One Day At A Time

Chutney, an Indian condiment is well known all over. And the South Indian Coconut Chutney needs no introduction. As I have mentioned earlier, we love Idlis and Dosas for breakfast. Just like the variety of idlis and dosas, my Mom used to make a variety of coconut chutneys. If you are looking for something new and different, try these Konkani variations of chutneys and make your everyday breakfast more tasty. Ingredients: Shredded or Grated Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup Phutane/Split Dalia/Roasted Chickpeas - 1 tbsp (optional) Tamarind/Chincham/Chinch/Imli Paste - 1/2 tsp Green Chillies/Tarani Mirsang - 4 Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp  Curry Leaves/Kadipata/Karbeo - a sprig Mustard Seeds/Sasam - 1/2 tsp Dry Red Chillies - 2 Oil preferably Coconut oil Salt How to prepare South Indian Coconut Chutney: Wash curry leaves and green chilies. Pat them dry. Make slits in the green chillies with a knife. Roast the green chillies with few drops of o...

When you eat at an Indian restaurant, which appetizers do you order? Masala Papad , Samosa or Pakoras? Which is your favorite? Mine are these Potato Pakoras, but we generally skip the starter part and straight away order the entree. But, once in a while, eating something fried is okay, I guess. And, when it comes to home cooked meals, simple Dal Rice, Aam ka Achar and these fritters are my comfort food.

Dal Rice , Kadhi Chawal/Rice are some of the lazy day meals at our place.  Hot Kadhi, which we call as Phanna Tak or Taaka Kadhi in Konkani, with rice and some Aloo Pakoras is quite comforting in this cold weather. Nowadays, I cook this yogurt based sauce with a healthier addition, palak. These greens make me feel less guilty of eating fried goodies. Ingredients: Spinach/Palak Leaves - 3 cups Yogurt/Curds/Dahi - 1 1/2 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour - 2 tbsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - a sprig Dry Red Chilies - 2 Green Chilies - 1 or 2 Ginger/Adrak - an inch piece Garlic/Lahsun - 2 big cloves Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 2 tsp Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Salt Oil How to cook Indian Palak Kadhi: Wash the spinach leaves and place them in a colander to drain excess water. Or use a salad spinner to dry the leaves. Medium chop the leaves. I used Organic Baby Spinach lea...

A popular Indian chicken curry cooked with vinegar and potatoes. When I think of Indian meat curries, Chicken Tikka Masala is the first that comes to my mind. Its our family favorite. But my folks love this Goan Chicken Vindaloo too, which has a Portuguese influence. Ingredients: Boneless Chicken - about 2 pounds Potato - 1 medium Onion - 1 big Canned Tomato Paste - 2 tbsp (optional) Dry Red Chilies - 6 Vinegar - 1/2 cup Ginger - 1 inch piece Garlic - 4 big cloves Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/2 tsp Kabab Masala or any spice mix - 1/2 tsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook Indian Chicken Vindaloo Curry: Soak red chilies in vinegar for about 30 minutes. Soaking will help in grinding chilies to a fine paste. Add more or less chilies to suit your taste. I used mild Byadagi Red chilies, popular for its bright red color. Grind soaked chilies with vinegar, canned tomato paste, ginger and garlic to a smooth paste. Add little water if required. You can use one medium siz...

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...

When we talk of healthy food, leafy greens top the list. Among all, spinach or palak is the most nutritive and is easily available. At least once a week, these healthy leaves are cooked in my kitchen, either in the form of Palak Parathas, Chana Palak  or the good old Palak Paneer or today's Aloo Palak. Potatoes, which are mostly loved by all, make a tasty addition to these greens. Ingredients: Spinach/Palak Leaves - about 6 cups Potatoes - 2 big Onion - 1 medium Canned Tomato Paste - 1/2 cup Green Chillies - 4 Ginger/Adrak - an inch piece Garlic - 3 big cloves Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Kabab Masala or any other spice mix - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 2 tsp Salt Oil How to cook Indian Aloo Palak Masala: Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil.  In a mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp oil, salt to taste, kabab m...

This was one of the new sweets I made this Diwali. Slightly different from the well known Kaju Katli . Its a good way to finish off those almonds lying in your pantry. Ingredients: Almonds/ Badam - 1 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup Water - 1/4 cup Milk Powder - 2 tsp (optional) Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tsp Saffron/Kesar - few strands Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 1 pod How to cook Badam Katli: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. I have used Raw Almonds with skin for this Burfi. Discard the skin if you want your katli to look white or pale yellow. Grind  almonds in a dry blender jar to a fine or a slightly coarse powder. In a thick bottom pan, add sugar and water. Keep stirring until sugar dissolves. Add saffron and cardamom powder. Continue cooking until sugar syrup turns sticky. Touch the sugar syrup and check to see if it sticks to your fingers. Lower the heat and add almond powder. Continue stirring at low heat until no lumps are seen. Ad...