One Day At A Time

Italian Pastas and Pizzas are globally popular. I love both. For pastas, I like white Béchamel sauce and Alfredo sauce more than the tomato sauce. If you like it too, try this Farfalle or Bow-tie Pasta in a creamy Béchamel Sauce with Spinach. Ingredients: Pasta - 2 cups Milk - 1 1/2 cups Baby Spinach - about 1 cup Butter - 1 1/2 tbsp All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 tbsp (leveled) Garlic - 2 cloves (minced) Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Dry Oregano - 1/2 tsp Nutmeg/Jaiphal - 1/8 tsp Cinnamon/Dalchini - 1/8 tsp (optional) Salt How to cook White Bechamel Sauce Pasta: Cooking Pasta: Heat 5 - 6 cups water in a big pot. When water starts boiling, add pasta and salt. Cook the pasta for 10 - 12 minutes or as per the package instructions. Use any pasta of your choice. I have used bow-tie / farfalle pasta. You could use any other kind. Whole wheat pasta would taste good too. Preparing  Béchamel Sauce : Heat butter in a thick bottom pan. Add all purpose flour to the mel...

Spicy Chicken drumsticks with red hot wings Sauce and zesty orange fragrance. Ingredients: Chicken Drumsticks - 8 Oil preferably Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard - 1 tbsp Spanish Paprika or Chili Powder - 2 tsp Cayenne Pepper - 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning - 1 1/2 tsp Butter - 1 tbsp Buffalo Wings Sauce - 2 tbsp Orange Zest - 1 tsp Salt How to bake Buffalo style Chicken: In a mixing bowl or a resealable plastic bag, add oil, vinegar, brown mustard, paprika (for color), cayenne pepper (for heat), black pepper, garlic and herb seasoning and salt. Mix all the ingredients well. I used chicken drumsticks with skin, discard the skin for lesser calories. Coat the chicken drumsticks in this marinade well. Let the chicken marinate for 4 - 5 hours or overnight. Get creative and feel free to add your favorite seasonings as well. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. Use a baking tray with a mesh. Mix the c...

Last month, I had blogged about Chicken Quesadillas with Indian spices . Today's Quesadilla recipe is of mushrooms with Chipotle Seasoning, which vegetarians can also enjoy. Ingredients: Wheat Flour/Atta - about 4 cups Spinach/Palak - about 3 cups Mushrooms - about 500 gm Chipotle Seasoning - 1/2 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Tomatoes - 2 medium Onion - 1 small Green Pepper/Capsicum - about 2 tbsp Jalapenos or Green Chilies - 1 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Lime/Lemon Juice - 1 tsp Pepper Jack Cheese or any other Salt Oil How to prepare Mexican Mushroom Quesadillas: Preparing Spinach Dough: Puree spinach leaves with little salt in a mixer/blender. Add little water if required. In a mixing bowl, add the spinach puree. Add wheat flour, in small amounts till a soft dough is formed. Add 1 tsp oil and knead well. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. If you do not hav...

A Konkani recipe of Masoor Dal (Whole Red Lentils) in a mildly spiced coconut sauce. This protein rich red lentils coconut curry is perfect for both vegetarians and vegans. Ingredients: Whole Red Lentils/Masoor - 1/2 cup Grated Coconut - about 1 cup Medium Chopped Onions - about 2 tbsp Garlic/Lasun - 4 cloves Coriander Seeds/Dhane - 1 1/2 tbsp Dry Red Chilies - 6 Tamarind/Chinch/Chincham - about 1/2 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Masoori Ambat: Wash red lentils with water. Cook lentils and chopped onions in 2 - 3 cups water till lentils turn soft. Add more water if required. Masoor is a brown skinned lentil/pulse which is orange or pink inside. Masoor Dal is available as skin-less red lentils. Roast coriander seeds and red chilies with 1/2 tsp oil in a pan. Roast at low flame until coriander seeds slightly darken and turn aromatic.  Grind coconut, roasted coriander seeds, roasted red chilies, tamarind and turmeric to a fine or slightly coarse ...

Chutney is the most popular Indian condiment served as a side dish with meals or as a dip with snacks. Today's recipe is a dry chutney made of phutane/dalia and coconut.   This dry chutney is also sprinkled on Masala Dosa . Ingredients: Phutane/Dalia/Roasted Chana Dal - 1 cup Dessicated (Dry) Coconut - 1/2 cup White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Dry Red Chillies - 5 Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt How to prepare Dry Phutane Chutney: Wipe the blender/grinder jar completely dry. Blend all the ingredients in a blender/grinder to a fine or slightly coarse powder. Serve dry Chutney with Idli or Dosa with coconut oil.

For our everyday meals, I cook Tawa Roti.  A whole wheat flatbread cooked on a griddle, also called as Chapati or Phulka .   Naan is a leavened, Tandoor (clay oven) cooked Indian flatbread, which we always order in a restaurant.  If you are looking for a yeast free Naan recipe, this Tawa Naan is perfect.. soft and fluffy.  Garlic Naan, Butter Naan are most loved versions of this soft flatbread recipe.

Set Dosa is a South Indian recipe of soft, rice and lentil pancakes. These pancakes are generally served as a set of three small dosas with Coconut Chutney, Sambar and/or veg curry. Ingredients: Idli Rice or Medium Grain Rice - 1 cup Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1/4 cup Fenugreek/Methi Seeds - 1 tsp Thin Parched Rice/Beaten Rice/Pohe - 1/2 cup Salt Oil or Ghee/Clarified Butter   How to prepare Set Dosa: Soak rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds for 6 - 8 hours in water. Wash soaked rice and dal well. Wash parched rice with water. Grind soaked rice, dal and parched rice to a slightly coarse paste. The batter consistency is thick and not runny. Let the batter ferment overnight. You can add 1/4 tsp of baking soda to the batter as well. After fermentation the batter will rise almost to double. Add salt to the batter and mix.   Heat a pan and grease the pan with oil or ghee. Pour a ladle full of batter to form a thick dosa. Do not spread. Flip the dosa when the batt...

I love desserts, maybe more than the entrees. After coming to US, two desserts turned to be our new favorites - Warm Apple Crumble and Cheesecake. Apple Crumble seemed something I could try in my kitchen and take my word, it is absolutely scrumptious too. A baked dessert made of soft caramelized apples topped with a crisp crust, also known as Apple Crisp or Apple Crostata . I make this more often now, whenever I want to finish off the apples. Also, an effortless dessert perfect for entertaining guests. Ingredients: Apples - 2 Lemon Juice - about 1 tbsp All Purpose Flour - 1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour - 1/4 cup Almonds or Walnuts or Pecans - 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup Ground Cinnamon/Dalchini Powder - 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg/Jaiphal Powder - 1/8 tsp Butter - 1/4 cup/4 tbsp  Vanilla or Dulce de Leche Ice cream How to prepare Crispy Apple Crumble: In a big bowl of water, add lemon juice and mix. Peel the apple skin. Add thin sliced apples to the...

Paan Pole or Paan Polo are soft, thin crepes of rice and coconut.  These crepes also known as Neer Dosa or Tandalache Ghavan , can be made with rice flour minus coconut.   Ingredients: Idli Rice or Medium Grain Rice - 1 cup Grated or Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/4 cup Salt Oil How to make soft Paan Pole: Soak rice for 6 - 8 hours. Wash soaked rice well. Grind rice and coconut to a very fine paste. Add 1 - 2 cups water and salt to the batter. The batter consistency is too thin. Heat a pan and grease the pan with cooking spray or oil. Pour a ladle full of batter and swirl the pan to spread the runny batter evenly. Flip the dosa when the edges start leaving the pan. Cook for about a minute or so.   Repeat the same for the batter. Serve Paan Pole with Coconut chutney or a curry.

Savory cilantro or coriander cakes made of chickpea flour.  A healthy Maharashtrian recipe, perfect as an appetizer or as a side dish.

Soft and moist Banana Muffins topped with crunchy low calorie pistachios. Egg free and Butter free delicious muffins. Ingredients: Ripe Bananas - 3 large Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup Light Brown Sugar - 1 cup Sour Cream - 1/2 cup Whole Milk - 1/2 cup Olive Oil - 1/4 cup Baking Soda - 3/4 tsp Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon/Dalchini Powder - 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg/Jaiphal Powder - 1/8 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Pistachios (roughly chopped) - about 2 tbsp How to bake Egg free and Butter free Banana Muffins: In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients - whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix well with a spoon. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners or spray the muffin pan with cooking spray.  I used a 12 muffin pan. In a big mixing bowl, add peeled bananas. Mash them well. Now add sour cream, milk and olive oil...