We’re very grateful to have four generous apple trees in our backyard. Thanks to them, every year during apple season, we get more than enough to eat, share, and cook with. So the girls and I get creative and try to come up with more delicious ways to put those juicy apples to good use. Enter cinnamon apple cake! It’s a sweet treat inspired by old-fashioned coffee cake and my spiced apple cider....
About Aval Payasam In addition to poha and the usual kheer essentials like full-fat milk, ghee and sugar in this Aval Payasam Recipe, the other ingredients too are very, very basic. For instance, there’s some dry fruits like cashews, raisins and then flavorings like saffron and cardamom powder. Isn’t it really simple? I usually make this Poha Kheer with the regular variety of thick white poha. But if you’re feeling fancy and have the thin or red poha handy at home, use them to make this payasam....
About Aval Upma Both poha and Upma are quite a favorite choice for breakie, when it comes to me and my family. So, I regularly make both these dishes at home. What I love the most about these preparations is that they are quick to prepare and are quite nutritious too. This recipe of Poha Upma is actually a South Indian version (Tamil, to be more precise). Hence, also referred to as Aval Upma as the Tamil word for ‘poha’ is ‘aval....
About Baby Corn Jalfrezi Jalfrezi (also called as ‘jhal frezi’) is believed to have been originated in Bengal. Basically it is a spicy semi-dry, stir-fried dish that can be made with vegetables or paneer, bell peppers and aromatics. Other than this Baby Corn Jalfrezi, other varieties can be made of cottage cheese (paneer), mixed vegetables, chicken, etc. Mostly, the dish is finished with some fresh coriander leaves. In fact various Jalfrezi preparations are popular and served in many Indian restaurants....
Growing up in a Punjabi home, I saw my mom make various kinds of halwa at home- Sooji halwa, Gajar halwa and even Moong Dal Halwa, but Badam halwa was a treat that we enjoyed at our favorite south-Indian restaurant, Sagar Ratna. It wasn’t until I moved to the US after marriage that I started making it at home. This recipe is inspired by my mother-in-law’s traditional version, which is delicious, but pure labor of love....
Pasta and apples? Plus Brussels sprouts and blue cheese? Yes, it works! This beautiful, bubbling winter feast is a hot, healthy, and complete meal full of fresh produce. It features a light, creamy sauce, topped with toasted pecans and a squeeze of lemon. This scrumptious dish has landed permanently on my roster of all-star dinners. If you’re a fan of blue cheese, Brussels sprouts, apples and pasta individually, I promise you’ll love them combined....
I can’t take credit for this one. It’s my friend Jordan’s creation. She has been sporting an adorable growing baby bump for the past eight months. She makes pregnancy look good… which is not to say that I want to be pregnant any time soon. Oh no, this is a spectator sport. Pass the wine, please. Lucky for us, Jordan got a craving for peaches and plums a few weeks ago and went a little overboard at the store....
Finally! I’ve figured out how to make the best tabbouleh. It’s just as good, if not better than, my favorite local Middle Eastern restaurant’s. If you try it, I think you’ll agree. Tabbouleh (also spelled tabouli) is a super fresh herb and bulgur salad, with parsley being the number one ingredient. It’s dotted with diced cucumber and tomato, and dressed simply with olive oil and lemon juice. It’s refreshing, light and packed with healthy ingredients....
About Biscuit Cake Recipe I have many wonderful dessert recipes on the site, from Chocolate Cake to homemade Ice Cream and lots of sweet goodies in between. This is a recipe which I had seen in my childhood in one of the cookery shows on the Indian Doordarshan channel and I still remember it. I had never forgotten this one. I used to make a few changes and make this no bake biscuit cake on occasions....
Today, I present to you the perfect muffin recipe. That’s what Deb of Smitten Kitchen called it, and after trying her recipe last weekend, I can confirm that the recipe is, indeed, quite nice. Update, 10 years later: I actually prefer these healthy blueberry muffins to this recipe! The muffins turned out so light, fluffy and flavorful that no one could tell they were wholesome muffins masquerading as crazy-delicious muffins....
This is what happens when I think about roses, romance, and….food. Because food is always involved. I took the humble Shrimp Scampi with garlic, lemon and wine; browned it’s butter….and made it into another video. After the success of the Browned Butter Honey Garlic Salmon I posted mid-late last year, it occurred to me that people really do love browned butter. Who knew? The nutty, crispy, fried smell and taste of browned butter on salmon was freaking amazing, I thought I’d try it out on Shrimp (what we Aussies call Prawns)....
These crispy-tender air fryer Brussel Sprouts are easy enough to become your go-to side dish for weeknights dinners and elegant enough to serve on special occasions. I am a big fan of Brussel sprouts because of their health benefits and versatility. They’re one of the few vegetables that can be stored in your refrigerator for up to a week and a half and they’ll still be fresh. On top of this, you can add multiple seasonings to Brussel sprouts and make them compliment any meal....
Remember that summertime arugula pizza with tomato and squash strewn on top like confetti? Meet her sister pizza. She’s a capricorn like me. More bold, serious and perhaps even more stunning than her summertime counterpart. She knows how to get what she wants. This pizza was inspired by Food and Wine’s November cover. Did you see it? It had a beautiful butternut focaccia on it. I was completely entranced by those caramelized butternut ribbons in the grocery store checkout line—so much so that I got teased for it—but that cover got my wheels spinning....
I’m slowly working my way through the veggie options at the sushi restaurant that opened near me. The other day, I ordered a side salad to accompany my sushi. I was intrigued by the dressing—carrot ginger. How had I not tasted carrot-ginger dressing? The dressing was a little more lumpy than smooth, but the flavor was amazing. I added it to my list to recreate and I’ve enjoyed every rendition so far, but this final version is my favorite....
About This Chickpea Salad This Chickpea Salad is a Mediterranean style preparation as the ingredients in it are typically the ones used extensively in this particular food culture. You have chickpeas, then olives, parsley and others. I have not added croutons or fried bread cubes in it, but you can add it as well in order to boost the crunchiness in the salad. As a whole, Mediterranean cuisine is basically formed of the following cuisines: Greek, Turkish, French (majorly from the Provence region), Italian, Egyptian, Levantine, Maghrebi (northwest Africa), Spanish and a bit of Portuguese....
What is a Chimichanga? Chimichangas are a Tex-Mex dish that is renowned throughout the Southern United States. These little pockets of deliciousness are essentially deep fried burritos, and can be filled with any number of ingredients including beans, cheese, rice, meat and vegetables. My vegetarian chimichanga recipe uses a mix of delightfully spiced button mushrooms, bell peppers and broccoli with cheddar for an unforgettable meal you’ll want to make again and again....
About Chole Bhature Chana Bhatura is a spicy, tasty and a filling dish. I have eaten this dish at many places in Punjab and Delhi. Each restaurants or dhaba (eateries on highways) have their own flavors and taste in the chickpea curry. In some places the curry is very spicy, at other places it has tangy taste and the consistency of the curry also varies from slightly thick to semi-dry and dry....
About this recipe A fresh salsa is one of the easiest, healthiest, and – most importantly – tastiest snacks to prepare. It has a blend of various tastes that we in India call chatpata – which means a snack that is spicy, sweet, savory, tangy. My corn salsa recipe is nearly effortless to make. (Have you tried my Homemade Tomato Salsa or fruity Mango Salsa recipes yet?) Salsas usually take only minutes to make and go well with just about anything you’ve got in the pantry....
So… a long time ago these chicken drumsticks were seared, then bathed and simmered in a creamy and rich tomato sauce. So long ago that I had to go back into my drafts archive folder to pull this out. Well, actually my daughter pulled this one out. She was all, “Mum, are you crazy? Why haven’t you posted this one?” Maybe one day, I’ll reshoot this and give you all the progress pics…but for now, enjoy this dish with your whole family!...
I’ve always associated hash browns with classic diner fare, and left them there. However, I’ve been working on a breakfast burrito recipe on the request of several readers, and everyone has suggested including potatoes. Hash browns seemed like the easiest way to incorporate crispy potatoes. Soggy hash browns have no business on my plate. Crispy hash browns or bust! Hash browns are easy to make. Basically, all you have to do is grate up some potato, rinse off the starch, squeeze it dry, and cook the potato in a skillet with oil until crispy....
