Couscous Salad

Hellooooooooooooooooo Everyone!!!!! Thanks so much for all your comments. Sorry for being out of picture for a long time. I had been real busy with office and some other extra curricular activities :) Finally took some time off and updating my food blog.

Before starting with new recipe I want to thank Roopa of rvkitchentreats for giving me Rocking Girl blogger award!! Thank you so much Roopa, I am honored and you are sweetest (No doubt u keep on getting awards) :)


Few months back I tried couscous in a Greek restaurant and just loved it. I used to feel really tempted to eat Greek food all the time so I decided to try it on my own. I started with Hummus and Couscous and now it has become my staple lunch from a long time. I love it for its versatility. You can eat it cold or hot with loads of veges and flavor. It's really quick and easy to cook this dish and it goes really well with hummus and Pita bread or Naan. If you are new to couscous then do some 'MSN-Live' (of yes it's a hot search engine from Microsoft..some tough competition for google ;)) for greek food/couscous and you will get a good variety of recipes and look out in my blog for more Greek recipes :) I am giving two of my favorite Couscous recipes here (first one I saw on food network and did some changes), hope you all will enjoy it :)

Couscous Salad with Sweet Cranberries

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients-

2 cups instant couscous
3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1-teaspoon curry powder
1/2-teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-cup finely cut iceberg/romaine lettuce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh green coriander leaves
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup roasted and chopped walnuts/cashews
½ cup mozzarella/cheddar cheese (optional)
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste

Method-

Stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, salt, and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water (amount will be listed on package directions) to a boil and pour it over the couscous. Add the orange juice. Give it a big stir, cover the bowl tightly and let it stand, giving it a big stir once or twice, until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender, about 5-10 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork. Add the olive oil, lettuce, coriander, lemon juice and pepper. Stir around until everything is distributed evenly throughout the couscous. Keep it in fridge up to 1-2 hours. Check the seasonings just before you serve the salad. Add dry fruits for the crunch before serving. Serve with warm Pita break and Hummus.

Cold Couscous Salad with veges

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients-

2 cups instant couscous
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely cut deseeded tomatoes
1/4 cup finely cut cucumber
¼ cup carrots
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh green coriander leaves
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 deseeded green chilies (optional)
½ cup mozzarella/cheddar cheese (optional)
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste

Method-

Cook couscous according to the packaged instruction. I take equal portion of couscous and water. Boil the water, add 1 tsp olive oil and some salt. Then add finely chopped carrots and couscous, stir it, cover it and keep it on gas for ½ min. Now switch off the gas. After 2-3 min, fluff-up the couscous with a fork and allow couscous to stand for almost 15-20 min. Now add tomatoes, cucumber, cheese and green coriander in couscous. In a bowl take olive oil, lemon juice, green chilies and salt. Mix well and pour it over the couscous. Stir around until everything is distributed evenly throughout the couscous. Keep it in fridge up to 1-2 hours. Check the seasonings just before you serve the salad. Serve cold with warm pita bread/naan and hummus :)

Tagged For MeMe

Roopa of My kitchen treats tagged me for Mimi. So here I go :)

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATER?
American Gangster, awesome movie

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING??
Primal Desires

3) FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Chess

4) FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
Glamor, Instyle and Health

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Ginger Tea, Coffee, Floral and lemony smells, smell of chocolate. Smell of my mother and husband when I hug them :)

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Water Fountain, birds chirping, when my husband talks which makes me feel how intelligent he is :)

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Staying without my family

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
Depends..if something exciting is happening in the office, then how will I start my work, If giving interviews then how will I answer all the questions, if I am too sleepy (which always happens) then praying to the god that my husband shouldn’t get angry (since by that time he must have already tried waking me up for at least 10 times and I am getting late for office), when I have made something good for office lunch then thinking about eating it asap..list it long....

9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE?
Only one place CHIPOTLE, I can eat it 7 days a week J

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
Something short, simple and sweet so that people don’t struggle using it and he/she shouldn’t be embarrassed while explaining people about how to pronounce it J

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D’
Help all my near and dear once, sponsor kids for education, buy a sports car for my husband and loads of clothes and MAC cosmetics for me :)

12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
Yes, I love speed

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Yes, sometimes

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?
HOT ;)

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
None but would love to have Mercedes, Toyota Solara or Hummer

16) FAVORITE DRINK?
Water and Ginger Tea

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
Unfortunately/fortunately I am not that busy but if I have more time I would have learned all the sports in the world, spent more time with my family.

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
No

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
blond

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Mumbai, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Washington

21) FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Tennis, Base Ball, Soccer, Golf, Pool, Volley Ball

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Most of the time, first one to comment on my blog’s posts :)

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
nothing

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Depends what other options I have ;)

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night Owl

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
I am a vegetarian, don’t eat eggs

27) FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX?
Wherever the family is

28) FAVORITE PIE?
None

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Belgium Chocolate

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Asha of Aroma, as I am tagging only her :)

As Asha has done many Memes in the past and she wanted me to pass it to someone else, I am tagging Sagari of Indian Cooking:)

And yes thats me in Tulip field :)

"Yummy Blog" Award

"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos"

Hi Friends,

I am not very good in writing so keeping this short and simple. First of all I want to thank Roopa for honoring me with such a beautiful award and second all the people who appreciated my recipes by commenting on my blog. In my blog I have always try to put simple yet yummy recipes and this award means that my effort is well appreciated :)

Now as per the rules I am writing my favorite deserts. I am not a sweet lover, I like deserts which are less sweet. So here goes the list-

- Dark Chocolate with roasted almonds
- Belgium chocolate ice cream
- Dutch chocolate cake
- All Bangali sweets


According to me following blogs deserve this award-

Cynthia of Tastes Like Home
Sugnaya Tasty Palletes
Saumya Creative Saga
Lavi Home Cook Recipes

Congrats gals for winning :)

Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:

· The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog !" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

· The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.

· Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers whose blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules.

Removing Odor From Room

Who doesn't like good smell and when it comes to good smelling house, I thoroughly believe that its well kept and clean:) But after cooking good spicy Indian food the whole house smells like a restaurant. And since in US one tends to use AC , it does wonders in spreading the smell in the entire house. It’s even worse when you have guests for lunch or dinner. Poor guests, sometimes they end up carrying the lovely aroma of spices in their hair and clothes!!!

In order to avoid such miracles I do following tricks (some of which I got from internet) -

• Lit few scented candles (candles absorbs the food odor really well) in the kitchen and living room while cooking along with switching on my exhaust fan. After finishing cooking, I spray an air freshener or sometimes warm scented oil in oil burner. Along with that opening window helps a lot in circulating fresh air in the room. Though it takes around an hour for the smell to completely go but it usually do the trick.
  
  
• keep potpourri in different corners of your house. Good Smell from that will help in reducing the cooking smell.
  
  
• Alternatively Combine 2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) water, 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) vinegar and 1 tsp. whole cloves in a shallow, wide pan. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat later if needed.
  
  
• You can pick up a few favorite essential oils. They can be found in many floral shops or even craft and department stores or use your favorite perfume. Depending upon the scent you want, choose oil and place a few drops of it on a cotton ball then stash the cotton ball somewhere in the room you wish to scent, preferably on a small dish.
  
  
• You can make your own air freshener by taking two tablespoons of cinnamon and some orange/lemon peels or just add drops of spicy oil and boil them in a cup of water. Then allow the fresh scent to permeate throughout your house giving it a pleasant fruity smell. This will also help humidify the house as well as make it seem fresher.
  
  
• For removing cigarette odor, place a bowl of water and vinegar in the room. The vinegar-water will absorb the smoke.
  
  
• In order to remove smell of wood or fresh paint, place a bowl of coffee beans for few days in the room. It will absorb all the smell.
  
  
• Take a fresh orange, and using a toothpick poke holes through the rind. Stuff whole cloves through the holes. This makes a wonderful scent and lasts a while. You can even wrap a 1/4" - 1/2" wide ribbon around the orange so it can hang.
  
  
• To remove pungent cooking odors from cooking things such as cabbage or cauliflower, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the cooking water. You can also add lemon juice to your dishwasher cup so that it smells lemony clean.
  
  
• Spicy air freshener using apple sauce and cinnamon-
  You need 1 cup of chilled apple sauce, 1/2 cup of ground cloves, 1/2 cup of ground cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of nutmeg. Mix all ingredients together and it will form a dough. Roll the dough out until it is 1/4" thick and cut into any shape you wish, with a cookie cutter or free hand.Using a straw poke a hole in the top of the shapes for hanging. Lay out shapes on wax paper until they are completely dry, which can take 24-48 hours. Insert ribbon or string through hole and hang as desired.