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An integral part of Kerala cuisine, Thoran is a stir-fry essentially made with grated coconut and minimal spices. From potatoes to cabbage, carrots, green beans, broccoli or even pumpkin, you can make a thoran with almost any vegetable that can hold some shape after cooking. Today's version is made with my favorite vegetable - plantain or (green) raw banana. This is my go-to recipe whenever I am out of ideas; super tired or when I hardly have any fresh vegetables on hand. Happy Cooking!
Tomato season is long gone here in California but I occasionally see a bag of small, cherry tomatoes here in the Farmer's Markets. Whenever I do, I eagerly grab a few. Most of the times, I eat them raw. I have a long commute to work so these serve as a handy, easy to carry snack to curb those 5 pm hunger pangs. But, this time around I put some extra effort to roast these beauties. I saw today's Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes recipe in Heidi Swanson's cookbook and instantly fell in love with its simplicity. You will be surprised on how little there is to do but by the end they are so flavorful that it is hard to stop nibbling on them. I ended munching an entire tray full of roasted tomatoes in one go and had to make an another batch to add to my favorite pasta and my weekly salad. Yumm-ee-dee-dum, I tell ya!
Every time I make these Simply Fried Cauliflower florets at home, I think of my mother and her cooking. Our favorite to this day, it is simply amazing how she used to deep fry almost everything without a drop of excess oil. There were times when we were kids - me & my sister used to just gobble right out of the frying pan. Especially on rainy days and Saturdays, these were an absolute must-make dish in our household. The ritual continued until I charted out to a far away land for my higher studies. Now, living worlds apart from her, I crave for her reassuring words during times of distress and most of all her comforting food. Amma, this post like many others on this blog is dedicated to you. I love you. I miss you.
What do you do with a slab of tofu lurking at the back of the fridge and with no more than 20 minutes on hand? You make today's recipe - an easy yet hearty Tofu Masala of course! When I saw it on Food and Wine for the first time, I wondered how ordinary the ingredients list is. But the end result in terms of flavor was nothing but ordinary. On a crazy weeknight, I served this dish with some prepared rotis and a bowl of fruit. Satisfied with happy bellies, we both called it a day and I thought how sometimes keeping the spices to minimum is a good thing. Trust me, this recipe is a perfect example of that! Do give it a try. Bon Appetit.
I am still in a state of shock after what happened yesterday. How did it happen? How could it happen? I am not an American to understand the nuances of the Electoral Collage system in detail but I do know that Hate Cannot Win! Sadly it did. Way back in July, Michael Moore predicted Trump's win and gave 5 reasons in plain simple english . I happen to read it today and yes, it made perfect sense, though it is too late now. Here's hoping the next 4 years will be remembered for growth, progress and spreading positivity instead of spewing hatred on each other.
Coming to today's recipe, the title says it all - Green Mashed Potatoes! I saw Mark Bittman make this dish with dandelion greens which I conveniently with some spinach and spring onions. Any kind of greens will work and do make this for upcoming Thanksgiving to surprise your family & friends. Bon Appetit.
Who is waiting for Thanksgiving week already? I sure am. :-) Have you got your holiday menu ready? Being vegetarian (who eats eggs), many at times I feel left out with not many options to eat except for some mashed potatoes and pasta. How wonderful would it be if we non-meaters get some love too! After writing a detailed post on how to cook dried beans from scratch, it is only fitting to share a legume recipe. Isn't it? How about an easy Roasted Bean recipe that could be served as a wonderful side-dish along with your Thanksgiving entries! I saw today's recipe on NPR and what immediately caught my attention was the use of simple yet intriguing ingredients. The original recipes was a feature on Lima Beans and I conveniently substituted them with Christmas Beans (without compromising taste), my new Farmer's Market find. Read more to get the recipe.
Beans! Beans! And More Beans! I am a huge fan of beans and whenever I see a new variety in Farmer's Market, I quickly grab some to try a recipe or two. A bag of Christmas Beans (as pictured below) was one such impulse buys. Aren't they just beautiful to look at? How can one not buy? :-) Today's post is all about how to prepare and cook dried beans from scratch. Once you get the basics right, it is so much easier (and healthier) than canned version (with their absurd amounts of sodium levels). Personally, I think cooked beans also make a far more delicious meal than canned beans. There is also a information on how to store/freeze cooked beans with a few pretty photographs to look at. While you are soaking a batch of beans, don't forget to check out this entire list of legume recipes for some good ideas. Happy Cooking!
Day 4 of ongoing VeganMoFo 2016 challenge is here and today I am about share a quick, no-cook Zucchini salad recipe I saw on NYT Cooking. I am also super kicked and doing a happy dance for another reason. Do you know the last time I posted FOUR recipes in a month was way back in 2015. Yep! it is always the case that I start off the month with best of intentions, slowly loose mojo and never share more than a recipe or two. Here's hoping at least this year (unlike 2014), I will successfully finish this VeganMoFo challenge. Read more and get this refreshingly easy recipe for Zucchini Carpaccio.
All the kadhi (yogurt gravy) recipes I know so far are made with yogurt by default. Never had I ever tasted or encountered a dish which is named as a kadhi but without the use of any diary. Made just out of chickpea flour as a base for the gravy, today's recipe (Sindhi Kadhi) is an exception. If you are wary about how would it taste (just like I did), then you got to make it to believe how mind blowing it tastes. For several Sundays after I teetered on the recipe, I found myself eagerly making two portions of it for my upcoming weekday lunches. Did I tell you, it is a lovely make-ahead recipe too which keeps well for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. All I had to was warm it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, pour on top of some rice and enjoy my desk lunch.
The recipe is from justagirlfrommumbai, one of my favorite Instagram accounts with beautiful (unpretentious) food photography and heart warming stories behind each one of them. If you are not following her already on IG and love food then give her a follow right way!
Sorrel leaves which can be easily found in any Farmer's Market (in the Bay Area at least) or in any Indian store is my absolute favorite way to make dal. Growing up my mother used to make it once a week and now I do too. Today's version of Gongura Pappu (Sorrel Leaves Dal) With Peanuts is a recipe I stumbled upon on Youtube while looking for easy weeknight dinner ideas. The only hard part is to remove the sorrel leaves from their stems and rest is just a breeze. If you have never made this version of dal before, I urge you to try some. Poured over a hot bed of rice and served with some crunchy chips, it tastes divine. Now, if you will excuse me, I will have to take leave to prepare the sorrel leaves bunch sitting next to me as I type this post. :-) Enjoy!
Bonjour Novembre! You have arrived so fast this year. It feels like just few weeks ago we all merrily celebrated New Year's Day! :-) November is also time for my favorite event of the blog-o-sphere: VeganMoFo (Vegan Month Of Food), where many enthusiasts like me blog and celebrate vegan food all month long. I have attempted (and failed mid-way) VeganMoFo back in 2014. It is time to give everyday blogging a sincere try again. That's right, the challenge is to post a new vegan recipe every weekday of this month. I am definitely better prepared than last time around. Let's see how it goes! I hope you guys will give me company and cheer me along as I progress through this vegan recipe marathon? How about I kick start things by sharing an easy recipe for Breakfast Potato Hash with Bell Peppers and Onions.
Au revoir Octobre and a special goodbye to My Legume Love Affair Edition #100 as well. We have got some amazingly unique entries all month long and with much fervor & gusto, I present to you this MLLA100 roundup post and also the lucky winner of $25 Amazon gift card winner (at the very end). Read along to know more...
