Thandai – The nutty, sweetly spiced aromatic drink made during the Festival of Holi. ‘Thandai’ is a take on the word ‘thand’ which means cold, and taking that meaning Thandai means something that is cooling. Traditionally, Thandai is served during the festival of Holi with milk and cream as its base. But this Thandai recipe is dairy free and processed sugar free and it’s certainly as good as the traditional one if not better! As with all things related to traditional Indian cuisine, the health benefits of Thandai are numerous. This Ayurvedic formula of almonds (badam), magaz seeds, (melon …
Turmeric Milk – Haldi Doodh
“My dear doctor, I’m surprised to hear you say that I am coughing very badly, because I have been practicing all night.” John Philpot Curran It’s the season for flu and while the world was celebrating Christmas and New year’s eve, we were huddled up in blankets watching Harry Potter movies one after the other and drinking plenty of liquids and gulping down tylenol. We finished with the whole series of Harry Potter movies and then, we pulled out star wars and then the Lord of the Rings. Those movies kept us sane and going. They say anytime you get …
Spicy Mint Lemonade – A Hyderabadi Thirst Quencher
The blazing, glaring sun appeared to have decided that that was the day it was going to burn everything down. The air was arid and the child, all of four years old, needed water. Having spilled the last remaining drops from the bottle, she was feeling the impact of the hot sun. The car was without an air conditioner. Most cars in those days in India were. At least the one I could afford then, definitely was. The highway driving and the scorching Hyderabadi sun was adding to the discomfort. It must have been a holiday of some kind …
Kashmiri Lassi
Afternoon meals, throughout my childhood at home in Kashmir, were never complete without a tall glass of buttermilk. Each morning, my Grandpa would go to the local Dairy seller and bring home fresh milk & yogurt. It was an everyday job because one always ran out of milk and yogurt by the end of the day and because one always bought only as much was needed for that day as the refrigerators were not yet commonplace. The afternoon ritual in summer would be to gather some cool fresh water from the pond ( yes an actual mineral water pond …
Strawberry Flax seed Smoothie
This is going to be a short and sweet post about Flax seeds. I use them regularly and the most common way for me to use them is either in my oatmeal, in a smoothie or a hot chutney. I don’t find them very appetizing in any other form. This strawberry flax seed smoothie can be made with frozen strawberries as well. This is one of the most ancient plants known to humans and there is some evidence that flax cultivation may have started somewhere during the Neolithic Era. In addition to flax seeds supporting digestive health, cardiovascular health, antioxidant …
