Fresh mango pulp and a spicy kick from the jalapeños makes this refreshing and quick to make Mango Jalapeno Margarita. A perfect drink for mango lovers this summer.

So… its been a while.

More than a year. 

I have been irregular for a while on the blog, but I still would wake up after a few months to post. But to not post an entire year (the last post was January 2021), that’s a first.

I have no excuse except I did not feel like writing. The convenience of posting a picture and sharing a recipe if someone wants it on my instagram page was more tempting. Not that I was doing that often either. My postings on instagram have not been very consistent- the addition of reels to the platform hasn’t helped, even though I do like making videos. I started making videos in 2013 and making food videos is what started my career in photography when I moved back to India in 2016. But that was when there was no one making it. And while I am thoroughly entertained by reels (pet reels are my stress buster), I hate that most of the feed is the same song played repeatedly with people dancing on the same steps. Not to say there is not good quality content on that platform. Instagram was always aspirational, but it did come to become a little overwhelming for me. Content creators churning new content every day. And that too video content- which to my old school brain takes time to conceptualize, shoot, edit, find music (!). For someone who has always been used to working alone, it became overwhelming to manage everything and delivering so much.

While the first wave of covid saw me productive as never before, I soon could not keep up. So the recipes stopped. The personal projects stopped. And the silence took over. Photography, styling and video work for clients went on. But creatively I felt lost. I felt lost in general. I still feel do. 

I am trying to revive this space. While I had not been posting, I did discover some new recipes along the way. Some were shared on instagram, but I feel they all deserve a more permanent space too. Today I am sharing the recipe for these quick and easy to make mango jalapeño margaritas.

Mango Jalapeno Margarita

This spicy margarita drink was something I first tried at a restaurant in Dallas, and soon became a favorite. During the first lockdown, A and I worked on this recipe and while I posted the recipe for these mango jalapeno margaritas on instagram, it deserves a permanent blog space. 

Ingredients required for this spicy margarita cocktail:

  • Tequila
  • Cointreau (or any other orange liqueur)
  • Lime juice
  • Mango – you need the pulp and a few fresh pieces for the garnish
  • Jalapeños (if fresh are not available, I have used the jar ones also successfully)
  • Chilli salt- to rim your glasses (if you have tajin that works too, but make your own chilli salt with red chili powder/paprika and salt. I use pink salt, but regular will also do.

The steps are fairly easy and quick. Given that mangoes are in season, I do hope you get to try this summer perfect drink mango jalapeño margarita recipe.

P.S: We have some mangoes in the refrigerator, so guess we might make it for the weekend too. 

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Eggless coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting | The Novice HousewifeSo I am aware that I am kind of cheating by sharing this recipe for eggless coconut cupcakes under Garam Masala Tuesdays.  “Kind of” because I have a reason why I am sharing the recipe today so it is not entirely cheating. But cheating nonetheless because we all know that cupcakes are anything but Indian.

Yes, you might have Indian spices inspired cupcakes- but cupcakes in general are not Indian and they can not be categorized as Indian.

Which actually led me to think- are there any traditional Indian desserts that are baked? I had a hard time coming up with any that is baked and maybe I am overlooking something obvious, but would the Indian readers of this blog let me know of traditional Indian baked goods if they think of any. The ones that I can think of are either fried or cooked. The closest I can think of a baked dessert is shahi tukda, where you fry bread (which has obviously been baked before) and serve it with flavored thickened milk. Other than that I draw a blank. What about you?

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SHU_7154

I started the Garam Masala Tuesdays series in April of 2011, and finally after 2 years, I am posting a recipe for homemade Garam Masala! If I wasn’t embarrassed enough, I would be laughing at the irony of it. But in all fairness when I started the series I did mention that I hardly ever use garam masala in my cooking. So why the name Garam Masala tuesdays? You can read about that here.

If I hardly use garam masala, why the recipe then. Well, ever since I have started making my own garam masala, I do use it more than I previously did, because it just adds that touch of flavor which makes my dishes come together perfectly.

Garam Masala literally translates to warm/hot spice mix. Garam In Hindi means Hot, and Masala means blended spices.

But when I say hot it doesn’t mean that the spices are spicy hot. It means that the spices raise the heat of the body by raising the metabolism and hence the name garam masala. And that is why you should always use garam masala sparingly in your cooking. Too much of it and your stomach will bear the brunt of it.

MaceCoriander seedsCumin seeds

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