Seasons

There is a time to be happy

The seasons say it all

The fresh air and the new blooms make you smile

The colors catch your eye

The butterflies hold your gaze

Then comes the rains

They make you wistful and wet

They caress your cheeks with drops from faraway

The dark clouds seem to threaten while all they do is their job

To nourish,refresh, rejuvenate!

Winter soon follows dark nd deary chilling you to the bones

Gloomy and moody one becomes

Life continues

Some come in

Some go away

While some remain for awhile and watch the wheels of time turn and turn!

The Rainbow

Did you see the rainbow?

Almost a full circle

Out of nowhere she popped out

Quietly and quickly

And filled up the arena

While most of us were still sleeping.

Like a wildfire the news spread

Halting everyone in her track

So full of colours and lines

Shining away in full splendor

Making full use of the allotted time

She waited long for her chance

Brought a smile to everyone's face

Young and old

Parents woke their sleeping children

Who soon were jumping in glee and joy

The first timers marvelled at its beauty

A rainbow never fails to hold your gaze as she preens and dances in the light.

Gone too soon...

A lesson in life

Value what u see

Enjoy while it lasts!

Gratitude

Gratitude is a big thing

A big word

A big emotion

Your friend that eases the difficulties in life

An eye opener to be content

A feeling that makes you happy

A fullness in life

Makes you notice life

The dewdrops on the grass

The dancing leaves on the trees

The caress of the breeze on your cheeks

The sunset that calls out to be seen

It's a new story everyday

That makes life worth living

The Secret Holder

 The Secret Holder

She stands tall and majestic,

Unfazed by the storms that shake her,

Or the hot sun that tries to burns thru her crown of green leaves.

Doesn't know how she got there but grew up against all odds with whatever nature provided.

Strong and silently,she bears witness to all that she sees.

The lone silent spectator !

Always ready to welcome a weary bird that comes from a

Land beyond.

She welcomes them all!

Big or small ,she offers them all solace .

They share their anguish and joy and their secrets.

She hears it all;

And guards it all fiercely!

Another ear will never get to hear what they shared.

The parrots sometimes deafen her but she loves their colors and energy.

To be free is one thing .

To be rooted deep is another..

She tends to her leaves with love.

Her joy comes from the free dance of her leaves as the breeze rustles.

A heavy storm makes her fearful but she holds on tight to all those who take refuge in her.

Each day is a new day filled with hope and expectation.

A new loft soul may wander in

As she makes space for them as they whisper their secrets to her.....

pain

 Pain

Comes from out of the blue..

You may sense it

You may feel it

Wakes you up from the daily sojourn

A great teacher and leveller

While gliding thru life

The cord gets pulled down

You struggle

You rebel

It's made of sterner stuff

It says wait  and

Levels you squarely down

Have some time for me too

Teaches you

Awareness,humility 

And

Creates thankfulness

Causes misery and despair

Yet

Pauses your wandering soul

Will let go it's grip when the job is done

It got you to pause and stop ...

Hope

 Hope

Hope is the break of dawn

Hope is the setting of the sun

Hope is the breeze that caresses your cheek when you are hot and flustered

Hope is the light that leads you on

Hope is the spark of ideas

Hope is the arm that pulls you to move when you are frozen

Hope is the calming balm that soothes your wounded soul

Hope is the green canopy in the hot desert

Hope is the flowing water that nourishes it's path

Hope is the dancing leaves of the trees

Hope is watching the flock of birds flying in unison

Hope is the unfurling of a rose

Hope is in the tiny bud that sprouts on any plant

Hope is in the silvery moon that lights the dark path

Clouds

Dont know where they come from
Where they go

With a mind of their own

Creating shapes that change so fast

They seem to be on a journey

Is there a destination ?

Does there have to be a destination?

With an innocence

That charms and hold you spell bound

The waft around in unison or as lone travelers

They dot the blue sky

Sometimes dressed in the whitest robe

Or clothe themselves in the gentlest pink

Or a dreamy orange

Sometimes even a steely blue...

And even in the shades of ashes of roses

Fashionistas indeed are these Angel's

Calming, soothing the ones they behold

They hold your gaze in the most mysterious ways .

Sometimes they appear to pause and are so still that you need to keep looking

Come the rains,they step down lower from their heights to share their travel stories with the mountains and the tree tops.

They turn misty and reach out to envelope you in this gentle embrace

Their whispers charm you with their robe of disappearing breath

I wait and watch for the new kids on the block

While they slowy float in harmony.

Messengers of good cheer and joy!

Rage

 Rage

The fire that sears and burns down everything in its path

The scalding pain that doesn't go away

The fire burns and dies out in some time

But what about all that it burnt?

No soothing air can ease the pain that the trail of rage left behind

You delve ,dig and burrow deep into the dark abyss

While your swim in the images of the layers that have burnt you over the years

The so many incidents that scarred you which you push down deep but the force themselves

upward and suffocate you faster

than they were buried

You keep swimming ...

Sometimes losing strength

Sometime you manage to bring yourself up

The calm that prevails after the rage of storm

The silence that's deafening

The thoughts that are brimming at the edge of your mind

The tears that threaten to fall over the rim of your eyes

The hard effort you take to show that all is well

14 Sep 2020

Ragi Jaggery cake 

3/4 th cup Ragi flour

1/2 cup wwf 

2/3 rd cup powdered Jaggery

3/4th tsp baking soda

2 tbs cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

Wet ingredients-

1 cup thick yogurt 

1/4 th cup+3 tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method-

Sift the dry ingredients 3 to 4 times.keep it aside.

Heat the milk,add Jaggery powder to it and mix well.filter this mix and add curd.Mix well.

Lastly add vanilla essence. 

 Add dry to wet.

In case the mixture is looking too dry you can add 1 to 2 tbs more milk.

 Pour the batter in a lined tin and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 25 to 30 minutes till the tooth pick comes out clean.

Date Walnut Cake..

Date Walnut Cake...!!!
INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all purpose flour
15 dates
3/4-1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sliced walnuts
1/2 cup oil( i used olive oil)
1 tea spoon baking soda


METHOD:

Seive flour and baking soda 3-4 times together.This is very important to make the cake fluffy.Remove the seeds of the dates and Soak them in enough hot milk for 2 hours.

Now add sugar in soaked date and milk mixture and grind it to form a fine paste.Now add oil and whisk it.Now add half the flour mixture and mix it .Then add the remaining flour and whisk it well.

Batter is ready when it falls like a ribbon from a height.Add more milk to adjust the consistency if required.Finally add the chopped walnuts and mix well.

Preheat the oven and bake at 180 deg for 30-40 mins or till done.I used microwave to bake it.Mostly eggless cake becomes moist and sticky inside when baked in microwave, but i had got a new method so i tried it and it worked well.I preheated the microwave at 180 deg then i baked it at 180 deg for first 10 mins and then lowered the temp to 110 deg and baked for more 30 mins and cake was as fluffy and soft as baked in oven.

I kept it simple and did not add any icing.You can use simple whipped cream icing for it and sprinkle some honey.It tastes best when sprinkled with honey and served.

Preparation Time :40 mins

The inbetweens

Just like a bunch of guards change shifts, so did the Summer and Monsoon!

The reluctant Summer who begged for a couple of days more to stay while the all eager Monsoon who wanted and waited for so long to nourish the dry and parched earth! Summer had made its presence felt with the hot and windy extra humid days and burning skin and the earth was crying for water.

In their tradeoff ,Summer agreed to let the rains slip in while he had his one feet in the door while watching a teaser to a show or like a movie trailer .

The rains arrived in full splendor complete with the works the lightning and thunder !

Those three days, try as much but the sun couldn't so much so raise his head as the guardian dark clouds stood watch over and protected their playing fields !.The sun tried to shine but the cool crisp air calmed him down.

The cool breeze did the work of applying a soothing balm to the burnt and parched soul of the earth.

Trees were happily swaying and dancing while the chirpy birds flew around in excitement.

The teaser warned them of the might of the impending season .

Clean roofs shone in the sunlight while water puddles formed in areas wanton.

Rambunctious birds sang happily and praised their maker at dawn celebrating and welcoming

the new era of the showers to come.

Mynas,Parrots,sparrows and crows came out in throngs to rejoice in the change of season.

The blue skies struggled to contain the white clouds who kept fighting with their dark and angry counterparts as they jostled for space in the wide and expansive horizon.The sun stood by and sliently wt ached waiting for his turn another summer!

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When it hit us!

March walked in quietly,

warming up the path and air that we walked and breathed in.

The excitement of Hloli was shortlived as we played carefully and fearfully.

Half our gang were not to be seen

Hidden and bound at home by terrified moms!

As the tiny giant called Covid 1 laid out its net far and wide across mountains valleys and fields and slowly claimed its territory!

Life paused,took semi colon and then a comma and finally to a full stop.

Life stopped living literally.

Kids were kept indoors.

Parks and playgrounds turned to deserted areas, out of bound to the funfilled moments.,

no more swaying swings and laughter filled glee's of happy kids!

Dads stayed home !

Moms worked double hard to keep their souls happy.

A new lifestyle evolved

The value of a stay at home mom just increased.

We understood how difficult it was to sweep and mop floors.

It now made sense why the jadoowali bhai skipped corners often.

we too knowingly or unknowingly started doing the same .

We learnt to pitch in andshare chores

What we took for granted was now realised.

shortages and nonavailabilty was the new norm

Moms tried new recipes and started baking breads

Instagram suddenly many new posts.

Fathers now understood what wives did all day at home

They realised how much the wife had to do all day

The bai at least gets paid

What about the wife?

All she asks is for some understanding and empathy when her feet and back hurts!

She did everything without a murmer or a word.

Families bonded...

Kids got to spend lot of time with fathers.

grandparents go to to spend time with their grand children.

The strays had the roads all to themselves.

The birds had all the freedom to fly about freely.

The air was cleaner

The sky was brighter

The stars shone with glee and joy at night.

Pollution literally went away with no cars and factories spewing out smoke.

A new army took shape in the form of doctors,nurses and healthcare workers.

Cops really became our heroes, braving out in the blistering summer sun trying to keep us home.

A war was waged by the health care warriors yet the numbers kept multiplying.

Our life now depended on them

Life changed

What we took for granted now became the new revelation.

We learnt to appreciate our helpers.

Life evolved to a new level and taught us to be thankful and grateful for every little thing we had .

A small grain of mustard to a single stray leaf of kadipatha was now important.

The shortage of essentials taught us to live carefully and frugally.

The new life became a way of life.

We now had time to watch an appreciate beautiful skies and breathtaking sunsets.

We had time to renew and relive moments gone by by taking out old photo albums.

Our identity was now masked with masks of various hues and shades.

Tshirts sleeves and socks were used to make jugaad masks

Learnt to live each day in gratitude and simplicity while we wait for the tiny Giant to loosens its grip and give us back our new but old freedom and lifestyle

isnt it too much to ask for the mess we made as humans?

Time will only tell as we grapple and try to come terms with this new life.

The Inbetweens



Just like a bunch of guards change shifts, so did the Summer and Monsoon!

The reluctant Summer who begged for a couple of days more to stay while the all eager Monsoon who wanted and waited for so long to nourish the dry and parched earth! Summer had made its presence felt with the hot and windy extra humid days and burning skin and the earth was crying for water.

In their tradeoff ,Summer  agreed to let the rains slip in while he had his one feet in the door while watching a teaser to a show or like a movie trailer .
The rains arrived in full splendor complete with the works the lightning and thunder !
Those three days, try as much but the sun couldn't so much so raise his head as the guardian dark clouds stood watch over and protected their playing fields !.The sun tried to shine but the cool crisp air calmed him down.
The cool breeze did the work of applying a soothing balm to the burnt and parched soul of the earth.

Trees were happily swaying and dancing while the chirpy birds flew around in excitement.
The teaser warned them of the might of the impending season .
Clean roofs shone in the sunlight while water puddles formed in areas wanton.
Rambunctious birds sang happily and praised their maker at dawn celebrating and welcoming
the new era of the showers to come.
Mynas,Parrots,sparrows and crows came out in throngs to rejoice in the change of season.
The blue skies struggled to contain the white clouds who kept fighting with their dark and angry counterparts as they jostled for space in the wide and expansive horizon.The sun stood by and sliently wt ached waiting for his turn another summer!
  

Chocolate Fruit Cake

Chocolate Fruit Cake from Marias Menu

Ingredients
125 gms Butter (chopped)
3/4 cup Brown sugar (150 gm)
50 gms Dark eating chocolate (chopped coarsely)
1/2 cup Water (125ml)
1/4 cup Dark rum (60 ml)
1/4 cup Walnuts (30 gm, coarsely chopped)
1/2 cup Dried currants (75 gm)
1 cup Sultanas (160 gm)
1 cup Raisins (170 gm, coarsely chopped)
1/4 cup Mixed peel (40gm)
3/4 cup Plain flour ( 110 gm)
2 tbsp Cocoa powder
2 tbsp Self – raising flour
1/2 tsp Mixed spice
2 Eggs (beaten lightly (room temperature))
For topping
80 gms Dark eating chocolate
1/4 cup Sour cream (60 gm)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 150 degree/275 -300 F. Grease 20 cm ring pan; line base with baking paper. Combine butter, sugar, chocolate and the water in medium saucepan; stir over heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; Let it cool for 10-15 mins. Stir in rum, nuts and fruit. Add sifted dry ingredients and egg; stir until combined. Spoon mixture into prepared pan.
Bake in slow oven about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan.
Just before serving, combine cooled extra chocolate and sour cream in small bowl; stir until smooth. Turn cake onto serving plate, top-side up; spread chocolate mixture over top of cake.
Notes
I made only half of the above quantity. As usual I didn't do the topping. I used a 6 inch round cake tin and my cake was ready in 45-50 mins. You can use dry fruits of your choice. I used cashew nuts, dates, mixed dry fruits. I dusted the dry fruits with 1 tbsp of flour before adding it to the batter, this prevents the fruits from sinking to the bottom of the cake. I used dark chocolate with 50 % cocoa. I used soft light brown sugar. I brushed the top of the warm cake with 2 tbsp extra rum. I used Captain Morgan rum in the cake batter and I used Bacardi rum for brushing the top of the cake. I stored the cake at room temperature for more than a week. If you want to store longer, refrigerate it.
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Eggless Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake

Eggless Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake

from marias menu
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Soda Bicarbonate
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 cup Brown Sugar (I used light brown sugar)
85 gms Butter (softened)
1/2 cup Whisked yogurt (room temp)
1/4 cup Hot Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
For soaking
1 3/4 cups Mixed Dry Fruits
1 cup Apple Juice
For spice powder
1 Cloves
2 Cardamom
a small piece Cinnamon
Instructions
Soaking of Fruits
Soak the fruits overnight in Apple juice. I used a combination of sultanas, seedless raisins,currants & candied orange & lemon peel. I didn’t chop the fruits & used it as such. You can use dried fruits of your choice. If you are using dates/apricots etc; chop it into small pieces & soak it.
For the cake
Preheat the oven @ 180 C, 10 minutes before baking.
Just before making the cake, drain the fruits and keep aside. Grind together cloves, cinnamon and cardamom with a tsp of sugar and keep aside.
Sift together all purpose flour, baking powder & soda bicarbonate. Using a manual whisk combine softened butter and brown sugar till light & fluffy. Add hot milk, yogurt & vanilla essence and mix well. Batter might look curdled at this point, but it comes together after adding the flour. Fold in the sifted flour in two batches.
Coat the drained fruits with 1 tbsp flour before adding to the batter. Fold in the drained fruits and spice powder.
Grease and line a cake tin (refer notes) with parchment / baking paper. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake in the preheated oven till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. The timing can vary from 25-45 mins, depending on the size of the tin used (refer notes).
Cool the cake completely before slicing. You can store the cake in an airtight container @ room temp for 3-4 days. If you are living in a very hot or humid place, you may refrigerate the cake after 2 days.
Notes
I used store bought Apple juice for this recipe.
I used a 7.5 inch and 6.5 inch round tin for baking the cake. It took 30-35 mins and 20-25 mins respectively for the cake to be baked.
You can also bake this cake plain without any fruits. Follow the same recipe and skip the part of adding fruits and spice powder.
You can also use fruits soaked in alcohol for this recipe. Except for the soaking of fruits in apple juice, follow the rest of the recipe.
If you wish to use caramel for this cake to get a dark colour, you can do so. For the qty of cake mentioned above, you can use half the qty of caramel mentioned here. You can add the caramel to the batter, just before adding the flour and mix well.

Cinnamon Teacake

Cinnamon Teacake
from Marias menu

60 gms Butter (softened)
1 tsp Vanilla essence
2/3 cup Caster sugar (150 gm(refer notes))
1 Egg
1 cup Self-raising flour (150gm(refer notes))
1/3 cup Milk (80ml)
10 gms Butter (melted, extra)
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
1 tbsp Caster sugar (extra)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180 degree C/350-375 F, 10 mins before baking. Grease deep 20cm-round cake pan; line base with baking paper. Beat butter, essence, sugar & egg in a small bowl with electric mixer until light & fluffy; this process will take 5-10 mins, depending on the type of mixer used.
Using wooden spoon, gently stir in sifted flour and milk. Make sure that there are no lumps.Spread mixture into prepared pan.
Bake cake in the preheated oven for about 30 mins. Turn cake onto wire rack then turn top-side up; brush top with extra melted butter, sprinkle with combined cinnamon & extra sugar. Serve warm with butter, if desired.
Notes
Taking care to thoroughly beat the butter, essence, sugar and egg will result in a light-as-air texture to this cake, best when eaten warm with butter (courtesy:Australian W omen's Weekly Magazine) . Though this is best eaten on the day its made, you can store this cake at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 2 days.
Substitution for self raising flour – to get 1 cup self-raising flour, add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder+ 1/4 tsp salt to 1 cup all purpose flour. Substitution for caster sugar: to get 1 cup caster sugar. process 1 cup granulated sugar (usual sugar) in a food processor/mixer until fine, but don't powder it like icing sugar.

Moist Butter Cake

Moist Butter Cake

Ingredients
125 gms Butter (softened)
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups Caster sugar ((275 gm))
3 Eggs (at room temp)
1 cup Plain flour ((150 gm))
1/2 cup Self-raising flour ((75 gm))
1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup Milk (125 ml at room temp)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180 C, 10 mins before baking. Grease a deep 20 cm/8 inch round cake tin; line base with baking paper. Beat ingredients in medium bowl on low speed with electric mixer until just combined. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth and changed to a paler colour. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake cake in the preheated oven for 40-50 mins or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. Stand cake 5 minutes then turn onto wire rack; turn cake top-side up to cool. Dust cake with a little sifted icing sugar, if desired.
Notes
The batter might look curdled, but its ok, go ahead and bake it. If you want a caramel flavor, substitute 1 1/3 cups (275 gm) firmly packed brown sugar for the caster sugar.
Baking in Pressure Cooker: If you dont have an oven/MW and still want to bake the cake, it's possible :). You can bake this in a pressure cooker. Suchitra, one of the dear readers of this space, tried baking it in a pressure cooker and it came out well. She was kind enough to share the method here. Please do check her comment in the comments section for the details. Thanks again Suchitra :)
Substitutes:
Substitution for self raising flour – to get 1 cup self-raising flour, add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder+ 1/4 tsp salt to 1 cup all purpose flour.
Substitution for caster sugar: to get 1 cup caster sugar. process 1 cup granulated sugar (usual sugar) in a food processor/mixer until fine, but don’t powder it like icing sugar.
Recipe source: Cooking Class Cakes by The Australian Women's Weekly Magazine

Citrus TeaCake

Citrus TeaCake
from Maria Menu
Ingredients
250 gms Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
250 gms Butter
250 gms Powdered sugar
4 Egg yolk
1/2 tsp Orange rind
1/4 tsp Lemon rind
1/4 cup Milk
4 Egg whites
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 tbsp Sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven at 200 degree for 10 minutes before baking. Prepare a round shaped cake tin for baking.Beat the egg whites separately till it forms a soft peak. Add vanilla essence and sugar to this and keep it aside. Sieve all purpose flour and baking powder. Beat well the butter and powdered sugar. Add egg yolks one by one to this and mix well. Add the lemon and orange rinds. Add flour and milk alternatively to this and beat well. Add egg white mixture to this and fold in. Pour the batter to the prepared cake tin and bake at 200 degree for first 10 minutes and 180 degree for another 25 - 30 minutes.

Carrot Dates And Orange Cake

Carrot Dates And Orange Cake
ITS A MARIAS MENU RECIPE



1.5 cups Plain Flour (maida)
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 inch piece Cinnamon
6 Cloves
6 Cardamom
1/2 tsp Grated nutmeg
1/2 cup Semolina (rava)
2 cups Chopped dates (measured after chopping)
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 cup Water
2 cups Grated carrot (measured after grating)
100 gms Chopped cashews and walnuts (refer notes)
2 tsp Vanilla essence
Juice of 1 orange
Zest of 1 orange
1.5 cups Powdered sugar (you need 1 cup regular sugar to get 1.5 cups powdered sugar)
1/2 cup Vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
3 Eggs (@ room temp)
Instructions
Preheat oven at 180 C, 10 mins before baking. Grease and line(with parchment paper) two 7 inch cake tins.
Soak dates in 1/4 cup water and 1/2 tsp baking soda for 1 hour.


Using an electric beater, mix the powdered sugar and oil, till it's combined well.

Separate the egg yolk and whites. Add the yolk, one by one, to the sugar and oil mixture. Beat well after each addition.


Add soaked dates, chopped nuts and grated carrots to the above mixture. Mix well using a wooden spatula or manual whisk. Add vanilla essence, orange juice and zest to the above mix and combine well.


Powder cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Add grated nutmeg to this and mix well. Combine together plain flour, baking soda and the spice mixture. Sift this and add to the batter along with semolina.


Beat the egg whites till a stiff peak forms. Add this to the cake batter and fold in gently, till no white traces are visible.


Transfer this to the prepared cake tins and bake in the preheated oven for 35 – 40 mins or till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.


Notes
I used a combination of cashew and walnuts, however you can use any nuts of your choice like almonds, pecans etc;
You can bake this in a single cake tin, if you've a 10 inch deep baking tin. The baking time may vary depending on the size of your tin.

FISH PIE

Fish Pie
marias menu

Have some garlic bread and salad on the side, it's a great meal. You can have it for brunch or when you are entertaining or for a potluck!


Fish Pie
A simple, easy and tasty fish pie recipe with Salmon. Fish marinated with herbs and cooked and layered with white sauce, mashed potatoes, and cheese.

Ingredients
400 gms Fish Fillet (I used salmon)
500-550 gms Potato
5-6 Mushroom, cooked (I used white button mushroom)
1 small – medium Onion
1 tsp Chopped garlic
Marinade for Fish
1.5 tbsp Chopped garlic
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Whole black pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
For Mashed Potato
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (refer notes)
2 tbsp Butter (I used unsalted)
1/4 cup Hot milk
For White Sauce
30 gms Butter (I used unsalted)
Salt & pepper (to taste)
2 tbsp Plain flour (maida)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (refer notes)
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cup Hot Milk (I used full fat)
2 tbsp Grated cheese (refer notes)
1/2 – 3/4 cup Grated cheese (refer notes)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180 C, 10 mins before baking.
Grind together 1.5 tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper till it becomes a smooth paste.


Clean the fish fillet. Pat dry and make some gashes on it. Add the above marinade and marinate it for half an hour.


Cook the potatoes till done. Mash the cooked potatoes.


Add 1/2 tsp dried herbs, 2 tbsp butter, 1/4 cup hot milk, salt and pepper to the mashed potatoes. Mix well, until everything is combined. (refer notes)


To make white sauce: melt 30 gms butter in a wide pan. Add flour and cook till the raw smell of the flour goes, around 5-7 mins.


Add milk gradually while stirring the sauce. If it gets lumpy use a whisk (refer notes). Once the milk is added and begins to thicken, add cheese (2 tbsp), salt, pepper and dried herbs. Mix well and keep it aside.


Cook the marinated fish until it's done. Salmon tends to cook faster (3-4 mins on each side and it should be done).


Heat oil in the same pan in which you cooked fish. Add chopped onion and garlic (1.5 tsp). Once the onion browns a bit, add cooked mushroom and shredded salmon. Mix well. Add 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the prepared white sauce to the fish mixture. Mix well and remove from fire.

Grease an eight inch baking dish generously with butter. Transfer the fish mixture to the baking dish. Top it with the remaining white sauce.


Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the white sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese as the top layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 – 25 mins. During the last 5 mins, put it on broil to get a golden crust