One Day At A Time

Hey everyone! I am back after a long break. Well, last few months were quite memorable. We celebrated our child's 1st birthday at Shedd Aquarium. Later, an amazing trip to India, visiting family and friends. One month just flew by. 25 hours air travel with a one year old was the only exhausting part, but it all went well. Today's post is inspired by my India trip - an Indo-Chinese style soup with mixed leafy greens, carrots and chana dal. A spicy low calorie vegan soup with loads of veggies and protein is perfect for this cold weather.    Ingredients: Mixed Greens - about 200 gm Carrots (thinly sliced) - about 100 gm Chana Dal/Split Chickpeas - 1/4 cup Onion - 1 medium Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt  How to cook Vegan Mixed Greens and Lentil Soup: Soak chana dal in about 1 cup of water for about an hour. Wash soaked dal well. Finely chop onions. Heat oil in a pan. You can use butter if you li...

Cold weather is all about comfort food for me. A hearty bowl of soup, creamy pasta, dal rice, noodles or fritters. Well, this list is quite long. Let me tell me about our today's lunch - a desi style Grilled Cheese Sandwich . Bread and cheese is always a hit combo. Add in some colorful veggies and your humble sandwich turns into a wholesome nutritious snack. Ingredients: Onion - 1 medium Tomato- 1 medium Corn Kernels - 1/2 cup Chopped Carrots - 1/2 cup Green Peas - 1/2 cup Grated Paneer/Indian Cottage Cheese - 1 1/4 cup Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder- 1/2 tsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Oil - 2 tbsp Bread Slices - 8 Butter or Ghee (Clarified Butter) Salt How to make Veggie Paneer Sandwich: Finely chop onions, tomatoes, cilantro and veggies of your choice. I used 1.5 cups of colorful frozen vegetables - corn, carrots and peas. Use any veggies of your choice. Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté until th...

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.

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali! Hope you all are having a good time.  This year's festival of lights is special for us, its our baby's first Diwali.  I could not spend much time cooking Diwali sweets or snacks, but I managed to make a few. One of them is Atte ka Laddoo , which we Konkanis call as Churmundo or Gava Pita Ladoo . Ingredients: Wheat Flour/Atta - 1 cup Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Whole Cashews/Kaju - 4 (optional) How to make Wheat Flour or Atta Ladoo: Crush cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Heat 1/4 cup ghee in a kadhai or a pan. Fry cashew halves until slightly brown. Set it aside. If not cashews, you can use golden raisins or any other dry fruits of your choice. In the same pan, add wheat flour. Stir well and roast the wheat flour until it turns aromatic and color slightly darkens. This is the key step in making Atte ka Ladoo. You don't want that raw smell of ...

Lately, I have been cooking Italian couple times a week. Cooking pa sta is easy and quick. Pastas are deliciously perfect for busy weeknight dinners. Last night, I made a Creamy Pasta Salad  with some of our favorite veggies and everyone was happy.

Fall 2014 is here with chilly weather and beautiful colors. Well, its time for cheesy, fried goodness. Paneer cutlets with colorful veggies are the perfect snack for such wintry days.  Any kind of cheese is comfort food, but Indian Cottage Cheese is one of our family favorites. 

I am amazed at the variety of Indian breads one can make... Naan, Mooli Paratha, Roomali Roti, Lachha Paratha, Bhakri, Ragi Rotti, Tandoori Roti. For most weekday lunches, I generally make Phulka. I know, it becomes monotonous sometimes.  Today's special is North Indian whole wheat Lacha Paratha . These take a couple more minutes than regular roti, but can be made on a busy day. You don't need any fancy ingredients, just atta and ghee.  The same layered flat-bread when made with all purpose flour (maida) is known as Kerala Paratha .