold winter evenings, It's already time to move on to my iced teas and sherbets. On a recent visit to my grocery store, I found passion fruits in the fruits section and bought a few packets. I had a few recipes in mind but an Iced tea topped the list. So the passion fruits went in to this very refreshing and light iced tea. Here is the recipe. All you need is Tea - 2 tsp ( I used Tajmahal brand ) Water - 4 cups Sugar - 1\2 cup Passion fruits - 12-15 Lemon juice - 2 tsp Mint leaves - 3-4 springs Ice cubes Method of preparation Bring water to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add the tea leaves. Switch off the heat and let the tea steep for 2-3 minutes. Strain the tea and add sugar. Keep the tea aside. Cut the passion fruits and remove the pulp