What's cooking?

Paneer Makhani

2008-06-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Thai Yellow Curry

2008-05-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

Thai style vegetables (onions, carrots, broccoli, red and green bell peppers) in yellow curry sauce made with coconut milk and flavored with lemongrass, sweet basil and ginger.

Cold Pasta Salad

2008-05-29T21:40:00.001-07:00

-With baby broccoli, onions, red and green bell peppers, yellow squash and carrots and a zesty Italian dressing.

My 'Taster" Arnav!

2008-05-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I shared pics of my bachchu here- so here is a recent collage that I put together!

He is performing a "taste test" here for one of my kid-friendly culinary creations and I can usually gauge whether a dish meets his approval by his various expression while tasting it! This one looks like a winner!

"Customized" Aloo Chaat with "localized" spices!

2008-05-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

I made this quick aloo mutter chaat for a snack with tea last evening. My husband took one bite of the aloo and said "There's too much salt!" Then before I could say or do anything, he ate another piece of aloo and said "No, its ok-I think the salt was localized on that one aloo!" So, I told him that it is a "customized" chaat and no two bites would taste the same becasue each piece of aloo has its own combination of spices!

Ingredients:
2 potatoes. boiled and cubed
1 chunk of paneer (roughly that would yield half the number of slices of potato)
1/2 onion, chopped onti chunks
1/2 cup peas, boiled (I used frozen and cooked them in the microwave for 1 min)
1 green chili, chopped
cilantro for garnish
salt, red chili powder, chaat masala to taste
juice of half a lemon

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the potato cubes till browned on each side.
2. Shallow fry the chunk of paneer on each side and then cut into cubes.
3. When the potatoes are almost done, add the onions and saute them for about 1 min, till they are slightly soft, but haven't completely lost their crunch. Then thorw in the peas, red chilis and cilantro. Turn off the heat and in the same pan, season the chaat by sprinkling salt, red chili, and chat masala all over the chaat and then put the lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot, with ketchup if you like.

Chili Gobhi

2008-05-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets 2 cups
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 big jalapeno pepper, cut into rounds
red and green bell peppers, cut into strips, 1/2 cup
2 chopped green onions
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp corn starch
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
salt and red chili powder to taste

Method:
1. Mix flour, corn starch, salt and red chilli powder and add water to it to make a batter (ketchup consistency)
2. Coat the cauliflower florets in the batter (reserve some batter) and shallow fry them in hot oil for about 3-4 minutes. (You can deep fry them for better taste) Drain on paper towels and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. Fry for about 3-4 minutes, then add the ginger, garlic and jalapeno peppers. Fry for another 2-3 minutes and then add ketchup, say sauce, vinegar, salt and red chilli powder.
4. Add about half a cup of water and cook till the sauce is boiling. Then add the cauliflower florets, red and green bell peppers and chopped green onions (reserving some green part for garnish)
5. Adjust for tartness/heat/acidity by adding more vinegar, soy sauce and red chili powder. Cook for about 3-4 more minutes and if the sauce is too liquid, add 1 tbsp of the batter that was used to coat the cauliflowers, to thicken the gravy.
6. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot with steamed rice.

The Garlic Naan Experiment

2008-05-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

I tried making the garlic naan at home, in my oven, and it turned out pretty well for a first time!

For the dough:
2 cups flour
1 cup Bisquick
Ajwain/salt/red chili powder optional/to taste
Warm water for kneading

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Knead the dough using warm water and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
3. Roll in an oval shape for the naan, sprinkle some chopped garlic and chopped cilantro on it.
4. Put on a cookie sheet, lined with foil and put it in the oven very close to the top heating element (turn the oven on "broil" now)
6. Keep an eye on the naan and turn it, when it gets cooked from one side.
7. Spread butter on it and serve.

This dough is actually my friend Anjali's recipe for making soft bhaturas! I had made the bhaturas, which were yummy, and had some dough left over, so decided to try to make naan out of it. The naans were great too, though a little hard around the edges, I probably overcooked them, so next time, I will keep a closer eye on them.

Amy's Bake Swap and Spinach-Artichoke Lasagna

2008-05-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

My co-worker Amy had a Bake Swap at her place this weekend. The idea was for all the guests to bring one baked dish, either sweet or savory, along with the recipe, and make enough quantity for us to eat over there and bring it back home with us (ie swap) There were about 10 guests and the party was great fun! Most of the guests decided on sweet items, so there were cookies, cakes, cupcakes and other goodies. I decided to make a lasagna and it was a big hit!

Here are some pics of the goodies- I have the recipes and will be trying them out myself when the fancy strikes.

Low fat Lemon pound cake (the only :low fat" item on the menu!)

Top-to-bottom crumbly cupcakes and apple struesel cupcakes

orange glazed cranberry spiced teacakes

chocolate chunk oatmeal-pecan cookies with cherries

Blondies (brownies with butterscotch instead of chocolate)

And here's my Spinach-artichoke-mushroom lasagna

(This recipe makes one 8”x 8” lasagna, which serves 4)

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 cups baby spinach
1 bottle marinated artichokes
1 cup white mushrooms, chopped
Ricotta cheese
Pasta sauce (approx 3 cups)
Barilla “No Boil” lasagna noodles
Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing
Salt to taste
Red pepper flakes
Italian seasoning to taste
EVOO for sautéing
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup pepper jack cheese and cheddar cheese, grated

Method:
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add the chopped onions and garlic and sauté till it becomes translucent. Toss in the mushrooms and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
2. Take the marinated artichokes and roughly chop them up. Drain out most of the liquid, reserving about 2-3 tbsp for flavoring.
3. Add the artichokes to the skillet, followed by the baby spinach leaves. Cook for another 2 minutes and season with salt, red pepper flakes and the Italian seasoning. Taste and add the artichoke marinade, if needed. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Spray a 8 X 8 lasagna pan with oil and then spread some pasta sauce at the base.
5. Put a layer of lasagna noodles.
6. Make a layer of the ricotta cheese on the noodles, followed by a layer of the spinach/artichoke filling, followed by a layer of the pasta sauce. Continue to make the alternate layers till you reach the top of the pan and then put in one last layer of the noodles.
7. Spread some pasta sauce on the last layer and then put the parmesan cheese, pepper jack and the cheddar cheeses.
8. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly, and the cheese is browning!

Here's what it looks like during assembly:

Just before baking:

After baking, when the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly:

Note:
1. The “No boil” noodles do not need to be precooked, but do need extra moisture, so if assembling the lasagna the same day, just before baking, soak the noodles in warm water for about 5 minutes before assembling and add some extra sauce.

Berry Vanilla Cupcakes

2008-05-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

These are vanilla cupcakes, decorated with 3 kinds of berries- blueberries, blackberries and raspberries over peach/orange spread and dusted with some powdered sugar.

As pretty as they look, it was hard to make the berries stick onto the cupcakes! They just kept sliding off and I had to resort to some "cheating" and used orange icing color as glue to stick them (and even that wasn't very successful) I think next time, I'm going to try some sort of a cream icing on top.

Cupcakes are so versatile and you can do almost any kind of icing on them to decorate! Also, it is a great thing to involve kids in! Arnav loves to decorate his cupcakes with whipped cream and sticks color sparkles on them!

The cupcakes are great plain too!

Bollywood Cooking - Mughlai Palak Malai Kofta

2008-04-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Another one of my favorite blogs What's for lunch, Honey is hosting the Monthy Mingle event and the theme for this month is Bollywood Cooking. The idea is to create a dish that is "dressed up" and fit for the red carpet! I thought about what I would cook that is a glamorous and rich dish and came up with Palak Malai Kofta in Mughlai gravy (Spinach and Cheese balls in a spicy gravy.)

One of my prized possessions, my "first" cookbook, is a diary of my mom's in which she has jotted down recipes when she took some cooking classes back in 1971, when she was in college. When I first started cooking, I used to follow those recipes exactly but now, I do feel confident enough in my cooking to use those recipes as a rough guideline and experiment with textures and flavors and do my own thing!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in my Mom's 1971 diary!

Ingredients:
For the Koftas-
2 cups of baby spinach- roughly chopped, blanched and drained
3 tbsps corn starch
salt and red chilli powder to taste
1 cup of grated paneer
1 tbsp very finely chopped onion
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp finely chopped green chillis
2 tbsp coarsely chopped cashew nuts
1/2 tsp chat masala
salt and red chilli powder to taste
oil for frying

For the Mughlai Gravy-
1 tbsp oil
2-3 black cardamoms
1 pinch cinnamon powder
1 pinch cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 chopped green chilli
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 tbsp crushed cashew nuts
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup water
1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method:

Making the Palak Malai Koftas-

- Take the blanched and drained spinach leaves and mash them. Add corn starch, salt and red chilli powder and mix to make a dough like consistency
- Take the grated paneer, add the onions, cilantro, green chillis, cashew nuts, salt and chat masala and mix properly.
- Make small balls of the paneer mixture and keep aside.
- Oil the palm of your hand and take some spinach mix. Flatten it out, put the paneer ball in it and wrap the spinach around it to enclose the paneer completely in the spinach.
- Deep fry in hot oil and drain on paper towels, slice into halves and save.

Making the Mughlai gravy-

- Heat oil in a pan and the onions, garlic, ginger, green chillis and black cardamoms to it one after the other and stir till onions are slightly browned.
- Add the kasuri methi (fenugreek) and then add the tomato puree.
- Fry till oil separates out and then add the cinnamon powder, cumin powder, garam masala, salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Add the cashew nuts also. Stir for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream and 1 cup water and cook the gravy till it becomes thick and glossy.
- Put the koftas in the gravy (reserving a few for garnish) and let it simmer for about 5-6 minutes, till the koftas absorb all the flavors and become soft.
- Serve in a shallow platter, using the reserved koftas as a garnish to bring out the colors of the dish- the yellow of the gravy and the green envelope of the koftas with the white insides.
- Serve with naan or rotis.

Organic Peaches

2008-04-29T23:32:00.001-07:00

I have always been interested in photography. My favorite subject so far has been my darling Arnav, but recently, I have been become more and more fascinated with food photography (as if you couldn't guess that from my blog ;-))

I have been following the monthly photography event CLICK ever since its launch, but it's the first time I'm submitting an entry. The theme for this month is Au Naturel, and what could be more "naturel" than organically grown peaches, nurtured with love and care and photographed at each stage of growth!

Potato Mushroom Frittata

2008-04-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

A frittata (pronounced free-tata) is an Italian omlette that is cooked in a pan first and finished off in the oven.

For this, you need a pan with an oven proof handle (I used a cast iron skillet)
2 eggs
1 small potato boiled and sliced into thin rounds
1 table spoon chopped onion
one small garlic clove chopped
chopped green chilli to taste
chopped mushrooms
some grated cheese
spring onions for garnish

- In a bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt and red chilli powder. Add some grated cheese to it, and some green onion pieces. Keep aside.
- Heat the pan and add a little bit of oil.
- Add the onions, mushrooms, green chilli and garlic and saute for about half a minute. (Garlic should not get browned)
- Pour about half the egg mixture and let it set for a little bit.
- Place the boiled and sliced potato circles on the egg in one single layer.
- Pour the remaining egg mixture to coat the potatoes.
- Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and some more green onions.
- Cook till the bottom of the eggs is almost set and just a small amount of uncooked egg remains on the top.
- Put the pan in the preheated oven on broiler setting, so that the eggs get cooked from the top in the oven. (That's why a pan with an oven proof handle is needed!)
- Serve sliced, with toasted bread and ketchup!

We enjoy this twist on the standard omlette which can get quite boring!!

Masala Recommendation-MDH Tava Fry masala

2008-04-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is a new discovery for me! I picked up this masala from our nearest Indian store out of curiosity. The name sounded yummy and reminded me of the Tava subzi's like bhindi, eggplant, karela and gobi that are invariably served in shaadi's in India. I have only been to 2 shaadis in India in almost 8 yrs and I frankly don't remember the taste of the food because its been too long! So, I got the MDH Tava Fry masala and I have to say that it is awesome! I have started using it in almost all of my indian cooking and it gives a very nice flavor to just about everything! I use it along with other masalas or just by itself and it tastes yummy each time! But to get the best of the taste of this masala, use it in simple arhar daal. Boil the daal, give it a tarka of onions, tomatoes, green chilli, dhaniya, some red mirchi and 2 heaped spoons of the tava fry masala and you're in taste heaven!

Pear Almond Bread (from One Hot Stove)

2008-04-20T18:11:00.001-07:00

I made this Pear Almond bread using the recipe posted on one of my favorite blogs One Hot Stove. I followed the recipe exactly, with the only exception being that I didnt add any vanilla extract because I didnt have any on hand. The loaf turned out beautifully and the texture, moistness and crunch in the crust were perfect. For some reason, I was expecting it to be sweet(I dont know why!), but it wasn't sweet like a cake, rather, it had a nice sweet tinge to it, that's all.

The only issue with it was the whole wheat flour! It had that distinct "whole wheat bread" taste to it which is okay, but there is this contrast between how it looks (like a cake) and how it actually tastes (like whole wheat bread)

So next time I make it, I'm going to use the regular pastry flour and I know we will enjoy it even more!

Thanks Nupur for the lovely recipe!

Home-made Pizza

2008-04-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Whenever I make pizza at home, I get the Boboli pizza crust from Safeway. Recently, I saw that they had a whole wheat pizza crust too and I picked it up. I am trying to move away from all refined and processed grains like maida and trying to incorporate whole wheat and whole grain ingredients in our food. So, I was very excited to see the whole wheat pizza base and eager to use it.

To make the pizza, I spread some pizza sauce on the crust, then spread a layer of grated cheese. I use the pepper jack cheese on my pizza, because of its distinct flavor which comes across very well in the pizza. On the cheese layer is sprinkled some very finely chopped garlic and then go the veggies: onions, green chillis, tomatoes, red and green bell peppers and finally, some mushrooms. Add a dash of salt and red chilli powder and bake in the preheated oben at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Here's what it looks like before putting in the oven:

On Arnav's side of the pizza, since he doesnt want "mirchi", I use colby jack cheese and omit the red chilli powder and green chillis and add some paneer cubes.

We enjoy the pizza with coke and its the only time when Arnav is allowed a few sips of coke!

The verdict: Whole wheat pizza crust is GREAT! We couldnt tell the difference and its definitely more healthy!

Veggie Casserole in Mushroom Garlic Sauce

2008-04-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1T finely chopped garlic
1T finely chopped onions
1T maida
1 cup milk
Oil for saute

For the casserole:
chopped mixed veggies-
I used:
Onions
asparagus
corn/peas/carrots/green beans
chopped broccoli rabe
handful of baby spinach leaves
chopped green chilis

For the topping:
1 boiled potato-cut in thin slices
Some grated cheese

For the base:
whole wheat bread, toasted and cut into cubes

Method:

-Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic, onions and mushrooms to it. Saute for about 5 mins and then add the maida and saute till the raw smell of maida goes away. It should not brown.
-Add the milk to it and stir, till the sauce thickens.
-Season with salt and red chili powder.
-Keep this mushroom-garlic sauce aside.

-In another pan, saute the onions and all the other veggies till cooked slightly, but they should still be crunchy.
-Add the sauce to the veggies and stir to coat all the veggies.

-For assembling the casserole, take an oven proof dish and line the bottom with the toasted/cubed bread pieces.
-Make a layer of the sauce-covered veggies over the bread.
-Finally, cover the top of the casserole with the sliced boiled potatoes and sprinle the cheese on it.

-Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 mins, till the cheese is melted and the potatoes start browning.

Vrat ke Aloo and Singhare ki roti

2008-04-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Last week was Navratre and I was fasting for the 7 days, eating only fruits and vegetables and then dinner was either sabudana khichri or aloo-tamatar ki subzi and singhare ke aate ki roti.

I found a very easy and yummy recipe for the sabudana khichri at one of my favorite food blogs "One Hot Stove". I have made this recipe several times now and it is just amazing!

Vrat ke aloo, made without onion and garlic, is a quick and tasty subzi, but the singhare ke aate ki roti is just a different ball game! The aata is supposed to be kneaded with very little water and adding a boiled, mashed potato to it for binding and even then, it is a very wet aata and a big pain making the rotis out of it!

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

2008-04-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this book in one sitting, staying up till the wee hours, riveted, involved and mesmerized. It's a beautifully written book and one of the finest that I've ever read.

Look here for an excerpt.

Five Star Cutlets!

2008-04-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

One thing that I am always on the lookout for, is interesting shapes of cookie cutters. My friends wonder why I search for cookie cutters when I have never baked a cookie in my life? The answer is because cookie cutters are a "Mom's Best Friend" in the kitchen! I use them to cut sandwiches, paranthas, rotis, even omlettes into interesting shapes to entice my little picky eater. I have served "butterfly rotis", "teddy bear paranthas", "heart omlettes", octagon sandwiches" and here is my latest offering, " star cutlets".

Ingredients:

2 boiled and mashed potatoes
1/2 cup boiled mixed veggies-peas/corn/carrots/beans/lima beans
a hand ful of spinach leaves-chopped
1/4 chopped onion
2 slices of bread
1/2 cup of cubed paneer
salt/chat masala/a pinch of your fav garam masala

1. Add everything in a bowl and mash together with a fork.
2. Crumble the moistened bread slices into the mixture.
3. Add the spices--I added green chillies and red chilli powder to the "grown up" cutlets and skipped them for the "kiddo cutlets"--and mix well.
4. Take a ball of the mixture, flatten it to the desired thickness on the palm of your hand and cut it with the cookie cutter.
5. Heat some oil in a shallow pan and shallow fry the cutlets on both sides till brown and crispy.
6. Serve with ketchup and dhania chutney.

These are great for an evening snack and also to pack in little lunch boxes. And ofcourse, there is scope to sneak in some spinach, veggies and paneer into a tasty treat that little fingers can hold and eat without much mess.

Side note: Arnav hates it when the finger food makes his fingers messy--so I always make a "handle" for him to hold the food in, like a small foil jacket for the omlette roll or the wrap or a tissue paper covering for the sandwich.

Playing with MicroSoft Picture It!

2008-04-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Green Beans

2008-04-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

My 3 yr old American loves this "All American" fare! He loves to smear the mashed potatoes on his crusty bread strips and munch on the green beans. "More please mamma..."

Mashed Potatoes:

2 medium potatoes-boiled and mashed

1 cup milk

half a stick of unsalted butter

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

1 tbsp chopped green onions

salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat the butter in a pan.

2. Throw in the mashed boiled potatoes and add the milk to it.

3. Stir so that no lumps are present.

4. Season with fresh thyme, salt and pepper and stir well. Cook for about 5 mins, stirring continuously, till the potatoes are creamy and well mixed.

5. Garnish with chopped green onions.

Garlic Green Beans:

2 cups of green beans

2 cloves of minced garlic

chopped parsley

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

1. Boil the green beans in salted water for 3 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water. Beans should be still crunchy. Keep aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a pan.

3. Add the garlic and saute for 1 min. It should not get brown.

4. Add the green beans, salt and pepper and stir well. for another 2-3 mins.

Daal Makhni and Bhindi ki Subzi

2008-04-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

It's one of my favorite dishes to cook when we have company. Rich, elegant and very tasty, you can never go wrong with daal makhni! And it tastes great the next day too!

And here's another of my favorite subzi-Bhindi!

Methi-Mutter-Malai

2008-04-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

The first time I tasted this dish was at a friend's place and it was just unbelievably good! It has the signature methi taste in a rich, creamy gravy, with a hint of cinnamon and cardamom. I got the recipe from my friend and adapted it to suit my cooking style.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of fresh methi leaves, coarsely chopped

1 cup peas (I used frozen)

1 green chilli, chopped

half a cup of unsalted cashew nuts, ground to a coarse powder

half a cup of heavy cream

1 cup or so of either milk or water

2 pieces of moti elaichi

garam masala

red chilli powder

haldi

salt

oil

1. Heat oil in a karahi and add the chopped methi. Saute for about 5 mins till it gets fragrant.

2. Add the peas and the chopped green chillis to it and saute for 2 more minutes.

3. Add the moti elaichi, a pinch of garam masala, red chilli powder (if desired), a pinch of haldi and salt.

4. Add the heavy cream and stir for a few minutes on low heat. If the gravy is too thick, add some milk or water. Cook for about 5-6 mins, till the peas are cooked.

I served this with garma garam home made tandoori rotis and it was a big hit!

Black bean and barley soup

2008-03-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

Barley is a high fiber, mineral rich whole grain cereal, also packed with niacin (a B vitamin) Read more about it here. It has a robust, nutty flavor and is excellent in soups. I paired it with blackbeans and made this tomato based soup, which was a big hit in our household.

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic minced
coarsely chopped veggies:
Onions
asparagus
carrots
cubed potato
tomatoes
chillis
1 cup cooked barley
A handful of baby spinach leaves
some sprigs of fresh thyme
1 can of blackbeans, drained

In a big pot, heat some extra virgin olive oil and saute the onions and garlic till translucent.
Add the chopped veggies and the black beans and 4 cups of water. Simmer for about 15 mins, till the potatoes are soft. Add the cooked barley (needs to be presoaked for about 8 hours and then cooked in 3 times the water for about 20 mins) Season the soup with salt, pepper, red chilli powder. Add some freshly chopped thyme for a lovely flavor and adjust for the desired amount of tartness by adding some vinegar if you like. Toss in a handful of the baby spinach leaves and some chopped cilantro and serve hot, with crackers or garlic bread.

Brown Rice

2008-03-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

I recently bought a packet of brown rice in my continued effort to add better foods to our repertoire. Brown rice is a much healthier option than the usual white rice because it is the grain with its bran layer intact, hence making it richer in fiber and other nutrients like viamins B4 and B6, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, manganese and countless other phytonutrients. One cup of cooked brown rice contains about 4g of fiber, which is 4 times the amount in the white rice!

Because it is minimally processed, it takes longer to cook. I used 3 cups of water for 1 cup of the brown rice and cooked it for 45 minutes. I had heard that the taste of the cooked brown rice is a bit of an acquired taste, but both V and I really liked it. It has a kind of nutty taste, and the grains are flavorful and moist. 1 cup of dry brown rice has about 160 calories.

I served it with a medley of spring vegetables- beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, onions, garlic and spinach sauted for about 5 mins to retain flavor, crunch and nutrients and seasoned with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Since the brown rice is fiber dense, it fills you up very well and the 1 cup that I cooked was enough for our dinner (V's and mine) and I even had leftovers to pack in my lunch!

The Devil's Shadow!

2008-03-05T22:46:00.001-08:00

This weekend, I caught Arnav wearing his "devil horns" and admiring his shadow on the dining room wall. Needless to say, I ran to get my camera and here are the pics for you to enjoy.....

Masala Macaroni

2008-03-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

I made this masala macaroni in 10 mins, basically, the time that it took to boil the pasta. It was quick and easy and yummy too, especially enjoyed by Arnav! I boiled the pasta, drained it well and tossed with a spoonful of olive oil to prevent it from sticking. In a separate pan, heated more extra virgin olive oil and sauted some onions and chopped garlic, added a handful of shredded broccoli, carrots, green and purple cabbage and sauted it for one minute (veggies should still be crunchy) Then in went a dash of salt, a pinch of MDH Tava Fry masala (my new fav!) and a pinch of haldi. One spoon ketchup too went in the pan and then the macaroni and voila, its ready!

Egg Monster

2008-03-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

Some ideas for "dressing up" boiled eggs to make them enticing for fussy kiddos! Arnav loves to devour these "Egg Monsters". I have even made "sun" and "moon" versions that go equally fast!

Chole Masala

2008-03-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

I think chole are very versatile as a dish. It can be served with rice, roti, plain parantha, poori and ofcourse bhature and also, with bread as a snack the next day!

I'm back!

2008-02-24T16:41:00.001-08:00

Sorry for not writing in a while. I have two excuses: I was busy at work, which translated into longer working hours, so no time to post here and once the work pressure relaxed a bit, I got lazy in transferring the pics from my camera to the laptop, hence the delay. So, there's a lot to write about and lots of pics to share. You're going to be a here for a while now, so go grab a cup of chai and read on...

My new passion

2008-02-24T15:48:00.002-08:00

I recently got this book that I absolutely love going through, at every chance that I get. Its a treasure trove of useful information on the 150 amazing, healthiest, nutrient dense, disease fighting and ailment preventing foods on earth.

I was recently listening to a radio show during my long commute to work, where this doctor/professor of medicine from Stanford (sorry, I forgot his name) was talking about how as a population, the average age and life span of humans has increased over the years. Right now, there are around 55,000 individuals in the US who are over the age of 100. He mentioned that so many people, when they get older (in their eighties) remark that if they had known they would live this long, they would've taken better care of their health when they were younger. I agree with him one hundred percent!

Also, being a chemist and working in the pharmaceutical industry now, I do know that there are countless nutrients, mineral, phytochemicals and other species that are needed for the proper functioning of the body, not all of which can be synthesized by the body and need to be present in the food that we eat. I have decided to make a conscious effort to include such fresh, nutrient dense fruits, vegetable, herbs, grains and nuts in our meals.

Coming back to the book, I will be sharing some pictures, information and excerpts with you on this blog and also chronicle some of the goodies that I include in our regular meals. You can get this book for yourself if you follow this link. Believe me, it's worth every penny of the $20 that you will spend.

Arnav's letters

2008-02-24T14:35:00.000-08:00

Arnav and I were doing some alphabet tracing and he told me that he wanted to write something for his Dadu and for his Nani. He was so excited to be doing that, that he ran inside to bring the sheets of paper, picked out the colors after much deliberation and proceeded to trace the dotted lines with love and care.

So here it is, for Dadu and Nani, with love from Arnav.

A simple pulav with a power packed salad...

2008-02-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

Last week was a very busy week at work, with a number of deadlines for me and that meant going earlier than usual and coming back very tired, after standing in the lab the whole day. ON one such rainy, tiring evening, I made a simple pulav which turned out to be so delicious that V asked me to write the recipe down, so that I can reproduce it on demand the next time he wants pulav!

I served it with a nutrient packed salad of carrots, beetroots and raisins, with onions and lemon juice adding a bit of a kick. In my quest to eat healthy and making every bite count, I have decided to consciously experiment with various "super foods" that are wholesome, fresh, full of nutrients and ofcourse, rich taste. With this in mind, I picked up some beetroots and grated them over chopped baby carrots for this yummy salad.

Ofcourse, as I was staging this shot, Arnav was sitting in his highchair in the kitchen and sneaked in the popsickle that he was enjoying into my frame! He was mighty pleased on seeing his popsickle rubbing shoulders with my rice n salad!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard of "Valentines's day" was probably when I was in 9th or 10th grade in India. My 3 yr old son already knows when Valentine's day is and knows that it is a day for "love"!!

In his preschool, they have weekly themes like nature, firefighters, weather, family etc and they do all activities associated with that theme in that week. The week of valentines, the theme was, ofcourse, love, so they colored hearts, cut out and traced heart shapes, read books on family and love and so on... On V day, they had a lunch party-I made a big casserole of macaroni and cheese for the class and the other things on the menu were chicken nuggets, fried rice, garlic bread, fruit platter, veggies and dip, cookies, cupcakes...

That morning, V and I packed lil goodie bags, with candies, stickers and small cards for all his classmates and I wrote "Happy V Day" on 25 cards!! In the evening, Arnav came back with his own stash of cards, candy and stickers from his friends!

All Pickled Out...

2008-02-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

I love Gajar-Gobhi-Shalgam pickle. Everytime winter rolls around, this is what I crave and this is one pickle that is very hard to find bottled because of its short shelf life, I guess. A couple of weeks back, I went to my local Indian grocery store and saw a small plastic container of this pickle. Immediately, it went in my cart. I couldnt wait till dinner that night to try it out. But sadly, I was let down because the pickle had too much sugar and too much of black pepper.

So, I had no other alternative but to make it myself! So I asked my Mammaji for a recipe and I got a nicely written, detailed recipe within 2 hours. I got all the ingredients and I wanted to do this right, so this last weekend, I lovingly washed and sundried my brand new glass container.....

......I chopped up the carrots, turnips and cauliflower, washed in hot, hot water and dried it in the sun.........

..........and proceeded to make the pickle. It has been basking in the sun for two days now. It occupies a place of honor in the backyard in the morning and then, I religiously move it to the front porch in the afternoon where it gets drenched in the afternoon rays of the sun. I am going to taste it tomorrow night, so you'll have to wait for the final verdict!

Carrot Kheer

2008-02-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

I tried making the carrot kheer this evening. It turned out very tasty and ofcourse, so nutritious! I did this on a small scale, with just a handful of baby carrots that I gave a whirr in the food processor, steamed in the microwave for about 5 mins and then boiled in milk till it got smooth and mushy. Added some sugar and garnished with chopped nuts. Next time I make it, I'll try adding some condensed milk to give it a little more texture.

Simple Stir Fry

2008-02-02T15:42:00.000-08:00

I made this simple stir fry last night that both V and I enjoyed a lot. This is my friend S's recipe, to which I made some modifications.

The vegetables- onions, baby carrots, green and red bell peppers and green beans are sauted very lightly in olive oil so as to preserve their crunchiness and most of the nutrients, seasoned with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a dash of fat free Italian dressing and garnished with red chili flakes. A quick dash of soy sauce can also be added to give it some more zing. Yummy!

Bread Pakore

2008-02-02T15:38:00.001-08:00

Saturday Morning Breakfast

2008-02-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

I made Masaledar Paneer and Methi ki Poori for breakfast this saturday morning. Today is the 12th consecutive day of rain here in (usually) sunny California and such weather calls for some piping hot pooris and garma garam chai!

Methi ki poori is a great way of sneaking some healthy greens into fussy toddlers and I also put cottage cheese and tofu while making the aata to increase its protein content. This meal when served with yogurt has something from each food group and its yummy too!

Friday Night Date....

2008-02-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

Every friday evening, after I pick Arnav up from school, we head straight to the nearest Jamba Juice, where Arnav has a "Mango Mantra" smoothie and chips. He loves to sit there and look at people pass by and he tells me all about his day at school and we make plans for the weekend. This friday, I had a meeting at work that ran late, so his Papa picked him up and brought him home. I was really disappointed that we couldn't go to Jamba juice, so I picked up his smoothie on my way home. Arnav was very happy and I got extra hugs and kisses for bringing his smoothie! Arnav's school had a chinese theme this whole week and they made a chinese style hat in class. Here's a pic of Arnav in his "Mr. Chow-Fu-Ching" hat, enjoying his Jamba Juice!

Today's lunch...

2008-01-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

I packed Chowmein (without veggies-that's how he likes it), an orange and strawberry smoothie for his lunch today. The smoothie and orange was gone and noodles about half eaten...he told me that the teacher made it really hot that's why he didnt finish it! I had made a note for her to heat it for about 30s, maybe next time, I'll tell her to not to heat it.

For a cold evening....

2008-01-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

....Arnav enjoying some warm noodle soup on a cold evening!

The temps have been in the 30s and 40s (that's farenheit, 1-5 degrees celsius), with heavy rains the past week and on such cold evenings, there's nothing better than steaming soup to warm up! And if Arnav has his "soft blanket" to cosy up with, he is esctatic!

After bath ritual?

2008-01-30T19:22:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, after I gave a bath to Arnav, he was looking sooo cute, all wrapped up in the yellow towel, lying on my bed where I had yellow bedsheets. I couldnt resist and ran to get my camera and proceeded to take some pics.

Yesterday, after his bath, I had put him on my bed to dress him up and he said, "Mamma, get your camera and take Arnav's cutie cutie pics again"...so, I got my camera and clicked some pics.

Now, today, again, after the bath, he wanted me to bring my camera!!! This time, he also wanted me to hand over my camera to him and he wanted to take my pics too!!!!

He finished it! Yay!!

2008-01-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

Arnav finished his entire lunch today.

I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw that his teacher had circled "I ate everything" on his daily report. I immediately opened his lunch pack and saw for myself that there were only a few pieces of pasta in it!!

I had packed Macaroni and cheese (with a dash of ketchup), a piece of jalebi and a banana smoothie for him in his favorite Spiderman lunchpack. Its a winner and so am I!

My "Cook"er with his cooker...

2008-01-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

Arnav loves to cook. Everytime I go in the kitchen, he pulls up a dining table chair to the kitchen counter, climbs on it and then asks me to bring his pan, a spoon and a pretend stove.

Then the demands start coming...Mamma, give me bread, give me oil, give me pyaz, give me ketchup, give me cereal, give me aata and everything goes in the pan and is stirred vigorously, splattering my countertop and creating a big mess that makes my cleaners work harder and harder to earn their wages

Here, Arnav the master chef, is making paranthi, with a filling of granola!

All this is ok--hey, its just some mess that can be scrubbed and wiped off. Then comes the big demand...Mamma, taste it please, I made this for you!!!!! And then that culinary concoction is presented to me and to Papa to taste and eat up! Ewww.... Half the time, I am somehow able to dodge tasting it by telling him that I have "pretend tasted" it and the other half of the times, I distract him somehow and the food goes down the sink.

(Click on the pictures to see a larger image)

Just like Papa!

2008-01-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

Arnav has this book called "Just like Papa" which he loves. The story is very simple, of a boy, who wants to do everything "just like Papa". He has a belt, shoes, shirt, comb, shaving brush, keys and phone just like Papa. My little papa ka chamcha Arnav takes it further by even wanting to drive, sleep, sing, play the guitar and eat just like Papa. So here's a pic of Papa-beta eating the exact same food--boiled egg (whites only, because this time Papa doesnt like the yellow, just like Arnav!) Oatmeal and Bread!

Click on the pictures to see the larger images.

The first one....

2008-01-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

The first post! Welcome to our blog and thanks for stopping by. Arnav's latest fashion statement is wearing my sunglasses and everytime we go out, he quickly runs to my closet and grabs them, puts them on and admires himself in the mirror. Then he says "How Smartee"!!

At 3 and a half, he loves to admire himself in the mirror and ofcourse, the little flaterrer that he is, he never fails to tell me that I'm looking pretty every time I dress up too! Here's another pic of Arnav looking cool in my sunglasses.