Roohafza With a Twist

It was summer time, hot and sweaty. Tired from the day's work, when I entered home, I needed something refreshing and what's better than our old Roohafza? I had a hard time liking this drink in my childhood (it was too sweet for me).  But then I grew up, got some brains (thankfully :P) and just like that I realized that I don't hate it anymore!  I now enjoy its taste and color (oh, the rich color). Now whenever summer irritates me, I relish a chilled glass of roohafza.

We all are familiar with it's wonderful taste and aroma, but we limit ourselves. We don't experiment with it. Something very great can come out of it. It has a fruity flavor which can be mixed with anything and it's taste still stands out.

One such "experiment" of mine was to mix it with sprite. Yes, SPRITE! It tastes awesome. It becomes bubbly and tangy and yummy. It's equally refreshing and the best part is : "you can enjoy it throughout the year".

So here's how I made mine:

In a beautiful glass add a lime wedge and some mint leaves and then crush them with..... anything. Just make sure that the glass doesn't break. Then pour some roohafza. Add 3/4th sprite and 1/4th soda water to it. Stir well and serve cold.

I really want you all to try this recipe. You are going to love me for this. Many such recipes are on it's way. Sit back and enjoy :)
Comment/mail for any suggestions. Will be happy to read them all :)
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Secret To Perfect Fries

We love, love, love fries! You got a party? FRIES! You got sudden uninvited guests? FRIES! Going McDonald's? Get me a burger with FRIES!
Fries are very tasty and filling, although not that much healthy. (but who cares unless they taste good? Right? ;) ). They seem very easy to prepare and they are, but some of us always complaint that we get soggy fries or they are not like those we get in McDonald's. Now why is that? Are we doing something wrong? But how can frying a potato go wrong? It CAN go wrong. Normally people cut a potato roughly with different sizes of slices and just throw them up in the oil and when they are done they take them out. Sounds right? I don't think so.  So what's the problem here? YOU GET SOGGY FRIES!
Well, for perfect (spot on!) fries the first trick is to cut the potato slices thick and of equal sizes so that every slice takes equal time for frying.

After cutting them,  put the slices in cold water so that all the starch of the potato drains out and you get crisp fries. After the water turns milky take those slices out on a kitchen towel and slowly pat them to soak extra moisture. Now, when they are all dried up, just fry them! Are they ready? No! Now the second trick here is to double fry those fries. On the first go, fry them just enough on medium heat, that they break easily. Take the fries out and put them on the kitchen towel again and then after 3-4 minutes fry them again on high heat. 

Your fries are ready and tastes as good as the frozen one's. Now comes my favorite part- EATING! You can sprinkle salt and if you want to "Indian-ise" our "French" fries  just sprinkle some garam masala and dry mango powder on the top of it. I promise, the Indian-ised version will taste much better.

  

It's not  it to the fries, its like an empty canvas, make whatever you can out of it. Add some really delicious toppings and make it your own! I'll be sharing some of these recipes too. But you've got to be patient! ;)

Keep reading!

Baby Potatoes In Spicy Gravy

Potato is a very versatile vegetable. What can you not make out of it? From savory type dishes like this one to sweet ones like potato halwa, puddings etc. This one recipe came to me during my vacations, my mom cooked something that I didn't like (oh! did I mention that I'm a fussy eater?) so I had to cook something to calm my butterflies!

This dish is very simple to prepare and tastes amazing. You are in for a treat!
Here's how this is made:

Things You'll need:
Baby potatoes [7-8]
Oil [as required for frying + 1 1/2 tbsp]
Whole spices (green cardamom [2-3], 1 bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick, cloves [4-5] ).
Dried red chillies [2-3]
Cumin seeds [1 tsp]
Green chillies [1-2]
Onions [ 1 medium finely chopped]
Ginger Garlic paste [1 tsp]
Tomato puree [1 cup]
Salt [to taste]
Coriander powder [1 tspn]
Garam masala powder [3/4 tsp]
Turmeric [1/2 tsp]
Red chilly powder [1 tsp]
Tandoori mayo(completely optional) [1/2 tsp]
Lemon juice [1/2 lemon]
Fresh coriander [for garnish]

Method:
1. Boil the baby potatoes,peel and then fry them.
2. Take some oil in the pan and then add the whole spices
and dried red chillies .After 1-2 minutes add cumin seeds. Wait for them to crackle and then add onions,green chillies and turmeric.
3. When they turn translucent, add ginger garlic paste.
4. Now add coriander powder, garam masala powder and red chilli powder.
5. Add tomato puree and stir well and then add the tandoori mayo.
6. Allow all the moisture to dry up and when you see the oil coming through the edges add your fried baby potatoes.
7. Add salt and lemon juice. Mix well.
8. Add freshly chopped coriander and serve hot.


You can enjoy this with hot chapatis or even rice tastes wonderful with it. I hope you'll enjoy making this.