Zaiqa

Its been drizzling here since the last few days, bringing everything that was in sleep back to life.

Frozen Moment #6 – April Showers

I was craving for some deep fried pakodas. During a recent visit to the grocery market, I had bought a beautiful green cabbage which was lying the refrigerator waiting to be cooked up into something delicious. It was so large that after making some gobi gosht for the meal, there was enough left to make a few pakodas.

cabbage batter

We enjoyed them along with tea in the evening today.

Bund Gobi kay Pakoday ~ Cabbage Fritters
(Note: Cabbage is called as Bund Gobi or Patta Gobi in Urdu language)

Ingredients:

Thinly Sliced Cabbage – 4 cups
Ajwain – 2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Besan – 1 cup
Corn fluor/Rice flour – 1/4 cup
Water – 1/2 cup

band gobi kay pakoday ~ cabbage fritters

Method:

In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well using hands. Heat oil to deep fry in a kadai. Once the oil is hot, gently drop small amounts of mixture using your fingers into the hot oil. Deep fry them on both sides until golden brown in color. Using a slotted spoon remove into a paper towel lined platter or into a wire mesh strainer for the the excess oil to drip away. Enjoy the pakoday along with chutney.

Luv,
Mona

Looks like Fall/Autumn has finally arrived in Toronto. Strong cold winds, falling leaves, and the beautiful red, orange and yellow hues on the tree leaves indicating that a new weather has commenced.

Frozen Moment #5 – Vivid blue sky against Autumn leaves

This summer seemed very short to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed and made use of the beautiful sunshine with whatever little gardening I was able to do in my backyard. Now, my lovely tomato plant is slowly dying, and raspberry plants will soon be asleep. Herb pots have all be brought indoors to adapt to the scanty indirect sunshine.

Bed of Fallen Leaves

This kind of weather leaves me craving for warm baked goods. Mornings are commenced with warm coffee or tea, and something baked fresh from my oven. Today I baked these delicious muffins using dried cranberries which I bought from Bulk barn and some walnuts that I had lying in the refrigerator from a long time.

Toasted and chopped Walnuts & dried Cranberries

I really enjoyed the raisin like dried cranberries with a hint of tartness bursting in my mouth with every bite.

Dried Cranberry-Walnut Muffins
Recipe adapted from: Cakes – 1,001 recipes from around the world

Ingredients:

All-Purpose flour – 2 cups
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Nutmeg powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Dried Cranberries – 1 cup
Walnuts – 1/2 cup, toasted & chopped (you can also use any other nuts you like)
Buttermilk – 1 cup
Brown Sugar – 1/2 cup, firmly packed
Eggs – 2, large, at room temperature
Butter – 1/4 cup, melted

Warm, freshly baked Cranberry-Walnut muffins cooling on rack

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Butter and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, or line with aluminium foil or paper baking cups.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg and salt into a large bowl. Stir in cranberries and walnuts.
4. Beat buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, butter in medium bowl with an electric hand mixer at high speed.
5. Stir the egg mixture into dry ingredients. Spoon the batter into muffin cups filling each 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the muffin pan on rack.

My friends of Northern hemisphere, enjoy the fall weather and keep warm!

Luv,
Mona

This week’s weather forecasts are perhaps among one of the most monstrous weather conditions I had ever experienced here, with terrible snowstroms and piles and piles of snow everywhere. How much I dislike winter.

Frozen Moment #4

Thankfully I and my family are at home for the holidays, but my I feel sorry for all those people who have to go through the harsh snow strom. Keep safe and warm everyone! I also feel miserable to watch my hubby shovel the snow and fight with the car to get it started everytime after a snowfall.

After all this back breaking endeavor of scooping out the bulky mounds of snow, I decided to treat my hubby with one of my most loved recipes that I had learnt from my dear mother. It is one of the simplest dishes to prepare, and even so, one of the most delectable red meat dish that you will remember always.

Burhani Gosht – Lamb in an Aromatic Sauce

This recipe uses the lamb breast riblets, also called as Seenay ka gosht in Urdu. It contains ribs and fat sheets arranged in layers and is one of the most delicious tasting flesh. However it is also high in fat content. You can also replace it using lamb thigh meat which again has a delicate flavor.

Burhani Gosht – Lamb Breast in an Aromatic Sauce

Ingredients:

• Boneless or with bone Lamb, cut into pieces (or) Lamb Breast Riblets/Seenay ka Gosht– 600 gms
• Canola oil – 3 tbsp
• Onion – 2, medium sized, finely sliced
• Green cardamom – 3, whole
• Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Garam masala powder – 2 tsp
• Cilantro – to garnish

Method:

• Wash and clean the meat, and keep in a colander for the water to drain away.
• In a pressure cooker at medium high heat, pour in oil and add the sliced onion and stir fry until it golden brown in color. Add green cardamom and stir. Add meat and ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Pour in a cup of water and close the lid. Let it pressure cook on medium heat until it is tender.
• Later, open the lid, and let it cook on medium heat, until the meat is quite dry. Sprinkle garam masala powder. Remove from heat and serve. (Just to give it a special touch, I added a few saffron threads to the curry to make my guests happy)

Suggested Accompaniments: Serve this curry warm along with warm parathas.

Cheers,
Mona

During my vists to the Kensington Market, I often spot this eco-friendly car and everytime I enjoy watching this unusual sight.

‘Community Vehicular Reclamation Project’ by the Group ‘Streets Are For People’

More about it here and here.

Luv,
Mona

My every morning in the Summer are woken up by the beautiful songs of this elagant and gorgeous flock of birds along with various others too. So, on one cloudy morning I decided to click a few pictures of them and they posed very well for me.

These birds are called the Cedar Waxwing birds. I nicknamed them, ‘the batman birds’ for the black patch at their eyes 🙂 This one was looking at me while I was clicking it from my bedroom window. Pretty, arent they?!

Have a look at their beautiful feathers. They have a black eye patch lined with white, a creast of feathers on its head, pale yellow belly, a little cluster of bright red feathes on the tip of its wings and the tail, yellow or orange depending on its diet, black feet and a short black bill. 

They feed on the cherries on the tree day long just in front of my bedroom window. They literally destroy all the cherries, bursting them by picking on almost each of the ripe cherry if left unprotected. 

A group of them looking curiously at me,.. “What is this woman doing?!$#..”

Luv,
Mona