A hot drink that will boost your health and hopefully will make your cough disappear!

So my family has been down with flu, cold, viral, sinus and other infections for the last 4 weeks, and I found a tiny steadily growing cough in my throat as well.

You have to know that I am a bit hypochondriac, and now I am scared to fall as ill as everybody else around me.

I am usually hesitant in taking antibiotics, and am trying out every home remedy before, unless antibiotics become the only way to get well again.

We have a friend staying over to support us in our misery until Christmas (or until we get well again before that), and she made us a drink today, which is one of her Nepali aunties favourite home remedies against a cold or cough: Basar Pani.

For 3 cups (200ml each) it will take about 15 min, and here is the way how to make it, and what’s inside:

• 700ml Water
• 1/2 tsp Tumeric powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• a pinch of Ajowan seeds
• 0.5cm ginger, crushed
• Juice from 1/2 Lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Add all ingredients with water into a pot, except Lemon and Salt.

Bring to boil and keep boiling with almost closed lid for about 10-15 min. If the Tumeric is of good quality, you will get a reddish colour. Wait until liquid has reduced by about 10-15%.

Filter liquid into three cups, and add Lemon juice and Salt as you like. I used about 1/3 lemon and a good pinch of Salt for my cup. Drink hot! Cheers!

When adding the lemon juice, the colour of the Besar Pani Drink turns back into yellow (or white if minor quality).

Drink at least once a day. (If you can)

And be aware of tumeric stains on your clothes. They will stay there forever.

Hello again! It has been one year, my life has gotten a new direction and I am keen to continue my blog. Today, I will introduce you to a dish I learned in Nepal. If you have a cold, if you are feeling weak, if the world is just a bit too much and your muscles ache, this dish will get you gently back on track. And it isn’t too complicated.

First of all, here is what you need to feed two human beings:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Basmati Rice

1/2 cup Split Mung Dal

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp Ghee (if you like)

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds

1 medium Yellow Onion, diced

1-2 garlic toes, diced small

1 cm ginger julienned

handful Green Peas (if you like)

For the Masala, mix the following spices:

2/3 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1/2 tsp Coriander Powder

1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

This is how it is done:

You can use a pressure pot, or a normal thick bottomed pot. The difference is the total cooking time. Pressure Pot needs two whistles and about 20min while it will take about 30min in the normal pot.

Wash Rice and Mung Dal and let it soak for a bit. In the meantime, cut onions, garlic, etc. and prepare the Masala Mix.

Heat the oil (and ghee) and add Cumin Seeds and Mustard Seeds. Wait until they crackle and add onions. Stir for about 3 min.

Add ginger and garlic, roast for 2 min then add Masala Mix. Stir for 1 minute.

Add drained rice and Mung dal, stir and fill up with 4 cups of water.

Add green peas and cover the pressure pot, and wait for two whistles, switching off the heat, letting it simmer for another 10 min before open.

With the normal pot, cook until rice and dal are soft. If needed add a bit more water.

Ready to be served. Enjoy!

Here we go, back to cook fish…. It has been a tough week, and I haven’t had the chance to prepare for an elaborate meal.

I believe though, that a delicious dish does not have to be elaborate all the time. So this is the reason why I will show you how to cook a quick and easy pasta with a mix of sardines and tuna. You need one can each, and of course, my favorite, olives and some more items to create a tasty everyday life dish:

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 400 g penne
• 1 can sardines in olive oil
• 1 can of tuna in olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 cup of olive, cut in 3
• 1/2 tbsp dried Rosemary or one fresh sprig
• 5 medium tomatoes diced
• 1 tbsp tomatoe paste
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 50 ml of red wine

(1) Open the cans, keeping the fish aside, pour the oil into a pan and start frying garlic, olives, chili flakes and rosemary for 5min on high heat.

(2) Pour in the red wine, mix well and let boil until wine has almost disappeared.

(3) Add Tomatoe paste and cook for a minute, setting heat to medium. Then add cut tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook until tomatoes have mixed well and started to thicken.

(4) Add sardines and tuna and mix well. Lower the heat to 1/3, cover and let simmer for about 10min.

(5) Serve with penne. Done. Bon appetit!

Pictures will follow soon!

It is Sunday, and I was invited by friends to cook this dish together at their place. Unfortunately I caught a cold and have to stay put. But since cooking is my biggest hobby, no cold can prevent me from cutting onions, garlic and mix different spices creating different masalas. Our friends will come and pick up their share, and I will happily add the recipe here, so they will not depend on me next time, when their tongues are craving for this south Indian dish. I have to admit that it is usually cooked with chicken or lamb. I prefer beef. Your choice to make it with anything you like.

Update, because of a south Indian bird whispered in my ear after reading: it should be semi dry. And the spelling of the dish is: Meat Ularthiyathu. And the colour is dark red. I will not photoshop but try out a different way next time. To get the south Indian approval stamp.

Ingredients:

Masala:

• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp anis seeds
• 4 cm cinnamon stick crushed
• 4 cloves
• 3 cardamom pods

For the gravy:

• 150 ml vegetable oil
• 3-4 medium onions, sliced
• 10 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
• 4 cm ginger, julienned
• 1/2 cup curry leaves
• 1.5 cups grated coconut
• 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp salt
• 250 ml water

• 1.5 kg beef goulash

(1) Mix all masala ingredients and grind them into a fine powder.

(2) In a pressure cooker (you can use a normal pot instead, cooking time will be longer according to when meat is soft) add oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Fry until mustard seeds pop.

(3) Add onions and fry until soft.

(4) Add garlic and ginger. Fry for 3-4 min.

(5) Add the meat and fry until outer layer is completely cooked.

(6) Add the masala and salt and cook for 3-4 min. Then deglaze with rice vinegar.

(7) Add grated coconut, water. Mix well and cover pressure cooker. Cook until meat is tender and soft. It took about 10 whistles with my pressure cooker. I always let it cook with open lid until the gravy starts to thicken. Serve with paratha or rice.

I started this blog with an aim to post one recipe per week. Today it’s Friday again, and Friday has been our day to eat fish. For those of you who don’t like fish: Don’t worry, I will post something else soon.

I wanted to cook something new so I did some research how fish could be cooked, and found Moqueca, a Fish Stew from Brasil. This recipe is my adaption to what I found online.

Ingredients:

• 650 g Red Snapper filets
• 1 lime
• 2-3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 6 garlic cloves
• 3 carrots
• 1 red paprika
• 1/2 yellow paprika
• 1 green chili ( I could not get jalapeños, but the green chili worked very well)
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 400 ml can of diced tomato
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 300 ml fish stock
• 400 ml coconut milk/cream
• cilantro
• salt to taste and to marinate the fish with

(1) Cut the fish filets in bite size chunks, get 1/2 of the zest and 2 Tbsp of juice from the lime (keep the other half of zest and leftover juice aside. You can mix it with rice as a side dish) and mix everything adding one teaspoon of salt. Let it marinate while you start preparing for the stew.

(2) Thinly dice the onions and green chili. Cut carrots and paprika in cubes, crush garlic, chop cilantro.

(3) Heat the coconut oil in a pot/pan and fry the onions on high heat until they turn lightly brown.

(4) Add carrots, paprika, carlic and chili and slow cook on medium heat for about 8min.

(5) Add sweet paprika, cumin, tomato purée and fish stock. Bring to simmer, then add diced tomatoes. Cover the pot and cook for 10min.

(6)Add coconut milk and salt to taste.

(7) Gently add the marinated fish and let boil until fish is done. Make sure to cover the fish in the sauce. Before serving, add cilantro. Bon appetit!

(8) Rice garnished with leftover lime zest and juice fits well. Put up some Brazilian Jazz music and start dreaming while eating.

Since this is my first recipe, and also one of my favorites, I will start with the recipe right away:

Ingredients serving 4:

• 600g Cod filet
• 1 big onion, halved and sliced
• 10-15 garlic cloves with skin
• 2 paprika of different color, diced into 2cm squares
• 30 seedless olives ( I used a mix of spicy and herb olives)
• 2 big tomatoes, chopped into 2cm cubes
• thyme, salt, pepper, 1-2 dried red chili
• olive oil
• 100ml white wine
• 500g butter potatoes
• 1/4 fish stock cube
• chopped parsley
• fresh squeezed lemon juice

(1)Wash the potatoes and boil them with enough water and the quarter fish stock cube. (2)Heat up 3-4 tbs of olive oil in a pan/pot, adding a sprig of thyme, the garlic cloves and 1-2 red dried chilies. (3)When garlic starts to get brown, add onions and cook on medium heat until soften. (4)Add paprika and olives, a bit of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Let boil for 5min, then pour in white wine and mix well. Wait 2min. (5)Place salted and peppered fish filets on top of the olive/paprika mix, reduce heat to 1/3 and cook for 15min with the lid closed. (6) Oil an oven form and put in the boiled potatoes. (7)Make a layer by mashing the potatoes. (8) Add fish filets as second layer, then rest of the pan mix except liquids. (9) Add chopped tomatoes and pour over leftover liquid from pan. Put in the oven for 30min at 175 degrees. (10) Serve and garnish with parsley. You may want to add a bit of freshly squeezed lemon too. Bon appetit!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•