Sweetpotato - Cauliflower Fritters

Hey everyone, how you've been? Summer here is at its peak and so it's summer vacations time. And that means kids (rather hungry kids) at home. It is very important to fill their tummies with healthy food in these harsh hot days. Well, these fritters have been one of my favourites lately, as they taste, hmmm, different! I just love the sweetness of sweet potatoes and the crunchy bits of cauliflower. It went so well with the tomato sauce and a simple cucumber salad.

Cauliflower and sweetpotato combo is just perfect and super healthy. Together they provide great doze of vitamins and minerals. They both are a very good source of B- vitamins, Vitamin C, vitamin D,magnesium, potassium and fibres. They both are easy to digest. Well, I also like to add any kind of seed available (flax, sunflower or so) to make these fritters even healthier. So do play with vegetables and try interesting combinations that taste good and add to your health. As for now try these fritters , enjoy summer and always cook the natural way!!!

Valentine's Day Special

Planning to spend your Valentine's day at home? Then try these quick and easy Valentine's day special recipes and make your Valentine extra special.

Breakfast Smoothie Superbowl

Have a great start of the Valentine's day with this easy fullfilling, super healthy breakfast smoothie bowl!!! Just give a gorgeous makeover to your regular strawberry smoothie and bring a big smile on your Valentine's face 😆. This breakfast has everything nuts, seeds, cornflakes and fruits ; a perfect vitamins packed breakfast!! Just use your imagination and add any available ingredients at home. In fact, you can use any smoothie of your choice and serve it this way. So try this idea and cook the natural way!!!

Pomegranate Paneer Kabobs

The new year has begun and so is our resolution, so I am planning to celebrate this Valentine's day the healthier way (psst...except the chocolate treat 😉). And as always we gonna stay at home and enjoy the day together. Keeping the recipes simple but special, I will spend less time in the kitchen and keep more time for us. Well, I think beetroots, pomegranates, strawberries, raspberries and other reddish stuff are perfect to bring out lovely colours that can make valentine dishes attractive. In this recipe, I used pomegranate as the base of the marinade. It came out so well. This recipe is perfect for lunch, I think. Just have them with any bread of your choice along with green Chutney! No chopping, no cutting , just fuss-free relaxing afternoon!!! So try this recipe and cook the natural way this Valentine!!

Gooseberry Winter Lemonade/ Amla Nimboo-Paani (Valentine's day special)

Celebrate HEALTH AND VALENTINE together with this lemonade!! Although the winters are going , still we feel the chill and If you are like me who loves to have lemonade in any season, at any time, then cheers! Isn't it so refreshing and mood changing?. And who says the lemonade is only for summers. I mean lemons help to detox your system, and we need to detoxify in winters too. The ingredients in this lemonade helps you fight winter related illnesses.And the gorgeous pink colour makes it perfect for Valentine's day!!

Now this lemonade has gooseberries which have many health benefits and are rich in Vitamin C, iron and vitamin B complex. Gooseberries are good for skin, hair, digestive system and are a powerful antioxidant.Tulsi (holy basil) is known to cure cough and cold, and so is ginger. Beet root gives this lemonade an additional health benefit and lovely colour too. So try this healthbooster drink this Valentine's day and cook the natural way!

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pasta

Hello everyone! Christmas is just few days away and the market place looks so festive and merrier. Especially the bakery shops. I tried some mini cakes but the homemade cakes 🍰 have no equals. Christmas joy inevitably indulges you into sweets, bakes, cakes or heavy meals. So a light, yet fullfilling meal is  a wise choice.

This pasta recipe has an amazing taste of roasted red bell pepper that gives this pasta recipe a smokey flavoured sauce, instead of regular tomato based sauce or cream sauce, that we usually make. Adding cream is totally optional, or you can use coconut cream (or milk) instead. You can also make the bell pepper sauce ahead and store in refrigerator for upto 2 days or in freezer for upto a week. So try this pasta recipe and cook the natural way!

Coconut-Chocolate Truffles

 Look at these truffles, aren't they so inviting? These truffles are so addictive that they disappear the moment you serve them😁! Just 3 ingredients and you are done. These truffles are so easy, so quick and so simple to make. They are perfect for busy Christmas days! Serve them or eat them or gift them, you gonna love them!

These truffles have an amazing nutty flavour of coconut. They are sugar-free, dairy-free and glutenfree. The cool thing about these truffles is that you don't necessarily need to keep them in fridge to set. You can serve them right away. So try them and enjoy these guilt-free truffles!

Lemon-Thyme Brined Chicken

Hello everyone, Happy day to you all! I know you must be very busy with your Christmas preparations. Be it  home or a room makeover, make-ahead meals, shopping, guests, to name a few, . Still you need to keep the home festive-ready, need to cook festive treats and need to entertain guests. So few no-fuss recipes is what you need to make your work easier. And this recipe, with few ingredients, would just serve the purpose. Although it has very few ingredients, the way it is cooked, is what brings out an amazing taste! 

Lemon with any herb is a heavenly combination, isn't it? This chicken recipe has a beautiful lemoney flavour with the freshness of thyme. It is not a very spicy dish, but has a mild-elegant taste. And brining, yes the magic factor, takes any meat recipe to another level. I wet-brined for this recipe. With few spices, the brining creates a smooth spicy hint to the dish. So get the recipe down below and try it out and impress your family and friends. Wishes from cook the natural way!!!

Almond-Choco Cookies

Christmas without cookies 🍪 is incomplete, and freshly home baked cookies is what makes the home smells so festive. Whether baking them for the family or gifting them, home baked cookies bring so much joy and satisfaction. Diwali and Christmas are two of my favourite festivals that I love to celebrate to the fullest.Winters, Christmas, cakes, cookies, celebration, oh What a great time of the year!! Well with this recipe, I am starting my Christmas 🎅🎄 special series. Hope you like it. 

These cookies, as the name suggests, have the goodness and the richness of almonds . They add a beautiful sweetness and taste. And chocolate, who on Earth doesn't like chocolate cookies?! I have also used "cut out method" to shape the cookies (for a cleaner look) and with a slight difference, they came out perfect, a little crispier than the molded ones. You will also notice in the recipe that I have used cream instead of butter, Reason?- it makes softer cookies. Crispy outside and soft inside, these cookies make a great gift for your friends and family! So go-ahead and prepare these delicious cookies.  Happy holidays, enjoy the food to the fullest and for a while forget to cook the natural way 😉! hahaha!

SPICY PINEAPPLE FRITTERS with CASHEW CHUTNEY

I love pineapples🍍, they have a very addictive taste. The flavour is so refreshing and distinct. But cutting a pineapple has always been a big task for me, Thanks to the tips and tricks on internet on  "How to cut a pineapple" , that made things a lot easier. This tropical fruit is loaded with Vitamin C and manganese and is also a good source of potassium, copper, calcium, B6, thiamin and folate. It has an enzyme called Bromelain, which aids digestion and reduces swelling. In fact, this enzyme is used in  making medicines also. But people who are taking blood thinning pills should avoid this fruit. Well, the center stalk that we usually throw away, has the maximum benefits and it is tasty too. And the outer tough skin can be used as stirrers in drinks! (good idea💡, isn't it?).

Well, now how I got the idea of adding them into Fritters (aka tikki, or pakora). Whenever I go to any barbecue restaurant, there is one skewer I always wait eagerly for, and that is the pineapple skewer. I just love the bomb of flavours bursting in my mouth (spicy, salty and sweet). So one day I decided to use this amazing flavour, and tried this recipe. OMG, it was soo good and now it is in my "must try recipe list". Every time I prepared these fritters, every time it got appreciated! And the cashew chutney goes very well with them. I kept the chutney less spicy, so to balance the spiciness of the recipe.  So Go and try them and cook the natural way!!

VEGETABLE SANDWICH in CHEESY SAUCE

Winters make me eat a lot 😋😋, I become a food freak, and it is not the regular meals that I crave for, but I want "something special" to satisfy myself. And this encourages me to try different recipes! I have prepared vegetable sandwiches many times before, but these sandwiches stole my heart and that's why I am sharing them with you. I wanted to make sandwiches which had more vegetables and less butter or cream or mayo, but still creamy and delicious. So I added brinjal (eggplant), yes eggplant 🍆. It made the sandwiches "melt in mouth creamy" and the cheese sauce doubled the taste! You can use any vegetable of your choice but don't forget to add the star ingredient ( that is the eggplant) to these sandwiches The crusty bread outside and creamy filling inside, oh it was so delicious!

Well the year is heading towards it's end and Christmas is on it's way. So I am gonna warm myself near my oven and try out my baking skills. This year I had frequently been "on and off " on my blog for so and so reasons, but I am really glad to find all my friends here, still in touch with me. I love you all for that 💗. So I hope you like the recipe and always cook the natural way!!

Corn-Celery Soup

Hi everyone!! It's getting cold here and what a better way to comfort yourself is to have a warm bowl of soup. And if it is healthy, it's great ! I know everybody loves corns and this soup has it's beautiful combination with celery. The sweetness of bell pepper and the creaminess of cashews make this soup a treat in itself. If you are vegan, you can use olive oil in place of butter. So welcome winters with this golden yellow soup and cook the natural way!!

Cucumber -Coconut Pasta Salad

Are you bored of tomato and cheesy pasta? Then you must try this pasta recipe! I have tried this recipe many times before sharing it with you (that's what I always do) and trust me every time it got appreciated. The star ingredient here is the coconut. It adds wonder to any dish it is added to, isn't it? Although it has started raining here but still sometimes the weather gets hot, and a Pasta salad is just perfect .

Well I had been a little unwell lately, so I was kind of away all this time. But the food was always on my mind. I could hardly managed to cook and posting a recipe was way beyond for me... Hehe! But I am glad that I am curing myself through natural ways and I am so impressed by the power of every day food. I would like to share my experience in my coming posts soon. Anyways, back to the salad, this tasty pasta salad is simply quick and easy recipe. The yogurt and cucumber also make the salad perfect for summers. So try this Pasta recipe and cook the natural way!

Paneer Lababdar

So finally my vacations are over, now back to routine! let's start with this popular Indian Paneer recipe- PANEER LABABDAR. Yummmm the name itself is so tempting, isn't it? This dish has many variations. I love the one which is the easiest of all, hehe! So enjoy this recipe with naan, roti or rice and cook the natural way !!

Beet-Sweet Potato Stuffed Prantha

Hello everyone, I couldn't write about the little break that I took, in my last post. So here I am after a month or so. But my blog has always been on my mind. Well, today I am very happy to share this recipe. Actually one day my friend asked me to give an idea to add beetroot in paranthas (flat bread) for her kid. And the challenge was not to make the kid realise it. So I thought it over n over n over. Without anything on my mind to start with, I went buying vegetables.

And when I reached to beetroots, I saw SWEET POTATOES next to them and voilà, I got the right combination to work with. It clicked me that very moment what to add more into the stuffing :-) The sweetness of sweet potatoes can easily overtake the distinctive taste of beetroots. So I went home excitedly to try it out. And that was just the thing I wanted. It was a big hit at my home too. So you see sometimes you get the inspiration from anywhere.

Well, talking about sweet potato, this versatile, inexpensive and easily available vegetable is a must-have in my diet. It is super rich in B6, vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin D. I didn't know about the viatmin D until I learned about it one day and hence I found one more good reason to love sweet potatoes.Vitamin D is very important for our bones and immune system. And since there are just countable food that are rich in Vitamin D, Sweet potato is a tasty option. Sweet potato is also high in iron and magnesium. And the beetroots also, rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. So this recipe is now in my must-try list. These pranthas have a very nice sweet and tangy flavour and goes so well with the green chutney. Try it someday and as always cook the natural way!!!

Fig-Almond Milk

So, the Holi is just one day away. Many must have prepared the guest's list, set the menu or done with the shopping. Here is a quick recipe to enjoy this colourful festival a little more. It will be great to serve this drink to your guests as a welcome-drink to get them charged for the festival fun!!

This milk drink is just perfect for holi, I think, because it is quite heavy on stomach, so it means you will be getting enough energy to enjoy the festival easily. After all you have to run after each other to get them (or get yourself) colored....hehe! Honestly I don't like getting coloured, but once I get trapped, I fully enjoy the spirit of holi to the fullest. It is just the start that seems so difficult to me, what about you? :D

Well, this drink has the goodness of figs and almonds. The crunch of fig seeds what you get while sipping, is truly fun. The addition of HOMEMADE CONDENSED MILK gives it a nice rich depth. Well, not only for festivals, but also for your health in general this drink is very nutritious. Just skip the condensed milk and add honey instead to avoid refined sugar. So don't wait to try this awesome drink anytime and cook the natural way!!

HAPPY HOLI TO ALL OF YOU!!

APRICOT RICE PHIRNI | APRICOT RICE PUDDING

Hello everyone, I think Holi without kheer or phirni is incomplete. Holi is a festival of fun, frolic and of course food! Gujjia, malpuas, sweets and snacks all bring out the festive magic. Well, this phirni recipe has a brilliant touch of apricots. I love to cook this phirni on special occasions. It's a heavenly treat. This creamy delicious phirni will be a delish for your friends and family this holi. So don't forget to try this awesome phirni this holi and cook the natural way!

Sooji-Nariyal Ladoo | Semolina-Coconut Balls

Holi (the festival of colours in India) is round the corner and the food blog world is flooded with delicious and tempting sweets. And here is mine. Well, now when we have learnt to make HOMEMADE CONDENSED MILK, let's use it to make these delicious ladoos. I think when we add Coconut to any recipe, it creates a magic. The food tastes amazing. What do you think? In these ladoos (balls) also coconut is dominating. I have also added cashews that give these ladoos a very distinct taste. So, you can say, it is a combination of kaju katli (cashew fudge) and nariyal ladoo (coconut fudge). It is an easy and very popular sweet here. So try these ladoos (balls) this holi and cook the natural way! 

Makhane-Khajoor Ladoo | Foxnut-dates Energy Balls (Vegan)

Well you don't need any occasion to enjoy these Ladoos (balls). They are so delicious and healthy too. Why healthy? They are refined sugar-free, give you energy and have the goodness of dates and foxnut (makhane). When I was a kid, I used to relate foxnut with popcorns....hehe! Well foxnuts (makhane) are actually lotus flowers seeds which are puffed. They are very nutritious and has medicinal properties too!They are low in calories and high on vitamins and minerals. Foxnuts are a good source of antioxidants, protein, magnesium and fibre. They can be eaten raw or roasted or can be blended with other ingredients. It has almost a nude taste, but distinctive, so they blend well with many ingredients. And they are gluten-free as well. I used them in powdered form to make these dates energy balls (khajoor ladoo) even healthier. These ladoos (balls) has a very nice sour and sweet taste. The addition of lemon brings out a fun element in these ladoos (balls). And they are vegan and gluten-free too! So try them this festive season and cook the natural way!!

Homemade Condensed Milk

Celebrations are on it's way, so let's get ready with the festive recipes! First thing first, make condensed milk and get yourself well equipped, as many Indian sweets get their amazing mood lifting taste from it! Condensed Milk is really easy to make at home, although it needs a little time and effort, but it is worth doing so. Why?? Well,

1. It costs lesser.
2. You can adjust the amount of sugar or butter according to your preference.
3. Canned condensed may contain added synthetic stabilizers to increase the shelf-life, you can avoid them!
4. Lastly and importanly, it is really satisfying!!

You can use condensed milk in almost any dessert to get an amazing taste and texture! Even a generous layer of condensed milk on a toast is a dessert for me :) !! So get ready and let's cook the natural way!!