Life has been very busy these days, I never relax during holidays it's because  I visit India during our summer vacation.  I would loads of errands to complete during my visit and I usually running around doing things.  The only thing I don't do is cooking and baking.  Most of the time it's my Mum, sisters, or my relatives and friends who do it for me as I visit them.  I miss Britain during summer as I love it there! It's because  for a lot of reasons  like the Sun, Flowers, Greenery, and the best of everything is my Garden.  I  love gardening and growing my own veggies, fruits, herbs, and flowers are my favourite hobby.

I will share you some of my Garden plants in my next post, hubby was telling me that there is a heat wave next two weeks and it's going to be very very hot, hope my plants survive the blazing sun rays.

When it's hot or even warm I love to eat more fruits especially fruits with a lot of water content as its going to keep me hydrated.  My kitchen gets too hot during summer because of the conservatory and I don't like spending too much time standing there!! Nothing wrong right?

Every summer reminds me of Indian summer, I go through my memory lane thinking about what I used to relish during those hot summer months, what my parents used to give me to eat ? what were my food habits ? (monitored by my parents, even today they keep advising me what to eat and what not to eat!) Most Indian food habits are usually blended with Ayurveda an alternative to our regular Medicine.  Even doctors here tend to introduce you to Ayurvedic way of food habits!  Ayurveda is an age old way of treating ailments with herbs, roots, and other natural resources available. Ayurvedic way of treating depends on the doshas (Vata, pitta, Kapha) the three elements which balance in good health and any imbalance leads to diseases!  Most Indian houses adapt to simple home remedies and treat common diseases with minimal ingredients found in our masala

Ayurveda is an age old way of treating ailments with herbs, roots, and other natural resources available. Ayurvedic way of treating depends on the doshas (Vata, pitta, Kapha) the three elements which balance in good health and any imbalance leads to diseases!  Most Indian houses adapt to simple home remedies and treat common diseases with minimal ingredients found in our masala dabbas and these shops (Grandhige Angadi) which sell the roots and seeds used in ayurvedic treatments.

I am used to and still use lot of things from my kitchen pantry as my medicines to deal with common cold, cough, headaches and tend to understand the way my body feels and adapt it in my food habits.  As I wouldn't drink lot of water, my mom always made sure I ate lot of fruits and vegetables which had lot of water content in it,  she always made loads of salads for us to enjoy when we came back from school and still today I enjoy these salads which have minimal ingredients and still tastes awesome.

Watermelon and Tomato salad ( Juicy Tomatoes and sweet Watermelon in a mild spice and sweet dressing)
Cuisine : Indian
Recipe Type : Salad
Prep time : 10 minutes
Cook time : None
Serves : 4
Shelf time : Best served fresh or chill can chill and serve
Recipe Author: Jayasri

Ingredients:

3 Cups of chopped Watermelon
1 to 2 cups of Tomatoes
2 tbsp of Sugar / honey / maple syrup depending on sweetness*
1/2 tsp salt as required*
1 to 2 tsp Black Pepper crushed coarsely as required
1 or 2 tbsp of Mint leaves (optional)

*Check Notes

Method:

Chop Watermelon into cubes using just the red portion of it, try and deseed as much as possible too much into it will give out a lot of juice and makes the fruit crumbled or mushy!
I have used assorted Tomatoes as I get it here, But you can just fresh juicy tomatoes which you can find in Indian markets.
I have used sugar here  with  salt and pepper (check my notes)
Take the fruits in a bowl toss them with the spices listed, serve it fresh or serve it chilled.
You can add mint if desired.

Notes:

You can serve it as an Accompaniment or just as a salad
You can use only sugar or only salt and pepper
It was important to use salt and pepper during summer as watermelon sometimes would cause cold to some people, Black Pepper has heat in it ( In ayurveda black pepper wards of cold) helps in warding off cold.

You can even add Yogurt/ Curds and enjoy it.

Enjoy this really delicious summer salad, It not only keeps you hydrated and makes you feel fresh.

The post watermelon and Tomato salad appeared first on My Veg Fare.

Don't wonder why I am posting a cold soup when we still have chilled winter days here, as of my last post when we had that beautiful day the saga continued,  I needed something cold to eat as well, I did quite a lot shoots that week, as I went crazy when I saw the sun!

After long day's work in the garden, I didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.  I wanted to fix something quickly.  When I stood in my refrigerator my mind went blank!  kidding! my mind was blank because I hadn't made up my mind about what to cook ?  Let me make a one pot meal with rice dump everything in my cooker and that's it! My daughter came down and said make some soup mom as we have some French Bread.  So, Ok!  I know what to make,  next is which vegetable or any other ingredient? That's when I saw these bunch of Beetroots I had, actually loads of them!  I decided on making a Beetroot soup but didn't want to have it hot so decided on making it cold.  I had been chopping and trimming all my plants, I have a Bay leaf tree and a Kaffir Lime tree you must have noticed it in my last post, I used them to decorate my styling :), I used those fresh cut leaves in my soup.

This soup was so delicious for the weather, it had some sweetness and it is very easy to make.  It might not be everybody's cup of tea if you like beetroot you might like this.  But, it went so very well with my bread I had 2 cups of it, I had some left over which I had it in my fridge next day hubby came home and had it.  He loved it too.

If you try this and like it share it with me, I would love to hear from you...,

Cold Beetroot Soup or Chilled Beetroot Soup

Recipe Author: Jayasri
Recipe Type: Soups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves : 4
Shelf time: 2 days

Ingredients:

3 Medium Sized Beetroots
1'' Ginger
3 Garlic cloves
4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
2 Cups thick Yogurt
2 to 3 tbsp Cre'me Fraiche (optional)
4 to 5 tbsp Chopped Chives/Coriander
1 tbsp Cumin seeds
2 to 3 Bay Leaves
4 Cloves
2 tsp Black pepper

Method:

Wash, Peel and chop Beetroots. Roast Cumin seeds and pepper until the cumins crackle.
In a pressure cooker take chopped Beetroots, peeled Garlic cloves, Kaffir lime leaves, Bay leaves, roasted cumin, roasted Black pepper and cloves.
Steam them all in 1 cup of water for 3 whistles.
Once cool discard  the Bay leaves and Kaffir lime leaves and rest put them in a blender and blend them into a smooth paste.
Add another half cup of water if needed when blending them into a smooth puree, to this add 2 cups of yogurt and salt blend well together.
If you want it thick and creamier add more yogurt or add water  to make it slightly semi liquidy.

Season it with pepper and salt if  you need, serve it with chopped chives or cilantro, I used chives and oven roasted crispy Kale and some croutons and some Cre'me Fraiche before serving.

Notes:

This soup is on a bit sweeter side because of the beetroots, even if you seasoned more with peppercorns it really doesn't help much, I would just say, have it as it is, with a tolerable seasoning and enjoy it as it is.If you don't find Kaffir lime leaves you can substitute with one tbsp of lemon juice or just omit it from the recipe

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Cold Beetroot Soup

Beetroot soup served chilled or cold is delicious during summer for a cooling tummy and also yummy to enjoy this one quick to make recipe.

Course Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch box

Cuisine International

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Jayasri

Ingredients

• 3 Medium Sized Beetroots
• 1 '' Ginger
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
• 2 Cups thick Yogurt
• 2 to 3 tbsp Cre'me Fraiche optional
• 4 to 5 tbsp Chopped Chives/Coriander
• 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
• 2 to 3 Bay Leaves
• 4 Cloves
• 2 tsp Black pepper

Instructions

• Wash, Peel and chop Beetroots. Roast Cumin seeds and pepper until the cumins crackle.
• In a pressure cooker take chopped Beetroots, peeled Garlic cloves, Kaffir lime leaves, Bay leaves, roasted cumin, roasted Black pepper and cloves.
• Steam them all in 1 cup of water for 3 whistles.
• Once cool discard the Bay leaves and Kaffir lime leaves and rest put them in a blender and blend them into a smooth paste.
• Add another half cup of water if needed when blending them into a smooth puree, to this add 2 cups of yogurt and salt blend well together.
• If you want it thick and creamier add more yogurt or add water to make it slightly semi liquidy.
• Season it with pepper and salt if you need, serve it with chopped chives or cilantro, I used chives and oven roasted crispy Kale and some croutons and some Cre'me Fraiche before serving.

Notes

This soup is on a bit sweeter side because of the beetroots, even if you seasoned more with peppercorns it really doesn't help much, I would just say, have it as it is, with a tolerable seasoning and enjoy it as it is.
If you don't find Kaffir lime leaves you can substitute with one tbsp of lemon juice or just omit it from the recipe

The post Cold Beetroot Soup appeared first on My Veg Fare.

It’s already 2^nd of December yeah! That’s right, days just fly off like I said yesterday.  I can’t write something like my mother used to bake bread or how I loved my sandwiches in my Lunch Box.  Very rarely I used to take bread sandwich, actually I can’t even rememberJ.  The only thing I can remember of Bread is 2 things one is Jam / sugar sandwiched bread toasts and just bread toasts with my milk / coffee when I used to fall sick.  The Milk breads which we used to get in Bangalore were really tasty.  Have you ever tried my Milk bread you should give it a go.

When my kids started going to school, I used to give them sandwiches sometimes, they always loved it with Butter and Jam (Toast with butter and Sandwich with Jam)!  As they used to take Indian food in their lunch Box which they loved.   But they were all bygone days, soon as they started refusing to take Indian food in their lunch box.  The most they were ready to take was Indian flat breads (Chapatis /parathas).  They said they wanted something to hold in their hand and eat as they had no proper place to sit and eat or they would say they had no time to have a relaxed lunch break, well as they grow up they start giving me  reasons as they want their way.  In the beginning, I was worried then started looking for healthy breads to make sandwiches and started exploring new ingredients to sandwich between them.  Not just that until they finished their schooling every week I used to bake my own bread at least twice, they loved home baked breads as well.

This filling has always been one of our favourite, Each and every time when I send this bread toast I get texts from my hubby and children after their lunch break that it was awesome.  A filling which hearty healthy and a wholesome either as your breakfast or for your lunch box.

Avocado and Spring Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Author: Jayasri
Recipe type: Breakfast / Lunch Box
Cuisine: International

Ingredients:
2 Avocado
1 Bunch Spring Onion
1 medium sized red onion/ Bombay onions
1 Large Green Capsicum
1 or 2 Green chillies finely chopped (optional)
½ tbsp. of Chilli flakes
1 and ½ tsp salt (as required)
1 or 2 tbsp of Lemon Juice
Any herbs of your choice
(Coriander leaves, parsley, chives, Basil anything you like)

Method:
Remove the skin from the Avocadoes and chop them into pieces, wash spring onions and chop into fine pieces, the same goes to capsicum and onions chop it finely as well.  Chop green chilies if using or use chili flakes and required salt, squeeze a tbsp of lemon juice.

Mash them a little bit mix them all together, just they all combine well together to this add finely chopped herb of your choice (I used coriander leaves). Combine them all well together and keep it aside for few minutes.

Take Bread of your choice butter it put the filling and some cheese on it and grill the sandwich for a wonderful aromatic Grilled sandwich.

You can make it VEGAN by not using Cheese.

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Avocado and Spring Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A wholesome hearty and healthy meal in itself for a good start of the day or for a filling and tasty Lunch Box

Course Breakfast / Lunch Box

Cuisine International

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Jayasri

Ingredients

• 2 Avocado
• 1 Bunch Spring Onion
• 1 medium sized red onion/ Bombay onions
• 1 Large Green Capsicum
• 1 or 2 Green chillies finely chopped optional
• ½ tbsp. of Chilli flakes
• 1 and ½ tsp salt as required
• 1 or 2 tbsp of Lemon Juice
• Any herbs of your choice
• Coriander leaves, parsley, chives, Basil anything you like

Instructions

• Remove the skin from the Avocadoes and chop them into pieces, wash spring onions and chop into fine pieces, the same goes to capsicum and onions chop it finely as well. Chop green chilies if using or use chili flakes required amount of salt and squeeze tbsp. of lemon juice.
• Mash them a little bit mix them all together, just they all combine well together to this add finely chopped herb of your choice (I used coriander leaves). Combine them all well together and keep it aside for few minutes.
• Take Bread of your choice butter it put the filling and some cheese on it and grill the sandwich for a wonderful aromatic Grilled sandwich.

Notes

You can use this to sandwich around 1 pound of bread

The post Avocado and Spring Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwich appeared first on My Veg Fare.