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Rooh afza, also known as gulab sharbat, is one of the most intense beverages for lowering body temperature. Rose petals are prized for their aroma and outstanding health benefits. They offer energizing, cooling, and restorative effects. In Indian families, rooh afza has long been a standard. When the temperature rises, bottles of rooh afza find their way into our homes. Homemade rooh afza is delicious and healthful, especially making it a great beverage to cool yourself in the summer....

I don’t think there’s an easier way to eat your vegetables – whether young or just young at heart – than with a dip. For those who complain about the taste, you can mask it with something creamy, something spicy, or something complex. Gone are those fears of yucky veggies – we’re here for flavor. So, I’ve made an artichoke dipping sauce that only needs seven ingredients and is ready in less than five minutes....

Get ready to fall in love with this crock pot Mississippi chicken that combines all the flavors of the popular Mississippi pot roast recipe, but with the tender, white meat of chicken. Combining chicken breasts with simple kitchen/pantry ingredients like gravy mix, ranch seasoning, butter, and pepperoncini peppers, it’s super juicy, savory, tangy, and just a little spicy. This hearty comfort food is budget-friendly and super simple to throw together with minimal prep and no chopping, leaving the slow cooker to do all the work while you get on with your day....

I don’t know about you, but when it’s hot outside I can’t help but crave super light, fresh, summery foods and this healthy rainbow summer salad is the perfect dish for sunny days and a great vegetarian BBQ option! What really makes this dish special is the tropical mango twist. I know there are still people out there who just can’t get behind fruit in a salad ( not including tomato’s of course!...

Jan 24, 2022 Most Indians will have fond memories associated with pakoda and rains. I remember whenever it would start raining during monsoon season, mom would make all sorts of pakodas made with potatoes, cauliflower and of course onion and we would all relish them with cups of chai. Pakodas are also known as bhajiya or bhaji in different parts of the country. And though they might have different names, their popularity remains same everywhere....

From the day I first made homemade beef broth, which quickly turned into making large quantities of homemade bone broth, I haven’t looked back (or touched a store-bought version again). Not only is making beef bone broth simple (though admittedly fairly time-consuming), but the results are far superior. It’s got a richer mouthfeel and better flavor, is easy to adjust (including the sodium levels), there are no preservatives, and it’s a genuinely frugal recipe – using bones and other scraps that might otherwise go to waste....

Jun 26, 2013, Updated Jul 03, 2015 Wondering what to do with the leftover boiled rice? Here’s what you can do, make a yummy cabbage capsisum rice (pulao) which is finger licking good. It can be made in a jiffy. You only need few ingredients for this. Ingredients Boiled Rice: 4 cups Cabbage: 1.5 cups, finely chopped Onion: 1, thinly sliced Capsicum: 1, finely chopped Biryani Masala: 1/2 tsp + 1/4th tsp Garam Masala: 1/4th tsp Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp Cardmom Pods: 2 Cloves: 2 Cinnamon Stick: 1 Coriander: 1 tbsp, finely chopped + for garinishing Oil: 2-3 tsp Salt: To Taste Method...

Let’s be honest – making homemade versions of your favorite takeout dishes, like chicken veggie stir fry, sesame chicken, and this orange chicken, is a win-win-win. Aside from having to spend time preparing it, homemade “fakeout” is usually more cost-effective and has the same (if not better) flavor of the dish you love. Plus it can be easily tweaked to your flavor and dietary preferences. What is Chinese orange chicken?...

Jul 18, 2014, Updated Jan 02, 2018 I don’t know about you but chocolate can cheer me up anytime and any day. I am a chocoholic and these chocolate chip pancakes are one of the best ways to satisfy my chocolate cravings when I have one. These soft, fluffy chocolate chip pancakes are packed with chocolate chips like literally packed! You bite into them and you feel like biting into a chocolate bar....

When I started sharing images of my healthy breakfasts online, I practically survived on smoothie bowls. In fact, for proof, you can go to the last pages on this blog, and my earliest posts are 90% smoothies too, so I’m no stranger to whipping up creamy, rich, dessert-like yet healthy smoothies and smoothie bowls. And this creamy banana avocado smoothie is no different. When I’m not whipping up massive bowls of guacamole, smooth avocado butter, or avocado pasta – I love to use avocado for sweet treats like avocado pistachio ice cream, avocado chocolate mousse, and this healthy avocado smoothie!...

This past year, I’ve shared recipes for several types of easy flatbread, including pita and naan. Now, it’s the turn of this super simple, no-knead Turkish bread (pide bread). Turkish pide bread is similar to naan, as a thicker, fluffy bread rather than the thinner ‘pocketed’ variety like pita bread. However, unlike naan bread, this easy no-knead bread takes away the kneading step, meaning it only requires just minutes of simple hands-on prep....

Jun 03, 2020, Updated May 07, 2023 I often make them during summers when blueberries are in season. These muffins are lightly sweetened and taste great with a cup of coffee. Summer is my favorite season for fruits. I literally eat only fruits for one meal in my day throughout summers. There are so many yummy fruits to choose from- watermelon, cherries, mangoes, cantaloupe, all kinds of berries and so much more!...

Once you figure out how to fry rice, you’re going to love how simple and easy it is. There’s nothing quite like the texture of freshly-cooked rice, and when you add in those Filipino fried rice ingredients, every bite will have you coming back for more. This fried rice with lots of garlic is perfect for eating as is or paired up with a protein of your choice. Shrimp and chicken tend to be two of the more popular additions, but you can easily change up what you add every time you cook it up....

I’ve previously shared several summery fruity drinks like mango lassi, banana milkshake, strawberry mocktail, blackberry earl grey iced tea, and raspberry lemonade. Then, most recently, I shared a creamy coconut vanilla cream frappuccino. Now it’s time for something that lies somewhere in the middle – fruity, creamy, and wonderfully purple. This blueberry milkshake recipe is my next obsession! Whether you want fruity blueberry milk (to drink or for cereal!) or a frosty blueberry milkshake/frappuccino (similar to this strawberry and cream frappe), this drink is refreshing, flavorful, and can be enjoyed any time of the year!...

It is made using soaked split yellow moong dal, cucumber, and grated coconut. Lemon juice is added and gives a slight tangy taste to the kosambari. A tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, and hing lifts this dish up, giving it a nice South Indian flavor. We South Indians, eat this salad as it is or with hot steamed rice and rasam or serve Hesaru Bele Cucumber Kosambari with hot Masala Chai during your tea time break....

I wrote a post for my ultimate ‘base’ hot cocoa mix, along with tons (and I mean a ton!) of ideas for putting on your very own hot chocolate bar at a party/event, or even to use as just inspiration to adapt the hot chocolate to anyone and everyone’s taste buds (including dairy-free, keto, paleo, etc. options). I also wrote a post on How to Make White Hot Chocolate. Here, I am sharing my favorite dry homemade hot chocolate dry mix....

In my house, there’s one thing you’ll always find in the fridge – labneh cheese. A staple favorite from my childhood, its closest Western comparison is like thick cream cheese, though I’m inclined to say my labneh is far tastier. I’ve prepared this easy labneh recipe that’s budget-friendly and easy to customize. With just one ingredient, you too can create a delicious labneh dip. What is labneh So, what is labneh cheese?...

Having just shared recipes for tropical coconut mango ice cream and decadent coffee ice cream, now it’s the turn of this light and refreshing peach ice cream recipe! This homemade peach ice cream is soft, smooth, creamy, and packed with peachy flavor – all without any dairy or eggs! In fact, I spent ages deciding between calling this just peach or peaches and cream ice cream. Whenever peaches are in bounty, this will be a new go-to treat of mine, along with my two-layer raspberry-peach and lemon tart, citrus peach smoothie bowl, and peach iced tea....

Whether you simply have a large amount of broccoli you want to preserve for later or have a recipe that requires blanched broccoli, learning how to blanch broccoli is perfect for maintaining the very best color, flavor, and texture of this nutritional green veg, ready to add to salads and other dishes or to freeze for up to a year! Why blanch vegetables? First, what is blanching? It is the process of submerging foods into boiling water for a brief time, followed by immediately halting the cooking process with an ice bath....

Does this sound familiar to anyone? You’ve finally decided to buy a mango – or may by now it’s your third or fourth attempt, you get it home, and somehow – after quite a lot of hassle, you end up with hacked up pieces of mango, this seed in the middle that seems to get in the way no matter how you cut it? Or was that just me… Either way, I thought that I’d share this post to help you learn how to cut a mango, step by step (without ending up with a huge mess on your hands)....