Vegetable Noodles (err.. Spaghetti)

So the other day, me and the kiddo had been invited to a dear friend’s place for dinner. In spite of so many different things going on with her, a full time job, a 3 year old kid and another way on the way, she took the time and effort to make these delicious and whole noodles along with some baked potato fries. When the food was offered to the dear 4 year old he did not even want to touch the noodles and instead preferred to finish off the fries. No amount of glaring, clearing of the throat from me…

Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup

In our family we love soup not just in winter but anytime of the year. A few months ago, we had been to a restaurant and had their Red Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup along with warm crusted bread and I remember it being so good that we had licked the bowl clean. Ever since I wanted to try making it at home and searched for good recipes over the net. There is no dearth of Bell Pepper and Tomato Soup on the net, but the tough part is narrowing down the search to fit our needs.   After some…

Dahi Bhendi/ Okra Raita

Dahi Bhendi/Okra Raita was one of the first dishes that I had learnt from my MIL after our marriage. Okras are crisped and then added to seasoned yogurt; the crisped okra then absorbs the yogurt and plumps up giving it a unique flavorful taste. I loved the taste and have been making it ever since.   This Raita makes a very good side dish Rotis/Chapathis and also with Rice. This is very easy to prepare and is also a good way to finish of those few remaining Okras/lady’s finger sitting in the fridge. My MIL makes this the traditional way…

Pico De Gallo (Tomato Onion Salad)

  In Mexican cuisine, Pico de gallo (Spanish for “rooster’s beak”) is a fresh condiment more like a salad made from chopped tomato, onion, and chilles (typically jalapeños).  The chopped vegetables are then mixed and tossed with lime juice and salt. I heard about this salad after coming to the United States. Being new to Mexican cuisine, I had imagined this to be something exotic, complicated and did not even venture to try out for a long time. But then turns out that it is a sample salad and is a Spanish name for our very own Tomato Onion salad.…

Burst of Colors: Tomato Onion Cucumber Salad

Last weekend was a glorious one (how many times have I said that in my earlier posts). The weather was perfect; not too hot or cold and all that accompanied with a beautiful sunshine. This natural setting woke up the food blogger in me and transformed me into a food photographer. That prompted me to walk around the house with the camera dangling around the neck trying to capture pictures of this tomato onion salad and other dishes in different angles, varying amount of sunlight, different backgrounds etc. This went on for almost half a day and 45 pictures later…

Onion Cucumber Sprouted Moong Salad

There is no telling how important fruits and vegetables are in our everyday diet. Doctors/Nutritionist recommend that we have at least 5-7 serving of fruits and vegetables a day. Since dinner is the only time, when all of us are together I make a salad/ Kosambari a day. That way we get our quota of vegetables for that day. It is easy as well as nutritious. I make this salad at least once a week, sometime I add shredded carrots to this as well.   On a lighter note, this must have been one of the easiest and simplest recipes…

Cucumber Kosambari / Taushe Koshimbir

Kosambari is a typical and traditional saladin Karnataka. It is prepared during major festivals, auspicious occasions, and marriages and even offered as ‘prasada’ in temples. This is also called as Koshimbir in Konkani and Maharashtra and is very easy to prepare. Kosumbari does not involve any cooking, it is basically a mix of soaked lentil and raw vegetable of choice (cucumber or carrot or both) with right seasoning.  It is very high in protein and also has a cooling effect on the body because of Moong Daal and Cucumber.   Kosambari tends to become runny if kept for a long…