Jeera Aloo/Cumin Flavored Stir Fried Potatoes

 If you are ever in a rush but still want to eat a tasty, savory home-cooked meal - sounds like most of the time, doesn't it - this dish might just be your perfect answer. Ready in under ten minutes if you have the ingredients and very versatile in what it can go with. Hubs tells me he relates to this dish in a rather strange sort of way. In his single days in India, when he almost always ate out at restaurants, he always saw this dish in most every menu but always ignored it - who goes to a restaurant to eat sauteed potatoes, right? Well right until he got so sick of eating the same paneer and mushroom every single time that he finally ordered it with some plain rice and yellow daal and loved it. That's how he says he remembers this dish. Not a very fun way to remember such a flavorful preparation, I tease him, and we have a good laugh about it.
Indeed, there is something to be said about the versatility of this dish. Eat it as a side with some rice and daal or just with your humble roti and it becomes lunch or dinner, wrap it up with some lettuce and onions in a tortilla and it makes for a great wrap or just stick some toothpicks in them and they are a great starter. What's more is that they are a great picnic food too and can be carried in a lunchbox for a few hours without the need to be refrigerated. This makes them great for short trips as well. Give it a try and it tends to stick with you for those times when you cannot think of anything else or those when you simply crave them.

Read more »

Roasted Baby Potatoes Indian Style!

here is something to be said about the versatility of potatoes. Fry 'em, bake 'em, roast 'em, saute 'em, cook 'em in a curry, mash and stuff 'em, well just mash 'em, heck if you fermented them right, you could even drink 'em :) There are a few people I have come across that don't like them but I can count them on my fingers. The biggest potato lover I have seen among them all is hubs, so much so that his friends tease him of being one. This will give you an idea - I made these roasted potatoes this past Sunday afternoon intending them to be a side with lunch. He ate a whole piled plateful and he emphatically declared that to be his lunch.
It wasn't just his love for potatoes, this recipe is out of this world. Very simple and elegant yet completely full of flavor with an added twist of Indian masalas. This recipe is out of a cookbook from the celebrity Indian chef Suvir Saran. I recently became a proud owner of one of his best work, (incidentally) named 'American Masala'.
Read more »

Aam Panna/Green Mango and Mint drink

hopping in air-conditioned malls is the modern trend. If you have ever shopped old-school on the streets in India in the scorching heat of summer you would know that it gives the saying 'shop till you drop' a whole new meaning. Just when you have shuttled around twenty odd stores and looked through scores of dresses and hundreds of accessories and are about to 'drop' from the heat and exhaustion but still want to go to the store around the corner - who knows maybe they have the perfect accessory to go with the dress you just bought - you feel a serious craving for this drink. You crave for a glassful of Aam Panna to give you that much needed relief and recharge yourself. You start looking around for the nearest push-cart vendor or stall that is making them fresh and yes you are bound to find it around every street corner.

This drink basically comes from the streets of northern India and is popular because of its cooling properties. A nice and refreshing drink made of raw unripe mangoes which gives it a tangy flavor and  the refreshing mint that gives a cool fresh taste. Freshly roasted cumin for a smoky taste, the black salt adds the flavor which cannot be substituted by anything else. Complete with the right amount of sugar makes it a perfect thirst quencher.

Back home where I come from it is always made with roasted charred mangoes. Some people also boil the mangoes. It does work both ways, but the charring process gives it a nice smoky touch. Mom would make a big jug full of this Aam Panna during the months of late April and May when raw mangoes were found in markets in abundance.

Read more »

Curried/Masala Couscous salad

 do love cooking elaborate meals and I do know (most days) I am not lazy at all when it comes to that ~ But then there are days when I don't even feel like lifting my little finger (not happening with an hyper-active toddler). All I would love to do is to snuggle under my blanket and settle down with a good book or just randomly blog hop or just sit on the couch and watch TV. Fixing a meal on such days is such a pain. I am sure most all of you are going in your head 'yeah me too'. This filling and comforting salad is so apt for such a time. The other day, kiddo and I were all by ourselves, daddy was in a two day business conference. We made this super easy delicious couscous salad for lunch and kiddo totally loved it, the result that pleases me the most.

This one is packed with nutrition and is very filling. I love couscous and always have some in my pantry. One of the easiest and very versatile ingredients to work with. I have made it several different ways but this time around I added a some indian spices and the salad ended up being a fabulous fusion meal.

Read more »

Palak Kadhi / Spinach in Yogurt Gravy

There are two reasons for me making this dish, firstly kadhi is all my time favorite comfort food and second I had a big bag of spinach sitting in my fridge that I had to finish :). I am glad I made this because I know this will be a regular in our household now. Two reasons again. My not-so-much-kadhi-loving dear hubby had second serving of it and was raving the whole time how good it tasted and second it is a much healthier option than the regular with pakodas that I often make so no deep frying required and obviously it is full of all the goodness of spinach. We had it with some peas pulao but I bet it will taste awesome with some plain hot steamed rice and spicy crispy potato bhunjiya/fry. Do try it and you definitely will fall in love with this simple, rustic n comforting dish :)
I got the idea while I was chatting with mom on the phone the other day. She casually mentioned eating a version of it at a get together. It hit home with me. So the idea was 'bookmarked' in my head right then and there over the phone :)

Read more »

Palak/Spinach chaat

I vividly remember my first time going back to my mom's place or my "mayeka" from my in-laws place a few days after we were married (funny I started thinking of it as my mom's place as only a few days back I always referred to it as 'my place'). Being the first and the only son-in-law, hubby was being pampered big time with all the best dishes that mom knew that hubby liked. There was festivity, food, people coming to meet us and family sitting together and chatting away till the wee hours of the morning. It was an overload of good food and tons of fun. Among all that, hubby and I always found time to sneak out of the house to go walk around the city streets with the 'newly-married' tag painted all over our faces, shopping, talking about our favorite places and mostly stocking up on street food we knew we were gonna miss so much in a few days. 
The speed with which the local 'chaat walas' prepared their delicious goodies is just amazing. Apart from the regular favorites, there was always something new they had to offer. Spinach chaat was one of them. We both loved it.
Coming to the US, I was excited to see that the Indian restaurants also offered the basic chaat on their menu. Tried it at a few places but was rather disappointed as it did not come even close to the real deal. That is when I decided to do my own. I have posted the more common form of chaat before, the Aloo Tikki Chaat. This past weekend I got reminded of the spinach chaat and hence this post. This is kind of like papdi chat only palak pakoda is used in place of papdi, also it is very easy to make and a lot more healthier. Hope you guys like it as much as I liked making it and we did eating :)

Here goes-

Read more »

Shahi Paneer with Cumin rice

Shahi Paneer literally means ‘Royal Paneer’, a dish fit for kings. It is of Mughlai origin. It is very widely popular and served in almost every Indian restaurant. The exotic cashew based sweet and spicy white gravy is a nice variation from the usual red and cream based gravies that are usually associated with paneer. Typical dishes require paneer to be fried in advance, but for this recipe there is no need to do that. Adding milk and cashew paste enhances the taste. This dish is indeed one of those easy ones that is exotic yet can be prepared in virtually no time. Some like to add tomato in the gravy but I don't to make it a little different from paneer butter masala otherwise they will look and taste almost the same. When served in restaurants, it is loaded with ghee and cream as well. I do not like to use cream in my version. 

It is often classically paired with cumin rice and optionally some tadka daal. Jeera rice is one of the simplest yet the most flavorful rice preparations. It is basically basmati rice seasoned with cumin, ghee and onions and goes very well with quite a few Indian curries.

Read more »

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 :)

Read more »

Kadai paneer with mushrooms

 have already raved about my liking for paneer, so here is yet another very popular paneer recipe. Kadhai paneer is a classic north indian dish. In the recipe, paneer is cooked in a kadhai or wok (hence the name kadhai paneer) with bell peppers in a spicy onion-tomato based sauce with lots of ginger, garlic, cilantro leaves and flavored with kasoori methi. It has a distinct fresh spicy aroma and flavor that compares to nothing else.

This is one of the few non-creamy preparation of paneer easy and quick to make with simple ingredients and is always a crowd pleaser. My hubby likes the combination of paneer and mushrooms very much so I came up with this recipe and it was a big hit :) But using mushrooms is entirely optional. These are great for dinner, lunch, parties or picnics. Can be served with roti or parathas and can also be filled inside sandwich or wraps for a quick fix wholesome meal.

Read more »

Kadhi-pakoda

Kadhi, when classically paired with plain rice or chawal is the ultimate comfort food for me.. and I think many of my fellow Indians will agree with me on that :-) it is a kind of (say) chicken soup for the vegetarians, soulfully delicious, comforting and addictive. I often make it whenever I crave for something homey and simple. On a rainy day kadhi with pakodas and chawal is pure bliss.. it reminds me of mom and home!

It is a blend of yogurt with gramflour pakodas.. which is famous all over india with some differences here and there. Punjabi kadhi and gujarati kadhi are more popular, however there is bihai kadhi as well which is less known, but tastes just as awesome. This is my mom's recipe, do try this and let me know how it came out.

Read more »

Malai kofta - healthier version!

alai kofta is an exotic and another classic dish from the northern parts of India.
The cuisine in north India very much reflects the wonderful fusion of Indian, middle eastern and Mughlai styles of cooking and is characterized by its fragrant rich sauces, aromatic spices, saffron, milk and fresh cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, ghee (clarified butter), dry fruits and nuts. 

Malai Kofta is all of the above and more, a delightful vegetarian alternative to meatballs or meat koftas. Malai is hindi for cream and koftas are dumplings made with paneer/Indian cheese, stuffed with nuts and raisins and simmered in a buttery, creamy fragrant sauce. A sinful indulgence and a must have on every Indian restaurant's menu around the world!

I like eating this dish but don't like all the deep frying and cream involved in the recipe. Earlier I used to make it at home often but stopped making it for a long time. My (kofta deprived) hubby used to ask me to make it and I just used to ignore him ;) then one day he was finally able to convince me to make it again but then me being me I tried to make it a little healthier.
So, this 'malai kofta' is sans all the malai and sans the deep frying. I make the koftas in my oven and they turn out very good a big hit without feeling guilty afterwards! Both hubby and I are happy. I now make it almost regularly and he gets to eat his fav malai kofta. For some special occasions I still revert back to the old method, but on a regular basis this one works great. If you like the fried kofta better you can always fry them. But if you are into healthy but tasty eating do try this and you will not be disappointed and see your taste buds falling head over heels in love with this tempting curry!

Read more »

Chicken tikka

y brother was here for the weekend and he is the biggest "Chickenaholic" I have ever seen :) He can eat chicken in all its forms for every single meal. Though my husband and I are vegetarians, I make sure to prepare as many chicken dishes for him whenever he visits. It is difficult to make something without tasting it but I take it as a challenge... and my brother (he is a very picky eater) said this is the BEST tikka he has ever eaten... and this came from someone who once thought his pyari sister can never cook anything... hee hee... boy I was so happy! As his birthday is coming up soon, this one is especially for him.

Who is not familiar with the world famous chicken tikka... needs no introduction. I just made it the same way as I make paneer tikka. In place of paneer I used chicken. So here I am giving the recipe for something I have not tasted. Please try it and do let me know how it came out.

Read more »

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.

Read more »