Sarson ka Saag Recipe | How to make Sarson da Saag

Learn how to make Sarson ka Saag ~ Mashed mustard green and spinach curry

The temperature outside is steadily rising and the latest weather forecast says that it will touch 18 deg C this weekend! The delicate snowdrops and colourful crocus are blooming everywhere and the daffodils are almost ready to spread their sunshiny cheer! It feels like the winter is at its teetering end in my neck of woods.

In the last 13 years of winters in the UK, this year has been the mildest and short winter ever. Last year, we were still buried under the blanket of snow until April, and this year I have seen more sunny days than in winter than all the winters in the last decade put together! Talk about global warming!

Ingredients for Sarson da Saag

Before we bid adios to winter and winter produces, especially winter greens, I am making the most of them by cooking all my winter favourite dishes from India. The ingredients you see here are used in making one of my most favourite winter dish from the land of 5 rivers. It’s Sarson ka Saag or in simple words, mashed mustard and winter greens. Saag is a generic name for cooked and pureed green leafy vegetables like mustard greens, spinach, fenugreek leaves, kale, spring greens, coriander and even mint leaves! Unlike spinach greens, which takes just few minutes to wilt and cook, saag takes much longer time as the greens usually have thick leaves and veins which take long time to break when cooking. I don’t call myself a patient cook, but once in a while when there is a special occasions like my loved one’s birthday, I pour my energy and every bit of me into making something special to celebrate the special days of my loved ones. Like every year, I cook something new which they have never tried before for birthday dinner and this year for my husband’s birthday I cooked this classic combination of Sarson ka Saag and Makki ki Roti.

Quick and Simple Palak Paneer Curry Recipe | Quick and Simple Paneer Recipes

Learn how to make quick and simple Palak Paneer Curry ~ Indian cottage cheese in mildly spiced rich and creamy spinach gravy

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. A pearl of wisdom by my grandmother who not only lived a simple life, but also beautifully incorporated the art of simplicity in her cooking as well. With so many produce; fresh, exotic and vibrant, available with a click of a button, we sometimes forget how a simple food can really be uplifting and soul satisfying. After all, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, isn’t it?

Ingredients for Palak Paneer Curry

As I am recovering from a nasty flu, hubby took over the kitchen and cooked simple meals for days which nourished my aching body and comforted my troubled spirit. His cooking is very much like the person he is; simple, straight forward and down to earth with a touch of humour and little madness to make it anything but boring. It is during this time I realised how my cooking has evolved over the time and how complicated it has become by adding one too many ingredients. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex but it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Simple ingredients prepared in a simple way is the best way to take your everyday cooking to a higher level.

Lauki Aloo Matar Curry Recipe | Simple and Easy Vegan Bottle Gourd Curry Recipes

Learn how to make Lauki Aloo Matar Curry ~ A simple and easy bottle gourd curry with potato and peas cooked in a sweet and tangy tomato gravy

Vegetables, some you love and some you hate. And then there are few which don’t fall under either category and precariously balance in between depending on how it is cooked. Lauki or sorekayi or dudhi or bottle gourd was one such vegetable in my list. Did you notice I spoke about it in past tense? It is because I was not either fond of it or disliked it enough to put firmly under just one category. So, like many other vegetables while growing up bottle gourd and I shared love-hate relationship.

Ingredients for Lauki Aloo Matar Curry

My mother being a terrific cook, all the dishes she made using this unassuming gourd was an instant hit on our dinner table. She knew the ways to trick the fussiest picky eater to go for second helping with her amazing cooking skills. Apart from making her signature boLu kodhel and bottle gourd peel chutney, she also makes fantastic melt-in-mouth sweet halwa and delicious lauki ke kofte which I remember was one of the popular dishes she cooked for special occasions. The bland, pale and unattractive vegetable would get a massive makeover in her hands, making it one of the most desirable things to eat. That’s the power of mother’s cooking, which made me slowly fall in love with this vegetable.

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

Learn how to make Kadai Mushroom or Karahi Mushroom ~ Semi dry spicy curry of mushrooms cheese and bell peppers cooked in a spicy tomato gravy flavoured with freshly ground spice mix

Imagine your food without spices. Unimaginable, isn’t it? They are the best ingredients to include in daily cooking as they not only add flavours and colours, but also bring out complex and rich flavours from the food itself. Almost every cuisine of the world has not gone untouched by a sprinkle of spices, but none of them embraces the spices close to its bosom as Indian cuisine which unashamedly uses these flavourful spices to the brim! Everything from curries to chai, our food and drinks brims with spices.

Throughout the past, there has been great wars fought for these spices; some won and some lost leaving path on the map marked with riches, blood and sacrifices. The spice routes were formed, lands were plundered and looted, innocent blood was shed, and a lot was lost in a quest for Indian spices which as the history says was so valuable that it was worth more than a gold in weight! Such was the lure of spices which makes them not just mere ingredients in Indian cuisine, but a way of life…

Matar Paneer Kurma/Korma Recipe | Simple & Easy Peas and Paneer Korma Recipe

Learn how to make Matar Paneer Kurma ~ Peas and Indian cottage cheese cooked in a mildly spiced onion, tomato and yogurt curry

The home looks like a storm has passed with cloths piled on the bed, gifts and boxes of chocolates piled in one corner. The extra-large suitcases are wide open and ready to swallow everything that I throw in its mouth. Few of my salwar kameez and boys’ kurtas finally see the light after being packed away in vacuum sealed bags for a year. Living in a corner of the England where there are very few brown faces means the ethnic cloths remain packed away until we go on our annual pilgrimage to our mother land! :)

Spices used for Matar Paneer Kurma/Korma

I have tonnes of things to finish, and yet here I am watching my fingers tap dance on the keyboard as I think about meeting our loved ones after almost a year. Sometimes I feel this anticipation, the bubbling excitement and the unexplainable joy before the trip is the best part than the whole trip itself! It reminds me of a quote I had read a long ago and imprinted in my memory. It goes something like, ‘do not care much about the destination, but simply enjoy the journey’.

Vegan Beetroot Kofta Curry Recipe | Mughali Style Vegan Beetroot Kofta Recipe

Learn how to make Vegan Beetroot Kofta Curry ~ Spicy beetroot and potato vegan meatballs served in Mughalai style creamy cashew and almond gravy flavoured with aromatic spices

One day a 5 year old asked his big sister, “What is love?”

She replied, “Love is when you steal my chocolate from my school bag every day… and I still keep it in the same place every day.”
~ Unknown

I was not even two years old when little sister entered my world shattering my monopoly in a large joint family! When I was born, my first cousin was in his mid-twenties while the youngest one was in his late teens. So it was not difficult for a chubby baby girl with jet black hair and cheeks that resembled a generous sized Idli to make every other person in our family to dance to her tunes just by shaking her little fingers. I was pampered and a spoilt brat who had many people falling on my chubby feet for the first 22 months of my life. And then my exclusive control on everyone’s attention and being centre of everyone’s universe came to sudden halt!

Paneer Kalimirch Curry Recipe | Quick and Simple Paneer Curry Recipe

Learn how to make Paneer Kalimicrch ~ Indian cottage cheese cooked in a creamy white sauce spiced with black peppercorns

Last week, the entire Britain celebrated the 16th National Curry Week, a week dedicated to the country’s most favourite and popular cuisine from India. This country loves its curries! There is no doubt about it as every street in every corner of the country is dotted with curry houses selling the nation’s favourite hot curries.

Beetroot and Potato Curry Recipe | Simple Beetroot and Potato Curry

Learn how to make Beetroot and Potato Curry ~ Beetroot and potato cooked in mildly spiced coconut gravy

There are different types of cooks. Some follow others’ recipes and some create their own recipes. Some draw inspirations from other sources and some cook from the recipes handed down through generations. Some are trained and professional cooks and some have just begun this adventurous food journey. Some like fusion cooking and some stick to the age old traditional recipes. But all have one thing in common and it is their love and passion to create delicious meals for their family and loved ones.

Creamy Tofu and Pepper Curry Recipe | Vegan Tofu and Capsicum Curry

Learn how to make Creamy Tofu and Pepper Curry ~ Vegan curry of capsicums/bell peppers cooked in a mildly spiced creamy tofu and tomato gravy

"I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told."
~ Mark Twain

I have a story to tell… This is a story of little boy and the moon. This is a story of their friendship that is growing stronger and deeper with every passing day. This is a story about smiling lips, twinkling eyes, dimpled cheeks, excited shrieks and infectious giggles. This is also a story of trembling lips, teary eyes, fiery tantrums, disappointed sighs and hopeful tomorrows. This is a story of little heartbreaks and break ups, and at the same time this is also a story of life long friend ships and make ups! Yes, I have a story to tell…a very special story to tell…

Potato and Peas Kurma Recipe | How to Make Vegetable Kurma

Learn how to make Potato and Peas Kurma ~ Potato and green peas cooked in creamy and mildly spiced coconut gravy

For the first 6 years of my life I never tasted north Indian food! My mom although is a wonderful cook, her knowledge was limited to south Indian cuisine at that time. One reason could be that we lived in a small town and grew up in a close knit community. Till I turned 6 years old, we lived in a joint family and the simplest food to cook was a south Indian food which she grew up eating and cooking for 30+ members of the family with steady flow of guests every single day. Our regional food of Udupi-Mangalore is something that everyone enjoyed in our family.

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!

Paneer Pepper(Capsicum) Curry Recipe for Blog Anniversary | How to Make Simple Paneer Curry

Paneer Pepper (Capsicum) Curry

With one hectic and busy work and family life, I almost missed the blog milestone! Yes… Today Monsoon Spice turns 6 years old or young :) It’s been exactly SIX years since this blog was born on a lazy afternoon! Wohoo… SIX YEARS!!! I know I need to stop repeating the same thing again and again, but I find it difficult to believe that my love and passion for food blogging is still going strong after all these years!

Aloo Baingan Curry Recipe | How to Make Potato and Eggplant/Aubergine Curry

Learn how to make Aloo Baingan ~ Potatoes and Aubergine cooked in peanut and coconut gravy

~Warning: long whiny rant. So skip it if you are here for just the recipe part! ~ Summer is officially over in my part of the world, but for me it never started this year! With few days of sunshine and then days after days of rain and dip in temperature, we were left wondering is it really summer season?! Although we did enjoy a week or two of good weather with plenty of sunshine and clear blue skies, it was snatched away from our hands before we could actually enjoy it completely.

Pressure Cooked Stuffed Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine Recipe | Baby Eggplants Stuffed with Onion and Peanut Paste

 Pressure Cooked Baby Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergine

Time! A four lettered word! But if you start looking for the deep meaning, all the time in your life will not be enough… This simple four lettered word is the most precious thing in everyone’s life! But it has become all the more valuable when I new joyous chapter of motherhood touched my life! Time has always been precious and now it has become a treasured part of my life!

Dhariwala Recipe | Simple and Quick Potato and Peas Curry

Learn to make Dhariwala ~ Potato and Peas Curry

As some of you like to think and brand me as a super woman who easily balances home, work, kid and food blog, I hate to burst that thought bubble. But here is the fact… I am far from being a super woman. I am just a normal woman who has limitations and faults and from time to time I demonstrate these qualities. There comes a time in my life where I don’t feel like cooking. Although it happens very rarely, it does happen for sure. It usually happens when I am tired of thinking and asking my better half what he wants to eat for dinner and he comes back with the great reply ‘whatever you want’!!! Just what I wanted to hear! Brilliant!!!

Paneer Tikka Masala Recipe | How to Make Paneer Tikka Masala

Learn how to make Paneer Tikka Masala ~ Grilled or pan fried marinated Indian cottage cheese served in creamy onion, tomato and cashew gravy

I know it’s been few weeks already since this space breathed a new post… As the days are getting longer and nights are getting shorter, my desire to take a break from usual daily grind grew stronger… Summer, well, it is officially here in my neck of wood with soaring high temperature of 27 deg C.