Pumpkin Spice Latte / Pumpkin Spiced Instant Coffee

The market is brimming with pumpkins and the food blog world is abuzz with pumpkin recipes. I am a little late this year with my pumpkin recipe for the season. I wanted to make and post my favorite pumpkin recipes of the fall. Pumpkin Spice Latte.. Now this here is not a traditional recipe since I have used instant coffee powder instead of espresso. But I like it that way. If you are a fan of Pumpkin Spice Latte like I am you would love this.
Previous Years' Pumpkin Recipes - Pumpkin Pasties; Pumpkin Cranberry Scones.

Ingredients:
For the Pumpkin Spiced Syrup
Pumpkin Puree - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup (reduce to 3/4 cup if using home made pumpkin puree)
Brown Sugar (packed) - 1/3 cup
Ground Cinnamon - 2 tsp
Ground Dry Ginger - 1 tsp
Ground Cloves - 1 tsp (use 1/2 tsp if grinding fresh at home)
Ground Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp (use little shy of 1/2 tsp if grinding fresh at home)

For Pumpkin Spice Latte with Instant Coffee Powder
Makes - 2 servings
Milk - 1-1/3 cups (See Notes below)
Pumpkin Spiced Syrup - 2/3 cup
Instant Coffee powder - 3/4 tsp (this is for 2 servings. Adjust according to desired coffee strength)

Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan and heat in medium flame. When it starts bubbling, remove from heat and allow to cool.
Heat milk until warm and mix with pumpkin spiced syrup and coffee powder. Mix well until the coffee is distributed well. Serve hot topped with milk foam or whipped cream.
Notes:
I tried to sweeten the syrup with agave but I personally loved the syrup with good ol' sugar. You could make latte immediately after the syrup is done.  But I personally liked it after 2 days when all the spices meld and give a wonderful flavour. The Pumpkin spice syrup can be stored for upto a week in the refrigerator.
I used low fat milk. Whole milk or half and half or a combination of both can be used. No sugar/sweetener is needed for the latte since the sugar in the syrup should be good. 

Linking it hot to Flavours of USA & Canada.

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Strawberry Banana Smoothie | Summer Drinks

Strawberry and Banana is a delightful combo isn't it? Strawberry giving the sweet and slightly tangy flavour wonderfully masks yet complements the banana's taste. I love this combo and have tried it in a number of different ways, the most frequent one is this smoothie. You can really play around with the proportion of the fruits-yogurt-milk and still end up with a great tasting smoothie.

Ingredients:
Serves - 2
Strawberries - 6 or 8
Banana - 1 big
Greek Yogurt - 3/4 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar / Any sweetener of your choice - 4 tsp

Method:
Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Serve chilled garnished with strawberries and a drizzle of melted chocolate.
Linking this up to Jagruti's My Bowl of Snack.

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Bridal Shower for Nithya - Badam Kheer / Almond Milk

What is a celebration without a traditional drink. Badam Kheer!! This is an easy to make Almond drink which tastes great when warm and still better when served chilled. And what are we celebrating?? Nithya's (virtual) Bridal Shower. I bet you would very well know Nithya of 4thsensecooking. For those of you who don't, Nithya is a lovely blogger and an excellent photographer. Do check out her space for some beautiful food clicks. 
We are celebrating this joyous occasion by having a bridal shower. And what better way to celebrate than to cook up, and by cook up we mean literally with food our common interest. To make it even more interesting we decided to make dishes from her space itself. I am bringing Badam Kheer and Tollhouse Cookies. Do check out Nithya's recipe here.
Also do check out who else are participating in the celebration. And for you come join the fun!!

Ingredients:
Serves - 4
Milk - 500 ml (approx 2 cups)
Almonds/Badam - 20 to 25
Sugar - 4 tbsp
Saffron strands - 5-6
Hot water - 1 cup

Method:
Soak the almonds in hot water for an hour. Peel the almonds by just pressing hard with the thumb and index finger. The skin would just come off easily. Puree the almonds in a mixer using little water until it becomes a smooth paste. Heat the milk and sugar until it boils. Take about a tbsp of hot milk and add the saffron strands. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the ground almond paste and allow it to boil for another 5 mins. Remove from heat and add the saffron milk. Serve warm. You can also refrigerate for 2-4 hrs and serve chilled. 

Also do check out the virtual bridal shower party also being hosted at:

Anamika - Taste Junction
Archana - Mad Scientist's Kitchen
Priya Mitharwal - Mharo Rajasthan Recipes
Priya Mahadevan - Priyas Now Serving
Priya Suresh - Priya Easy n Tasty Recipes
Priya Sreeram - Bon Appetit
Radhika - Tickling Palates
Radhika Vasanth - Food for 7 stages of life
Reva - Kaarasaaram
Rupali - Recipe Grab Bag
Sanjeeta - Different Strokes
Vardhini - Zesty Palette

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Spicy Cucumber Buttermilk / Vellari Neer Mor

When we were kids we always used to enjoy summer holidays at grandma's. We used to play all day with our cousins not worrying about the hot weather. Those were the days when the fast foods or bottled drinks were not famous much and all food and coolers where home made daily with fresh ingredients and lots of love by grandma and aunts. Other than the regular meals, mid-mornings and evenings are always time for something cool, like flavored buttermilk, kambu koozh (Pearl millet porridge), ragi koozh (Finger millet porridge), fruit juices, cut fruits etc.,. Time for another summer cooler now. 

Ingredients:
Curd/Yogurt - 3/4 cup
Water - 2 1/2 cups
Cucumber - 1 big - cubed - approx 1.5 cup chopped
Salt - to taste
Green chillis - 1/2 of a small one (Do not add more than that)
Cilantro / Coriander leaves - 2 twigs
Grated ginger - to garnish

Method:
Blend together the curd and water in a blender adding salt to taste. You may use buttermilk if you have. If using store bought buttermilk, dilute with some water to make about 3 1/2 cups and make sure it is not sour. Set aside. Now add the cucumber to the blender with about 1 cup of buttermilk (just made). Pop in the green chillies and cilantro. Blend until smooth and mix with the remaining buttermilk. Serve chilled with cilantro and grated ginger.
Tip: You can even garnish with little asafoetida fried in a little oil.

P.S. The green colored lining in the glass is the cucumber peel, which I used like a ribbon to give a colorful accent to the glasses..

Sending this to Serve It-Chilled event happening at Denny's Oh Taste n See.

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Carrot Kheer - Celebrating 100th post

Today I am very happy to draft my 100th post in Krithi's Kitchen. I am super-excited and would like to thank all my readers and fellow bloggers for the support. I also want to thank my DH (my constructive critic), family and friends for giving inputs and feedbacks on my journey so far. As in any tradition, a celebration calls for something sweet. I made Carrot kheer to celebrate!
I tasted this kheer after a long time at our friend Anu's house during Boston trip. She was more than happy to share the recipe.

Ingredients:

Carrot - 4 medium sized - approx chopped 1 cup
Milk (fat free or reduced fat) - 4 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup or to taste
Water - 1/4 cup

Method:
Pressure cook the chopped carrots with water and just a pinch of salt for 3 whistles. If cooking on stove top, cover and cook until the carrots are very soft. Allow it to cool and puree the cooked carrots in a blender. Boil the milk and allow to cool to room temperature. Mix the pureed carrots, milk and sugar. Pop it in the fridge until time of serve. Garnish with finely grated carrots and Serve it Chilled.
Tip: You may cook and add almonds or pistachios if desired. Make sure you cut the carrots and not grate it. Grated carrots may not puree well (grandma's tip). You can add a tad bit of salt while cooking carrots. This brings out the sweetness well.

This is my first entry to our event Serve It - Chilled happening at Denny's Oh Taste N See for this month.

Also sending to the following events, Kid's Delight - Summer Cooler event by PJ and Srivalli, Only - Coolers and Mocktails event by Pari and Nayna, Summer Coolers event by Sukanya, Show me your Summer Cooler event by Divya.

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Mango Lassi

Happy Ugadi to everyone! Back home in India grandma would make Ugadi Pachhadi. This pachchadi is made with Neem flowers, jaggery, green chillies, salt, tamarind juice, raw mango, i.e. with six tastes which signifies that life consists of six different experiences and should be taken with equal acceptance. I miss the Bevu-Bella (Neem-jaggery) pachadis. 

Mango Lassi is my favorite beverage and I can have it pretty much every day. Using kesar mango is the key to the great taste in par to the restaurant style mango lassis. Fresh kesar mangoes are always a great choice but tinned mango pulp works perfectly fine. Canned Kesar Mango pulp can be found in any Indian grocery store.

Ingredients:
Serves-2
Plain Yogurt - 1 cup (240 ml) - I used low-fat home-made
Kesar Mango pulp - 1/2 cup (120 ml)
Milk - 3 tbsp or more (approx 50 - 60 ml)
Sugar/Honey - 2 tsp - adjust according to the sweetness of the mango


Method:
Blend all the ingredients together and serve chilled.

Sending this Mango Lassi to Healing Foods - Mango event by Siri, guest hosted by Reva of Kaarasaaram and the Hearth and Soul Hop #42.

Sending this to Srivalli's Kid's Delight hosted by Nupur of UK-Rasoi, for the month of April 2012.

Mango

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Strawberry Apple Smoothie

Strawberry and banana is my favorite combination for a smoothie. I tried replacing apple for banana the other day and still loved it. This is not a rare combo. It is perfect for a healthy breakfast or for hunger pangs at 4 PM, which keeps you satisfied and going until dinner. 

Ingredients:
Strawberries - 5 or 6, hulled 
Apple - 1/2 of a medium sized, peeled and chopped
Milk - 2/3 cup 
Plain yogurt - 1/3 cup (I use homemade)
Sugar/Honey - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp


Method:
Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Can top with ice cubes if desired. Serve chilled.
I am sending this simple and delicious smoothie to Monthly Mingle: Think Pink event by Meeta, guest hosted by Sarah of Maison Cupcake.

Strawberry

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Strawberry Iced Tea

Iced tea is a great alternative to the carbonated beverages carrying just sugar and empty calories. I opted for my favorite Strawberry and it came out very well with a light and pretty pink color. Loved it and I am gonna make it more often. 

Ingredients:
Tea bags - 2 (May use Black or Green Tea. I used Green) ~ 2 tsp
Water - 600 ml
Strawberries - about 8-10
Water - 1/4 cup
Sugar/Honey - 3 tsp or to taste

Method:
Heat 600 ml of water and when it is rolling boil, add the tea bags. After a minute, turn off heat, cover and steep for a minimum of 20-30 mins and allow to cool. Hull the strawberries and finely puree using 1/4 cup of water. Strain and mix this juice to the cooled tea. Add sweetness to taste and serve chilled or with ice-cubes. I just served chilled.

I am sending this to 'Veggie/Fruit a Month - Strawberry' event by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan, guest hosted by Pari. Also sending this to 'Cooking with Fruits' event by Smita.

Strawberry

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Blueberry Dates Smoothie

I was planning to send in my smoothie entry for 'Breakfast Club- Yogurt' but I completely forgot about it. I was under the impression that the deadline was on Jan 31 but suddenly remembered it was today. I initially planned to whip up blueberry nut smoothie which would be perfect for a breakfast, now also added some dates to reduce the amount of white sugar I add and also to tweak in iron. I just made this as a single serving just for me and I loved it. It was so yummy and filling.

Ingredients:
Serves-1
Blueberries (fresh or frozen) - 3 oz
Low-fat Plain Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Dates - 5 or 6
Walnuts - 2 tbsp
Sugar or honey - 1/2 tsp or according to taste

Method:
Blend all the ingredients in a blender/mixie/food processor. Add sugar/honey according to taste. Remember the dates would already have some sweetness.
Serve chilled. This can be prepared the previous day and frozen/chilled in the refrigerator and can be grabbed as a quick breakfast to-go.

Sending this to 'Breakfast Club - Yogurt' event by Sarah of Maison cupcake and Helen of Fuss free Flavors.



I am also sending this to Smita's 'Cooking with Fruits' event.

Sending this to Srivalli's Kid's Delight hosted by Nupur of UK-Rasoi, for the month of April 2012.











Breakfast Smoothies

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