Puri Bhaji

Puri Bhaji are famous snacks here in India. Puris are said to be fried wheat flour balls with potatoes or green peas matched to it. Not stuffed inside, but the veggies are given as a dip which you can eat along with your puri.



Puri Bhaji for snack



A matching Sweet and refreshing Falooda for my puri bhaji


It will be really oily to eat but for me I only eat puris once in a while when travelling because we do get to order it in or favorite restaurant in Goa. I don’t order it when we are in Mumbai because hubby is not into eating such, just don’t ask me why, but it was not his type I guess.

Sorry if the picture wasn’t that attractive enough and clear. It was just taken in a mobile camera because our digital cam got soaked inside our bag when heavy rains pour on us during our motor bike adventure vacation and it eventually gave up on us so we need to invest again with a new cam so that I can capture photos of what I cook or what I will showcase here in my blog.

What was interesting when you first glance at puris is that they are ballooned and puffy. I thought there was something inside of it. But when you split it open it was just air inside and you need to dip that fried wheat balls into the curry type masala of bhaji. Bhaji means vegetables. Since most Hindus are vegetarians, they do prefer to eat only foods which are purely vegetarian. Most of what puris match is potatoes and green peas with spices of course.

In this picture I have falooda as my refreshing drink for this puri. I really cannot miss falooda with ice cream because this is what I really do prefer to include when having this snack as well as it is really delicious and tempting. Well, I have gained another kilo with this short vacation trip but its worth it, I am still not that over weight to consider that my doctor asked me to gain weight before I give birth because I was under weight.

So for those who are mindful of their weights, you might as well skip this oily treat of puri. But it will not harm you if you have it in moderation, just for the sake of tasting it especially if you visit an authentic Indian restaurant; it is really worth a try.

Short Vacation

To all my avid readers, I will be off for 4-5 days so I won't be able to post you guys recipes and exciting food preparations. But I will be back to see you again and my kitchen will be running smoothly. Don't worry, I am not sick of cooking and I did not retire yet on preparing exciting foods. I might as well get back with a promise of featuring exciting new foods if I have encountered some on the way. Have a blessed day ahead! Astalavista baby!

Golden Avocado

I was not talking about the color of the avocado but the price. This one small piece costs Rs52 already which is very expensive if I may compare it to the prices of delicious avocados in the Philippines. I picked it up in the grocery because I terribly miss the taste of avocado and in that grocery, they sell all smaller sizes of unripe avocados so what I did was I kept it in the rice container to keep it well done.

I bought this in green color, now it turned violet!



Three days past and the avocado is ripe and I just put sweetened milk into it. I didn’t take a snap of the inside because it wasn’t good to look at, there was a part which was brownish and I did not include scraping it off. It wasn’t containing too much fiber so I boldly scrape off till the last portion. Put it back on the fridge to keep it cold and ate it. It wasn’t that tasting great since it wasn’t bought ripe in the first place. It has a bitter after taste and I don’t know if I can make my hubby eat it later since I reserved something for him.

This is what I prepared for just one piece of avocado


What benefits do we usually get from avocados? Well, one thing I know of is Vit. E which is said to be good for our skin. But when I tried to research more I found out that there are more health benefits we can get in eating avocados.

Avocados can cure cancer cells like for breast and prostate gland based on some studies done by scientists. It can also lower cholesterol which is good for our heart. It is also a good source of glutathione which is an antioxidant that can delay the process of aging.

The only thing about avocados is that they are seasonal fruits. I really do have a difficult time searching for them but what I know is that they grow more in months of May to June. But I don’t know here in India since I haven’t seen a single street vendor who sells avocados in the public. Imagine I was able to grab this small sized unripe avocado in the big grocery, probably imported but I still doubt it because it wasn’t export quality.

You can also try to put avocados in a blender and make a smoothie out of it. Some can also add whey protein and it is really rich and creamy even kids would like to have. I used to remember my auntie who makes ice candies out of avocados. It is really a refreshing treat during summer season and I always order avocado shake in our school canteen when I was in College.

Saag Paneer Recipe

I recently knew that saag also means spinach or mustard leaves. I thought the only word for spinach was palak. But anyway paneer means cottage cheese or tofu. There are different versions of cooking this recipe although I just simplified mine by not using the blender for the saag or spinach.

Easy to Cook Saag Paneer



It would be looking like palak paneer recipe if I blended it with the masala so what I did with this recipe is to cook the spinach without blanching it. Spinach is easy to cook and they shrink out too. What you first needed to do is to heat the pan with oil and put the cumin seeds or jeera. After this you can now sauté garlic and onions till it becomes light brown in color.

Once garlic and onions are done, then it is time to put turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder, green chili, red chili powder and cumin powder. Keep the flame into medium heat and add your bunch of fresh spinach leaves.

Stir it well with the spices and then you can now add your cottage cheese or paneer which is cut into bigger cubes. You only need to cook the spinach and paneer for about 3-5 minutes in slow flame. You don’t need to add water into it since the spinach itself will give out the juice and this will be sufficient enough to tenderize the paneer. But if you think you have used a non-stick pan for cooking, then just add ¼ teacup of water and add salt to taste and stir well.

Some would like to fry their cottage cheese first before mixing it with the saag or spinach. Others would also put into blender the spices together with the spinach. But as I have said, this method is much more similar in cooking palak paneer so I didn’t intend to do such method.

I wanted to eat the spinach leaves and not looking like a spinach puree. This is my rendition of the saag paneer recipe. But you can do whatever style you would like to choose which best suits your tongue. This recipe would only take less than 8 minutes from preparation to cooking. It is good for moms on the go who don’t have much time cooking lunch or dinner because of a busy schedule.

Pomegranates and its Benefits

Yesterday was India’s Independence Day and we went out for a grocery. I didn’t expect the volume of people that flooded the store. Hubby and I just thought that it was because of the shops up to 70% discount sale and that is why people flock to get advantage of that great offer. Later did we find out that it was because most of these people are off because of a regular holiday, well silly of us because most of call center agents aren’t having such an off.

Pomegranates, Rich in Vitamins and also an Antioxidant fruit


So going back to my topic, I didn’t notice that hubby would be picking pomegranates this time since he prefers to buy them outside or in local markets where it was cheaper. But these 4 medium sized pomegranates cost only Rs99.00 which is also equivalent to $2.25, so we bought it. I really do like pomegranates because it is rich in Vitamins A, C, and E. It is also antioxidant and they say can cure serious illness like prostate cancer of men.

Pomegranates also called Granada in Tagalog, bombs away sickness and diseases!


Whether it is a saying or not, I do believe that God created this wonderful fruit with a purpose as to what other fruits and veggies are for. If you are a person who likes fresh fruits and vegetables included in his or her daily meal, I am sure that you would not want to also miss pomegranate. It is a very juicy fruit and reddish like no other but just be careful not to stain your white shirt or blouse whenever you eat this great fruit.

I personally like pomegranates in a sense that it looks like mini crystal rubies. Its velvet red color is so attractive and when you juice it up and it gives a crunchy sound whenever you bite and chew it. Peeling is not an option for this fruit, what you need is to slice it up or break it by cracking it although that method will be messy.

I like to segregate the seeds manually even if it takes time before we eat it. The covering skin inside of it is bitter in taste so you don’t include that whenever you eat it. Pomegranates are good for our immune system to fight any types of sickness. It is also good for refreshing the body because of its juice; a pregnant woman can take advantage of eating pomegranates because it will avoid her having premature babies.

For men, it is also advisable to eat pomegranates since this combats prostate gland problems. It is also good for our skin because it makes it look younger removing those problematic pores since it can tighten the skin. If you happen to notice pomegranates, they look like your heart which pumps blood in the body. Indeed pomegranates are really good for blood circulation which can be a positive way to get ourselves away from blood clots and heart problems. Isn’t it lovely how we can get health benefits by consuming fresh fruits and vegetables especially if we do add pomegranates in our diet?