Juhi Chawla
My favourite recipe is mango almond milkshake. I relish it because summer is the time to enjoy mangoes to the fullest. This mango shake is simple to make, yummy, healthy, and children love it too. It can also be made with kaccha dudh (raw milk) instead of almond milk. But, I recommend making fresh almond milk at home.
Mango Almond Milkshake
Ingredients
1 medium sized Alphonso mango cut into pieces
1 cup almond milk (cold)
1 or 2 dates
A little brown jaggery (optional, you may skip if you want to go easy on sweet)
1 elaichi banana (cut into pieces)
¼ cup regular milk
Method: Blend mango pieces, dates, elaichi banana, and a little jaggery. Add cold almond milk and ¼ cup regular cold milk. Blend it well. Pour into glasses, garnish with tiny mango pieces and serve.
To make almond milk: Soak almonds for a day or more (the longer they are soaked, the softer they become and blending them becomes easier). Remove the almond skins, put them into the blender, add little water and blend. Keep adding little water till you get a nice almond milk. Refrigerate and consume within a day or two.
Kalki
Quiches always were a Sunday special at home; my mum would make them. I started experimenting with different ingredients and came up with this one. Since my husband doesn’t eat meat, this is the vegetarian version. But I often add bacon when it’s for meat eaters.
Quirky Quiche
Ingredients
For the filling:
300 gms broccoli
2 medium sized onions (finely sliced)
3 tablespoons butter (to sauté the onions)
1 teaspoon coconut sugar or jaggery
Roquefort cheese or any strong blue cheese (as required)
4 eggs
½ cup fresh cream or milk
For the dough
8 soup spoons flour (maida)
A pinch of salt
100 gms butter (cut into small cubes)
Little water
1 teaspoon butter to grease the dish
Some flour to dust the dough
Method to make the filling: Cut the broccoli into medium sized florets and wash it well. Steam the broccoli till it is just right for munching. In a non-stick pan, lightly heat butter. Add the sliced onions along with a teaspoon of coconut sugar or jaggery and sauté the onions on a low flame till the they turn golden brown. In a bowl, crumble the cheese and keep aside. In another bowl break the eggs, add fresh cream or milk and beat the egg mixture till smooth. Keep aside.
Method to make the dough: In a big bowl, add flour along with a pinch of salt. Add butter and when the butter softens knead the mixture till it becomes crumbly. Add water little by little and knead until you make a dough. The idea here is to use as little water as possible to keep the dough together; the less water, the crunchier the dough.
To assemble: Butter your glass dish, roll out your dough (dust it with lots of flour on both sides so it doesn’t stick) and place it on the dish. Blind bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C. Take the dough out and evenly spread the broccoli and caramelised onions on it. Sprinkle the Roquefort cheese and pour the egg mixture over it. Return to the oven and bake at 180 degrees C for 25 minutes. Serve hot with a side of salad and a glass of red wine for a complete experience.
Isha Koppikar
My favourite recipe is Chia pudding; my daughter Rianna loves it too, both of us relish Chia pudding during breakfast. It is almost like a dessert and it is wholesome and a great way protein in the form of chia seeds and peanut butter, calcium and some protein in the form of milk and nice complex carbs. It's a whole meal before Rianna goes to school. I eat the same when I come back from my workouts. I eat half spoon of protein powder with it.
Chia pudding
Ingredients
5 tablespoons chia seeds
Sufficient water to soak the chia seeds
3 tablespoons yoghurt
2 to 3 tablespoons milk (if needed )
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Handful of chopped fresh fruits
Handful of chopped dry fruits
Method: Soak chi a seeds in sufficient water. Following morning in a bowl place the soaked chia seeds, top it with some yoghurt, milk if needed, peanut butter, some seasonal fresh fruits and dry fruits. Have it like a dessert and enjoy.
Alka Yagnik
My favourite recipe is, believe it or not, khichdi made by my mom. It was extremely yummy and although it’s a simple dish, there was some magic in her hands. My mom is no more, but it remains my favourite dish and every time I cook khichdi at home I think of her. I miss her so so much. I love this simple khichdi steamed with hing, haldi and salt, and for additional taste add ghee to it.
Khichdi
Ingredients
1 bowl rice (preferably small grain rice)
½ bowl yellow moong dal
¼ teaspoon asafoetida powder ( hing)
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Sufficient water (approximately 3-4 bowls) to cook the khichdi
1-2 tsp ghee
Method: Wash the rice and dal together four to five times in water. Soak them for 30 minutes. Drain out the water and transfer the rice and dal to a pressure cooker. Add asafoetida powder, turmeric powder, salt and sufficient water. Mix well. Pressure cook till one whistle on a high flame. Simmer for two whistles. Turn off the flame and let the steam pressure come down naturally. It will take around eight to 10 minutes. Open the cooker and serve hot with a spoonful of ghee on it. Serve with curds, papad, pickle,, green chilli and some chopped onions to add spice to it.
(PS: The khichdi is neither liquidy nor thick somewhere in between)