Grilled Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion (cut into big pieces)
• 2 large heirloom tomatoes or 5 medium sized tomatoes (cut into big pieces)
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1 deseeded jalapeno pepper (cut into half)
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro
• Juice of half lemon (or as per taste)
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil for spray

Method:

1. On the greased baking tray, place onions, tomatoes, garlic and jalapeno pieces. Spray some olive oil and grill/broil them in a preheated oven (350 F°) for 15 mins.
2. Let it cool for some time and transfer the mixture in the chopper. Add lemon juice, salt and cilantro. Blend the mixture a few times till it gets chunky.

Now it’s ready to serve.

Thandai

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cold milk
• 4-5 tsp sugar (or as required)
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• ½ tsp saffron (soaked in a little water)
• 8-10 almonds (soaked and peeled)
• 8-10 cashew nuts
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp melon seeds
• 2 tbsp saunf (fennel)
• 1½ tsp pepper-corns
• 4-5 rose petals

Method:

1. In a bowl, soak almonds, cashew nuts, poppy seeds and melon seeds in required amount of water. In another bowl, soak saunf and pepper-corns separately. Soak these for about 1-2 hours.
2. In a pan, heat ½ cup milk with sugar, cardamom powder and saffron and mix well.
3. Blend all the soaked ingredients in a mixer with some milk, till it makes a smooth paste.
4. Add the paste as well as the heated milk mixture in the remaining milk.
5. Again blend it together in a mixer.
6. Refrigerate it for some hours and serve chilled. Garnish with saffron and cardamom powder.