Rasaswad

 Preheat oven to 375. In a pan, heat some olive oil and a spoon of garlic compound butter. Add 2 tbsp of chopped white onion, saute, then add 4-5 chopped mushrooms and saute. Add a bit of cooked spinach. Add a little more butter to one side of the pan and add about a 2 tbsp of  AP flour. Cook the flour, then mix everything and continue cooking. Add about a cup or so of milk to make a thick sauce. Add salt, pepper, whole grain mustard, and a handful of swiss and gruere cheese. Take off the heat. Add 2 egg yolks to this and mix immediately. Butter two glass bowls (one big and one small), and sprinkle grated permesan cheese to prepare the pan. In a mixer bowl, whip 4 egg whites till stiff. Add a bit of egg whites to the main mixture to lighten and then add everything back to the bowl. Fold and remove in the prepared bowls, and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.  https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spinach-mushroom-and-gouda-souffle-363769

 2 cups thawed frozen coconut 2 cups milk powder 2 cups sugar  1 cup almond flour 1/2 cup coco powder 2 cups milk  1 stick unsalted butter  Dump everything in a pan and keep stirring till the mixture is thick and separated from the pan ~15 mins or so.  Add a dash of vanilla, and transfer to a glass plate/container.  Roast and chop ~1/2 cup of almonds, and garnish. 

 A quick one to put together, when you don't wanna worry about making kaju katli, etc.  In a vitamix jar, mix 1 cup cashew pieces, 3/4 cup walnut bits, 1/2 cup almonds and 1/4 cup pistachios. Also add 11/4 cup sugar, a big pinch of cardamom (ground up is better), and a pinch of saffron. Grind everything together into a powder (slightly coarse is also fine). Remove into a pan and add 3/4 cup water and heat on a medium flame while constantly stirring for about 10-12 mins, until the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan. Add 3-4 tbsp ghee and mix it well. Remove into a glass container and let it set. Once it's semi set, score it with knives and when completely cool, cut and remove the pieces. Can also garnish with silver varakh if desired. 

 Here's a recipe for working with really nice farm fresh baby carrots. Wash them thoroughly well (do not peel). Remove most of the tops. If the carrot is slightly thick, cut it vertically into two. In a shallow pan, heat some olive oil, add a little bit of butter, minced ginger, and some chilli flakes. Add the carrots and saute till the ginger is golden brown. Add coarsely crushed roasted cumin, salt, black pepper. Sprinkle a bit of water. Once the carrots start to cook slightly, add lime or lemon juice, a little bit of honey and continue to saute till the carrots get a nice glaze. In the end, the carrots should be tender but firm. 

 Gujarati food is known for its balance of sweet and savory flavors, focus on vegetarianism, and its iconic "thali", or platter, which consists of carefully chosen components that constitute a balanced meal. A lot of thought goes into picking each component. Typically, a thali might consist of : - A dry vegetable dish, e.g., stuffed okra, bitter gourd, etc.  - A vegetable dish with sauce, e.g. potatoes cooked in a tomato sauce, or eggplants with potatoes, etc.  - A sprouted bean dish, e.g. mung beans, or flat beans - A lentil dish  - One or two salads - One or two fresh breads - One or two "farsaan" or appetizer type dishes, which are served along with the meal. If two farsaans are served, then one is steamed and the other one is fried. This is often the highlight of the meal, along with the sweets.  - One or two "mishtaans", or sweets, which are also served along with the meal. Again, they are selected to balance different styles.  - One rice dish, which

Nice brunch/dinner recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chilaquiles-with-bacon-eggs-and-cheese I had some canned tomatillos sitting in the pantry for a while, so I made the salsa verde from it first. Chop half a white onion into a big pieces, and boil it for 4-5 minutes with some water, a piece of serrano chilli and a couple of cloves of garlic. If using fresh tomatillos, also boil them with the onion. Blend all of this, along with a big handful of cilantro and a pinch of salt. Pre-heat oven to 425. In a skillet, heat some oil, and add a bit of butter. Add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic and add a small can of fire roasted chilles (or fresh serrano). Add the Salsa verde, and let it cook for a few minutes. Add a small can of pinto beans. Once it all comes together in a few minutes, add 4-5 cups of tortilla chips, and stir. Make small indents, and add 5-6 eggs in them (shakshuka style). Add grated cheese (I used Cheddar), and a few more chips here and there (these will

I followed the original recipe to the T on this one, and it turned out great: https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/08/apricot-pistachio-squares/ Here it is (in case internet plays tricks in the future): Base: 1 cup A.P. flour, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup sugar and a stick of butter. Run through a food processor and place on a parchment covered baking pan, and bake in 350 degrees oven for 15 mins. Cool. Filling: In the same food processor, grind together 3/4 cup pistachios, a little less than half cup sugar, a pinch of salt, and a tbsp A.P. flour. Add 4 tbsp butter and 1 egg. Spread on slightly cooled base. Top with sliced fresh apricots and bake for about 1 hour. Cool and cut into squares. 

It's been three months since we've eaten out, and missing some restaurant style food. So here's what I did: Heat a couple tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Add whole green beans, and let them cook till they shrivel a bit. Add minced garlic, whites of spring onion and chili garlic sauce. Saute for a few seconds. Then add soy sauce, vinegar, salt, red chili flakes, ground sichuan peppers, a bit of water and some sugar. Let the sauce reduce and coat the beans and serve. Original Recipe: https://dinnerthendessert.com/spicy-chinese-sichuan-green-beans/

Simple joys in life - enjoying the summer bounty... Got some really fresh sugar snap peas from the gardening lady, so here's what I did: Slice the baguette at a bias, drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of kosher salt. Cook in a hot grill pan until golden brown on both sides (remember to add olive oil on the other side too). Wash and de-string the peas, put them in a microwave bowl with some water and cook for 1 minute. Drain and shock with cold water. Drain properly and cut them in half at a bias. Add some fresh torn mint and basil leaves. Add salt, pepper, some white balsamic and olive oil. Set aside. On the bruschetta, add a tbsp of fresh ricotta, and top with the pea salad. Serve with some fresh salad on the side. Original recipe: https://celebratingsweets.com/snap-pea-and-ricotta-bruschetta/

Here's the original: http://cookingshooking.com/tag/how-to-make-pav-bread/ I make small adjustments and use a stand mixer. Heat 1 cup milk in microwave for a minute, slightly warm. Add 1 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp yeast. Mix and set aside. In the mixer bowl, add 1 cup A.P. flour, and 1 cup roti atta, 1 tsp salt, 11/2 tbsp milk powder, and mix for a few seconds. Add the proved yeast + milk mixture, and mix. Once the dough comes together, add 4 tsp butter, and continue kneading until the dough is smooth (5-10 mins). Take out the dough, oil the same bowl, put it back, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 45 min-1 hour. Spray the 9X9 inch pan. Divide the dough into 16 parts, shape rolls, and set them in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for another 45 minutes or so. About 10-15 min before the rolls are ready, pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees. Brush the rolls with milk and put the pan in the oven. Bake for 15 mins or until the rolls are golden brown. Once they are o

Nothing extra-ordinary here, but for a bhindi lover, it's always nice to have more options: Wash and dry the bhindi, remove the stems, and cut into inch long pieces. Heat some oil, and add the bhindi pieces, and stir fry until lightly browned. In the mean time, cut some onion into really large pieces (around one inch by one inch). I also added some green peppers cut in the same size. Once the bhindi is done, lightly salt and remove in a plate, heat some more oil, and add the onions and peppers and a pinch of salt. Saute till the onion is slightly brown. You want it to stay crunchy. While that's happening, finely chop some onion, and tomatoes (you can also use pureed tomatoes). Remove onions and peppers to the same plate. Add more oil, add hing, ajwain, and chopped onion. Saute till it softens. Add some ginger garlic paste, saute for another minute, add masalas (turmeric, red chilli, corriander-cumin and amchur). Add tomatoes, salt, and saute till tomatoes soften. Add some wa

I was watching an episode of YanCanCook, and they were making Chungdu Fish Fillet. The basic oil recipe was super useful. Heat oil, add star anise, whole cinnamon and sichuan peppercorns. Once the flavor of spices seeps into the oil, strain it out. Return the oil to the same pot. Add fermented bean chilli paste, chopped garlic, ginger, and scallions. This is the base. Also, after the dish is complete, you can add a tadka of regular oil with chopped dry red chillies and sichuan peppercorns. For Ma-po-tofu, use fermented black beans, and also add chinese celery.The key is to add cornstarch in stages to maintain the valvety texture. https://yancancook.com/home/recipe/ma-po-tofu/

My beloved Foi, who passed away this week, used to make really nice amti. Not sure if this is the recipe she followed (I had it a long time ago, so don't remember the exact taste), but this one does come close, I think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOxp38zoCNg&t=41s Boil toor daal with salt and turmeric. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing. Add chopped tomato and cilantro and saute for a bit. Add grated coconut, goda masala and red chilli powder. Saute again till slightly fragrant. Add the daal, salt, water, kokum, a bit of tamarind pulp and a bit of jaggery (next time add it later, so L. will like it). Let it boil for about 5-7 minutes and serve with rice. 

I used home-grown baby methi for this, and pretty much followed the recipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDdhCFW4Vhk Wash and soak quarter of a cup of toor daal. Wash and chop methi (not too fine). Heat oil, add 1-2 cloves of chopped garlic and chopped green chilli. Let it saute for a minute or so. Add 1 medium, diced red onion. Let it brown around the edges. Add the methi, stir, and then add toor daal and turmeric. Add about a 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add salt, adjust water and continue cooking until toor daal is just done (you want it to retain the shape). Add a big handful of grated coconut and very little jaggery (L. would have preferred less than what I added, which was like 1/2 teaspoon). Mix and serve with rotis.

This is a classic working-man's food from Maharashtra, and every city claims that their version is the best. Sure enough, my hometown, Thane, is famous for it's "Mamletdar Misal", which I've only ventured a few times (it's pretty spicy). Here's the version I've been making that's been working quite well. For the Sprouts: Wash and soak about a handful of each of these beans (or whichever ones you have on hand): Moong beans, Matki (or moth beans, or Turkish gram), green and/or brown chana (small garbanzos), white vatana (peas), whole masoor (lentil), a bit of small vaal (butter beans, small variety, but smaller quantity, since they tend to get bitter), and maybe some Kulith (horse gram, can't remember if I put it in). Soak the beans overnight, drain and tie them in a kitchen towel and leave them over a strainer for 1-2 days, till you get small sprouts. I usually make a big batch, and freeze half for another time, and it works great. For the

Someone actually requested this at work: Here’s how I’ve been making it for years (although I’ve never tasted it myself, I have received compliments): Boil about 3/4 cup water, add about 1 tbsp of tea leaves (the tea brand/type does matter. I use Lipton Red Label/Taj Mahal), about 1/4 -1/2 tsp of fresh grated ginger, and 2-3 whole cardamom pods, pounded (both skins and seeds). Let it boil for a few minutes till the tea turns dark. Now add about 1/2 cup milk, bring it back to boil, and continue boiling on low heat for 3-4 more minutes (this is a typical method in certain parts of India). Strain, and add sugar according to taste. Here are some more optional add-ins during boiling: few fresh mint leaves, a big pinch of whole fennel seeds, 1/4 tsp chai-masala (you can find it in an Indian store, or make your own: typically contains cardamom, black pepper, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, dry ginger, etc.).   Those who might be curious to learn more about the culture of “cutting chai” in Mumb

I haven't yet tried to make this, but they showed this recipe on a TV show, and they didn't have any online recipe, I figured I'll write it down. Cause I think it would be really good. It's from a restaurant called Anex kitchen in Fresno, California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmQvXT9xxfw Use absolutely fresh corn for this. Remove the corn kernels. Saute it with some olive oil, salt, and a pinch of red chilli flakes. Puree the saute'ed corn with some Mascaporne cheese in a blender. Use fresh pasta sheet and make agnolotti's with the corn filling. Boil the pasta in salted water. In a saute pan, heat some of the pasta water and butter, fresh minced chives and some extra virgin olive oil. Grate some parmiggiano reggiano on top and serve. Here are some ways to make the pasta itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb70wGecWzM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC3KkdqqvDQ And here's a recipe from the French Laundry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

When the world around you is changing suddenly, a simple, quick and nutritious meal can help. Here's three different variations of Daliya khichdi (for babies, for the elderly and the sick, and for everyone else) by Nisha Madhulika: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9syjDwgVHyk I made slight changes, and made this: Wash and soak about 1/4 cup of yellow moong daal. In a small pressure cooker, heat 1 tsp ghee, add 1/4 cup broken wheat (or daliya, or fada), and saute till they become fragrant (about a minute). Add the soaked daal, about 2 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder. Add some sliced carrots and some peas, close the pressure cooker, and cook for 3-4 whistles on medium/low heat. Once the pressure is released, mash slightly with a serving spoon. In a small tadka pan, heat a tsp of ghee, add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and a pinch of hing, and add to the khichdi. Serve in a bowl with another 1/2 tsp ghee. Hey, remember the comfort part?

Five minute wonder, provided you have ganthia or sev in your pantry. Chop tomatoes into large pieces. Heat some oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, one slit green chilli, some curry leaves, and a pinch of hing. Add the tomatoes, and saute for a minute or so. Add water, salt, a bit of turmeric, red chilli powder, and dhania-jeera powder (very little). Also add some Gud. Let it all cook together for another minute or so, and turn off the heat. Add some chopped cilantro. Serve with lots of ganthia and hot rotis.    

It's one of the Ind-Chinese staples. And super easy to put together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9FvWfqkBMU Blanch some broccoli florets for a minute in the microwave. Heat oil, add large pieces of spring onion, green and red peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and pineapple. Stir for a minute or two on high heat, add some salt, sugar, ketchup, water, cornstarch slurry and vinegar. Let the gravy thicken and serve with some fried rice.

Simple, quick, and nutritious. Wash and soak ~1 cup of yellow Mung or Toor daal. Wash and chop 1 small bag of baby spinach. Heat oil in a pressure cooker/IP, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 whole red chilli, a few curry leaves (optional), a big pinch of hing, and a teaspoon each of crushed/minced ginger and garlic. Mix, and add 1 tsp turmeric powder, and the spinach. Saute for a few minutes until the spinach wilts a bit. Add 1 large tomato diced (optional), and saute for a few seconds. Now add the daal, around 2 cups of water and salt to taste. Cook for 3-4 whistles or ~12 minutes in the IP. If using moong daal, I actually prefer to have some texture, so I only cook for like 2 whistles, and that's nice too. Serve with rice. 

This recipe has sacrilege written all over it. But if making Undhiyu has become a once a year affair, like it had for me, this is a good way to get the fix much more often. It is much faster, and way less elaborate, but still hits the spot. The other good thing about the recipe is that most components are optional, so you can keep simplifying it down to the ingredients you actually have on hand, and it'll still be a useful recipe. Of course, all of these ingredients do sing when put together. For the muthiya (optional, but awesome): Mix together 1 cup of chopped fresh or frozen methi, 1 cup of coarse wheat flour (or use 3/4 cup roti atta + 1/4 cup sooji), 1/4 cup besan, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander-cumin powder, big pinch of hing, 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste, 1 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp yoghurt (optional), and enough water to make a soft dough. Set aside while you prep the other vegetables. Then, roll into a thin long rope, and cut into small pieces

This is actually a side dish, but it's special enough to be the star of a meal. Usually made with just one vegetable; potential candidates: Beets, Cucumbers, Tomatoes. If using beets, boil them (I use pressure cooker or IP) until a knife can be inserted easily, then peel and dice into a medium sized pieces. For cucumbers, you can choose to peel or not, but for this raita, you need to dice them (as opposed to grating, like in many other raita recipes). If using tomatoes, simply dice them. The highlight here is peanuts. Ideally, you want to start with raw peanuts, and roast them on a low-medium flame on a tawa or frying pan, making sure it doesn't start burning before getting nicely roasted from inside. When they're roasted, the pink skin on the peanut should easily come off when pressed between two fingers. At this point, put the peanuts in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously. Transfer to a plate, and then winnow out the skin. Or, you can buy raw peeled peanuts from the In

L. loves cakes with nuts, but there's only so many varieties of hazelnut and almond cakes one can do. I've done pistachios once, and we figured this year was going to be about cashews. There are surprisingly few recipes like this one on the web, and I did combine ideas from multiple recipes. Here goes: For the cake layers, I doubled the batch size from this recipe, and made some adjustments: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/caramel-cashew-cupcake-2282157 I reduced the sugar, doubled the cashews, substituted cake flour and buttermilk, and skipped the orange zest. I started with 1 cup of milk, added the juice of half a lime, and set it aside for 10 mins or so. In a 350 over, roasted 1 cup of cashew pieces till golden brown. Once cool, roughly chopped them. To the milk, add 1 cup of oil, four eggs and 1 tsp vanilla to the mix. In a bowl, add 2 1/4 cups of AP flour + 1/4 cup of corn starch, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 21/2 tsp baking powder. Mix eve

Here's another Sindhi recipe that's super easy, but super satisfying. It's for those days when you don't have the energy to cook, but need something nutritious and delicious. You can serve this with plain white rice, or traditional Sindhi Khichni, which has some green mung daal added to the rice. Wash ~1 cup yellow moong daal and add to a pressure cooker with ~2 cups of water. Add salt, turmeric, a drop of oil (literally), and 1 or two tomatoes roughly chopped in big pieces. Close the pressure cooker and cook for around 4 whistles. In the mean time, peel around 3-4 large garlic cloves, and either mince or crush using a garlic press. (This is usually the time I get the rice going, and maybe fix up some salad for the side). Once the pressure is released, use either a hand blender, or more traditionally, a wooden hand blender (called as Mandheera in Sindhi, Ravai or valonu in Gujarati) to blend the daal to slightly less than super smooth consistency. I remember the firs

Here's a wonderful Sindhi recipe I learnt from my mom-in-law. The prep is slightly tedious (I do offer the daughter-in-law version, full of short cuts), but the result is really nice. Carrots and Methi is a fairly popular combination in many parts of India, especially in the winter months, when you get nice carrots, and each community has a different way of preparing it. This recipe employs a very interesting technique that's fairly unique to Sindhi cooking, and it uses slowly browned whole garlic cloves as the base.  It's also a technique that can be applied to other vegetables, e.g. cauliflower for stunning results (see the note below). In case you're not familiar with Methi or Fenugreek, it's a fairly common green vegetable used in Indian cooking. You can grab either a fresh bunch or a pack of frozen greens (much like frozen spinach) from an Indian store. If you buy a fresh bunch, make sure you clean it well. Ideally, you need to pick out all the leaves from t

The basic idea in this recipe is to combine vegetables with some form of grains, both to make the veggies less boring, and to balance out the nutritional value. It sounds a bit tricky, but it actually has a lot of room for adaptation in terms of the spices as per one's taste, the use of ingredients based on availability, and even the relative proportion of vegetable and dumplings. With more dumplings, it could also be a complete one-pot meal. I do like to keep it mildly spiced to really allow the taste of the green beans to come through. Ajwain ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajwain ), or carom seeds are the predominant flavor here, but if you can't find it, you could use cumin, and maybe add a bit of fennel. You could also just eliminate it, and use other spices of your choice and follow the main concept of the dish. Ajwain is pretty strong, so use carefully. Here's a version by the queen of Gujarati cooking: https://www.tarladalal.com/Fansi-Dhokli-(-Gujarati-Recipe)-5

Here's one that my mom made all the time, both as an everyday vegetable, and when we had company. It's fairly quick, mild yet flavorful, and borrows ideas from Gujarati and South Indian cooking. Chop a medium sized cauliflower so it's much finer than florets, but much coarser than cauliflower rice. You can use the tender parts of the stem, but make sure you dice them small. Peel and dice 1 medium potato. You could also add carrots to this, but I prefer to leave it out. Heat about 1 tbsp oil or ghee on a medium flame. Add ~1/2tsp black mustard seeds. Once they reduce the crackle, add ~1 tsp broken white urad daal, 8-10 broken cashew pieces, a big pinch of hing, and then add the cauliflower and potatoes. Saute for a few seconds, and add ~1/4 cup water. Add ~1 tbsp combined ginger + green chilli paste (adjust according to how spicy you like and the chilli spice level, but don't be shy either), ~1 tbsp of sugar (optional), and salt to taste.  Now add about a cup of whole