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Recently one evening when I showed up as usual, unannounced, at my sister's place, I proceeded to raid her awesome pantry on arrival, only to be stopped by the interesting assortment of ingredients she had out on the kitchen counter. A meal was in the process of being prepared. Some 60 minutes later, what my sister had on the table was the most delicious, comforting meal one could ask for in this
Fate has an interesting way to make people meet. And an interesting way to get you to do the things you swore you never would again. Like baking.
Thanksgiving came and went so quickly, but the memories of the amazing food and people I was with last Thursday, remain fresh in my mind. Between the whirlwind of grad school, full time work, and… life, come these special opportunities to take a step back and evaluate, and remind ourselves to be thankful for all [...]
Last weekend I did something quite ridiculous. (I’m really loving the word ‘ridiculous’, aren’t I) Can you guess? Give up? I WENT SKY-DIVING! It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, but couldn’t quite muster up the courage to do it. With all the ridiculously (there it is again) amazing things that [...]
Shruti, being from Pune, taught me how to make the Pune style of Kathi rolls. Her method is incredibly simple and quick to prepare and I would highly recommend you giving it a try if you're in the mood for an innovative cooking and eating experience.
Hello dear readers! As Sabera is busy with her hot and happening life (that was sarcasm. she’s drowning in class assignments and some pretentious business school stuff ) I thought I’d drop by here and share a recipe I hold quite dear to my heart. The reason I do is because this Mango Fish Taco [...]
My mother is in the habit of making every ingredient she uses in her cooking from scratch. In recent years, while she has ‘outsourced’ a few items such as paneer (cottage cheese) and a few spices from local stores in Mumbai, for the most part, she uses from-scratch ingredients. One important ingredient she makes at [...]
Happy happy new year to you! What a year 2011 was… I started my second graduate program here in Minneapolis, made more friends in one year than I did in the two years before that, learned a whole ton about myself, and of course, tried many more types of food and cuisines! A big part [...]
There’s something about simplicity that is so attractive. A living room done up with simple furniture and accent pieces. An outfit put together with simple clothing and accessories. And a dish put together using simple, easy to find and use ingredients. This bread pudding recipe I discovered on Steamy Kitchen’s website is just that; It [...]
I’ve been missing home particularly a lot lately. Maybe it’s the freezing winter here, or the Christmas spirit that’s all about families… or maybe it’s also because it’s been a while since I visited home. As my semester winds down to an end and I look forward to 6 weeks of no classes, I am [...]
With the Fall semester winding down to an end comes final project submissions, tests, and the final push to score that extra grade to cover up for the few papers you did badly on. Questions like “Will I get extra points if I…” are posed frequently to professors (ok, I admit… I’m the only person [...]
The weather here in Minneapolis, MN has been weird. A week ago, it was cold, chilly & windy… typical Fall weather. This past week, it’s like things have receded back to Summer-like temperatures! Bright blue skies, breezy and cool (70-80 degrees Fahrenheit), with some pretty Fall colors to go with it. While I was moping [...]
I’ve never told you how much I love soup… yes, I’m that strange person who gets a weird look from the server in a restaurant for ordering soup when its HOT outside The reason I love soup so much, lies in the fact that my dear mum loves soup too. She used to make the [...]
Last Saturday, my friends and I held one more Iron Chef style cooking competition. After the success of the first Iron Chef ‘coconut’ event, where all of us were awed by each others’ cooking prowess, we eagerly awaited one more opportunity to show off our inventive cooking skills. Although this time’s secret ingredient was intimidating [...]
I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the summer session at school! Up until just a year ago, I never thought I’d step into a formal school of learning again… and here I am, (almost) 4 classes down! (11 more to go ). In the midst of writing term-end papers and take-home exams, I [...]
Today’s post is a quick update on a few things. The holy month of Ramadan started a few days ago and I’ve been reading tweets and Facebook messages from all of my Muslim friends on how challenging it has been for them to fast. For those familiar, Muslims across the world abstain from food and [...]
When I first came to the US, I knew little about Indian cooking, and even lesser about how Americans prepare their meals everyday. My biggest educator was the Food Network. Like anyone who loves food, I was hooked! The one show I took an immediate liking to was 30 Minute Meals by Rachael Ray. Something [...]
Whew… has it really been almost a month since I stopped by here? My dashboard tells me that Sundays and Mondays have been doing exceptionally well on my blog as I’ve been getting far more hits those days than on others. And I have been getting most of my traffic from my friends’ blogs than [...]
Have I ever told you how much I love spicy food? I have a secret love for very very spicy food. I say secret, because spicy food results in some digestion issues for me if I don’t eat it right. Like, when I don’t pair it with some yogurt or milk-based food. Or when I [...]
When I was pregnant with my son, I craved all the foods I controlled myself from eating before. The ordinary and mundane that I would be more than happy to fill my stomach with, just didn’t cut it for me. Tangy, spicy, sweet… anything that was an exciting flavor not only satisfied my cravings, but [...]
In recent months, several of my readers have asked me how to go about planning an authentic Indian meal or an Indian-themed dinner party. The answer to this question isn’t as simple as one may think. India is an incredibly diverse country and an ‘authentic’ Indian meal will be drastically different depending on the part [...]
I’ve been blogging a little too much about Baking lately. Despite my first two attempts not panning out as well as I had wanted them to, I tried baking a fourth time yesterday. When was the third time you ask? Shall I just say, I tried an ambitious flour-less cookie recipe that turned out so [...]
Today’s post is really short and quick. A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this video of David Lebovitz making chocolate chip cookies (or as the French call it, just cookies) followed by him testing his superior product with Parisians on the street. Not only did I fall in love with David Lebovitz all over again, I had [...]
My sister recently got back from India and with her, my mother sent me a big stash of yummy, crispy, fragrant Birista. What the heck is Birista you ask? It is crunchy deep-fried onions that are used widely in Bohra cooking. Bohra is the name of the Muslim sub-sect that I was raised in and [...]
I was faced with the prospect of cooking dinner with an almost empty fridge except for a few breasts of chicken in the freezer and some fresh pita bread. In an earlier post, I had written about grilling chicken outdoors, the tandoori style. As it is still freezing winter here in MN, I decided to follow Kulsum's cooking technique for Tandoori chicken in the oven.
As I've mentioned in earlier posts, a sabzi is a generic Hindi word for any vegetable preparation that is eaten with Rotis or Parathas (Indian flatbread). The Buttternut Squash is not available in India, but my sister, who is much more of an experimental cook than I am, prepared the vegetable in an Indian style. I have used her recipe to make this dish. The result is a really yummy, sweet-n-spicy
Did I ever tell you that my last name is Photographer? Yes. It really is. I get asked questions about how I got the last name pretty much all the time I'm interacting with anyone outside my house. And by rote, I say, "It's my Husband's family name and I took it on when we got married". And then, inevitably, they go on to ask me - "So you must be great at photography, no?". After several instances
I picked up a small squash from the grocery store after I saw this recipe for Spiced Butternut Squash soup on Allrecipes.com. I've modified the recipe quite a bit and done my own spin on it to make it a little lower on fat as well as faster to cook. The result was a creamy, meal-in-a-bowl, sweet and interestingly spicy soup that went really well with some fresh bread I picked up from a local baker
Joanna and Jordan P. win the Giveaway.
In all my greedy, irresponsible shoveling-of-food-in-the-mouth and indulgent shopping, I never, for a moment forgot you. I got an amazing stash of home made spices and spice mixes with me that my mother uses pretty regularly and I have tried myself as well. I'm a big lover of spice mixes once in a while when I want to make something special and I scouted around for good spice mixes when I was home
Hello my lovely readers! I have never relished typing out a post more than I do right now; I never thought I'd miss blogging here at OneLifeToEat so much! How have you all been? Some initial browsing through my favorite blogs tells me I have much to catch up on.
This easy potato curry is a staple in my home mainly because of its versatility. Flavored with simple, earthy ingredients such as cumin and mustard seeds, and curry leaves, it goes with almost any kind of bread, Indian or otherwise, any rice dish and can even be used to make a delicious, spicy sandwich, if you have a panini maker at home.
I've been writing up a menu for the next few days that involves using up some vegetables I have in my pantry and freezer. In today's post, I'll share the recipe for one such menu item with you - Methi Aloo sabzi. In line with my newly found aversion to lengthy recipes, this nutritious vegetable dish takes less than 1/2 hour to prepare.
This was my second Thanksgiving after I moved to the US and I must say it keeps getting better and better. Last year, the experience of Thanksgiving was a completely new one to me and learning about its traditions was such an amazing experience. As I've said before, ?my friends are big foodies? and so this year as well, we planned a really big spread. The Food Network was a huge help and most of u
I was in college when I first learned about the delicious and intoxicating flavors of Indian food. My Indian roommate (and best friend) was an international student, and she graciously walked me through different variations of her culture's cuisine.
I've been experiencing an extreme aversion to lengthy recipes and all I really want to do is not be in the kitchen for more than an hour, cooking + cleaning afterward. At the same time, I also wanted to cook something new. So I dug into my pantry as well as my imagination and came up with this really simple chicken stir-fry recipe that literally takes just 15 minutes to cook with about 10 minutes
Mehnaz and I ‘met’ through Brazen Careerist and over time, learned we had more in common than just our cultures! A few months ago I had the pleasure of meeting her sister Zoyah. I follow Mehnaz’s blog pretty regularly (go check out her blog… I LOVE the way she writes!) and visit Zoyah’s blog whenever [...]
Today, I would like to share some safety tips I followed when I first started cooking Indian food all on my own and still follow today, although it is now second nature. I spend a good 20 minutes on safety tips in my cooking classes and my students are often better off for it.
Of all the dishes that mark the Dawoodi Bohra cuisine, if I had to pick one that is extremely unique and representative of our food, it would be Dal Chaawal Palidu (Lentil rice served with a curry.) In most Bohra households, this dish typically signifies a happy occasion such as the start of the New Year or a birthday, so I have many special memories associated with it.
Last weekend, I had the most amazing time taking part in an Iron Chef style cooking competition that my sister and a friend organized. Unlike the Food Network show, where chefs have to prepare a full course of dishes within an hour after learning about the secret ingredient, we were informed of the secret ingredient a week ago, so that gave us ample time to brainstorm recipes and develop something
I first ‘met’ Michaela Samant through my Facebook page where she asked the community what a particular leafy vegetable that she found at the local market was called. After I saw the image she had posted, I was certain that the vegetable wasn’t grown in the US and was pleasantly surprised to learn she lives [...]
2 weeks ago I was invited to the Fresh & Local radio show to talk about Indian cooking. The recording ended with a bag of farm-fresh sweet-smelling carrots, and packets of Dehn's Garden herbs. I came back home certain about what I'd make with the carrots, but unsure of what I'd do with the fresh Basil and Rosemary in the goody bag. After some quick searching online and within my bookmarked rec
My introduction to Indian food came at a turning point in my life. Years before that first meal, I went through some serious phases of growing up – and had just made a silent pact with myself to better my life, for me. Part of this “new beginning” welcomed new experiences – as well as a new relationship that was completely unplanned, yet perfectly timed.
A week ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a friend of a friend how to make a few Indian dishes. I was introduced to Kara by Jenn Sutherland of The Whole Kitchen and after months of exchanging tweets and emails, Kara thought we should finally meet IRL and she asked me to plan an individual class for her where she'd learn how to make a few basic Indian dishes. This was the first time I taught a st
I’ve been making chocolate truffles since college, when I used them as a cheap gift for a friend’s birthday. They don’t cost much to make, and can be whipped up in a couple of hours. And the best part is that almost everyone finds them impressive. This recipe is based on my standard butter-cream truffle method, with a little Indian influence by way of the mango and chili flavors.
Last week I had a chance to finally meet with Susan Berkson and Bonnie Dehn of the Minneapolis Farmers Market Fresh and Local Radio show. Susan invited me a few months ago, to talk at their Radio show about Indian food when she saw a tweet from me about a visit to the market.
This rich curry is made with a unique concoction of roasted and then ground nuts and spices. When I learned about the composition, I wasn't surprised why such a decadent combination of ingredients is reserved for a dish made specifically for a major day in the Islamic community.
Each week a group of my friends get together for PotluckSunday. The location and host rotates as does the foodie theme. Our latest potluck involved everyone creating their own dip. I have worked on creating a Cilantro Ginger Coconut Chutney through various recipes, by taste testing and finding one that seems to fit just right so I knew I wanted to prepare it for the group.
Sweet Semolina known as Sooji Halwa in Hindi, is a dish prepared on most auspicious and religious days in my Muslim sub-community. It goes without saying that the lady of a household must know how to prepare this dish. But apart from its religious significance, it is a truly delicious and nutritious dessert. Semolina, as we all know is made from wheat. What also goes in, is saffron, sliced dried n
