Strawberry Banana Shake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup(s) Milk
• 1 cup(s) Yogurt
• 1 Banana
• ½ pound(s) Strawberries
• Honey

Method:

Blend all together until smooth and serve. Add honey to taste.

Tip of the day: Grind some common salt in your mixer/grinder for some time every month. This will keep your mixer blades sharp.

Appletini

Ingredients:

2 oz apple juice (green or gold apples)

1/2 oz simple syrup

1/4 oz lemon juice

granulated sugar for rimming

apple slice for garnish

Preparation:

Simple Syrup: Equal parts sugar and water, heated until the sugar dissolves. (Your yield will be the same as the amount of water you use.)

Add apple juice, simple syrup and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with granulated sugar.

Garnish with an apple slice.

Tip of the day: Apply some lemon juice on the cut surface of the apple to avoid browning. They will look fresh for a longer time.

Triple Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups frozen berries

1 cup skim milk

1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt/vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup orange juice

Method:

Blend berries in a blender and strain it. Add all the ingredients together and pulse until smooth.

Tip of the day: When the noodles are boiled, drain all the hot water and add cold water. This way all the noodles will get separated.

Sukku Kulambu(Dry Ginger Gravy)

Ingredients:

Small Onions - 10 - 15

Garlic Pods - 5 - 10

Curry leaves - 1 string

Tamarind extract - 2 cups

Hing - little

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as per taste

Oil - 2 tsp (preferred Gingely oil)

For grinding :

Dhaniya seeds - 1 tbsp

Dried Red chillies - 2 or 3

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Channa Dhal - 2 tsp

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup

Dry ginger / sukku - 1(index finger size) or Dry ginger powder - 2 tbsp

Method:

Heat a tsp of oil in a kadai , add and roast the above given ingredients for grinding, allow it to cool  and grind it along with the sukku into coarse paste by adding little water.

Now add a tsp oil in a kadai and temper it with mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and add small onions, garlic, salt and fry well. Then add the grinded paste and little water and fry well till the raw smell goes. Then add the tamarind extract, check for salt, if needed more add accordingly and allow it to boil well, till gets thick.

Tip of the day: A bay leaf added to the flour container will keep the flour free from moisture!

Tom Yum Soup

Ingredients:

Stock:

5 cups water

1" piece ginger, sliced

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

3-4 kaffir lime leaves

2 stalks lemon grass or rind of a lemon

1 stock cube

2 fresh or dry red chilies

Other Ingredients:

3-4 mushrooms

1 carrot cut into paper thin diagonal slices

1/2 tsp red chili powder

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Method:

1. To prepare the stock, boil all the ingredients together. After the boil, keep covered on low heat for 15 minutes. Strain.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add mushrooms and carrots. Saute for 2 minutes on medium flame. Reduce the heat. Add red chili powder and stir for 2-3 seconds. Add the stock into the vegetables. Add lemon juice and salt. Simmer for 4-5 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves: 4

Tip of the day: To prevent ants from attacking nuts, place a black peppercorn in the container.