Love and Calories!!

So winter is finally here and you got to do something to beat the hell out of it....And let me tell you how I do it... Simple! I cook up some hot fried Desi (Indian) appetizers to warm myself. So, it was the turn of making some Punjabi Samosas this weekend and I made the "world famous"(Yeah..That's how we Indians boast which is praise-worthy)Punjabi Samosa!! These delicious stuffed triangles are the true identity of any Indian. Your celebrations are incomplete if you don't include samosas in your menu. C'mon! Tuhanno Samosa ni pasand? ;). This is the perfect dish which can be served full of love stuffed into those pastries and a bit of calories too. I know many of you are really health conscious but I would suggest making these once in a while, to satisfy your guilty pleasures!! Ting!! Ingredients: 2 cups of plain flour (maida) 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds) 1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) 4-5  big potatoes 1 cup of boiled peas 2 inch ginger (finely chopp...

As soon as I got up from my bed after that extra hour of sleep (thanks to the end of the day light saving), I wanted to have a nice cup of hot English tea with some cookies. My biscuit tin was as usual empty so I quickly browsed through my baking bible and found this quick and instant recipe. As my hubby waited for his breakfast, I gave priority to my biscuits first...  :P Scottish Shortbread...mmmm...those buttery goodness that is baked to perfection and when put in mouth melts instantly. And it is so so easy to bake. You just need those three basic baking ingredients to get going...Flour, Butter and sugar. I just added some orange juice for that slight variation!! Ingredients: 175 g plain flour 100 g butter 50 g caster sugar zest and juice of 1 orange Method:   Heat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Line a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment. I normally use a non stick baking tray so I avoid the sheets. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the bu...

Fish make a quick, easy yet delectable dish with the ingredients readily available in your pantry. Haddock fillets came to my rescue on a Saturday night when I was tired of the general weekend routine. The dinner was done and dusted within twenty minutes and it looked like a Michelin  star restaurant dish. Arun was ready with two glasses of wine while I served him a great looking and delicious dinner!! Saturday was well spent at home. Ingredients: 2 fresh haddock fillets  handful of cherry tomatoes (I used the normal ones as I didn't have cherry tomatoes) 2 tbsp mayonnaise 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and grated) 1 cup of breadcrumbs (I used Japanese penko crumbs, you can use the normal ones too) juice of 1/2 lemon handful of fresh parsley or 1 tbsp of dried parsley 1 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper to season Method:  Preheat the oven to 220 degree Celsius. Lightly oil a large baking tray, then lay the haddock and tomatoes alongside each other. In a s...

Gosh, it's been months since I posted anything on my blog and am feeling already guilty about it. I must admit that my work life has truly taken a toll on me that I have nearly forgotten what cooking is all about. London life is fast, super fast! Weekdays come, weekends go and I just go with the flow. Months have gone by and I just left my hobby, my passion somewhere that I did not even get the time to revive it.  But no more....today I bring to you not one, but two recipes of Indo-Chinese influenced dishes. The very popular Gobi Manchurian and Chilli-Garlic Fried rice. So be ready with your wok and spoon, we have work to do!! :) Gobi Manchurian Ingredients: 1 medium cauliflower (break into florets) 1/4 cup Maida 3 tsp cornflour 1 scallion or salad onion (bulb and green finely chopped) 1 bell pepper (cut into bite size chunks) 2 tsp chopped ginger 2 tsp chopped garlic 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp red chilli flakes 1 tsp milk 1 tsp soy sau...

Gargi Mahatme, a staunch follower of my food blog, "Love and Calories", have always admired my efforts put in cooking and has recommended many world foods to me. Some of them, she has tried in her own kitchen and has sent the recipes to me. One such dish is this delicious "Cheesy Mushroom & Spinach Chicken Breasts". I am very pleased to include this dish in my blog as the "Guest Recipe". Thank You Gargi for sharing this recipe and apologies for the delay in publishing it to the world!! Enjoy Cooking!! Ingredients: 6 chicken breasts  oregano flakes grated cheese (generous amount) white button mushrooms (finely diced/chopped) a small bunch of spinach (you can use parsley as an option instead) olives (optional) but if you are using parsley,  add the olives as it will have the Italian touch to the dish.. (cheese+parsley+olives+garlic) 8-10 garlic (finely chopped) butter  extra virgin olive oil salt & pepper for seasoning toothpicks...

Chocolate! Chocolate!! Chocolate!!! I can never get over it...This C word is, was and always will be my weakness and the reason for my weight gain (oops..I shouldn't have told you that). You can ask me to diet if only the menu included a generous piece of Dairy Milk or a Chocolate Mud Cake....oooh! A big thank you to whoever thought of converting those lovely cocoa beans to soft, chewy, rich, smooth and delicious chocolate. So coming to my double chocolate brownies, I baked them two weeks back on a Friday night after coming from work. I was tired, exhausted and wanted to just crash on my couch and watch something nice on TV and welcome weekend. One of the channels were showing Johnny Depp and Juliett Binoche starrer 'CHOCOLAT" ...Oh my God I thought...I loved this movie and immediately went up to check my pantry to see whether I got all the ingredients to bake some brownies. For the chocolate lover that I am, I had everything ready to be baked up. I quickly baked...

The first time I came across this dish was on our honeymoon in Switzerland. The country was beautiful as expected, the cuisine too didn't disappoint us. Since  this picturesque country shares its border with Germany, Italy, Austria and France, its cuisine too has a large influence of these countries as you go towards the respective borders. We enjoyed the famous cheese fondue, Swiss Cheese and Chocolates, Swiss meringue with cream and last but not the least our favourite breakfast item....POTATO ROSTI!! During our week long stay, Rosti dominated our breakfast plates. It was way back in 2007 when I experienced the dangling sound of metal Cow Bells hanging around the necks of the cows, the beautiful alpine meadows, the charming old houses decorated with coloured flowers, the diplomatic capital of the World Geneva where we visited the United Nations office, Jungfraujoch - my first snowy experience at the top most point of Europe and more....everything still remains fresh...

It was a chilly yet Sunny Sunday morning in the countryside called Newtown in Wales where I had gone to spend a weekend at my Best friend Meghana's place. Though she never gives a damn  about this place, I get a sense of serenity, tranquility and at peace whenever I come here. (May be because, I live in a city and I don't get to see those meadows, sheep and mountains anymore).  Sunday was well spent as we made some hot masala chai, poured it in a flask, took some crisps and drove to a tourist spot in Mid Wales called Llanidloes (Please don't take an effort to pronounce it, it's Welsh...and the spellings have no connection with the pronunciation..:P). We stopped at a beautiful man made reservoir called the Llani Lake and what a sight it was. The river Severn was locked inside the dam and tinge of snow covered hills surrounded it. I could only imagine, how beautiful it would be in peak summer. The picture below will give you an idea of how postcardish view it was....

"Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns,      One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns,          Give them to your daughters, Give them to your sons                   One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns,                          Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns!!" Remember this nursery rhyme? Oh sure you do!! And how I wished in my school days, that a real Hot Cross Bun vendor should come knocking on my door and I run with a penny or two in hand to buy those delicious looking Hot soft buns...mmmm!! Then the realization strikes, that these rhymes cannot apply in India, girl! You can only run with a 50 paisa to get a delicious Vada pav or a samosa, not Hot Cross Buns!! And how I used to envy the children living in the British land. But only after coming here I knew that these were just a thing in the past. There are no Hot Cross Bun Ve...

Oooh!! PANNA COTTA...This name gives you the feeling that it is the most intricate, sophisticated and  "Oh boy, we can't cook those at home" type of a dessert. Well, atleast that's what I thought until I tried to make it at home. Panna Cotta or "The cooked cream" in Italian is one of the easiest desserts one can make anytime at home. Less time, Less ingredients, Less hassle, No oven (That's a relief), No Egg, Voila....a great looking rich restaurant dish is cooked up!! Panna Cotta, originally from Italy, is a jelly like, rich, wobbly custard made up of cooked cream, vanilla and sugar with a little gelatine to thicken it up. Along with it, I have made a Strawberry coulis to top it off. The silky smoothness of the cream with the tanginess of the berry sauce will make your palate go all wohoooo about it. Make this when your guests come home and earn some brownie points, I say!! ;P Ingredients: 500 ml double cream 5 tbsp sugar 1 vanilla pod 4 sh...