Literally as simple as putting together peaches and cream this no-bake dessert is one that you will love for its simplicity. Enjoy this popular 90’s restaurant dessert, an under-10-minute dessert that can feed a crowd.

When it comes to any fruit, the simplest way appeals to the lazy me. Mostly it is cut and eaten. Otherwise, do something simple with it like add it to a salad. This is exactly what I plan with the first batch of peaches I have hauled. Once the first two or three peaches satisfy my appetite, I need to determine the future for the rest of them. The dessert that easily comes to my mind is peaches and cream.

Choosing the peaches

That perfectly ripened peach is an absolute must for this dessert as it relies on the lovely flavour of the peaches. Look for the round peaches as the tree-ripened ones tend to go round. Smell them! The aroma of that fruit permeates through the soft skin. Then, gently press them. If the fruit yields gently it is ready and juicy.
For this dessert, you can choose white or yellow peaches. yellow peaches give a classic look, that’s all. Flavour wise they are the same.

How to remove the pit from a peach?

There is a line running along the side of the peach. Cut the peach along this line. Now you have a cut to separate them into two halves. Twist one-half and gently pull it away from the other. That one-half separate. Now, wiggle the seed to loosen it. Pull it away from the other half. Remember not to squeeze the flesh much as the fruit is easily bruised.

Ingredients to make this peach dessert

The basic recipe for peaches and cream needs only 2 ingredients. However, this doesn’t do justice to the popular 90’s restaurant dessert. Hence here is my version
Peaches – Once you have chosen and pitted the peaches, slice them or dice them.
Sugar- unrefined sugar works perfectly fine in this case. It is only to keep the pears juicy while you get on further and prevent excessive browning.
Lemon zest-Thi is a small twist that adds a lot of freshness to the dish. As the cream can be pretty heavy the lemon zest helps to lighten the flavour.
Cream- Pouring cream is ideal in this recipe. We are not looking for soft whipped peaks, so no whipping cream is needed. If you want to cut down a bit the calories, try light cream or low-fat cream.
Vanilla- Scrape out a few bits from a vanilla pod and add to the cream. Without te addition of any sugar this gives the simple dessert a fantastic fragrance. 

Making it healthier

Honestly, this dessert is not for you if you are looking for a healthy dessert. I would rather dunk the fruit in chocolate tofu dip to keep it cleaner and simpler.

Make ahead

This is certainly an easy dessert to put together for a crowd. However, you cannot prepare and assemble this dish much in advance. Here is what you can do the previous day.

Prep the glasses ahead.

Cut the peaches, and mix in the sugar and zest. Keep them covered in the fridge.

Whip the cream with vanilla, slightly so you have a pouring consistency. Keep this covered in the fridge.

Once these are set it is as simple as spooning the fruit and cream into the individual glasses.

What other fruit can I try with the cream?

Given an opportunity, I wouldn’t hesitate to make the cream combo with strawberries, mango, grapes, bananas, melons etc. You can also mix a combination of fruits in this vanilla cream.

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Hope you have a collection of recipes like this that hardly takes a few minutes but satisfies a crowd really well. In our attempt, the fruit salad with honey dressing and the peaches with cream are my top picks to share on a barbeque day. Let us know in the comments how we are doing with this blog. As usual, leave us a rating on the start system with 5 stars if you like this recipe. Don’t forget to subscribe or connect with us through Instagram or Facebook.

For now, enjoy the sun and the sunny peach season.

The recent India trip was fantastic. As much as we had fun, there are a couple of things that this India trip ruined for me. One was bread the other was rose milk. That was my simple pleasure which the milk booths used to keep in plenty. During this trip, I searched high a low for some but found none. As soon as we got back and the jet lag faded off,  I had to make some myself. Since it has become a kind of rarity, I guess it is best if it is on our blog too.

What is rose milk?

The gorgeous, pale pink, milk-based drink is a gentle lightly sweetened drink popular in summer. With the juicy crunchy basil seeds added, this summer drink is a popular one for the heat and humidity of the tropics. With flavours of extract of rose and the same as its fragrance, the cold, frothy milk drink is a relief from the heat. The drink Bandung in Malaysia and Thai Nom Yen are all versions of the same. However in this recipe today we have not used the rose syrup that gets utilized in most recipes, rather have gone in to create a natural alternate with fresh rose flower petals. 

Ingredients to make the rose milk

Milk : boiled and chilled milk is what we use traditionally for this recipe. However, over a  period of time, I find Evaporated milk gives a full-bodied thick frothy milk moustache-making consistency. You can use half-and-half or low-fat milk too.
Rose petals: nothing beats that fresh rose petal that gets blended in. Use known sources of pesticides free fresh rose petals or edible grade dried ones. The actual variety that we look for with its fragrance is the panneer rose, the one from which rose water is extracted. Make sure your source is from the edible roses as there are plenty that is just ornamental.
Rose water: since the rose petals may not be fragrant enough, edible-grade rose water is required. If you have plenty of rose petals you can avoid using this.
Red food colour: the pink colour is characteristic of this drink. A small drop or two of natural red food colour will do the job. You can use natural dried beet powder in its place too.
Sweetener:  is totally optional. Use honey or sugar to flavour if needed. Since the milk in Australia is much sweeter, I have not used any here.
Sweet basil seeds: this is the exciting part of this drink. Basil seeds are small black seeds often sold in Indian spice aisles as Sabja. This when added to water swells into small jelly globes. They add a lovely touch to the drink and also promote gut health. These are not chia seeds, however, if you cannot get there you can use some chia here.

How to make this drink?

Soak the basil seeds in about 3 times water. Once you gather the ingredients it is as simple as blending them together all except the basil seeds. Once frothy pour into tall glasses and top with the bloomed basil seeds. Check the recipe card below for detailed instructions and exact measurements. YOu can pin the same from th recipe card on to your board if saving for later.

Can this be a vegan drink?

It is a milk-based drink, however, using soy or almond milk gives a delicious vegan pink milk without a huge change in flavour. In fact, I love to use soy milk as my choice for the vegan version. The rest of the ingredients are the same.

Make ahead and storage

The freshly blended rose milk is certainly frothy. However, it is an easy drink to make and store in the refrigerator. It stays good for upto 3 days with regular milk and about 7 days with Evaporated milk. Keep it in a sealed bottle or a small covered pitcher to have on hot days. You can mix in the basil seeds too. They stay at the bottom, so stir well before pouring out the drink for yourself.

Easy summer thirst quenchers on this blog

Apple celery green juice
Nectarine fizz
Fresh fig milkshake
Strawberry lassi
Cherry watermelon smoothie

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If you have spent your childhood in the tropics, I am sure you would have also had a version of this. Pink milk as it is fondly called us now revived for me. Try out this caffeine-free, afternoon pick-up and rate us using the star system below. Share in the comments your childhood experiences with the easy thirst quencher. Subscribe to us for new recipes or visit us often.
Enjoy your glass while I get some more. 

The India trip is exciting in many ways. Not only do I love being with my parents,  the travel but also the foods that I hardly get to see in my daily run in Sydney. However, it was getting to a point where the cooked foods were constant and I missed the simplicity of forking some salad for lunch. Invading into the kitchen garden, the bilimbi tree was almost as if it was waiting for me. This was the first time my daughter saw me climb a tree. She really did not believe I had the monkey in me. Anyway, now that’s proven!  we made a sour spicy salad to accompany the meals (just because amma won’t allow the bilimbi salad as a meal).

What is bilimbi?

A close relative of the carambola tree the bilimbi, Averrhoa bilimbi is a small tree that grows well in the tropics and a native of South East Asia.  Flowering as deep red inflorescence these turn into soft-skinned green fruit. This is bilimbi fruit that has a lot of culinary interest. The whole fruit is edible. The fruit grows in clusters from the stem. The fruit in local Indian names is irumban puli(malayalam) bimbuli (kannada), kamias(Tagalog). (Share with us more regional names if you have any for this fruit please).

What does bilimbi taste like?

The crunchy and firm fruit is actually extremely juicy to bite into. The fruit is highly sour and acidic with a slight metallic after-taste. Unlike carambola, the fruit does not turn sweet upon ripening. If eaten raw, best tasted with a pinch of salt mixed with cayenne. Choose the younger fruit if you like a bit lesser intensity for the sourness, especially for salads. For curries, the ripe fleshy ones are more suited.

Ingredients for the salad

Apart from young bilimbi, you will need other ingredients. A small red onion that is finely sliced and a green chilli to add spiciness. You can either pound the chilli with salt to mix it in the salad or chop it in.  I have added a handful of fresh moringa leaves as the mesclun. If you don’t have access to them, use arugula or spinach in their place. Use fine salt to the season only at the end as it draws out a lot of juice from the bilimbi making the salad soggy.

The recipe card below gives the proportion of the ingredients. From this recipe card, you can directly save onto your pin board if you need to find some of the fruit too.

Pairing the moringa bilimbi salad.

Since the salad is sour and spicy, it will be a fabulous side to protein-rich preparations. Ideally, it will taste awesome with sheek kebabs, rajma cutlets,cheela or cutlets. If you chop the bilimbi fruit smaller, you can mix it with a basic bhel mix to make a tasty snack. We did not wait for all that but had it just as such with a classic South Indian thali.

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We love to bring you new ideas and recipes as we explore them. Hopefully, we will have more tree sorrel recipes I hope you like them too, rate us and leave a comment on your experience of our website. Check out our YouTube, Instagram and Facebook pages too.

Ellu bella sweet trail mix made during the Makar Sankranthi festival. Shared with friends and family, this easy gluten-free dry mix provides a good form of jar snack.

Walking through the now back to bustling markets of Bengaluru there is sugarcane, ellu bella packs, achu sharkare etc lining the shelves. It is nearing Makar Sankarnthi. The ellu bella packs attracted my attention. This trail mix is one I am particularly fond of and loved munching on. Here is the recipe to make this simple ellu bella and a bit about it.

What is makar sankrathi?

The transition into the Zodiac of capricon is Makar Sankranthi. It marks the beginning of summer and teh end of winter. During this time the winter harvest is plenty and is a celbartion for the farming communities, thanking the natural forces for the abundance. Across indian states, these three days are celebrated as Pongal ( Read more here), Sankranthi, Magi, Makara villaku or Sokran. Each regions celebarates the local produce which is showcased in the festival foods. In Karnataka, this celebartion time is all about bonding, sharing and happiness. Kite flying, decorated animals and carts are a common site during thsi time. The family is in their best attire (new ones ofcourse) and visiting friends and fanily with ellu bella and a sankranthi thali.

Why is ellu bella shared?

“Ellu bella thindu olle maathadi”.
The Kannada saying above translates to eat ellu bella and speak no evil. It is one of the recipes (not much if it) meant purely for sharing. The actual highlight of the day is the sharing of the ellu bella with neighbours and friends. This is an excitement for the kids who are entrusted with the job. The idea of sharing this winter trail mix is to enhance the bonding between the families.

Ingredients for ellu bella

Ellu bella is not a huge deal of a recipe, but rather a simple mix of ingredients that make it a perfect winter munch. Here is what goes into making ellu bella.

Roasted groundnut: as a locally grown crop, grounds form a huge part of Karnataka cuisine. Roasted to perfection, peeled and split the groundnut anyway form the favourite munch. Added the trail mix it offers a delicious nutty feel.
Sesame seeds: the toasted white sesame seeds are used to make this recipe. The nutty flavour with a faint after-taste along with the jaggery tastes fantastic.
Roasted chickpea dal: huri kadle or roasted gram is added to the mix. This gives a powdery mouthful when bitten into.
Jaggery: traditionally jaggery or bella is the sweetness factor in this dry mix. If not sugar or rock sugar pieces will work in their place.
Dry coconut: Kobri is mature coconut that has its kernel completely dried. This is either grated or cut into small cubes. It has a slightly sweet flavour with abundant coconut oil and fibre.

Utensils for the Ellu bella

The roasting of the ingredients is done on a cast iron wok called banali. This thick-bottomed wok is perfect for roasting nuts and seeds without getting them burnt. Usually, this is a hand-me-down. I got mine from my mother.
The Kobra or dry coconut is cut into squares using a nutcracker or an arumamanai. The arumamanai is a small wooden stool or plank fitted with a bent sharp blade. Sitting on the plank placed on the floor, the kobri (even vegetables) are diced into pieces. This is actually an art in itself. Sitting on that plank needs practice.

How long to keep ellu bella?

Ellu bella is a dry mix. If kept in airtight containers it stays good for up to 3 months on the shelf. However, a handful of the mix is actually a wonderful snack, so it never lasts so long in my house.

Setting up the sankranthi thali.

The Sankranthi thali is one of the simplest to set up. It is all about the seasonal local produce. This is an easy idea to set it up. Here are some things you want to gather
Ellu bella
Sugarcane
Mango leaves or betel leaves
Achhu sharkare (candy sugar figurines)
Banana
Ber or indian jujubes
Flowers
Additional adds
Steamed groundnut
Steamed sweet potatoes
A steel or metal platter is preferred to set this mix. Wash clean and dry the leaves. On the platter plate the leaves and arrange the other elements around them. You can keep the ellu bella in a bowl or add it directly onto the plate. Add the sugar candy last and decorate with flowers. This is your sankranthi thali.

Food served for Sankrathi

Since it is a seasonal abundance, newly harvested rice, yams, sweet potatoes,hyacinth beans, groundnuts, sugarcane etc are the main produce you see during this time. Commonly, Sweet pongal, steamed groundnuts, payasa, lemon rice, avrekalu uppitu,steamed sweet potato, ellu unde are made during this time.

If you are looking for a naivedyam thali, try this -click here for the link.

Stay connected

Learning about traditional cuisine takes time and guidance. Simple recipes like these are more fun to put together and bring about the festival spirit. So dress up and celebrate. Tell us about your way of celebrating with ellu bella or how you celebrate makar Sankranthi in the comments. If you are making ellu bella at home, share with us the little twists and turns. Don’t miss to subscribe and keep connected.
Happy Sankranthi!

Enjoy a delightful yellow tomato salad bursting with summer flavour. Make it a celebration of your homegrown produce with this salad with the best citrus dressing. Make some, share some and enjoy the sun.
It certainly feels so special when your garden provides you with a few good summer produce. Since it is a rainy summer this year, we have planted a few tomatoes. One of the varieties we have is the yellow pear tomato instead of the cherry tomato. These are smaller and sweeter and sunshine yellow in colour. To our surprise, this started fruiting as most as soon as the first rains started. So here are showcasing this beautiful produce with summer fresh cabbages and cucumbers.

Ingredients for the easy summer salad

Yellow tomatoes: these are a variety of cherry tomatoes. They are sweet with a burst of that tomato flavour. You really don’t have to go looking for these, cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes will also do the job. If you have extra squishy ones, try our cherry tomato soup recipe.
Cabbage:  sweet and crunch cabbage forms the leafy base for this salad. It doesn’t matter if it is the red cabbage or the sweet white one. You can swap this for lettuce, arugula or mesclun.
Cucumber: Lebanese cucumbers are the plain complement to yellow tomatoes. Since they are water laden, there are lovely to have during summer, especially in a salad.
Seeds: mix the crunch part is the one that makes the salads more appetising. My go-to mix is flax, chia, sesame seeds and hemp. Depending on what you have at hand, just go with the flow. Popped quinoa tastes brilliant in this salad.

Herbs: Herbs add a good freshness to any salad. Since we are picking up some from the garden we have spring onions, gotugola ( Brahmi) and mint from the garden. So today’s batch pick-up goes right into the salad. You can add what you have at hand to brighten up the flavours. 

For the citrus vinaigrette.

Summer certainly is for those strong citrus flavours. This basic citrus vinaigrette has lemon zest, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, grated garlic and grated ginger along with salt. It has no oil added, you can add a teaspoon of olive oil if you like. Do you really need a dressing for this salad, maybe just lemon and salt will do, but it is far nicer with this basic lemon vinaigrette. Since we are using sweet tomatoes,  I have not added sugar or date syrup to them. If you are using this dressing for, say, coleslaw or basic garden salad mix, add a tsp of date syrup.

Putting together a meal

Option 1: The salad is actually a fantastic idea to serve at a BBQ or lunch. Make some crusty toast, and creamy cheese to add to a platter. Don’t forget to keep some chocolate crackles for desserts
Option 2: Pop some vegetable sheek kebabs on the barbecue. Toast up some flatbreads. Whip up some cacik sauce and roll up a kind of Greek gyros.
Option 3: Keep light to follow up with a cold drink, like berry kombucha and then serve some chocolate dessert brownies to make it up.

The recipe card below carries step-by-step guidance to make this easy summer salad. You can directly pin this onto your board to make during the tomato season. Share with us how you feel making this recipe in the comments below with a rating of upto 5 stars

Stay connected

As a home gardener, I get very excited when I see produce come up and the garden active with bees and butterflies. These have an emotional connection to the fruits kind of a sense of joy in their own way. Try your green thumb, you didn’t always have to get it right, but don’t give up.
When you make this yellow tomato salad, whatever type of tomato hope you enjoy the experience. Let us know in the comments how you feel about it and rate the recipe. Don’t forget the citrus dressing is perfect for kidney bean salad or edamame salad.
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This nectarine fizz is perfect to celebrate new beginnings. The combined flavours of sweet nectarine, lemon and mint are delicious to be served in a mocktail or spiced up to be a cocktail version.

Every new year brings something different, new learning. It is the anticipation that keeps us going. The Learning spirit and the overall smiles that come out of it. I look forward to this part of the year when get my loved ones talking and good vibes going. To celebrate this time,  we have nectarine fizz. It is a simple drink made with fresh nectarine, mint, simple syrup and sparkling water.

Understanding nectarines

The smooth-skinned slightly tangy sweet fruit that classically appears during summer is the nectarine. This soft stone fruit is similar to peaches. What they miss is the fuzzy skin. This prunus species is slightly smaller than a peach in size with soft flesh. Usually, you get them as yellow flesh or white flesh both taste almost the same.

How to choose a nectarine?

Nectarines are soft fleshed sweet fruit. This is under the category of stone fruits. The red-skinned fruit is firm to hold, but the ripe fruit is slightly yielding to a small press. You can also look for the freaked look on the skin for the ready-to-eat ones.

Ingredients for the nectarine fizz.

Nectarine: chooses your nectarine, wash and slice off the flesh. The seed is kind of clingy but hard. Remove it. You will need about half a nectarine per person for this stonefruit mocktail.
Mint leaves:  the freshness of the fizz is from the mint. If you don’t have any choose rosemary and add this while boiling the simple syrup to flavour it.
Simple syrup: this is a boiled solution of one part sugar and one part water. This is easier to use than stirring sugar without diffusing the soda! If you are using rosemary then add a couple of stalks to the boiling syrup to infuse. Cool and store it in the fridge.
Club soda: infused carbonated water what I have used. It has a slight tang with a touch of saltiness. You can use sparkling water in its place. 

Let’s put a party platter together.

We are putting a platter together to nibble as we watch the fireworks. On the platter, we have crackers, sliced Foccacia, cream cheese with chives, strawberries,  some blackberries, grapes, olives and sundried tomato and cashew dip. The nectarine fizz drink will go well with it. So that’s our plan.

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Whatever you are looking forward to this year, hope all that comes with lots of happiness and togetherness. Hope you can stay with us through this year by subscribing to us. Check us out through our Instagram or Facebook.
Wishing you all a very happy 2023!!