Muggle Diaries

Summer Summer what can i say...my baby's going bonkers with the heat....it's 43 - 45 deg and above here, and that definately means no Outdoor activity for my baby, no more visits to the park even at 6 in the evening  or for that matter after sundown it's a sad sad 39 - 40 deg hot. Terrible for kids...but the good thing is that schools will close in a matter of 1 or 2 weeks maximum, who doesn't like summer vacation in their home country...atleast it's a lot better than here...!! Coming back to coolers, well my babe was really thirsty and i decided to give her something cool, instead of plain water...and i came across a mango in the refrigerator, and wullah i required just 4 ingredient's...!! Ingredients: Ripe Mango: 1 Large Sized. Sugar: To Taste. Cardamom: 3-4 nos( crushed ). Water: 2 Glasses. Mint: To garnish. Method: Peel the mango and take all the fruit flesh. Add the Mango flesh, Sugar, Cardamom, &Water in a blender, blend it to a pulp consi

Coming to think  of travelling from Bangalore to Mysore by road, one thing which hit's my mind in an instant is the one thing that's very famous and irresistible our very own "Maddur Vada's". If travelling in a bus the bus stops at maddur for sure for a coffee break and you can see almost 80 - 90 percent people grabbing a hand at these gorgeous looking extremely tasty things. Though they are something's that's fried, .... but you don't travel through  Maddur everyday now do you..? All said & done the good thing about this recipe is that you could instantly make it with whatever ingredient's you have at home. Well being here in dubai you miss out on all these pleasure's in life, you could go to the nearest Indian restaurant (which is like available in ever small nook & corner in dubai), but believe me they are not worth one penny of the price they charge nor is the taste even close to what you'd love to hog...!! but all said and d

Nothing can be more nutritional than a veggie khichidi for children, the good thing about it is the variations you can make with it. With the onset of the day i set out making breakfast for my daughter(normally the same which everyone at home has), but the big question for my 14 month old toddler was what would she love for lunch..?? most mothers would agree with me, that what to make is a question which haunts almost all mom's. Toddlers are picky at this stage,they can't stop themselves from exploring the brand new world around them.They would be quite irritated if you put them up on the highchair, or even if you try spoon feeding them. Well mummies, Take heart - this stage of baby feeding, while quite challenging, it will soon pass. Let your baby be your guide,try not to get frustrated9 be observant of your child's likes & dislikes). It's important for baby to decide the foods she wants to eat. Before you know it, your baby will be eating all the adult foods

Sprout & Fruit Salad Salad's is something my hubby would once upon a time stay far apart from. But at my place it's like an everyday thing...once married  i  was feeling the deepest cravings for salads, then one day my mom in law said " deary go ahead and make what you know " who eats or not is not important, we'll try that everyone eats...!! sweetie pie that she is, generally very reserved for kerelite food she at least encouraged me do make what  i  love to eat...i was very happy...;) That's how the story began then  i  moved on to Dubai with hubby and we continued making salads now and then, and after trying different permutations & combinations  i  finally succeeded but now we have this one salad everyday at least once ...how boring....!! but hubby really loves this one...!! Ingredients: Moong Sprouts:  2 - 3 Tbsp. Apple: 2 - 3 Tbsp(Diced). Strawberries: 2 - 3 Tbsp(Diced). Carrots: 2 - 3 Tbsp(Grated). Pomegranate: 3 - 4 Tbsp. Onion: 1 sm

Methi(Fenugreek) - Pudina(Mint) leaves Pulao(rice) Eating roti's every single day also gets pretty boring...and having rice every day is also not that great...so we came up with the rice specials weekend at my place...where we swear to have rice and only rice on the weekend..!! Anyways...some starch and carbs are also required for our body right..??? well to tell you the truth i have had this ultimate craving for rice for quite sometime and added to it my "B-i-l" turned out to me this morning and said hey why don't you make that methi-pudina pulao today..?? What's more i set out immediately..before anyone could cahnge their minds since this is a very easy peasy preparation. This is something i learnt from my " Mai"(i.e - mamaji's wife) she's a great cook & a perfectionist in all she does.....the former is something i picked easily from her since i really enjoyed it...and about the latter...well i'm still trying to be as perfect as

Ragi Dosa / Finger Millet Pancakes Racking our brains every single day what to do for breakfast, lunch, evening snack or even dinner for that matter..is one thing which is very irritating for all of us, unless we live in a joint family which is a very rare phenomenon these days ..:) where we can get lots of ideas from the other women of the house or worst come scenario even curse our stars together for not being able to think of something quickly...at least things done in a group feels very comforting at times...!! Anyways, i was going through one of those days where i had to look after what my daughter was up to every single minute,plus decide what can be todays breakfast choice, especially that which can be easily consumed by my toddler as well...browsing through my pantry for what can be today option i came across ragi flour sitting out there for some time...!! well i just had an idea.. that changed my day...;) Ragi dosa, doesn't take more than 10 mins and can be had with

Another healthy breakfast option recipe..;) often we think of how good, bad or ugly something might taste and are scared to try it or just brush even the thought aside saying oh...it's something that's not common in our culture so why try un necessarily..!! We are all familiar with both the terms Oatmeal & Pancakes...so i decided to try Oatmeal pancakes...a healthier option to the regular pancakes which are rich and quite heavy on the stomach. Having a very liberal hubby on such issues the poor man was my first guinea pig too for this one, and my experiment did quite well... and now my hubby needs pancakes as breakfast atleast 1 - 2times in a week...sometimes even packed for work....quite encouraging that was...;) The good thing is that it takes just a jiffy to get one pancake off the stove...! The best part being you can make both healthy and heavy in the tummy versions very easily...with not very difficult variations...!! Ingredients: Oatmeal(quick cooking variet

Summer's at it's peak and it's quite tough when you have babies/toddlers who are quite fussy with their food...! Well definitely not their mistake...anybody can be bored with the same food, same milk etc etc every single day so i'm sure most of you agree "Children" are no exception for that matter...;) I love cooking for my one year old and when she...says "Mama" and gestures to express she wants more my joy needs no bounds...i enjoy her thoroughly for that matter...!! Since "Dubai" is a place where 8 months of the year we are bogged with high temperatures ranging between 30+ to sometimes 50 degrees as well....!! Keeping your body well hydrated is very important...!! Coming to "KIWI " a fruit that is Originally know as "Yang Tao" is actually the National Fruit of "The Republic Of China". Eating kiwi fruit is clearly a healthy choice, and it is particularly useful in these cases: Prevents Asthma. Prevent

Pasta has been one of my fav since a long time, what's more i survived our holiday in "Rome & Venice" on pasta and different sorts of veggie pasta's alone..;). Travelling is not very easy, especially when your "Vegan", is one standard line my hubby says all the while, but the sweetheart has not once tried to convert me into his type.... which is a hardcore "Carnivorous"(pssst...he won't sapre me for this comment but chalta hai yaar....;). Of course the version you see here is the healthier version which i normally stick to...but if you want to have a richer, yummier version then you must try adding at least 1/4 stick of butter towards the end and of course you could  sprinkle a bit of Parmesan Cheese if you'd like to.....;)  Well "Archu"... this is especially for you, hope you're reading this one...if you are then try it and do let me know...!!! Pasta is one thing where the variations can depend completely on your

When you think of Chocolate Cakes what could be more better than "Dark, Rich, Chocolate Cake"...well and imagine you could bake one of the best Chocolates right at home just the way it looks in most pictures or when done by experienced pastry chef's clean and just picture perfect...but the one challenge that most vegan's face when trying the recipe is how to make an eggless cake that tastes good as well..!! Well let's see for ourselves, most time i'd find my lil bro dish the most unbelievable chocolates with what was just available at home itself and what was more shocking was unlike most failures that i faced while learning to bake his recipe's made the cakes just spring up and swell so perfectly....still wonder how..;) Anyways this is what i figured was a sure shot way to have rich moist eggless dark chocolate cake...."Moist, Yummy & Chocolaty". Ingredients: All Purpose Flour (or Maida sifted well) - 4 1/2 Cups. Hershey's Cocoa Po

Healthy Sabudana(Sago) Khichdi: Sabudana Khichdi is just another normal dish of every "North Indian" house hold, but Sabudana or Sago and Tapioca pearls are both used interchangeably in Indian Cooking. A great choice for a light yet filling meal on days of "Ekadasi or any Fast for that matter". I love the version which mum makes,Often me & dad would be found waiting to pounce on the khichidi (a richer version compared to what i normally make) forget the fast, we just love days of fasting or else we'd not end up having sabudana khichidi..Yummmmmyy!!!! Many people often confuse Sago with Tapioca pearls but they both belong to completely different sources..While sago comes from the "Sago Palm" the latter i.e. Tapioca pearls come from the tuber's of the Cassava Plant. Another thing most people don't know is how to differentiate between the both, unfortunately it's difficult to differentiate between both in the shop but at home it's qui