Roasting vegetables or fruits always enhances the flavor, making it robust with the caramelized taste. Whenever I crave a tomato based pasta, I always prefer to roast the tomatoes instead of using a canned tomato. Roasted Pepper and Tomato Pasta and Roasted cherry tomatoes and Eggplant are two of my go-to summer pasta, and you must try if you haven’t already. Ingredients you need to make Roasted Tomato and Garlic Spaghetti Tomatoes - You can use cherry tomatoes or regular big size tomatoes....

My family loves risotto and I make it round the year with seasonal produce. One of my favorite early summer risottos is pea and asparagus risotto. Currently my tomato plant is giving us a lot of cherry tomatoes and I am making the confit on repeat. Last week I added it to our risotto along with zucchini that is also from my garden. Nothing beat the freshness of fresh produce....

I love collecting tiny jars. It helps me to make my salad dressing, freeze condiments, store spices and then occasionally, serve salad in it. Mason Jar Salad or Salad in A Jar is not a new concept but it’s just as exciting every time I build one. Like a fresh new discovery! It’s a great way to pack salad for lunch or a picnic. All you have do is just toss the bowl and dig in....

Why You’ll Love Chicken Chow Mein Quick & Easy: With a few simple ingredients and minimal prep time, you can whip up a restaurant-quality meal at home in under 30 minutes. Customizable: Not a fan of certain veggies? Want more spice? Chow Mein is endlessly adaptable. You can throw in your favorite vegetables, adjust the sauce, or even change up the protein. One-Pan Wonder: Fewer dishes, less hassle! Everything comes together in a single wok or large skillet, making cleanup a breeze....

If I leave the dinner carryout idea to Arvind, we land up eating biryani, almost always! The boy doesn’t get bored of the dish, ever. Every time he hears of a new type of biryani, he hunts down the best place to try it out. I am not a huge fan of biryani and my biggest concern with restaurant biryani is that it never has enough meat or that robust flavor....

A trip to the Farmer’s Market on a Sunday morning assures me that I have become a ‘foodie’. I preferred to let go of my sleep on a Sunday Morning and that was not normal. I had always loved the extra 15 minutes of morning sleep.. alarm.. snooze.. alarm.. snooze.. ok, get up now! Last weekend, I was so excited to visit the Farmer’s market that i didn’t even need an alarm....

What is Focaccia Bread? Focaccia is easy bread to bake, even for beginners! This Tomato Rosemary Focaccia requires almost no kneading at all and just a little wait time for the dough to rise. You then flattened the dough on a sheet pan or a cake pan and poked it all around. This is the most satisfying part of baking focaccia. Drizzle a good doze of olive oil on top of the focaccia bread and then top it with your choice of ingredients....

My first memory of Kolkata egg roll was not in Kolkata but in Shillong, a hill station where I grew up. We didn’t have this roll as a street food all-year round but it would always be available during Durga Puja. Every Durga Puja pandal has multiple food stalls and at least one of them would definitely serve egg roll. All the four days of Durga Puja meant too much indulging in those food stalls and I would have at least one egg roll everyday....

Macher Jhol This Macher Jhol is prepared using rui maach or rohu fish. But you can try catfish or salmon steak too. Rohu Fish: It’s a lake water fish very common in Bengali cuisine. It is a species of carp family found in rivers in south Asia. It is not soft white fish and it does have a lot of bones. In US, you can find it in Bangladeshi Stores and few selected Indian stores....

Palak Paneer To break down the name, Palak in Hindi means Spinach and Paneer is Indian cottage cheese. You put them together with some aromatic spices and you get luscious aromatic paneer curry. You can pair the dish with jeera rice (cumin rice) or roti (Indian wheat flat bread). I often make roti unless I want to indulge with my yeast free Instant Naan. Palak Paneer vs Saag Typically, in North India, Saag is referred to a mix of mustard greens and spinach....

Our menu often includes a rice dish of different varieties, and on cold nights, I like to make a creamy risotto. Occasionally, I make extra risotto, so that the next day I can make some crispy arancini for snack time. When it comes to risotto, the key ingredient is the rice and you want the best quality. I always go for RiceSelect®​ Arborio Rice. Arborio rice is an incredible base for self-expression and will result in an unforgettable meal....

Spiced Grilled Corn - Bhutta Masala? In India, you will come across Masala Bhutta being cooked in open fire charcoal or wood in the roadside stall. It’s almost impossible to pass by without grabbing one on the go. The smoky flavor that you get from charcoal makes it extra special. We always do that in our camping trips. HERE IS A QUICK VIDEO At home, however, I just use our outdoor gas stove to char the sweet corns to make this delicious nostalgic Spiced Grilled Corn!...

Few months’ back, I decided to try almond butter. Everyone was talking so much about it that I couldn’t stop myself. So, like a fool, I bought the biggest jar from Costco. When you try something for the first time, you should get a tiny jar. Duh! No offence to you all almond butter lovers, I just don’t like it. Blame my palate. I tried the butter different ways but I couldn’t get past the first bite....

I haven’t tried all of these yet but I will get there some day. Very gradually, I started to enjoy the crunchy texture of brown rice. It took a while for me to learn the boiling technique but once I figured that out, brown rice got a permanent spot in my pantry right next to the basmati white rice. Rice is not our daily diet but once in a while, I like to jazz it up with some egg or chicken, green vegetables and asian sauces to boost the flavor....

Today I don’t want to talk just about Badam Doodh. I want to discuss with you about the goodness of real milk. There is a real Milk for Every Moment! We grew up drinking dairy milk twice a day and thankfully we could pass the tradition on to our kid. Our morning breakfast is often simple, with granola, oats or cereal. Irrespective of what we choose we like to enjoy it with little warm milk....

What are the 5 key Ingredients that goes in the Carrot Ginger Soup? CarrotSweet PotatoesChicken StockWhite OnionFresh Ginger The fresh ginger makes this Carrot Ginger Soup extra tasty with the right zest of mild spice. You can add powdered ginger too if you absolutely don’t have fresh ones. You know how some ingredients are just meant to be together, like a marriage made in heaven! Chocolate and Orange, Dill and Cucumber, Nectarine and Rosemary, Mango and Chili, Carrot and Ginger are few such flawless flavor combinations....

Like last year, this year too we managed to go for Cherry picking and came home with a boat load. After munching most of it as is, I knew I had to remake the Ice Cream. Eggless Cherry Ice Cream The first time I made Cherry Ice Cream was almost 9 years back, and even though back then I didn’t have a sweet tooth, I enjoyed it a lot. I updated the 9 years old recipe with this eggless Cherry Ice Cream....

I left the artichoke hearts into big bite size but you could always chop it finely to blend it with the spinach and creamy gravy. It’s been a few days since we have gone low carb. We are avoiding rice completely, which is not easy for this Bengali girl. Also, we are cutting down on bread. Not going completely off as I am not good with restricted diet but consciously watching the portions that we consume....

The flavor blend was simple but gave a robust aroma. Sweet fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, few green cardamoms and a good dose of kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) all sizzling in hot oil. It made my kitchen smell divine. Typically, preparing a makhani sauce is a long process of slow simmering lots of tomatoes in aromatic spices. Some cream and a dollop of butter gets added tuning it into a thick creamy makhani sauce....

EASY FLAN I didn’t know how easy it was to prepare flan/ crème caramel until I tried it the other day. This year, my goal is to break free of these dessert phobias that I have been building up for years. I did make custard several times in the past but the caramel is what scared me the most. I was pretty sure that I will burn it and I did exactly that on my first try....