Little Maryam by Hamid Baig | A Book Review

Little Maryam by Hamid Baig # BookReview

Little Maryam by Hamid Baig is a beautiful, poignant, and heart-wrenching love story that takes you on a journey of emotions – happiness, heartbreak, love, separation, betrayal, sorrow, heartache and so much more. As you turn the pages of the book, you will surely be in for a roller coaster ride – with many highs and as many lows. When I finished reading it, I kept down the book with a heavy heart and I literally cried. It is not some cheesy romantic love story, but a story of love, loss, redemption and sacrifice.

Set in Dehradun for a good part, at the heart of the story are two central characters, Maryam and Saadiq. Maryam is the daughter of a Colonel and Saadiq is the son of the Colonel’s gardener. Love blooms between these two since the first day they met as kids and as years pass by their feeling for each other just gets stronger. Under the crudest circumstances, the lovers are separated and their love remains unrequited. However, this is not how the author introduces us to Saadiq or Maryam in the story.

Italian White Sauce Recipe | Besciamella / Bechamel Sauce Recipe | How to Make Italian White Sauce

Italian White Sauce #Recipe
 Besciamella / Bechamel Sauce #Recipe

White sauce is one of the basic sauces used in Italian cuisine. It is known throughout the world by its French name Béchamel; in fact, it is one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine. It is said the French were introduced to this sauce by the Italians. In Italy, white sauce is known as besciamella. It is used in making gratin and many types of pasta like lasagna, cannelloni, etc.

In order to make the béchamel sauce, a roux consisting of equal parts of flour and butter need to be prepared first. To it, hot milk is added and cooked to create a creamy sauce. The roux in béchamel sauce should not be cooked much as it must not get brown. 

Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe | Using Fresh Tomatoes | How to Make Pizza Sauce at Home

Homemade Pizza Sauce #Recipe

Pizza Sauce is one of the easiest Italian sauces to prepare at home. With just a few ingredients, you can have a flavourful sauce ready in about 30 to 40 minutes. Using canned tomatoes are a convinient option and you can use them, but I always prefer cooking with fresh ingredients. So, I am going to share my recipe for making pizza sauce using fresh tomatoes.

Basil Walnut Pesto Sauce Recipe (without Parmesan Cheese) | How to Make Basil Walnut Pesto at Home

Basil Walnut Pesto #Recipe

Basil Walnut Pesto, as the name suggests is a pesto sauce made from fresh basil leaves, walnuts and olive oil. Pesto has its origin in Genoa in Liguria, Italy. Traditionally, it was made by pounding basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese in a pestle and mortar. But, today many variations are popular across the world. With gadgets like mixer grinders and food processors at our disposal now, people seldom make it by pounding it in a pestle and mortar. Making pesto at home is an easy task today, all thanks to the technological advancements. Once you have made it yourself, you will never buy a jar from the supermarket. That's for sure.

Sandesh/ Sondesh Recipe | How to Make Sandesh | Bengali Sweets

Sandesh/Sondesh #Recipe

Sandesh or Sondesh, as it is pronounced in Bengali, is a much loved traditional sweet from the state of West Bengal in India. Freshly made paneer or chenna is used in making these. It can be flavoured in many ways. The recipe for Sandesh I am sharing today has been flavoured with cardamom/elaichi and has been garnish with saffron.

Bengalis are known for their sweet tooth and hence it comes as a no surprise that the state of West Bengal offers us with a delectable spread of sweet dishes. Misti Doi, Rasogulla, a variety of Sandesh, and many more. There are many ways to make and flavour Sandesh. But one thing is common in all varieties - freshly made paneer or chenna. It can then be sweetened with sugar, jaggery or the Bengal special Noler Gur (Palm Jaggery). Sandesh is often flavoured with cardamom, rose, saffron, etc. Fruit flavoured sandesh like aam sandesh are also popular and so are sandesh flavoured with chocolate.

Whole Wheat Papdi (Fried) Recipe | How to Make Whole Wheat Papdi

Whole Wheat Papdi #Recipe

Papdi is small round disc-shaped crisp and is one of the staple ingredients in the making of the famous street foods like papdi chaat, sev puri, etc. Typically, they are made with maida. But, I have been experimenting with a whole wheat version lately with reasonably good results. The recipe for whole wheat papdi I am sharing today are 100% maida or refined flour free. I had made these for Holi this year and used them in making papdi chaat.

Kesar Phirni Recipe | How to Make Kesar Phirni | Indian Desserts Recipes

Kesar Phirni #recipe

Phirni is a creamy rice based Indian pudding often flavoured with cardamom, saffron or rose water. The Kesar Phirni recipe I am sharing today has been flavoured with saffron and cardamom. It has almost the same ingredients as a rice kheer, but there is some difference in the preparation process.

Whole grains of rice is used in making kheer but, for phirni, we need coarsely ground rice. Kheer can be served hot or cold, but phirni tastes best when served chilled.

Roasted Mix Veg Quesadilla Recipe | How to Make Roasted Mix Veg Quesadilla

Roasted Mix Veg Quesadilla #Recipe

Quesadilla is a Mexican dish, now popular around the world. Typically, flour tortillas are filled with an assortment of veggies, and cheese and is then cooked in a pan or a grill. The recipe for the quesadilla I am sharing today comes with the goodness of mix vegetables and protein-rich cheese. 

Long back I had a similar quesadilla at a local Mexican eatery - Picantos in Pune and since then I make my own version of it at home. Tortilla wraps are not easily available in India but that is not a cause for concern as home-made whole-wheat chapatis can easily replace them in this recipe.

This is a great dish for kids who are bored of eating the regular chapati and sabji combo. You can get as inventive as you like when it comes to the filling - try only corn and capsicum filling, zucchini and mushroom or a mixed veg filling like mine.

Afghani Bolani Recipe | Afghani Stuffed Flatbread with Potato, Spinach, Green Onions & Coriander

Afghani Bolani #recipe

Afghani Bolani is a traditional stuffed flatbread from Afghanistan. There are various options when it comes to the stuffing - potato, sweet, potato, spinach, pumpkin, lentils, etc. The recipe for Afghani Bolani I am sharing today comes with a stuffing of potato, spinach, green onions and coriander.

While searching for an authentic Bolani recipe online, I came to know that these Bolanis can be either fried or shallow fried. Typically, it is made with maida but I have made them with whole wheat flour. In Afghani cuisine, this dish can be served warm as an appetizer, side dish or even as a main course item. It goes very well with yoghurt.

Puran Poli Recipe | A Lentil Stuffed Sweet Bread from Maharashtra | How to Make Puran Poli

Puran Poli #Recipe

Puran Poli is a lentil stuffed sweet flatbread from the state of Maharashtra. Chana dal, jaggery, flour, cardamom and ghee are the vital ingredients in this recipe. A similar puran poli is also made in Gujarat and some southern Indian states, but there is a difference in the lentil used for the stuffing. Like in Gujarat, toor dal is used while in Maharashtrain puran poli chana dal is used.

Making puran poli from scratch is a tedious job. However, on most festive occasions like Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, etc., in Maharashtra, it is a must-prepare dish. In Marathi, 'puran' means the sweet filling and 'poli' means roti or the flatbread. Puran poli tastes great in itself; you can also serve it with ghee and milk.