Rasaswad

 Boil and peel beets, and cut into big pieces. for the dressing, mix some greek yoghurt, a touch of sour cream (optional), a handful of chopped dill, some chopped fresh parsley, whole grain mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and mix. Add beets and serve. 

 Reminder of childhood diwalis... Soak a pinch of saffron in about 2-3 tbsp of milk for half an hour or so. Preheat oven to 350. Mix 2 cups almond flour (ideally freshly ground, but realistically, regular store bought), 1 cup sugar, a tbsp of milk powder (optional), 1 tsp of ground cardamom powder, and the soaked saffron + milk mixture. Start kneading a dough, and add milk a small tsp at a time (this dough needs very little milk, so be careful).  Knead a relatively hard dough (although, I'm not sure if this was the best texture. Next time I might try slightly softer). Divide in two, and roll into 1/2 in ch thick disk between two parchment paper sheets. Cut with a small cookie cutter, and bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating in between until light golden spots appear. I think I might have slightly under baked them, but next time..

 Chop 1 each of large white onion, green and red pepper and a tomato into large dices. Mix a tsp of whole cumin seeds, 1 tbsp of roughly crushed coriander seeds, 1 tsp red chilli flakes, 1 tsp fennel seeds and 1/2 tsp black pepper together. Heat oil, add the kadai masala, once the cumin sizzles, add ginger garlic paste, saute for a few seconds, and then add onions, followed by peppers and salt. Once they all saute for a bit, add 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, and a pinch of amchoor. Saute for a few more seconds, and add the tomatoes. Add 2-3 tbsp ketchup, and let the tomatoes soften a bit. In the meantime, dice paneer into small cubes, and add to the pot, along with salt, and a tbsp of crushed kasoori methi. Add a handful of chopped cilantro, and let everything cook for a few minutes. Garnish with more cilantro and serve with parathas/naans. 

Pre-heat oven at 350. Cut a whole bulb of garlic, add olive oil and salt, and wrap in foil and keep on a baking tray. Cut the delicata squash in half (length wise), remove seeds, remove ends, and slice. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and put on a baking tray. Bake everything for 25-30 mins. In the mean time, make dressing - lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Wash and dry kale, remove stems and chop. Once the garlic cools, squeeze out the roasted garlic into the dressing, and mix. Now massage the kale with the dressing. Add squash on top, and garnish with toasted, chopped hazelnuts, golden raisins and shaved permesan.  https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/autumn-kale-salad-gefilte-manifesto-recipe

 Ways to get veggies into a toddler  Mix 1/2 cup washed thick Poha, half cup sooji, half cup yoghurt and 1/2 cup water . Mix and set aside. Prep veggies - onion, green peppers, cabbage, carrots, spring onion, spinach, chopped curry leaves, cilantro, etc. Mash the Poha and sooji  mixture, add veggies, salt, roasted cumin powder, ginger garlic paste and a pinch of black pepper.  Heat oil on a griddle, and make small pancakes, and cook till golden brown on both sides.  https://youtu.be/OJLda_OapqU Here’s another one to try: https://youtu.be/5uuNAZ38cPU

 Make veg Hakka noodles like you normally would - Oil + sliced ginger, garlic, green chillies, white onion, carrots, pepper, cabbage. Add salt, white pepper powder, splashes of light and dark soy sauce and rice vinegar. Add sliced spring onion.  Make peanut sauce - Creamy peanut butter + Schezuan Chutney (I think ching's secret brand) + light and dark soy sauce, lime juice (I also added some lemon juice to use it up), salt, white pepper powder, a pinch of sugar, a few drops of toasted sesame oil, a splash of vegetable oil, some chopped cilantro. Mix everything and gradually add water to keep mixing until it reaches a pouring consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning as per taste.  Mix the sauce with the noodles, sprinkle some more cilantro and serve with salted, roasted cashews.  https://www.pickuplimes.com/recipe/vegetable-noodle-stir-fry-with-peanut-lime-sauce-131

 Using a mandoline, slice up zucchini, yellow squash and red onion. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, grated garlic, red wine vinegar, kosher salt and pepper, and massage using your hands. Add sliced banana peppers, and set aside for half an hour. Boil orichette pasta, add to this mix. Add cherry tomatoes, mini mozzarella balls, chopped kalamata olives, capers, parmesan cheese, olive oil, chopped basil and chopped fresh oregano. https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/easy-pasta-salad

 It's that time of the year... Chop Kale. In a pan, add a few tablespoon water and cook kale till the water dries out. Take it out and set aside. Wipe the pan clean, and heat some olive oil in it, add minced garlic, chilli flakes, finely diced red onion. Once the onion is soft, add kale, saute for a bit, then add corn kernels, salt and pepper. Take it out in a bowl. Add a bit of parmesan cheese. Cut the top and bottom off of the pattypan squash. with a paring knife and spoon, scoop out the seeds. Stuff the squash with the corn filling. Oil a pan lightly and set the squash in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. Serve with torn basil.  https://food52.com/recipes/36973-stuffed-pattypan-squash

 I had been craving this for a while, and the recipe turned out great. Dry roast about 1/2 cup of peeled peanuts. Add about 1/4 cup or less of sesame seeds. Once roasted, set aside. Also roast about 3/4 cup of fresh (frozen) coconut, two-three de-seeded kashmiri chillies, and a handful of whole coriander seeds. Set the mixture aside. Wash and dry baingan, and make slits while still keeping the tops. Also peel and make wedges from a couple of potatoes. In a pan, heat some oil (you need more oil), add the baingan and the potatoes, and let them cook. Take the potatoes out once they are brown, but let the baingan cook until they are almost done (and wrinkly on top). Take them out and set them aside. Meanwhile, finely dice an onion. In the same pan, add mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and chopped onion. Saute until the onion is lightly brown. In the meantime, make a paste from the dry ingredients (peanuts, etc.). Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and a b...

 One more year of L. baking me a cake. This one was relatively easy, but the result was fabulous.  Preheat oven at 350. Line a 9X13 pan with parchment and spray. In one mixer bowl, whip 3 egg whites + 3/4 cup sugar and a pinch of salt. Once stiff peaks form, add a tsp of vanilla and set aside. In another mixer bowl, mix 6 tbsp butter with 3/4 cup sugar, zest of a lemon, and 1/2 tsp salt until light and fluffy. Add 3 egg yolks, one at a time, then sprinkle 2 tsp of baking powder and mix. Add 1 cup milk, mix and then 11/2 cups AP flour. Now spread the cake batter evenly in the pan, followed by the meringue mixture, and bake for about 20 mins, till the cake part is properly baked. Let cool in the pan for 10 mins, followed by a cooling rack. To make the whipped topping, we simply used a cup of cream, a couple tbsp sugar and a tsp of vanilla . Slice a pound of strawberries, add some black berries, juice of a lemon, and a couple of tbsp of sugar and set aside for 10-15 mins. To asse...

 This one is in memory of one of my best friends' mom....S. used to bring this in her lunchbox and I ate it all up....Today I wanted to make it for my daughter, so I called up S.'s older sister for the recipe..this one's for you, Masi!  Chop Bhinda in slices. Heat oil (slightly more, cause it's bhindi). Add mustard seeds, a few methi seeds (rai:methi=4:1), a pinch of hing and turmeric. Add bhinda, stir and cook on a medium flame without covering. Once it's almost cooked, add red chilli powder, dhana-jeeru powder, salt and a bit of sugar to taste. Finish cooking.  This recipe transports me right back to that corner house in Kharkar Ali...

Coarsely grind a little less than 1 cup pistachios. Set aside about 1/4 cup of the nuts for garnish. Pre-heat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9 inch round cake pan. Soften a stick of unsalted butter for 15 seconds in the microwave. In a mixer bowl, cream butter with little shy of 1 cup sugar. Add three eggs, one at a time. Add a splash of vanilla and a splash of rose water. Add a big pinch of salt. Alternate 1/4 cup milk with 1 cup AP flour + 1 tsp baking powder. Bake about 30-35 mins until done. Invert, cool. For the glaze, mix about cup and a half powdered sugar with a splash of rose water and a table sp or two of milk. Glaze the cake, and garnish with pistachio powder and dried rose petals.  https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/04/pistachio-cake/

1/2 cup kulith + 1/4 cup each of rice, tur daal, yellow moong daal, green moong daal, chana daal, masoor daal. I mixed everything, took half the quantity, and saved the rest for another day. Wash and soak along  with a 2-3 kashmiri red chillies (remove seeds). Drain and grind, along with a handful of grated coconut, curry leaves, a small piece of ginger, and salt. Add chopped onion, some grated carrot, cilantro and a pinch of hing. Make adai on cast iron tava. Make some holes, add oil, cover and cook on low heat for a few minutes. Turn and cook on other side, and sever with chutney (or ketchup).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWMqkWh28eY

 I needed a really good version, and this one from Epicurious is it:  Preheat oven at 350. In a mixer bowl, mix 14 tbsp cold, chopped butter, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 3/4 cup white sugar, and let it all mix. (Could have also used 1 cup dark brown sugar). Increase the mixer speed to medium and cream for about 7-8 minutes (actually time this). Add 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 egg and mix for 2 more minutes. Add 1/4 tsp each baking powder, baking soda and table salt. Add 2 cups of A.P. flour and mix until combined. Run your knife through 1 pack (10 oz) semisweet chocolate chunks (from TJs),  and fold into the dough. Scoop the cookies 2-3 inches apart on a foil lined cookie tray, and bake for 10-12 minutes (turn the sheet once during baking). Once the edges are slightly brown, they're done. Do not over bake. For some of them, I also sprinkled some fleur de sel on some of them, and they tasted really good. 

 I made this cake many many years ago, but we still remember it, so here it goes.  Cake: Preheat oven to 350, spray a 15X10 baking tray, line with parchment and butter. Beat 9 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Mix ~2 cups almond flour, 2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup cake flour. Fold in three additions, and transfer to the tray. Bake until light golden on top about 25-30 mins. Cool.  Ganache: Microwave 2 cups cream + 10 ounces semi-sweet / bitter-sweet chocolate (chopped or chips). Chill for a few hours until firm enough to spread.  Hazelnut cream: Beat 2 cups whipping cream with 1/4 cup sugar.  Add 1/4 cup amaretto. Fold in 1/2 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts and 1/3 cup finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate. This cream by itself is pretty amazing.  Assemble: Line 2 quart bowl with plastic wrap. Cut cake into 1/3 inch wide slices. Line the bowl with cake tightly. Brush the cake with a couple tbsp of amaretto. Spread ganache over the cake, then spoon the hazelnut...

Preheat oven to 350. I actually didn't measure anything in this one, but roughly speaking, beat about 8 edd whites, with a pinch of salt, about a tsp of cream of tartar. Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Sieve 1 cup cake flour with 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Add zest of two limes, juice of about 1 lime, a big splash of vanilla. Continue mixing. Fold in the flour mixture gently into the egg whites. Fold in about 1/2 cup dry dessicated, unsweetened coconut.  Transfer to an ungreased 10 inch springfoam pan, and bake for about 30 mins. Cool.  Serve with sweetened whipped cream with vanilla, and whole diced fresh mangoes.  Inspired from here: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/coconut-angel-food-cake-236927 https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lime-angel-food-cake-with-lime-glaze-and-pistachios-358238

This was something I cooked up based on whatever was in the fridge/freezer, but turned out really good, so here it goes:  In a bowl, take a handful of cashews and about 1/4 cup melon seeds (optional). Add water and cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Let cool a bit and make a fine paste. Thaw out the Paneer and dice it. Heat some oil, and saute 1 cube of thawed methi (the kind you get in the frozen section). Set it aside. I did some of the veggies later, but can also do it at this stage. Saute a handful of mushroom pieces and set aside. On really high heat, saute 1 thinly sliced carrot, and add 1/2 diced green bell pepper. Add a bit of salt, and set aside. Now, heat some more oil, add whole spices (cloves, cinnamon, mace, black pepper, green cardamom), and add 1 pack of curry mix (this is my own curry mix that I prepare* and freeze) - about 3/4 - 1 cup. Saute until it all thaws out. Add the cashew paste, and water and cook for a minute or so. Add salt to taste, sugar (just a...

 Cake:  Heat oven at 350. Butter, flour a 9" springform pan and add parchment paper circle. Toast hazelnuts for 10 mins. Grind 2/3 cup hazelnut + add 2/3 cup cake flour + 1/4 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp baking powder. Separate 6 eggs. Melt 3 tbsp butter and let cool. In one mixer bowl, mix the yolks with 1/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  I added the ground up hazelnuts to this mixture (because it had become oily). In another mixer bowl, whisk the egg whites, then add 1/3 cup sugar and continue whisking till soft peaks form. Now fold the whites into the yolks, and then fold in the flour. Finally fold in the butter and pour into the prepared pan. Bake fro about 35 mins, until the skewer comes out clean. Let it cool on a cooling rack, and then remove from pan and let it cool further.  Filling/frosting:   The original recipe calls for apricot preserve, which I didn't have, so I just used the frosting. In a thick saucepan, take 4 tbsp...

 I made half the recipe, and it turned out great. Next time, I might try making it with plain besan though, to get a softer product. But this one was definitely a hit, especially with my biggest critic, Miss M.  Measure out 1 cup ghee in a pan. In a small pan, heat 1/4 cup milk, and 2 tbsp ghee (taken from the one cup ghee). Measure another quarter cup milk and set aside. Prepare about a teaspoon of cardamom powder and quarter of teaspoon nutmeg powder. Slice a quarter cup of pista. In a large bowl, mix 21/2 cups  ladoo besan (coarse) with the milk and ghee mixture. Rub between palms, press, cover and set aside for 20 minutes. Strain the mixture using a seive. Take any remaining bits, and run them through a small grinder, and mix it back. Now, heat the ghee on a low flame, add the prepared flour, and roast. Once it starts to get light and frothy, add a couple of tbsps of milk from the measured amount. Continue roasting. Once the mixture feels light again, add the remainin...