Sauteed Corn and Avocado Salad!

With fall just behind us and winter fast approaching, the weather has been such that we mostly tend to spend the evenings getting cozy and comfortable on our couch. Getting cozy on the couch often gets associated with a hot cup of tea and something to snack on. This warm corn salad is another one of my mom's recipes that makes me nostalgic during those fall-winter evenings. Of course the avocado was my touch to it to add another texture dimension to it (and not to mention for my avocado crazy hubs). The sweetness of the corn together with the kick from the spices and the creaminess from the avocado chunk creates an interesting play of taste and texture on your palate. Not to mention the occasional peanut to add that nutty flavor and a crunch.

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Spiced Lemon Rice

Rice can at times be the most convenient and at other times quite a job to prepare. Some rice preparations like a Biryani made the correct traditional way can be quite time consuming. Don't get me wrong, I love to make and enjoy the biryani - worth every bit of the effort that goes in to it - but more often than not you just do not have the time. Even your plain simple boiled rice can be some work if you add up the dal and curry that needs to go with it. That is when a quick but extremely flavorful rice preparation that can be totally enjoyed with a simple side like a raita is a real blessing. I have a few such tricks up my sleeve that I use quite often to put together a quick lunch. This classic rice dish is one of my favorites. The first spoonful gives you that kick of lemon together with the nutty flavor that grows on you with the sweetness of the rice as you chew on it. Whats more is if you notice the quick two step method below, once you have the boiled rice, this flavorful preparation can be on the table within as much as five minutes! If you love this rice do let me know and I promise I will let you in on some of the other ones from my bag of tricks.

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Chipotle Grill style Cilantro Lime Rice

imple yet fragrant and flavorful is the theme this time around on USMasala. Speaking of simple and flavorful reminds me of this really elegant rice preparation we often have at one of our local Mexican fast food joints. I am sure many of you have heard of Chipotle Mexican Grill and most of you are regulars as well like we are. If you haven't, it is a Mexican fast food chain that serves your usual burritos and tacos. The menu is really short and simple. The difference with them is what matters when it comes to food - fresh ingredients and bold flavors. Even their basic cilantro lime rice hits a note with the palate.
Wondering what I was doing eating rice at a Mexican fast food joint? Well here's how the story goes. Like I said, we often go to the place, have done for a while, but for the longest time I always had their salad bowl-no rice (who eats rice with salad, right?), hubs would order the burrito with no rice and we would get the kids meal for our little one. The kids meal came with a quesadilla, some cilatro rice and black beans and chips and guacamole on the side. This one time, when kiddo was not up for eating the rice, I gave it a try and that is when the discovery was made. Here's a tip for you, never underestimate the power of bold flavor, however simple the dish may be.
Of course you need to pair this rice with a side. I made their black beans as well. That's to be shared soon. For now you can pick any of the other curries on USMasala and enjoy.

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Paneer Dhaniya Kulcha / Paneer & Cilantro stuffed flatbread

ulcha is a soft leavened Indian bread with delicious fillings that can be paired with just about any curry or eaten by itself. So if you haven't heard about them or have not tasted them, do not feel bad. I personally think that they are a little bit underrated and overshadowed by their more popular but very close cousin, the Naan. But if you have never had a Kulcha, I do encourage you to give one a try and you will realize for yourself that the difference is worth the special mention. The bread is exceptionally soft and tender when you break it between your fingers and as you take a bite, the savory goodness of the filling together with the softness of the bread, well.. makes you happy :)
So what is the difference between the Kulcha and Naan - here's what I think - Naan uses yeast in its dough while Kulcha uses only baking powder and baking soda. Naans are usually oblong in shape while Kulchas are round. Both are traditionally made in a Tandoor (earthen clay oven) but kulchas can be made on the stove top too. Both can be made in a conventional oven as well. I make my kulchas in the oven as well as on the stove top. It is popular all over India and in different parts of the world. They are generally stuffed with nuts, paneer, potato, khoya etc however the variety of filling one can stuff inside these Indian flatbreads is only limited by your imagination. Creativity is the name of the game – almost anything and everything goes for filling up these.

If you already like kulcha, good for you, or if you are like me you might have just found your new favorite bread.

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Mushroom Corn Pulao

y kid doesn't eat very well! The universal problem which has been troubling every parent since eternity (except the few lucky ones... touchwood :) is going on with me too. My    little one is a picky eater and I mean REALLY picky. Since she was little tiny baby I had problem feeding her which used to be like 45 min to an hour in one sitting. She is almost four now but that still continues. The few things she likes are to eat are mushrooms, nutella, olives, paneer, pineapple and rotini pasta. She doesn't like sweets of any kind except chocolate and nutella (for that I don't blame her... she took after me after all :). She even eats the spicy mushroom curry without complaining. In fact she doesn't like being treated like a baby when it comes to food (or anything else). Believe it or not she does not like even the classic kids stuff like fries, nuggets and the like. Three going on thirteen if you know what I mean. Yup we have a drama queen in our house... lol. I keep on experimenting with the things she likes. Yesterday was no exception. I was thinking what to give her for dinner and I came up with this and bingo it was well liked by kiddo and papa alike :) And I got one more recipe to please the taste buds of my little princess and a perfect one pot meal for those lazy days.

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Kadahi Bhindi (Okra curry)

adahi bhindi or bhindi masala always brings a smile to my face. Why? You ask. Its only bhindi after all. Well you are absolutely right. That is exactly why. Read on.

The story is from the first few days after coming to the US after getting married. Dear hubby, trying to show me around and to take his lady out to wine and dine, offered to take me out for dinner to our local Indian restaurant. I obliged. The menu was like any regular Indian restaurant, the usual paneer and mushroom dishes, biryanis, naans, parathas. He asked me what I wanted and we waited for the waiter to show up. I can't remember exactly what I had... it was some paneer dish I think... but to my utter dismay, hubby ordered bhindi masala... and I went... WHAT! I mean who orders bhindi in a restaurant! Moreover when you are paying fifteen bucks for an entree, wouldn't you rather eat paneer or atleast something more exotic.

Let me explain. Back at home, when okra was in season, mom would always make bhindi masala for lunch or dinner. Every restaurant you went to, had bhindi masala on the menu and we conveniently chose to ignore it... of course. Hence my reaction.

When hubby explained, it actually made sense. I still don't agree with him... but it made sense. During his bachelor days in India, he ate all three meals in restaurants and well... like me he always ate paneer. So much so that he could not longer stand it.

We agreed silently to disagree. Since then he has warmed up to the idea of paneer (thankfully!) and doesn't order bhindi at restaurants anymore (he claims its because I make a killer bhindi masala at home :)

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Kathal (Jackfruit) Biryani

If you have been following my posts recently you are probably familiar with my kathal (jack fruit) adventure. So as promised, here is my second dish in the kathal series.
This dish also was very timely as my brother was visiting for Raksha Bandhan and he is a die hard fan of chicken biryani. So I had to make that for him (will post the chicken biryani sometime soon). Being vegetarians, I couldn't leave us, specially dear hubby, biryani deprived... and I took it as a challenge to make something as good, if not better. Jack fruit biryani seemed the most logical choice. Followed my mom's recipe for chicken biryani just replacing the chicken with jack fruit and it turned out great. Both hubby and bro were happy and I got to use some of my huge pile of jackfruit, win win :).This recipe is simple and easy yet incredibly delicious.

Here's how I do it.

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Garlic Naan

ince the beginning of time, countries have invaded other countries. India has been no different. What sets India apart however is that most invaders ended up making it their home. This mixing of cultures has given India its rich diversity. With cultures comes their food and hence the rich diversity of Indian cuisine. Now I am no historian but from what little knowledge I have, I believe the modern 'Naan' bread evolved from a combination of middle eastern and local Indian cuisine. It is basically a round or oval shaped leavened flat bread made with wheat flour, salt, yeast culture and yogurt. Traditionally it is cooked in a clay oven or 'tandoor' and it is found in many avatars in central and south asia. Earlier it was mainly found in northern India being synonymous with Punjabi cuisine but now it is found in most parts of the country. I have posted the plain version of this bread before so I will not go into the details of how I got around to learning to make it. Lets just say this is the best bread I like and within its different kinds, I like the Garlic Naan the best. Soft yet toasty bread soaked in butter.. then dipped in curry of your choice.. ahhh.. out of this world :) just yum!!
Here's my version of the classic.

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Easy cheesy stuffed peppers

Hubby makes a killer eggplant bharta. Why the mention of eggplant bharta in the stuffed pepper recipe, you ask? It is because this one time he decided to use these anaheim peppers in his bharta and that is when I got the idea that these peppers will be absolutely fabulous when stuffed. I will definitely post his eggplant bharta sometime soon but for now here is the recipe for the stuffed peppers. They are anaheim peppers (you could use practically any 'stuffable' ones) stuffed with a spicy potato cheese filling and baked to a perfect crust. They are perfect as appetizers or as a side to a nice homey rice daal meal (or anything else you like).
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Khara biscuit

If you have read some of my previous posts you will know that I don't have a sweet tooth (yes yes, except chocolate) so I don't particularly like regular cookies either. I just make 'em for my little princess. So for those times on a lazy afternoon when I feel like munching on a quick snack, I like to have some salty or savory stuff at hand. The typical salty snacks they sell in stores are usually fried so I figured I make some baked ones of my own. Here's a recipe for khara biscuits that I bake often so I can have them handy for when those hunger pangs strike. Considered yourself warned that they are addictive :)

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Veg fajita wraps with avocado corn salsa

Mexican is my favorite only after Italian (and obviously Indian) cuisine. I personally think Mexican cuisine is always a favorite for us Indians as it has so many similar spices and flavors – cumin, coriander, garlic, chili etc. Fajitas are a very famous part of this cuisine. Traditionally it is made with marinated and grilled skirt steak. The word 'Fajita' is derived from the spanish word faja which literally means belt. It is made with tough thin cut skirt steak. The meat is usually wrapped in soft tortillas with a variety of garnishes. Us being vegetarians, I always try to recreate the meatless versions of these popular dishes at home.
So I combined a lot of different colored peppers, some green beans and onions, marinated them in lemon and some spices from my very own desi spice rack, stir fried them, wrapped in flour tortillas, top it with my avocado corn salsa, some sour cream and mexican style shredded cheese... total yum... I don't think you'd miss the meat at all!

It was easy, fun and delightful... I know I will be making this often :)

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Artichoke Hummus

If you like hummus and if you like artichokes you gotta try this.. the creamy dip with a hint of mild tartness and taste of artichokes, some Indian spices, lots of garlic and olive oil.. yummy... my kinda stuff!! Perfect for dipping also can be used as bread spread. Heres how I make it.

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Vegetable poha

I remember, mom always used to make this when we were kids .. used to be my most fav breakfast. We used to call it chuda ka pulao as poha is called chuda where I come from. She also sometimes used to pack our lunch boxes with it and it was a great hit with my school and college friends :) this is very easy and quick to make.. can be put together in a jiffy. It is a wholesome one pot meal. It can be made numerous ways and every version is my favorite. My hubby likes his poha with lots of gobhi, peas and aloo.. so this is how I often make it.

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Aloo dum

Aloo dum is my husband's all time favorite dish. He can eat this every day without complaining. Even for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. If I ask him what to make, he will always say, aloo dum and poori! I can not blame him as this is one of the most popular and celebrated recipes in north indian vegetarian cuisine. Every region has its own version, as in Bengal they make alur dom, in Punjab dum wale aloo, in Kashmir kashmiri dahi wale dum aloo and aloo dum in UP and Bihar. These are basically whole baby potatoes simmered in spicy onion, tomato and yogurt based sauce... yumm!!

There are numerous ways to make this, here is my version, again my mom's recipe (bihari aloo dum) modified a little by me. I remember mom making these during winter times with the new teeny-weeny red baby potatoes and they were just out of this world good. Here I don't get those so I just use the regular red baby potatoes. These can also be made using bigger potatoes, just peel and cut them into chunks and use. Also traditionally the recipe calls for deep frying the potatoes but I just shallow fry them using very little oil and they taste just as great, so can be made daily without the guilt. So enjoy the recipe and let me know how it came out.

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