Winter is the citrus time in the hills. Every house has citrus trees of different varieties. One can see the limes and lemons, malta and oranges and other local varieties of citrus trees overladen with the fruit at this time of the year.


On sunny afternoons in the hills in winters, you’ll find people basking in the Sun on rooftops or courtyards. People gossiping, knitting or cleaning veggies for dinner or engaged in some routine chore or just sleeping and definitely making Nimbu Saan. All ingredients are sourced locally or from their fields. It is a tangy and finger licking preparation that is eaten almost every day. Rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and specially Vitamin-C, it contributes to good health in winters. It is a great appetizer and you just can't have enough of it.



Nimbu Saan

Ingredients

  • 500 gms fresh thick curd
  • 3 tablespoons bhang seeds (hemp seeds)
  • 1 bunch fresh green coriander
  • Salt to taste
  • Jaggery to taste
  • 1 Lime
  • 2 malta / kinnow /oranges
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 pomegranate
  • 2 medium size fresh sweet radish(mooli)

Instructions


  1. Take bhang seeds in a thick bottom wok. Roast on medium flame. Stir continuously. Soon the seeds will begin to crackle and change colour. Turn off the heat. Leave to cool.
  2. Clean coriander. Wash. Chop the tender stems and leaves.
  3. Take roasted bhang seeds and coriander in chutney maker. Blend. Add water if the paste is thick and not smooth. You should get a very smooth and fine paste.
  4. Whip curd until smooth.
  5. Add salt and jaggery. Grate jaggery so that it dissolves in curd.
  6. Add bhang and coriander paste to curd. Keep aside.
  7. Take a sharp knife and remove the outer thick skin (rind) of the lime. Cut horizontally into two. Cut each half vertically into four. Remove the juicy hair carefully. Discard white membranes and seeds.
  8. Peel malta / kinnow / oranges. Remove the juicy hair. Discard membranes and seeds.
  9. Peel and cut bananas.
  10. Peel and collect pomegranate seeds.
  11. Peel and dice radish finely.
  12. Add all the fruits and radish pieces to curd.
  13. Mix well and serve fresh.

My Tip: Bhanga-Coriander paste should be really fine. Balance salt and jaggery to get the right taste. Sweetness should be on the higher side. Curd should be thick and not runny.




Days are delicious as we head towards Spring. Every branch, every bough is growing new leaves. Some tiny, some curled, but each unfurling a new and fresh shade of green and adorning the naked branches.


Our flower beds promise a great riot of colours in the coming days. Dahlia buds are all ready to open up. Gazania shows its mesmerizing hues and shade, each unique in its own way.


Earlier in the morning, some food was kept for the birds. Soon we had two Oriental White Eyes enjoying the fruits kept for them.


Our home is full of lovely yeasty aroma are pancakes are being made for breakfast. Fluffy pancakes land on the plate. A generous amount of peanut butter is lashed, some honey drizzled and the pancakes disappear in no time.


Wholegrain Yeast Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 ½ cups warm milk
  • 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg (beaten)
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • Warm water according to requirement

 Instructions

  1. In a deep bowl, add warm milk and yeast. Stir and keep for 5 minutes or until yeast dissolves.
  2. Add salt, sugar, melted butter and egg. Mix
  3. Add flour and stir to get a smooth flowing batter.
  4. If your wheat flour is coarse, your batter will be dry. Add warm water to get the right consistency.
  5. Cover and keep in and keep in a warm place for 30 minutes to rise or until double.
  6. Pour batter by ½ cupful onto a greased non-stick pan. Turn when bubbles form on top of the pancake, cook until the second side is golden brown.
  7. Serve hot pancakes with honey, peanut butter or jam.
Check out the Pancakes from different parts of the world that our fellow Bread Bakers have baked this month:


  • Alagar Kovil Dosai from Sara’s Tasty Buds


  • Blini (Russian Pancakes) from Ruchik Randhap


  • Blueberry Dutch Baby from Hostess At Heart


  • Corn Pancakes from Kids and Chic


  • Crepes from A Baker’s House


  • Dutch Baby from Herbivore Cucina


  • Galettes de Sarrasin from The Bread She Bakes


  • Greek Tiganites from Gayathri’s Cook Spot


  • Hotteok (Korean Pancakes) from Cook’s Hideout


  • Hotteok (Korean Stuffed Pancakes) from Passion Kneaded


  • Kabalagala (Ugandan Pancakes) from Mayuri’s Jikoni


  • Keralan Yeast Appams from Food Lust People Love


  • Malaysian Roti  Jala from Schizo Chef


  • Malpua (Sweet Indian Crepes) from SimplyVeggies


  • Oven Baked Tropical Pancakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm


  • Pannukkau (Finish Pancakes) from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings


  • Potato Latkes (Jewish Pancakes) from Sneha’s Recipes


  • Scallion Pancakes from Karen’s Kitchen Stories


  • Srilankan Hoppers from I Camp in my Kitchen


  • Strawberry Nutella Crepes from Spill the Beans


  • Swedish Pancakes from Palatable Pastime


  • Traditional Corn Pancakes from Basic N Delicious


  • Welsh Griddle Cakes (Teisen Cymraeg) from Shockingly Delicious



  • #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Our host this month is Mayuri Patel who blogs at Mayuri's Jikoni. She chose to make sweet or savoury pancakes from across the world. Do check her blog for lovely bakes and recipes.
    You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.

    We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].

    BreadBakers





     Last weekend, a trip to our friend’s farmhouse happened. We always look forward to visiting the farm. Endless green fields, mango orchard, tomato fields, vegetable beds, bees, birds and butterflies. A river that feeds our town runs through one end of the farm. We often spot a lot of birds there. Kids love the freedom of running around wildly chasing partridges and hoopoes.


    We decided to take some homemade sweets for our friends and earlier in the morning, we made some Oats and Coconut Laddu. Oats and coconut laddus are chewy, coconut and juicy. Roasted oats lend a distinct nutty flavour We Often make them and our kids love these laddus.


     Everyone loved the healthy laddu with steaming ginger tea over animated conversation.



    Oats and Coconut Laddu

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup desiccated coconut
    • 1 cup oats
    • 1 tin condensed milk (400 grams)

    Instructions

    1. In a thick bottom wok, dry roast oats. Roast on low flame till the colour begins to change. Leave to cool.
    2. When cold, grind the roasted oats to a fine powder.
    3. Take a thick bottom steel wok. Add powdered oats and desiccated coconut. Stir to mix well.
    4. Add condensed milk. Stir it well to mix the ingredients evenly.
    5. Now cook the mixture on low flame. Stir continuously.
    6. While stirring, the mixture will keep sticking to the bottom. Keep scraping while stirring.
    7. After some time, the mixture will begin to leave the sides and bottom of the wok. Turn off the heat.
    8. Leave to cool slightly. After 5 minutes see if you can handle to mixture and shape laddu.
    9. Take mixture in your hand and press between fingers to get walnut sized laddu.
    10. The laddus come out round and glossy
    11. Cool and store in an airtight container.


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