List of easy tricks to clean your home this Diwali

Diwali is the most celebrated festival in India. Among many rituals and traditions, one thing which is followed like an annual ritual in Diwali week is the cleaning of rooms and homes. With give-and-take of gifts, home witnesses a lot of friends and relatives visiting and in order to welcome them, one tries to maintain a spick and span house. Weeks before the festival, everyone begins to clean their house in the most energetic way.

Now that you do it every year,we are sure you must know what procedure to follow and how to proceed but just to make things easier for you; we have listed down a few tricks to give your house a cleaner and a shinier look. 

1. Clay for narrow areas

To take out the major chunks of garbage and unused items is easy but what takes up a lot of time is the dust on the window panes and difficult-to-reach areas, so to get rid of this dust, use clay. Form in whatever shape you are most comfortable in and run it between the panes so that the dust particles can stick to it.

2. Lemon juice for stains

Cut the lemon into halves, squeeze the juice on the hard and greasy stains on your kitchen slab or refrigerators and let it stay for some time. Clean the stain with a wet cloth and the stain would easily come out.

 3. Ear buds for corners

This little thing can help clean hard to reach areas like corners or keyboards etc. Just put a liquid cleanser on the cotton and you’re sorted.

 4. Shoe Polish for leather

If you use the right shoe colour polish, then the leather scratches on your sofa can be hidden and the sofa will shine like a new one.

 5. Tamarind (Imli) for metals

Imli doesn’t only just taste good but also works wonders when it comes to cleaning. Clean metals, brass, old darkened silver jewellery, water stains on sinks etc. with the tamarind pulp or tamarind water. Adding salt to it can help clean stubborn stains.

 6. Baking Soda (Meetha Soda) for bathroom surface

Baking soda can easily help in cleaning bathroom surface. Add water to baking soda, put the liquid in a spray and use it to give your bathroom shinier ceramic tiles.

We hope Goddess Laxmi visits your clean house with wealth and prosperity.

To order various cleaning items like baking soda, floor cleaners, brooms, polish etc at www.bazaarcart.com at discounted prices.

List of Bollywood movies about food

There are three things which Indians are crazy about – Bollywood, Cricket, and food. And when two of these three things come together, it is celebrated with utmost joy. Popcorn and movies is an age old combination for the movie seems incomplete without having something to munch. Every state, culture, religion comes with a share of their taste and delicacies and this makes each and every Indian a foodie. To choose between the two is a very difficult task, so, we have brought a list of Bollywood movies about food.

1. Bawarchi

This 1972 Rajesh Khanna film was a big hit and we believe one of the reasons was food. Like the name suggests, Rajesh Khanna played a cook in the filmthat helps a family solve its differences.

2. Cheeni Kum

Though this one is an extraordinary love story, the food in the movie was most flavoursome. Tabu and Amitabh Bachchan’s love story begins at a restaurant where Amitabh is a chef. There is no absence of good looking food in the film anywhere.

 3.  Ramji Londonwaley

There is a chance that you might not have seen the film, but it is about a cook from a village who due to circumstances lands up in London as a cook in a restaurant without his official documents. Not only the people in the film are impressed by his cooking but also the audience to whom his food looks interesting and delicious.

4. Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana

This movie is a treat for chicken lovers. A Punjabi Dhaba run by the Khuranas serving tasty food is sure to make you hungry. Kunal Kapoor and Huma Qureshi along with food serve humour in the most fun way. It is a must watch for its different writing and story.

5. Stanley Ka Dabba

This cute film will take you back to your school days and its lunch breaks where one would have fun and share tiffin with friends. Directed by Amol Gupte, this one is a story of a khadoos teacher who eats the kids’ lunch without their consent. Though it is a very unique kind of a story, it will make you miss your classroom and school even more.

6. The Lunchbox

In this one of a kind tale, the protagonists talk over letters in lunchboxes. The aroma of homemade food would have surely tempted the audience to run back and have food cooked by their mums. Nimrat Kaur and Irrfan Khan’s fabulous portrayal of their simple characters made the film stand out along with brilliant writing and direction.

 7.  Daawat-e-Ishq

Parineeti Chopra’s character from Hyderabad and Aditya Roy Kapoor’s character from Lucknow, this movie is filled with kebabs, biryani and a lot more Mughlai food. It will take you to the streets of Lucknow where the film is shot. It did not do well at the box office but left its viewers hungry.

8. Chef

This one is an adaptation of an American film by the same name. But this film presents the story of a chef who goes onto open his own food truck and travels with his son while preparing the most tempting food.

Reading this would have made you crave tasty food, guess what would happen if you’d watch these movies.

If this list made you want to cook, you can order kitchen essentials, snacks, biscuits, packaged food and more fromwww.bazaarcart.com

7 recipes for romantic candle light dinner

They say “Way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” We say if you want to make someone feel special, make an effort to show it. And what better than cooking! No matter the gender, everyone loves to eat delicious food, and if you think there’s no special occasion yet, then that’s even better because who doesn’t like surprises.

We are sure that you know what your partner likes in terms of setting and stuff but here we can help you cook niceIndian dishes to make your romantic candle light dinner a special experience. These are dishes with a twist that would break the monotony of the food you usually eat.

1. Kerela Chicken Sandwich

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

400 gms boneless chicken

For marination-

2 tbsp pepper & fennel powder (mix)

1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt- to taste

½ lemon juice

For the filling-

2 tbsp refined oil/coconut oil- as per taste

1-2 onions, sliced

2 green chillies, slit

1 tsp garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chilli powder

1 tspgaram masala

½ tsp black pepper powder

1 tbspwaterfor the spices to cook

1 tbsp vinegar

1 sprig fresh curry leaves

1 tbsp crushed black pepper

2 tbsp coconut, shredded

For the sandwich-

2 homemade parathas

1 half fried egg

Method:

Marinate chicken for 10 minutes with lemon juice, turmeric powder, pepper powder, and salt.

Keep this aside while we make the masala for the filling.

Heat a pan with coconut oil. Add in the sliced onions and green chilies.

Let it sauté onmedium heat till light brown (3-4 mins).

Add finely chopped ginger and garlic, mix well for a minute. Add red chili powder,coriander powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder. Mix well and add salt if needed.

Add in the marinated chicken. Mix well, add vinegar, cover, and cook.

If there is water,allow it to evaporate.

Open, and add in the coarsely ground pepper powder and mix well.

Let the chicken dry roast on low flame for another 5 minutes or until it becomes blackishbrown in color.

Make sure that you stir/mix it well so that it does not stick to thebottom of the pan.

Lastly sprinkle curry leaves, crushed black pepper, and shredded coconut and give a nicestir.

For the Sandwich:

Layer one paratha with the cooked chicken.

Cover it with another paratha, top with a half fried egg and serve.

2. Mumbai style pizza

Serves- 1-2

Ingredients:

1 pizza base, medium sized

1-2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1/2 cup onions, finely chopped

1 cup capsicum, finely chopped

½ cup tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup baby corn, diagonally cut and boiled

Fresh coriander leaves, chopped- to garnish

½ block processed cheese (Go Cheese)

1 tsp green chilli chopped or as needed

Salt- only if required.

Method:

Spread the ketchup on the pizza base.

Add finely chopped onions, capsicum, tomato, baby corn one at a time.

Grate processed cheese and add green chilli and fresh coriander on top.

Place the pizza on apan with thelid on medium heat till the cheese melts.

Once the cheese melts, slice the pizza into equal parts and serve.

3. Berry Pulao

Ingredients:

1 cup ml Basmati Rice

1/3 cup mixed berries

1 tsp saffron threads

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp hot milk

3 tbsp oil

1 onion, sliced

Salt to taste

5 cardamom pods

4 cm cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

3 cloves

3 tbsp cashew nuts, toasted

3 tbsp melted butter

Method:

Soak rice for 3 hours.Soak the berries.

In a small bowl combine saffron,sugar and hot milk, stir. Put oil in a medium frying pan and set over a medium high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until it starts to brown. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until it is reddish-brown.Drain the mixed berries and add to the pan, stir for 5 minutes.Bring water to a boil. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf and cloves. Stir once and add the rice. Let it cook in the boiling water until it is three-quarters cooked. Drain in a colander.Spread butter in a pan to melt. Spread half the rice over it. Spread another tablespoon of the butter, plus half the saffron mixture and half the onion-berry mixture and some of its oil on top of the rice.Spread the remaining rice on top of the first layer. Pour the remaining butter over it, followed by the saffron mixture and onion-berry mixture. Set it tobe on low heat with the lid, for 15 minutes. Garnish with mixed berries and toasted cashew nuts.

4. Plum Shikanji

Ingredients:

1kg plum

300 gms sugar

¼ tsp black salt

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

Lemon juice

Ice cubes

1 glass water

Mint leaves for garnish

Method:

In a deep pan, slow cook the sliced plums and sugar until the plum pulp completely disintegrates.

Once done, blend and strain the pulp in a bowl.

Now in a glass add 2 tbsp strained pulp mix, black salt, roasted cumin powder, lemon juice, ice cubes, and water.

Mix until the ingredients dissolve in the glass.

Serve chilled with few mint leaves on the top.

5. No bake Chocolate Oreo Cake

Ingredients:

Oreo Crust-

20 Oreo biscuits

4 tbsp butter, melted

Ganachefilling-

1 cup fresh cream

¼ cup butter, cut into small cubes

170 gms chopped Dark chocolate

1 ½ cup whipped cream

Garnish-

Milk Chocolate, grated

Method:

To make the crust-

Pulse Oreo cookies, with filling, in a food processor until finely ground. 

Transfer crumbs to a medium bowl, add melted butter and mix until sand like texture. 

Press the mixture onto the bottom of removable cake mould.

Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up before adding the filling.

To make the filling- 

In a medium heatproof bowl, place chopped dark chocolate. Set aside. 

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the fresh cream and butter to a low boil. 

Remove from the heat and pour mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute. 

Using a rubber spatula, stir mixture until melted and smooth, add whipped cream to it and then pour the mixture over the chilled crust.

Refrigerate until set, add grated white chocolate and serve.

6. Desi pizza stick

Serves- 3

Ingredients:

1 cup refined flour

2 tbsp thick curd

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup lukewarm water , use as needed

1tbsp refined oil

1 cup paneertikka masala (leftover)

1 cup palakpaneer (leftover)

1 cup paneerkofta (leftover)

3 cheese slices

1/2 cup milk- for milk wash

Tomato ketchup- for garnish.

Method:

In a bowl, add refined flour, thick curd, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, lukewarm water and mix well.

Rub some refined oil in your palms & make the dough.

Let the dough rest for 30 mins.

Make roundels & roll out six oval shaped bases.

Add popsicle sticks at the bottom of three bases.

Add leftover paneertikka masala, palakpaneer, and paneerkofta separately, at the centre of the same bases with popsicle sticks.

Add cheese slices on top of them.

Cover those bases with the remaining rolled out bases.

Use a fork to seal the edges.

Place them in a baking tray with butter paper

Brush milk on them (Milk wash- will give a golden colour to the finished baked pizza sticks)

Bake the desi pizza sticks at 200 °C for 15-20 mins.

Garnish with tomato ketchup.

Serve hot.

7. Stuffed cheesy Sausage chapatti

Serves- 2-3

Ingredients:

1 tbsp refined oil

1 tsp garlic chopped

1 tsp ginger chopped

½ tsp green chillies chopped

½ onion chopped

½ tomato chopped

1/3 tsp roasted cumin powder

Pepper

Salt to taste

½ cup mixed capsicum (green, yellow, red) cubed 1cm

200 gms chicken sausage

Chaat masala

Butter

2 Chapati 

mozzarella cheese

cheddar cheese

Method:

In a pan, heat the oil and add garlic, ginger, green chillies, onions and sauté for a minute.

Now add tomato, roasted cumin powder, pepper, salt and mix them well.

Add mixed capsicum, chicken sausage, and chaat masala.

Now clean the pan and add butter.

Put chapati in the pan.

Top the filling on half of the chapati.

Add some mozzarella cheese on the filling and garnish it with cheddar cheese. Fold the other half to make a half moon.

Once the bottom side is crisp turn the chapati over and let the chapati be on heat until the other side is crisp and the cheese melts too.

Cut the chapati in half and serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

Hope this would help you in choosing what to cook.

5 uses of leftover bread crust

If there is one thing bad about bread, it is its crusts for they are a taste buster not just for kids but also for full grown adults.  Though everyone enjoys sandwiches and bread in other forms too but we often see people taking out its corners leading to unnecessary wastage of bread crusts.

Here, we have put a few uses of those crusts that will help you to avoid dumping those crusts and leftover bread ends.

1. Bread Crumbs

Grind the bread crusts in the mixer and use it as bread crumbs for crisp and tasty snacks.

2. Food for birds

Feed the birds or cows for it is better than throwing them in the dustbin.

3. Fried crumbs

Deep fry these bread crusts and add salt and red chilli powder to it. And your simple and quick evening snack is ready.

4. Cheese Sandwich

Use the ends of the bread loaf to make a single sliced cheese sandwich. The ends are a bit thick which is why they won’t get unsteady and soggy with all the molten cheese.

5. Thickener for soups

Use the crusts to thicken the soups if they are too runny. Put these in the soup and leave it to soak the extra water. Once the soaking by the crust is done, pick them out of the soup and enjoy.

Facts about Aloe Vera you didn’t know

India has been the hub of organic and natural treatments since ages with their oldest Ayurveda treatment.The science that believes nature has everything a human can need, a solution to every question. And with the reintroduction of Ayurveda and Yoga by Baba Ramdev around a decade ago, natural and organic products in the market have been gaining popularity.

And among many, aloe vera is one of the few which have many properties useful to humans. These properties vary from face application gel for smooth skin to reducing dental plague etc.

Listed down below are some of the interesting facts about the plant ‘Aloe Vera’ which you probably did not know.

1.   Aloe Vera produces two elements, gel and latex. Though Aloe Vera Gel is retrieved from cutting the leaf, latex comes from under the plant skin.

2. Aloe Vera plants live a long life. Some go on to live for 100 years.

3. Aloe Vera gel contains 75 healthy nutrients including vitamins, minerals etc.

4. There are more than 200 species of the plant Aloe Vera and the most famous of all is found in North America.

5. To the Egyptians, it was a plant of immortality and the famous queen of Egypt, Cleopatra also included this plant in her daily skin regime.

6. It is also believed that Aloe Vera speeds the healing process and kills bacteria with its medicinal properties.

7. Aloe Vera gel can be heated along with water and its vapour can be inhaled for asthma treatment. It also has the properties to cure diabetes.

After reading all these benefits and facts about this magical plant, I am sure you must be thinking of owning an Aloe Vera plant.

BazaarCart understand your needs, so to buy products with aloe vera and to enjoy the benefits of nature, visit www.bazaarcart.com