Love and Calories!!

Naankhatai is to India as S hortbread is to Scotland,    Naankhatai is an Indian shortbread (originally brought by the Iranians to India) quite similar to a Scottish shortbread but only more soft, more crumbly and more delicious. I like to call them the "Indian white Bakery biscuits" because I have always seen them stored in those big cookie jars in front of the bakery till counters. For me, these white dome shaped cookies always stood out from the other cookies.  This 3 ingredients cookie is super easy to bake plus there are no eggs involved so Hello Vegetarians!! One can always experiment with a combination of flours (gram flour, corn flour, semolina, etc) but being me I went for the most tastiest and a slightly unhealthy version of using only refined flour. Do try any version you like but do not forget to dunk these melt in the mouth cookies in  your masala chai and go mmmmm....:) Happy Baking!!   Ingredients: 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup butt...

Sun is out, and the Summer is finally here to stay (I suppose). So I thought why not make a lovely healthy, fresh veggie and Couscous salad which can easily pass of as a main dish for vegetarians. And for us carnivores, this yummy Couscous salad is a great accompaniment with our Lamb Tagine or grilled fish. Ingredients: 1 cup  couscous 1 onion 1 cucumber 1 bell pepper / capsicum 1 tbsp thick tomato puree 1 tsp smoked paprika 2 tsp cumin 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves 2-3 green or red fresh chillies (finely chopped) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 juice of lemon and its zest salt and pepper to season Method: 1) Toast the cumin in a small fry pan and grind to a nice powder (prefer to use a pestle and mortar instead of a grinder). 2) Place the couscous in a big bowl and mix the ground cumin powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper to it.  Mix well. Then pour some hot water over the couscous until it ...

When I go for my weekly shopping at the Tescos or Waitrose, I spend atleast 4-5 minutes in the Cereal aisle. I love to see and read those different varieties and colourful packages of corn flakes, bran flakes, weetabix, cheerios, different flavoured oats, muesli etc. Out of these, Granola always stood out. This luxury cereal always grabbed my attention. By the look of those golden honey roasted oats, mixed with nuts and berries of different combination, my mind imagines a bowl, spoon and a dollop of greek yoghurt and me having Granola in some island in Greece. (the luxury advertisements influence my thoughts)!! :P So the love for granola made me look for a homemade version of it and 'BBC food' helped me come out with this one. The entire process of mixing the rolled oats in maple syrup and honey and later roasting it with the mixed nuts and berries was indeed therapeutic. I have made a tin full of granola and safely stored in an air-tight container. It should suffice for ...

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...

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...

"Deepak ki roshni, Patako ki awaz, Suraj ki kirane, Khushiyon ki bauchaar, Chandan ki khusboo, Apno ka pyar, Mubarak ho apko.... Diwali ka tyohar" (The Bright lights emitted from the oil lit lamps,  Those fiery sounds of the fire crackers, rays of sunshine which showers happiness throughout, the fragrance of sandalwood & the love of our dear ones....I Wish you all these and much more on this joyous occasion called DIWALI! Wish you all a very Happy & safe Diwali. Eat, Drink & Be Merry!! The festive season is here again and am so fortunate to experience the whole Diwali atmosphere all around me. London, like Mumbai embraces all the cultures of the world & celebrating Diwali is no exception here. The whole Desi Community are busy buying new clothes, Diyas, fire crackers & Mithais. I make it a point to go to these Desi inhabited towns regularly, to experience the hustle bustle during the Indian festive season. I do not miss anything here, except for my ...

 Andhraites (People of Andhra Pradesh, South India) love their eggplants/brinjals so much that I have seen all my Telugu friends make something or the other with these lovely violet vegetable. Stuffed, steamed, fried, sauted, chutney, gravy, they will have atleast one of these things done with their eggplants. One such recipe is this one which I got from one of my Telugu friends. I got this recipe about 4 years ago but never tried until recently. Not a good looking dish, I must admit but it tastes absolutely delicious. And it is healthy too as the baby eggplants are steamed all the way.  Ingredients: 10-12 baby eggplants For Stuffing: 1/4 cup chana dal (kadala paruppu/bengal gram) 1/4 cup whole coriander seeds  4-5 dry red chillies 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp fennel seeds  8-10 curry leaves 1 tsp oil  Heat oil in a frying pan and roast the above "stuffing" ingredients for 2 minutes until they release their flavour. Remove from hea...

The thing I most miss in the UK is the sound of "Taka Tak" made by the street food vendors on their tava while making pav bhaji, aloo tikki, patties etc. Aah! Especially after living so many years in the hub of street food (Delhi & Mumbai), I seriously get disappointed when I am unable to go out after 6 pm. You have only two options, either go sit in a pub or have a proper dinner at some expensive restaurants. There is no in between thing. And I have started hating the American fast food joints like KFCs, McDs & pizza outlets. My stomach gets bloated and   I gain 2 kilos just by the look of it. That's when I miss my Indian Street food. Its not just about the food, its the whole idea behind it. Go with your family and friends, get your hands dirty, eat while standing and haggle with the vendor saying..."Bhayya ..Aur Theeka karo na", Bhayya, ek aur papdi"!! :)  Thanks to London, I have already discovered some Vada Pav shops & Chat restaurant...

I came up with the name "Phulka Pudine Ka" after wasting a lot of time thinking, than just calling it "Pudina Roti" or "Pudina Parantha". "Phulka Pudine ka" was so rhyming and funny at the same time that I thought let me name it the same. It is an easy peasy recipe if you regularly make rotis at home.  I just made it yesterday with a little sprinkle of mint-chat masala spice mix. It only gave the rotis that extra zing. For those who are unfamiliar with the word "Phulka", is nothing but rotis cooked on an open flame for it to puff up like a balloon with the help of steam. This method is the most healthiest way of making a roti/chapathi as it uses no oil, is perfectly light and brings that smoky flavour to the rotis.  In this recipe, the rotis won't puff up because there's mint leaves inside the dough which restricts the dough to swell, but the smokiness will release the flavour of the mint leaves inside each chapathi...