Choco Banana Lolly

                    

                                                           

Doesn't that look like a treat your toddler will enjoy? 
Fruits in their original form are very rarely relished by kids. Disguising a fruit as a lolly is a brilliant idea! I came across this recipe in a local magazine and I just had to try it out!!!

 It was easy, no cook, and ready in no time. Its healthy and they get their portion of fruits for the day, along with chocolate.

 I knew Zia would enjoy her banana disguised as a lolly, coated with chocolate and a generous helping of sprinkles. Try it. I'm sure your kids will enjoy this healthy treat.

To make these lollies you will need

Preparation time 8-10 minutes
Makes 2 choco banana lollies
Ingredients
1 banana
30g cooking chocolate(milk or dark. which ever your kid prefers)
2 lolly sticks
sprinkles
Method

• Place the cooking chocolate in a heatproof bowl and double boil it over a pan of hot water to melt it.
• While the chocolate is melting, cut the banana into two and insert a lolly stick in each half.

• Stir the chocolate until its smooth. Let it remain over the pan of hot water so the chocolate stays melted.
• Spoon the chocolate over each half of the banana.

• Sprinkle the lovely coloured sprinkles on the chocolate covered banana lolly and set aside for 5 minutes before your toddler can enjoy this yummy treat.

Notes

1. The original recipe used dessicated coconut instead of sprinkles. I used sprinkles because Zia would prefer them over the dessicated coconut. 
2. If you like you can serve the lolly immediately after coating it with chocolate and sprinkles. It takes 5 minutes for the chocolate to set. Serving it immediately will let your toddler enjoy the chocolate when its soft and a bit gooey. This can be a little more messy but they do enjoy this more.
3. This healthy snack can be enjoyed by grown ups too ;)
4. Its a good, easy way to finish up bananas and its enjoyed by all

Shabnam

Update

• You can spoon some lightly melted nutella on the banana instead of cooking chocolate and make it nutellicious!!! :)

Potato Wedges (oven baked)

These lightly flavoured potato wedges take no effort to make, are BAKED and go perfectly with a sandwich, which makes a great meal when I want a day off from cooking. 

They also make a lovely evening snack with tea or coffee when you are catching up with a friend :) 

Before I got this lovely recipe, I always had a packet of frozen wedges stocked in the freezer. Home made wedges are definitely more healthy cos they are made fresh, have no hydrogenated vegetable fat, can be made to suit your taste and are easy to make.

I got this lovely recipe from Ruchika who is an excellent cook and makes some yummy treats, just like these wedges.

I have used Rooster potatoes here as they are perfect for baking. If they are locally available to you, they are a good choice for baked wedges.

Here's what you will need to make potato wedges

Preparation time - 10 minutes

Cooking times 50 minutes to an hour

Serves 2 people

Ingredients

4 medium sized potatoes

2 tbsps olive oil

1 tsp chilli flakes        

1 tsp oregano

2 cloves of garlic - crushed

salt to taste

Method

• Pre heat oven to 200 degrees C.
• Wash and thickly slice the potatoes. Transfer them to a mixing bowl.

• Add the olive oil, chilli flakes, oregano, crushed garlic and salt to this. Mix well so all the slices are coated with the spices.

• Transfer to a baking tray and pop it into the pre heated oven.

• Let them bake for 50 minutes or until a lovely golden brown. 

Enjoy hot with ketchup or mayo

Notes

1. You can add coarsely ground black pepper instead of chilli flakes depending on your taste.
2. Check on the wedges after half an hour and turn over a few if need be.

Shabnam

Lamb Stew

Stew, Ishtu....whatever you want to call it.....tastes amazing with dosas and aapams and so reminds me of home
Stew is usually a mixture of solid foods cooked in liquid and this mixture is then served as the gravy. The solid foods usually include vegetables like carrots, beans, peas, potatoes and any meat of your choice. Plain veg stew is great too.
The liquid I used to cook the stew in is stock(of lamb) but a lot of people use wine, beer, and the likes...

Stew is usually cooked on low flame in the liquid ingredient which enables the flavour to mingle with all the vegetables.
Most stews are thin, they are thickened using either corn starch, arrow root etc,....
The thickening agent I have used here is coconut milk which adds a lovely rich flavour to the stew.

This is a dish I've learned from my mum. Every time I make it, I get nostalgic and think about my days back home, when I was in school/college and this stew was a treat for me. Now of course, I have to make it myself but its still a treat for me ;) and my family.
Like most of my dishes, this one is also very easy to prepare but it does take a while to cook since it is prepared on low flame.
To make stew you will need