Reminiscing Kuwait...

This morning , I was gazing at some of the pictures taken in Kuwait and was fondly recollecting the time spent there. The early morning driving lessons with father, late-night idiosyncrasies with my beloved sis, the restaurant try-outs and then the innumerable tours to the local markets are some of the many favorites in my Kuwait retreat. It was an absolute vacation time for me to unwind and do things that I have always loved!

I am the kind of a person who in sight of neat exhibits of produces would go all glee. And to me, shopping groceries in a buzzing ,fresh local markets gets me into an excitement that's much similar to that of a kid in Disneyland. I recall how my sister gave me that mortifying look when I sniffed and examined each spice in the spice section. The vegetable markets in Kuwait are profoundly pleasant to me. The produces in these markets are always fresh and the packaging so impressive. Yet another thing, that was striking to me was the cleanliness in these markets. 

With blistering-hot climate and the extensive desert topography, one might think the agricultural development in Kuwait is very limited. One has to see to believe the huge produces of this dry country. Some say the local growers use extensive amount of pesticides but I don't know if thats true. All I cared was to take pictures. So more than I had shopped, I clicked :P

Picture perfect tomatoes...

Garden-fresh produce..

Vast and magnificent...

Unwilted greens...

Tea time for the farmers...

Walnut (Akhrot) Halwa

Diwali is here!  I believe the houses are lavishly filled with sweet delicacies and are impressively lit up with decorative lights. Living in the hostel, had me separated from my beloved cooking and blogging. I am home now to celebrate the festival with this delightful sweet recipe!

‘Akhrot’, meaning Walnut is a wrinkled, brain-like nut that is contained in a very hard shell. For this Diwali, I chose to deal with this ‘Nut’ and make him sweet  :P Most of you know about the impressive benefits of this super nut . It contains the omega 3 and antioxidants that is good for your brain. 

So when life gives you 'SO MUCH' of walnuts , then try this recipe :)

You will need:

2 Cups of Walnuts, de-shelled and chopped

1 Cup of Milk, Warm

2 Cups of Brown Sugar

0.5 Cup of Ghee (clarified butter)

A pinch of salt

3 Cardamom pods, Powdered

Procedure:

Soak the walnuts in the warm milk for a couple of hours

Then grind the soaked nuts with the milk in a blender to a smooth paste

Heat quarter cup of ghee in a heavy bottom vessel. Add the blended walnut mixture.

Stir in the brown sugar and mix thoroughly without forming lumps. Add the remaining ghee a spoon at a time while stirring. This will keep the halwa from sticking to the vessel.

In a low flame, keep stirring the mixture for about 20 minutes or until the mixture comes together as a solid mass. Turn off the heat.

Sprinkle the cardamom powder and mix well.  

My Tip: You can add 'Praline' ,  caramelized nut nuggets to this mixture in the end and make it an extraordinary Halwa :D

Wish you all a very prosperous and joyous Diwali!

Red Riceflakes(Aval/Poha) Upma

This Tamilnadu style aval upma is a very simple, flavorful and quick to prepare item. In less than ten minutes you can get this on serving table if you have some grated fresh coconut ready.
Moreover, its a wonderful food for those who are health conscious. And the red rice flakes are even better if you are able to grab this from your local store. You will need the thin variety of poha for this recipe.

Preparation time : 5 Minutes

Cooking time : 5 Minutes

Total : 10 Minutes

Serves 2
You will need:
2 Cups of Red rice flakes (Aval/Poha)
1 Red onion ,chopped
1 green chilly, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/4 cup of grated fresh coconut
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
A pinch of asafetida/hing
Salt to taste




Heat oil in a pan and put the mustard seeds and hing. Once it begins to splutter add the urad dal and fry it in low heat till it appears to change color.



Now rinse the rice flakes once and drain them in a colander. Do not soak and
Add the green chillies and ginger followed by onion. Fry till the onions appear translucent. Add salt.




Add the rice flakes and give a good stir for a minute until all the flavors marry together.




Turn off the heat and sprinkle the fresh coconut.
I promise. Its a no-fail recipe. Why not serve this for your guests who visit during tea time? Also, its an easy-peasy breakfast idea for busy mornings!

Wasabi-A Japanese restaurant in Kuwait

This is my first restaurant review in my blog and its been in my mind for a long time that I should tell people about the restaurants I visit :) 

In the past couple of weeks, I had been watching Japanese movies among which Tampopo and The Ramen Girl made me crave for Japanese food,especially for some ramen noodles. Wasabi  is a fine dinning Japanese restaurant offering a range of westernized Sushi rolls as well as some Japanese classics. So finally today, I was able to convince my entire family for a dinner at Wasabi. My mom and sister are those who do not believe in eating anything that is not Indian or not heard off. I'm so glad that no body complained my choice. Even my pickiest sister seems to have enjoyed. So bad that I forgot my camera at home but thanks to the iphone.



Tori Ramen Soup-Lots of chicken chashu pieces, japanese fish cake (kamaboko), sliced carrots, cabbage and of course ramen noodles in a soy based broth. I was disappointed quite a bit with this one. Its taste was not bad but I was feeling like this isn't the real deal! The broth was bland and was covered up with some sinking pieces of meat and vegetables. The serving portion was also small. I was expecting a big hearty bowl of ramen noodle soup like I idealized from the movies :/



Green Valley Salad- Corn, avocado, super finely shredded carrots, iceberg lettuce, rocket leaves tossed in umami rich soy-ish dressing and lots of japanese mayo squirted on top. Quite not convinced that this salad is Japanese (with use of corn and avocado) but Dad loved it.. Expect me all my family members are Vegeterian, so there were very limited vegeterian options to choose from.

Yasai Spring roll- Black fungus, spring onions, cabbage and carrot were wrapped on wonton sheets and deep fried. Quite happy with this too. Sometimes spring rolls gets too oily when not fried in the right temperature. But this one did not fall in that category :)

Nigrizushi- A classic Japanese sushi with sashmi salmon as neta (the topping) and vinegar-ed rice clump. Wasabi pea and pickled ginger on the side. Absolutely loved this dish. Good salmon, I must say!

Hawaian roll- Rice rolled with nori (seaweed wrapper), avocado, pineapple, rocket leaves, and cucumber bits with a gentle splash of mango sauce speckled with pomegranate beads. Exotic, fresh and beautiful. 

 Hawaian roll bursting with tropical flavors ..

My Dad ordered a Japanese egg fried rice- which I some how missed to click :( It looked humble but the taste was quite satisfying.

Tempura Icecream- Tempura batter fried like a puff was served with caramelized coconut and topped with melted vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce. My kind of dessert. Not too sweet or calorie rich. Very light and exquisite!

Pinacolada and Fizzy Tangerine for drinks- My faint hearted  mom had to order these just to save the night. No complaints on the drinks. Both the drinks were bountiful and teased the palate.

Lovely ambiance, especially the lighting is perfect. Service was slow but really appreciate the unlimited servings of green tea :) Located in Al-Mashoora tower,Kuwait city. Our dinner tonight costed us 16KD -Quite pricey !

Verdict: Once in a while to try out something new with your family, Wasabi  is a great place to dine in Kuwait.