We are all going through different emotions during this pandemic. I am sure my children are going through emotions as well since our socializing has reduced. During a conversation, my son asked me if we could have a fancy dinner. I was inspired by his creative energy and thought it was a brilliant thing to do and decided to set up my blank table and make it festive.
Here are some awesome tips for you so that you can bring back family dinner time to make it feel special:
- Dinner time need not be boring! Make it fun by decorating the table, here I did an autumn theme.
- In December I plan on doing a winter theme. Who does not like snowflakes, candles and gold decor?
- Involve the kids in the process. They can come up with great ideas too. These are the memories they will always remember and cherish
- You can also extend the decor to the rest of the house. I like minimalism, so I made an autumn wreath for our front door
Share your ideas with me of how you set up the table at your home to make meal times fun!.
Until next time,
-Tabassum
Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
With cooler weather comes comfort food and for me that’s some hearty soup! We had a big harvest of tomatoes from our backyard vegetable garden and I put them to good use. But that’s not all-my parents gave me some beautiful cherry tomatoes from THEIR backyard vegetable garden and I also added those into this recipe. The flavor of homemade roasted tomato soup is unmatched!!
The store-bought tomato soup does not even come close to the depth of flavours of the homemade kind. I also love that you can control the amount of salt added to the recipe. Here is my recipe:
Ingredients:
- 4-5 ripe tomatoes, diced
- 1-2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 red bell peppers (seeds removed, diced)
- 1 onion, diced
- 3-5 pieces of garlic
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- optional: coconut milk
Method:
- pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
- in a baking tray, add the diced tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, diced bell peppers, onions, and whole garlic cloves
- drizzle with olive oil and coat vegetables
- season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
- mix with hands so all vegetable are coated
- roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until vegetables are soft
- let the vegetables cool down a bit
- add to blender (I have a Vitamix) and blend together until smooth
- Optional: at this point, I added in some coconut milk to give the soup some extra creaminess. (You can also add vegetable stock, but please note this will change the flavor slightly)
- serve warm and enjoy!
Save this recipe, it will come in handy for the next few cold months! Once you’ve made homemade tomato soup, you’ll never go back to the store-bought one again! Happy cooking!
Let me know if you try out this recipe! I usually reply to emails within 24 hours 
-Tabassum
@kashmirifoodie
DAAL MAKHANI (BLACK LENTIL CURRY)
Today I felt like having some comfort food, a staple dish in every Kashmiri home, especially in the colder months- daal makhani (black lentil curry), which reminds me of my mom. I used to love eating this (with boiled eggs!) after coming home from a long day at school & work. Passing along the tradition to my kids, and now you all through this recipe! Note: I don’t show the boiled eggs here because my daughter is allergic.
A single pat of butter is placed on top of the daal as a finishing touch, which was a trick passed down to my mom from her mom. The word “Makhan” literally translates butter. I LOVE BUTTER. Little known fact about me 🙂
DAAL MAKHANI (BLACK LENTIL CURRY) RECIPE:
Ingredients:
2 cups Black lentils
4 cups water
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Coriander, ground
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Thadka (oil seasoning)
3 tsp Unsalted Butter, cold
1 tbsp Black seeds (Kolonji/nigella)
2 Garlic Cloves, sliced thin
Preparation:
- Add the water, lentils, garam masala, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt to a pot, stir and boil on medium heat on stove. Leave uncovered and stir occasionally.
- Cook lentils until soft, approximately 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the thadka (which is the flavourful oil seasoning for daals)
- In a large pan on medium heat on stove, add in the cold butter. Allow to melt.
- Add in the thinly sliced garlic cloves and watch closely-once they are light golden add in the black seeds and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Once the daal is done, take the thadka (oil seasoning) and carefully pour on top of the daal.
- Top with cilantro and one pat of butter and serve with warm naan!
Want to make this daal in the instant pot? HERE’S HOW:
Instant Pot: Add the water, lentils, garam masala, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt to a pot, stir and close lid of instant pot. Seal the sent. Select the ‘Multigrain’ button which automates to 40 minutes or so. Continue on with the recipe.
TIP: if there is too much water, just boil it off (sautee button on instant pot). If daal is too dry, add more water. ENJOY!
I hope you’ll try this recipe out and let me know how it turns out! It As always, let me know if you try out this recipe by tagging me @kashmirifoodie #kashmirifoodie, I would love to see your beautifully delicious creations!
xoxo
Tabassum
BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE
Hey guys, long time no chat. To be honest, I’ve been completely overwhelmed with life. I’ve been transitioning my kids to preschool and it’s been a lot of running around getting everything they need to succeed. I think I’m finally ready. Kudos to all the moms who successfully got their kids back to school a few weeks back, it’s no easy feat!
One thing that always calms my nerves is baking. And there is nothing like a crumble on a cool crisp day. In fact, crumble is the perfect breakfast, snack or dessert in the cooler months, perfect for the upcoming season. True story…stated by me 🙂
So why did I choose blueberries? To be honest, I had a pint in my fridge and if I didn’t use it, it would’ve spoiled. But no food wastage here folks, take your leftover fruit and make a crumble dessert out of it! Yay!
This blueberry crisp was incredibly easy to put together:
Ingredients:
2-3 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup tbsp Brown sugar
1 cup Large flake oats
1/3 cup Flour
1/4 cup Walnuts chopped
1/3 cup Unsalted butter cubed, cold
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Place blueberries in baking pan.
In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, cold cubed butter and brown sugar. Mix together with hands, forming crumb topping.
Place this crumb mixture overtop of the blueberries.
Bake for 35 minutes (until golden brown)
Serve warm and top with vanilla ice cream or as is!
Enjoy!
I hope you’ll try this recipe out and let me know how it turns out! My kids absolutely loved this crumble for breakfast which was a total mom win for me! As always, let me know if you try out this recipe by tagging me @kashmirifoodie #kashmirifoodie, I would love to see your beautifully delicious creations!
xoxo
Tabassum
Spicy Baked Salmon
If you’re crunched for time, this spicy baked salmon is the perfect dinner for you. It comes together in just 1o minutes (with a little pre-planning!) and is a family favourite around here. It’s simple, wholesome and pairs great with a variety of sides! and hey, my toddlers love this salmon so this recipe is a total mom win 🙂
Remove the frozen salmon from the freezer in the morning before you leave for work OR thaw your salmon, marinate and bake right away! Either way, it’s a pretty low maintenance kind of dish!
Ingredients:
2 Wild Pacific Salmon Fillets
3 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp raw organic honey
1/4 tsp red hot chilli powder (laal mirch)
1 tsp vegetable oil
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Coat the baking dish with the vegetable oil
Pat dry the salmon with paper towel. This will remove excess liquid.
Place salmon into the baking dish
Combine the soy sauce, honey and chilli powder together
Pour the mixture over the salmon
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes
Once done, there may be excess glaze on the baking sheet, spoon this over the salmon a couple of times for extra flavour
Serve with salad or any side of your choice
Dinner’s ready!
Happy to help!
Let me know if you try out this recipe and which milk you chose to use! I usually reply to emails within 24 hours 🙂
xoxo
Tabassum
