Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda Recipe | How to Make Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda

Learn how to make Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda ~ Onion fritters in a delicately spiced creamy yoghurt gravy from Punjab

Everyone has some food that speaks to them, conveying security, exultation, and are the universal cure to any bad day! One bite and all your worries seem to disappear, and you sink into a sense of oblivion. One bite, and it can positively change your mood and make you feel better as they work their magic! That is the power of comfort foods!

Comfort food can be something simple, complex, rich, healthy or downright indulgent! There is no right or wrong kind of food when it comes to comfort food. Any meal that conjures up feelings of joy and safety, memories of childhood or good times, or brings simple pleasure is what comfort food is all about. If you are feeling lonely, food can be your new best friend; if bored, let food be your entertainment; if you are stressed, food can be your luxury spa treatment. Whatever the feeling, you can seek help through comfort foods.

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!

Dhingri Matar Curry Recipe | Simple and Quick Vegan Mushroom and Peas Curry

Learn how to make Vegan Dhingri Matar Curry or Mushroom and Peas Curry ~ Mushrooms and green peas cooked in a creamy onion, coriander and cashew nut gravy with aromatic spices

Another week has swished through and I am left gasping for a breath as I run around home, school, and everything in between trying to get back to the normal school term routine. LD has started his second year in school and just a week later, it feels so much busier than the year before! I want to grab the time by its shoulder, shake it and tell sternly to slow down… What is the hurry? Why rush when one want to slow down and smell the roses?!

Gone are the days of snuggling for extra hours in the morning, pillow fighting until our tummies ached after laughing… Gone are the days of waking up to streaming sunlight through the little gap between the blackout curtains fluttering in the morning breeze, and not to have to wake up to the shrieking noise of alarm clock… Gone are the days of leisure breakfasts, stroll in the woods and gardens, doing everything and nothing, and simply enjoying each others' company… Gone are the days of late night dinners, treats, movies and never ending bedtime stories… The first few weeks of getting back to normal routine after the summer holidays are always tough, but this feeling too shall pass as we embrace the fun bits of school life. It’s just a matter of time… It’s always a matter of time before everything falls into place! Like preparing a weekly menu with simple but wholesome dishes which can be made under half an hour on a busy weekdays, like this creamy Dhingri Matar Curry or Vegan Mushroom and Peas Curry.

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!

Whole Wheat Tibetian Vegetable Momo Recipe | Step by Step Recipe for Veg Momos

Learn how to make Whole Wheat Tibetian Vegetable Momos ~ Steam cooked whole wheat dumpling stuffed with crispy vegetables, a delicacy from North East India

Who would have ever thought that the day will come where I will sit down to write this post?! A post about blog-anniversary! Believe it or not, Monsoon Spice just turned 9 years old. It’s been NINE YEARS since this blog was born on a lazy afternoon and I really find it difficult to digest the fact that I have stuck to blogging after all these years. With my two men army fighting nasty cold and fever, I almost missed the blog milestone. 9 years of blogging is a huge milestone for someone who strongly believes ‘change is the only constant in life’! It looks like my love and passion for food blogging has not dulled or died down even after all these years of food blogging and if anything else, my love affair with food writing, photography and blogging has grown stronger and deeper.

 It was the peak of winter in 2005 when the days were really short and the sun disappeared for days. I was a new bride in unknown city, new country and different continent and had nothing worthwhile happening in my life. After spending long hours on phone, reading books and flipping the channels on idiot box, I was still left with many more hours of solitude and boredom! I began to spend more time in kitchen to relive the husband of mine from cooking the same meal every day. Slowly I began to cook one dish after another that I learnt from my mother through our hour long telephone conversations and expanded my recipe repertoire which was limited to half a dozen recipes. After many misadventures, small kitchen accidents and blunders, I decided to document my culinary journey for posterity to have some laugh at my expense! After couple of months I decided to take a plunge and give my personal diary an online presence for amateurs home cooks like me who struggled to differentiate pigeon peas from split chickpeas and cilantro from parsley. Well, who would have imagined that the blog born out of boredom and necessity would complete 9 enjoyable years! Not me!!! Never in zillion years! It has come a long way from being amateur cooking blog to much confident and passionate cooking blog of today!

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.

Poori Bhaji Recipe | Poori with Potato Bhaji/Aloo Bhaji/Poori Masala ~ A Pictorial

Learn how to make Poori Bhaji ~ Puffed deep fried whole wheat bread served with vegan potato curry

It’s been close to two months since we returned from our trip to India. While enjoying very much needed break with our family and friends, I managed to take few photographs of the amazing food we tasted coked by our loved ones. Ever since we returned from our trip I wanted to share the recipe with you, but little laziness and truck load of never ending tasks kept me away from writing the blog post.

Perfectly puffed Poori!

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.

Sprouted Moong Bean Salad Recipe | Simple Indian Salad Recipe

Learn how to make Sprouted Moong Bean Salad ~ Indian styled sprouted moong bean salads with assorted vegetables and chilli-lime dressing

As far as I know, there is no concept of salads in Indian cooking. Thinly sliced pieces of cucumber, tomatoes and onion rings with lemon or lime wedge is mostly the kind of salads served with main meals. Sometimes few whole or chopped green chillies accompany these vegetables as we Indians really like real spice kick in our meals!

Onion-Coconut Chutney Recipe | How to Make Simple and Quick Coconut Chutney

Learn how to make Onion-Coconut Chutney ~ Simple and quick raw onion and coconut based chutney for Idli and Dosa

Nestled between swaying coconut and areca nut tress was a large two story art deco styled mansion with red Mangalore tiled sloped ceiling on an attic that ran through the house. There were some 20 odd smooth black granite steps leading down to the narrow canal flowing right next to the house with crystal clear water coming right up to your knees. The clear water on summer days in this canal with smooth black and grey pebbles would turn roaring muddy red and orange with white foams when monsoon rains unleashed from the sky, and at night it looked like a black serpent moving swiftly and hissing rather loudly breaking the songs of the crickets and the silence of the night!

Afghani Borani Kadoo or Kadu Bouranee Recipe | Afghani Sweet & Savoury Pumpkin/Butternut Squash

Learn how to make Afghani Borani Kadoo or Kadu Bouranee or Kadu Borani ~
Pumpkin or butternut squash cooked in sweet tomato and onion gravy with a hint of spice, a traditional Afghan recipe

For one month we watched my 3 and half months old Lil Dumpling, lying on his soft blanket chewing his chubby fingers or a teether, rolling from his back to tummy and tummy to back, cooing, gurgling and giving me that oh-so-adorable gummy, toothless smiles which made my heart flip over and happier, and watching his drool wet the colourful blanket underneath him. And then suddenly from the day he turned 4 months old he showed more interest in the food we were eating, watching us closely as we placed every morsel of delicious food cooked by my Amma in our mouth. He started noticing the way our mouth moved, chewing the aromatic and flavourful food. All of a sudden his otherwise favourite meal, milk, looked pale to him in comparison to the colourful food on our plates. For a baby who enjoyed banging spoons and his toys on the tray attached to his high chair, he began noticing the food spread out in our dining table and soon his coos and gurgles were replaced by high pitched demanding cries with his mouth imitating chewing action whenever we all sat down at meal time!

Rajma Masala Recipe | How to Make Simple Punjabi Rajma Masala/Red Kidney Beans Curry

Learn how to make Rajma Masala/Curry ~ Slow cooked Kidney beans in creamy and spicy onion-tomato gravy

“ The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking,
Might sometimes knock me down,
But I'm not breaking. ”
~ Wincy

We all dream… Dreams, that is what keeps fuelling our life to keep it exciting and going… But to make those dreams a reality is not as easy as we would like them to be! There are many obstacles, challenges, confusions, unknowns, with good measure of ifs and buts thrown in to make it stressful. But every life altering things always comes with few obstacles, many challenges, little sorrow, a lot of adventure and in the end peace and happiness!

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!!!

Kaju Masala Recipe | How to Make Simple & Quick Cashew Curry

Learn how to make Kaju Masala Curry ~ Cashew Curry

After long unexpected break from blogging, it feels strange to sit here and share few titbits of my life and a recipe. Although my mind is all jumbled up with hundreds of things happening around me, my heart and my fingers seems to know their business. As the words pour out from my heart and dances on my fingertips tapping furiously on the keyboard, first thing I want to say to you is a big thank you!

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.

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.

Banana 65 Recipe | Deep Fried Raw Banana/Plantain in Creamy Tomato Gravy

Deep fried plantain in creamy tomato gravy ~ Banana 65

Last evening I decided to walk back to home from work. It’s not exactly a long walk as our cosy little nest is just over 3 miles from my work place and at my leisurely pace it takes around 40 minutes to reach home with some dozen plus traffic signals dotted around. Winter is at its peak right now. I noticed just a few people walking beside me.

Mooli Raita | Radish Pachadi Recipe

Mooli Raita | Radish Pachadi 

No rants or ramblings or memories to share with you all today! Alas, the word that usually forms in my mind coming from heart and flowing at my finger tips tapping on keyboard seems to have left me today…all alone!

Badanekayi-Eerulli Huli: This is My Legume Affair

Badanekayi-Eerulli Huli

Wow! I can’t believe I am actually sitting here in my office and blogging!!! But after months of stress, running around and sleepless nights, I wanted to do something else to charge my batteries and obviously blogging is the first thing that came to my mind. I may still be stressed, worried sick, and running around flapping my feathers like freaking chicken but I have decided to come back and blog as it is the only creative outlet I have at a moment. And what the hell? There is nothing more relaxing at the moment than rant, ramble and vent out in my own small space in this virtual world which calms my jumpy nerves.