Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Grated Carrot salad

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This simple salad is a favourite at my mum’s .You can impress your guests with this simple and quick recipe that would look like you have really slaved to get it right. Nothing better I say 😉

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 15 minutes including the grating

You will need:

  • 3 fresh medium-sized organic carrots
  • 1 tsp small size black mustard seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ teaspoon oil
  • 1 Large heaped tbsp Chobani Blood Orange yogurt

Method:

  • Peel and grate the carrots after beheading them – Ha! I wanted to write that just to reinforce the morbid tone here that the word ‘’Blood Orange’’ .Wonder why such a delicious fruit has such a murderous sounding name 😉
  • Heat 1 tsp oil in a saucepan and pop in the mustard seeds and the finely chopped green chilli
  • When the mustard seeds begin to explode like miniature heat bombs, add the grated carrot and stir lightly.
  • Add salt to taste and take off the heat. We don’t want to overcook the carrot here and need to ensure it stays nice and crunchy!
  • Serve in small portions with a large blob of the yogurt on top ensuring you use a spoon that goes to the BOTTOM of the pot of yogurt as the fruity bit and heavenly fruity yogurt likes at the BOTTOM of these pots, like a secret hidden treasure, ummm!

I hope you enjoy making these FAT free yogurt recipes and feel good about lowering the overall calorie count of these dishes.

Grated Carrot Salad with Chobani Blood Orange Yogurt

Pomegranate Chicken Curry

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For my next recipe using Chobani Yogurt, I made a spicy chicken curry  main dish, the curry can be made less spicy as per taste by reducing the quantity of red chilli powder and garam masala used.

I have used Chobani Pomegranate Yogurt as it lends a subtle but noticeable tangy twist on the palate.

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 35 minutes including the chopping and slaving bit

You will need:

  • 4 chicken breast fillets chopped into chunks which are curry pieces, yet not totally bite sized.
  • 2 large tablespoons Chobani Pomegranate yogurt
  • 1 large green chilli chopped into big pieces
  • 1 large red spicy red chilli chopped into big pieces
  • Salt to Taste
  • 1 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2  heaped tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala
  • A pinch of Pepper powder
  • 2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 3 small red onions finely chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp fresh ginger garlic paste

Method:

  • Heat a sauce on a medium flame and add 2 large tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • Sautee the chopped onions and the ginger garlic paste till the onion changes colour
  • Then add the chicken pieces and reduce the flame , when the chicken changes colour reduce the flame to the bare minimum and stir in the Pomegranate favoured Chobani yogurt. Do this before the chicken begins to cook to run juices as at that stage the yogurt will not be able to lend it flavours to the cooked meat.
  • Then add in this order the red chilli powder, the chopped red and green chillies, the garam masala and the pepper powder, mix well and stir ,then add enough water for the chicken to cook and to allow for some thick gravy . Add just enough or else much will dilute the whole curry and make it will become one big mess- just in case it does, take a deep breath and add 2 small completely boiled or 1 medium-sized potato mashed well into the curry ,it will soak up the excess water but then one needs to adjust the salt and red chilli proportion as well.
  • Now add the salt and mix well. Adding salt before the rest of the ingredients somehow alters taste to a large extent. Cook the chicken on a low flame with lid on checking occasionally and stirring as well. Yes one needs to fawn over the pot like one would over a pesky but adorable toddler. Humm, well now this should cook fairly quickly, check by jabbing a piece of chicken with a blunt knife.
  • I choose to serve this Pomegranate Chicken with boiled basmati rice cooked with garden fresh green peas.
  • Serve with some red onion by the side and freshly chopped coriander (cilantro) for that fresh and tasty garnish.
  • Serving suggestion – serve with boiled basmati peas pilaf/pulav/poolav lightly flavoured with cinnamon and bay leaves – again made with just a tiny drop of oil to sautee the bay leaf and cumin seeds.So good ummm

Chobani Pomegranate

 

 

 

Pomegranate Chicken - Chobani

Strawberry flavoured Shrikhand

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It was love at first bite for me with Chobani yogurts! Difficult to imagine that such deliciously thick and creamy yogurt can be TOTALLY FAT FREE, yes you heard that right – 0% fat!

Well then after gobbling several pots over the 3 days of Food Blogger Connect I had major withdrawal symptoms and needed a ‘’pot’’ of Chobani asap. When I wrote to them asking if I would like to experiment with some Indian Recipes with Chobani thick strained yogurt, they sent me a whole box! Golly!

So here I am with so many pots of deliciousness it took me a few days to gather my senses and get cooking 😉

I know a dessert recipe is like ‘’leave the best for the last’’ sort of a thing but darlings this one is such a traditional yet simple one that my fingers won’t let me type any of the others so here it is :

Strawberry Shrikhand

Ok So Shrikhand has cult status amongst us Maharashtrian so much so that it is a must have in our wedding menus back home. Oh yes Shrikhand and Puri is a like a treat fit for a king…err and a queen – of course 😉

So the whole trick lies in making the best possible perfectly strained thick set yogurt, tied in muslin and left in a refrigerator overnight to get what is also known as ‘Chakka’. It is NOT easy. But with Chobani since it ALREADY is so THICK and Strained it is the best yogurt to just spoon out of a pot and start making this dessert with.

Serves: 4

 Prep Time: 5 minutes

 Chill Time: 1 hour for the mixture and then to be kept chilled before serving

You will Need:

  • 1 whole pot of Chobani Strawberry yogurt 170gm, do not take all the juicy bit if you like Shrikhand very thick (but truly great Shrikhand is creamy and not too thick , it has got to be – well – perfect like Chobani!)
  • 150gm sugar
  • 1 heaped tsp cardamom powder
  • A tiny pinch of saffron
  • Toasted blanched almonds to garnish

Method:

  • Gently fold in sugar into the yogurt in a glass bowl, taking care not to ‘’beat’’ the mix
  • Leave to chill in the refrigerator for an hour, this way the sugar completely dissolves into the yogurt and does not affect the consistency of the mixture.
  • To this mixture now add the cardamom powder and saffron.
  • The shrikhand will now have a thick consistency and fall off a spoon in thick folds.
  • Serve chilled in a generous dollop of a portion with toasted almonds to garnish.

The traditional process involves passing the sugar and yogurt mix through a sieve to ensure any big bits of cream are removed to allow a smooth as silk feeling on the tongue. But again since Chobani has done all this for you there is no need, with the 3 biggest steps eliminated making this dish is a doddle!

(The 3 big steps we have eliminated are: making the set yogurt, straining it using a muslin cloth to remove all the water and the part where the sugar and yogurt chilled mix is strained)

Chobani Strawberry Close up shot

Traditionally either plain Shrikhand which is a pale yellow colour due to saffron food colour being added or then Mango flavoured Shrikhand which contains mango pulp and bits of mango is served. But of course there’s nothing to beat the taste of homemade creamy Shrikhand.

Strawberry Shrikhand final shot

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