Blueberries and Melon with Honey-Lime Dressing

Fruit Salad

Did you enjoy watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe this summer? I look forward to summer because I enjoy the wide variety of fruits that are available. Don’t forget to eat your fruits in the autumn as well! The watermelons that I picked up from the local farm stand recently were the best.

Here is a simple recipe for blueberries and melon with honey-lime dressing. Make it for breakfast, brunch, or for a light supper.

Blueberries and Melon with Honey-Lime Dressing
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons lime juice
¼ cup honey
1 lb honeydew
1 cup fresh blueberries
A few mint leaves for garnishing

Directions:
Whisk lime juice and honey in a small bowl. Cut the honeydew into bite size pieces and put them into another bowl. Add the blueberries to them. Drizzle honey-lime dressing over them, and toss gently. Serve in pretty individual glass fruit bowls and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Fishless Tuna Cutlets

Fishless Tuna CutletsI’m sure you’ve experienced a “high” from doing something you love. That’s how I felt yesterday when I was writing this blog. I held my second cooking class this past Sunday. The compliments and praise I received for the recipes had my spirits soaring! I met some old friends and even made some new ones. Best of all, the audience relished the food, had fun, and learned how to make four of my favorite Indian dishes. My sincere thanks to those of you who attended and to Calvin David for partnering with me. And, of course, we couldn’t have done it without the assistance of Usha David and Amelia David.

I demoed my Fishless Tuna Cutlets at the cooking class and since they were a hit, I thought I would share the recipe with my readers as well. This recipe can be used in different ways. You could make burgers and serve them in buns like I did in the picture below. Alternatively, you could make cutlets and serve them as a side dish with a meal. They would also taste awesome stuffed in pita bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and topped with a yoghurt-cucumber sauce. Yum! Try it out and come up with your own way of using this recipe. I’d love to see your results – share them on my Facebook page.

Fishless Tuna Cutlets
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes: 10-15

Ingredients:
3 Yukon gold potatoes, boiled, skins removed, and mashed, (about 3 cups)
2 cans (13oz/369g) Fishless Tuna, well drained
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped, (about ½ cup)
1 Roma tomato, diced
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
5 mint leaves, finely chopped (optional)
3 green chillies, finely chopped (depending on heat and your preference, optional)
3 teaspoons chilli flakes, (depending on heat and your preference, optional)
½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander powder
3 teaspoons dry mango powder, (amchur, optional)
¼ cup Bengal gram flour, (besan)
1 egg
salt
Oil for shallow frying

Directions:
Add the potatoes, Fishless Tuna, green bell pepper, onion, tomato, cilantro, mint, green chillies, chili flakes, whole cumin seeds, coriander powder, dry mango powder, Bengal gram flour (besan), egg, and salt into a large bowl. Mix well. Form the cutlets and put them on a small tray.

Place a medium-sized non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add oil for shallow frying. Add a few cutlets at a time. If you over crowd the pan, it will be difficult to turn the cutlets over. Wait until you see the bottom edges of the cutlets turn golden brown in color. Then gently turn them over. Fry the other side until golden. Remove and place on a paper towel lined baking tray.

Notes:
1. Drain the Fishless Tuna and discard the water. Put the tuna in a sieve and press it with a wooden spoon so you can get all the water out before you use it.
2. Have all the ingredients ready before you mix them together, form the cutlets, and shallow fry them. If you mix the ingredients and leave it in the bowl to rest the onion, green pepper, and tomato will give out water which will make it difficult for you to form the cutlets.
3. Fry the cutlets on medium heat until you see the edges on the bottom of the cutlets turn golden brown.
4. If you like tartness, then add the dry mango powder (amchur).
5. Both Bengal gram flour and dry mango powder can be bought from an Indian grocery store.
6. These cutlets freeze well.
7. Fishless Tuna is a product of Atlantic Natural Foods Meatless Select. The cans are available at the Potomac Adventist Book & Health Food Store in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Fishless Tuna Burger1October 22, 2014 – Attaching a picture of the cans for those that asked. If you don’t have a store that sells this, you can contact the company directly: Atlantic Natural Foods Meatless Select at: http://www.foodprocessing.com/vendors/products/2013/atlantic-natural-vegetarian-proteins/
Fishless Tuna Can Pic

Cooking Class on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at 2 pm

I will be hosting a cooking class on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at the Potomac Adventist Book & Health Food Store – 12004 Cherry Hill Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904. There is a $5 entrance fee that is collected upon arrival. Come early as space is limited.

This is my second appearance at the Potomac Store Cooking Classes and I’m looking forward to once again sharing my love of the culinary arts with you in person! The class will feature four of my favorite vegetarian recipes including Peas and Cumin Rice, Black Eyed Peas Curry, Fishless Tuna Burgers/Cutlets, and FriChik Curry.

ABC-Cooking-October-19-2014

The best thing I did in Dubai – Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab

Burj Al Arab large

My daughter and I celebrated my birthday with afternoon tea at the world’s only seven star hotel, the Burj Al Arab, in Dubai, on September 17, 2014. It was a lavish, over-the-top, ostentatiously rich, once-in-a-lifetime experience that was worth every ounce of gold that we spent!

Our reservations were made way in advance with a telephone call to the Skyview Bar, one of the restaurants, at the Burj Al Arab. We had our confirmation by email in a matter of minutes. Unless you are a hotel guest, there is no other way you could even go close to this magnificent, sailboat-shaped, hotel.

Upon arrival by taxi, security at the entrance bridge requested our reservation confirmation and then welcomed us in. We were an hour early which gave us ample time to take photographs, enjoy the deluxe ambiance of the lobby, and its built-in aquarium walls.

We made our way to the 27th floor of the Skyview Bar and entered a gold lobby. We were the first to arrive and it’s worth noting that they seat tables in order, starting with the best tables by the windows.

We had a table with stunning aerial views. To my left, I could see the hotel Atlantis rising from the Arabian Gulf, the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah, and the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel. To my right, was the harbor, the impressive architectures of downtown Dubai, and when the clouds parted, we caught glimpses of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa of which I am in total awe.

We watched as other guests arrived and were ushered to their tables. Everyone was dressed a little more formal than the, “smart casual” dress code that was specified. The room exuded an air of luxury and grandeur, and we were attended to like royalty. The waiter welcomed us and offered us a glass of Louis Roederer Brut Champagne. We requested non-alcoholic drinks and he offered us a drink made with dates. We were also offered a plate of fresh dates. Some filled with almonds and others with candied orange peel.

Before we knew it, the second course of berry tarts arrived and we ordered our tea from a menu of more than 50 varieties! I chose the Superior Oolong and Jyoti chose the Jasmin Pearls. There was plenty of time to taste the other teas, flavored ice teas, espressos, cafe lattes, hot chocolates, and chilled fantasies, during the seven courses.

The next course was the Chef’s Carvery of the Day. This was melt-in-the mouth beef with silky mashed potatoes, both served warm.

Next, the waiter brought out a two-tiered stand that was shaped like the Burj Al Arab. The blue glass plates had finger sandwiches with egg, smoked salmon, cucumber and cream cheese, and vegetable fillings. As we ate, the plates with the sandwiches and our tea cups were continuously refilled.

The next course of mini patisseries, petits fours, and scones came on a three-tiered platter. Again, the platter was shaped like a sailboat resembling the Burj Al Arab. The scones were served with Devonshire clotted cream and three kinds of jam – rose petal and strawberry, date, and passion fruit. I enjoyed the scones and crème brûlée the most. We couldn’t eat all the offerings so we had just a little bite of them.

I thought we had come to the end of our afternoon tea, when they brought in chocolate cake with a candle, along with a long-stemmed red rose to celebrate my birthday. The grand finale was a lychee and rose sorbet. The sorbet was a perfect palate cleanser and an appropriate ending to a decadent afternoon tea. Before we left, they surprised us with two boxes of chocolates that we could take home.

Tea at the Burj Al Arab is expensive, but it is a great once-in-a-lifetime experience. I highly recommend it, if you are visiting Dubai. It was fun, the view was amazing, and my daughter and I had an unforgettable time together. I will certainly treasure the memory forever!