Saffron Trail

healthy vegetarian cooking

Saffron Trail Digest

2013 – The Year that was. A recap.

Over a slice of rum-soaked fruitcake and steaming hot chai, I realise that 2013 was a reasonably productive year for me. But memory fails me the details and I don’t have a ‘dear diary’ to fall back on, so this is an attempt to capture all that I remember. The year started with a surprise birthday pa

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  • There’s a LOT of uphill and downhill walking in #Lisbon - it is after all known as the city of 7 hills. If you ever visit this city, forget about heels and any fancy sandals or flip flops. Sneakers are your best friend. I loved that my white sneakers did double duty for all that day time trekking as well as evening fine dining. Also, when you’re in Lisbon, you can’t help but admire the graffiti which covers nearly every single space. It borders on crazy when you see ATM screens and station names sprayed with paint 🤯 but that’s how it is here :) . To see all my posts from Lisbon, click on #stlisbon
  • 🌚 Considering my sisterhood who were into fasting for Karva Chauth, and some of them had issued friendly warnings, I’m posting this food pic on Insta after the moon is out 💕 🌝 . {FULL RECIPE BELOW} Sweet potato latkes made using homegrown sweet potatoes and @_farmmade eggs- love the sunshine yellow yolks of these free-range eggs. . Get the full recipe below- Save the post to try the recipe for your weekend brunch 😍 or swipe to see recipe text in images . 🍠Sweet potato Latkes 🍠 . Makes 4 . 1 medium sweet potato 1 medium onion 2 eggs 1/4 cup oat flour 1/2 tsp salt 2-3 tbsp finely chopped celery stalk (optional) 1 tbsp crushed dried herbs of choice (oregano/basil) 1/2 tsp ground black pepper  2-3 tbsp oil . Peel and grate the sweet potato and onion coarsely. Squeeze out excess liquid and place in a bowl. Into the bowl, add the whisked eggs, flour, salt, celery, herbs and pepper. Combine well. Heat oil in a flat pan. Use 3 tbsp of the mix per latke. Spoon 2-3 latkes and cook each side for 5. Flip over and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve with sour cream or a salad. . For more such recipes follow @saffrontrail #stcooks
  • #ad| If there's one thing in my cooking repertoire I'm proud of, it is the perfect phulka - thin, neat circle and fully fluffed up. There is no rocket science here, but just two things - good quality atta and skill (this of course needs a fair bit of practice). 🍃 Here are 7 tips for making a perfectly good phulka: 1. #AsliPhulkeWalaAtta from @fortune.foods 2. Just enough water to make a soft and smooth dough. Too less water and the rotis wont turn out soft. Too much water and you'll have a tough time rolling them out 3. Rest the dough for 30 minutes 4. Roll each portion out such that it is of uniform thickness throughout - take care that you don't thin out the centre and keep the edges thick.  5. Cooking it on one side for just enough time until you see some air bubbles on the surface, flip over and cook this side for slightly longer 6. Flip over the first side on the flame directly until it puffs up and remove it from the flame 7. Keep rotis wrapped in a muslin cloth and keep warm inside an insulated case . Do you have a tip for making the softest rotis? {#sponsored content}
  • It’s #WorldFoodDay and here are the 5 things I wish we incorporated into our lives. 🍃1. Support local farmers - food tastes better due to lesser transit and storage, more sustainable and keeps them in business. 🍃2. Learn to cook simple food at home. Ordering in on a regular basis contributes to increased emissions from the transportation, increased plastic waste and is definitely not good for health in the long run. 🍃3. Zero food waste - Buy just enough, cook just enough and contribute to the hungry or community fridges in case of excess food. In a country where 19.4 Crore people go hungry each year, it is criminal to waste food. See next tip too. 🍃4. Reuse leftovers - Indian cuisine is anyway full of these tricks like phodni chapati, idli upma, rice varieties and dal parathas. 🍃5. Grow whatever little food you can in your home. A window sill can support a few herbs, chillies and tomatoes. There’s great pride in growing your grub, however small a step that might be. . What’s the one thing that you would recommend on #worldfoodday? . That’s me enjoying a Navratra Thali when we were traveling in Ludhiana earlier this month. PC: @ritcha
  • What was a most appealing dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in Lisbon @arkherestaurante - beautiful and delicious dishes conceptualized by chef @joaord1984 . I did peek into the kitchen to compliment him and say hello which is how I got his Instagram handle :) . Every dish brought us an unusual yet stunning presentation and new flavours - husband, son and I, we all loved the food and the minimalistic decor. The portions are kinda small, just enough to serve one person and we ordered multiple dishes between the three of us. 2 out of the 4 appetisers and 3 of the 4 mains were tried and yet it was light enough for us to trek back to our @airbnb a few (uphill) streets away. . The chocolate fondant 70% was indeed a show stopper which is which it's the cover of this post ♥️ . We read up some reviews and saw that even those who are not vegan / Vegetarian raving about the place and they were not wrong at all :) check out the lovely minimal decor with plants! . Highly recommend if you happen to visit #Lisbon - check all my Lisbon travel posts by clicking on #stlisbon
  • Wherever I go, I make it a point to visit the local market. You learn so much about what the locals eat and their food habits. When in #Lisbon, you absolutely must visit the Mercado da Ribeira which is adjacent to the famous @timeoutmarketlisboa - my pictures don't do justice to the abundant fresh produce stocked up here. Click on #stlisbon to see all my posts from my vacation. #lisboa
  • 🌳🌳🌳🌳Happiest in the company of trees🌳 🌳🌳🌳 #stlisbon
  • The Portuguese egg tarts just came out of the oven at Pasteleria Gregorio at Sintra run by this amazing lady who was most warm and welcoming. The coffee was superb and the simplest of toasted jam and cheese-honey were made to perfection. If you happen to visit Sintra, you MUST stop by for a coffee and a pastry here. Swipe to see all the sweet treats in their glass cases :) Follow @saffrontrail #STLisbon #sintra

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