Cooking Is Easy

  Bulletproof cocoa is one of my favourite ways to get some #fatfirst in the morning. I am a chocolate lover and this bulletproof cocoa is divine and it helps me enjoy my fat first in the morning. Having a good source of healthy fat helps in hormonal health, gut health, weight loss, satiety, and prevents sugar cravings. I am a big fan of Dave Aspery and though his bulletproof recipe is way too calorie dense for me, I developed this version to suit my taste and preference.  I did try Dave's full on bulletproof recipe but that kept me off my breakfast and it is way too calorie dense for me.  I mean, I want to enjoy breakfast!! hence I created this bulletproof cocoa which is just right for me. But, if you prefer you can increase the amount of fat to up to 15 or 20 gms and skip breakfast. I do this when I am travelling, I use 20 -25 gms of fat and that keeps me full till lunch time and I can forgo breakfast when on the go. Another thing which I really like about bulletproof i...

  Gobi 65 recipe, healthy gobi 65 without maida, crispy cauliflower 65 restaurant style in a much healthier way. Gobi 65 is a snack and can be enjoyed by the whole family. I created this recipe into a much healthier version. Ingredients: 1 cauliflower 1/4 cup jowar flour 2 tbsp arrow root powder 1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt 1/2 cup water coriander leaves curry leaves 1 green chilli, chopped 1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 2 tbsp wood pressed ground nut oil 1/2 tsp garam masala. ---- 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns 1/4 inch ginger 4 garlic cloves 1 1/2 tsp arrow root powder --- wood pressed ground nut oil as needed Watch the full video for the method:

kerala fish fry, meen varuthathu is an everyday fish fry which is spicy and can be served with rice or as a snack. The fish is marinated in garcinia cambogia/malabar tamarind water along with the other ingredients and that make the fish super tasty. ingredients: ayakkoora/seer fish/king fish - 350 gms kudampuli/garcinia cambogia: 2 pieces water: 1/3 cup Kashmiri chilli powder: 2 tbsp salt: 1/2 tsp or as needed turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp black pepper powder: 1/4 tsp coconut oil: 2 tbsp curry leaves to garnish

Chocolate peanut butter in 1 minute, how to make chocolate peanut butter in Indian mixie/mixer grinder. This healthy refined sugar free chocolate peanut butter is so much better than store bought one or even nutella. It has no unhealthy fats, added preservatives or even refined oil. This is an excellent guilt free healthy snack option for kids and adults alike. Peanuts are high in protein and can also be used in smoothies, oats porridges and as a spread on your breakfast toast. Hope you will try this amazing chocolate peanut butter recipe which takes just under 1 minute to make in your mixie. Wishing you all an amazing Christmas with family and friends.

7 breakfast recipes, 7 days breakfast recipes, healthy sandwich recipe ideas for the entire week. I am sharing simple and easy breakfast recipes for a week. Most of the recipes are oil free and nutrient dense. These recipe ideas are excellent breakfast options and can even be carried to work. The green chutney I used in the recipes are so nutrient dense and is an excellent option for children especially if you have some picky eaters at home. The paneer sandwich can also be used as a filling in roti and can be had as a lunch box meal. The sweetcorn sandwich is an excellent option for kids as well as adults.

Bread roll recipe, veggies/potato stuffed bread rolls was first shared by me here on this blog, in 2011; and now after 5 years I am reposting again the same recipe with video tutorial. 5 years ago, I did not find bread rolls on the internet but now, its everywhere and on most blogs and on youtube. But, the thing I noticed on all those recipes was - bread was dipped in water! stop right there, you need to dip in milk and that makes all the difference. As a child, I used to enjoy this as an after school snack and my kids did the same...its a kid pleaser snack and really easy and quick to make if you have some bread. So, try this easy snack recipe. Video recipe - How to make bread rolls Ingredients:  Potatoes: 5 Carrots: 2 Oil: 1 tbsp Jeera: 3/4 tsp Curry leaves: 1 sprig Ginger: 1 inch Green chilli: 1 Kashmiri chilli powder: 1 tsp Turmeric : 1/2 tsp Garam masala: 3/4 tsp Coriander leaves: As needed Salt: 1 tsp Bread: 11 slices Milk: 1/4 cup Method: Pressure cook p...

Peppers and egg sandwich is my hubby's and son's favourite breakfast and this easy and quick Italian flavoured breakfast found its way late here on my blog. Egg sandwich are one of my easy breakfast option on Sundays; I always make this in a hurry and thus did not get to take a picture. When I mentioned this to Homey; he said he will wake me up early morning the next day so that I can take a video and plus he will get to have his favourite breakfast....how cool was that?? Okay back to peppers and egg sandwich; it is made with capsicum and onion and thus got the name "peppers" because the flavour of capsicum stands out. You can make it with both green and red capsicum or a mix of both, but my friend who gave me the recipe (he lives in Italy) insists that red capsicum should be used; apparently that makes this sandwich perfect in taste and flavour.  And, yes that is vouched by the men in my house....they simply love peppers & egg sandwich with red pepper. ...

Homemade orange squash recipe - learn to make orange squash at home without any preservatives and enjoy summer! I don't buy store bought squash or jam as they are really easy to make at home and during summers I make with fruits that are available.  I like to use seasonal fruits and when orange was in season, I made this squash. This squash has a nice colour and that was attained by adding the orange rind, so when you plan to make this squash try to buy orange with nice orangey rind. As usual, I did not add any preservatives or food colour and I hope you will try it and enjoy as much as my family did. Homemade Orange Squash Video Tutorial : Ingredients: Orange: 6 Lemon: 4 Sugar: 1 kg Water: 1 liter Method: Wash orange really well. Peel the orange and keep aside rind of 3 orange. Put 3 orange rind in a sauce pan and fill with water, let this rind soak for 10 mins. After 10 mins, scrape off the inner white part of the rind. The orange rind is used to g...

Watermelon lemonade recipe, a quick and easy summer cooler with a lemony tang. Summer has already set and the heat is unbearable at times, so juice and milkshakes rule my kitchen these days. The watermelon we get now is sweet and has a rich red color and I just couldn't resist myself from making these. Watermelon lemonade video recipe: One Year Ago: Watermelon Slush Recipe Ingredients : Watermelon (seedless): 3 cups, cubed Sugar: 1/4 cup Lemon: 1 Ice cubes: As needed Mint leaves: To garnish Method: Into a blender squeeze in the lemon. Add in the seedless watermelon. Add sugar or honey. Pulse for 30 seconds. Pour into a glass filled with ice cubes and garnish with a sprig of mint leaves. Enjoy!

Lemon mint juice with pineapple is an easy and quick summer cooler. Summer, I love thee! because of all the milkshakes and coolers I can make.  February is not over yet; but the sun is at its mightiest, and cool cool drinks are in. I like to freeze fruits in ziplock bags whenever fruits are available, so I have a large bag of pineapple chunks and they turn out to be life savers during summers. Lemon mint juice video recipe: Ingredients: Lemon: 1, cut into 8 Mint leaves: 1/4 cup Sugar: 1/4 cup Frozen pineapple chunks: 1/4 cup Water: 2 cups Ice cubes: As needed A spring of mint leaves: To garnish Method: Into a blender add in lemon, mint, sugar, pineapple, and water. Blend for 1 min. Strain the juice. Pour into a glass and top with ice cubes and a sprig of mint leaves. Enjoy summer!

Gobi 65 recipe - Restaurant style cauliflower 65 is a very popular appetiser across India; and most restaurants serve this Indo-Chinese dish.  I replicate restaurant foods at home so that my kids and hubby get a chance to have healthy homemade food with a restaurant touch minus the MSG, food colours, and a lot of other factors. While travelling to Goa last month, we ate food from road side shops some where very good; but almost all of them lavished on MSG....something which I totally avoid at home.  So, here is a quick and easy gobi 65 with a restaurant touch minus the MSG. Have you noticed that fried restaurant food are very crispy, its because they double fry it, that is they deep fry it twice. So if they have gobi 65 on their menu what they do is they, make a  batch of the gobi 65 and fry it and keep it aside, and when an order comes in they again they deep fry it and toss it with the rest of the ingredients and that double frying makes it more crispy. Gobi 65 ...

Chicken masala sandwich recipe, an Indian style chicken sandwich; which is filling and super easy to make. This masala chicken sandwich is one of my sons favourite and I usually make this as an after school snack for him. The sandwich is great for kids lunch box too. You can also add in some veggies, if your kids are fussy with vegetables; grated carrots works perfect or finely chopped capsicum or tomatoes. Try adding some boiled corns or green peas to the chicken mix while sautéing  the masala. Vegetarians, you can make this with paneer; just add crumbled paneer instead of chicken and a nice protein rich and filling sandwich will be ready in minutes. I know it is very unusual to add turmeric in chicken sandwich; but believe me; I am experiencing the benefits of turmeric since my thyroid surgery in August 2014. I have started including turmeric in my diet more in the form of tea, in smoothies, sprinkled it on egg fry...I mean sprinkle it on everything. Include in kids die...

Special chicken roast recipe is a quick and easy chicken roast with a Chinese twist.  Its is excellent as a snack or as a side dish for fried rice, jeera rice etc. Amma used to make this chicken roast as a quick fix and I think she got it from some magazine back in the 80s.  You can also try tossing in some chopped capsicum... Video recipe for special chicken roast: Ingredients: Chicken: Cut into small pieces, 400 gems Oil: 2-3 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder: 1 tbsp Green Chilies: 3-4, slit Garlic: 4 cloves, sliced Ginger: 1/2 inch, sliced Tomato Sauce: 2-3 tbsp, heaped. Curry Leaves: 2-3 sprigs Salt to taste Method: Into a pan, add in chicken, oil, Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric, garlic, and ginger. Put the flame on medium, cover and allow the chicken to cook. Once the chicken is cooked add in green chilies and curry leaves, mix well and roast for a few minutes. After about 5 minutes add in tomato sauce and mix well. Allow this to roast for two minutes...

Dragon beef or beef dragon is a restaurant style Chinese dish popular as an appetiser or as a side dish for fried rice. This sweet and spicy dish has all the flavours and the cashew nuts gives an extra nutty crunch. I made these more than a couple of times to serve with fried rice and each time I make the dish got better and better...and a dish so delish should be shared with you. Okay, let me mention a couple of things, first of all the meat which we get here needs to be pressure cooked for atleast 20 mins as it takes that much time to cook. So, I had to pressure cook the meat and then marinate and fry it, but if the meat which you get cooks pretty fast you can directly fry them. You can also make things easier by cooking and then marinating the meat a day before and refrigerate, what I meant is you can always plan and prepare. For this dish, meat should be cut lengthwise; be it chicken or fish...yes! dragon fish is one of my favourite and the sad part is I do not get a chanc...

Pidiyum kozhiyum or kottayam style pidi is a traditional knanaya cuisine ; these rice dumpling have a thick gravy like sauce, unlike the dry versions of Malabar kakka roti or kozhi pidi. Knanaya style pidi is served with varutharacha kozhi curry. Traditionally, pidi is associated with baby shower ie when the daughter-in-law is sent to her parents house for delivery, it is customary for the mother-in-law to make kozhi pidi and we knanaya people still follow these traditions. My main aim is to preserve this recipe; so that the future generations can enjoy this wholesome dish. Pidi is rice dumplings which is simmered in water along with shallots, garlic, curry leaves, and coriander seeds; but I have used coriander powder instead to make the whole process easy. Amma mentioned that if using coriander seeds then; the water used to mix the rice flour should be sieved and that using fresh roasted coriander powder saves time. I have made a video recipe and I hope this you help...

Papada vada  is a quick and easy tea time snack from Kerala. Papad is dipped in a rice batter and deep fried; this snack can be stored in an air tight container for up to a week. Papada vada and chai is one of the best tea time combinations. I made this as an after school snack for my son; a pack of papad caught my attention and suddenly, thought of this traditional snack and made it. You can make the batter in two ways; one is soaking the white rice and grinding it to a paste and the other one is using rice flour and making it into a batter with water. Papada vada video recipe Other Snack Recipes: Ulli Vada/Onion Pakoda Uzhunnu Vada Parippu Vada How To Make Papada Vada PREP TIME : 10 mins     |  COOK TIME : 10 mins     |  AUTHOR: : NISA HOMEY       INGREDIENTS Papad: 30 Raw rice: 1 cup Turmeric: 1/2 tsp Salt: 1/2 tsp Kayam: 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder: 1 1/2 to 2 tsp Jeer...

Instant bread gulab jamun is one the easiest Diwali sweets I love to make and it takes just 20 minutes to make this bread gulab jamun.  These bread gulab jamuns are super soft and yum and perfect treat to surprise your loved ones this Diwali. The method I have showed is by blending the bread in mixie and making it into breadcrumbs and then make it into a soft dough by adding little milk. You can also make without using a mixie or blender; you just have to crumble/tear the bread slices into a bowl; but make sure you have trimmed of the sides/edges of the bread. But, if you are blending it in a blender there is no need to trim off the edges/sides and for that reason; I prefer making it into breadcrumbs and then make the jamuns. I like the subtle flavor of saffron and hence I used them; but that is entirely optional...freshly ground cardamon seeds are a must :) A couple of drops of rose essence would definitely perfect the taste and flavor; unfortunately, I did not have, but ...

Atta ladoo or ladoo with wheat flour is a healthy Diwali sweet recipe; Atta laddu is also known as churma ladoo or laddu and can be prepared in just under 10 mins. The best thing I like about these wheat ladoo is that, you do not need to make a sugar syrup; which ofcourse might look a bit complicated for some and time consuming. If you are in a hurry and want to gift a really healthy homemade Indian sweet (mithai) for someone special; then this wheat ladoo should not be missed...its a must try! Most of us grew up on these during our childhood and I like to pass on that to my children; with a an energetic teenager at home, I have no other option but to stack up healthy snacks at home.... There are different ways/methods to make atta laddu; my recipe is a simple one and I have added a little bit roasted and powdered rawa and some chopped nuts and rasins; that does give an extra crunch. Over the years, I have perfect the recipe and yes, this ladoo recipe is a never fail one. S...

Sweet diamond cuts are a traditional Kerala snack which can be stored for a few days. These diamond cuts are coated in sugar syrup and is a crispy and crunchy snack. In some places it is also known as maida biscuits and is available in most bakeries across Kerala. I do not know why these are called diamond cuts; but lets assume that it got its name from the diamond shape they are cut into. During my college and hostel days, amma used to make them for me to munch on and I guess its time to carry on the tradition with Nidhi. She comes home every weekend and goes back with "homemade goodies". There are many ways to make diamond cuts; some do not add egg, but I do as amma told me adding eggs gives a nice taste and flavor almost bakery like and that's what her mom told her too. So, I am also following that. Now, for those "egg haters" you can make them without it too. Some people like cardamon flavor and traditionally cardamon was the choice but since, I...

Kozhi ada, how to make Malabar style kozhi ada (chicken hot pockets). Kozhi ada  is a popular Malabar Muslim snack. During the time of Ramadan; if you are travelling through the National highway and passing through Malabar, kozhi ada is something which you should try, the makeshift food stalls on the roadside at the time of Iftar will be selling hot kozhi adas. The best way to get the taste of Malabar food. Kozhikode city is no exception, kozhi ada tops the bakery snacks at this time. Nidhi is fan of Malabar food and that's why authentic and traditional Malabar food finds its place here on the blog. One of her friend's mom introduced me to Malabar food; and she told me that kozhi ada is the most popular snack during Ramadan time. It seems, kozhi ada was a native of Koilandy (a small town near Calicut) and during the olden days sundried meat was used to fill in and can be stored for longer periods. But, you can also slow roast the chicken for 1 hour and do the same.....