Good evening lovelies.. I have been MIA for a couple of days now. It's just that it is Ramadan and I am not getting time to post much here.! But I have lots to share with you guys.

Anyways, let get back to business! Today I am sharing my Kai pola recipe which is the easiest sweet snack you can make for iftar. Since this year's Ramadan started I have been cooking mostly traditional dishes for iftar.. Which is good in a way. I didn't want to make new dishes that I have in my mind, because Ramadan memories for all of us is about our traditional mom cooked dishes that we mostly devour during iftar.

Kai pola is one of the most authentic and popular  dishes of the Malabar cuisine. Makes the perfect sweet treat for iftar! 

Well this is one such recipe, many of us might already know how to prepare Kayi Pola (Plantain Kums/Cake), but off late I have been receiving a lot of requests for preparing Kayi pola perfectly!

I am one person who loves the kayi to be caramelized well before it goes into the pola mixture to be cooked on low. In my beginning days of cooking I always burnt the down part of the kayi pola and always went mad thinking why this happened and started decreasing the sugar amount. Even thought the pola comes out great, but the sweetness would be off side. So I was on a search to perfect my Kai pola without decreasing the sugar content, (as having more sugar content helps the pola to turn brown. Or burn more quickly without the insides being cooked properly).

So one fine day my bhabhi comes up with the idea of how her mother does this part. After you pour the pola mixture to the pan greased with ghee, keep the pan closed for 5 minutes on medium low heat and whilst that cooks, keep a flat pan/tawa on the lowest heat setting. Right after the 5 minutes move the lid, add the roasted cashews and close the lid and place the pan with pola on the flat tawa for 20-25 minutes, check if it cooked by inserting a toothpick.

Also what I have noticed is that many YouTube videos and other recipes shows that the egg and sugar is blended in a mixer jar before pouring into the ghee greased pan. This is a big no no, the mixing of eggs and sugar accumulates bubbles in the mixture which might look like you would get a fluffy Kai pola. But once the kayi pola is cooked it comes out all shrinked.

These tips might be nothing new to many of you but there are a few newbies struggling to perfect a kayi pola without burning the base and sides of the pola. Hope this helps!

Let's move on the ingredients, which are minimal and let's get started to prepare the easiest kayi pola.

Easy Kayi Pola ready! Enjoy! 😋

Notes - for all tips and tricks please read the blog post ❤️

These spicy vermicelli prawns which are also known as Prawns Semiya Biryani is a staple at our home. We make this for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. It can be enjoyed at any time of the day. This recipe basically requires very few ingredients and is a super easy one that can be tried by amateur cooks who want to prepare meals and doesn't require a lot of your time.

 

You can find ready-made or already roasted vermicelli available in markets. If you did not find them, the vermicelli or semiya are first dry roasted in a pan. And in a separate medium-sized deep-pan, chopped onions are sauteed with curry leaves, green chilies, and ginger-garlic paste, which is then accompanied with some chopped tomatoes. These are the fundamental steps in Indian cooking to prepare curries or gravies of any kind. Meanwhile fry or cook the prawns in some water, prawns that are marinated in salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, and some curry leaves. Once the onion masala is done, you will now add in spices like turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala powder and allow to cook in chicken stock/ prawn stock. Next, add your pre-roasted vermicelli/semiya and mix well now add water required to cook the vermicelli and finally add the prawns that were cooked earlier and finish off with a squeeze of lemon.

Doesn't it sound simple? Well, it's super spicy and delicious too. If you plan to feed the kids this yummy dish, add lesser chilli and chilli powder. If you love spicy food with seafood, this is definitely for you! 

Whenever I have them, I keep sweating due to the heat from the piping hot fiery vermicelli prawns, but its fun to eat it that way, that is like I said if you love spicy food. I am someone who loves both spicy and sweet food. Somewhat the same recipe can be substituted for semolina and it works just fine for rava biryani. As it is the eve of the Holy month of Ramadan I am sure this will make one lovely dish to try instead of a fried snack for iftar.

Do you love spicy food? If yes, comment below! 

Without further ado let's get started!

Enjoy hot with a cup of hot sulaimani/ black tea.

Ramadan is on its way, and we only have very few days to witness the best month of the year. May Allah help us reach Ramadan and help us reap its benefits. Aameen and May He accept it from us! Aameen.

I am someone who has been born and bought up having fried food for iftar. It's a habit, not that we don't know its effects on an empty stomach but it's habitual. The smell of something frying for iftar reflects on the vibes of Ramadan that we experience since childhood. Even though we think of healthy eating options (that rarely happens), we finally end up frying something for iftar. boohoo. 

Last Ramadan I had developed a pizza cup recipe which was a hit in my household. So this a version 2.0 of my pizza cups. I haven't shared the recipe yet but hoping to do so in the near future. If you may be thinking that Ramadan isn't for showing off cooking skills please read on to find out why I will be sharing iftar recipes when possible (I, myself have to do Ibadah, in sha Allah).

So basically I was on a quest to prepare something interesting and delicious which wouldn't compromise the feeling of fried iftar snacks. Also, I wanted it to be simple and hassle-free with basic ingredients. After all, Ramadan isn't a month for showcasing your cooking talents. But sometimes mothers and wives need better ideas and options to make life easy during Ramadan and as they themselves are fasting and would want to do ibadah instead of toiling in the kitchen. I believe I have more of female readers here, if you are a male I urge you to help your mother, wife or sister as it is we are locked down during Ramadan due to the pandemic situation. Let's pray and hope for the best.

These are delicious and super easy to make and I am sure kids would love to join in to make these yummy easy cheesy bread cups.

Notes :

If you want the cup to be Crispy and have the time you may bake the bread prior to filling by placing washed and dried grains or pulses and baking for 5-10 minutes so that the bread gets the cup shape and the bread cup is Crispy. 

Good day folks! It is 19th April and it's been more than a month under quarantine. Buying take away has been stressful and a feeling of anxiety pops in when you think of getting some ready-made meals that calls for some free time from the kitchen, during a stage when my workspace like everyone else is bustling almost all the time. Like I said, I had been craving broast chicken since many days and I had already stocked up enough chicken as it was almost very exhausting just the thought of buying groceries every few days. 

It dawned on me that I never shared a broast / KFC recipe here. My dear followers had always wanted me to share it. Well, here I am. But I was skeptical to make KFC coz I did not have cabbage to make some coleslaw and it was bothering me. My little one loves coleslaw, maybe I shall share the recipe some other day. I had some leftover hummus in the fridge, so that did the plan! And during this quarantine situation, it is nearly impossible to have all the ingredients in your hands reach, going out and getting them is like putting your life at stake and who would want to do that risky business. Anyhow, I was adamant to make KFC and share it with you guys.

I like to marinate my chicken at least for 4 hours or overnight for that the flavors really get into the chicken, also poking the chicken using a fork by moving the skin slightly also helps. Well, I am someone who rarely does early planning when it comes to cooking, so 4 hours is the maximum I can do haha. Anyhow, let me tell you, KFC according to me if one of the easiest food to prepare, really just a few chicken pieces, marinating, coating and frying, DONE! Isn't that simple. I guarantee you even little kids can prepare KFC if they have the right recipe in hand.

Ok, now coming to the recipe, I recently came to know of a mind-blowing method to get that crunchy texture on the outside of the chicken pieces from a fellow  blogger Afshaan, who recently shared her recipe. Well, I used that method to my KFC recipe, when it struck me that I have been doing it wrong all these years by dipping the marinated chicken dipped into an egg mixture, it is a big NO-NO! I never thought this one ingredient is a game-changer when it comes to fried chicken, THIS will change the texture of the chicken, also an ingredient that is evident in every kitchen/ workspace. You wouldn't guess! It is WATER, ice-cold water! That's right! You read that right, I used water to dip my chicken and recoat with the flour mixture. Super easy and almost very close to the real deal. 

Also, one another tip to get that perfect crust is to place the chicken on a wire rack to allow the chicken to drip the excess oil and not directly place the fried chicken on a kitchen towel. Placing fried chicken directly onto a kitchen towel is one of the biggest mistakes one can make when making KFC, as it makes the chicken soggy. To know how crunchy the crust is, check out the video recipe on my YouTube. It's Finger lickin' good. 👌😁😋

Let's get started!

For Coating:

Notes:

Good evening folks! I hope you all in the best of health. Well, this pandemic situation has made us stay home and these hunger pangs are for real. You or the members in the fam are habitually opening the fridge imagining that some dish would automatically appear for you to hog on. Well, this isn't anything abnormal. We all are going through the same situation. That is when I wanted to try some different type of mug cake recipe. That would actually fill my mind and soul.

Mug cake recipes are all over the internet. I wanted to go overboard and try something that wouldn't compromise the taste of a cake, that is moist and delicious yet can be made in a mug in about 5 minutes , from start to finish, no more. I started experimenting with the normal mug cake recipes that called for 3 or 4 ingredients but included egg and that was the con to me. I really didn't like the idea where we add eggs to a mug cake, but of course if you are feeding a child and you want them to have egg in their diet its good. But I still don't like the texture of a mug cake that uses eggs, it is quite hard and spongy that almost ruins all the hype of a mug cake. But if you still want a moist and delicious mug cake you may reduce the microwave time by 10-20 seconds. But now you have a gooey egg mess that isn't even completely cooked and that actually is so gross, at least to me.

So I was in a hunt to perfect my mug cake recipe until I wold get satisfied, that is how this self-saucing chocolate mug cake was discovered! It doesn't use egg, its delicious and super moist and almost feels like you are having the well-know Chillis Molten lava cake (if topped with some vanilla ice cream). Well, I didn't have vanilla ice cream, boohoo. But I guarantee this is just so indulging.

Let me warn you, these aren't the best of pictures, as this mug cake doesn't essentially fluff up or raise like the ones that use eggs. So it is very difficult to capture the beauty inside the mug. You definitely need to give it a try (if you know what I am saying).

Who doesn't like Indo-Chinese food. It is the most favorite cuisine from all over India. I must say I that the flavors are just heavenly when it comes to this cuisine.

Well, the hubster is someone who can not get enough of chicken fry. I was going out of ideas to fry the chicken and I am someone who hates repeating the same flavors or same recipe. I can never stand on one recipe. Be it my own recipe. I need to make some changes to it in order to perfect it.

It is true as the saying goes necessity is the mother of invention. It truly is. This is one such recipe that was created out of necessity and I came up with this super easy yet delicious chicken fry. Whenever I prepare chicken in any other form hubsy always asks for chicken fry. So  I wasn't quite sure if he would like it and  it the flavors that were in my mind would go quite well.

This recipe definitely is great when you want a makeshift from your normal chicken fry. The chicken is to be marinated with all the spices, Maida (apf) and corn flour at least for 1/2 an hour or more. Once we'll marinated, rice flour is used to make the chicken crisp so you need to add rice flour right before you put the chicken into the oil for frying. And once the chicken has been dropped into the hot oil, the chicken is to be allowed to cook for roughly around 6-7 minutes before you flip. This allows the coating to stay intact.

Guys do give this chicken fry a try that uses Indian spices to bomb the chicken with flavors with a hint of Chinese that makes the chicken even more flavorful and delicious. 😋

Let's go get the ingredients!

Good morning folks! I hope you are all safe and staying home to combat the pandemic COVID 19. Yes, putting up this on my blog would be a reminder of how it is easy to be ungrateful of the blessings we have. Staying home can make a lot of difference. Let's hope and pray that this crisis comes to an end soon. 

Are you wondering about the name of the pasta dish and never heard of it before? Don't be amazed! The name is proudly invented by me, so is the dish lol! I was wondering what to name this pasta and not make the name look boring, as the pasta recipe itself is easy and exciting. So, I came up with this idea of Pasta La Vista. How did you like it? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Okay now coming back to the pasta recipe. This is a super simple pasta recipe. Pasta is one dish that we resort to for a quick fix. And this pasta recipe was discovered when I simply didn't want to make a white sauce or pink sauce, as I had no milk. Also, I was looking forward to preparing something very simple yet delicious. My hubster has become a big food critic. If he doesn't like something I make then it's a no-no in this house. So before attempting or experimenting with anything I always contemplate a lot. 

I prepared this when I was almost out of groceries (we all almost do this yea? Jump to make pasta when you are short on groceries, well I always do!) So this pasta was basically prepared with whatever I had in my pantry and let me tell you, it was out of the world good! My hubster was asking if I added anything to give the pasta a smokey flavor. I guess its the paprika that did the job. And the Mister kept asking for more, I was more than happy to serve as I was least expecting the pasta to turn out good. He also told me not to prepare white sauce or pink sauce anymore. haha, happy me, because this one is super easy and mess-free. I am sure kids will love it too!

The pasta is first prepared by frying chicken cubes/strips in the paprika marinade. Then the sauce is prepared by tossing sliced garlic in some butter and adding whatever sauces you have in your fridge! I used Szechuan sauce and sriracha sauce (you may use tomato ketchup, hot sauce, red chilli sauce, etc). Next add fresh cream/ thick cream/ cooking cream and add some tomato paste. Next, I added some ketchup and mayo. Oregano and some chicken stock. Allow to come to a boil. Switch off flame and toss in your fried chicken and pasta. Yummilicious creamy Pasta La Vista is ready!

Note: 

Don't gasp hearing the name of this drink. It means Banana milkshake in Arabic language. This is one of the most selling juices you can find in cafeterias in Dubai! I have grown up having shawarma and aseer Al Mouz (Banana smoothie /milk shake), something that gives me a lot of memories. 

Whenever we got ready to go out for the evening, the first thing that we do right after we leave our house is buy shawarma and Aseer Al Mouz.  It is super refreshing and fills the tummy. I always admired how they (the people working in the cafeteria) made those beautiful rosey colored lines in our shakes. It definitely gives a makeover to the dull looking banana milkshake. Later on when I grew up I happened to know that it was either rose syrup/vimto and it blowed my mind. I have always loved to try making attractive drinks. Well this is my attempt in making Aseer Al Mouz. Might not be authentic at all but who cares! As long as it can bring back memories to you. 

Also during this pandemic stay home at all times. I had to do a grocery run and I was just too worried that I finally gave in to buy my groceries online. And Alhamdulilah felt so good to not go out and get my stuffs as why risk your life to buy groceries. I sanitized and cleaned my groceries before I put them off in my pantry and fridge. You can find out how to do that on YouTube. 

And this aseer Al Mouz was the result of buying many ripe bananas. Had to give it a go! 

The secret to an amazing Aseer Al Mouz is frozen bananas. This is done by the slicing ripe bananas and dump them into a zip lock bag or a container and allow them to freeze. The frozen bananas are a game changer. Most of you might already know or might have been making banana milkshake for ages. I was skeptical, well, I thought if I posted this on my blog it might be useful to many who might have not yet tried Aseer Al Mouz. Especially since Ramadan is only a few days away, I like to have wholesome shakes or drinks for iftar than straight away popping snacks into my empty stomach. One such drink is the Dates and Oats Smoothie. 

This is super simple to make Frozen bananas, sugar, ice cubes and milk (fresh milk, Almond milk etc) and that's it! Let's make some Aseer Al Mouz. 

 

Dalgona Coffee has been something that has been viral for a couple of weeks now. It is a mixture of instant coffee powder, sugar and warm water that is blended well using a hand blender or whisk to form a fluff like coffee. 

Since it is available at almost every house, I wondered if it could be transformed to a tiramisu-like pudding. I have been planning to do this since the past 2-3 days. Finally I put my imagination to effect. Alhamdulilah it turned out so good. If you love coffee or loved the dalgona coffee experimence please do try this! 😍 

I made this with basic ingredients available at home, you may use cream cheese in the whipped cream-thick cream layer and substitute with whatever ingredients you have at home. As we all are going through this lock down phase, it is difficult to find ingredients. I made this with whatever I found in my pantry. 

After the Friday biryani session I always love to indulge in something sweet and this is one of the outcomes. This definitely is a cheat tiramisu dessert. So yumm and delicious. I have used Lady finger biscuits for my pudding, you may use any unflavored biscuits or even bread is doable. But if you are using biscuits like Marie, I would suggest to make the milk mixture lukewarm and pour over the Marie biscuits so that the biscuits are soaked well. For bread and lady finger biscuits cold milk mixture will do. Next is a layer of vanilla Flavored cream using whipped cream and thick cream, here you may add cream cheese if you have. And then again a layer of milk soaked biscuits. Finally spread or pipe the whipped coffee (dalgona) with some folded fresh cream (to dilute the bitterness) and top up with whatever your heart desires. 

This is definitely a quick fix tiramisu or like I love to call it - Cheat Tiramisu 😅

If you love tiramisu you are gonna love this one! Also a simple dessert, next time you have guests over you don't have to fret! Dalgona Milk Pudding to your rescue. Let's indulge in some Dalgona Milk Pudding. 😀

Milk, condensed milk, coffee powder

Fold whipped cream, thick cream, vanilla essence and icing sugar

Dalgona coffee 

Blend 2 tbsp coffee powder, 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp warm water for a minute using a hand blender until fluffy. 

Dates and Oats Smoothie 

Ramadan is almost here! And this is one of my favorite drinks to have at the time of iftar. This one drink is enough to quench your thirst and fill your tummies. Also perfectly refreshing during summer. 😍👌

This milkshake is super nutritious. And you instantly feel that zing in your energy levels. Feel free to use Almond milk if you are lactose intolerant. Dates are rich in anti oxidants too.

Try this drink for iftar and you can thank me later. 😉😁❤️

This can make a perfect breakfast or food for anytime of the day. I guarantee you that you will instantly feel so good when you drink this. It's more like food for the body. Just 3 ingredients and voila you have the most simple, delicious and healthy smoothie ever!

The story behind this smoothie is that I always love to try new drinks for Ramadan. Well, we all face that time during Ramadan when you don't have the energy or time to shop and you need to fill your tummies with whatever is at home. So I thought of dates as dates are in abundance in the time of Ramadan at every home and also oats are really nutritious. So I was thinking of preparing a smoothie that wouldn't be headche, like finding many ingredients.. This smoothie is one that can be definetly tried by everyone at home.. Since these are basic ingredients..

I love dates.. Having at least 2 of them in a day makes a whole lot of difference.. Especially its high in Iron. Also there no requirement for artificial sweetener but if you really think it's not sweet enough feel free to add in some honey or extra dates. 

When I first made this here, everyone did not like the taste at the first sip. But as you drink it, you taste the flavors more and makes you feel good. The flavors that come from this are strictly from the roasting of the oats that brings in that nutty flavor. You need to roast the oats well on low until a beautiful aroma comes in. Be careful not to burn it. 

I don't know how exactly to describe the flavor. You definitely need to try it. It's super delicious 😋

Ingredients :

Instructions:

Notes:

Do try this recipe and don't forget to share your experience/feedback with me here in the comments or feel free to send me a mail. Also, do tag me at #taystedit if you try out my recipes on Facebook, Instagram etc so that I can see when you make it. ♡♡♡♡