Food Revolution Ambassador Monthly Challenge: October 2014

A lot of you may be aware that a couple of weeks back I became part of the Food RevolutionAmbassador team and I can’t be happier. I am looking forward to working towards food education for children and already making my little game plan to achieve the same.

One of the many things that we as Food Ambassadors aspire to do are the monthly challenges. At the beginning of each month the challenges are announced. These challenges are for inspiring the entire team and to make deeper connections with everyone (fellow food ambassadors, friends and family, anyone who wants to be a part of this challenge too), share our stories , whether we failed or conquered and more. The idea is to complete as many challenges as one can.

This was my first time and YAY I completed all three. Each of the three challenges come with a specific reason those that make you stop and think. Let me explain.

Challenge One: Using leftovers: Challenge submitted by Ambassador Alex in Cheltenham, UK. Make something awesome from what you have left in your fridge and/or cupboards without heading to the shops.

As a child I was always taught that wasting food was a complete no. Sure there will be leftovers but there is no reason why they can’t be turned into bestovers. This is one of the many things I learnt from my parents and would like to pass the same to my little chefling. Plus, clearing up the fridge before getting in fresh produce feels like therapy, right? Show off hands if you agree. Infact when it came to my mum, there was a designated day of the week (which would always be before she did her weekly groceries) when she would fill up this yellow round tupperware box with numerous compartments she had (still has!) with all the leftovers and announce dinner was ready. It is a grand buffet she would add. 

Do you turn your leftovers into bestovers or serve up a buffet for your family or freeze it for a later date? I’d love to hear how you minimize food wastage at your homes.

For the leftover challenge, I put together this lettuce chicken wrap. With Diwali just two days away I was on a mission to finish all the leftovers to make space for Mithai (Indian Sweets) in our refrigerator. The Lettuce Chicken Wrap made from leftover roast chicken from the last night’s dinner, two halves of bell peppers threatening to go bad, a lonely onion caramelized, pomegranate seeds and pinenuts for some crunch and a yoghurt dip. I am now addicted to lettuce wraps of any kind.

Challenge Two: Scare yourself this Halloween. With Halloween just around the corner, why not try out a recipe that has always scared you, whether it is because you are not sure your family will like it, or it uses techniques that you have never tried before. Halloween doesn’t just have to be about scary ghouls and junk food; let us know what real food recipes you’ll be conquering for the first time!

I loved this take on Halloween. Do one thing that scares you every day they say. What a beautiful thought to make Halloween more meaningful! The thing is I cook and bake a lot and more often than not people assume that when you write food stories and put out all of your cooking out on the blog you must be able to make everything. Right? Wrong. We all have our fears when it comes to the kitchen and mine is making pasta from scratch. Three years back (honestly, three years back) I got home a pasta maker and till date it has been in one little corner of my cupboard packed. When the year began I set out some food resolutions for myself and one of them was to finally open that box and use that pasta maker. This challenge made me conquer my fear and meet my resolution as well.

I decided to make this pumpkin goat cheese pasta. It is Halloween after all :) So much more better than the candy and sugar and salt loaded Halloween goodies out there. The scariest thing about Halloween for me is this sugar overload and ever since we started being part of Halloween last year I have made little attempts to give the kids a chance to observe it with real food. Sweet mandarins last year, boiled eggs with scary faces this year. This pasta too.

Challenge Three: Corn chowder. Make our recipe of the month, the hearty corn chowder. We have been talking about comfort food recently with the launch of Jamie’s new book and we think that this corn chowder is up there with some of the best comfort foods! Try it at home, teach it to friends,take it to work to share with colleagues… however you make it and whatever variations you use due to culture, season or taste preference – let us know by sharing your photos and recipes.

Like so many of you, I too am huge fan of Jamie’s approach to real food and how if we decide to eat healthy cooking up a complete meal is a matter of few minutes. We often eat unhealthy food in the garb of comforting our hearts and souls. Tired after long hours at work lets order in a cheesy thing,  fought with a friend time for a tub of icecream, nursing a cold the ghee laden paranatha is a must and more. While there is nothing wrong in eating any of the above but making it a bit healthier is always a big YES in my dictionary.

This chowder was really simple to put together and just what I needed after a stream of guests at home and nonstop cooking & hosting post Diwali. I wanted something effortless, filling and comforting, something that would literally come together on its own and I could just put my feet up on the coffee table and watch reruns of MasterChef on TV all alone. A one pot meal that used milk and not cream that a corn chowder usually would have. That made me happier. I added some bacon for some crunch and well because bacon either you love bacon or you are wrong :)

Till we meet again. Eat real. Stay healthy.

Images: If you like any of the pictures on the blog and would like to use those please write to me. I put in hours of work behind each post and would love to share it with you but it would hurt me if  use those without my permission.Just ask! 

50 things I've told Sara to persuade her to eat her food.

Whenever I meet other members of my family,friends or readers who follow my blog most begin by saying, "Oh, so that is your little chefling!" “Yes she is”, grins her mother. This is followed by, “We read your blog. You are such a lucky mum. Your girl eats everything and our children...sigh!”

“No! I am NOT”, I want to shout out loud.

Hmm…I understand that this little blog gives you an impression that my little girl ALWAYS wipes her plate clean. Each and every time. From the steamed broccoli to the stir fried mushrooms (Okay, broccoli she does but hey she doesn’t even touch those mushrooms). 

It is time to show you that a child who eats everything is work of fiction. Mine definitely doesn’t. I always try my best to practice my three commandments and a lot of times I fail. I pick myself up and restart.

• Convince her to at least try. She may or may not like it but that is not important. What is important is that she is open to tasting.
• Try and not offer desserts/TV/ playtime as a reward for finishing the meal. Ahem. I am lying. Guilty as hell. I am a mum after all.
• In this house we don’t waste food. If we don’t finish our food. We get leftovers. May be sometimes dressed up as bestovers but we eat them. Period.

The times I fail are often. These are just some of the lines that I have "used" in the past to persuade her to eat and to finish her meals on time. Don't you judge me? :) I am a mum, okay? Mums are allowed these kinds of things.

1. If you eat this walnut you will become really smart. Do you see the shape of this walnut? It resembles our brain. Walnuts are good for your brain.
2. If you eat this carrot your eyes will sparkle. Do you know it has this thing called vitamin A, something like a magic potion for eyes?
3. If you eat this tomato, your cheeks will become all red. You will look so cute and mamma will get red and juicy cheeks to kiss.
4. If you don’t eat carrots then you will have to wear specs like mamma. Then how will you read more books? If you don’t read more books, then how will you become smarter? But I am already eating walnuts to become smart, mamma? Gulp.
5. But this morning you didn’t eat your walnut. If you don’t eat that walnut then you will become silly. Do you want to be silly? Yes, I want to be silly. Silly is fun.
6. Fish is so good for the brain. Look at papa he quizzes. He quizzes because his mum fed him fish. Don’t you want to quiz? No, I want to do ballet and become a fairy.
7. Then you must finish your fish. Children who finish their fish can fly. Really, if I finish this fish I will be able to fly? No, not now. When you eat a thousand fishes that will make your magical wings stronger and then you can fly. At the age of 18, okay? Okay mamma.
8. Dinner? What dinner? I never gave you dinner. That was snack. This is dinner. Sometimes when she has had a really early dinner and I know she is getting going to get hungry come midnight or she has had inadequate dinner according to her mother, her mother fools her into thinking she never ate dinner. The poor little thing believes her mum. Totally mean. But that is okay. She can do the same to her kids. I swear I won’t stop her.
9. You can watch another episode of Charlie and Lola ONLY if you finish this entire bowl of dal.
10. You need to taste this and then decide if you like it or not? All chefs need to. They must. Else they are fake chefs.
11. Almonds help you remember things. Do you want to forget that Sofia song or what? Here, eat these.
12. Come on finish your food quickly. We also need to eat those brownies, right?
13. I want EVERYTHING on that plate finished. Do you hear me?
14. If you don’t finish your food then God will get very upset. So many kids don’t have food to eat and look at your plate, it is full. We are so lucky and we must appreciate that.
15. If you eat this cabbage your hair will grow longer than even Rapunzel’s.
16. Alright, this is the last bite. Okay, one last bite. This time I really really promise last bite.
17. If you want to go down and play, you have to finish that glass of milk.
18. Oh my goodness look how tall you’ve become after drinking all that Horlicks (Read: 5 ml)
19. If you don’t eat then that kitty who is hiding somewhere in our house, she will. Here, my eyes are shut now. Kitty Kitty come and finish off Sara’s food. Oh kitty ate? Surprise!
20. Can you roar like a lion? She opens her mouth. Quicky shove food inside. Can you roar like a tiger now? Cheetah?
21. Oh for God’s sake put on that obnoxious Barbie song on your phone so that I can force feed her while she is busy watching that mindless video.
22. We have all finished our food.
23. Don’t you want to go for that party or not?
24. What do you mean you don’t like eating a banana? You have always loved bananas.  Now I don’t. What do you mean by now you don’t? Mamma, people change.
25. But you loved it when masi made it.
26. But you loved it when nani made it.
27. Because I said so.
28. Because my mamma told me it is good for health and mammas are always correct.
29. God told me. How can God tell you mamma? God doesn’t talk to people. Sssh…he does, only to mammas. I don’t believe you. Then I don’t believe that you can talk to fairies. Mouth shut. Food in.
30. Oooooh but you can’t call any food “bad”. God gets very upset. Ok, mamma I dislike this. Now ok?
31. You are not getting up from your chair till you finish that porridge.
32. This is khicdhi. It is yum. It is good for your tummy and will make your fever go away. But it is yukh. No problem, don’t eat.  We can get a suppository from Dr.Menon instead.
33. Should I put Nutella on it?
34. More Nutella?
35. Should I sprinkle some chaat masala on it? With lemon.
36. Don’t keep that food in your mouth. You are supposed to chew it.
37. Chew faster.
38. Faster Sara. Faster.
39. No, you give me THAT spoon. I don’t have all day to watch you sit and eat.
40. Fine you are still on your first bite let me call your friend’s mum and tell her we won’t be able to come for the playdate because Sara is still eating.
41. Come let’s see who comes first? Papa, you or me? Mamma, this is not a competition. Please let me enjoy my food.
42. Zucchini is good for you. Pumpkin is good for you. Brussels sprouts are good for you. Asparagus is good for you. If they are all so good for me then how come none of them taste good?
43. How is it possible that you like to eat coconut pieces but don’t like coconut milk in a curry? I don’t.
44. Do you want to faint while doing PE at school? Finish your breakfast now.
45. You will miss your school bus if you don’t eat quickly. Don’t you want to meet your friends?
46. Okay let me call your teacher.
47. Fine. You don’t want to be a real princess. That is fine by me. Real princesses eat everything.
48. I am counting till ten.
49. Now I am going to take away that plate from you and won’t give you food even if you are hungry.
50. Sara last warning and I mean it.

Mussels and Orzo One Pot Meal.

She tried. Made a horrible face and then ate her “plain” orzo stir fried in some olive oil with sun dried tomatoes, olives and oregano.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion
• ½ tsp garlic paste
• 4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• About a litre of any homemade stock (store bought is also fine)
• 150 grams of orzo or any tiny pasta you like
• 200 gms of mussels
• Fresh herbs like parsley, basil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Take the olive oil and stir fry the onions till they are soft and pink.
2. Add the garlic paste and sauté the onion-garlic for 2-3 minutes on low heat.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook till they leave oil.
4. Allow the contents of the pan to cool down and then blitz to make it into a smooth paste.
5. Put the smooth mixture back into the pan.
6. Add the homemade/store bought stock and salt and bring it to a boil.
7. Add the orzo and cook till it is almost done. About 10-12 minutes.
8. In the last five minutes add the cleaned mussels and leave it to simmer.
9. Add the herbs. Check for salt and add some pepper.

Images: If you like any of the pictures on the blog and would like to use those please write to me. I put in hours of work behind each post and would love to share it with you but it would hurt me if  use those without my permission.Just ask!

Because she loves tea parties.

Sara likes tea parties. She loves “hosting” them. Most afternoons after school she likes to make tea for me. Sometimes her dolls join us too.

Often there are sandwiches, cookies and a pastry or two. I get directions on how to hold the cup, “with your pinkie out because a princess ought to behave like a princess”.

While “drinking” our tea I ask her how was school? There are days when she has a lot to tell. There are days when she doesn't. "It was good", she says. Then there are days like yesterday when she said, "Oh! it was very exciting". "Wow! Tell me all about it Sara", I said.

“I can’t remember what we did. But I remember it was very exciting!”

Umm. Alright.

But I digress.

I can’t remember if as a kid I loved tea parties as much as she does. Perhaps it has got to do with overdose of all the princess books she has been reading. Alice in Wonderland too.

A couple of weeks back she got back from school and asked if she could have her friends over for a tea party. "Tomorrow evening mamma. Like real tea, mamma. Wearing princess gowns".

"I will need to make invitations", she added. "They need to go out today. I will give it to them at the park this evening".

With very little time on hand we downloaded this free printable and she wrote out her friends' and her own name in a “Royal” font no less (Read: curly plus wiggly handwriting equals royal)

"But what will we serve Sara"? 

"It is my tea party, can I cook"?, she asked. "There has to be tea and cookies and those tomato squares that we made the other day".

We agreed. I did a little prep work the next morning so that she could “cook” after school.

Chocolate milk for tea in “royal” cups: Years back I was gifted these dainty china cups which I always ended up using for dips and desserts. We took them out and she helped me fill each one with some “tea”.

Teabag cookies: Because to make tea we need teabags and we also need cookies to go with it. I had been waiting for a chance to make these ridiculously cute teabag cookies ever since I saw them everywhere and now was my chance :) I prepared the dough in the morning and kept a teabag stencil ready for her to cut them out. From there on it was easy. While she dipped each teabag into the warm chocolate ganache I tried very hard to be okay with it not being “perfect” and not dipping it back in. For my little chefling's cookies were more than perfect in every way. I attached the tea bag labels (free printable) and she squealed with excitement.

Tomato, basil and goat cheese squares: These happen to be Sara’s favorite and I feel they are a nice change from the usual pizza/pasta for a kid’s party. Since they have both the tomato and the cheese the children are willing to try. Plus they look like “grown up” food which was perfect for her “grown up tea party”.  

I prepared the dough and sliced the tomatoes before she got back from school. We then cut them into squares and she adorned each square with tomatoes slices, a generous sprinkle of  basil and goat cheese. We painted them with egg wash and they went into the oven.

We also had some gooey brownies which were a surprise for the chef who had spent all afternoon cooking for her friends.

The girls had so much fun that evening. They sat on the chairs wearing their pretty dresses and dipped their teabags into their tiny cups. They drew teacups and kettles and milk pots and sugar pots and played some more pretend tea. They talked. They laughed.

My little girl was exhausted by the end of it all. "Was I good hostess mamma"?, she asked.

"The best", said her proud mum.

Does your little one like playing “tea party”?

For us this party was much more than just a game. See for yourself.

Sara learnt:

• It is nice to invite friends over and it is even nicer when the invitation is handwritten. It makes our friends feel special.
• There is a lot of work that goes into cooking for friends and family. It is exhausting but there is no greater joy than feeding your loved ones.
• Toys when shared with friends multiply your happiness.
• When you take care of your little guests you go on to become a great little hostess and get many many hugs from all of them.
• Lastly, when we pour too much of chocolate milk into a tiny cup we get a chocolate puddle on the kitchen slab which then trickles down to the floor and that means lots of cleaning :)

I learnt:

• All get togethers needn’t be planned. Yes, I am Monica types. Sara taught me a great lesson. Sometimes impromptu plans are way more fun than planned ones.
• What they make doesn't have to look "perfect". What is important is leading them to the kitchen and allowing them to touch, feel and see where their food come from. Trust me whatever they make with their two little paws will be beautiful and will leave you teary eyed. 
• You don’t have to necessarily DIY each little element of your party. Didn't I already mention I am Monica with a DIY obsession? It is okay to take help from others. These two ladies helped us with invitations and tea bag labels and tons of you inspired us to try out your super creative tea bag cookies.
• I love having her with me in the kitchen. The questions that she asks, the advice she gives me, the talks we have, the mistakes she makes and the mess she makes, All of this and more makes my day brighter.

Would you like to have a cup of tea?

Tomato, basil and goat cheese squares.

Ingredients

• 450 grams puff pastry (readymade is fine) I use this recipe
• One egg, beaten
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp of dry basil plus more for sprinkling later
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Salt
• 4 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 100 grams goat cheese, cut into tiny wedges

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
2. Roll out the puff pastry thin and cut it into squares or any shape that you like. We made ten medium squares.
3. Put them on the baking sheet and fold the sides of each of the squares to make a sort of slightly raised border (about 1 cm). Brush these borders with the egg wash.
4. Mix the garlic paste, olive oil, basil and salt together and brush all the squares with it.
5. Arrange the sliced tomatoes on the squares, overlapping a bit. About two to three slices per square. Bake for about 15 minutes. The tomatoes will be tender and light brown.
6. Take the baking sheet out and add a wedge or two of the goat cheese and sprinkle some basil on to each square. Return to the oven for another 7-8 minutes. The cheese will  be melty but will still hold shape.
7. You can serve it both hot or at room temperature.

Images : Personal Album. All images belong to orangekitchens and are subject to copyright. 

Chowing down with chai and companions.

Ask most Indians and they would agree that there is something about garam garam chai (hot tea) that makes chilly winter mornings’ warmer and sultry hot summer evenings tolerable. Weekends when there is no rush are calmer when you have a cup in hand and the breathtaking sunrise for a view. Weekdays when one is running around like a headless chicken the same cup of chai (or cha as my maternal grandmother would say) when multiplied by three or sometimes four helps you keep your sanity. Chai simply makes your life better.

Or for me it was always what came with the chai; the conversation, the people, the place and the snacks; yes especially the teatime snacks.

As a kid I would love cupping my hands around my mum’s hot mug of tea and dipping Parle-G or a rusk that would inadvertently break and fall into her cup of tea and she would give me that look that simply said I told you so. But never were we allowed to drink tea, “kids don’t drink tea”, she would say and we would eagerly wait for the day when we would make the transition from enjoying the tea-dipped soggy biscuits to drinking our first cup of that magical masala chai. Till then my sister and I made peace with having tea parties of our own with our toy kitchen.

Cream biscuits were my favorite while my sister stuck to her Nice biscuits which I for some reason totally detested. You know those that come with little crystals of sugar. She preferred those more than “my” cream biscuits which came with fluorescent synthetic cream (Now when I think about it. Uggh!); I mean who in the world doesn’t like pulling apart the two biscuits, licking the cream in between and then dipping the jhoote biscuits as my mum would call it in her cup of tea!

Growing up I fell in love with coffee over tea (blasphemy I know for a north Indian!) but the taste of what was served with the tea never left me. Hot Pakoras straight out of the kadhai, samosas from the bagal wale Sharma ji ki dukaan, steaming hot jalebis on a rainy afternoon, bhujjias for those still evenings; those that mom kept in her Tupperware dabba lest they lose their crunch, a packet of Bikanerwala kaju namkeen opened hurriedly when sudden guests came along and the regular tea partners that kept changing depending on mum’s mood; glucose biscuits, rusks or a Marie.

Weekends would mean mum would make us a cake in her round oven and we would eat it the minute it came out of the oven while mum would have it sipping her adrak wali chai (ginger tea). Tea pairings have just started doing the rounds in the culinary world today but ask any Indian, there has always been a chai for every occasion and reason. Ginger, green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and sometimes even saffron, sometimes added individually and mostly in various permutations and combinations but all brought together depending on the mood, the need and ofcourse the accompanying snack.

But I digress. Coming back to life around that cup of chai.

Once I began college, some of the best memories that I have are from the tapri as my hostel mates from Mumbai would call it. In between classes, on the evenings when the mess would be shut or late nights when the innumerable projects kept us awake; we were there all the time. Laughing, talking, cribbing all over that little glass of chai  with a packet of biscuit or packaged dhokla bought from the very same tapri or when we really lucky some homemade mathri couriered by a loving parent.

Tea time was sacred for it was here we shared both our excitement and fears of an unknown future that awaited us after college; jobs that come with both financial independence and responsibility. Those that came with bosses we learnt to love and hate and came with the sacred chai time. The first organization that I worked for there the brand management office was part of the factory premises which meant there were fixed tea times. You couldn't just walk out of your cubicle and order tea. You had to wait for it to arrive. It was like a ceremony where tiny steel glasses came along with a mammoth steel coffee vending dispenser complete with a tap. We would queue up to fill our two drops of chai and dug out of our pockets mini packets of murruku that we had been handed over at lunch time on our way out from the factory mess. Over those crispy round spirals we felt sorry about how each of us had landed a heartless boss. Each Friday the murruku were replaced with cake that had multi-colour glaced cherries in it. Life was good. There was a certain comfort in following that routine much like the regular cup of chai brings with it.

And now if you can excuse me please, I have got to join my girlfriends on our monthly date who are all very happy that the kids are finally at school and we can all have our cup of tea over some adult conversation. Ahem, I’ll have a chai lattee please ! One day I promise to give you my heart dear tea till then we’ll settle with the snacks that you bring along. Pakoras, anyone?

Here are some of my favourite teatime snacks? What are yours? I’d love to hear.

My favourite teatime snacks*	Description
Allu tikkis	Deep fried potato cakes, served with a spicy coriander and mint chutney.
Banana chips	Deep fried or dried slices of bananas enjoyed as chips
Bhajjis	Sliced or ball of vegetables, fried in usually a gram flour batter. Best enjoyed with tamarind chutney.
Bhujjias	Crispy yellow deep fried snack  prepared by using gram flour and spices like red chilli, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and salt.
Biscuits or biscoot as it is also known as	Needs no explanation. The likes of Parle-G, Nice, Marie, Bourbon, etc all Indian kids grows up with.
Farsaan	Collective term for snacks like dhokla, kachori, khaman, khandvi, muthia, etc all enjoyed with tea.
Kachori	Flattened ball stuffed with spiced lentils, potato, or beans and enjoyed with a variety of sweet and sour chutneys.
Mathri	Flaky biscuits made from flour, water and cumin seeds
Mixture	Depending on the state it is may be a combination of fried lentils, peanuts, chickpea flour noodles, flaked rice, fried onion, curry leaves, etc.
Murukku	Crunchy twists made from rice and urad dal flour.
Pakoras/ Bondas	Vegetable/s or minced  meat, coated in batter (usually gram flour) and deep-fried.
Rusks	Dry biscuit bread that has been baked twice.
Samosas	Triangular savoury pastries fried and containing spiced vegetables (usually boiled potatoes and peas) or minced meat.
Shakarpare/ Namakpare	Diamond or square shaped, sugar coated, crisp sweets made with all purpose flour. Savoury ones are called namakpare

Allu Bhajjis with Hari Chutney (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

For the Hari Chutney

• 125 grams coriander, stems removed and chopped
• 3-4 green chillis, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 gooseberries, chopped
• Juice of a lemon
• ½ tsp rock salt (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste

For the Potato Bhajjis

• 500 grams potatoes, sliced and immersed in ice cold water
• 150 grams chickpea flour
• ½ cup coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp cornflour
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ajwain
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 150 ml water
• Sunflower Oil to deep fry
• Chaat masala to sprinkle 

Instructions:

For the Hari Chutney:

1. Simply blend together all the ingredients for the chutney.

For the Bhajjis:

1. Mix all the ingredients except the potatoes into a thick batter. 
2. Drain the water from the sliced potatoes and immediately put it in the batter. See that all the pieces are coated evenly.
3. In the meantime heat the oil in a wok. Test if the oil is hot enough by dropping a drop or two of the batter. If it sizzles it is ready to fry.
4. Take four-five batter coated potato slices and carefully drop it into the hot oil. When it becomes golden yellow take it out on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.
5. Do the same with all the other slices and sprinkle chaat masala on it if you like.
6. Serve with the Hari chutney and enjoy.

Images : Personal Album. All images belong to orangekitchens and are subject to copyright. 

Hummus Habb and a Feta Radish Dip

The reasons I make these two dips so often.

1. It literally takes me seconds to prepare them

2.  Both go equally well with pita bread (I simply adore Pita crisps)

3. Oh and the days that you don't have Pita at home; they go brilliantly well with soup sticks and crackers too.

4. They are a favorite with the little chef as well. 

Hummus Habb

serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight

salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

2 large cloves of garlic crushed or to taste

4-5 tbsp or more of lemon juice

4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

A good pinch of chili pepper (Optional)

Instructions

1. Pressure cook the chickpeas with a little salt until really soft and drain

2.Cool a little and save some chickpeas to garnish. Blend the chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients with a blender (Add enough of the cooking water to achieve a light creamy consistency)

3. And its done. Garnish with chili pepper and chickpeas you saved earlier.

Variations:

1. I like to sprinkle it with ground sumac too. And sometimes toasted sesame seeds.

2. At times I add chopped capers and chopped black olives too

3. Or transform it into Hummus bi Tahina by adding Tahina and omitting ground cumin.

Feta Radish Dip

serves 4-6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

225 gms feta cheese, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

4 radishes, quartered and thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

Instructions

1. Pulse feta, yogurt, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons oil in a food processor just until mixture is thick and spreadable

2. Now stir in parsley and radishes. 

3. Serve.

Images : Personal Album

Recipes: The new book of Middle Eastern Food and Martha Stewart Recipes 
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. 
They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.