Rasaswad

If you're one of those couples, where you say "veggies", and he thinks "potatoes"; you say "protein" and he thinks "cheese"; you say "fiber" and he thinks "pizza", then this recipe would make both of you happy. Well..there aren't any potatoes here, but still..it has the flavor profile that most veggie-haters can bare. And admit it, some days, when the summer veggies are still around, but it's a cold rainy day in fall, you want some ooey-gooey cheesy - ricey stuff too! (Inspired by a Sanjeev Kapoor Recipe) Here's what I did: Took two big peppers - one green and one red and slit it into half cross-wise. Remove the seeds and ribs (can keep the stems if you like). Lightly salt and rub with a little bit of olive oil and set aside for about 10 minutes. In the mean time, finely chop one small white onion, one clove of garlic, a small green pepper (I had a good one from the farm), and finely dice one carrot. He...

Answer: Oil, garlic, chilli, peanuts, sesame seeds, scallions and cilantro. Both the regions have figured out the magic of this combination...almost identically...and it's some combination. Caution - this can be extremely addictive.A restaurant near my home, called Sichuan Gourmet makes these absolutely addictive cold noodles. Here's my attempt to re-create them: Boil thin noodles (the ones they use are closer to angel hair pasta), I ended up using rice noodles, since that's what I had around. Cool the noodles in cold water and set aside. Roast peanuts lightly and crush coarsely. Also roast sesame seeds and crush very coarsely. Coarsely crush garlic. Heat some vegetable oil and add the garlic on medium heat and let it cook. When it's cooked for a bit, add a pinch of red chilli flakes and cook some more (do not brown). Now, add a paste made with spicy chilli powder (like cayenne) + paprika + water into the garlic oil, and then turn off the heat. Let the oil cool dow...

You really can't go wrong with this if you're seriously homesick. But I didn't say this was an easy cure. It takes time and patience...but as you go through the process, you re-live the moments spent in the distant past and you remember every utensil in your mother's kitchen used for making this - the big iron Peni (Kadai), The stainless steel Kathrot (Paraat) and the charni (sieve). You struggle to find the right substitute utensils and hope the ingredients sort of taste the same. They don't. But it's still worth the try. Churma Laddoo. Take some (about 2 cups) of coarse whole wheat flour (for Laddoo). This is not Sooji. It's not the atta for Roti. It is also not Lapsi. It will be marked as Laddoo flour. Add about 3/4 cups of ghee and rub into the flour. Basically, if you hold the flour, it should almost form balls. This is called "Muthi Padtu Mon". Now add whole milk to form a very soft dough. Remember, the coarse flour is going to absorb a ...