Suji ka Halva - Semolina/Rava Halwa - Sheera

When it is made well, it is one of my favourite Indian sweets. It is very simple and easy to make, and if you have just a little bit of patience and follow a few instructions - success is guaranteed! Suji/rava means semolina, so you can find it under such names as suji (ka) halva or rava halwa, but in Maharashtra this dessert is also called sheera. It can be garnished with any kind of dried fruits and nuts, and flavoured with, for example, rose water. A very common version is with cashew nuts and raisins, but since raisins don't agree with me very well, I love it with just well roasted cashew nuts and cardamon. Also, it can be served just like this or pressed with more ghee (clarified butter) and then cut into pieces. We and everyone we know prefer this healthier version without additional ghee. It tastes the best while it is still warm, so if you are serving it not right away, put it into a microwave for a minute or so.

You will need: 1 cup of semolina (rava) ~1/3 cup of cashew nuts (or any other type of your favourite nuts) ~100 ml of ghee (clarified butter) OR regular unsalted butter, melted ~1/2 cup of sugar (adjust per taste) 400 ml of cold milk seeds of 4 cardamon pods, crushed a pinch of nutmeg powder handful of raisins (optional) 1. Heat 50 ml of ghee/butter in a pot, add the nuts and fry them till they brown nicely. If you are using the raisins, fry them together with the nuts. Remove the nuts and raisins from the ghee/butter and keep them aside. 2. In the same ghee/butters, fry the semolina on a medium flame until it releases the aroma and browns nicely. Keep mixing it periodically so that it browns evenly, don't let it burn. Be patient and don't rush this step, it will take several minutes and it is a very important step. 3. Add 1/4 cup of water, mix it well and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar and mix it well again. 4. Remove the pot from the stove and add cold milk, mix it well. Put the pot back on the stove and keep stirring continuously now so that it doesn't become lumpy. When it starts simmering, pour in the rest of the ghee/butter while mixing, add crushed cardamon seeds and nutmeg powder, keep stirring until halwa thickens all of the sudden (it will take about 2 minutes). Halwa will become dry, but will still be soft, smooth and silky. Remove the pot from the heat. 5. Garnish the halwa with roasted nuts and raisins and serve it while it is warm. Leftovers can be warmed up in a microwave the next day. Enjoy!

Hummus

If any introductions are needed, hummus is a popular Middle Eastern dip or spread made out of chickpeas flavoured with tahini (toasted sesame paste) and lemon juice. There are also versions of hummus with garlic, tomatoes, paprika, etc. But I just love the taste of this simple one! It's such a healthy snack as well, rich with iron, vitamin C, a perfect source of protein and dietary fiber. It can be served as a starter with flat breads, such as pita, veggies or along with falafel.

You will need (4 servings): 150 g chickpeas, soaked in water overnight 1 onion, quartered a few coriander sprigs juice of half lime/lemon 1-2 tbsp of tahini paste* salt to taste olive oil 1. Drain the chickpeas, put them into a pot, add enough water just to cover them, add the onion, corriander sprigs, some salt and a few drops of olive oil. Boil them for at least 40 minutes or until they are soft. 2. Remove the onion and coriander, drain the chickpeas, but keep the stock. 3. Put the chickpeas into a blender/food processor, add a few spoons of the stock and blend it till you get a smooth paste. If needed, keep adding a few spoons of the stock until you get the right consistency. 4. Finally, mix in the lime/lemon juice, tahini paste and salt to taste. I recommend starting with less lime juice and tahini and if needed, add more later after tasting. Just before serving, drizzle with olive oil. Also, you can top it with fresh coriander or paprika powder, or some cooked chickpeas... Serve with pita bread or vegetables.

*Tahini - sesame seed paste. If you don't have it, simply lightly dry roast some sesame seeds in a pan and blend them in a food processor/blender adding a little bit of olive oil, just enough to get a smooth paste. Put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. It will be handy when making Baba Ghanoush as well :o)

Falafels

Falafels - small balls made from chickpeas and spice mix - are a popular street food in the Middle East. These golden colour balls are crunchy on the outside, but soft inside and very flavourful. It can be eaten as a snack, served with starters or along with the main course. My favourite, and probably, the most popular way is wrapped in a flat bread (or pitta-like bread pocket) along with fresh or pickled vegetables, different sauces and baba ghanoush or yogurt-garlic dip.

You will need: 2 cups of chickpeas, soaked overnight 4 spring onions (white and green part), chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped a handful of parsley, chopped 1 tbsp of fresh mint, chopped 2 green chili peppers (or per taste), chopped 1 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp ground corriander 1.5 tsp baking powder salt to taste oil for deep-frying 1. Drain the chickpeas and put them into a food processor/blender along with spring onions, parsley, mint, garlic, cumin and coriander powders, green chili peppers and salt. 2. Mix baking powder with 3 tablespoons of warm water and add to the food processor as well. Process until you get a smooth paste. You might need to add just a little bit more of water, but don't add too much as the balls might break when deep-frying. 3. Place the chickpea paste into the fridge for about half an hour. 4. In a deep-frying pan, start heating up enough oil to cover the balls. Take the chickpea paste out of the fridge and form small balls. 5. When the oil is hot and ready, carefully place a few of the balls into the hot oil. Make sure that they don't get stuck to the bottom. You will have to fry them turning once in a while for about 5 minutes, until they brown nicely. The time will depend on the size of the balls, so you might want to check the first one if it is cooked inside. Don't fry it for too long though as they will become dry inside. 6. Remove the balls from the oil and place them on a paper towel. Enjoy!

Baba Ghanoush - Roasted Eggplant Dip

Before I moved to Mumbai, guacamole used to be the #1 dip for me, but I haven't been able to find a tasty avocado here so far... Baba ghanoush might just win me over now. I love eggplant and I love smokey eggplant even more. It's light and flavourful and it takes so little time and effort to prepare. Be warned though, it will get wiped out during your party in no time, so you might want to make more of it, if you'd like the compliments to keep coming that is ;o) This amount will be enough 4, maybe 6 people if you are serving it along with plenty of other starters.

You will need: 2 large eggplants 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 tbsp of tahini paste* juice of 1 lime salt to taste parsley for garnishing (optional; corriander will also do) some olive oil *Tahini - sesame seed paste. If you don't have it, simply lightly dry roast some sesame seeds in a pan and blend them in a food processor/blender adding a little bit of olive oil, just enough to get a smooth paste. Put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. It will be handy when making hummus as well ;o) 1. First you need to smoke/roast the eggplants, which you can do either on a grill or, as I do it, over a gas stove. Wash and prick them with a fork, smear with some olive oil and put it straight on a medium flame of your gas stove. Keep turning it frequently until it becomes soft inside, it takes me around 10 minutes. Let it cool down until you can touch it. 2. Peel the smoked eggplants and remove the stalks. 3. You will get the best texture if you mash the eggplant flesh with a plain fork till it's creamy, but still slightly chunky. Alternatively, you can put it into a blender/food processor for literally one moment. If any liquid separates while mashing, drain it. 4. Mix in the minced garlic, tahini paste, lemon juice and sprinkle salt to taste. 5. Just before serving, top with fresh parsley/corriander and drizzle with olive oil. It's perfect with pita bread!

If grill or gas stove are not available, you can roast the eggplants in an oven for 15-30 minutes depending on the size.

For a different and more intense flavour, instead of using fresh garlic, you can also roast a whole garlic head in an oven and then just squeeze roasted garlic paste out of the cloves.

You can garnish the dip with ground cummin or paprika powder, but I like it just like that!

Orange-Thyme Infused Roasted Bell Peppers

This will make your sandwich! As well as your salad. I came up with this simple marinated roasted bell pepper when I had leftovers after making Confit Byaldi (a version of Ratatouille). Next day I made ham sandwiches with it for our road trip to Ajantha and Ellora caves and man those were the-best-road-trip-sandwiches ever! Garlic, thyme and roasted bell peppers added so much flavour and nice texture - no more boring-ham-sandwiches for us since then =) I made it couple times since then and this time around I am taking it to the next level by adding a little bit of orange peel.

You can make as much as you want of this, but this time I used: 4 bell peppers, cut in half and cleaned 10 small garlic cloves, peeled and slightly crushed with knife blade a handful of fresh thyme sprigs, washed and leaves removed from the stem extra virgin olive oil a pinch of salt 1 tsp of orange peel (optional) 1. Preheat oven to 220 C degrees, place bell pepper halves cut side down on a baking tray and roast them in the oven for up to 20 minutes or until the skin browns and loosens a little. 2. In the mean time, prepare the garlic cloves, fresh thyme, and orange peel. Garlic cloves are really tiny in India, so you might need to use fewer of them per your taste. 3. Once the bell peppers cool down enough for you to be able to touch them, peel off the skin, wash them and cut into thinner slices. 4. Mix bell peppers with garlic, thyme, orange peel and salt and cover with olive oil. Keep it in an air-tight container in the fridge at least overnight. It's time to make the sandwiches that will change your life forever! =)