Prawn Biryani - Malabar Style!!!

Hi guys!!!

Biryani is a weekly once dish that I mostly try and fit in for a quick and delicious weekend lunch. When I say quick, yes it means I mostly prepare the biryani as a one-pot meal in the cooker. Just chop and put everything together in the cooker and there it is ready in 15 minutes :-) Occasionally, I do try to spend more time in preparing the biryani.

There used to be a Kerala restaurant named "Thattukada" in my office building in Chennai and their biryanis are really good. There certainly is something about having a layered dum biryani and Keralites are very good at that I must agree. I have always liked Kerala food and their layered version of biryanis is something that I try when I feel like the biryani sure needs to be special that day.

When I say special and talk about more time, it does not mean the process is difficult. It only means more attention to some details. Though, the procedure is simple the time taken is a little longer but the oven does the work so we really need not worry :-) The whole process involves, preparing the spiced rice, the gravy and layering them and cooking on dum. Finally garnishing with fried onions and cashews. Like I said simple!!

Now lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the spiced rice:
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Cloves - 4
Bay leaves - 2
Star Anise - 2
Cardamom - 2
Salt - as required
Ghee - 1 tbsp

For Marination:
King Prawns (deveined and cleaned) - 12 or 15
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Corriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsp

For the prawn gravy:
Onion - 1 big
Tomato - 1 big
Chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 2 cloves
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

For garnishing:
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Onion - 1 lengthwise slit
Cashews - 10 broken

Procedure:

1. Marinate the prawns with the ingredients listed for marination and let it rest for an hour. Also, soak the rice for an hour, drain and set aside.
2. To prepare the spiced rice, heat the ghee in a pressure cooker and add all the whole spices and let them sizzle. Now add the completely drained rice and saute for a while. (It is important to make sure that u completely drain the rice to avoid sticky result)
3. Add 3 cups of water and salt and close the lid and let it cook under pressure upto 2 whistles or for 10 minutes. When done let it sit till the gravy is done.
4. To prepare the gravy start with shallow frying the marinated prawns. Just fry for a few mins in medium flame and keep aside. Do not drain the excess masala from the prawns 'coz we would be using it in the gravy.
5. Now heat some oil in a kadai. When it is getting hot, grind the chillies, ginger and garlic into a paste.
6. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and saute till crisp. Next add the ground chilly and ginger mixture and fry till raw smell leaves.
7. Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they combine well to form a masala paste.
8. Now add the shallow fried prawns along with the excess masala and the oil that u used to fry them. Combine well and keep mixing. Check the spice level and if required add the masala powders listed under gravy.
9. Add about 1/3 cup of water and salt and close and cook for 5 minutes. When the raw masala smell leaves add the garam masala powder and mix well once and switch off and remove from heat.
10. For the layering, take an oven safe dish and grease it well with ghee. First layer the dish with the rice(almost 2/3 of the whole) and then pour a layer of the gravy (all of it). Sprinkle some ghee and finish the layer with the remaining rice. Sprinkle some ghee and a dash of garam masala powder and seal it well with aluminium foil and cook it in a preheated oven at 180C for 20-25 minutes.
11. Once the cooking is done, let the rice cool in the sealed manner for atleast 15 minutes.
12. Prepare the granishing by frying onions and cashews in ghee. Use this when serving.

Note: When serving you can slightly mix up the layers but it is optional. Also, I have mentioned a 3 layer biryani with just 1 layer of gravy. If preparing in huge quantities in bigger vessels (in actual dum over the stove top) u can use more layers. But the rice should always be the final layer.

The yummylicious Malabar prawn biryani is ready to serve. I like them with raita and omelette. Any usual biryani accompaniment should be good too!!!

I am sending this recipe for the Kerala Kitchen Event - Feb 2012  hosted at Roshan's Cucina!!!

Paruppu Vadai/Masal Vadai/Channa dal Fritters!!!

Hi guys!!!

Of all the quick-fix evening time snacks I prepare paruppu vadai is my favorite. It takes very little effort to prepare and is just divine with a hot cup of tea :-) I do not have any stories for this post 'coz everytime I prepare them before I know the plates are empty. Like I said, both Ganesh and me love this tea-time snack. So, lets go directly to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Channa dal - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2
Onion - 1 medium
Salt - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - a small bunch
Corriander leaves - a small bunch
Oil - for deep frying

Procedure:

1. Soak the channa dal for an hour. After an hour, drain the dal completely and grind it along with the ginger into a course mixture.
2. Now add the chopped onion, chillies, cumin seeds, salt, asafoetida, curry and corriander leaves to the mixture and knead well. There is no need to add water.
3. Make small lemon sized balls and flatten them to discs. Make sure not to break them. Repeat this with the complete mixture.
4. Now heat the oil at medium high and once the oil is ready place the discs one by one and fry till the bottom turns golden burn and turn over and cook till it is evenly golden brown on both sides.
5. Repeat this with the entire batch. Place them on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Serve with hot tea!!!

Pudalangai kootu / Snake gourd & lentils curry!!!!

Hi guys!!!

Any type of kootu is a favorite to both me and Ganesh. And, this is the only way I can succeed in making him eat green vegetables. I find kootu varieties are great with rice and any karakuzhambu or just rasam. They are also perfect with chapathis.

Of all different kootu I have tried, this one has been the most tried. The ingredients and the procedure is simple and is ready in very less time too. Now lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Pudalangai / Snake gourd - 1 no.
Onion - 1
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as required
Asafoetida - a pinch

To grind:
Coconut - 1 cup grated
Green chillies - 2 or 3
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

To season:
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a bunch
Broken red chillies - 2

Procedure:

1. Pressure cook the dal, chopped snake gourd, onion, turmeric powder, salt and asafoetida with 1 cup of water for 10 minutes or upto 3 whistles. Make sure to scrape off the inner tissue before chopping the snake gourd.
2. Meanwhile, grind the coconut, chillies and cumin seeds together with little water into a paste and keep aside.
3. Once the pressure is off, open the lid and try to mash the dal with the ladle. Now keep the flame on low and add the coconut paste and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes or till the raw chilly smell leaves.
4. Heat the oil in a kadai and prepare the seasoning and add it to the curry.

Serve with chapathis or rice and curry.

Homemade Pizza Margherita!!!!

Hi guys!!!

Ganesh and I are die-hard pizza lovers. We have tried pizzas in authentic Italian restaurants to every other countries' version selling restaurants. The only thing left is to have pizza in Italy itself :-) Anyhow.... whatever the version, according to me pizzas are to die for!!!!

I have tried quite a few varieties of pizza toppings when baking them at home. But hands down, my all-time favorite is the basic pizza margherita. The divine combination of tomato and cheese!!! This year being the first Valentine's day with Ganesh, I prepared a special dinner. It was a while since I prepared pizza at home and for a couple of weeks Ganesh was asking me to prepare it over a weekend. So I decided to do that on Valentine's day :-)

This pizza is easy to prepare even if every important part of it is prepared from scratch. But there is an even quicker version when u opt to use some store-bought products. I am gonna explain both the quicker and from-the-scratch methods.

Quick version:

Ingredients:

Store-bought pizza base - 1
Hot & Sweet tomato sauce - 2 tablespoons
Grated mozarella - 1 cup ( Can be even more generous for a more cheesy topping)
Italian seasoning & Oregano - 1/2 tsp each

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and sprinkle some maida/APF on the sheet.
3. Place the pizza base on the sheet and spread the tomato sauce all over it. spread the grated cheese evenly on top of the pizza and sprinkle the seasonings on top.
4. Pop it in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges turn brown and the cheese has melted and turned bubbly.
5. Take the pizza from the oven and slice them and ENJOY!!!!!

Detailed version:

Ingredients:

For the pizza dough:
Maida / APF - 1 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Active dried yeast - 1/2 tsp
Luke-warm water - 1 cup
Olive oil - 2 tsp

For the pizza sauce:
Tomato - 1 big
Onion - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp

Grated mozarella - 1 cup
Italian seasoning/Oregano - 1/2 tsp each

Procedure:

1. Add the sugar and yeast to the luke-warm water and cover and let it aside for 10 minutes. Wait till it turns frothy.
2. Take the flour in a mixing bowl and add the salt. Add the water with the yeast and knead well to form a soft elastic dough.
3. Finally, add the olive oil and knead thoroughly. The dough should be really soft and elastic. Now, close the bowl with a wet towel and let the dough rise for a couple of hours. Prepare the dough earlier that day so u can use it when baking. It can also be prepared days ahead and frozen.
4. To prepare the pizza sauce, heat a tsp of olive oil in a kadai. Add the chopped onion, tomato and garlic to it and saute well. Turn off heat and let it cool.
5. Once cooled down, grind it well into a paste. Add the ketchup and pulse the mixer to get it mixed well. Now, the sauce is ready.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C when preparing the sauce.
7. Line a baking sheet with a foil.
8. The dough would have risen by now. Sprinkle the kitchen stand with flour and rava and try and spread the dough into a circular base. My pizza bases are never perfect circles and I don't care about that 'coz before u know the whole pizza is gone from the plate. So why worry about the shape!!!
9. Now place the base on the sheet and spread the pizza sauce all over the base. Sprinkle the grated cheese throughout the base and finish it with the seasonings.
10. Pop it in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges brown. The cheese sure would be bubbly and melted throughout by now.


The pizza is ready. Take it from the oven and ENJOY!!!!

Rava Dosai!!!

Hi guys!!!

Planning the breakfast in a way that there is variety is the biggest difficulty I have faced in cooking!!!! Ganesh would be more than happy if the breakfast is in line with the Saravana Bhavan menu and I find it really difficult to keep that up during weekdays. But still, when I am out of idli-dosa batter and have either been toooooo lazy or absent-minded to grind the next batch, I try to prepare some other variants of South-Indian breakfast items. If my mind is still blank, then it is Toast with Nutella or a bowl of Coco Pops with milk :-)

Rava dosa is my favorite dosa variety and I do sneak that in my breakfast menu quite often. Just like everybody who has tried this dosa I have stumbled upon so many different recipes and failed a few times to make the perfect crispy Rava dosa. But finally, I found the right recipe and from then on every single time has been perfect.

Now lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Rava / Sooji - 1 cup

Rice flour - 1 cup

Maida / APF - 1/4 cup

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Chilles chopped - 2

Ginger chopped - 1/2 inch

Black pepper - crushed 1 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Onions - 1 chopped (optional. Use only for Onion Rava Dosa)

Cashews - 8-12 halved and chopped

Procedure:

1. Mix sooji, rice flour, maida, salt, asafoetida, chopped chillies and ginger and crushed pepper together in a bowl.

2. Add enough water to the mixture to reach the butter milk consistency. The batter has got to be really watery to achieve the crispy result.

3. Heat the dosa tawa till really hot. When it is hot as required, spread some ghee and scatter cashews and onions on it and pour the batter uniformly. I usually splash the batter in the tawa in such a way there is no discontinuity. This method helps to make more crispy dosas as there is no accumulation of batter.

4. This dosa does not require flipping over so watch for the indication that it is done. You will know when the batter on the upper side looks cooked and the lower side starts to turn golden brown.

5. Just fold the dosa from one end and transfer it to a plate.

Crispy and tasty Rava dosas are ready!!! Serve with sambar and any kind of chutney and enjoy!!!!

Almond & Anise Biscotti!!!!!

Hi guys!!!

Ever since I had biscotti in an Italian restaurant with a super strong coffee I have become a big fan of biscottis. The difference between the usual cookies and the biscottis is that u bake the latter twice. Also, the biscottis are very crispy just like any other cookie but it sure is not dense and heavy. The "airy" look of them makes it irresistible. You guys might actually be able to understand the meaning of "airy" if u have had biscottis before or baked them. Anyhow... these evening treats are perfect with tea/coffee or to just munch on as it is :-)

There are numerous variations and types of biscottis and I started off with a basic spiced biscotti. The anise adds a great aroma and flavor and the nuts do add up to the taste. The recipe is fool proof and these measures yield about 2 dozens of yummy biscottis. Now lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup (at room temperature)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2 (at room temperature)
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Star Anise - 1 tsp grounded
Almonds - 1 cup shredded

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar till the sugar is almost dissolved and the mixture turns pale and creamy.
3. Next add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract and beat well. The mixture should become fluffy, creamy and look almost white. Sure takes a few minutes. People without mixers have to bear the hand pain. I used a hand whisk and thought I burnt the calories that I was gonna gain from the biscottis ahead :-)
4. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder well so that they are mixed evenly. Then add this flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk. Keep mixing till all of it is well incorporated.
5. Finally add the star anise powder and the chopped almonds and mix thoroughly.
6. Now roll out the dough in the shape of a log and place it on the baking sheet and pop it in the oven.
7. Bake for about 25-30 minutes till the outer layer turns golden brown. Now, remove the sheet and let the log cool.
8. Once cooled, cut the log into half inch thick slices and place them back in the baking sheet and bake for around 10-15 minutes. After which, you turn over the sides and again bake for 10-15 minutes. This makes the biscottis evenly crispy.

By now the house will be filled with the heavenly smell of the biscottis. You can take them off the oven and without waiting for it to cool down can enjoy like I did!!!! Store in an air-tight container and enjoy for a few more days ( in my case just 1 extra day :-) )

Semiya Paalpayasam / Vermicelli Kheer!!!!

Hi guys!!!

The last week was almost like a roller-coaster ride and I hardly had any time to sit in front of my laptop. So, I have got to get back blogging with some simple and easy recipes.

Semiya payasam used to be a regular delicacy prepared on any special occasions back at home. My mom used to prepare this payasam with coconut milk instead of milk 'coz my sister could not stand the smell of milk. ( I still wonder how she grew up without drinking milk all these years!!!!). But I have always prepared the payasam with milk and it tops the list of frequently prepared dessert. A perfect Indian dessert I should say :-)

Last week on Thai poosam day my MIL told me that I had to prepare payasam, vadai and sakkarai pongal and I prepared them all for the pooja. I never knew when Thai poosam was (I mean the date) till last year. But now, I had to wake up early clean the house and prepare all the items and finish the pooja before 9 in the morning.. Phew!!!!

The paalpayasam can  be prepared with various other ingredients such as sago (javvarisi) or just plain rice. This is an easy-to-prepare dish and does not require a lot of ingredients.

Lets take a look at the recipe.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli - 2/3 cup
Milk - 500 ml
Sugar - 1/2 cup (use as required)
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Cashews - 10
Raisins - 10
Ghee - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Heat the ghee in a kadai and fry the cashews and raisins and keep aside. Use the same ghee to fry the vermicelli till golden brown and set aside.
2. Now start heating the milk. Let it boil. Once the milk has boiled turn the heat down to the sim and add the roasted vermicelli and sugar and keep stirring everytime it tends to boil  over.
3. Keep the heat on till the vermicelli gets cooked. It takes about 10 minutes.
4. Finally add the cardamom powder, cashews and raisins and switch off heat.

Yummy paalpayasam is ready!!!!

Chicken Salna!!!

Hi guys!!!

Parotta and chicken salna is one dish I miss the most from my hometown. We used to have it atleast once a week when I was back home. Having missed it so much I ventured into preparing my own parotta and chicken salna. I will soon post the recipe for homemade parottas. This curry tastes great with plain chapathis and dosas too.

Now lets take a look at the recipe.

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/2 kg
Onion - 1 big
Tomato - 1 big
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder - 1 tsp
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Salt - as required
Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker on medium high flame.
2. Add the chopped onions once the oil is hot and saute till it turns transparent and crisp.
3. Next add the ginger garlic paste and mix well. Then add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they combine well with the onion and form a paste.
4. Now add the cleaned and chopped chicken pieces and mix well for a couple of minutes.
5. When the chicken starts to turn white add all the masala powders and salt and half a cup of water. Check for the spice and salt level and close the lid of the cooker. Cook under pressure for 10 minutes or upto 3 whistles.
6. Meanwhile grind the coconut to a paste.
7. Once you have switched off the cooker and the pressure is off, remove the lid and add the coconut paste. Turn the heat on again to low. Let the gravy now simmer with the coconut paste for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and serve hot!!!

Fish Cutlet!!!!

Hi guys!!!!

Cutlets used to be a staple snack item in my school canteen. Also, every bakery back in my home town made delicious cutlets. I have always liked every version of the cutlets made. Especially, the ones that are sold by friends on our school mission sales day. Every kid in school had to sell some delicacy or set up some kind of stall and make money that would be contributed to the needy every year around Christmas. We used to have fun along with contributing to charity. Those were fun days......

Now coming back to the cutlets. Last week, I was browsing for recipe ideas with fish and it hit me that I had not tried non-vegetarian cutlets. So, with the usual doubts when cooking something for the first time I made up my mind to prepare fish cutlets. I tried them with Salmon and any hard fleshed fish would be ideal for this dish. The cutlets turned out really well and vanished from the plates in no time. Actually, we were watching The King's Speech on TV and the final speech was just about to start when I turned the stove off and set the plates on the table. And, before the speech was half way through I was cleaning up the empty plates :-) I guess that is enough stories and lets take a look at the recipe.

Ingredients:

Fish fillets (boneless) - 200 gms
Potato - 1 big
Onion - 1
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Egg white - 1
Breadcrumbs - as required
Salt - as required
Oil - for deep frying

Procedure:

1. Pressure cook or microwave the potato and set aside to cool.
2. Boil the fish with enough water, salt and turmeric powder for about 5-7 minutes and turn off heat.
3. When the cooked fish has cooled, shred the fish into tiny chunks.
4. Mash the potatoes and keep it ready.
5. Mix the mashed potatoes, shredded fish, chopped onion, pepper powder, salt and garam masala and mix well.
6. Make tiny balls about the size of golf balls and press them into small patties.
7. Heat the oil on medium high.
8. Now, dip each cutlet in the egg white followed by patting it on breadcrumbs and finally add it in the oil.
9. Cook till golden brown and turn over and cook evenly. Repeat the same with all the cutlets in batches.

Serve with tomato ketchup. Makes a delicious evening snack.

Vazhakkai chips / Plantain chips!!!!

Hi guys!!!

This week when I went grocery shopping I was surprised to see the plantain of the famous Kerela Nentharampazham in the store. Immediately, I picked up 2 of them and decided to prepare chips with them. Plantain chips are the only variety of chips I like. I have never been crazy about potato or tapioca chips at any time.

This crunchy and tasty chips is prepared with just a couple of ingredients always available in the kitchen. The usual cooking oil can be used to fry the chips but to ensure that you reproduce the actual Kerala taste use coconut oil.

Now lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Plantain - 2
Coconut oil - as required to fry
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. Peel the plantain and place it in a bowl with warm water.
2. Heat the coconut oil with salt and turmeric powder. Wait till the oil reaches smoking point.
3. Now thinly slice the plantain directly into the oil. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and turn over and cook evenly.
4. Sample for crispiness and remove from oil. Continue the same procedure till you finish the entire batch.

Serve with hot tea!!!

I am sending this recipe for the Kerala Kitchen Event - Feb 2012  hosted at Roshan's Cucina!!!

Tomato and Pasta Bake!!!

Hi guys!!!

Every other week I try to prepare a meal that has cheese as the main ingredient and sinfully loaded with calories :-) It is mostly pizza but I decided to try pasta bake this time. I went with the easiest pasta bake dish. Any pizza lover will be able to agree that the combination of tomato and cheese is just YUMMMMMYYY!!!! So you can just take my word that this simple tomato pasta bake tastes heavenly :-)

Now lets take a look at the recipe.

Ingredients:

Penne pasta - 150 gms
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Canned tomato soup - 1 can
Grated Mature cheddar - 2 cups (Like I said, sinful calories)
Olive oil - 1 tsp
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Oregano - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as required

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Boil the pasta with olive oil and salt for about 5 minutes or according to package instructions and set aside.
3. Chop the onion and tomato.
4. Take a casserole dish or any dish suitable for baking. Add the pasta, chopped onion and tomato. Empty the can of tomato soup into the dish and mix well.
5. Add the italian seasoning, oregano and pepper powder and mix thoroughly. Check for salt and if required add salt to taste.
6. Finally add the grated cheese on top to completely cover the pasta mixture.
7. Once the oven is at right temperature place the casserole dish in the oven and cook till the pasta is heated throughout and the cheese starts to bubble. It takes roughly around 25 minutes.
8. When the cheese has melted and turned bubbly switch off oven and enjoy the cheese filled pasta bake right away.

Vegetable Sevai / Semiya upma!!!!

Hi guys!!!

I just realized that I have not posted any breakfast recipes till date. So, I decided to start with one of the easiest breakfast dishes that I prepare quite often and is a favorite of both me and my husband. It requires very few ingredients and can be prepared in a jiffy.

Now lets take a look at the recipe.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli / Semiya - 1 cup

Onion - 1 small

Green chilli - 1 or 2

Chopped vegetables (I used beans, carrot and peas) - 1 cup

Ginger - 1" inch

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Channa dal - 1 tsp

Cashews - 5 or 6 broken

Curry leaves - a bunch

Oil / Ghee - 1 tbsp

Salt - as required

Procedure:

1. Boil the vermicelli in 3 cups water with a tsp of oil for about 3-4 minutes and set aside. (The amount of water should be about thrice the quantity of the vermicelli). Make sure not to overcook it 'coz it may turn mushy and sticky.

2. Heat oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, channa dal and curry leaves. Wait till the channa dal turns light brown and add the cashews and toss.

3. Now add the chopped onions, chillies and ginger and mix well till the onion turns transparent and crispy.

4. Next add the chopped vegetables and mix well. Keep mixing to avoid burning. There is no need to cook the vegetables ahead if u chop them real fine. If you prefer chunkier veg pieces then microwave them ahead.

5. Then add the turmeric and salt and keep mixing till the raw turmeric smell leaves.

6. Finally add the cooked vermicelli and mix well. Switch off heat and serve.

The sevai can be had without any side accompaniment or coconut chutney and sambar should be good as well.

Choco Banana Milkshake!!!

Hi guys!!!

I am a chocolate lover and can live with just having chocolate to eat :-) But when I go nuts about counting calories I completely cut chocolate out of my diet. Recently, I stumbled upon a few web articles that stated chocolate milk is a great post-workout meal. You will have no idea as to how excited I was when I read it. Since then, I have started having chocolate milk or any equivalent of that after my workout.

The choco banana milkshake is one form of the chocolate milk that I prepare. I occasionally take this as my breakfast too. Very simple yet tummy-satisfying drink. Now, lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Ripe banana - 1
Milk (Semi-skimmed/Full fat) -  1 cup
Instant chocolate mix / Unsweetened cocoa powder - 2 heaped tsp
Sugar (if using unsweetened cocoa powder) - 2 tsp

Procedure:

1. Blend the banana, milk, chocolate or cocoa powder and sugar (if using) in a blender till it turns frothy.
2. Transfer to a glass and enjoy.

Note: You can add icecubes when blending if you prefer the drink chilled.