Rasaswad

 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/