BLUEBERRY PINÃ COLADA

Looking for a creamy and delicious frozen drink? Check out this simple virgin blueberry piña colada, a creamy tropical taste that is cool and oh so refreshing.

It combines that tangy sweet flavor of pineapple with the smooth taste of coconut…. and adding those blueberries to this tropical classic drink brings out pop of flavours with appeasing subtle lilac hues which makes it a stunning and delicious summer mocktail.

Spike it with your favorite rum or vodka to give it a boozy punch this weekend!!

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

MAKE TIME: 2 minutes

SERVES: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• 200g fresh blueberry

• 400ml coconut cream

• 500ml fresh pineapple juice or bottled

• 4-5 tbsp carob fruit syrup or regular sugar syrup (recipe of sugar syrup below )

• Ice

• Few fresh pineapple slices for garnish

• Few blueberries for garnish

For Sugar Syrup:

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 cup water

METHOD

1. Add everything into a mixer jug. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and decorate with pineapple pieces and blueberries.

2. Serve chilled.

For Sugar Syrup:

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 cup water

1. Put them together in a saucepan, bring to rapid boil. Remove from heat and cool completely.

COOK'S NOTES

• I used fresh pineapple juice for the recipe but if you do not have fresh you can always replace it with store bought one. Be mindful of the sugar content in the bottled juice as its mostly with added sugars. Adjust the quantity of sugar syrup accordingly.

• I wanted to make this drink refined sugar-free, so I added carob fruit syrup which is an excellent alternative to refined sugar syrups. There are many brands available for this healthy alternative and I used Clarks brand. Its a clear syrup not dark in colour.

• Using coconut milk will make a thin consistency but yet a great alternative. Adjust the quantity accordingly.

• If you can get the fresh cream of coconut that will be the best to make this drink.

• I kept the drink virgin but classically its an alcoholic cold beverage made with rum, pineapple and coconut. Adding blueberries brings a refreshing change to this classic drink. Skipping the rum can make it an amazing virgin drink which can be a perfect mocktail for non-alcoholic drinkers.

LAUKI KOFTAS

Lauki koftas is a delicious and a popular Indian curry made with bottle gourd dumplings (koftas) and simmered in onion and tomato gravy. Its originally from the times of Mughals and travelled through Arabic countries like Iran and Afghanistan. Nizam's or Mughals would generally make koftas with meat but in India there are many vegetarian versions of kofta curries. Lauki kofta curry happened to be one of those vegetarian versions of kofta curries which is relished by most.

It's a vegan and gluten-free curry easily suitable to people with such allergens. It can be served with roti, naan, paranthas or rice.

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

COOK TIME: 30 minutes

SERVES: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

For Koftas

• 1 medium Lauki (bottle gourd), peeled and grated, 4 cups roughly

• 1 green chilli, chopped

• 2 tbsp coriander, chopped

• 1 tsp ginger chopped, finely

• 3/4 cup besan or chana atta (I used half and half both)

• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)

• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder

• 1 tsp coriander powder

• Oil for frying

For Gravy

• 2 red onions, roughly cut into chunks

• 1 large beef tomato

• 1” piece ginger, roughly cut

• 2-3 fat cloves garlic

• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste

• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

• 4 tbsp oil

• 1 tbsp coriander powder

• 1 tsp salt or to tastebuds

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• 1/4 tsp garam masala

• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder

• 1 tsp sugar

• 4-5 cups water

• Freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

• 1 tsp fresh cream for garnishing

METHOD

For Koftas:

1. Place grated Lauki in Muslin cloth and squeeze all water. Reserve the water for gravy.

2. Add all the ingredients and mix them all together. Shape them into small balls.

3. Heat oil in wok and gently drop half the balls in oil and deep fry the koftas on medium high heat until golden brown.

4. Drain on absorbent paper.
   

For Gravy:

1. In a small blender, coarsely blend onion, ginger and garlic. Don’t make a fine paste.

2. Blend the tomato into a purée and keep aside.

3. Heat oil in a deep skillet pan, add cumin, sauté for few seconds, add coarsely ground onion ginger mix and chopped green chilli. Stir and roast until it turns light brown in colour. Keeping the flame on low, add salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, and turmeric, stir to mix the spices for a minute.

4. Add the blended tomato and tomato paste. Roast until the oil is separated from the onion and tomatoes masala. Now add sugar and 4-5 cups of water along with reserved lauki water, cover and let it come to a rolling boil. Check seasoning, add salt or sugar if required.

5. Add the koftas , stir and cover the lid and simmer on low fire for 15-18 minutes. Add garam masala and give a gentle stir.

6. Serve and garnish with chopped coriander and cream.

COOK'S NOTES

• Use the tender Lauki for this recipe. If the lauki has larger and thicker seeds, discard them before grating.

• I generally make this curry with just besan but I tried adding chana atta along with besan and the results were equally amazing. Hence its a tip, if you run out of besan and you have some chana atta at hand, you can easily replace it for making koftas.

• If you are vegan, skip the cream for garnishing. Instead use dairy free cream, coconut cream for garnishing or serve just as is.

• Do not discard the lauki water as it has all the nutrients. Add it to the gravy to bring more flavour.

MANGO CHUTNEY

Although summer is awfully hot in Oman, I still love it because grocers are full of mangoes!! It’s the season of the king of fruits, and I wanted to celebrate by making this delicious and nostalgic Mango Chutney, which is my mum’s recipe. The recipe is really simple, but what makes it a delight is that playful balance of flavours like the heat from the red chilli, subtle flavours of the spices, like cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, and the sweet tanginess of the mango. Addition of nigella seeds brings that oomph and makes it uber delicious.

Made it yesterday and served it with a traditional Sindhi roti called Koki Roti, which I tried for the first time and it was such a perfect combination!! The sweet and spicy chutney really uplifted the crispy indulgence of the roti, and it’s definitely a pair you should try for your next breakfast or brunch feast!

Chutney is so versatile I like layering it in my meat burgers…my wraps and even in a chicken curry.

I urge you to give this tangy-sweet delicious goodness a try and I'm sure you will be in love with it.

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

COOK TIME: 30 minutes

MAKES: 1 kilo jar

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large mangoes, ripe but firm (mine weighed about 325g each)

• 2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tsp ginger, finely chopped

• 1-2 fresh red chilli, finely chopped (can remove seeds to reduce heat)

• 1/4 tsp clove powder

• 2 tsp coriander powder

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

• 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

• 2 tsp nigella seeds

• 1/2 tsp rock salt

• 1/2 tsp regular white iodized salt

• 1 cup white vinegar

• 2 cups white sugar

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

METHOD

1. Peel and dice the mangoes roughly into 1 inch x 1.5 cm pieces.

2. In a large heavy bottom skillet, warm oil. Add garlic, ginger, red chillies and sauté

for few seconds.

1. Keeping the heat on low add turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, and clove powder, stir for few seconds. Add the diced mangoes, stir for a minute

2. Add the sugar and vinegar to the mangoes and let it come to a rapid boil. Add salt, cinnamon, cardamom powder and nigella seeds, stir to mix. Reduce the flame to medium high and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the vinegar and sugar is reduced to a thicker consistency and mangoes look translucent and pulpy, turn the heat off. If desired, mash few pieces with back of the spoon to make it bit gooey in consistency.

3. Store in a sterilized sealed jar for upto 2 months in refrigerator.

COOK'S NOTES

• Use the mangoes which are ripe but are still firm for this recipe. I used the Indian mango variety called Tota Pari for this particular recipe, which are sweet and tangy in taste. If you are using mangoes which doesn't have much sweetness, you might have to adjust the quantity of the sugar. Vice-versa, if the mango you are using are much sweeter, then reduce the sugar content accordingly.

• I like my chutney slightly hot, hence I used about 1 1/2 chilli but again, if you like less heat, remove the seeds and membrane of the chillies before chopping.

• For the long term storage, canning can also be done for this mango chutney. Pour the hot chutney directly into sterilized jars, seal and place them in hot bath and keep them undisturbed for upto 24 hours. Sealed chutney jars can be stored on pantry shelf for upto a year.

• Sweet tangy flavours of the chutney goes really well with lamb mince patty burgers.