Mayo Cheese Dip

Before I was married, my friends and I used to spend most of our Friday nights watching FRIENDS on DVD and munching on something all night. I used to whip up something new on every such ‘FRIENDS’ night. There were a lot of good surprises and quite a few disasters as well.

Once in a while, especially on a weekend, I like not eating regular dinner but munching on snacks and playing/chatting/watching TV all night. One item that comes very handy on such occasions in the Mayo Cheese Dip. I learnt it from another friend years ago and is a favorite among my friends even now. Serve it with potato chips, french fries, khakra or even papad. Cut carrot, capsicum and cucumber length wise, dip and relish.

Serves: 2 - 3
Preperation: 15 mins

You will need:

Mayonnaise – 1 Tbspn
Cheese Spread – 1 Tbspn
Thick Curd – 1 Tbspn
Carrot – 1 tspn finely chopped
Capsicum – 1 tspn finely chopped
Green chillies – 2 finely chopped
Lemon juice – 1/4th tsp
Salt – to taste
Oregano- to garnish

Method:

Mix the mayonnaise, cheese spread and curd together in a bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients, except Oregano, and mix well.
Sprinkle oregano and serve.

Note: Make sure not to add any water from the curd to maintain a good consistency of the dip.

Majika Rasam

With the temperature soaring by the day our body and mind start craving for food that is soothing to the stomach. One such soothing item is majika/chaas/buttermilk.

Here is a quick recipe made from majika. It is a popular summer dish of South India. With the basic ingredient that you have in your kitchen you can make Majika Rasam.


Serves 2-3
Preperation: 10 mins
Cooking: 5 mins

You will need:

Curd: 1 cup
Water: 3/4th cup
Oil: 1th tspn
Onion (small): 1 thinly sliced
Tomatoes (small): 1 diced (optional)
Green chillies: 3-4 chopped
Cumin seeds: 1/4th tspn
Mustard Seeds: 1/4th tspn
Curry leaves: 5 to 6 leaves
Dry Red Chillies: 2 broken into half
Turmeric Powder: 1/2th tspn
Asafetida (Hing) : ¼ tspn (optional)
Salt: to taste

Method:

Step 1
Make buttermilk by adding water to the curd and keep aside.

Step 2
In a pan heat oil and add cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
When they splutter add the curry leaves, dry red chillies, asafetida, and turmeric powder.
After about half a minute add the green chillies and onions (and tomatoes if using) and sauté for a minute.

Step 3
Turn off the gas and add the buttermilk to the sautéed mixture and mix well.

Enjoy it with hot rice on a hot afternoon.

Note: Add the buttermilk after turning off the gas so that it does not curdle.