Sharjah Shake- An Authentic Kerala Smoothie...

Sharjah shake is not a drink from Sharjah but it is one of the favorite drinks of my native state Kerala, India. It is a drink loved by almost all Keralites. Sharjah shake is originated from Calicut in Kerala. Whenever I visit my home town, I make sure I don't miss this shake and will have frequently. We love this shake a lot. In Kerala, almost every juice shop,  this is available. Now more new flavors and ingredients are added to this shake but I like the simple, original one which has a malt flavor. A perfect drink among guests and family.

For a simple Sharjah shake the key ingredients are ripe bananas, horlicks/boost, nuts that is combined to a perfect, delicious, tasty Sharjah shake. This just takes less than 10 minutes and will be a super hit. As bananas are the base of this drink, this will be thick and sweet. It is quite filling. If we want we can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, here I didn't as I wanted it plain. I am warning you this is very ADDICTIVE!!!! As Ramadan fasting is going on, we like to drink different juices while breaking the fast and so this is one among and will always love this.

To get the authentic milk shake parlor version, freeze the milk and break into chunks and blend with other ingredients. There are countless variations in the making of this shake, but this is mine and very flexible. Please try this and let me know.
Ingredients:

1. Frozen Milk- 2 Cups
2. Ripe Bananas- 1 large/ 2 small
3. Horlicks/ Boost- 2 tbsp
4. Sugar- 1 tbsp(optional)
5. Cashew nuts- 4 nos

Method:

• Blend together all the ingredients and pour in a tall glass top it with roasted cashew nuts and vanilla ice cream.

Chicken and Potato Bolani/ Afghan Flat breads along with Carrot Curd and Healthy Mango Milkshake

These days during fasting, I am so much into cooking that I will be searching each and every website or youtube video for a different variety of dishes during iftar. One such recipe is this afghan dish which can be prepared using chicken or with vegetables. But I used both chicken and potatoes to make the filling for bolani, which tasted yumm along with carrot raita.

Bolani is a traditional Afghani flatbread stuffed and baked. Bolani is low in carbohydrates, calories and rich in protein, fiber, and vitamins. We can have a choice of fillings like the chicken, potatoes, spinach and so on. Here I used chicken along with potatoes which were amazingly delectable.

In this the dough is stuffed with chicken- potato filling and then shallow fried to crispy golden brown. In these spring onions are used instead of onions, but I used regular onions. These can be shaped in semi-circle or triangle like I did. These taste good along with curd or any raita. I made carrot raita, which was appetizing.

These bolani, I tasted them for the first time in Costco, where they give samples of food on Saturdays and Sundays. These were so delicious that we ended up buying a couple of packets of bolani. Everybody will like them including the kids. A perfect for guests and during parties. Along with this, I made mango milkshake, in which I added honey instead of sugar which makes it healthy and for a small twist I added cardamom powder, which gave a different and unique taste. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

For dough:

1. All Purpose Flour- 1 Cup
2. Wheat Flour- 1 Cup
3. Salt- as Required
4. Water- for kneading

For Filling:

1. Boneless Chicken- 1 Cup
2. Potatoes- 2 nos
3. Onions- 1 no
4. Garlic Cloves- 3 nos
5. Coriander powder- 1 tsp
6. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
7. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
8. Salt- as required
9. Red Chilli flakes- 1 tsp
10. Coriander Leaves- a bunch

Method:

1. Knead the all-purpose flour, wheat flour and salt using water until the dough forms a ball. The dough should be neither sticky nor dry. Keep this covered with a damp cloth.
2. Boil potatoes and boil chicken. Shred the chicken into small pieces, keep this aside. Mash the boiled potatoes and add this along with the shredded chicken.
3. Add chopped onions, grated garlic, coriander powder, red chili flakes, turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt and chopped coriander leave.
4. Mix well using the hand. Add a little water to make it sticky.
5. Divide the dough into 8- 10 equal balls.
6. Roll the dough into a round disc, scoop 2 tbsp of the chicken- potato filling and spread it on the dough disc leaving the edges.
7. Fold the three sides in the form of a triangle and seal well. Pat well to remove any air pockets. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
8. Heat a pan, smear 1 tbsp of oil and shallow fry on both the sides and enjoy with carrot curd.

Carrot Curd:

1. Carrot- 2 nos
2. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Beaten Curd- 2 Cups
5. Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
6. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp

Method:

• Grate the carrots, add these grated carrots along with cumin powder, red chili powder, pepper powder, salt. Mix these in the beaten curd and serve.

Healthy Mango milkshake:

1. Mangoes- 2 nos
2. Milk- 2 Cups
3. Cardamom Powder- ½ tsp
4. Honey- 4 tbsp

Method:

• Blend everything together in a blender and serve them in big glasses and enjoy.

Hot Chocolate Mix in a Jar

                                            HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

Sorry for my late wishes, as I was on a small vacation during this Christmas break. I hope everyone had a good time enjoying the festive time with friends and family.

I have noticed that during this vacations, most of the time I used to drink either hot coffee (my fav...) or hot chocolate milk, which is my daughter’s all-time cherished drink. As my daughter never finishes hot chocolate fully, I used to finish it off and lately I started liking this. Whenever I see a packet of hot chocolate mix, I usually make myself a cup. But nothing can beat a homemade hot chocolate as the store bought has many preservatives and hydrogenated oils added to this mix.

I thought why not make the cocoa mix ready and so whenever you want just mix the hot water and the cocoa mix and ta da, an amazingly delicious surprise is ready within no time.

I layered milk powder, cocoa powder, sugar and chocolate chips in a jar, which is also a great idea to gift to near and dear ones in this festive season, which I am sure will be loved by all. You can finish off by adding some marshmallows on top, which the kids will love.

You can layer this either in big containers or in little jars. On a cold day, nothing is finer than curling on a sofa with a hot cup of cocoa. You can make a big batch to last you all this winter. Just try this out and you will love it.

Ingredients:

1. Milk Powder/ Instant nonfat dry Milk- 1 Cup
2. Cocoa Powder- ½ cup
3. Sugar- 1 Cup
4. Chocolate Chips- ½ cup

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix about 3- 4  tbsp of this mix into a cup of boiling hot water and stir in order to get any lumps. Enjoy the delicious hot Chocolate milk in this cold weather.

Banana dates Milkshake

A perfect filling drink for iftar. Dates are good source of energy, have a rich source of protein, fiber and also rich in vitamins. Since they have natural sweetness, no need of adding sugar in the milkshake, which is good for health.

For iftar I have made this and just with a glass full of this amazing drink, you will feel energized, refresh and rejuvenate your body and no need of having anything else. Nowadays for iftar I am making fresh juices out of orange, apple and so on. Now this has become our favorite drink. Just try this out and let me know…..

Ingredients:

1. Banana- 1 no
2. Dates- 6-7 nos
3. Mixed Nuts( Cashew,Almonds and pistachios)- few
4. Bournvita- 1 tbsp
5. Milk- ½ Cup
6. Water- ½ Cup

Method:

1. In a blender, process the dates along with milk at high speed till it becomes smooth.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend it to a fine smooth puree.
3. Pour into serving glass and garnish with chopped dates and nuts.