One Day At A Time

A new week, a new day!  How are you guys?  Its been a long time since my last post.  Turns out I am cooking for myself. My solitary lunches are generally salads. I know, it sounds kind of boring for some of you. Some days I find it boring too. A simple stir fry with lots of veggies is interesting enough, I guess.  Choose your favorite seasoning and add your own touch.

Looking for a crunchy instant snack? Here is one - a quick lemony Mumbai style Bhel. No need of any Mint or Tamarind Chutneys. Just a few ingredients easily available in your kitchen and store bought Nylon Shev does the trick for a filling snack. Ingredients: Puffed Rice/Kurmura - about 5 cups Red Onions (finely chopped) - about 3/4 cup Tomatoes (finely chopped) - about 1/2 cup Grated Carrots/Gajar - about 1/2 cup (optional) Roasted Peanuts/Shenga - about 1/2 cup Lime Juice - 4 tbsp Chat Masala or Aamchur Powder - 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Nylon Shev - about 1 cup Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Salt  How to make Instant Sooki Bhel: Discard the soft tomato pulp and finely chop the tomatoes. Finely chop onions and cilantro. And grate the carrots. If available, finely chopped raw green mango and pomegranate arils would be great for this Bhel as well. In a mixing bowl, add onions, tomatoes, carrots, cilantro, chat masala, chili powder, salt and lemon j...

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...

Cranberry Shira Sheera or Sooji ka Halwa or Kesari is a rich, decadent dessert traditionally made using Ghee (Clarified Butter) and with lots of dry fruits - golden raisins, cashews, almonds.  Some like to cook this sweet with milk - Milk Kesari.   Let me tell you how I make this delicacy - with store bought unsalted butter, crunchy cashews and slightly tart cranberries. Ingredients: Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1 cup Unsalted Butter - 1/4 pound (1/2 cup) Sugar - about 1/3 cup Dry Cranberries - about 1/2 cup Cashews - about 1/4 cup Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 4 pods Nutmeg/Jaiphal - 1/8 tsp Saffron/Kesar - few strands How to make Sheera using Butter: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Roughly chop cashews and cranberries. Heat 3 cups of water in a pot.  Wait until water starts boiling.   Heat 1 tbsp butter in a kadhai or a pan.  Fry cashews in butter until cashews turn golden brown.  Keep them aside.  Now...

Who doesn't like restaurant style crunchy fries, onion rings? Of course, they are deep fried and loaded with calories. These days, baking such addictive appetizers in an oven is a healthy alternative.   To see it for myself, I tried baking onion rings once. Since then, it has become a regular side with baked  Veggie Burgers  at our place. Trust me, you won't miss the fried ones. Ingredients: Yellow (Vidalia) Onion - 1 big Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs - about 2 cups Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1/2 cup Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Oil - about 3 tbsp Salt How to bake crunchy Onion Rings in an oven: Peel the onions and slice them 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick round slices. Separate them into rings. Sprinkle salt and fresh ground black pepper. Set it aside at room temperature for an hour or longer. Salt will soften the onions a little. Traditionally, onion rings are soaked in buttermilk to soften them. For me, just salt works fine. Line two baking dishes with aluminum foil...

When it comes to South Indian crepes, most of us like the crisp Masala Dosa . My folks like the healthy variations too - Oats Masala Dosa and  Ragi Masala Dosa . But, its such a lengthy process. Instant dosa with no baking soda and no overnight fermentation is the most nutritious breakfast I can think of. Try these quick, gluten free finger millet savory crepes to kick start your day. Ingredients: Ragi/Nachni/Finger Millet Flour - 1/2 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Urad Dal Flour - 1/4 cup Water - about 1 1/2 cups Oil or Butter or Ghee Salt How to make Instant Ragi Dosa: In a mixing bowl, add ragi flour, rice flour, urad dal flour and salt. Mix well. Now add water, little at a time and make a thin batter. I added about 1.5 cups water. Batter must not be too thick nor too runny. Heat a flat cast iron or non stick pan. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray or ghee or butter. Do not add too much oil. Too much oil makes it difficult to spread the batter evenly...

Kale Bean Soup March is here and still there are no signs of spring. Hopefully, by 21st, warm weather will grace us. Until then, hot soups are my favored meals. One of my comfort foods is today's wholesome kale and bean soup with tangy tomatoes. Ingredients: Kale Leaves (chopped) - about 3 cups Dry White Beans - 1/2 cup Canned Tomato Paste - 4 tbsp Yellow Onion - 1 medium Dry Oregano - 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp Dry Rosemary - 1/2 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning - 1/2 tsp Celery Salt - 1/2 tsp Sriracha Sauce - 1 tsp Olive Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook Kale and White Bean Soup: Soak dry white beans in plenty of water overnight. Wash the soaked beans well and cook them until soft. Save the water used for cooking beans. You can use any other beans of your choice. And canned beans will save some time. Finely chop onions. Discard the thick stems and roughly chop kale leaves. In a big pot, heat oil. Add onions and saute for a minute. Add celery salt and saute unti...