One Day At A Time!

Lentils, known as Dal are a staple in an Indian diet, especially vegetarian. For me, dal is comfort food. 5 different dal varieties - Toor, Moong, Chana, Masoor and Urad are commonly used in Indian sweet and savory delicacies. You can cook dal with just one kind or a mix of two or more. I generally cook dal with 1:1 Toor and Moong dals. But then, we like Panchmel or Panchratna Dal too, which is made of all five. Most dal recipes have Toor dal as the primary ingredient. It is also known as Toovar or Arhar dal or Split Pigeon Peas . Some of our family favorite dal recipes are Dalitoy (Konkani Dal)  Tadka Dal Among all lentils, moong dal and masoor dal take lesser time to cook. Moong dal is also known as Split Green Gram or Split Mung Bean . Moong dal is also used in making sweet dishes like Mung Dal Kheer  Mung Dal Puranpoli Chana dal is also known as Split Bengal Gram or Split Chickpeas . Chana Dal takes a little more time to cook as compared to toor dal....

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 .

Everybody loves Italian food. Give me pasta and I am a happy girl. My husband loves pizza. Friday is Pizza night at our place. But, I make pasta too. Fixing a pasta dinner is no big deal if your pantry and refrigerator have all the ingredients. Here are our family favorite Italian recipes.

For me, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As you all know, we love South Indian Idli and Dosa. But, these days I am a Mommy, who has less time for cooking. So, for all busy people, here are some quick Indian breakfast ideas and recipes from a busy Mom. Feel free to share your tips through the comment section. Let me start with Instant Idli. Instant Oats Vegetables Idli Instant Rava (Sooji) Idli with Veggies Two more Konkani recipes of Idlis with vegetables. Tavshe (Cucumber) Idli Dudhe (Pumpkin) Idli Well, some delicacies for Gujarati food lovers. Instant Khaman Dhokla Instant Rava/Sooji Dhokla Khandvi/Suralichya Vadya Now is the time for everyone's favorite South Indian dosa. Instant Masala Dosa Instant Oats Rava Dosa Instant Rava Maida Dosa Instant Ragi / Nachni Dosa Some Marathi style Thaalipeeth. Instant Cabbage Dosa Jwari (Jowar) Thaalipeeth A Vegan Besan Vegetable Omlette Vegan Egg Free Omlette How about some Poha ...

Veg Puffs Its that time of the week when I am most excited to cook.. Friday!  Oh! This week has been hectic. Which week isn't, right? Anyways, let me tell you about today's snack, a savory version of Strudel. You guys might have read about the Indian style Baked Veggie Puffs , Egg Puffs earlier. If you like cheese, you must give this stuffed pastry a try. Ingredients: Pastry Sheets - 2 Green Beans - 1/2 cup Carrots - 1/2 cup Green Peas - 1/2 cup Onion - 1 cup Garlic - 2 big cloves Pizza Seasoning - 1 tsp Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp Pepper Jack Cheese - about 3/4 cup Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp Egg - 1 Salt How to bake Veggies and Cheese stuffed Pastry Strudel: Thaw the pastry sheets overnight or as written on the package.  Finely chop onions, garlic, green beans and carrots. You can use any veggies which go well with cheese, like bell peppers, cauliflower etc. Veggies for Puff Pastry Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until onions soft...

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.  

First long summer weekend is here. We haven't planned anything special, but I am making some snacks for us. Some savory and some baked goodies. Gone are the days when I used to bake with all purpose flour (maida). Nowadays, I bake with Atta, the wheat flour we regularly use for making rotis and parathas.