It’s looking like fall around here; temperatures are cooler, leaves are falling, and it’s getting darker earlier in the evenings. This type of weather always gets me in a contemplative mood. It’s times like these when allthough I want to socialize and meet friends, I really want to keep it low-key – you know what I mean? This is the mood I was in when I had a friend over for a simple fall lunch one Friday afternoon recently. Not two friends, not three, but just one. It’s nice once in a while to have a quiet lunch with a friend, it gives us a chance to catch up one/one with each other and relax over comfort food and conversation. Continue reading Upma, Raita and Soup. Lunch with a Friend→
Here I was left with a large quantity of Shishito peppers from my farmer’s marker trip wondering what to do with so many, I’m talking over 50 peppers! Don’t get me wrong, I love Shishito peppers but even for our family there is a limit to how many Shishito peppers we can have. I was looking for a way to use up all these peppers when I got the idea to use them in a stir-fry rice. I cut up the peppers into bite size pieces, sautéed them until they were tender and charred, added fresh coconut, a couple of Indian spices, salt and sugar and I ended up with this delicious Shishito pepper stir fry coconut rice. The rice tasted so good that my family was having it by the bowl fulls. It tasted even better the next day as all the flavors had a chance to marinate and get absorbed into the rice. If you love Shishito peppers or Padron peppers like we do, this is an awesome recipe to use up a good amount of these peppers. Give it a try! Continue reading Shishito Pepper Stir Fry Coconut Rice→
Light and spongy, salty, sweet and spicy – dhokla is a very popular appetizer prepared in the state of Gujarat in the Western region of India. The basic recipe for dhokla uses chickpea flour, rice flour, or semolina (cream of wheat) that are combined with yogurt and spices to form a thick batter. This batter is then steamed until a spongy cake of sorts is formed which is then cut into bite-size pieces and lightly pan-fried with mustard seeds. Served as an appetizer with mint chutney these are delicious cake-like savory bites. Continue reading Dhoklas. Steamed Cream of Wheat Savory Bites→
Late summer brings with it a harvest of peppers in all shapes and sizes. Sweet peppers, spicy peppers, mild peppers, green, yellow, red, and orange peppers – you name it, it’s available at the farmer’s market right now. All these peppers are the inspiration for this curry that uses peppers in an Indian spiced potato curry. Continue reading Bell Pepper Potato Curry→
Coconut chutney is such an ubiquitous side condiment in every South Indian home that at any given time there is almost always coconut chutney available and ready to be had with any food of one’s choice. Naturally with such a common dish every family has their own variation. I posted a recipe for a quick and easy coconut chutney a while back, in this new version I would like to share with you my friend Shalini’s coconut chutney recipe which has the added dimension of fresh cilantro and fresh ginger. Continue reading Shalini’s Coconut Chutney with Cilantro and Green Chili→
If you are looking for a great way to use up a large quantity of summertime tomatoes and veggies then this dish is the one! That’s the dilemma I faced that inspired this veggie-laden dish. I had loads of peppers, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes, and I knew it would take a few days to use all these up, but these veggies were ready to be had ASAP. I decided to make a giant pot of Indian stew/curry type of dish with all the veggies I could collect from the refrigerator. I also wanted this to be a saucy dish as I had soooo many tomatoes too. Indian Ratatouille, is the name the kids gave this stew. The name sounded pretty cool to me as this stew made with summer vegetables and Indian spices would have otherwise been called Carrot, Zucchini, Pepper Curry; but somehow the name Indian Ratatouille just sounds better. Continue reading Indian Summer Ratatouille→
Moong beans are one of the healthiest dishes around. Packed with nutrients, low in calories, filling, and extremely healthy, this dish is a super food for vegetarians.It’s so good for you that many times it’s made as a side dish to go with any Indian meal. Continue reading Warm Moong Beans with Fresh Mint and Turmeric→
Upma is a savory South Indian pilaf usually made with cream of wheat and vegetables. Upma is made by roasting cream of wheat which is then seasoned with spices and veggies and then cooked until fluffy and soft. The spices in upma are minimal making it a simple dish that kids really enjoy. Upma can me made with any variety of vegetables such as cauliflower, spinach, potatoes, green beans, and carrots. Upma makes a delicious lunch or brunch option served with a side of plain yogurt or raita. Here is a recipe for a quick and easy upma that my Mom used to make with frozen mixted vegetables. Give it a try!
This Indian spinach dish called saag paneer is usually made with spinach, garlic, onions and paneer, but in this variation I thought I would experiment with leeks instead which gives this dish more of a green onion flavor. When leeks are in season I like to use them in leu of onions as they add a different type of onion flavor and a creamy texture to whatever dish they are used in. Leeks and spinach are a great combination and in this saag paneer they taste great together with all the spices and paneer. Continue reading Spinach and Leek Saag Paneer→
