Varada's Kitchen and Garden

Kid's Delight is a themed event started by Srivalli of Spicing Your Life . Every month is hosted by a different blogger. I have never hosted an event on this space so when she sent out an email asking for hosts I put my hand up. The theme I chose is colorful dishes . Color in nature makes us feel good on the outside. Eating food with different colors makes us feel good on the inside. As a rule one should try to eat foods with five different colors a day. I challenged my fellow bloggers to come up with recipes that used colorful food, not food color. And here is what they came up with. Srivalli from Spicing Your Life Methi Beets Pulao with Soya Chunks Tomato Soup with Cheese toast   Corn Spinach Cheese Toast Archana from The Mad Scientist's Kitchen No Bake Cheesecake Roasted Beet Salad Devilled Eggs PJ from Seduce Your Tastebuds Papaya Carrot Apple Juice Capsicum Cheese Toast Colorful  Coc

Aeblekage is a Danish dessert made with apples and sweetened breadcrumbs. I first made it as part of the Danish meal  I cooked last September. However I did not like some of the dishes in the meal. I cooked the entire meal again but I decided to switch to  aebleskiver  for the dessert. This recipe remained in the drafts until today. I made breadcrumbs from day old soft buns. I had baked a few extra just to make this dessert. I made the apple sauce using Gala apples. The alternating layers of fresh made applesauce and browned breadcrumbs makes this dessert very appetizing. You will need For the breadcrumbs 1 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 tbsp. sugar 3 tbsp. butter For the applesauce 1 apple (I used Gala) 2 tbsp. sugar For the garnish Whipping cream to garnish 1 tbsp. sugar To make fresh breadcrumbs cut the day old buns into pieces and bake on a sheet for about 5 minutes. Leave them uncovered to cool and harden. When cool run them through the food processor. To a cup of these

Fresh ripe avocado is very tasty and has a beautiful green color. It is packed with nutrients and good fats. The most popular dish with avocado is guacamole . But avocado can be used in many different ways. It can be sliced and used in sandwiches. Or in a paratha as I have done here. When I first heard of this paratha I couldn't really tell whether it would be liked in my family. I had made a note of it but never tried it. I am so glad I did. This paratha is colorful and very tasty. I did what I usually do while making parathas. I walk into my pantry and pick up the bottles that catch my eye. Those are the flavoring spices for the day. I listed what I used, feel free to experiment. Note: Avocado turns black brown if it is exposed to air so you cannot cut it ahead of time. You will need (for 7 parathas) 1 avocado 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 tsp. kalonji (onion seeds) 1 tsp. ajwain (carom seeds) 1 tsp. turmeric powder 1 tsp. cayenne pepper powder 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Lassi works wonders on a hot summer day. As a yogurt drink it is also very filling. I made this lassi on an unusually hot winter day. I don't make lassi often as my daughter does not like it at all. My husband prefers his cup of tea. I am not fond of tea or coffee so I am always looking for alternatives. Though single serving blender cups make it easy to make drinks for just one person I usually do not go out of the way to make something just for me. I am trying all different types of lassi. That will give me a chance to make lassi more often. I loved this kesar lassi because of the mellow yellow color and fragrance from the saffron. Unlike a mango lassi this one is for the yogurt lover. All other flavors are subtle. I got this recipe from a magazine cut out my mother had saved for me years ago. I garnished it with crushed pistachios. You will need 5-6 strands saffron 3 tbsp. warm milk 3/4 cup yogurt 1/4 cup milk 2 tsp. sugar 4-6 cubes ice Crushed pistachios to

I would like to wish all my readers a very happy and prosperous New Year on the occasion of Gudi Padwa and Ugadi. This new year day is special as my Father is visiting. I am posting a simple thali of marathi everyday dishes. There is poli (chapati) and rice, a dry side and a side with gravy, a salad some chutney and dessert. This simple menu is cooked without onion or garlic as most dishes in our house are. It is filling and satisfying. My family enjoyed this simple meal with interesting conversation. Hope you all had a pleasant day with your families. Once again Happy New Year! The menu Shrikhand  (you could also make Amrakhand ) Green Chutney Cucumber Koshimbir (recipe coming soon) Batata upasachi bhaji / Potato dry side Mugachi usal (Mung side with gravy) Rice Waran

Milkshakes with ice cream blended in is a special treat. My daughter enjoys a cool milkshake and when the temperature hit 80 I thought it would be nice to celebrate the oncoming spring. I added a cup of ice cream to the apples to make this creamy milkshake. The first time I made this milkshake was when I got my new Vitamix blender. I took the blender out of the box and ran a cleaning cycle to make sure it was working. I kept the clean blender ready for when inspiration struck. The day I made this milkshake I got all the ingredients in the jar and placed the jar on the base. I plugged in the blender, set the cycle to smoothie and hit start - nothing. The blender would not turn on. It did not matter what I did. Finally I transferred the contents to my old Magic Bullet and blended it. There were chunks of apple but we had milkshake. Now I had the jar to clean. So I filled it with water and dish washing liquid and placed it on the base. Again, nothing. I was convinced I was going to h

Chivda is savory snack made with a variety of grains or with fried batter. My favorite has always been the churmure chivda (or puffed rice chivda) . During Diwali I make the pohe chivda . Both are very easy to make and are great as a snack. This week my father is visiting and so I decided to make churmure chivda for him. I went with him to the Indian store to bring back supplies when he asked if jondhalyacha lahya or puffed sorghum was available. He said the chivda made with sorghum tastes really good and is very healthy too. I checked the store and luckily they had packets of puffed sorghum so that is what I went with. This recipe is very similar to the churmure chivda. I used a whole 7 oz. packet of puffed sorghum as chivda is very popular in my house. You will need 1 7 oz. packet of jondhalyacha lahya or puffed sorghum 3 tbsp. oil 3/4 cup roasted peanuts a handful of curry leaves 1/2 cup cashews 3/4 cup raisins 3/4 cup daala (roasted yellow gram) 2 tsp. turmeric powd

When you get home from work after a long commute and are so hungry you could eat a horse, what do you do? Do you reach for whatever is the closest to you in the pantry? If your answer is yes, then I suggest trying fruit and vegetable juice. Juice has come a long way with the ever improving quality of blenders and juicers available at a reasonable price. Long gone are the days when most of the fiber had to be thrown out. Now whatever you put in the blender / juicer is what you end up with in your glass. You can actually see the yummy goodness. I was one of the late adopters to juice. But lately I have gotten pretty ambitious and like to try out new combinations. This one was a new one for me. The only change I would make when I make this smoothie again would be to use just half a banana. You will need 1 carrot, peeled and chopped 2 clementines, peeled 1/2 banana, peeled and cubed 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 1/2 milk 1/4 cup ice cubes a pinch cinnamon Add all the ingredients to

Heirloom tomatoes arrive in the stores with Spring. They are available in multiple colors and are very juicy. But most importantly they are delicious. I am not someone who loves tomatoes. But these tomatoes are an exception. The salad I present today is very delicious and it is not because the recipe is complicated. These tomatoes need very little to bring out their flavor. If you have not tried these tomatoes try this recipe. You will love it. I found this recipe in a food magazine Cooking Light in my Doctor's office a while back. It was a two year old magazine and I started to browse through it to kill time. I liked this recipe and took a picture with my phone. It has been a hit ever since. In fact everything I make with these tomatoes is loved. I have decided to plant these in my garden this spring. Hopefully they will grow well and I will not have to buy them. I will keep you posted. You will need 2 heirloom tomatoes (I used one red and one yellow) 5-6 springs cilantro

The day I made this salad I needed something in a hurry. No one was very hungry as we had just come back from Prom dress shopping. Prom or farewell parties as we called them in high school in India are a formal affair. Formal dress hunting can be quite time consuming. Very few department stores carry prom dresses and specialty stores can be really expensive. In the end we found a pretty colorful dress that we all liked. And when we got home we felt like we had returned after a heavy meal. Luckily I had some soaked garbanzo beans. I quickly whipped up this salad. I call this salad a Mediterranean style salad. Tomatoes with garbanzo beans and feta cheese and a hint of lemon and cumin. This salad is not authentic but close in taste to the salads typically served for breakfast with Pita bread. It is very filling. You can make this salad with halumi or Mediterranean white cheese. But I have to go to a special store to get that and I did not have any at home. I used feta cheese ins

This is a dish that showcases tomato. Tomato is a very special ingredient in my book. It was rarely or almost never used in the house when I was growing up. Onions and tomatoes were never stocked in the house. My father has very few dislikes but tomato is one of them. My sister is not fond of them either and I like tomato only when it is mixed with something else. Most Maharashtrian recipes do not call for tomatoes so we never bought them unless my mother made one of her specials just for me. This salad was one of her specials. It has onions, powdered roasted peanuts and cilantro in addition to the tomato. There is a variation of this salad that I will post another day. As luck would have it my daughter loves tomatoes. She is so fond of them she eats them raw as a snack. She swipes slices when I chop them. From the time she was two I have planted cherry tomatoes in the garden every summer. She helps herself to tomatoes whenever she wants. When she was little she would lovingly off

I had some left over methi leaves after I used most of the bunch to make something else. I wanted to made methiche vade in the appe pan. It was a great day to make them. There was fresh snow on the ground and the sun had come out. Everyone was happy to see the sun after so many gloomy days. The cats would not budge from near the window. As the snow began to melt there was hope that we would be able to get out of the house. At the time same we knew the temperature was only in the upper 30s. And something like vade are perfect for a cold wet day. I do not deep fry anything in my kitchen. If I have to eat something that is usually deep fried I find an alternative. I either bake it or cook it in my trusty appe pan. You will need ( for about 10) 1/2 cup coarsely chopped methi leaves 1 cup besan 1 tsp. cayenne pepper powder 1 tsp. turmeric powder 1/2 tsp. sugar salt to taste oil as needed Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Add water to make a thick batter. It should be

Methi thepla is something my mother used to make. I never knew it was a Gujarati recipe until I moved to Mumbai for work. My mother grew up in Gujarat and like her kadhi, these parathas were from Gujarat. March is a month I think of my mother a lot. It was her birthday month. I tend to remember the songs she liked or things she said a lot more during this month than any other. These are in her memory. These parathas are great to take along when travelling. They taste great even when cold. They are great as packed lunch too. I used a silicon brush to apply a little oil to give them the classic texture and color. I made these on my cast iron griddle and I think that adds a special something to the texture. You will need (16-18) 1 bunch fresh methi 4 cups whole wheat flour 1/4 cup besan 2 tsp. cayenne pepper powder 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder 1 tsp. sugar 2 tbsp. oil salt to taste 2 tbsp. oil to brush on when cooking Separate the methi leaves from the stems. Discard