Rasaswad

I've been making too many rounds to the dentist lately, and the evening before my first extraction, as I was walking around the grocery store, I was struck with a massive, irrational panic that I won't be able to eat for a long time. So I bought a lot of food, and then the morning of, I spent an hour cooking soups to get through the rest of the day. Spinach Soup: Heat some oil (and a small knob of butter), add chopped ginger, garlic and white onion. Saute till soft. Add baby spinach, and saute. Also add one chopped tomato, salt, and lots of pepper. Add some water and let it cook for a bit. Once cool, also add a handful of fresh mint leaves, some milk and a dash of lime. Blend using the hand blender. (The mint gives a great flavor! Thanks to Tarla Dalal) https://www.tarladalal.com/Palak-Shorba-Punjabi-Spinach-Soup-30869r White pumpkin and daal soup: If I have more of this often, I bet I would lose a lot of weight. It was also delicious. In the instant pot, heat oil, ad...

Here's a couple of recipes that add a little something extra to "everyday" recipes: http://hebbarskitchen.com/methi-malai-paneer-recipe-paneer-methi/ Methi Malai Paneer. I actually used "malai paneer" for this recipe and also added green peas. Finely chop and clean methi. In a pan, heat some oil and saute for a couple od minutes. Take it out and set aside. In the same pan, heat some more oil/ghee, add cumin, bay leaf, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Add chopped ginger garlic onions and saute. Add turmeric, red chilli, corriander powder. Add tomato sauce and saute. Add methi, sugar salt, milk (and cream optional). I also added some cashew paste to make it creamy, since we dind't have cream. Add Paneer, green peas, a pinch of garam masala. Simmer for a couple of minutes.   https://www.archanaskitchen.com/saunf-wali-hari-gobi-sabzi-recipe-cauliflower-spiced-with-fennel-and-green-chutney Saunf wali Hari Ghobi Heat oil, add saunf, bay leaves, ginger a...

1 pack Nanak khoya (defrosted). Big glass bowl, 2 mins in microwave. Stir. 1 min in the microwave. Stir. A pinch of saffron soaked in milk. Stir. 1 min in the microwave. Stir. Let cool will slightly warm. Blanch, peel and slice a few pistachios. 1 cup sugar (regular white cane sugar..not the Indian kind) and a big pinch of cardamom powder. Stir until the sugar starts to dissolve. Grease palms with ghee. Prepare pedas and garnish with slices of pistachios. Refrigerate after they set. Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO-ckJnROrk

Onam Sadya Menu: Plate Preparation: Salt, ginger pickle, ? chutney, banana chips, fresh banana, fried kerala papad, plantains, cabbage Thoran, Avial Course 1: Rice, Parappu, ghee,  Course 2:  Rice, Sambar Course 3:  Rice Kalan Course 4 :  Brown payasam Course 5: Pal Payasam  Plantain: Cabbage Thoran: Avial: Parappu: Sambar: Kalan: 2 plantains (ripe)  1/4 tsp turmeric powder  1/2 tsp chilli powder 1 cup water Cut plantain length wise, remove the black part. Cut into cubes. Boil with the turmeric powder and chilli powder and water and you cook. Keep stirring. Add a bit of salt. Keep it aside.  1 cup grated coconut (frozen). Microwave. 3/4 cup is also enough 1 tsp cumin 5-6 whole black pepper 1 tsp ghee + 1/4tsp fenugreek. Roast well. Raw smell should go away.  Grind the masala to a smooth paste.  Now pour the coconut paste to the cooked plantains. Add salt. ...

Not sure if I can replicate this recipe, given that I was throwing in all sorts of leftovers, but here's a rough description of what I did: - Butter and flour a 10" spring form pan. - Toast about a cup of hazelnuts. Keep aside a handful for garnish, and grind the rest coarsely in a food processor. Remove and keep aside. - In the food processor, mix 1 stick soft butter and about 3 tbsp sugar. Now add 4 egg yolks and mix until pale and fluffy. Add 3 squares of melted ghiarardeli semi sweet chocolate (that's all I had), 1/2 container of hazelnut chocolate spread (that's all I had left), a table spoon of chocolate liquor (have something sitting around for a while in the fridge). Blend everything in the processor. - In a stand mixer, beat the 4 egg whites. Add some of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and then add it to the egg white bowl and slowly fold. Also fold in half pack of white cake mix (yeah, I know, it's all very approximate), and t...

Some friends were visiting on a Friday evening, so I prepped the night before, and the meal came together beautifully. The awesome produce at Whole Foods helped too. Corn Salad http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/charred-corn-salad-with-basil-and-tomatoes-51104300 Watermelon Feta Salad http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/arugula-watermelon-and-feta-salad-recipe-1949660 Lavash Pizza with Mushroom and Gorgonzola https://www.joanneweir.com/recipes/pizza-breads/lavash-pizza-with-mushrooms-and-cheese/ Spinach manicotti Ladies finger with peach, raspberries and yoghurt

Here's an easy, casual cake, which can add a special touch to a nice, relaxed evening with friends. For me, the recipe really worked when our friend, D. said that it reminded him of his childhood in Spain. Here's the original recipe, but I made a whole bunch of tweaks: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/flourless-lemon-almond-cake-385 I added some flour, baking powder and almond extract, got rid of the cinnamon and added a lemon glaze and sliced almonds. Here's what I did: Preheat oven to 375. Butter and flour one 9 inch cake pan. Separate 4 eggs. Beat the yolks with a pinch of salt, and 2 Tbsp sugar until pale. Add the zest of about 4 lemons, a small dash of almond extract (~1/2 tsp), 1 1/3 cup almond flour,  2 Tbsp flour, and 1/4 tsp baking powder. Remove this thick paste (almost dough-like consistency) in another container. Clean the mixer bowl and whisk really well. Beat the egg whites and 1/8 tsp cream of tarter until soft peak forms. Add about 5 Tbsp...

This makes for a perfect hostess gift, packed tightly in a mason jar, with a nice card with instructions on using it.  Use all nuts in raw form unless specified. Also, they should all be unsalted. 2 cups almonds 2 cups cashews  2 cups walnuts, very lightly toasted  1 cup pistachios  1 cup flax seeds, toasted until they start popping.  2 tbsp cardamom seeds (not pods, but seeds) 3/4 whole nutmeg 1 really big pinch saffron 2 1/2 cups sugar  In a food processor, grind each nut separately until fine or coarse. Towards the end, add a quarter cup of sugar for each cup of nut to aid grinding. The nuts Should not turn to butter. Grind flax seeds finely in a grinder or magic bullet. Grind each of the spice separately with a couple of tablespoon of sugar in a spice grinder. Mix everything together nicely and pack in air tight container.  For serving: mix 2-3 tbsp of powder with a cup of milk. Microwave for a minute, let steep...

The idea is to make almost everything ahead of time and set it out. Ragda Pattice is the only thing that needs to be warm. Mango Lassi Thandai Pani Puri Ragda Pattice Papdi chaat Kachori Pulao Raita Gulab Jamun Gujiya Paan

I figured I should start writing down the menus I plan for parties... This one was a potluck: Diwali snacks: chakli, chevdo, farsi puri, cholafali, mathia, mawa peda (prasad), chocolate cookies Amiri Khaman Dahi vada Fried balls of awesomeness Methi Malai Matar Rajma Mix veg. Korma Rice Triangle paratha Boondi raita Papad Moong daal halwa Paan 

In a small ziploc bag, crush half a pack of swad cashew chikki into big crumbs using a rolling pin.  In a small pan, heat about 1/3 cup sugar until amber colored. Add about a tablespoon of salted butter, and a few splashes of heavy cream. Add a good pinch of sea salt, and cook until the sauce get a nice consistency. Prepare ice-cream base according to the machine instructions (this was our first time using it). I used  1 cup milk + 3/4 cup sugar + 2 cups heavy cream + 1 tablespoon vanilla + 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste. I removed about half of the vanilla ice-cream to eat by itself. In the remaining mixture, stir in most of the chikki crumbs, and some of the caramel sauce. Remove into a container, and then drizzle more caramel sauce, and sprinkle the chikki crumbs, followed by more caramel drizzle. Cover and keep in the freezer.

This cake for L.'s Birthday started with grand plans which quickly turned into a series of shortcuts due to complete lack of energy to bake on a Friday night. It turned out to be one of the tastiest cakes I've ever made and L. simply loved it. So I figured I'm going to keep this shortcut recipe. I did end up using two frostings, which I think was worth it, since I couldn't have had the correct balance of chocolate and hazelnut flavors otherwise. I did end up winging most of the measurements though.. The cake had five main components: sponge, syrup, ganache, frosting and nuts.  The sponge was inspired by this original version (but I ended up changing the process a lot): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/opera-cake-230481 The Nutella frosting was inspired by this: http://cookiesandcups.com/whipped-nutella-frosting/ For the sponge, here's what I did. Preheated over at 425 and prepared two 9 inch round pans with butter, flour and parchment paper. I...

It's L.'s Birthday today, and I wanted to make a nice, comforting breakfast for him. Instead of going the fancy route, I went back to basics, and he loved it. Here's what I did: Microwave one russet potato till cooked. Peel and mash by hand. Take about 1/4 cup of store bought shredded carrots and chop it further to get a very fine dice. Prep about a tablespoon of In a small pan, heat about 1 teaspoon of oil. Add a few mustard seeds, add 1/4 teaspoon each of crushed ginger and green chillies, and a pinch of hing. Add the carrots and saute for a few seconds. Add about 1/4 cup, or less of peptite green peas, and saute a little more. Add a pinch of turmeric, a pinch of red chilli powder, a big pinch of amchur powder, a pinch of chat masala and salt. Add the potatoes, 2 tbsp ricotta cheese (or fresh paneer crumbs), cilantro, juice of half a lime, mix everything and turn off the flame. I used four slices of a nice pane bread (with sunflower seeds) for two sandwiches. Spread...

With a little bit of weekend prep, this comes together easily on a weeknight. Prep: Dark Brown sauteed, sliced onions (about 1/3 cup..after browning). About 1/3 cup of onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, turmeric masala (prepared in a slow cooker). Wash and soak 11/2 cups of basmati rice. Thaw paneer in the microwave (about two minutes), and cut into smallish cubes. Heat ~2 tbsp oil in a big pan. Fry Paneer cubes on 2-3 sides till golden brown. Take out the pieces and set aside. Add a tbsp of ghee to the same pan, add jeera, 2 cloves, 1 small piece of cinnamon stick, a few peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 1 whole cardamom, 1 javintri. Now add the pre-browned onions, ~1/4 of green bell pepper, diced, 2 tbsp cashew pieces, 1 tbsp golden raisins, a handful of shredded carrots, and saute a bit. Add 2 tbsp dhania powder, the onion-tomato masala and saute everything nicely. Add the soaked rice and saute. Add 2 cups water, 1 piece of green chilli split, and salt and cook until most of the water evap...

The fact that I needed so many qualifiers should tell you that Malai Kofta is originally a fussy recipe. Which is why I always order it in an Indian restaurant, whether they make it well or not, since I really don't like to deal with it at home. But here's a version I tried today, which almost puts in the weekday rotation...well, not really, but certainly in the make-more-often realm. Paneer could be homemade or store bought. I avoided using khoya and cream, since I usually never have those at home (well, I try not to keep cream at home). This makes it much more pantry-based, and relatively healthier (assuming you can ignore all the ghee). Instead of stuffing the kofta, I mix everything, without much change in the final results. Saves a lot of time. The gravy is a lot simpler than the usual multi-step version. I also used Appe-pan for frying, which also helped make it more streamlined from clean up perspective. Start with making the paneer: Bring about 4 cups of milk in a ...

The one minute video recipes are all the rage since last year (one of the few good things to come out of 2016). This one by chef Sanjyot Keer on Facebook is brilliant! I think it's Rajasthani cuisine at its chatpata, yet sublime best. https://www.facebook.com/yourfoodlab/videos/1644618345855498/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE I ate it with fulkas, but would make an excellent appetizer for a fancy party. The only downside of the recipe is the wastage of oil, but it is totally worth it. For the base: 1 Tbsp oil + 1 cup sliced red onion. Saute till lightly brown. Add 3/4 cup sliced tomatoes, and stir till soft. Add haldi, red chilli, dhania powder, garam masala and anar dana powder (I used chaat masala instead). Add 1/2 cup curd and salt to taste. Add fresh mint leaves. Cook until the water from the yoghurt dries up. Add a Tbsp fresh cream (I added greek yoghurt). Set aside. For the bhindi: I used slightly larger bhindi for this. Remove the top and bottoms of bhindi, slit vertically, ...

Feeling Sick on a cold winter evening? No one to pamper you? Plug in your instant pot, add a couple of tablespoons of water (supposed to prevent sticking), left over whole milk (~2 cups), around a quarter cup of washed arborio rice, close, put on "porridge mode", and settle on your couch with a nice throw and turn on the tv.. make sure the throw is soft and plush....after around one episode of whatever you're watching (food related tv shows are preferred), release the remaining pressure carefully, open and stir, add about 1/2 to 3/4th cup of sugar, and a couple of tablespoons of my special morning milk masala (or even just a pinch of cardamom..or a dash of vanilla)....stir, ladle into a bowl, get a big spoon, and settle back on the couch. Eat. You will instantly feel better. guaranteed! And here's the milk masala recipe (makes ~4 cups): Everything is raw, except flax seeds, which are lightly roasted. All proportions are approximate. About 1 cup of almonds, 1/2 cu...