Masala lassi

Lassi is one of the most favoured drink during the summertime. It has a cooling effect . The onset of Spring in North India usually means a good amount of heat. So this is the drink to help with the changing weather!

Lassi is usually made by blending yogurt with water until frothy, and made sweet or savory. 

No straining or cooking needed! Make some spice, add ground cashew and some chilled yogurt!

 Practically any flavouring can be added to the lassi be it fruits or spices.

Preparation time:1-2 mins

Cooking time: Nil

Serving: 4persons

Ingredients


3 cups chilled curd/yogurt
3-4 small cardamoms, crushed
6-7 black peppercorns, powdered or 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
a pinch or two of grated nutmeg
2 tbsp chopped dry fruits like almonds, cashew, pistachois
few strands of saffron
crushed palm jaggery as per taste(a replacement of sugar)




Instructions

• In a blender ,add all the ingredients along with some strands of saffron.
• Add 1 or 2 tbsp of water, if you want a little thin lassi.But tastes best if made thick.
• Blend till smooth. 
• You can also whisk everything with an egg whisker till smooth.
• Don't overdo the blending.
• Best when  served chilled in glasses, topped with some dry fruits and saffron and if you like some cream or malai

It was an instant hit among us the very first time I tried myself, being inspired by the recepie from veg recepies of India thats because i like strong and intense flavors. It has a strong aroma and sweet taste and rich with healthy ingredients,which make the experience more rich and refreshing.


It is a bit different from the general lassi,as here a few spices go into the making of the lassi and thats why its called as masala lassi. 

Cherry tomatoes with pesto stuffing

Ain't these cherry tomatoes looking juicy and fresh , refreshing.While in States, I came across this cherry tomatoes. While these were quite easily available there but in India,they are not so. I wish I could get those here also. Allured by the red color when I bought I had no idea what to do,with these ,except from using in salads. Later as I googled ,came across some recipes which I modified accordingly  to suite our Indian taste.
These stuffed cherry tomatoes are nice and east to make and are good for snacks or as starters as well. Moreover ,since the stuffing is mainly of nuts like almonds ,these are nutritious too.


Ingredients:

for the pesto:
1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted nuts (almonds,walnuts,peanuts,cashews)[I mainly used almonds.and cashews,and it turned out nice.]
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese.
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
1 tbsp fresh lime juice.
1/4 tsp paprika powder.
1 clove of garlic very finely chopped.
a pinch of oregano.
1/2 cup fresh loosely packed basil leaves(optional).
salt to taste.
To complete:12 cherry tomatoes.
pinch of paprika (garnish).
To make pesto:
Toast the nuts on a dry skillet over medium heat till they are brown ,3-4 mins,then coarsely chop them.
mix all the pesto ingredients in a bowl.Taste and adjust the seasoning.
To serve:
Cut the tomatoes at the top where the stalks remain attached,horizontally.
Using a small melon baller or a spoon,scoop out the inside pulp, seeds of the tomato.Store it for further use in other dishes.
Gently fill in each tomato shell with about 1 teaspoon of the pesto mixture.Use the tomato top as the tiny lid.Sprinkle lightly with paprika just before serving.
Arrange the stuffed tomatoes on a plate and garnish with basil leaves.Serve chilled or at room temperature. Best when served chilled.

Still Unfinished

Here is a quick post .Since  returning from Vacation in Manali,I am now extremely busy with completing a long ago started  cross stitch  small table cloth.I have set myself a deadline that I am going to finish this today only.But unfortunately have not been ale to make much of the required progress.here are some snaps of the incomplete table spread clicked through my cellphone as I was unable to find out the batteries  for the digital  camera,I mean the charged ones.

Lets hope ,there would be two post in the same evening,as I would be posting the finished one as soon as it is finished.

Flower and the dragonfly...

At last finished the giant quilling project is completely finished.I shared the photos if these flowers in making,sometime back,so now it looks like this.

I like the black & white combination,but I wish it to be neater and have more crisp,and perfect finish,that most of the projects in quilling blogs have.Friends let me know how is it,do you like it or not.

An Applique Work - from scraps

Sorry I have been a bit absent. It's been a busy week around here.These days I made this little cloth to be used for covering ....

In this case I have used the technique of applique.thought applique is not a favourite of mine as I hate doing those button hole stitches,around the fabric pieces,yet since this was a little one,I didn't mind doing.But one thing is sure ,that this project is fully made from scraps that I had with me for a long time.The main cloth,the stripped one is from,my hubby's shirt material,that was excess and I recovered it from the reluctant tailor.Since it was like a strip of cloth,I cut it into halves and stitched them together to get a square one.

To accompany the large flowers I made some small flowers with  blue thread ,using chain stitches.