One Day At A Time!

Life has taken me to different places. I don't do well with change initially, but then the town grows on me. Few years ago, we came to the snowy, cold Midwest. Call me crazy, but I like snow. I especially love to see every year's first snowfall. I am gonna miss that now on. But on the positive side, a new place is a fresh start. Its like a new chapter in our lives. On the way to a new place, let me give you a glimpse of our Grand Rapids. Long drives just to see the amazing autumn leaves is one of my favorite things to do. We have been to several parks in Michigan just to see the fall colors. Riverside Park was the closest to our home. It has a nice view of the city's skyline. As you can see, there are geese too. Well, that makes my baby happy.   Now we get to see the big state of Texas. Yes, we moved here this fall. That's the reason for my absence. Other than the heavy rains, I am liking it here. Nice ple...

Hello there! How is everyone? I am enjoying a perfect fall day with pleasant weather.... not too hot, not too cold. Last couple months I hardly cooked anything. Its been takeout, eating out or frozen dinners. My child does not like me spending any time in the kitchen.

Cheese and bread.... comforting and hearty! You can never go wrong with this duo. Well, my family loves Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Cheesy Quesadillas, Paneer Paratha. These are my go to meals for Sunday brunches or any special day. This weekend I made Paneer Pyaaz (Onion) Paratha. Melted butter on those golden brown parathas makes it totally irresistible. Ingredients: Paneer - 400 gm Onion - 1 big Durum Wheat Flour/Atta - 3 cups Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1 tsp Chat Masala - 1 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Green Chilies - 3 (finely chopped) Grated Ginger - 1 tsp Grated Garlic - 1 tsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Oil - 2 tbsp Butter or Oil for roasting How to make Paneer Onion Paratha: Start with the dough. In a mixing bowl, add wheat flour and little salt. Add little water, at a time and knead until the dough gets soft and smooth. Cover the dough with plastic food wrap and let it rest for 20 - 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Paneer pyaaz stuffing . Finely ...

Paratha is a great way to include some veggies in our everyday diet, especially when your little one does not eat something like creamy Avocado guacamole. The soft and moist avocado flesh makes the parathas very soft and flaky. What I love about this fruity flat-bread is its easy to make, its oil free and my kiddo loves it. Roll the paratha with some sautéed potatoes and your child will love it even more.

I love this time of the year. This bright sunny weather is a perfect time for picnics. This weekend, we are meeting our dear friends in a nearby park for a picnic lunch. I am making a pasta. Pasta makes everyone happy, both kids and adults. While the toddlers run around the grass, we grown ups can chitchat. I am looking forward to this fun day. Now the best part, let me tell you how I made our family favorite Tomato Pasta . Ingredients: Dry Tricolor Rotini Pasta - 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream - 1/2 Quart (473 ml) Roma Tomatoes - 3  Onion - 1 small Garlic - 2 cloves Dry Italian Seasoning - 1 1/4 tsp Black Pepper - 1/4 tsp Spanish Paprika - 1/2 tsp Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Salt  How to cook Rotini Pasta in a Whipping Cream Tomato Sauce: Finely chop onions and garlic.   Blend tomatoes in a juicer to a fine puree. Do not add water. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until onions turn slightly brown. Next, add dry Italian seasonin...

These days I rarely make sweets. Or I must say, both cooking and blogging have taken a back seat in my life. Everything revolves around my playful toddler. Its fun to be a kid again. Schedules and plans no longer work for me. It has turned out good for me. Now, I just go with the flow. Gudi Padwa is right around the corner. And festivals are a good excuse for some sweet indulgence. How about a healthy Oats dessert! Ingredients: Instant Oats - 1 cup Unsweetened Desiccated (Dry) Coconut - 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup Pistachios/Pista - about 2 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 4 pods Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp Whole Milk - 1/4 cup How to make Oats Coconut Ladoo: Crush cardamon seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Set it aside. Roughly chop pistachios. You can use any other nuts of your choice or any dry fruits like cherries or cranberries to add some color to the ladoo. Heat a heavy bottom pan and dry roast oats for a couple minutes. Make sure the oats are heated...

Its been ages I cooked Roti Sabji in my kitchen. Its either no fuss pastas or one pot meals. Well, today I made an easy Aloo Baingan Masala to go with soft phulkas. A simple and homey no onion garlic meal with very few ingredients. Ingredients: Potatoes - 2 big Brinjal/Eggplant/Baingan - 6 small Tomatoes - 2 medium Cilantro/Coriander/Dhania Leaves - few sprigs Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook No Onion Garlic Aloo Baingan: Peel the potatoes and dice it into bite size cubes. Place them in a bowl of water. Next, discard the stems of the eggplants and chop them into bite size pieces. Add the eggplants too in another bowl of water. Heat oil in a pan. Add the potatoes and sauté for about a minute. Next, add eggplants and saute for about 2 minutes. Now add 2 cups of water and cook it covered until both veggies are cooked. Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes into bite size pieces. If you are not a fan of toma...

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 ...