Fresh Lemongrass and Ginger Drink

  

I disappeared from blogosphere for yet another week..

But this time I had a real good bad reasonL

I was diagnosed of an unnecessary growth in my nose..

And we had to spend quite a lot of time in hospital doing tests after tests to identify the root cause.

The worst phase was the 3 days when we had to wait for my biopsy results

Man…that was my longest weekend!! And probably the only time I felt weekend was too long and we just want it to be over.

I can’t pen down the feelings we went through during those 3 days..

When you realize you are this close to one of the most dreadful disease..And your life might never be the same again!

Thank to God and to my family for all their prayers...It was not what we feared and I felt soo relieved when doc called me to tell the test results

Needless to do say there was not much cooking happening in my kitchen recently.

Anyways we are back to the routine now and I was on a cooking spree this weekendJ

Now back to today’s recipe.. Lemon Grass and Ginger drink

If you are a Thai cuisine admirer like me you sure must have tried this refreshing drink!

I must say this cooling and refreshing drink is the perfect accompaniment to the hot Thai foodJ

You can try the hot version and it’s an excellent remedy for Cold and flu.

Lemon Grass and Ginger drink

Ingredients

4 Cups water

4 Lemongrass stalks

½ inch Ginger

50 gms Rock sugar/increase as per your taste

Directions

Bring the water to boil

Clean the lemon grass and peel off the first 2-3 layers.

Lightly pound the think end of the lemon grass stalks and add to the water

Pound the ginger lightly and add to water

Add the sweetener of your choice and bring to boil

Cover and let it simmer for 20 minutes

Kiwi Celery Punch

I am on Refrigerator Cleaning spree these days as I will be out of Singapore for 2 weeks and I am 200% sure that my dear hubby won’t enter the Kitchen during those 2 weeks
Ooo ya,he might enter.. to grab a beer or Juice from the refrigerator…Anyways I had to clear up a basket of Kiwi fruits

So I decided it’s time for a Punch…

So here is what you need

4 Small Kiwis peeled and cut to quarters
100 grams Celery cut roughly.
1 Lemon
Sweetener of your Choice
One and a half cup water

Blend the Celery in blender till smooth. Now add the Kiwis and squeeze little lemon Juice.
Add water and a table spoon of sweetener of your choice and blend till smooth

Enjoy the Citrous Punch:-)

Add celery to you juices coz its rich in Phytonutrients and is highly nutritious. The Celery stems are rich in Vitamin B , iron , folic acid and essential amino acids.

Kiwi fruits as you all know are an excellent source of Vitamic C.
Its is also said to be a good home remedy for handovers :-)

Check here for more Kiwi recipies
Kiwi Fruit

Pink Grapefruit Punch

                 
Slice open a succulent grapefruit and squeeze one cup of fresh grapefruit juice and there you have a glass of
Super Juice with health benefits ranging from Anti-oxidants to anti-cancer nutrients.
The list continues… vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, folate and many B-vitamins.

Ok Ok...it tastes very bitter isnt it? Don’t worry, we will work on it..

Letz make a Punch

You need
2 Fresh Ripe grape fruit
50 g Strawberry flavored Jelly Crystals
1 table spoon Sugar
1 Cup water

Cut the Grapefruits to half and squeeze the Juice of 3 Half Slices
Cut the 4th one to small cubes and line the bottom of a bowl.
Now boil 1/2 Cup water . Dissolve the Jelly crystals and Sugar to the hot water and mix well till sugar and Jelly crystals dissolves completely
Add the rest of the water and Grapefruit juice to the above mix and mix well.

Pour this to the prepared bowl and refrigerate for 4 hour.

Since we added only half of the Jelly crystals, the mixture wont set to jelly.However the Punch won’t be too watery either

The Punch is very flavorful with the Sweetness and a dash of sourness from Strawberry Jelly crystals...the kick of bitterness from Grapefruit...

Now lemme stop the photography and enjoy the Sweet..Sour...Bitter....Punch..:-)

Barley Water

If you never had Barley water before or not even heard of it…you have come to the right place:-)
Barley water is a good source of natural fiber and an excellent anti-oxidant.
It also helps reduce cholesterol, provide intestinal protection and aid with disease protection
I have heard from many of my Chinese friends that Barley help to cool your body

And all ladies out there…I heard that barley water also clear up the complexion and stop the formation of wrinkles. :-)

So don’t wait any more …letz make the Barley drink.

You need
1 Cup Pearled Barley
10 Cups Water
50 G Rock Sugar [Optional]

Bring the water to Boil.
Rinse the barley well with water and add t the water. Let it simmer for 30 minutes
I added rock Sugar along with Barley. You can totally omit the Rock sugar if you prefer.
Once the barley has been fluffed and turn soft you can switch off the flame and let it cool.

You can add little Lemon juice just before serving for flavoring.

Stuffed Poori with Coriander Chutney and Mango Lassi

These days we are having Shutdown…aka every xmas out office closes for 2 -2.5 weeks...he he

Isnt it great???
Ya thatz one of the best thing I like about my job:-)

Anyways….so most of the days I wake up arnd 9 --10…always after breakfast time..
So these days I just have to cook two meals a day…brunch and dinner..

Pooris are my favorite Brunch dish…its easy, quick and yummy

So when I saw the Stuffed peas pooris in Srivalli’s Blog, I sooo wanted to try it…

I made few modifications to her recipe...Here is recipe I followed

For Poori
All purpose Flour 1 Cup
Ghee -1 tspn
Salt to taste

For filling
½ cup cooked Green pea and Chick pea mashed well
[You can use Green peas alone, I had left over Chick pea so I just popped that in as well]
Ginger-I small piece chopped
Garlic- 1 clove chopped
Chillies 1 no
Garam Masala ½ tspn
Ghee ½ tspn

Add ghee to the flour and mix well.
Add in salt and water ,knead well and make a firm douch and set aside

Add ghee to a wok, once hot enough add in Ginger, Garlic and chilies and sauté for a minute
Now add the mashed Peas/Chick Pea mixture. Add in garam masala and salt and mix well.

Take a small portion of dough, flatten lightly.
Add in a spoon full of filling , cover all sides and roll to a 3 inch rounds on a lightly floured surface

Deep fry the pooris in oil till both sides are browned well
Drain on paper towel and server with a Coriander Chutney

Coriander Chutney
Blend 2 table spoon of curd together with a bunch of fresh coriander leaves and a little salt.

Mango Lassi
2 cups fresh Yogurt
¼ cup Mongo Puree
1 Ripe mango cut in pieces
1 spoon Sugar

Blend all ingredients well in a blender and njoy the lassi.