Mom has always been about homemade food! She never liked buying sweets; instead she would prepare it from scratch. As a kid, it was one of my favorite parts of the season. I used to help her in whatever little way I could and taste all the delights much before anyone else did. This time, I asked her to teach me the method of preparing perfectly soft gulab jamuns, a treat loved by every Indian....
So, to cheer us up, we decided to make some chicken kebab with lots of herbs and called it Hara Bhara Chicken. ‘Hara’ in hindi means the color Green and ‘Bhara’ means whole-sum 🙂 He usually prefers to grill it and that is the kind of cooking he enjoys :), but I wanted to make it easy. So, we baked it and then broiled it. It was cooked to perfection....
I will not call this Kerala Style Fish Curry as an authentic Malabari style fish curry, but it is pretty darn tasty. I did make a few alterations with the recipe, but the overall taste was pretty much spot on! What variety of fishes can you use? I used shol fish and it is a fresh lake water, soft white fish with just one bone in the center. You can use catfish, king fish, mackerel, pomfret or tilapia....
What is Moong Daal Khasta Kachori ? Kachori is one of the most popular street foods in North India. The local vendors prepare it freshly and fry it in a ginormous pan during morning hours. The term khasta means flaky. So this variety is prepared with a thick layered flaky crust. It’s great for breakfast on-the-go and around evening hours for people to pick it their way home. A perfect warm indulging snack to keep you going, especially on those cold winter months....
Recipe ideas start flowing in and I am already dreaming of our next meal. I remember a silly act I did last year. When I came home one spring morning with a bag full of these carrots, I chopped off the tops and threw it without even thinking through. It was only after I spoke to mom the next day, it occurred to me that it’s edible. Lesson learnt! This time, I knew exactly what I wanted to do....
Few months back, my friend Madhu opened a group in Facebook called ‘Pork-Lover’ and asked me if I could cook something special for the group. Well, why not! what are friends for 🙂 I have always enjoyed this red meat and decided to try Pork Vindaloo. Vindaloo is originally derived from the Portuguese dish “Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos” which is made with pork, wine and garlic. The dish was modified by addition of vinegar instead of wine and lots of kashmir chilies, which gives a rich color to the dish without making it too hot!...
Strawberries are naturally sweet but low in sugar. One serving of strawberries has less than half the sugar of an apple and half the calories of a banana. This makes it ideal for an everyday diet. Clinical research suggests that eating just a serving of eight strawberries is good for the whole body. It promotes healthy heart, manages diabetic, supports brain health and reduces the risk of some cancers. Strawberries are packed with beneficial antioxidants and nutrients including potassium, folate and fiber....
Vermicelli Upma Upma is a traditional South Indian breakfast prepared with assorted veggies and semolina. The semolina Upma is something I have been familiar with since I was a kid. Vermicelli Upma I learned from Arvind. And then he once made for my Mom, and now this Vermicelli Upma is my Mom’s go-to dinner on days when she doesn’t feel like eating rice or roti. Vermicelli Upma is a great choice for lunch box as it tastes equally good even at room temperature and vermicelli doesn’t get soggy or mushy when packed in the lunch box....
What are Cheese Crisps ? Cheese Crisps are a very popular healthy snack that you must have seen a lot in several stores. It is so easy to make and once you make it at home, you will stop buying from stores. It takes less than 15 minutes to prepare these delicious savory treat. These cheese crisps are baked, doesn’t have any carb and yet tastes like fried chips. When baked at the right temperature, it snaps perfectly and turns out so crunchy....
If you have been following my blog for a while now, you should know that I share different kinds of dishes, not restricting to any particular kind of cuisine. However, with my cookbook, I have gone back to my roots and filled it with Bengali Food. It’s the food that I grew up eating, food that I learnt to cook from Ma and the food that always takes me back home....
While reading Ana Sortun’s Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, I learned about a spice mix called Dukkah (say Dooh-kah), which can also be spelled as Duqqa or Dukka. My Indian friends might automatically relate to the word ‘suffering’ or ‘stress’ because that’s what it means in Hindi (kind of). Trust me, it’s nowhere even close to anything sad. It has a robust flavor, looks rustic, tastes nutty and can bring immense joy to your belly....
Egg Omelette Curry Bengali Style Egg Omelette Curry is also sometimes referred to as Mamlette er torkari or Dim Omelette Jhol. I haven’t met any Bengali who doesn’t love this dish unless he or she is allergic to egg. Dimer Dalna is one of the most common Bengali Egg curry, which Ma would prepare at least once in two weeks. And to switch it up, Ma would make this dish. She would prepare the Omelettes and let me eat one tiny portion while she uses the rest to prepare the Egg Omelette Curry....
Roasting fruit always brings out the flavor; it’s more perfumed and robust. And when you throw in some earthy spices or fresh herbs, it takes the fruit to a whole new level of flavor fiesta! Let me warn you, that roasted strawberries with fennel seeds smell divine, and it will be extremely difficult to resist. But save some to enjoy it slowly after you make the delicious strawberry yogurt. I made a small batch but occasionally when I make a very big batch, I do an extra step of adding the mixture to an ice cream machine and churn it to give that cold ice cream texture....
The picnic basket is a cute wicker basket filled with several items to make your picnic cheerful. Here is the list of things you can expect in the picnic basket - Trio Jam Box, Green Pesto, Gouda, Brie, Caramelized Onion & Chevre Cream Cheese, Blueberries, Apricots, Walnuts, Tangerines and Granny Smith Apples, Greek Goddess Dip, Basil Crackers and Baguette. If you are like me, who loves to cook with different varieties of salts, I can assure you that you’ll love the salts gift hamper....
What is Ilish Maach Bhaja? Ilish Maach is Hilsa Fish, and it is the national fish of Bangladesh. It is freshwater fish and is very good for the heart with high content of Omega-3 fatty acids. Ilish Maach is used in several ways to various different curry preparation. But the most common one which brings immense joy is this utterly simple Ilish Maach Bhaja fried in mustard oil. WATCH THE DETAILED VIDEO OF ILISH MAACH BHAJA...
A few weeks back, when the temperature dropped down a lot in this sunny California area, we felt the need to grill some chicken. Surely the aroma of charcoal was missing but then there were other flavors that worked beautifully, balancing each other and creating a perfect meal. Preparing the malai chicken tikka and assembling it to a taco lunch was so easy and fuss free that it didn’t even interrupt our lazy Sunday mood....
Baking bread makes me very happy, and every once in a while I like to spend an entire day just baking bread. I definitely prefer no knead baking method but then someday, I don’t mind taking out my stand mixer either. The whole process from activating the yeast to watching the dough rise and turns so soft and bake to that crispy golden crust is so satisfying. This Pesto Tomato Garlic Focaccia happened on one such day when I ran out of ideas of what to make for dinner....
After a heavy indulgence over the weekend, I like to keep Monday meals simple. This Peyaj Mushuri Dal with steamed white rice and some salad on the side is filling and quick. It takes just about 25 minutes and is a great choice for meatless Mondays. This Peyaj Mushuri Dal / caramelized onion masoor dal recipe is Vegetarian and if you serve with rice you can make it gluten-free. It’s plant-based, and dairy-free....
Ravioli in Cherry Tomatoes I always store frozen raviolis for busy days. Quick toss with a sauce of your choice and the meal is ready. This dish happened randomly on a day when I had to finish some cherry tomatoes. While I was preparing the dish, I made a quick video and shared it in my very new TikTok account. To my biggest surprise, it went viral and gave me 4....
Samosa is one of the most popular Indian snack! Close to our old apartment, there is this very popular Indian sweet and snack shop. It is always jam-packed, serving folks their favorites. They definitely make sure no one misses their favorites from back home. Almost every Friday evening, Arvind would stop there from work and pick my all time preferred – samosa. A short message from him and I would quickly start prepping masala chai....
