Spicy Tomato Daal

Daal along with rice makes its appearance during our meal time in one form or the other; be it the humble daali thoy, Palak Daal, Mango Daal or the ubiquitous rasam, sambhar we have it pretty much every day. At times, I also make this Spicy Tomato Daal which is quick, healthy and delicious. An Indian colleague of mine describes it as healthy soup in the comfort of a bowl. I couldn’t agree more, I mean after a long day what better way to unwind than to have this simple thick daal along with a bowl of rice? Ingredients: 3/4…

Indian Cucumber Raita Recipe

  If you are looking for a quick cooling Yogurt Cucumber Raita, then this one is for you. Raita is an Indian condiment made using yogurt/ curd and used as a side dish, sauce or dip. This is not only enhances flavor, but offsets the spiciness of the main dish. All that is required for this is cucumber, yogurt and other spices.  Traditionally ground cumin powder is added to this, but my family is not too fond of its taste in this raita and so I skip it. You can add chilli powder instead of green chillies, if you prefer.…

Simple Pasta to heal the heart (for Chalks and Chopsticks)

She looked at the clock for the 30th time that hour but it did not seem to move fast enough. She sighed, picked up a magazine and absently flipped through few pages but her mind kept drifting back to the clock and the phone. The doctor would call her anytime now and she could feel a tight knot developing in her stomach. As much as she dreaded the call that was the one she had been waiting for days now. The weeks and weeks of waiting would be finally over and she would know if her life would change forever.…

Vegan Banana Coconut Bread (Quick Bread)

I’m not sure if I’ve asked this before, but I’m hoping for fresh ideas. O dear reader, what do you usually do with those overripe bananas lurking on your countertops? Do you make the quintessential banana bread, milkshake, pancake, freeze them, or just toss them? If I am no mood to bake then I usually make the delicious sweet paniyaram/appe for evening snack or strawberry banana milkshake. But when I’m in a baking mood and have some time, I scour the web for some really good recipes. This time, I chose a recipe from here. (She is the author of…

Bombay Tomato Pulao — Tawa Pulao

Who knew that you could add Pav Bhaji masala and ketchup to rice and make this one of a kind rice dish? Errrr…. Pulao to be precise, not me of course! If you already knew that please be so kind as to not to roll your eyes. Because there are some one track people like me who think that if the instruction on the package says to use it in Bhaji then you use it only in the Bhaji and nothing else. OK, all that changed when a friend of mine sent me this recipe link and asked me to…

Indian Okra Fry/ Crispy Bhindi Fry Recipe

In our house okra is one of our favorite vegetable. Thankfully we get this all the year around in our grocery stores and so there is no dearth of okra related recipes in our household. It regularly makes its way onto our table in the form of Okra raita, okra coconut curry, Spicy bhendi curry etc. But this simple and easy okra fry is our all time favorite.  We like the okra in this fry to be crispy (not mushy) and so I do a trick while cooking this. I first cook the okra/bhindi/lady’s finger until it turns brown and…

Back to the Roots- Gourmet Mushroom Kit Giveaway

If you love mushrooms, mushroom dishes and love to cook with them, then why not try to grow them on your own? After all, growing your own veggies is a fulfilling, rewarding experience. However the process could be time consuming and for many even not possible due to the lack of space. But then what if you could grow mushrooms in just 10 days, right out of a bag and all on windowsill? Too good to be true? Well, that is the idea behind the project at Back to the Roots.  Back to the Roots is a company founded by…