Sauteed Garlic Herb Mushrooms

When you are either learning the basics of cooking or have been at it for a while, being asked to create a dish from memory is always challenging and tricky. The challenge increases multiple fold when it has to be from someone else's memory. Yes that is the story behind this dish. This other day when I made pizza - which I have several times - hubs somehow decided to take a trip down the memory lane. He began describing how when he was in India, they had opened a brand new Pizza Hut in his city, one of the very first ones in the entire country in those times. He of course had paid a visit to eat a veggie pizza that as he describes cost an arm and a leg. The one thing they brought with the pizza was a sampler of sauteed garlic mushrooms on the house. The pizza was great, he goes on, but the taste of the mushrooms stuck with him. Of course I took the hint, asked him a few questions on what more he remembered of what it looked like, and tried it. Yes he said these were better than the ones he had way back when. What a relief!

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Smashed Spicy Baby Potatoes

Oh this one is just yum! We finished a plateful only a few hours ago and as I write this I am craving bad for another bite of these cuties. Yes, no kidding, they are that good. With their super crispy skin coated and infused with spices that carry a kick that could lift any spirit, warm creamy insides that are ever so slightly crunchy with all the roasting, they are so good I could bet you would fight the others at the table for the last one. Do try these especially with my homemade Tandoori masala.

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Baked Buffalo Broccoli Bites!

Now I realize the post before the last was Brussels Sprouts and here I am trying to sell you guys in to Broccoli - another vegetable that is famous in its notoriety for not being the most liked. But trust you me, after you eat this, you might just discover your new found love for this nutritious member of the cabbage family.
I speak from personal experience. Usually I try to make a vegetable many different ways - in a curry would be my first way, dry pan roasted, oven roasted, tandoori style, mixed with rice as a one pot meal and probably a couple others. Most vegetable are very agreeable to most these methods and come out pretty good. Your good old broccoli on the other hand, not so much. It usually only works for me only when roasted dry with some light seasoning. After tasting these bites, especially with the spicy homemade buffalo sauce, this will be the preferred way to eat broccoli in my household at least for some time to come.

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Roasted Parmesan Garlic Brussels Sprouts with Sour Cream Dip

Who wants to eat brussels sprouts, right? If you were to make a list of commonly available vegetables that most people dislike, these little guys would most probably be very near if not the top of that list. Heck they use these even in TV shows when they have to show parents trying to stuff veggies into kids and the kids kicking up a fuss. Well, not in my family. Hubs loves them and the way he likes to put it "Who wouldn't especially if made the way you make 'em"! This was a new vegetable to me as well until a few years ago when their cute little cabbage shape got my attention. No points for guessing that curiosity got the better of me and I got a batch immediately. Of course the first thing I tried was to cook them like cabbages - in a curry. That was a success. Since then I have cooked them several different ways but these roasted ones are the most popular in my family. They are easy to make, not to mention very nutritious and with their crispy exterior and juicy soft insides, they make a great appetizer or a side to a meal.
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Hot Cheesy Spinach Dip with Garlic Toast

Its snack time at USMasala again. And talking about snack time, it is just in time for the weekend to gather around your big flat screen with your favorite people and favorite snacks and just have a good time. Now I don't claim to be a big fan of the game, heck I barely know how it is played. I am still at heart the good old girl from that part of the world that lives and breathes a good game of Cricket. But watching a great game with family and friends gathered around definitely brings back some vivid memories. Just remember to handle this ever popular dip with care. It comes out of the oven really hot and just so flavorful and yummy with all that creamy spinach goodness ready to be scooped up with your favorite chip or a nice crunchy garlic toast that if you got too much into the game you might be scraping the bottom of the bowl - no pun intended.
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Baked Red Velvet Donuts!

My kitchen drawer where I keep my bake ware is almost always in a disarray. All the different shapes and sizes of pans and trays oftentimes do not play very well together when it comes to staying organized. Then to top that I just cannot resist buying a baking pan or tray that I come across and it catches my attention. The donut tray I used for this recipe was another such thing that I had to have when I saw it the other day at the store. It was a Wilton brand pan and this recipe was in fact right on the packaging itself. They make the perfect shaped donuts and whats better is that you can actually eat a few since they are baked and not deep fried. To kick it up another notch, if the donuts are the red velvet kind, what's not to like, after all who doesn't like red velvet cake. These came out really nice and soft and velvety and then with that cream cheese glaze on top, you just go 'yummm'. They are perfect  treat for the upcoming Valentine's day too.
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Rasam Vada/Crisp lentil dumplings in a spiced tomato soup

This has been in my drafts folder forever. Not sure why it never made it out the door, well at least not until now. Guess I was waiting for the right moment. Talking about the right moment, these crispy dumplings soaked in the spicy soup is just perfect while you wait in the comfort of your home for that first snow, not that it ever snows here in south Florida. This dish hails from southern India but has come to be popular in all parts of the country of course with the details varying on how its done every couple hundred miles. Here I present how I like to do them. Hubs is a big fan of this and when I pulled out this recipe from my drafts, I did get to hear a mouthful on how I haven't made these for him in a while. When you take a spoonful into your mouth, while you enjoy the crispiness from the dumplings, the spicy soup kicks in and makes it just a delightful mix of flavors on your palate. The recipe is not too tricky either. It uses simple ingredients including the Rasam powder that are easily available in any Indian grocery store. And yes, if you cannot get the  donut shape right, it is perfectly okay to just shape the dumplings as regular dough balls.

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Spicy Roasted Baby Potatoes!

This one's for hubs. Granted potatoes are very versatile and well liked but he is something else. You could write songs for his love for potatoes. There are only two ways he does not like potatoes, in the raw and in the vodka form. If you are not so much of a potato fan, don't lose heart as these little guys here might just win you over. Coated with spices and slightly crispy from being sauteed and nice and tender and juicy from the inside, they are the perfect snack. Use it when entertaining guests or heck teach him how to make it so he can use it to get some points with you every now and then.

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Mungfali Pakoda/Spicy Crispy Peanut Fritters

here are some ready-to-eat foods that we are used to seeing around us growing up. Foods that you feel like grabbing when you crave a snack, foods that mom always kept a stock of in the pantry, foods that the pharmacy store around the corner carried that it had no business selling. Then you grow up and move out. If you are like me, you move out to a place where there is neither mom's pantry nor the corner pharmacy that sold the snack. Well yeah Walgreens pretty much sells everything... but its not the same. Then mom comes for a visit and shares her cooking secrets with he beloved daughter :) This is one such recipe. A very common spicy snack in India, is sold in little snack packets in practically every store that sells snacks, but if you ever tried making these yourself, you would know these are really tricky. But if you follow the recipe closely, you will be glad you tried. You pop a couple in your mouth and you get the crunch of the crispy outer covering and by the time you get to the soft yet chewy peanut inside, the spices in the coating kick begin to make their music. Let me know if you could resist reaching out for seconds.

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Pan Roasted Tandoori Potatoes

y experience with food over the last several years tells me that people love potatoes. Plain and simple, they do. Especially the dry roasted and crispy kind. For one thing, the potato appetizer recipes on US Masala get more hits from people all over the world than all other dishes combined (nutella based recipes being a close second). Serve some crispy baked potatoes in a get-together and I have seen people flock to that tray first. Then of course the ever popular french fry does deserve a mention which however you should avoid for them being soaked in oil and all. I have sung praises of the potato in some of my other popular posts. You can find them here -
Roasted baby potatoes Indian style
Garlic masala baked potato wedges
Samosa
Masala potato cake with ginger walnut cilantro pesto
Hubs is also a big fan of this vegetable. In fact they had a cook off at his office in one of those annual office events where he looked up my recipe on his iPhone and made the roasted baby potatoes. As he tells me, they were a hit and were gone in no time. I believe him.
Here is another potato snack which is a treat to the senses. Being pan roasted with only 2 tbsp of oil, you can enjoy a few. Pick one up with a fork (a toothpick makes it more fun) and enjoy the savory goodness of the creaminess of the baby potatoes soaked with the flavors of an exotic tandoori marinade, made crispy on the outside with a quick pan roast. For this dish, make the reach for your share from the platter because if you snooze you will lose - they will all be gone.

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Masala Potato Cake with Ginger Walnut Cilantro Pesto

oes without saying that good food has always held an important place in our lives. Now maybe its just me but I feel that the hands that make good food have gained the respect and have been given the due credit they deserve only in recent times. Thanks to popular media that stepped up to the plate and made not just food but also cooking fashionable. Even so this has happened only in recent times (you do remember those early 90's cooking shows don't you). Today there are entire television channels dedicated to food and present food in style. 

Credit also goes to some pioneers in this field. Growing up I always fancied cooking shows. I even have my little list of chefs that I have followed and like, some more than others. I have even blogged about several of the recipes from some of my most favorite chefs. One of the more recent additions to the list - and not just anywhere but very close if not the topmost on the list - is chef Vikas Khanna. He is one of those personalities whom I have very recently come to know and deeply admire. He is through and through a total inspiration right from the humility with which he speaks about even his biggest achievements, from the early days of his struggle to the peak of success which he is at right now to the passion with which he uses his ingredients in his food (you should watch him talk about spices, say some rare kind of pepper that he considers extra special, like a woman would about the newly acquired rock on her finger).
So here is a recipe that I adapted from one of his collections. Needless to say we all loved it.
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Potli Samosa/ Samosa bundles

 am back! I hope you all had a healthy, safe, enjoyable and restful holidays and oh yes don't worry about those holiday pounds, you got eleven months to get rid of 'em... lol. It is amazing how I have barely been able to wish family and relatives on the new year and we already are two days into it. That seems to be the trend in recent years, they seem to simply fly away. I sometimes still I like to think we are in 2005... yep that seems more reasonable... but the calendar tells me otherwise.
Shake it off, we've got samosas to fry - and not any ordinary ones, these cuties are still all dressed up for that one last holiday party in their little baggie outfits or 'potlis' made of dough. 'We eat first with our eyes' as they say and a bite into these potli samosa only reinstates that belief. The same yum samosa taste, for no technical reason all of a sudden tastes even better. Of course goes without saying, the compliments you get if you serve them when entertaining, doesn't hurt.
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Chilli Paneer dry/Paneer cheese in a spicy chilli soy sauce

o tantrums and food have any relation for you? Well, in my case, growing up they had quite a lot to do with each other. This is what my dear mom used to cook especially for me when me - the brat - used to tell her "mom, you don't love me anymore", count to her all the occasions when I was refused an ice-cream, a barbie doll, Shahrukh's poster and the bestest most expensive dress in the mall! She knew how to get me back to behaving normally... lol.

I love Chinese food but I have a certain (very strong) bias towards Indian-Chinese (aka indo-chinese) cuisine. We Indians have had a long-lived love affair with Chinese food. Long before pizzas, burgers and junk food became popular, it was Chinese food that most of us wanted when we craved something exotic and different. One may argue that Indo-chinese is not really chinese food as it is not very close to authentic chinese food. It has been totally adapted and re-flavored to suit an Indian palette. But hey, that is what fusion food is all about, right? Who knew the marriage of a little soy sauce with Indian spices could be so delicious! A big bright star of the Indian Chinese cuisine, featured on almost every menu of an Indian restaurant, be it upscale or roadside.

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Gobhi 65/Spicy Cauliflower Tempura Indian Style

ummer is at its peak and the sun scorches the earth every day. Its almost midnight here and its 86 degrees outside *phew*. In the relentless heat however the rain gods do peek in every other day to provide some very welcome relief.
It was such an afternoon on Saturday this past weekend when the rains were especially merciful. As it rained cats and dogs, we sat on our patio on a Saturday afternoon - which usually means shopping afternoon - and marveled on how beautiful nature was (yes hubby and I still get corny sometimes about that stuff). Somehow the conversation changed very quickly to food (are you kiddin' me) and we were talking about how nice it would be to get something hot and crispy to munch on. I was immediately like 'lemme go and make some pakoras'. Hubby not being that much a fan of pakoras, I instantly sensed that on his face. That is when I was reminded of this fabulous appetizer that we had had at an Indian restaurant during our last vacation a couple of months ago. I had totally loved it then and my analyzing taste buds had read the recipe right then and there and kept it somewhere in my head. Yes I recalled it then and here's the result for you to see and enjoy.
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Tandoori Tikka Chaat

eekend mornings ~ don't we live for them! At least I most definitely do (yes I realize it is Monday and its not fair to remind you all of the weekend which is a good five days away). On weekends, we like to sleep in a little late and then I absolutely do not like waking up and having to think about what to make for breakfast. Our most common routine was to get ready and step out for a leisurely brunch at our favorite Indian restaurant. Of late, we've gotten bored of that routine, especially with a toddler. So, on most days, it is a fruit salad or juice followed by a homemade brunch. This weekend I got up a little early (yes I did :) wanted to make and eat something interesting, not the usual, something totally indulgent. I thought of making Paneer Tikka and then thought some more. I remembered seeing a recipe a while back on Sanjeev Kapoor's website. I remembered it only in its theme. After recalling the flavors, eventually it resulted in combining two of my most favorite things in one, tandoori and chaat - this killer tandoori flavored mixed veg and paneer chaat... no one was complaining :)
This is a must try for those of you who like tandoori and chaat flavors (who doesn't, right?) I can vouch for it, you will not be disappointed. As you bite into the succulent paneer and the peppers, the intense tikka flavors hits you instantly. As you savor it you realize hey wait there's more to this tikka looking dish, it in fact is chaat too. The combination of such distinct flavors make this dish an absolute delight.
Hubby has already asked to make it again ~ music to my ears :)
Unlike most weekends, I went on a cooking spree this time around. Wait for my next post to see what I made after this succulent tikka chaat!

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Samosa Puffs

 
uys lets face it making samosa from scratch is a tedious job, one that mostly requires teamwork! Of course I have posted one here and I do make it now and then, but for those unexpected guests or for that terrible samosa craving on a cold rainy day I do follow the easy route with what I call the super market wonder ~ the PUFF PASTRY  (an always present ingredient in my freezer). One thing that we miss here in the US is the luxury of having good Indian food available at any street corner you turn which we used to take so for granted in India. I am sure a few of my readers will identify with that. We used to crave for good samosas and other street food every now and then. Given that it takes a little effort to make your own, I mostly find myself not having the enthu to make it often neither to drive 10 -15 miles every time to the nearest Indian restaurant in the area. Now you probably have had those vegetable puffs (a million times) in possibly each and every single potluck or dinner you have attended so far. This time I wanted to take the same concept and make it a little more presentable and interesting and closer to our beloved Samosa ~ only open faced!

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Onion Pakora/Bhajji

old and rainy days… perfect for pakodas or bhajjis (fritters) is what people say. For me each and every day is perfect for some hot crispy pakodas. I am notorious in my family for my love of these fritters. Most people like them hot and crispy, I on the other hand would even eat them ice-cold right out of the refrigerator lol  :D They are easy to make, taste awesome and did I mention they are deep fried which is the best part - what more you want. But like most other things in life the irony is that hubby is not a big fan so I don't make it very often (but whenever I do he says they are the best he has had). Also I know they are not always considered the best things to eat for health reasons because they are deep fried but it is okay to indulge sometimes. When you feel like it, just make yourself some garma-garam pakoras... sit back with your favorite chutneys, a cuppa tea or coffee on the side if you want and enjoy the the crunchy savory goodness of these beauties... and yes, the sound of rain most definitely makes it a whole another experience... seems almost like nirvana!

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Spinach Mushroom Cutlets

hat to make for our daily evening snack always gets me thinking. I try to go for something quick, nutritious as well as fun. The 'fun' part is especially important to get my little princess excited to try it out and obviously I care about the nutritious aspect. In short that is the basis on which I came up with this cutlet. It turned out to be a good way to get spinach into my little one. Hubby was sure enough onboard as he mostly is with anything fried :) You can dip them in your favorite sauce or chutney and eat them as is or stick them inside a bun and enjoy as a sandwich.

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Vegetable Seekh Kebab with Green Chutney

he word "Kebab" has always fascinated me. I don't know... just the sound of it is so sophisticated and exotic that whether you have ever even seen it or not, you want to try it when you hear it... and believe me you will love it when you do :) But sadly for me they have always been synonymous with meat based preparations and being a vegetarian I just never could have any. Lately I came to know about veggie kebabs. I was elated by the thought that I could now eat kebabs and tried to recreate these beauties and it was exactly as I though it would be... exotic, elegant and heavenly tasting. These are perfect appetizers for get-togethers and pot lucks. Super easy to make and your guests will definitely go WOW when you serve these. 
You may find several recipes for kebabs if you look around but in my opinion this is an easy and no-fuss version that you will want to make over and over. Also, traditionally they are made in a tandoor or deep fried but I just shallow fry or broil them in the oven so they are very healthy too... lots of veggies and very little oil. As everything that goes in it is already cooked so very little oil is needed.
If you are making a large batch of the kebabs say for a big gathering, you can also bake them on a baking sheet. Just spray the sheet with cooking oil and broil them on high in your oven for 5-6 minutes on each side.
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Beetroot cutlets

utlets is a famous street food that is found almost all over India, with minor differences in ingredients here and there. It is often overshadowed by its close and notoriously famous cousin, the Samosa. I personally have always preferred these over the samosas. Whenever I think of them, I go back to my college days and to my college canteen, they served the meanest cutlets.. they were to die for.. yum! Hubby also remembers it as his favorite street food from his home town. An absolute favorite with everyone, they are very versatile too; serve them with some ketchup or chutney as an appetizer or for a change, stuff them inside a bun and it morphs into an amazing veg burger and a quick fix meal. You can also serve them as chaat with some chhole and chutney and enjoy the compliments. They can be made using different vegetables or whatever you have in your refrigerator (except I think the beets are a must, its a beet cutlet after all ;) Perfect for a rainy day they are addictive.

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