Anshu's Food Odyssey

For me, summers are incomplete without gorging on some chilled and refreshing drinks, ice creams and kulfis. Having said that, I always prefer making these items at home as they come out to be more economical and are absolutely preservative and color free.  If you have been following my blog, you must be well aware of my love for litchis. It is one of my absolute favorite summer fruits and I love trying out different recipes with the same. Recently I made and posted the Litchi & Rose Agua Fresca on my blog which was liked by many of you guys. Today, I have this amazing Litchi Ice Cream on my space; hope you like this as well. Ideally, for making ice creams, generally heavy whipping cream is a major requirement; however, the place where I stay, I don't get whipping cream so easily. So, instead of that, I have used the normal Amul fresh cream to make this ice cream. Also, I haven't added any condensed milk. Shall be posting another ice cream recipe using condensed milk

If you have been reading my blog, you must be well aware of my love for fruity summer coolers and mocktails . This Virgin Pear and Ginger Mojito is one of the many drinks that I have tried this season. Loaded with the sweetness of pears, slight pungency from ginger and little tartness from lemons, it makes for an ultimate drink to refresh you to the core. While I have made this drink virgin, you can definitely go ahead and punch in some Vodka or Gin as you like. Its gonna be terrific either ways. Looking for some more similar and refreshing summer drinks ? Do try out Lychee & Rose Agua Fresca , Jamun Panna and Mango Lemonade .  Virgin Pear and Ginger Mojito INGREDIENTS (serves 4) Ripe pears, medium sized (roughly chopped into cubes) - 2 Ginger (roughly chopped) - 3 inch piece Mint leaves - a few Lemon slices - 3 to 4 Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Sugar - 4 tbsp Water - 1 cup Soda water/ sparkling water - as needed Ice cubes - as needed - Please feel free to adjust the amount o

Poha also called as Pohey, is counted amongst the most healthy and popular breakfast dishes in India . Light on the palette, this flattened rice preparation is a rich source of iron, B vitamins and many other minerals essential for the body.   While there are many classic versions of poha such as Maharashtrian Kanda Poha and Batata Poha, which are enjoyed across India, there is this Chura Matar (Green Peas Poha) that has carved its own very niche and comes from the sacred land of Benaras in Northern parts of the country. Without any onions, potatoes or peanuts, this poha recipe only calls for addition of green peas, green chilies and chopped ginger that gives the dish a unique taste. Not to mention, some fried cashews and raisins, take the taste a notch higher. If you too are a poha fan and want to try a different variety other than Kanda Poha or Mixed Veg Poha, then this recipe is a keeper. Banarasi Chura Matar Recipe | Matar Poha | Green Peas Poha Banarasi Chura M

Bharwa Shimla Mirch or Stuffed Capsicum is a delicious Indian side dish made by stuffing green bellpeppers with a spicy potato filling, which are then cooked further until completely done. A Punjabi style recipe, it makes for a comforting dish to complete your meals.  Though traditionally, this recipe is made using green peppers, if you want to add some color to your plate, you can definitely go and use the colored bellpeppers as well. Also, the slitting style of the peppers varies across different homes in India, I have grown up watching the capsicums to be halved lengthwise at my home, so I do it the same way. If you wish, you can just chop off the head of the capsicum and stuff the entire pepper; whatever way you like. Bharwa Shimla Mirch | Stuffed Capsicum Recipe INGREDIENTS Green capsicums - 3 to 4 Boiled and mashed potatoes, medium sized - 4 to 5 Finely chopped green chilies - 2 tsp Finely chopped ginger - 2 tsp Crushed dhaniya seeds - 1 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Fennel see

Litchi Rose Agua Fresca  is a refreshing and cooling summer drink infused with beautiful flavors of litchi fruit and rose.  If you have been reading through my blog, you must be well aware that litchi is my favorite summer fruit. As it gets available for only a short duration of time, I try to make most of it majorly by experimenting with it in different drinks and coolers. Some of the refreshing drinks that I have made using litchi in past include LITCHI LEMONADE , LITCHI AND CHERRY LEMONADE and LITCHI & COCONUT LEMONADE . This Litchi & Rose Agua Fresca is yet another of my experiments and it came out absolutely amazing. If you too are a litchi lover like me, then this recipe is a keeper. Do try!  Litchi Rose Agua Fresca INGREDIENTS (Serves 2 to 3) Litchi - 18 to 20 Sugar - 1/4 cup Water - 1/2 cup Rose syrup - 4 to 5 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Quantities of sugar and rose syrup can be adjusted according to your sweet preference. Litchi Rose Agua Fresca MET

Sondesh is one of the most popular Bengali sweets/ desserts made using fresh chhena (soft cottage cheese). It can be flavored with plain simple cardamom, saffron or even rose. Since its the summer season going on and mangoes are in abundance, I thought of flavoring it with these delicious stone fruits. Trust me these Mango Sondesh turned out absolutely heavenly and amazing. Do try the recipe once.  Mango Sondesh Recipe | Mango Sandesh Recipe INGREDIENTS Full fat milk - 1 liter White vinegar or lemon juice - 2 tbsp, diluted in 1/4 cup water Mango puree - 1 cup Fresh cream (I used Amul) - 1/4 cup Ghee - 1 tsp Sugar - 6 tbsp Mango Sondesh Recipe | Mango Sandesh Recipe Mango Sondesh Recipe | Mango Sandesh Recipe METHOD Line a strainer/ mesh with a cheese/ muslin cloth. Place a big bowl underneath the strainer. Bring the milk to a boil. Switch off the heat and let it cool down for 5 minutes. Start adding the diluted vinegar or lemon juice, whatever you are using

Chicken Yakhni or Murgh Yakhni is a flavorful chicken dish from the state of Jammu & Kashmir in India. The recipe is quite simple and calls for chicken pieces to be cooked in a yogurt sauce spiced with just a handful of Kashmiri aromatic spices like fennel and dried ginger. An easy peasy dish that requires just a few basic pantry ingredients, it can be enjoyed with a bowl of steamed rice or any bread of your choice. I served it with my Homemade Restaurant Style Butter Garlic Naan along with some salad on the side. Kashmiri Style Chicken Yakhni | Yakhni Chicken Recipe INGREDIENTS Chicken with bone (curry cut pieces) - 750 grams Curd (at room temperature) - 200 to 250 grams Birista (golden fried onions) - 1/2 cup Mustard oil - 1/2 cup Garlic paste - 2 tsp Ghee - 2 tbsp Black cardamom - 2 Green cardamom - 3 Black pepper corns - 4 to 5 Cloves - 4 to 5 Dried ginger powder - 1 tbsp Fennel powder - 1 tbsp Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Dried mint powder - 1 tbsp Kashmir