Homemade Preserved radish/Chai Poh 自制菜脯

Back home whenever mom/grandma makes porridge/congee, there will definitely be a plate of preserved radish  omelette.

A lot of the preserved radish/Chai poh sold in the market are imported, if you read the label printed on the packaging, the ingredients listed include -- “traces of nitrates”, “E211 (sodium benzoate)”, “E975 (saccharine)” and many other ingredients that I can't even pronounce. It is just making one wonders what is the implication of those chemical stuff and how they make their ways into this traditional treat.

The Radishes sold in the Asian market were really fresh and tasty around end April/May this year, with 29 cents a lbs and plenty of cold/dry air and sunshine.
I can't help but to bring some home to make homemade preserved radish.

小时候妈妈或外婆煮粥的时候通常都菜桌上都会有一道菜脯煎蛋。菜脯/萝卜干是一个非常平民的食材，可以拿来做很多不同的小吃和菜肴。

市场上卖的菜脯/萝卜干大多是进口的，如果你看菜脯包装上列出的材料的话，就会发现市售的菜脯用了很多的化学添加物，多吃还真的对身体不好哦！

过去农耕时代，菜脯是萝卜盛产时把萝卜腌制起来方便保存的一个做法，我想既然过去可以在家做菜脯，现在当然也可以在家自己制作菜脯罗！

四五月时我们这里的亚洲超市萝卜打折，一磅才两毛九。而且四五月的天气很适合制作菜脯，所以我就买了十几磅的大萝卜，自己制作好吃的菜脯。

Jaljeera 【孜然饮料】

Jaljeera is the Indian way to deal with lost of appetite and indigestion on hot summer days. The taste is so rich and flavourful that it almost instantly brighten your mood! Try it out if you haven't already!

夏天总有胃口不开，消化不良的感觉。在印度的时候，那里的夏天是超乎想像的热，当地人就会做些开胃而且帮助消化的冷饮喝。这个Jaljeera就是其中一款。

Chaach（Chaas）【咸味酸奶饮料】

Chaach or Chaas is a yogurt-based drink dilutes with water, it is normally consumed plain or seasoned with a variety of spices, a very popular drink especially in across India, especially in summer. It is also believed to aid digestion, thus often consumed after a heavy meal.

It is commonly made with yogurt that is a few days old and is more sour in taste, I made this plain Chaach using my homemade yogurt this afternoon,  it is refreshing and very yummy!

Chaach也叫做Chaas，是一种咸味的酸奶饮料，在印度一般是夏日饭后的一种饮品。它能够帮助消化，加上少许的香料/香草风味更是独特。

Chaach一般是用家里自制的，比较老的酸奶制作，所以味道偏酸，是旧酸奶很好的一个去处哦！

【印式杏仁牛奶】Almond Milk （Badam Milk)

这款杏仁牛奶冷饮热饮都很好喝，香浓甜美，是素食者的好选择。小朋友也很喜欢噢！

I like Badam milk,  and used to have it when I was in India.

It was more than 100 F here in NJ for the past few days, I decided to make the cold badam milk to cool it off !