One Day At A Time

Hey Foodies! Nice sunny weather in my part of the world. Hope all is well in yours as well. Its been a while I blogged about an Indian Curry. Since my kiddo went back to school, I get to cook spinach based recipes for lunch. Today's Mixed Vegetables Curry is a new favorite at our place.  Ingredients: Baby Spinach - about 3 cups Frozen Cut Cauliflower - 12 oz (340g) Frozen Green Peas - 1 cup Medium Onion - 1 Small Tomato - 2 Garlic/Lahsun - 2 big cloves Ginger/Adrak - 1 tsp (grated) Fennel/Badishep/Saunf  seeds - 1 1/2 tsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods (seeds only) Cloves/Lavang/Laung - 5 Black Peppercorns/Kali Miri/Kali Mirch - about 10 Roasted Cashews/Kaju - 8 Half n Half - 1/2 cup (optional) Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Salt How to cook Gobi Matar in a Palak Sauce/Gravy: Microwave frozen peas for about 2 minutes. Set it aside. Roasting Cauliflower florets: Grease the airfryer tray with cooking spray or oil. Add frozen cauliflower and spray some more cooking spray. Ai...

After eating take out for about a week, I am ready to cook and blog again. How about some simple Roti Sabzi? You guys know how I like to include greens in our everyday diet. Today's special is fresh Methi leaves. Of all leafy greens, I love Methi. If you do too, try this North Indian style Aloo Methi Masala .

Its been ages I cooked Roti Sabji in my kitchen. Its either no fuss pastas or one pot meals. Well, today I made an easy Aloo Baingan Masala to go with soft phulkas. A simple and homey no onion garlic meal with very few ingredients. Ingredients: Potatoes - 2 big Brinjal/Eggplant/Baingan - 6 small Tomatoes - 2 medium Cilantro/Coriander/Dhania Leaves - few sprigs Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook No Onion Garlic Aloo Baingan: Peel the potatoes and dice it into bite size cubes. Place them in a bowl of water. Next, discard the stems of the eggplants and chop them into bite size pieces. Add the eggplants too in another bowl of water. Heat oil in a pan. Add the potatoes and sauté for about a minute. Next, add eggplants and saute for about 2 minutes. Now add 2 cups of water and cook it covered until both veggies are cooked. Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes into bite size pieces. If you are not a fan of toma...

Last few days just flew by. First, prepping and celebrating the festival of lights. Next was the first long outing with our baby. One of the places we visited was BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Chicago . I had always liked the peace and quiet there. My kiddo liked it too, walking around with her tiny little feet, glancing at the beautiful idols of all the deities.

Hey foodies! I know, I have been gone for a long time. Cooking and food photography was happening, but I wasn't able to blog. Now, I am back with everyone's favorite Paneer recipe - Paneer Makhani also known as Paneer Butter Masala . My version is more like Badami Paneer . Hope you guys like it.

My friends used to tell me, life changes after having kids. Yeah, it does. For us, our outing venues have changed. Instead of restaurants and movies, we go to places like zoos and parks with our baby. That gives me a chance to cook something special myself. Of course, I love cooking for my family. Butter Naan and a creamy restaurant style curry is one of our weekend indulgences these days.

Most days I cook a vegetarian meal for us. Beans or lentils are definitely a part of it. Today, I made a North Indian style Dal with phulka for our lunch. The most popular Indian dal recipe, known as Dal Makhani or Maa ki Dal .

Long weekend was fun. I am back to the humdrum of life, cooking and stuff. After days of eating out, we were craving for some home cooked roti sabzi. Here is a simple Gobi Matar with aromatic Kasuri Methi.  

This weekend I picked a nice fresh bunch of Methi (Fenugreek) leaves at our local Indian store. And I knew I had to make a creamy Paneer Makhani to go with aromatic Methi Thepla . That's one of the combos I like to cook. Why? Its both healthy and tasty. But today's Paneer curry recipe is without any onions and garlic.

Finally, warm spring weather has blessed us. I am just glad that I don't have to wear those heavy winter jackets anymore... at least for a few months. And I get to enjoy my lovely morning walks. Fresh air does wonders for me. Now, lets get to cooking.. a rich, creamy Broccoli Masala with soft phulka. Ingredients: Broccoli Florets - about 1 pound Onion - 1 medium Roma Tomatoes - 4 medium Garlic - 3 cloves Dry Red Chilies - 4 Whole Almonds - 1/4 cup Raisins - 1/4 cup Whole Milk - 1 cup Meat Masala or any other seasoning - 1/2 tsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook Broccoli Masala: Soak almonds and raisins in plenty of water overnight. If not overnight, soak the dry fruits in hot water for about an hour. Discard the almond skin. Puree soaked almonds, raisins and milk to a fine paste. Finely chop onions. Puree roughly chopped tomatoes, garlic and red chilies to a fine paste. You can use 3 tbsp canned tomato paste as well. Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté u...

Including leafy greens in our everyday diet is a big task for me. But cook it with cheese and everyone is happy.  Palak Paneer is one of our favorites. Recently, creamy Methi Paneer with nutty pistachios and sweet raisins has joined that list.

Its been ages I cooked a North Indian style curry in my kitchen. But today is kind of special. My college friend is visiting us, who loves home cooked Indian food, something like Roti Sabji. A restaurant style creamy, saucy curry with soft Phulka is perfect for her.  Green peas are always lying in my freezer. With the basic ingredients in my pantry, I cooked a fairly simple, yet delicious entrée for my dear friend. Hope you all like it too.

What's cooking in your kitchen? At our place, its a vegetarian menu. Grilled cauliflower curry with soft, fluffy phulkas. Nutty protein rich almonds add a nice creaminess to the curry, enhancing its flavor. Ingredients: Cauliflower/Phulgobi - about 1 pound Lemon Juice - 3 tbsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Onion - 1 medium Tomatoes - 2 medium Dry Red Chilies - 5 Garlic - 5 big cloves Ginger - an inch piece Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 tsp Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp Whole Almonds/Badam - 15 Milk - 1/2 cup Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Oil - 4 tbsp Salt How to make Gobi Tikka Masala: Soak almonds in water for about an hour or so. Discard the almond skin. Blend the soaked almonds with milk to a fine paste. In a big bowl, add lemon juice, turmeric, chili powder and salt. Mix all the ingredients well. Add cauliflower florets to the bowl. Coat the florets well with the marinade. Cover with...

What is your idea of a wholesome healthy meal? For me, it must include vegetables, proteins and complex carbohydrates. Plus, the food must be cooked in very less oil. Planning a tasty meal keeping these things in mind is not always possible. But, whenever I do, you guys will get to read all about it. Here is a simple yet delicious spinach and beans curry with Jowar flatbread . Ingredients: Baby Spinach Leaves/Palak - about 5 cups Dry White Beans - 1/2 cup Onion - 1 medium Garlic - 4 big cloves Tamarind/Chinch/Imli Paste - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Kitchen King Masala or any other spice mix - 1/2 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to make Spinach and White Bean Curry: Soak dry white beans in plenty of water overnight. Wash the soaked beans and cook them in 2 - 3 cups of water until soft. Add more water if required. Alternately, you can pressure cook them as well. Or canned beans work fine too. Finely chop onions....

I am a person who loves to eat, but always looks for easier, time saving ways of cooking. Today was somehow different. I had enough time to cook something elaborate for our lunch.  Here comes a spicy curry with fresh roasted spices, onions and coconut. You can cook any other vegetable, your favorite beans or lentils, mushrooms in this flavorful sauce as well.   Ingredients: Cauliflower/Phul Gobi - about 500 gm Desiccated (dry) Coconut/Suka Khobra - 1/2 cup Red Onions - 2 medium Coriander Seeds/Dhane - 1 1/2 tbsp Poppy Seeds/Khuskhus - 1/2 tbsp Shahjeera/Black Cumin - 1 tsp Cloves/Lavang - 2 Cinnamon/Dalchini - 1/4 inch piece Dry Red Chilies - 5 (Byadagi Variety) Bay Leaf - 1 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - about 1 cup Green Chilies - 5 Ginger - an inch piece Garlic - 4 big cloves   Tomatoes - 2 small Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Oil - 5 tbsp Salt How to cook Spicy Cauliflower C...

What's cooking for lunch at your place?  We are having a simple roti sabji for lunch. A protein rich split chickpeas curry with soft, fluffy phulka. Today's recipe is the basic style of cooking an Indian curry, with onions and tomatoes. Add your personal touch to this curry by choosing your favorite Masala or spice mix. Ingredients: Chana Dal/Split Chickpeas/Split Bengal Gram - 1 cup Onion/Pyaz - 1 medium Tomatoes/Tamatar - 2 medium Garlic/Lahsun - 3 big cloves Ginger/Adrak - half inch piece Green Chili/Hari Mirch - 1 Red Chili Powder/Lal Mirch - 1 tsp Garam Masala or any other spice mix - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala or Aamchur (Dry Mango Powder) - 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/2 tsp Cilantro/Coriander/Dhania Leaves - few sprigs Salt Oil How to cook Chana Dal Masala: Soak chana dal in plenty of water for 20 - 30 minutes. Soaking is optional. Wash the soaked dal well. Heat about 4 cups of water in a pot. Add washed dal and cook until cha...

North Indian style creamy Paneer curries like Shahi Paneer, Paneer Makhani are true vegetarian delights. These restaurant style delicacies are perfect for entertaining Indian food lovers.   Kadhai Paneer is also a popular one - a semi dry Paneer curry with a lovely flavor of coriander seeds, Kasuri Methi leaves and crunchy bell peppers.

Rice is a staple at our place. Recently, we made a change in our diet. We started eating less processed Red Rice instead of White Rice. With rice, comes a curry. And especially, with red rice, you need gravy curries. For a high protein meal, beans are perfect. One of our favorites with rice is this Marathi style Chawli Amti. This curry made of Black Eyed Peas or Lobia tastes great with roti and bread as well. Ingredients: Dry Black eyed Peas/Chawli/Lobia - 3/4 cup Onion - 1 medium Tomatoes - 2 medium Garlic - 2 big cloves Ginger - 1/2 inch piece Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - 5 leaves Cilantro/Coriander/Kothimbir Leaves - few sprigs Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/8 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Salt How to cook Chawli Amti / Black eyed Peas Curry: Soak black eyed peas in plenty of water overnight. Drain the water and wash the soaked peas well.  Cook the peas in about 2 cups water, until they turn soft. A...

No one likes Palak (Spinach) in our family. But, everyone loves Palak when combined with Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese). Since this combo is both nutritious and decadent, its quite common at our place. I am sure, you all have tasted the famous vegetarian Indian entrees - Palak Paneer and Malai Kofta Curry . Today's delicacy is a mix of these two curries, Paneer Koftas in a creamy spinach sauce.

Fresh green chickpeas, called as Hara Chana are tender, juicy and a great snack to nibble. Back in Mumbai, these are known as  Harbara . Eat them raw or steam them with kala namak (Indian rock salt).  Here in US, the only option to get these is the frozen vegetables aisle of an Indian store. If not fresh, we relish these frozen green garbanzo beans as a simple curry with a mild coconut flavor.