Mint-y!

Mmmm, mint. The thought of it evokes a transportation of the senses. You cant think of mint without "smelling" it in your mind. Not to mention the beautiful green leaves, the freshness, and oh yeah, the taste too!

Now, what can we do with it?

Usually I make chutney, mint rice, hariyali chicken(green curry)or add to biryani. Recently I was lucky to find a nice bunch of mint at the store. I wanted to try something different.

First I made mint tea. Ohh it was fabulous. I made 3 versions. The simplest one was to boil the leaves in water for 5-10 mins. I might have added cardamom. Then strain and add honey.
Second is basically the same but with black tea added. Third is with black tea and milk.

Then I made something I had only heard about.
Tabouleh -Lebanese salad. It exceeded my expectations!

1c of dalia/broken wheat - 2c boiling water
1 cucumber chopped small - 1 small tomato chopped
1/2 red onion chopped small (or spring onions)
cilantro and mint leaves chopped
olive oil
lime juice
salt
optional- chick peas or any sprouts

(I was surprised you can cook the dalia this way as it usually takes a long time to cook when i boil it.... but this really worked) Rinse the dalia in a large bowl and then pour over the boiling water. Cover for 1 hr (its cold where I am so I kept it inside the microwave so it wouldnt lose heat too quickly)until its cooked. If any extra water, drain it off. Fluff up the grains. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and refridgerate for an hour.

* it is similar to Indian salad. I did have a great urge to fry up some mustard seeds and green chilies for the top! Maybe next time.

** You can cook extra dalia (in proportion of 1:2 water) and freeze it. For a quick snack/breakfast, heat it up with some milk sugar and cinnamon/cardamom. or make a simple upma by tarka-fying it.
Photo to come soon....