Sailu's Kitchen

I have been living off chilled summer treats like Iced tea, Lemonade and fruit juices these hot sultry days. One of my favorite refresher to drink on a hot afternoon is Iced Lemon Mint Tea. Very refreshing, sweet and lemony flavored tea to beat the heat!

Any dish I prepare with left over idlis makes my stomach happy. Masala Idli is a favorite and takes me less than 15 minutes to prepare. Usually prepared as a breakfast fare with a good dose of lemon juice and fresh coriander as garnish. Lively, invigorating flavors!

How about a savory breakfast with a tangy twist? Bursting with flavor and fragrant, our morning meal was delightful. With surplus raw mangoes at home, its been an overload of tangy goodness this past week. Mamidikaya (raw mango) Vermicelli Upma is quick and simple to prepare with few ingredients.

Summer at its worst! Lived off salads, juice, tender coconut water and fruits for a good part of last week. Our backyard mango trees have given a reasonably good yield this year. A salad I prepared recently is a mango based one with iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes and cucumber.

Yesterday, I prepared Vegetable Fried Rice and had some left over white rice and chopped mixed vegetables. Decided to use the left over rice and veggies to prepare an Indo Chinese appetizer. Very easy and quick to bring together and makes for a great evening snack when your kids come home hungry after play. Interesting combination of flavors and textures.

Yesterday we had chicken roast with a quick capsicum rice for our mid day meal. The butter flavored rice had lot of crunch due to capsicum and cashew nuts and it hardly needed any other ingredient to enhance its taste. One pot meal that is a total keeper!

A large boiled potato was lingering about in the fridge along with some chapati dough. I decided to make Aloo Parathas for breakfast since it meant less preparation work. The stuffing I make is super simple. Whatever variations of the stuffing I prepare, coriander leaves and green chilies are a constant. And I always use desi ghee to roast them, the flavor is simply out-of-the-world.

Gajar ka Halwa – the famed, rich, indulgent, classic Indian dessert. Prepared this delicious Indian mithai a couple of days ago for a friend visiting me after many years. I used the regular orange carrots that are available in my local farmer’s market.

Summer is in full swing. Going the salad way is becoming a regular routine. We had an abundant harvest of tomatoes this year. Tomato pickle was prepared last week. Today, I prepared an easy, breezy, cheesy, super simple tomato salad using little cubes of cheese and cucumber.

Vegetable Sevai makes for a light, filling and quick-fix breakfast meal. Prepared pretty much the way one would prepare vermicelli. Adding vegetables of your choice makes it substantial while tofu/paneer adds a dose of protein.