The Art of Simplicity

 1. Take 2 dates and soak them in 1/8 cup of lukewarm water for 30-45 mins. Now for the homemade protein powder- take 1/4 cup almonds, 1/4 cup cashews, 1/8 cup walnuts, 2 tbs flaxseeds,  and dry-roast them for a minute or two in a pan on low flame. After that add them to a blender along with 3 tbs cocoa powder(unsweetened) and grind them to a fine powder. It will look somewhat like this- 2. For the dates and apple paste- Take the dates, de-seed them and add them along with the water in a blender; also add half an apple chopped into small pieces, 1 tbs honey and grind them to form a smooth paste which may look like this- (My paste is not perfectly smooth as I like small chunks of apple in my smoothie. You can blend it as per your liking) 3. Take 3/4 cup of chilled milk and add it to a blender; add 5-6 cubes of ice (preferably crushed for better blending). To it add 2 tsp of the protein powder and the entire date-apple paste. Blend the smoothie until all the ingredients are well...

1. Add 300 gms of fettuccine pasta of any brand to a pot of boiling salt water (add the salt to taste according to the pasta) and cook on high flame for 15 mins. After that strain it but preserve the pasta water. 2. In a wok (on low flame), add 2-3 tbs butter, 5-7 pods of finely chopped garlic, 1tbs of chilli flakes, 2 tbs of oregano/mixed herbs and stir. Add 250 gms of spinach(washed & chopped) and stir it on medium flame. After the spinach shrinks, say about in 4-5 mins, add 3 tbs of all purpose flour and stir for a minute or two. 3. Then add 1 1/2 cups of milk, little by little so that the flour gets dissolved slowly and gradually without forming lumps and keep mixing continuously. Add 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese (I used a blend of mozzarella and cheddar instead and added only 1/2 cup as I like a little less cheese in my pastas) and keep mixing. Add salt to taste, but remember that the cheese, butter and pasta already have salt in them so put accordingly after tasting. 4. Ad...

1. Take 1 cup of dates, de-seed them (I used kimiya dates, you can use mejdool or whichever is locally available) and soak them in 1 1/4 cup of hot milk for 30-45 mins. After that grind the soaked dates and milk to make a smooth paste; it will look somewhat like this- 2. Take another bowl for the dry ingredients, add 1 cup of all purpose flour ( I used the self-raising cake flour sent by Josef Marc) and to it add, 1tsp cinnamon powder, 1tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, a pinch of salt, 2 tbs cocoa powder. Mix well.  3. In a separate bowl, add 1/2 cup oil and 1/4 cup smooth yogurt and whisk it nicely. Add the dates paste to it and blend the mixture well. Add the dry ingredient mix to it and combine the batter well using the cut and fold method. Add two tbs of warm milk and mix the batter but make sure not to over-mix. Pour the batter in a greased tin and bake the cake for 35 mins in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree celsius. 4. Once the cake is ready, let it cool down for 30 mi...

 1. Take 2 over-ripe bananas (they should be extremely soft and dark brown from outside) and freeze them for 2-3 hours. Take 4 dates (I used kimia dates) and soak them in lukewarm water for 2-3 hrs. Also place two cups of milk in the freezer for it to become “chilled-icy” cold. 2. In a mixer/blender, put the frozen bananas cut into small pieces. Add the dates after de-seeding them and throw away the water in which the dates were soaked.(Now if you do not like your smoothie thick you may add a little bit of that water) 3.Add 1tbs of creamy peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tbs coffee powder, 1tbs cinnamon powder and 1 cup of milk to it and churn nicely. Then add the second cup of milk and blend well. (you will have to blend this mix a little more then your regular milkshakes) 4. If you like your smoothies to be a little extra sweet you may add 1tsp of honey but I skipped this step as it tasted fine without it too. The measurements here will serve two people. You need to make s...