Preserving the love for pickles

This week I am going to present 3 entries for 3 different blog events;the first one being MBP. Every month Coffee chooses a theme and bloggers have to try fellow blogger's recipes based on the chosen theme. This month's theme is Preserve it.

PICKLES - the very word flashes images of raw mangoes hanging from trees, pickle bottles containing a heavy oil layer, the "khatta meetha" taste of different pickles, the summers when mom made heavenly pickles, and then suffering from cough after eating too much pickle:)
Every summer, Mom would make pickles without fail. She used to buy kilos and kilos of raw mangoes and spend an entire day in washing, peeling, and making the pickle. Though I am a die hard fan of pickle, the very thought of mom getting tired would make me deter her from the task. My only contribution in the pickle making process would be to convince mom to make a smaller quantity and then eat as much pickle as I could. I and Dad would hardly wait till the juices had settled in. We would taste the pickle the very next day. Being a cook who has just mastered some vegetables and chapati, I had not ventured into the area of pickle making. That changed since I saw this.

After seeing Manisha's recipe, I have been returning to the post to see the wonderful picture and drool over it. I was waiting for the right time and enthusiasm to try my hand at pickle making. Coffee's MBP presented the perfect opportunity to make lemon pickle. I used 3 lemons to make this pickle and half the ingredients. 3 days after I made it, the pickle looks like this.

(Lemon pickle without oil)

Manisha says that it takes 2 long months for the pickle to be ready. It's a long wait for me. Meanwhile, P keeps checking Manisha's post to confirm that she has written 2 months and it's not one of my ploys to keep him away from eating it. Thanks Manisha for this wonderful recipe!

Going lite on the tummy

Phew! Coffee's theme for MBP this month was a much needed break from all the oily, sweet, or heavy food. While browsing through my fellow blogger's recipes for salads, raitas, soups or anything falling in the "lite" category, I stumbled upon this raita recipe. The Beetroot Tomato Cucumber raita recipe sounded like a must try. Vaishali's blog has a plethora of amazing recipes. She has tried out dishes using a variety of ingredients. So, why did I choose just this recipe?

A.I simply loved the vibrant colors of the beet and yoghurt mixed together.
B.I had all the ingredients in my pantry, except cucumbers. I skipped the cucumbers and coconut.
C. Beets are really low in calories. They offer N number of health benefits ranging from heart disease and cancer prevention, rich in nutrient proteins, blood purifier, and are a rich source of vitamin C.
D. There were 2 beets lying in the fridge from a long time. Hubby had purchased them and wanted to put them in sandwiches but the poor beets never caught his attention.
E. I had never cooked anything using beets since I came to the US.

Any variations?: Had to skip the cucumbers and followed the rest of the recipe as is.

Verdict: This raita turned out fabulous. I and P instantly fell in love with it. The peanuts add a nice, crunchy taste and the tempering adds a rich taste. We will be making this raita every time we get beets.

Thanks Vaishali for this fabulous recipe. And a big Thanks to Coffee for hosting MBP.

MBP: Something sweet

The best thing about MBP is that you get a chance to visit all the lovely blogs in detail, find a recipe that sounds new and interesting, and try it at home. MBP makes you scour through your friend’s blogs, reading their long written posts and memories. This time Coffee chose “Something Sweet” as the month’s theme. The monthly patrolling took me to Shilpa’s blog – where there was no dearth of sweets. I totally love her blog for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the name of the blog “Aayi’s Recipes (Mom’s recipes)” sounds very, very sweet to me. It reminds me of my own mom’s recipes whenever I visit her blog. Then there’s the beautiful header, the plethora of recipes, her clear style of writing, and beautiful pictures. There were plenty of sweets to choose from – so much so that I got confused. Time was running out and I settled on something that seemed interesting and new to me. The first sweet in Shilpa’s desserts list happens to be “Biscuit Pudding” and I decided to try it out.

I did not have “Marie” biscuits on hand and was going to substitute with Parle – G biscuits. Then I thought better of it; didn’t want the pudding to be a disaster. I followed the recipe as is, just took half the quantity of everything. Here’s how the pudding turned out:

Shilpa, after eating this we licked the chocolate from the vessel. Nope, it’s not bad manners:) Thanks Coffee for the beautiful theme and to Shilpa for this wonderful recipe.