Love and Calories!!

Potatoes served at Breakfast, At Dinner served again, Potatoes served at Supper again, forever and Amen!! I read the above quote somewhere and absolutely loved it. There will be hardly any one who loathes potatoes. Be it any country, any person, everybody loves this underground jewel. I have already praised a lot about potatoes in my previous posts and I don't want to brag about it again. So I will directly go to my post which is of course a delicious yet simple "Crispy Potato Fry". No Indian meal is complete without this dish. Be it a South Indian or a North Indian Thali, you will find at least one potato dry dish as an accompaniment. Bachelors can make use of this recipe as it is quickly made with absolutely no complications. No boiling hassles at all. Its easy to make and equally delicious. Ingredients: 4 medium potatoes 2 green chillies ( slit and cut them in half) 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/4 tsp asafoetida (heeng) 2 tbsp oil 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp red chil...

While I was going through the "Index" of my Blog, containing the list of recipes that I've tried, I realized that I have not made anything from the eastern region of India. I have always mentioned about North, South & Western Indian cuisine but never about the Eastern sector. I should be seriously ashamed of it. So I decided to introduce the "Eastern" Indian cuisine to all of you by including the recipe of the most popular dish of West Bengal "Macher Jhol". It literally means, Fish (Macher) & Jhol (Water). It is a typical runny Bengali fish curry cooked in mustard oil. Many of my friends are Bengali & I have truly relished the Bengali cuisine at their home. I can closely associate myself with Bengal as I hail from the state Kerala. Both the states are miles away from each other but there are umpteen similarities between them. Be it Communism (We shall not talk about it), football fans (for a change, is not cricket they fancy), the sweet...

It is the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese calendar. The Chinese New Year has begun from 23rd January 2012 & all are in a celebratory mood especially the people living in China Town all over the world not to forget the country China itself. Last year I witnessed the New Year Celebrations in China Town, Manchester where the festivities were in full swing. The Lion dance, Dragon parade, the fire works, Kung Fu show and more. And of course how can I leave out the delicious food. Oh it was yum!! Keeping New Year as a reason, I thought of baking some "Fortune Cookies". I had never tried it before & this was a good chance for me to bake some. A Fortune Cookie is a crispy biscuit made out of flour, egg whites, butter & sugar. The biscuits take very little time to bake but folding needs to be quick. As I read on about these cookies, I came to know that they were originated by Chinese Americans. Each biscuit contains a message, usually a proverb or a Chi...

Now Pulikachal or Puliyodharai must be a very unfamiliar word to most of you however South Indians can immediately relate to it. So let me explain to those who literally don't have any idea whatsoever. As most of us know that Rice (Sadham in Tamil) has got a special place in every South Indian's heart, plain white rice is mixed with variety of lentils, vegetables & spice mixes to give an unique flavouring to it. Many of the popular variety rice dishes are Thayir Sadham (Curd Rice), Thakkali Sadham (Tomato Rice), Sambar Sadham, Thenga Sadham (Coconut Rice) etc. One of which is the Puli Sadham or the Puliyodharai which is nothing but Tamarind Rice. The Rice is mixed with a special tempered tamarind mix which tastes super TANGY & obviously delicious. You just need some poppadams or some crisps to go with it. Usually I buy ready Puliyodharai mix from any of the Asian Stores & use it instantly to my plain white rice. These variety rices are so quick to make especia...

This fresh tasting, Asian inspired noodle salad is speedy & nutritious. I always make this when am super lazy or in a mood to eat low fat food for a change. This noodle salad then comes to my rescue. Its tasty, quick and super filling. :) Ingredients: 100 g medium egg noodles 1/2 cucumber (sliced into thick baton) 1 bell pepper/capsicum (any colour, sliced) 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced) 4 tbsp sweet soy sauce (preferably ketjap manis, an Indonesian soy sauce) 1 lime 1 tbsp roasted peanuts (coarsely crushed) 1 egg (soft or hard boiled) 1/2 tinned cannellini beans (this is completely optional. I simply added it to my salad. You can use any other tinned beans or completely omit it) Method: Cook the noodles in boiling water until just tender. Drain & arrange on a serving platter. Top with cucumber batons, sliced bell pepper & onion. Add the beans at this stage if you want. Drizzle over the soy sauce & squeeze over the lime. To finish, sprinkle over the crushed roasted peanu...

Happy 2012 every one! Since its the beginning of a New Year, I thought of cooking something sweet as to fill the year full of sweetness, good health & prosperity. So I left wondering what do I make to usher 2012?? Then I thought of "Gaajar Ka Halwa", a popular North Indian sweet dish mainly prepared during the Winter Season. Gaajar (Carrot) Ka Halwa (Fudge) is made with bloody red carrots which are grown in abundance during Winter, in India. Its natural sweetness & goodness makes this dessert more slurrrrrp worthy :) Its January & there is still some nip in the air, so I chose to make some Carrot Halwa. I managed with the ordinary orange carrots as I didn't find any red ones here in England. It didn't match the taste of those bloody ones but the dish didn't disappoint me. Anything with sugar gives you a high...isn't it?? Ingredients: 4 cups shredded carrots (preferably red ones) 4 cups milk (boil it & keep it warm) 4 tbsp ghee (clarified butte...