Barista in the comfort of my kitchen-- Frothy Instant coffee

Hello Sweeties!!! All my childhood Sunday afternoons went in stirring and mixing instant coffee with sugar and little milk, as our family enjoyed endless rounds of tea and coffee. 

We always had guests and my mom was always making snacks/dinners. So the task of continuous rounds of coffee and tea was on us teenage kids in the house.

Since my brother was elder and was away at hostel, who else but me could be given this endless and tiring job of stirring the coffee and sugar in a mug for minutes which did seem like hours then.

After coming here to US, I was so happy that you could enjoy any amount of Cappuccino, Mocha, espresso without working too hard. 

Now Baristas and CCD are everywhere in India, but I still missed the frothy coffee back home from my childhood days.  Now I was stirring and mixing instant Coffee and sugar willingly, just so that I could lick the froth from my lips and enjoy a true cup of frothy coffee.

IKEA came to my rescue with this cute little coffee/ milk frother. It takes the pleasure out of stirring, but its so easy and fast, that I can make this cup within minutes now. and more important part is NO MORE STIRRING!!!!Alas!!!!!

You will need;
1/2 cup milk- 2% is fine
1/2 Cup water
1 Tspn Nescafe Instant coffee
Sugar as needed

In a pot, take the milk and water and keep it to boil. In a mug, take the sugar and the coffee, add little milk from the pot, just abt a teaspoon, mix well. Then use the frother and  let it go for about 2 minutes. 

When the milk and water mixture boil, add it to the mug. If you want additional froth, Let the frother go for anr 30 seconds. Enjoy the Barista styled coffee in comforts of your own home any time any day.


I simply enjoyed the moments of licking the froth from my lips, it kind of took me back to my moms kitchen, many moons ago.

If you are wondering, I was given coffee and tea from a very young age, it was like regular norm if kids don't drink milk, add some tea and give, at least they have the milk needed.

I don't really encourage my kids to enjoy tea and coffee and its an adult drink for them in Ashland. One more thing my mom thinks we are internet parents as little tea never hurt anyone is what she stands for even today. 

Are all grandmoms like this? The rules for their kids suddenly disappear in thin air when the same comes for grand kids. What is your take on this? 

I would love to be one such nana someday. Spoil rotten and send sugar high grand kids to my kids, some sweet revenge, talk about payback.

Ukkala Tea- Cold and Cough remedy- Mumbai Special Ukkala Cutting chai

Hello Sweeties!! Are you all set for the big Thanksgiving feast and shopping frenzy after the holiday!!! We did not celebrate this holiday nor had heard much about it back home, till the time we came here few odd years ago.

TG and BF like everything else  has changed. I remember my first TG in NJ, when I saw people camping out of stores like Best buy and Walmart through the night as these stores opened in the wee hours of dawn like 4Am and 5Am Friday morning.

Lists and lists were exchanged and a fool proof plan was activated about who would shop at which store, what followed over the weekend was  settling tabs and  claiming electronics for guys, home ware/clothes toys etc for girls.

Stores never opened the evening or even midnight and TG was  a federal Holiday for all. I am awed and at times sad at the way the shopping timings have changed, last year stores opened around mid night. but this year its TG evening.

I saw a JCPenny commercial where it said dishes can wait just  eat and run and shop. TG was meant to be family/friends time, eat at peace, talk and chat into the night. It's becoming a Fast TG like Fast food, and maybe drive-in TG is not far away.


To brave the cold and gusty winds and deal with all the outdoor shopping running from one store to another, make this Ukkala/Tea and carry with you in thermos and warm up your bones.

I learnt to make this from a tea vendor outside my office in Mumbai, who would make kick ass Ukkala Tea that could be added to normal tea. We often had it when it rained and we were little under the weather.


You will need;   
1/2 Cup water
1/2 Cup milk- preferably skim or low fat
1 Green Cardamom-Crushed with skin and pod  
2 Cloves  
1/2 inch stick Cinnamon  
1/2 inch Ginger grated  
1/2 tsp Lemon grass-Fresh or dried
1 Tspn basil Leaves or dried Tulsi Seeds 
1 tea bag 
Honey to taste

In a small pot, take the water and add the above except the honey, heat over medium heat and let the ukakala boil, till the spices give out the extract and the liquid changes to a slightly green color.

Pour the mixture through a sieve in a cup, add in the tea bag 
add the honey and enjoy the Ukkala Tea.

Magic Potion/Kadha-- Cold and Cough Home Remedy

Hello Sweeties!!!! Fall weather is setting in my woods, the air is getting crisp and we all are falling in the cold trap; get it!!! Sorry, but jokes apart, Fall brings with it the regular signs of runny noses, nose twitching and coughs. 

Time to get those Flu shots. Along with it, I remember my mom the most in this season. Adding small bites of ginger to the tea with sugar/honey was a thing she most naturally did when the air got cooler. 

Donut had a nasty bout of cough that refused to go even after a round of anti-biotic. So to get rid of the persistent coughing I made this potion from what I could remember my mom making it  for me ages ago.


This is an age old Indian potion or "Kadha" Spelled as Ka-Dha. The recipe is passed down from generations and one of the commonly practiced home remedies for cough and colds.

You will need;
1.5 Cups water
1 Green Cardamom-Crushed with skin and pod
2 Cloves
1/2 inch stick Cinnamon
1/2 inch Ginger grated
1/2 tsp Lemon grass-Fresh or dried
1 Tspn basil Leaves or dried Tulsi Seeds 
Honey to taste

In a small pot, take the water and add the above except the honey, heat over medium heat and let the potion boil, till the spices give out the extract and the liquid changes to a slightly green color. 

Pour the mixture through a sieve in a cup, add the honey and enjoy the potion warm. Drink this 2-3 times  a day. Donut felt better in about 2-3 days, so what are you waiting for.

Cream of Broccolli and Sweet Potato soup-- or Cream of Brocsweepo soup.

Hello Dearies, how have you been? I know I am kind of gone now and appearing the next minute. But I am trying to be regular here, I am really trying. Summers are very hectic for most of us. We go out during the day and by dinner time, we are super tired to do any cooking of any sort. But you all will agree with me that the outing to any amusement park, water park and such places costs a bomb for a family of four, so to make up for the costs, I try to cook something before we leave in the morning and at diner time, whats left is just heating it or adding a sandwich or salad or raita. On many occasions, I have roasted rava with veggies for a quick upma, similarly roasted rice with veggies for  a quick pulav or khiachadi and all time favorite is doing these soups. I simply pressure cook few veggies with onion and garlic clove and blend it and freeze it in small batches. When I leave the house, I kind of keep the soup boxes on the counter top, so by evening it comes down to the room temperature, making cooking dinner a breeze after a long tiring day. I had got this idea when I did make my kids food when they were babies. Both refused eating Gerber veggies. With both in daycare, preparing food daily for them at every meal was not an option for me. What  a poor mom to do...quitting my job was not an option for me, so I found this way out, I made and pureed all veggies in small batches every Sunday and filled it in boxes for the week. I guess after you become a MOM you kind of start thinking like  a mom. you find ways to wiggle, trick and treat your kids to healthy meal options. MY younger Munchkin still claims he dislikes Broccoli and my elder one can live on it alone. So to make things easy for me, I make this soup and simply give it a different name for my kids. My elder son is smart and knows the veggies, but for my younger one, we kind of play the game. My Younger son calls it cream of brocsweepo soup. Any name you may give it, this soup is a hands down winner. Even Mr. Ash commented that it did taste like a high end restaurant kind of soup. When he says that, it is a Huge compliment in itself.


You will need;
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 medium Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups fresh broccoli, including stems, chopped
2 cups low-sodium, fat-free vegetable broth--I used water, so needed to add salt
1 tbspn Lemon pepper spice powder- Optional, but highly recommended
1/3 cup Heavy cream--(Use Milk if cream makes you fat)

Heat oil on medium heat in a soup pot. Gently saute onion and celery for 3-4 minutes, until onion is softened. Add sweet potato and chopped broccoli, followed by the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Alternatively pressure cook for 1-2 whistles till it gets coked.  If using water adjust salt to taste. Allow soup to cool slightly, then transfer to a blender in 2-3 batches, and blend until smooth. Return soup to pot and heat gently with the cream and the lemon pepper spice powder, until ready to serve. Serve with a sandwich or herbed croutons.

Enjoy the summer with your kids as they will have only these memories to grow up with.

Kairi Punha Beat the heat with some Green Mango Punch.

Hello Dearies!! How is the Sun god treating you. Is he showing you his angry side or his smiley side. Summer for us when growing up meant only 3 things, no school, mango and more mango products. It was a tradition that my mom kept up with inspite of being a working mom, making mango methamba and kairi punha from green mangoes and having Alphonso mango with poli every meal of the summer. My mom loves mango and she waits desperately for the first shocking price of the season to die down so that she can indulge in the fruit guilt free.Learning to make kairi punha was never on my do list as I had never dreamt of leaving my beloved city of Bombay. After I landed in USA, I realized my mistake and tried to learn making this, only to realize that you need fresh and a different kind of green mango. The one I got was obviously wrong with too many strings in the flesh. I had to serve the punha with a set of toothpicks....Then I resorted to making  kairi punha from Applesauce. The taste did not differ much but again the original essence was missing. Till Finally I laid my hands on Indian green mangoes in my grocery store. I immediately picked them up and made it that very night. I was in heaven in Ashland. One chilled glass of this magic drink and I have my very own tropical Bombay in my living room.

Luck was on my side that day, I could also pick up this beautiful hydrangea flower from my garden. I am not really lucky with planting and gardening. Although I try and try, I hardly get good produce. Mr. Ash does not like me planting and then somehow saying bye to the plants. He says maybe you are born with a brown thumb. But this season has been exceptionally good as I have no dead plants till now. Maybe the brown is shedding and the green is coming out..who knows...but while the flowers are still living, might as well enjoy them.

You will need
2 Big Green mangoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 sugar jaggery
few starnds Saffron
1tbspn Elaichi or green cardamom powder
Salt to taste.

In a small pressure cooker, pressure cook the mangoes with little water for 4-5 whistles. Once cool, drain the water and peel the skin from the mangoes, and take as much of the pulp out as possible. Discard the pit and the skin.Take the pulp in another pot, add in the sugar and jaggery and heat it till the pulp and sugar gets cooked for about 5-7 mins. Run a stick blender through the pulp so as to remove any lumps. Add in the salt, saffron and elaichi powder and store in a sterile air tight glass bottle when cooled. This stays well in a refrigerator for upto 2 weeks. Remember to use  a well dried spoon every time.IN short, keep any drops of water and moisture away.

To Serve;
Take a glass, fill in upto 1/4th of the glass with the pulp, add in ice cubes and fill in 3/4th of the glass with chilled water. Stir to mix the pulp and water. Enjoy the yummy kairi punha on a hot day.

Strawberry Banana Pear smoothie

The whole clan in Ashland was down with viral fever and seasonal cough. DR advised GO easy on diary and milk. I was in a mix, my munchkins needed the energy to fight the bug, they had somehow give up on solids when they are feeling low. Suddenly everything around me was filled with worry. My only wish was that they would be jumping and fighting and kicking around. like normal kids. They were the best behaved sick kids I had ever known. I do not know why this would happen, but when they are jumping and yelling and shouting you as an adult want them to be quiet and slow down, be responsible and when they are quiet and calm, you want the storm to begin. Being a Parent is the toughest job if you can tell!.

After a week or so of  not so feeling better days, we celebrated a little with these smoothies. They cut their own fruit and Ms. Ash simply helped them with the mixie part of it. They were happy with their efforts and I was happy with their choice of fruits for the day. These can be frozen in Popsicle cups and enjoyed on hot sunny days. We are still not there yet, with the sun playing hide and seek and winds blowing its gust out, Popsicles will have to wait till June, I guess.

You will need;
2 Big Strawberries
1/2 ripe Banana
1 ripe Pear
1/2 cup yogurt-Plain or flavored.-- We used a small cup Activia yogurt( For the pro biotic)

Chop the fruits and blend in a mixer with the yogurt till smooth. You can add ice if you like it, since I was making it for my under the weather kids, we opted to keep them out. Enjoy this smoothie. Add in oats to make  a breakfast smoothie or enjoy as is.

Sweet Rasam-Cooking with Pedatha series.

What do you do when everyone is sick at home? Make Chicken Soup.. but being a vegetarian home, you either make tomato soup or hot and spicy rasam. Maharahstrian homes hardly made Rasam, we always made saar..tomato che saar and bhat/rice is an ideal lunch for a person who is little under weather. After coming here and having mingled with people outside my home state Maharashtra, my taste buds have changed drastically. We love South Indian food. And have adopted many traditional recipes and twisted and tweaked to our liking. This is one such classic from Cooking With Pedatha series. I have tweaked this recipe to my liking and added the rasam powder which is not added in the original recipe. This surely relived my cold and cough and got me my voice back,,maybe a little hoarse still People could hear me out.

You will need;

5-6 cups water

1 tbspn- Cooked Toor/arhar dal-

1 tbspn-Tamarind paste

1tbspn jaggery

1 tsp Ginger paste

1 tsp Garlic paste

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tbspn Cumin/jeera seeds

Corriander chopped for garnish

1 tspn ghee

salt to taste

Tadka/Tempering

1/2 tsp Mustard/rai seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Hing/Asafoedita

Cook the dal in  a pressure cooker and mash it well.Take the water in a deep vessel and mix all the above ingredients except the tempering, corriander leaves and ghee and bring it to  a boil. allow it simmer for 10 minutes. Add the ghee and pop the mustard, add in the cumin and hing, let it sizzle and then add the tempering to the water mixture and again boil it for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and serve hot.

** I added one tbsp MTR Rasam powder to the water when I added in the other ingredients.

We enjoyed this sweet rasam with hot steaming white rice and few sneezes and little coughs in between. Even my kids gave this a big thumbs up.

Sending this to Taste of Pearl city's Anyone can cook series

 

Hot Chocolate

We are hit with  a cold wave again.. The past few days have been the coldest and I have been working my brains to cook something that is light and yet satisfying. I have been making various kinds of soups and dishes that are warm in nature and using spices that generate heat within the body like Ginger, cloves and the other Indian spices. The New years came and went by without we being in action. We missed the new years party as we were down with cough and cold and fever. What a great way to start the new years!!! IF this was not enough, My Laptop got sick as well. Poor thing, IT was working hard as well. So kindly excuse me for taking such pictures. But you still get the whole picture, that all did not start well in Ashland. Not to dampen the new year spirit, I tightened my belt and decided that no fever or no sneeze could stop us from enjoying the new years. Who needs a bunch of people to enjoy outside when you have a few little people at home. Besides make your own pizza in your comfy pyjama sounded more fun than anything else.

The pizza post will be up shortly after my unwell Laptop is running again. We polished all the pizzas and were still hungry for something to end the great meal. Since we were already little under weather, Ice cream was ruled out a s an option by Mr. Ash. The coffee for kids is NO NO in my books. We kind of settled for Hot chocolate. This is so easy that even my 8 year son could do it. He swirled the whipped cream and put the candy cane on the glass. His interests in the kitchen are only with the can of the whipped cream. The chef lies in my younger one, who loves to make dough, stir and even roll Indian bread/phulkas. I still have hope that my blog will be used extensively by him.

You will need to make 4 cups
1 cup water
3 cups milk
3 tbspn chocolate chips-- we use milk chocolate
2 tbspn Chocolate Nesquick powder or nay drinking chocolate
Whipped cream Optional
 Mini candy cane Optional
Sugar-Optional
1 tspn Vanilla extract Optional but highly recommended

In a pot, mix the milk and sugar and add in the chocolate chips, vanilla and nesquick powder, stir well and heat on medium till the chips melt and the mixture looks well incorporated. We do not like things overly sweet, but if you like so, feel free to add  a spoonful of sugar to it. When it comes to  a smaller boil, take off heat and pour in a cup with some space on top, about 2/3 rds of the cup. Swirl some whipped cream and use a candy cane to stir it. Njoii it with your family and stay happy!

Tomato-Broccoli Shorba

The winter is slowly approaching and the air is crisp. Thanksgiving is almost here and sooner than we know, X'mas madness will start. Admist all the crazy shopping and gift wrapping, we all will need a comforting warm bowl of soup, hearty and filling. The aroma of soup simmering on the stove brings the sweetness and comfort of home, that can be replaced only by your mom's cooking. Not all can have their moms around, hence this soup is an attempt to give you an excuse to indulge in something soothing during the stress such holidays bring along.

This can aslo be jazzed up and served warm or hot depending on your call of the day, to kickstart any Thanksgiving feast or enjoyed as a meal in itself.

to Serve 3 hungry humans, you will need;
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 medium Red Gold potato with skin on, peeled and cubed,
1  cup fresh broccoli, including stems, chopped
1.5 cup Tomatoes chopped
2 cups low-sodium, fat-free vegetable broth--I used water, so needed to add salt
Salt and Black Pepper powder as per taste

Heat oil on medium heat in a soup pot. Gently saute onion and celery for 3-4 minutes, until onion is softened. Add potato, tomatoes and chopped broccoli, followed by the broth/water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. If using water adjust salt  and add black pepper powder to taste.

The soup is chunky,therefore run it through a food mill or use a stick blender to puree. The shorba is ready to be served with some, crackers, grilled cheese or some pasta, like I did.

Hope this shorba/soups warms your heart and bone and you enjoy the rush and madness of the Holiday season.

Ek Cutting Chai

I am an Tea Addict. Yes you heard me right...I crave for my cup of tea every morning and evening and sometimes in between. I like the Desi Chai/Indian tea with milk and sugar and ginger and masala..I somehow don't fancy the herbal teas and the English tea's that are taking the world by storm.

I like to have my chai when it rains, when it thunders, when it snows and when its sunny..meaning anytime of the day or night I can have my chai. Mr. Ash cannot have Tea in the evenings, says it keeps the sleep away..Sounds weird I tell you.. If you are like me, I can have my chai and sleep like a baby with no worries of tomorrow or the world. If I were to die and god granted me one wish, I would wish for ek cutting chai...

Cutting chai is a typical Mumbai Language, it means a small cup of chai, where a guy makes tea in shed or a stall and usuallly has few toasts/khari biscuits and probably some brunes to serve alongwith..you can find him outside offices/colleges or anywhere he has place to put up his stall. All doubts of hygiene, the source of milk and water and such things are better kept at home, if you want to enjoy the cutting chai to the fullest.

To understand the concept fully watch this youtube video. Ek cutting chai is for friends sharing warm bonds of friendship, lovers sharing togetherness, hungry folks satisfying the hunger pangs or just about for everyone. 

For my cup of chai at home;

1/2 cup water

1/2 milk

1 tsp grated ginger

2 tspns sugar

1tspn Tea Powder

(If you don't have access to loose tea powder use 1 tea bag-remove the thread and the staple use just the bag with tea powder or use the round tea bags)

1tspn Chai Masala--Optional

Small Tea Sieve to filter the chai

In a small pot take the mik and water together, add the sugar and the grated ginger, tea bag and heat it till it starts boiling. The water/milk mixture will soon change colour to a nice shade of brown/biege. The chai is ready to be filtered in a cup and enjoyed with hot namkeen poori's/chivda or simply as is.

Please do drop by to share a cup of cutting chai with me. Milenge, baithenge baatein karenge.(meaning, we will meet, sit, chat and catch up on our lives over a cup of chai)

Love Ash.

Kairi Punha from applesauce

This Rec is loaned to me by a dear friend "P". She is my Don Chef. She is the BEST for me. Evrytime I am in need of a rec... I contact her.. Thanks P for this amazing rec.

You will need;
Apple Sauce- 1 cup
Sugar 3-4 tsps
Lemon Juice-2-3 tsp
Salt to taste
Saffron/Keshar-Pinch
Elaichi-Pinch
Water- 1 cup

Take Apple Sauce in a pan and let it boil. Stir Continuously to make a light brown/honey coloured mix. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients, mix well. Let the mix cool before tasting it. Adjust the lemon Juice and Sugar per your taste. Add water, mix well..
Njoii!!!!!!!!!