One Day At A Time

Soft and moist vanilla flavored egg-less cake made of sour cream and a tad bit of butter. Sour cream has lesser calories as compared to butter which makes this cake a delicious treat for calorie conscious foodies. Also, a perfect sponge cake for the holy month of Shravan.

A quick and easy North Indian side dish made of store bought Boondi and yogurt. Boondi is a fried snack made of chickpea or gram flour which is also used to stuff Pani Puri . Ingredients: Boondi - 1 cup Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - 1 cup Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Red Chili Powder/Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Asafetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Oil - 1 tsp Kala Namak/Indian Rock Salt How to prepare Boondi Raita: Whisk yogurt, red chili powder, salt and jeera powder well in a mixing bowl.  Add salt keeping in mind that Boondi has salt too. If Kala Namak is not available, regular salt would work just fine. You can add 1/4 tsp sugar or jaggery too if you like. Heat oil in a small pan for tempering/tadka. Add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When mustard seeds pop, turn off the heat and pour this tempering in yogurt. Now add Boondi and finely chopped cilantro leaves to the yogurt. Let the boondi soak in yogurt for 20 - 30 mi...

Upkari is a Konkani recipe of stir fry veggies like Green Beans , Ridge Gourd , Pumpkin  with a coconut flavor and a couple of spices. Tendli Bibbe Upkari is unique as it is made of raw tender cashew nuts called as Bibbe in Konkani and Ole Kaju in Marathi, available only during monsoon season. This stir fry when made solely with cashews is called as Bibbe Upkari . Nowadays, I prepare this by soaking dry unroasted Cashews and it tastes awesome too. This no onion garlic delicacy is especially made on festive occasions. Ingredients: Ivy Gourd/Tendle/Tindora - about 400 gm Cashews/Kajubi/Kaju - about 1/2 cup Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - about 1/2 cup Dry Red Chillies - 2 Curry Leaves/Karbeo/Kadipata - a sprig (optional) Mustard Seeds/Saasam - 1/2 tsp Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Green Chillies - 2 (optional) Jaggery/Gud/Gul - about 1/2 tsp Salt Oil   How to cook Tendli Bibbe Upkari: Soak dry cashews for 5 - 6 hours. Raw, unroasted cashews would be the bes...

Potatoes are a staple here as a side dish with sea food and meat. You might have heard about the well known combination Meat and Potatoes. Be it Potato Fries , Pan-roasted baby potatoes, Mashed Potatoes or Baked Potatoes, I love all forms of this starchy root.  Similarly, you can bake a sweet potato too. Ingredients: Russet Potatoes - 4 Olive Oil - 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder Salt Sour Cream Butter How to bake Potatoes in an Oven: Preheat the oven at 450 degrees F. Scrub the dirt of the potato skin and wash them well. Wipe them dry with a paper towel. Pierce the potatoes all over with a fork or a knife. This will let the steam release from the potatoes. Apply oil to the potatoes, a few drops would be enough to lightly grease them. Sprinkle some salt on the potatoes. Bake the potatoes on an oven rack for about 30 minutes or until the skin turns crisp. Baking time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes. Prick with a fork to check if potatoes are cooked soft. You ca...

Today's sandwich is a fusion recipe of Indian Fritters and the American Coleslaw. These onion fritters are well known as Kanda Bhajji or Onion Pakoda . If you are looking for a veggie sandwich, these crunchy fritters with a creamy Apple slaw is perfect. Ingredients: Red Onion - 1 big Spring/Green Onions - 6 Green Chilies - 4 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - about 1/2 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil for frying Granny Smith Apple - 1 Cabbage (thinly sliced) - about 1 cup Serrano Pepper - 1 Celery Salt - 1/2 tsp Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - about 1/2 cup Bread or Tortillas How to prepare Crunchy Fritters Sandwich with Apple Coleslaw: Preparing Apple Yogurt Coleslaw:  Discard the seeds of the Serrano pepper and finely chop it. Dice the apple and cabbage into thin long strands. In a mixing bowl, add apple, cabbage, celery salt and Serrano pepper. ...

Indian curry recipe of sauteed Okra in a tangy yogurt gravy, flavored with Kasuri Methi and fresh ginger. Lady's finger is an all time favorite in my family. Plus it is easily available here.   You might have read my previous okra recipes - Okra Coconut Curry , Crisp stir fried Bhindi or Masala Bhindi . Ingredients: Okra/Lady's Finger/Bhindi - about 450 gm Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - 1 cup Onion - 1 medium Ginger/Adrak (finely chopped) - 1 tsp Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tbsp Dry Red Chilies - 2 Curry Leaves/Kadipata - a sprig Cayenne Pepper/Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Asafetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Kabab Masala or any spice mix - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Indian Dahi Bhindi: Pat the washed okra and curry leaves dry. Dice the okra into bite size pieces. Finely chop onions and g...

Gulab Jamun is one of the popular Indian sweets made of Khoya or Mava. Till date, I used to prepare Gulab Jamun using milk powder, as Mava is not easily available here.  Recently, I started using Ricotta Cheese as an alternative to Mava for Mithai like Kalakand and Rasmalai .  Today I tried this Italian Cheese for our desi Gulab Jamun and it turned out excellent. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz (425 gm) All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 1/2 tbsp Baking Soda - 1/8 tsp Sugar - 1 3/4 cups Water - 1 3/4 cups Lemon Juice - 1 tsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Saffron/Kesar - few strands Oil or Ghee for frying   How to prepare Indian Gulab Jamun using Ricotta Cheese: Preparing Sugar Syrup: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Heat sugar and water in a vessel. Bring it to a boil. Cook at low flame until the sugar syrups turns sticky (one thread consistency). When you touch the sticky syrup, you can see a single thread forming ...

Usal is a protein rich Marathi curry made of bean sprouts.  Misal , a popular street food of Mumbai is a similar recipe made of variety of beans. Today's Usal recipe is of mixed 15 beans - chickpeas, red kidney beans, black beans, split peas and so on. These are available as dry 15 Beans or 16 Beans Soup. Ingredients: Mixed 15 Beans - 1 cup Onion - 1 medium Potato - 1 medium (optional) Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Salt Oil How to cook Usal using 15 Beans: Soak the mixed beans 4 - 5 hours. Soaking will help the beans cook well. Wash the soaked beans well. Finely chop onions and cilantro. Dice the peeled potato into medium slices. Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté until onions soften. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for anoth...

Roasted chicken drumsticks flavored with garlic and dry rosemary. Rosemary, an aromatic woody herb is quite commonly used in roasting chicken and other meats. This culinary herb is considered to improve memory. Ingredients: Chicken Drumsticks - 8 Garlic - 4 big cloves Onion (finely chopped) - about 1/2 cup Dry Rosemary - 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Orange Zest - 1/2 tsp Unsalted Butter - 1 tbsp Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Salt How to cook Garlic and Rosemary Chicken: Sprinkle salt and black pepper powder on the chicken drumsticks. Finely chop onions and garlic. Preheat the oven at 400 degree F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Heat butter and oil in a skillet. Add onions and sauté for a minute. Add the chicken and sauté at high flame until chicken turns slightly brown. Add garlic, cayenne pepper and orange zest. Sauté for another minute. Arrange the browned chicken on the baking tray. Bake the chicken for ab...

Mexican Cuisine has some similarities to Indian food in terms of spice.  You all have read my previous posts of Quesadillas and Tacos . I love to try Mexican recipes with a few twists of my own. There are some who don't like raw onions in their food. For them, here is my take on the classic Avocado Guacamole with tangy mango. This turned out to be a great hit with both kids and grown ups. Ingredients: Avocados - 2 Raw Mango - 2 tbsp Olives - 1 tbsp Pickled Jalapenos - 1 tbsp Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Lime Juice - 2 tbsp Salt Oil How to prepare Guacamole:   Dice the avocados in halves. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Dice the flesh into small pieces or mash it. In a mixing bowl, add finely chopped mango, olives, jalapenos, lime juice and salt. Add avocados and mix all the ingredients well. Garnish with cilantro leaves. No hard and fast rule about the proportion of ingredients. Add more or less to suit your taste. Serve Guaca...