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Glühwein / Mulled wine

Glühwein or mulled wine is a German/Austrian holiday drink that most people have during the winter season. This   alcoholic beverage is a must-have during the festive season here. Interestingly, this wine is also known as glow wine as it is warm and when you drink it, it makes you glow from the inside. It's a warm & cozy wine infused with spices and citrusy flavours which is perfect for the cold and freezing winter weather. I stumbled upon this wine during my first Christmas in the Netherlands last year (2019). They were lighting the Christmas tree at the city center and the streets were crowded and lined by food carts selling delicious Christmas treats, desserts and warm  Glühwein. This year however, we are under a strict lockdown due to the ongoing pandemic and with everything shutdown we couldn't experience the beautiful Christmassy vibe outdoors. So, I decided to bring the Christmas vibe indoors and made my own batch of this cozy, warm drink. So, here you go a d

Pitaya Smoothie Bowl

A smoothie bowl is a quick, easy to make, one bowl meal packed with a lot of nutrition and flavour. It is the perfect start to your day with an energy packed breakfast. I strongly believe that your meal needs to look as beautiful as it tastes and the bright colour of pitaya or dragon fruit is perfect for this. Pitaya is an excellent source of antioxidants, low in calories and a nutrient dense fruit. It doesn't have much of a natural flavour to it, which is why it is perfect when mixed with a variety of frozen fruits like banana, mango and berries. This makes an excellent and delicious bowl for your breakfast or snack. Frozen banana creates a creamy sweet base, while mango gives a classic tropical fruity flavour. If you prefer your smoothie to be more creamy like me, freeze all the fruits and add little ice. You can also add some protein powder if you want to add a bit more nutrition to your smoothie 👌.  htt

Mackerel Curry

I recently discovered this recipe on my usual inspiration hunt online and decided to give it a try. During my grocery run at the city centre before, I decided to have a look at the fresh fish store and got some amazing looking mackerel filets. I had not decided on the recipe at that moment, but then I happened to have everything at home for this recipe and things simply fell into place. Normally I am into masaledar, spicy and coconutty fish curries but this time I did not have any coconut milk at home and I was also feeling a bit lazy with my cooking. This recipe was an absolute delight for my mood with an amazing tangy, sour flavour of tamarind and vinegar and a slight sweetness of jaggery. Quick and simple! Totally worth it and definitely recommended.  Press Enter and insert Image https://www.instagram.com/p/CI276lADeR5/  

Turkish Bread with Za'atar Spice and Baba Ghanoush Dip

I came across Turkish bread for the first time after I moved to the Netherlands and I bought it from a Turkish shop near my place. Absolutely fell in love with it! The softness and flavours were just amazing and right then I decided I am going to try making my own batch. This is absolutely lovely and versatile; you can pair it with anything. You can make a bruschetta, pair it with some shrimp salad or have it with some dip like hummus and baba ghanoush. I paired mine with some creamy baba ghanoush and a generous garnish of za'atar spices. The best part about creating this dish was that it was so simple and easy to make. In my head I had inflated the difficulty too much and was expecting some really hard and tricky process to it, but it turned out to be so simple! Not to forget the excitement I got when it came out as amazing as I was expecting. SOFT, FLUFFY AND DELIUCIOUS! So, read on to know how I made this amazing bread with a simple and fool proof method.

Sri Lankan Prawns Curry

I have tried prawns in a variety of preparation styles and flavours but making this Sri Lankan style curry was my first. As always I was very excited to try out something new with a new combination of flavours and using a different variety of ingredients. This juicy prawns curry infused with the Sri Lankan spice mix I made from scratch and coconut milk base was exactly what I needed after a super hectic day. Traditionally you add the prawns heads into the curry for an additional depth of flavour. However, I had bought some pre-cleaned prawns from the market which had their heads removed so could not add the heads. In this recipe I have nevertheless written how to use the prawns heads in the preparation.  The curry definitely came out amazing and simply mesmerising. Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did. Cheers!! Press Enter and insert Image https://www.instagram.co

Puttu with Kadala Curry

Puttu is a staple breakfast dish in south India popular in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. "Puttu" means portioned in Malayalam. It is a very filling and hearty breakfast dish made with rice flour mixed with salt water and typically steamed in a puttu steamer with coconut shavings in between. Sometimes a bit of jaggery powder is also added to make it a bit sweet. My husband loves to eat puttu with elaichi bananas or other small bananas; mixing it with the puttu. I came across this dish after I got married into a Malayali household and got exposed to a lot of Kerala recipes and dishes. My mother-in-law makes really amazing puttu and Kadala curry. So, after I moved here to the Netherlands I wanted to give this a try. I didn't have a puttu steamer, so I asked my mother-in-law and she gave me the idea to steam it inside a coconut shell which is also a popular traditional method of cooking. It was totally worth all the effort and to be honest it was really