Fresh Lychees / Lichi Fruits

Until I was in India, I used to call this fruit Lichi, as in lee-chee. Looks like the rest of the world calls them Lychee, as in lie-chee. Have to say the latter sounds better to me. Lichi sounds like, I don't know, leeches?

Anyway, there's no point to this post except that I wanted to share that we are getting super fresh lychees from China these days and they don't cost an arm and a less. The fruits are very refreshing and a welcome change from the super sweetened canned versions we see more often. Its a pain getting the seed in your mouth while eating but hey, small price for the fresh deliciousness.

So, how do you call this fruit? Lichi or Lychee?

Raw Mango and Coconut Gravy/Pacha Manga Curry

When it comes to making a kozhambu/chaaru curry/gravy for rice, I am normally stumped for choices, not because they aren't many, but because my answer is always sambhar or rasam or both. Yesterday, I tried this Kerala dish - a coconut based gravy with raw mangoes to give it the tangy flavour.



The wet market is overflowing with all kinds of mangoes now, mostly raw. Ripe ones are ridiculously expensive so we just eat them as is without bothering to waste even a morsel making any drinks or dessert out of it :D

Here is what I made with some nice and tangy raw mangoes.

Pacha Manga Curry

What I Used:

Serves 2

Raw mangoes - 1 cup, cubed
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Grind well together:

Coconut - 1/2 cup
Jeera - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - one pinch

For tempering:

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Dry red chillies - 3
Oil - 1 tbsp

How I Made It:

1. Close the lid and cook the mangoes in some water by adding turmeric and chilly powder, till they are tender.

2. Add the ground coconut and jeera mixture to this with some more water and bring to boil keeping the kadai open. Cook till the raw smell leaves the curry.

3. Temper the mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves and chillies and add to the above curry before removing from fire.

Note: if the mangoes are not sour enough, use some tamarind paste to increase the flavour. I used fresh raw mangoes that were sour enough so didn't need to do that.

This tangy gravy goes to Meeta for her Monthly Mingle that's all about mangoes this month.

Apple-Pear Salad with Honey Dressing

Summer is here and with it, end of March which brings in additional 'heat' of pending deadlines for events. I made this salad last week but was not very happy with the pictures. One would think I am quite used to posting bad pics on this blog but somehow, I feel bars have been raised now :D I didn't have time to make this again, so the post will have to do with bad pics.

Pears are known for its mild flavour and firmness. This is why I like them best in salads and maybe poached. Wiki also says that in some varieties, its difficult to tell apart apples and pears. This was quite surprising to me since we get only one kind of pear in Hyderabad and maybe a couple of varities of apples. And reall, its not difficult to tell them apart easily.

Anyway, I used up a couple of pears and one apple in this salad. I also experimented with some spices and flavours for the dressing and was quite pleased with the results.

What I Used:

Ripe pears - 2, cubed
Apple - 1, cubed
Honey - 4 tbsp
Lime juice - 2 tsp
Salt - 2 pinches
Cinnamon - a few small pieces
Chaat masala - one pinch

How I Made It:

1. Mix the cubed fruits well with salt, before they turn brown.

2. Sprinkle chaat masala over this.

3. Mix the honey, lime and cinnamon well and pour over the fruits just before serving.

The burst of different flavours was quite unique. I added more lime juice than necessary, so the measurement given here has been adjusted. Please check to make sure the measures are to your taste.

This fresh fruity salad goes over to Raaga's AFAM - Pears and Abby's Monthly Mingle - Fruit Sensations.

A Balanced Breakfast

"Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper." - Adelle Davis

We have heard this one a lot, haven't we? But starting from school, my food habits have always been the other way around. I almost always used to skip breakfast, have meagre lunch and come home famished, only to hog for dinner. This went on till I reached Hyderabad. Somewhere, mom's warnings and information from websites started getting me to think and I thought I might as well correct the mistakes before I get too old to do it :D

Now, my meals are as balanced as possible, and food in office helps me to do this immensely. We have a wide range of options in our office cafe and every day is a new and fresh day as far as meals are concerned.

This is my typical breakfast on weekdays. Wheat flakes with 1/2 cup milk and one tsp sugar, one cup watermelon, one cup papaya and an orange (sometimes).

Here is how each of this helps to keep me balanced throughout the day :)

Wheat Flakes

Wheat flakes are very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin A, and a very good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12 and Iron.

Papaya

Papayas have 33% more vitamin C and 50% more potassium than oranges with fewer calories. Papayas have 13 times more vitamin C and more than twice the potassium than apples. Papayas have four times more vitamin E than both apples and oranges.

Watermelon

It is an excellent source of vitamin C, and is also a very good source of vitamin A, notably through its concentration of beta-carotene. Watermelon is extremely high in water content, approximately 92%, giving its flesh a crumbly and subtly crunchy texture and making it a favorite thirst-quenching fruit.

This goes over to WBB - Balanced Breakfast, hosted by Mansi of Fun and Food. I hope to be able to peep into your breakfast plates as well, through her round up.