5 Must Haves in you refrigerator to beat the sweltering October heat

1. A big jug of Fresh Lime water - Sweet with sugar/honey to which you can add a pince of salt just before you want to have it
2. A large bowl of freshly made dahi/spinach raita : Nutritious and great for the stomach
3. A big bowl of watermelon/oranges/sweet lime cut into pieces or blended into juice
4. Peel fresh cucumbers with chaat masala and lime juice
5. A bowl/platter of assorted dhoklas to satisfy the hunger pans

Always eating out... Now eat in!!

More and more restaurants, food stalls and online food service options, but does the busy city professional end up with a satisfying meal? Not always! Delayed deliveries, messed up orders or spicy and oily food? How does one get around it?

Ever thought of attempting to cook... Perhaps just a couple of times a week. Watch out for this space interesting ideas !!!

It's Time for Pasta Canopes !!

Had a few unexpected guests drop in yesterday. Looked into my fridge to see what I could serve them, and found a bowl of corn cheese pasta ready. Did some quick thinking and pulled out a packet of canopes. Warmed up the pasta, filled each canopy with the pasta and topped it up with a liberal amount of bhel sev. Served this with tea and biscuits. My impromptu decision to serve canopes turned out to be great as the guests loved the canopes and asked for more.

Udad Dal Wadis - An easy to make and light tea-time snack!

Yesterday my friend Komala served us an interesting snack while we played bridge which we all enjoyed greatly. I went into her kitchen to find out how exactly it was made and I am sharing her special recipe with you.

Ingredients:

1 cup udad dal

1 tsp chana dal

2 green chillies

1/2 inch piece of ginger

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp grated coconut

oil for frying

salt to taste 

Procedure:

Soak udad dal and chana dal in separate bowls of of water for 3 to 4 hours. Grind udad dal with a little water and ginger to a smooth paste. Empty out contents in a bowl. Add soaked chana dal (after draining out water), green chillies, cumin seeds, coconut and salt. Mix the batter well

Heat a non stick frying pan with 2-3 tbsps of oil and lower flame. Put 1 tbsp of the batter on the pan as shown in the picture. Put 4-6 wadis at a time. Lower flame and cover the pan with a lid and allow the wadis to fry. After few minutes turn the wadis over and repeat the process till both the sides are golden brown, crisp and well done. 

Serve them on a plate with coriander mint chutney or coconut garlic chutney.

Crispy Palak and Kabuli Chana Chaat

It's been almost a month that I wrote on the blog. Was away in the U.S. travelling to both the East Coast and West Coast. Ate at many interesting places and also did a lot of cooking for my family... who relished their all time favourite recipes. We had an interesting meal at an Indian restaurant in Rochester and I particularly loved the Crispy Palak and Kabuli Chana Chaat starter. I liked the chaat so much that a few days later I tried making it at home and it turned out just as nice! Here's how you can make it.

Ingredients
1 bowl boiled kabuli chana

1 bowl palak leaves separated and kept in fridge 

A few half slices of tomato

A few slices of cucumber

A few strips of bell peppers

A few strips  of onion

2 - 3 tbsps of blended dahi

1- 2 tbsps  of tamarind chutney

1-2 tbsps of bhel sev
1/2 tspn chaat masala (optional)

Keep all ingredients chilled in the refrigerator. Before serving mix all veggies well the chutney. Put blended dahi on top, garnish with bhel sev and serve immediately.

Our Sunday Morning Breakfast Today !!

Methi Parathas with achar, dahi and papad.

Ingredients for Parathas

2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup washed and finely chopped methi leaves
1/2 tspn red chilli powder
1/4 tspn or less  of turmeric powder
2 tblspn Oil
Salt to taste
A few spoons of oil for frying the parathas

Method

Put flour in a large thali/bowl. Add methi leaves, chilli powder, turmeric, salt and oil and knead dough with warm water to chapati consistency. Divide dough into 4-6 portions. Make round ball of each and roll out into a thick chapati. Heat tawa/non-stick pan on high flame. When really hot , reduce flame and place chapati over it.Cook on low flame, gently turning around till both sides are well covered with brown specks. Add one teaspoon of oil and fry till each side is crisp. Serve hot with accompaniments.

An evening with Foodies !!!

Spent a lovely evening on 15th July at the IFN (India Food Network) office, meeting other chefs, food bloggers and experts. So impressed with the super achievements of this young team in such a short time! Relaxed ambiance, great company, wine, cheese and yummy snacks and this beautiful hamper as take away!