Summers have already started in this part of the world with temperatures soaring to 35 degrees during day time. And with it, here comes a recipe of Sweet Lassi - a very cooling and refreshing drink from North India especially from the state of Punjab.

In Punjab, they make this lassi very thick and serve in tall glasses which is very filling. They also add a dollop of makhan on top of it. I have flavored my glass of lassi with cardamom powder, you can also add few drops of rose water to make it more flavorful.

I happened to visit Singapore last year with my family on a short trip. I was amazed with the city and its culture. Infact, Singapore is not only one of the world's major commercial hubs but also one of the best travel destination. It has got four official languages - English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese and Tamil. Just like their language and cultural diversity, their food too is an amalgamation of cuisines from Malay, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Peranakan and also some western foods. Most Singaporeans prefer to have their meals from take aways and from hawker centers or food stalls instead of going to restaurants. These stalls are available in plenty and offer wide variety of food at a very reasonable prices.

We too during our stay there preferred to had our food from hawker centers and take aways. We tried various dishes like chilli crab, the clay pot chicken rice, curry chicken noodles, fried rice, hainanese chicken rice and nasi lemak. For desserts we had egg tarts and for the breakfast kaya toast was the best. We also enjoyed their beverages and teh tarik, a Malay inspired tea was the best among all. Being an Indian, we mostly hogged on Indian influenced dishes like butter chicken, nasi biryani, roti prata, murtabak, naan and the list just goes on. I was really fascinated by the wide variety of Indian dishes available there.

But the food that I and my family loved the most was a Malay influenced Satay which is basically grilled meat skewers. It is a must try food item if you happen to visit Singapore. Actually, the concept of grilling meat on skewers is not something very specific to the region, but it is prepared world wide with each area having their own version of satay. While in the West it is known as grilled meat, in India, we call it by the name of seekh kabab, and in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, it is popularly known as Satay.

In Singapore, Satay is prepared by skewering marinated meat on a bamboo stick and grilled over a charcoal fire. They usually serve it in bunches of 10 along with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce. It is accompanied by ketupat - a malay rice cakes wrapped in coconut leaves, chopped onion and cucumber. Being a food blogger and food enthusiast, I kept my eye on the hawkers grilling the satay and casually chit chatted with one of them asking for the recipe. In a very friendly manner, he gave me the recipe and kept doing his work.

The recipe that he told me was very simple and he gave me the ingredients required for 500 gms of chicken. For making the marination we need to blend together 10 shallots, 2 garlic cloves, 4 lemon grass stalks (white part only) and 2 slices of galangal. Then add 2 tbsp of ground coriander, 2 tsp of ground cumin, a pinch of turmeric, 1 tsp of sea salt, 8 tbsp of unrefined cane sugar, 1 tbsp of thick dark soy sauce and 3-4 tbsp groundnut oil and mix well everything together. Marinate the chicken in this marinade overnight or for 24 hours. Soak the skewers in cold water for few hours to prevent them from burning. Now thread the chicken pieces on the skewers and grill them directly over the charcoal fire, basting with generous amount of oil to give it a well-browned glaze. He also gave me the tip of making it in an oven and grilling it for 5 minutes each side. But yes, I know nothing can be compared to the satay cooked directly on charcoal.

Mmmmm, my mouth is watering now and I feel like going to Singapore once again and enjoy these delicious Satay.

Paneer Butter Masala is a very popular paneer dish from North India. It is very easy to prepare and a good choice for vegetarians who can relish this instead of yummy butter chicken. When making this recipe always use ripe and red tomatoes which will give a nice colour to the gravy. Also the addition of cashew nut paste and fresh cream gives a creamy consistency to this gravy.

Nihari is a dish from the Indian subcontinent, which is a spicy stew of either mutton or chicken slow cooked for hours together to give that authentic taste. In my earlier post of Mutton Nihari, I had mentioned that I prepared Chicken Nihari too with the same Homemade Nihari Masala. Both of them tasted so good that I cannot describe here. So finally, I'm presenting for you to enjoy and relish with roti, naan or rice.