Cranberry-Jalapeño Sweet & Spicy Dip

  This Cranberry-Jalapeño Sweet & Spicy Dip is so much fun so delicious and made up of such a unique combination of ingredients and flavors as well. The colors and flavors are way too perfect for holiday recipes.! It is the ideal blend of tart, spicy and sweet, and when eaten with crackers, it is simply one of the most “complete” appetizer I’ve tasted, trust me:) The silky, cream cheese offsets the gentle spice of the dip perfectly and compliments the play on sugar and spice. Served with crispy crackers, this dip really is a holiday palate pleaser.. Hope you enjoy it just as much as we did!!

  My #foodiemonday #bloghop Entry for #driedfruit theme. 

Ingredients::
10oz. Dried Cranberry
8oz. Cream Cheese(softened)
1-2 tablespoon Fresh Chopped Jalapeño pepper
1/4 cup Chopped Green Onion
2 tablespoon Chopped Cilantro
1/3 cup Brown Sugar(more or less to taste)
1/2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Dash of salt
Crackers for serving
Method::

* In a medium-sized bowl, add chopped dried cranberries, green onion, cilantro and jalapeño.

* Pour sugar, lemon juice and salt over cranberry mixture and stir gently until blended.

*Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one hour. If you prefer less tart cranberries, keep in the refrigerator overnight.

* Take cranberry mixture out of the refrigerator and stir all ingredients together. Strain out the liquid using a collander with small holes.

* Spread cream cheese over bottom of a serving plate.

* Pour cranberry mixture atop cream cheese and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

* Serve with Ritz crackers.

 

* Enjoy!

 

 

 

Pomegranate-Apple Raita in Strawberry Yogurt

   A simple and easy-peasy raita recipe to go with any routine meal or fasting(vrat) meal.. A perfect recipe to include some proteins and vitamins-minerals in the fasting days. There are endless variation for this kind of Raita, but as I'm preparing this for Navratri Vrat, so I took care to use the spices which are allowed during fasting days. So this raita is just spiced up gracefully with minimum ingredients...let's have a look of this Strawberry flavoured, sweet-spicy and delicious Raita....

    My #foodiemonday #bloghop #navratrispecial contribution....Happy Navratri And Happy Dasera to all of you...

Ingredients::
1 cup Yogurt
2 crushed Strawberries
2 chopped strawberries
2-3 tbls Pomegranate seeds
2 tbls chopped Apple
Some chopped Mint leaves
1tsp oil
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Musturd seeds
1 tsp chopped green Chilli
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
1-2 tsp Sugar
Sindhav salt (fasting salt) to taste
Method::
* Mix crushed strawberries and yogurt very well.

* Add chopped apple, chopped strawberries and pomegranate seeds in yogurt.

* Add cumin powder, red chilli powder, Chopped mint leaves, sindhav salt and sugar.

* Mix all again.
* Heat the oil for tadka.
* Add mustard seeds and chopped green chillies in oil and cook for 1-2 mins.
* Add Tadka to the yogurt and mix it well.

* Serve it cold with any Vrat Puri, Thepla or anything else..

Variation::
* You may add any kind of fruits in this Raita.
* Add regular salt if you using this raita on no fasting or vrat days.
* You may use any fruit crushed to make flavored yogurt besides Strawberry.

Happy Cooking!!!