Paneer Bhurji Recipe | Simple and Quick Paneer Recipes

Learn how to make Paneer Bhurji ~ Indian style scrambled Indian cottage cheese flavoured with spices

I should be finishing last minute packing, cleaning and cooking like right now, but here I am sitting and typing this post! I am not really sure why I am doing this amidst all that last minute packing and all that madness that comes with a day before flying! Well, that’s me I guess, wrapping myself in a comfort of words and memories when life gets little crazy and I want to drift back to cozy cocoon to calm my nerves or too much of excitement.

The summer holidays have begun for LD and it feels anything but summery in our neck of woods with pretty bad weather with cloudy skies, non-stop drizzles and even flash floods ruining the holiday mood. It’s no fun if one must spend indoors during summer, so we booked our tickets and travelling thousands of miles to be in a country which is bathed in heavy Monsoon rains! Halleluiah… Two sets of grandparents, half a dozen cousins, aunts and uncles should keep us busy and the fact that we are going to over indulge in Monsoon food specialities are making me too excited! This is going to be a mother and son holiday, at least for first 2 and half weeks until LD’s dad joins us and travelling with over excited, chatty, can’t-sit-still-for-more-than-five-minutes kid for most part of the day is going to be a piece of cake (not)!

Bhara Baingan or Stuffed Baby Eggplant Recipe | Simple and Quick Eggplant or Brinjal Recipes

Learn how to make Bhara Baingan or Stuffed Pan Roasted Baby Eggplants ~ Simple and easy spicy pan roasted baby eggplants stuffed with sesame, coconut and spice mix

Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life!

~ Brian Andreas

I am inching back to routine and virtual world after a weeklong holiday with friends and family. Before I feel too comfortable to this routine of digital lethargy and loose myself in my own little world, I decided to bounce back with some recipe posts that will keep my creative juices flowing. I am yet to pick my camera to shoot food or beautiful spring landscapes despite golden spring light bathing every corner of our home and world around us. My eyes and soul have replaced the camera as they capture the magnificent beauty of this world. One thing at a time… Until then, let me share the recipe of this amazing and ridiculously simple to make Bhara Baingan or Spicy Stuffed Baby Eggplant Roast that I cooked and clicked two weeks ago when my camera was constantly clicking and capturing food in every angle and composition!

I am a huge fan of eggplants and keeping my modesty aside, I make some mean eggplant curries which knocks off the feet of my guests whenever I serve them. Unfortunately, husband is allergic to eggplants and LD is not too fond of the texture of them. Which means the only person who must finish the entire pan of eggplant curries is me! How unfortunate (not) for me!!! As much as I love these little beauties, I find it difficult to spend an hour prepping and cooking them, only not to have a company to share the pleasure of devouring them. So, I end up buying some purple beauties only when I lose couple of night’s sleep! ;)

Tawa Paneer Recipe | Simple and Quick Paneer Recipes

Learn how to make Tawa Paneer ~ Griddle roasted Indian cottage cheese and veggies marinated in aromatic spices

When last week LD’s spring break began, I was euphoric! No school meant waking up late, no running around the house prepping breakfast, ironing school uniforms, shouting at top of my voice asking LD to finish his breakfast for hundredth time in a minute, watching my hair turn grey as he finishes his morning business at snail’s pace, pulling my hair in anxiety as he asks hundreds of questions while sitting on a potty, and literally dragging him out of the house and all the way to school to make sure we are just in time before the school bell rings! Only to come back home to sink full of dishes, basketful of laundry, high pile of cloths to be ironed, mountain high work load, photography assignments, answering to dozens of emails, and of course, worrying about what to cook for dinner and if time permits, food photo shoot for the blog!

6 hours of back breaking work later, I am ready to rush back to school to take him for after-school activities and bring him back home. Before I know it, it’s time to make dinner, watch him slowly pick small spoonful of food at snail’s pace for over an hour, snatch the spoon from him hand and shovel what is now ice cold dinner that I slaved to cook, watch my hair turn grey and fall as he slowly brushes his teeth before tucking him into bed after reading half a dozen stories! If I am not snoozing or half dead by then, stare at telly with hubby or stare at the blinking curser wishing and even praying for some words to magically pop in my half dead brain and flow into my finger tips to tap dance on the keyboard for a blog post! By the time I hit the sack, it doesn’t take more than couple of moments to fall into dreamless sleep after my head touches the pillow, if not hit by migraine or insomnia! 7 hours later, I am ready for another day of routine! That’s when I desperately look forward to school holidays…

One week into 2 weeks of spring break, I am ‘almost’ looking forward for the schools to re-open!

Sukhi Aloo Bhindi Recipe | Simple and Quick Aloo Bhindi Fry Recipe

Learn how to make Sukhi Aloo Bhindi or Aloo Bhindi Fry ~ Spicy potato and okra fry flavoured with assorted aromatic spices

Its last term break for LD before the school shuts down for summer holidays in little over months’ time. The good weather that we enjoyed when the week long holidays began has come to abrupt end, which means that I am stuck inside the home with my soon to be 6 year old hyper active kid who loves outdoor activities. Can you imagine what that means?

It means he wants me to find and create new activities every 30 minutes, and some in 10 mins, to keep him busy and happy! Oh dear lord! I never imagined I would say this aloud, but I am really looking forward to the school reopen day on Monday and my 6 hours of time all by myself when LD is in school. I can’t help but entertain that mommy guilt creeping inside, and as usual, I know for sure that I will miss LD terribly when he is away at school. I guess its all part and parcel of motherhood in a nutshell.

Aloo-Guvar Subji Recipe | Spicy Potato & Cluster Beans Curry

Learn how to make Aloo-Guvar Subji ~ Spicy potato and cluster beans curry recipe

After running like headless chicken during Diwali, I decided to slow down and smell the roses. As the winter has slowly crept in my corner of the world and I went on hibernation from social networks. It was rejuvenating, relaxing and most of all uplifting, just like a spa experience for a mind.

My days are full with reading, learning, creating, writing, working on a project which I love, recipe testing and of course, lot of cooking. With the Christmas just around the corner, LD’s school is gearing up for the festive season with school fayre, plays, choir, festive lunch and many activities which means close involvement with the parents. I am really looking forward to watching LD perform on the stage. Interestingly, LD is very cool about performing in front of big audience while I am the one who is hyperventilating! Fingers crossed, I should be fine! ;)

Restaurant Style Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe | How to Make Paneer Jalfrezi

Learn how to make Restaurant Style Paneer Jalfrezi ~ A quick stir fry of paneer, bell peppers, onion and tomato in a spicy tomato paste

India is the largest producer of milk and it is no surprise that we Indians love milk and milk produce. Starting our day with strong milky coffee or tea, we integrate milk and milk products in various recipes. And our meal is incomplete without a glass of yogurt or buttermilk, either spiced with few green chillies, cumin powder etc or sweetened with sugar. Milk, yogurt, buttermilk, ghee, butter and cream are part and parcel of Indian meals. And there is one more milk product which we all love, Paneer.

Ingredients for Paneer Jalfrezi

Restaurant Style Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe

It is Paneer or Indian cottage cheese and there are very few who doesn’t like Paneer. Paneer is used in many dishes like the ever popular Matar Paneer, Kadai Paneer, Nawabi Paneer, Paneer Butter Masala (Fried cottage cheese served in creamy and buttery onion-tomato gravy), Malai Kofta (Deep fried cheese dumplings in rich, creamy tomato gravy), Paneer Tikka (grilled paneer cubes marinated in spicy yogurt), Paneer Paratha and many more. Since the large population are pure vegetarians in India, the use of milk and milk produce are given more importance for their protein and calcium supplements and Paneer is something which is loved by all, especially the little ones. Lil Dumpling is no exception and he loves Paneer cooked in mild gravies. Bored of making same paneer curries, I ventured into little adventure of making spicy Restaurant Style Paneer Jalfrezi.

Panch Mishali Torkari Recipe | Guest Post by Pia of The Peppercorns in My Pocket

Learn how to make Panch Mishali Torkari Recipe from Pia of The Peppercorns in My Pocket

Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . ."

~ C.S. Lewis

That’s pretty much sums up the friendship I share with this multi-talented girl! I am talking about my gorgeous friend Pia, author of a one of THE most beautiful blogs called the Peppercorns in My Pocket (don’t you just love the name?!). I was smitten with her wonderful photography the moment I chanced upon her blog, and her soul stirring narration that made me eagerly look forward to every new posts. Over the years I have become friends with few food bloggers and Pia is someone if we’re to meet in person, we’d really get on like a house on fire! As she rightly said one day while exchanging emails, we both have quite a lot of things in common; our love for books, food, family, prettying our home with pretty things and our love and yearning for the place we call home, India! Pia’s blog is a place where you can get lost in her words as she vividly paints the stories of her past and present. Hop over to her amazing space, I will assure you that you will be transported to the world of simple joy. If you enjoy some really good write-ups accompanied with recipes, then you can be sure to leave her space with big smile and happy thoughts. The stories of Chotu Ma, Pia’s chirpy, big dreamy eyed, beautiful little girl is an added bonus :) It is such a privilege to have you here, Pia and thank you for sharing such comfort food when we need it the most :) You can follow Pia on her Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram too.

Backwards and forwards

Can one walk backwards and forwards at the same time? Or do the two actions negate each other and make distance disappear, so that you stay in the same place like a tree - torso moving with the wind, toes digging into earth? I have a feeling, a good way of staying centred is to pretend you're riding a unicycle. One-pedal-forward-one-pedal-backward. That is what you need to do to achieve fine balance. To find your centre-of-gravity. Your rootedness. Rootedness has always had its root in movement.

My friend Sia, is moving from England, back to India, with her husband and little son. They're going back the way they came; walking in reverse. But towards family and old friends. Towards familiar roads and a well-known rhythm. Towards home. Backwards and forwards.

Aloo Methi Recipe | How to make simple Aloo Methi

Learn how to make Aloo Methi ~ Simple stir fried potato and fresh fenugreek leaves with aromatic spices

I reach out for a bag of spuds when I am craving for comfort food. I reach out for the same bag of potatoes when I have very little time to cook dinner for the family. I reach out for this bag of tuber when I am cooking for friends, or a large gathering because I know that there is hardly anyone who says no to the food made using humble potato!

Since I am going through the so called writer’s block as I am juggling hundreds of things at once, I decided to just write an ode to potato! So you can simply skip to the recipe part if you are in no mood to listen to my rants and rambles about my love for this brown, unattractive tuber!

Aloo-Kala Chana Chaat Recipe | Warm Potato and Black Chickpeas Salad

Learn how to make Aloo-Kala Chana Chaat ~ Warm black chickpeas and potato salad with spiced tamarind dressing

It was a cold winter Sunday morning when a teenager was woken from her sleep with a gentle touch of her mother’s hand caressing her hair.

“Open your eyes love. It’s time you learn to make a decent cup of tea!’” said her mother.

“5 more minutes Amma”, the sleepy voice begged.

But her mother knew that these 5 minutes will drag on and it will be 15 minutes or 30 minutes or 1 hour before her daughter finally opened her eyes!

“Oh no! You don’t get 5 minutes!” mother said while literally dragging her first born into the kitchen to prepare 2 cups of Indian Masala tea.

Masala Aloo/Potato Roast Recipe | Simple Indian Style Potato Roast Recipe

Learn how to make Masala Aloo or Potato Roast ~
Spicy and crispy pan fried potato roast with aromatic Indian spices

There is something about Potato! Isn’t it? The humble, modest and unassuming tuber grows out of sight, underground and when pulled up it looks like a part of earth. Have you ever seen it competing with other colourful vegetables or trying to take away the spotlight from other vegetables? This spud is neither good looking with frills of cauliflower, nor has beautiful glossy colours of bell peppers. This tuber neither has the clear complexion of white eggplants, nor the radiance of sweet corns. It is oddly shaped unlike slender beans or round tomatoes and sometimes even comes with ugly black spots on its muddy body! Have you ever seen any vegetable seller singing its songs of praise, trying to attract his buyers? When he is praising the goodness and beauty of other vegetables, you will find the dirty sack of potatoes sitting quietly in some dark corner, trying very hard to stay out of spot lights and looks of admiration!

Mushroom-Pepper Curry | How to Make Simple Mushroom & Capsicum Curry

Learn how to make Mushroom-Pepper Curry ~ Simple and quick stir fry recipe of spicy bell peppers/capsicums and mushrooms marinated in aromatic spice blend

Autumn is here in full glory!
She has turned the world into one giant rainbow.
The sky is vivid blue and the grass is gold
The trees look like the Cupid’s colourful bow!
The birds are tweeting melodious songs
And the bees are buzzing all day long
People are covered from head to feet
In their woolly hat and coat
Little Dumpling likes his evening walks
While his boots crushes dry leaves and the stalks
Pitter-patter rain is here to stay
Dancing in the puddles is so much fun, I say!
Soon the winter will spread her chills
So let’s enjoy one last trip to the hills!

Punjabi Aloo Gobi Recipe | How to Make The Classic Punjabi Alu Gobi

Learn how to make Punjabi Aloo Gobi/Alu Gobi ~ Simple stir fry of potatoes and cauliflower flavoured with aromatic Indian spices

The summer that never was is really over! While the world enjoyed basking under the glorious sun and BBQs, we in Britain looked enviously at them but still hopeful for few days of sun and fun! We whined about the gloomy weather and dark clouds, grumbled about non-stop drizzles and cold nights, and then rejoiced when a mother nature showed little mercy with few days of clear blue skies and summer like weather! But it was no enough… It is never enough!

Tondekayi Palya (Tindla Palya) Recipe ~ A Pictorial

Tondekayi Palya/Tindla Palya/Stir Fried Ivy Gourds ~ It starts from here

I have been feeling extremely homesick today and was leafing through the photos I took when I visited home in December. I found few food related photos and thought you, my dear reader friends, might find them interesting. So here is the pictorial of one of my favourite recipes, Tondekayi Palya or Tindla Palya or Tindora Subji, which is a simple stir fry of Ivy Gourds, cooked using few basic spices and then generously garnished with fresh grated coconut. I randomly clicked few photos while our family cook prepared them at my in-law’s farm house. This delicious Tondekayi Palya or simple Tindora/Ivy Gourd Stir Fry was cooked by our family cook using very old and traditional fire wood cooking technique. The smoke coming from wood adds smoky flavour to this simple stir fry. I will not be posting the recipe as it has already been posted some 3½ plus years back. So if you are interested to cooking this simple Tondekayi Palya or Tindla Palya, please click here for the recipe.

Kadai Paneer (Karahi Paneer) Recipe | How to Make Restaurant Style Kadai Paneer or Karahi Paneer

Kadai Paneer or Karahi Paneer ~What’s in name?!

Past three weeks have been really testing and extremely busy week in MS household. First, HD got busy with mountain load of paper works needed for my in-law’s visa and then Lil Dumpling suddenly fell ill with severe cough and then gastroenteritis. Ah, the joys of sending your child to day care means seesawing between little runny nose to viral infections.

Sprouted Moong Usal Recipe | Moongachi Usal

Sprouted Moong Usal | Moongachi Usal

You know that you are watching too much TV when you laugh at the F.R.I.E.N.D.S jokes even before it is made! ~sigh~ Yes! The joy of staring in to idiot box for too long is rubbing on me and slowly I see myself blinking like an idiot at idiot box!

After coming back from 9-5 work load and then one frantic hour of giving bath to Lil dumpling (and in turn getting drenched from top to toe by all that splashing by LD), chasing the super active naked toddler around with nappy in one hand and night dress in another, stuffing his mouth with food and almost threatening him to disinherit in my will (whatever meagre wealth I can accumulate after spending most of my salary on his toys and fancy cloths and shoes and not to forget the bomb they charge at his day care in name of looking after him in my absence) if he doesn’t stop from throwing food all around except in his own mouth, trying to teach him brush his teeth instead of chewing and then patting him to sleep, I am left with long evening to kill. These past couple of days I am easily spotted with a dazed look due to heavy work load and bags of dark circles due to lack of sleep. I feel too tired and lazy to cook after a really busy day, I plonk on the sofa with a TV remote in one hand and the fingers dancing on buttons that will bring shame to the most competitive typists! 

Balekai-Batate Palya | Plantain & Potato Stir Fry Recipe

Balekai-Batate Palya

What do you do when you are in no mood to follow a recipe (which happens most of the time) and bored of eating something you have already tried? Of course you wear a cap of recipe developer or recipe creator! Or dining out or ordering a takeaway is another option.

Aloo Fry: An ode to the versatile spud!

Aloo Fry

Fried, boiled, baked, mashed, stuffed, being stuffed(?!), roasted, grilled…