Pav Bhaji / Toasted Buns and Mixed Vegetable Curry
Pav Bhaji / Toasted Buns & Mixed Vegetable Curry ~ A popular Mumbai street-food adapted for the home. What’s not to like about Pav Bhaji? Such a simple yet hearty mix of mashed vegetables served with hot buns toasted with a generous spread of butter. Have it for lunch, dinner or anytime in-between. You don’t need … Continue reading
Sweet Kozhukattai / Vella Kozhukattai Recipe / Ganesh Chaturti Special
Sweet Kozhukattai / Vella Kozhukattai ~ Sweet dumplings of rice-flour filled with coconut, jaggery and other goodies. Lord Ganesha sure knew a thing or two about good food. His favorite dish is this sweet dumpling made with steamed rice, called Kozhukattai – also known by these other names: Kozhakkattai, Vella (jaggery) Kozhukattai, Modak, Kadubu, Kudumu, … Continue reading
Clear Chicken Soup with Ginger
Clear Chicken Soup with Ginger ~ A cleansing chicken soup recipe, with the goodness of ginger, garlic, peppercorns and onions. The flu season is here, and what can be better than a bowl of clear chicken soup with the slow-cooked juices of ginger to help cleanse your system and soothe the sore throat. I had long … Continue reading
Tamarind Rice / Temple Style Puliyodarai
Tamarind Rice / Temple Style Puliyodarai ~ Rice mixed with tamarind sauce and an aromatic South-Indian spice mix If you grew up in Southern India, I bet this brings back memories of the yummy puliyodarai / puliyogare / kovil pulisadham served as prasadam in temples on special occasions. There was always something different about the ones … Continue reading
Pasta Shells and Vegetables In Tangy Tomato Sauce
Pasta Shells and Vegetables In Tangy Tomato Sauce I had never gotten to making pasta before as it seemed like I’d need “a lot of new Italian cuisine stuff” and D wasn’t going to let me stock up on a dozen herbs and spices and cheeses and whatever else it was that every good-looking pasta recipe called … Continue reading
Mattar Paneer / Paneer and Peas in a creamy sauce
Mattar Paneer ~ Paneer and Peas cooked in a creamy Punjabi – Indian sauce A very popular main course dish and one of D’s favorite, which makes it a frequent choice for dinners at home. Here’s a recipe I’ve tried and perfected over time after having cooked my way through a number of pro-chef versions of … Continue reading
Oven Cooked Chicken Kabab/ Chicken Tikka
Oven Cooked Chicken Kababs (kebabs) or Chicken Tikka Chicken marinated in Punjabi-Indian spices with yogurt gram flour and oven-cooked on skewers I had been putting off on trying to make any kabab (kebab) or skewered / grill-cooked recipes as I do not have an outdoor or electric grill and did not want to go the … Continue reading
Lemon Rasam / South Indian Lentil Soup Flavored with Lemon
Lemon Rasam / South Indian Lentil Soup Flavored with Lemon If every chef has a signature dish, this one has to be mine. This dish has a mind of its own – and I mean it. I have never got it tasting the same twice, ever. Just adjusting the amount of dal-tomatoes-lemon-pepper-cumin-water, simply put – … Continue reading
Shrimp Varuval / Prawns In South Indian Masala
SHRIMP VARUVAL / PRAWNS STIR FRIED IN COCONUT AND SPICES ~ Shrimp (prawns) cooked in spicy South Indian masala Shrimps – hmm, they scare me. They are just too complicated for me to comprehend with all those “moving” parts – sorry if I offended anyone. But my husband (who I’ll simply call ‘D’ going forward), … Continue reading
Pink Lassi / Indian Yogurt Drink
PINK LASSI / INDIAN YOGURT DRINK RECIPE ~ Sweetened yogurt drink flavored with some concentrated fruit syrup Yes, it’s pink. And yum. I have always made lassi – both sweet and the salty version. But after seeing this version from one of my favorite chefs on the internet, sweet lassi has never been the same again 🙂 With … Continue reading
Lemony Coconut Chutney / Indian Dipping Sauce
Coconut chutney – hardly needs introduction and every household has their own unique flavor of this comfort dish. So does mine.. and you will soon realize that I have a love affair with lemon 🙂 With just a simple twist, you can have yourself a tangy-tasty version of the good-ol’ coconut chutney – a perfect side … Continue reading
Vazhaipoo Vada / Plantain Flower & Lentil Fritters
VAZHA-POO VADAI ~ Plantain flower patties Often side-steeped as “too much work”, the plaintain flower hasn’t been on the fav list for a lot of us. It was so, until I decided to pick up one at the Indian grocers and give it a try. Source: Mom’s kitchen Makes: 20 – 25 vadais depending on … Continue reading
Lauki Kofta Curry / Bottle Gourd Dumplings In Indian Gravy
LAUKI/ BOTTLE GOURD KOFTA CURRY ~ Dumplings made of shredded bottle gourd, in a spiced Indian curry My husband and I have been on the path to adopting the healthy way to eat our meals, without having to give up on the yummy Indian curries and dishes. This is what we’d ideally like on our … Continue reading
Stuffed Mushrooms Maggiano’s style
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at stuffed mushrooms but there were just so many versions of this popular appetizer out there that I was overwhelmed with choice. And the best I have tasted was (as most of you might agree) at Maggiano’s! Well, I had to try making it and make it just like that … Continue reading
Kheema Mattar Masala | Ground Lamb or Goat Curry Cooked with Green Peas
Kheema Mattar Masala | Ground Lamb or Goat Curry Cooked with Green Peas D was not much of a meat-eater and had never tried ground meat before we were married. This dish was what initiated him to it and he still enjoys it to this day. Here’s an easy way to create a restaurant-grade entrée for your … Continue reading
Palak-Paneer Paratha / Indian bread stuffed with Spinach & Cottage Cheese
Palak-Paneer Paratha / Indian bread stuffed with Spinach Cottage Cheese Bringing together the awesomeness of paneer with the goodness of spinach is this yummy for the tummy palak-paneer paratha! Source: Multiple food blogs Cooking Time: 50 minutes (25 minutes prep + 25 minutes cooking) Makes: About 12 parathas Ingredients: For the outer covering: Wheat flour (atta) … Continue reading
Raita / Yogurt and Vegetable Salad
RAITA ~ Yogurt-based mildly-spiced salad An extremely simple but unparalleled side to any spicy / full-of-flavor mixed rice dish like biriyanis, tomato rice, etc! It perfectly compliments the spices in the main dish with its tangy and mild yogurt-base. Serves: 2 – 3 Ingredients: Chopped vegetables of your choice (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, carrots are all good choices … Continue reading
Mor Kuzhambu / Spiced Buttermilk Indian Curry
What is common amongst all of these – Rasam saadham, Thayir saadham with pickle, Kichidi, Dal chaawal, Mashed potatoes, Mac n Cheese, Maggie/ramen noodles, Toasted bread, Chicken soup? Well, depending on whether you are from Mylapore or Andheri or Brooklyn or where ever it be… one or more of these dishes would bring back soothing memories of … Continue reading
Chicken Biryani / Slow cooked Rice with Chicken and Indian spices
CHICKEN BIRYANI ~ Chicken cooked with rice and spices Chicken biryani needs very little introduction – this hearty dish brings together flavorful Basmati rice with the juicy pieces of chicken spiced with all those famously delicious ingredients from the sub-continent like cloves, coriander, cardamoms, cinnamon, mint and many others! Well, you get the picture 🙂 My love affair … Continue reading
Aish Cooks 