One Day At A Time

2020 has changed our lives in one way or other. Our family outings came to a halt, especially eating out at restaurants. I miss eating authentic Thai and Chinese food. My alternative to eating restaurant style Thai food is to online order store bought curry pastes. Some are hit and others not so much. This one is worth sharing since my family loved it. Ingredients: Bell Peppers - 1/2 cup Zucchini - 1 cup Frozen Chicken Fajitas - about 1 cup How I cooked Thai Chicken Curry with Veggies: Chop veggies of your choice into bite size pieces. I used orange and yellow bell peppers and zucchini. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add veggies and sauté until veggies are slightly charred.   Lastly, add frozen chicken and store bought Thai Curry paste. Stir and cook it covered on medium heat. Bring it to a boil and serve with rice. Enjoy your favorite Thai Curry at home!

Hello Foodies!  Hope all is well in your world.  How about something other than Indian Cuisine? Does Mediterranean Falafel sound good? Gluten Free Vegan Chickpea Falafel is part of our midweek menu. Deep fried, yet protein rich appetizer. Someday when I try an air-fried or baked version of falafel, I'll definitely update it here. Ingredients: Dry Chickpeas - 1 cup Green Onions/Spring Onions - 3 sprigs Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - about 1/2 cup Thai Green Chilies - 2 Chickpea Flour/Besan - about 2 tbsp Corn Starch - 1 tbsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - about 2 tsp Ground Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander/Dhane/Dhaniya - 1 tsp Ground Cumin/Jeera - 1 tsp Salt Oil for deep frying How to cook Vegan Falafel: Soak dry chickpeas in plenty of water overnight. After soaking, chickpeas will double to triple their size. Wash soaked chickpeas 3 - 4 times with water. Drain the water completely. In a food processor, add drained chickpeas, green onions (both whites and greens), green chilie...

Friday is here! Hope all is well in your world. I am back with a vegan gluten free snack. My Mom's Nachni Chakli recipe with potato and coconut milk. Fresh coconut milk is quite common in coastal Konkani cuisine. My childhood favorite Diwali snack. Now my 7 year old kiddo likes it. Hope you all love it too! Ingredients: Ragi/Nachni/Finger Millet Flour - 1 cup Boiled Mashed Potato - about 1 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1/4 cup  White Sesame Seeds/Til - 2 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Kashmiri Lal/Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp Light Brown Sugar - 1 tsp Coconut Milk - about 1/4 cup Olive Oil - 2 tsp Salt How to cook Nachni Batata Chakli: In a big mixing bowl, add ragi flour, besan, peeled mashed potato, sesame seeds, carom seeds, black pepper powder, chili powder, sugar and salt. Mix well. Now add coconut milk, little at a time and knead to make a soft, non sticky dough. Lastly, add oil and knead again for few seconds. Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap ...

A bright Sunday afternoon in my part of the world. I am watching a Korean movie "Kimchi War" while getting our lunch ready in a microwave. Enjoying my long weekend! Hope your day is going well too! Today's menu... Cheesy Microwave Penne Pasta with loads of rainbow colored vegetables. Ingredients: Dry Penne Pasta - 2 cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables - about 2 cups Half n Half - 1/2 cup Cream Cheese - 1/4 cup Mexican 4 Cheese - about 1/2 cup Italian Seasoning - 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic - 1/2 tsp Salt How to cook Penne Pasta with Vegetables in a Microwave: Microwave frozen veggies in a big microwave safe plate/bowl for 2 minutes. Check with a fork if all the veggies are cooked, depending on how soft or crunchy you want the veggies. Microwave another 30 - 60 seconds if required. Set the cooked veggies aside in another bowl.  In the same microwave safe plate/bowl, add dry pasta of any kind you like. Add 1 cup of water and microwave for 2 minutes. Sti...

  Hey everyone! Hope you all are well. Its summer in my part of the world. Love the sunshine! Weekend cooking is quite minimal at my place. This weekend I tried a store bought Panang Curry. My family loved it and I am sharing it here. Let me know your favorite store bought items you like to cook with. Ingredients: Store bought Panang Curry - 12 fl oz Chopped Vegetables - about 5 cups Oil - 1 tbsp How to cook Panang Curry: Chop vegetables of your choice to bite size pieces. I used onion, green bell pepper, okra (bhindi), baby white potato and carrot. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped veggies. Stir them until all veggies are slightly charred and have brown spots.  Pour the sauce and stir at low heat. Add 1 cup water and cook it covered on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until all veggies are cooked. Potatoes took the longest to cook.  Take a look at the ingredients in the curry sauce. Please note that it has anchovies. Hope you all love this new post! Until next tim...

  Weekends call for something special. How about an effortless Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake with Peanut Butter Cups? A sweet treat ready in less than a minute. Today's pastry chef is my 7 year old. My kiddo enthusiastically prepped and microwaved this tiny double chocolate cake. I played the sous chef, providing all the ingredients.... clicking pictures. We both had fun baking together. Hope you all love my mini chef's baking venture.  Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsp Light Brown Sugar or Sugar - 2 tbsp Whole Milk - 4 tbsp Oil or melted butter - 1 tbsp Green Cardamom Pods/Elaichi - 2 (seeds only) Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/8 tsp Peanut Butter Cups or any other chocolate topping How to make a Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake with Peanut Butter Cups? Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle. Instead of cardamom, use any flavor of your choice - cinnamon powder, vanilla extract, almond extract and so on. In a dry microwave saf...

Hello everyone! Weather is getting warmer in my part of the world. Hope you all are blessed with pleasant weather too. We all have our favorite vegetables and fruits. And multiple ways to enjoy them.. some raw, some grilled, some fried, veggie stew... and so on. Air fried vegetables .. our newest family favorite. I am sharing a few veggies which are regularly air fried in my kitchen. Ingredients: Small Purple Eggplant - 4 Sweet Potato - 1 big Zucchini - 1 medium Black Pepper Powder - 1-2 tsp Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp Kashmiri Lal Chili Powder - 1 tsp Salt  Oil - 3 tsp How to cook your favorite vegetables in an Airfryer? Wipe the washed veggies dry. Dice the veggies slightly thick.  In a mixing bowl, add the veggie slices. Add salt, spice powders of your choice and oil. Mix well and set it aside for 5 minutes.  Kashmiri Lal is a mild chili powder, but adds a nice red color. Spanish Paprika is a good substitute for Kashmiri Lal. I use Cayenne for a little bit of heat. Garlic...