Fruit Popsicles

Is it just me, or is this year getting over too soon? It feels like just yesterday when a few of my friends and I were discussing how beautiful spring was and how welcoming the summer sun was. And now it looks like fall is at our doorsteps already!

In order to keep the summer scene going on for a bit longer, here’s a super simple, absolutely refreshing popsicle. Made with fresh fruits, fruit juice, and yogurt, I am sure you can’t get a healthier dessert/snack than this. I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart’s website and fell in love with its simplicity. The original recipe had white grape juice, blueberries, kiwis, and peaches. I think the idea was to use any clear juice to highlight the colors of the fruits you use. I have used a mixed fruit juice, fresh blueberries, and strawberries. You could use frozen berries too, considering that the popsicles go back to the freezer to set.

When I was about to start filling the molds, I had the idea of making some with yogurt, so here you go; two types of healthy, refreshing popsicles. These are so simple to make that you could easily get your kids involved.  

Ingredients (Depending on how many popsicles you make)

Blueberries

Strawberries (sliced into long strips)

Orange-banana-pineapple juice

Yogurt

Honey

Method

Wash the berries, slice the strawberries, and keep aside. You can cut the fruits to suit the size and shape of your popsicle molds.

Sweeten the yogurt with honey and keep aside. I sweetened it very mildly, but you could make it to suit your taste.

Fill the molds, almost to the brim, with the fruits. I have two sets of four, so I decided to make four each of the juice and yogurt versions.

Now pour in the juice to fill the molds, making sure it won’t spill when you put the tops on. Similarly, fill in the yogurt too and place the tops. Freeze for 6-8 hours.

You might have to run the molds under the tap to loosen the popsicles. Unmold and bite into a mouthful of joy! Bon Appètit.

 

Tofu Kofta

It has been a long break for me from this forum. There have been many changes in the past year and a half and my experiments with salt and spice have definitely been on hold. But, I’m back now and hope to serve you all with yummilicious recipes.

Today’s recipe is a complete surprise to me. My husband wanted to have kofta and that too with Tofu. Might not be a strange desire, but the only problem was I had never had this dish nor have I heard about it before. Nevertheless, I decided to use my imagination. The result was a pleasant surprise to me.

To pair with my delicious koftas, I made vegetable quinoa pulao and at the end of my dinner, I had empty bowls and a very happy husband:)

Ingredients

Kofta

Tofu – ½ pound

Onion – 1

Green Chillies – 5 to 6

Ginger grated – 1 tsp

Garlic -  1 tsp

Coriander leaves – ½ cup nicely chopped

Salt to taste

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Hing – a pinch

Chaat Masala – 1 tsp

Bread crumbs – for rolling

Oil – for frying

Gravy

Onion – 1

Tomato – 2 to 3

Ginger  grated – 1 tsp

Garlic – 1 tsp

Green Chillies – 2

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Chaat Masala – ½ tsp

Amchur powder – ½ tsp

Corriander leaves – ½ a bunch

Method

For the Kofta

Crumble tofu with your hand into a bowl. Add finely chopped onion, green chillies, ginger, and garlic to it. Add finely chopped coriander leaves, salt, turmeric powder, hing, chilli powder, and chaat masala. Mix all the ingredients well with your hand and make equal sized balls of the mixture. Roll each ball nicely onto the breadcrumbs.

Heat oil in a pan and once it is hot enough for frying, fry the tofu balls until they are golden brown. Drain the excess oil from the tofu balls in a paper towel and let the balls cool off.

For the gravy

Cut the onions and tomatoes into cubes or small pieces. Heat a little oil in a pan. Once hot, add the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chillies. Sauté until translucent and then add tomatoes and coriander leaves. Add all the spices—salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, chaat powder, and amchur powder.

Let the mixture boil for about five minutes and then let it cool down. Once the mixture has cooled down nicely, grind it in a blender into a fine paste. Add some cashews or almonds while grinding if the gravy is very thin.

Boil the gravy and bring down to simmer. Add the tofu koftas into the gravy and allow the gravy to boil in simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve hot with quinoa pulao or with roti. Enjoy your meal.