One Day At A Time!

  Hey everyone! Hope all is well. Goldilocks weather in my part of the world. Not so rainy anymore.  Today, I am sharing a well known Indian flatbread - Naan. My simplified version with just three ingredients and salt. If you are trying to avoid unnecessary additives in store bought Naan, this post is for you. Do try this homemade Naan and let me know. And kneading the dough in a food processor makes it easier. Ingredients: All purpose flour/Maida - 2 cups Homemade Yogurt/Dahi - about 1 cup Baking Powder - 2 tsp Salt to taste How to make Easy Three Ingredient Naan: In a food processor jar, add flour, yogurt, baking powder and salt. Run the dough setting until mixed well. Add more yogurt or flour to get smooth, soft dough. Divide the dough into 8 dough balls. Roll each one as thin or thick you would like, dusting some flour.  Heat a cast iron pan and place the rolled naan. When small bubbles start popping, flip and roast for a few seconds. Finish cooking the Naan on direct...

Lentils, known as Dal are a staple in an Indian diet, especially vegetarian. For me, dal is comfort food. 5 different dal varieties - Toor, Moong, Chana, Masoor and Urad are commonly used in Indian sweet and savory delicacies. You can cook dal with just one kind or a mix of two or more. I generally cook dal with 1:1 Toor and Moong dals. But then, we like Panchmel or Panchratna Dal too, which is made of all five. Most dal recipes have Toor dal as the primary ingredient. It is also known as Toovar or Arhar dal or Split Pigeon Peas . Some of our family favorite dal recipes are Dalitoy (Konkani Dal)  Tadka Dal Among all lentils, moong dal and masoor dal take lesser time to cook. Moong dal is also known as Split Green Gram or Split Mung Bean . Moong dal is also used in making sweet dishes like Mung Dal Kheer  Mung Dal Puranpoli Chana dal is also known as Split Bengal Gram or Split Chickpeas . Chana Dal takes a little more time to cook as compared to toor dal....

Moving to US was a change in terms of diet, along with many other things. But the good thing is that every item is labeled with its name and also providing some information for newbies like me. Most vegetables have an American English name, like Bhindi is called Okra here, unlike its British name Lady's finger. There are many things which were new to me.. the variety of apples - Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Gala, Red, Fuji and every season I am introduced to some new kind. Even potatoes are of many kinds. Most Indian vegetables are available in the local Indian stores. But I prefer using local seasonal produce. Over the last few years, we have found ourselves some favorites - Collard Greens, Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash, Zucchini Squash, Frozen Lima Beans. These blend very well with the Indian way of cooking and are part of our everyday meals. All these vegetables are indigenous to US and I have no idea of their Indian names. We Konkanis love to have a veggie roll...

Ghee or Toop or Clarified Butter is an integral part of Indian food - mithai (sweets), parathe, rice and many other delicacies. Even dosas taste great when roasted with ghee. Indian festivities and religious ceremonies are incomplete without shudh desi ghee. Ingredients: Unsalted Butter/Loni/Makkhan - 1 pound (4 sticks) Cloves/Lavang/Long - 2 How to prepare Ghee or Clarified Butter or Tup: Heat a heavy bottom pan. Make sure there is no water or moisture in the pan. Add butter. Once the butter melts, add cloves and lower the heat. Let the butter cook at low heat until the foam reduces. You will also hear some crackling sound, which will reduce once the foam starts to disappear.  Use a spoon to check if the foam has reduced and a clear liquid is visible.  Also, the milk solids will settle at the bottom. Turn off the heat. Do not let the milk solids turn brown.  Cloves add a nice aroma to the clarified butter which can be used for both swee...

Kadipata Herbs are those plants which are either decorative, fragrant, medicinal or culinary. The seed plants of which the stems do not become woody, but remain more or less soft.  But this definition excludes some like the fragrant Curry Leaves - which is a woody tree and not a soft shrub or herb. Curry leaves also known as Kadipata, Kadhilimb, Karbeo are widely used in Indian cooking. Cilantro, Mint and Kasoori Methi are the most widely used herbs in Indian Cuisine. Cilantro ( Coriandrum sativum ) Also known as Coriander or Chinese Parsley.  Hara Dhaniya or Dhaniya  in Hindi. An annual herb growing from seeds. This plant is both an herb and a spice. Fresh leaves are the herb and its seeds are used as a spice. Coriander seeds are an indispensable part of the spice combination known as Curry Powder. Coriander or Cilantro In India, the plant is said to cool hot stomach, banish gas and aid digestion. Also used in Mexican, Thai, Moroccan, Spanish and African Cuisi...

For quite some time, I used to buy Paneer at a local Indian grocery store. But once I tried making Panir at home, I realized that not only it is easy but also half the price of store bought Paneer. So if you are looking for fresh cottage cheese and to save a few bucks, you must give this recipe a try.