Quick cauliflower salad

Do you love veggies, the crunch in them, their taste as they are and how they look ? Well… I do. I love the crunch of the uncooked vegetables, and how they look as they are… in all their natural glory and colour!

That is why when Nandita first talked about this salad, the veggie-lover in me was excited. The simplicity in making this salad, the time it takes to be put together and how it tastes made it a favourite. But not until I saw Siri’s recipe of a cauliflower salad, did I realize I never blogged this one, my ever-favourite.

Chilli cornbread, with some Indian flavors

The other day, I reached home to an almost empty fridge with a rumbling stomach and a desire to make something quick for a snack. After having read Siri’s recipe for the cornbread, I was craving for some , and set out to make my own…

Ready in a jiffy Savoury oats porridge

10 min is all it takes to make this quick-meal!

Oats is not greatly favoured in our house because of its bland taste and limited options. Savoury oats porridge was something I thought of, a long time ago, to ensure that we get our share of fibre via this easy-peasy meal. Even that takes around 15-20 min to prepare and cook. But this recipe is quicker, easier and faster than a regular oats porridge.Ask me how!

A spoonful of Curry powder…

Will go a long way in any Indian curry.

The preparations of these curry powders changes for every 100 KM you travel in India, and highly depends on where you want to use them – in a dry curry or a gravy curry. Also, the ingredients and method of making the curry powder is heavily influenced from the local staple of a given location. Like for example, peanuts are an important ingredient in most Telugu curries, whereas its Coconut if you go to the Konkan area. Well, I can talk with authority about these two regions , thanks to Mother-in-law and Mom respectively! :-)

Sangria… The drink of the Gods!

That’s what I felt when I first tasted this amazing drink. And indeed it was. Given how I discovered it, and all the memories attached with this drink.

I tasted Sangria, a wine cocktail couple of years ago during our (the husband and yours truly) short stay in Hong Kong. We used to eat out quite a bit back then, and it was a routine to walk up and down the SoHo in search of a good place. Well, not finding one was kinda tough given that SoHo had hundreds of restaurants , but we always were looking for some place which had a vegetarian menu slightly more than just a dish. It was during one of those searches that we saw Life Cafe, a restaurant which served only organic food with a slightly impressive vegetarian menu, and a great drinks menu. Only after we tasted our first sip of wine and took our first bite there did we wonder how the hell on earth did we miss that place when we had walked the same road atleast thrice a week! No, this is not about the restaurant, it was about the food there and the wonderful drink called Sangria we had discovered there.

Creamy, easy Tomato & Broccoli Casserole

Creamy. Cheesy. Chunky .Crusty.
Roasted cheese and tomatoes. Spicy & Served warm.
And its a casserole.
Need I say more?

When I think of a pasta casserole, I think of something in red sauce. Not being a fan of white sauce myself, I don’t generally attempt to make anything with white sauce in it. But now, that’s gonna change.

Palak Makhana

Or Popped Lotus seeds in a spicy spinach gravy!

Makhana or popped lotus seeds have intrigued me for a long time. I tried making a gravy with this once before but it didn’t work well, and that was the end of the Makhana story in my kitchen.

Till this evening.

Thotakoora Pachadi

Or Amaranth Greens Chutney.

What do you do when you have a lot of greens and you’d hate to not waste them? Well, South Indian housewives have been innovative in using seasonal greens in effective, healthy methods of cooking, one of which is Pachadi, which is what we call Chutney in Telugu.

Rava Khichdi with Tomatoes!

The weather is awesome in Hyderabad these days. Its super pleasant and rains quite bit. It does disrupt the lives a bit, but with the summer we’ve had, I bet no one is complaining about the rains this year! :-)

Rains always make me crave comfort food. Food that is easy to make, and food that reminds me of something warm and makes me feel fuzzy. :-) As a true foodie, I have a huge list of comfort food, stuff that makes me feel good when I am down or lazy or when it rains.

Top of this list is Khichdi for me. Khichdi is a versatile dish and its preparation and ingredients change with the place you eat it in. Every house has its own Khichdi recipe, and am on a mission – To learn as many different varieties of Khichdi as possible ! And why not? Its warm, its healthy, its packed with veggies if you like and its ultimate comfort food.

Check out my other Khichdi recipes here & here.

Risotto, with Thai Green curry flavours!

Risotto, like Indian rice is versatile, I’ve gathered. You can make it in a lot of flavours with a variety of vegetables, not to mention the meat options. One idea that I got from GoodFood [May, 2012] magazine is to cook Risotto with Asian flavours, and I was like – why didn’t I think of this before!

This is perfect for families like mine, where one member wants to eat only Indian flavours, and another wants to experiment with the meal. It took me a while before I could actually try this , but when I did try, I knew I had a winning recipe at my hand!