I have always liked nachos with refried beans and cheese - but what I like even more was always the salsa that came with it.
I tasted store bought nachos with this salsa recently at Deepali's place and loved it. Have tried this recipe many a times after that...is an awesome starter esp when you have vegetarian guests :) Thanks Deepali!



Method
1. Take 3-4 tsp of olive oil in a bowl. 
2. Mix 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 2-3 tsp of red pepper, yellow pepper and green pepper finely chopped. You can also choose to blanch the tomatoes and coarsely grind it before adding it to the mixture. But I left it like this for crunchiness.
3. Add salt, juice of 1 lemon, red chilli flakes, 1 tsp pepper, oregano and mix well (you can adjust the spices according to your taste). I also added some 2 tsp of raw mango sliced finely just for added sourness.
4. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving with Nachos

We had ordered Miryalu kodi (Pepper Chicken) at Rayalseema Ruchulu in Hyderabad last week. The taste of this South Indian (mainly Andhra cuisine) starter with  of pepper and curry leaves was too good. I tried looking for the recipe online but could not find it.  I tried my own version of Pepper Chicken and here is how I cooked it..turned out pretty close to the original.. 



Method
1. Marinate 1/2 kg boneless chicken with salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp freshly ground pepper, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder  and leave aside for at least 1 hour.
2. Take 2 tsp oil in a non stick pan. When hot, add 1 sprig of curry leaves. When it splutters add the chicken and let it cook. Stir occasionally. Cover and cook on a low flame else the spices may burn.
3. Remove the lid after 15 mins and cook on low flame till chicken is cooked.
4. Sprinkle lemon juice, freshly ground pepper according to taste and serve.

I like vegetable clear soup and recently cooked this for my 8 month old. She loved it too - so guess I will make this more often from now on.

Method
1. Heat 1 tsp ghee and 1 tsp butter in a pan. Add 1 finely chopped small onion and saute till pink.
2. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped and saute. Add 3-4 tsp each of carrot finely chopped, beans finely chopped, cabbage finely chopped, sweet corn chopped into smaller pieces and saute the vegetables for 2-3 mins.
3. Add 3 cups of water to the pan and let the vegetables cook.
4. When the veggies are almost cooked, add 3 tsp of cornflour mixed in water (such that there are no lumps) and add it to the pan.
5.Mix the corn flour with 5 tsp's of water without any lumps and add it to the pan.
Adjust the salt according to taste and let the soup cook for more 4-5 mins,

6. Add  pepper powder according to taste and garnish with spring onion greens and serve.

For my baby, I took out some soup before adding the pepper and spring onions - she just loved the taste.

I am not a big fan of potatoes in my gravy and sabzis but this one dish is an exception.



Method
1. Boil 2-3 big potatoes. Peel them and chop them into cubes and keep aside.
2. Finely chop 1 onion. 
3. Finely grate 1 cup coconut. Dry roast the coconut till it turns reddish and leaves a nice aroma.
4. Grind coconut with 1 tsp coriander seeds, 5-6 red chillies and 1 marble sized ball of tamarind to a smooth paste.
5. Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a pan. Fry the onions till they are pink. Add the potatoes and the masala and salt and let it cook. Add a little bit water and cook till the masala is cooked. You can adjust the water depending on the consistency you want.

This is an amazing side dish with rice, goes well with chappatis and also rice rotis.

This is one traditional Andhra recipe that I really like and look forward to this dish  in our office canteen. I love the tanginess of this dish and the crisp onions taste good too. It goes well with rice and can be just had like a drink along with food.I searched the recipe today and decided to make it - the best part is that its so easy to make and takes hardly some 15 mins and doesn't need any heating.

Method

1. Take a small vessel. Add 1 tsp oil and roast 2 dry red chillies. Grind them to a fine paste with some water.

2. Soak 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind in 3 cups of water (I used slightly warm water).  Extract the juice of the tamarind and discard the pulp. 

3. Finely chop 1/2 a onion, 2 green chillies. Add this to the tamarind pulp with water, and add salt according to taste.

4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan. When oil is hot,  add 1 tsp mustard seeds. After they splutter, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 sprig of curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the tamarind mixture. Add a pinch of sugar/jaggery to balance the tanginess.

Serve cold.

I had tasted this dish at hubby's friend Lt. Col Kartik's place. His wife Chabi is an awesome cook and I was totally bowled over by this dish. The best part is that it is a complete dish and you don't need to cook anything else. Also looks extremely presentable with a lot of accompaniments. 

I felt like cooking Khow Suey today and searched online for recipes. Surprisingly I found only Indian recipe blogs :) Now  I really wonder whether this is authentic Burmese - need to do some research later. 

The recipes I found contained garam masala, dhaniya etc so I think it must be the Indianised version of the Burmese recipe (if that exists that is). Here  is how I cooked the dish



Method

1. Take 1/2 cup oil in a pan and deep fry 1 onion cut into longish slices,  till caramalised. In the same pan deep fry thin slices of 3-4 pods of garlic. Drain and keep aside for garnish
2. Add 250 gms of boneless chicken slices marinated in salt  and Saute for 10 mins or till 80% done. Drain and keep aside. 

3. Now in the same pan, add 1 finely chopped onion and saute. Add 1 tsp finely chopped ginger, 2 red chillies finely chopped and 1 tsp finely chopped garlic and saute till onions are brown. Add 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp each of red chilli powder, and 2 tsp of coriander powder (alternately you can add Curry masala powder if you have that at home). Add salt and cook for another 5 mins. 


4. Add the chicken and cook. Now add some water  so that the chicken is covered, 2 tsp lemon juice and cook till the chicken is almost cooked.

5. Parallely, keep 1 pack of egg noodles (I used Ching's egg noodles) for cooking according to instructions on the pack. Time it such that it is just cooked before you are ready to serve the dish. You should ideally strain the noodles from hot water and drain it under cold water to stop the cooking process. I added some salt and oil to the noodles while cooking.
6.  Add 200 ml of coconut milk to the chicken. I also added some Maggi chicken cubes mixed in water for additional taste.
7. You can add some basil leaves and lime leaves if you have them readily available. Let the whole dish come to a good boil and the khow suey is ready to be served.
5. Meanwhile chop some coriander leaves and some spring onions for garnishing.


Serve the chicken gravy on the noodles and top it with the caramalised onions, garlic, spring onions, sliced boiled egg and coriander leaves. Try this dish - I am sure you wont be disappointed.

Last Sunday, we had one of the best parties of our lives at a friend's farmhouse in Hyderabad. It was a pot luck barbeque party and I carried among other dishes, some prawns. Deepali, my friend who is my culinary guru, asked me to try marinating the prawns in Chinese sauces and this turned out pretty good and different from the Indian bbqs. 



Method
1. Devein and deshell 1 kg prawns. Leave the tail on.
2. For marinade, add 2-3 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp chilli sauce, salt, pepper, red chilli flakes, 1 tsp honey and 3 tsp olive oil in a glass bowl. You can change the proportions according to your taste.
3. Toss the prawns in the marinade such that all the prawns are covered and refrigerate for 24 hours.
4. Arrange the prawns on a wet wooden skewer. 

5. Grill in barbeque - keep basting with the leftover marinade and oil while grilling. 

You can also try adding some sesame seeds (Till) to the marinade. I will try it next time. The prawns can also be barbequed at home on a pan - it wont taste smoky but then this will be a good second option.

I like the sweet and sour dishes in Chinese cuisine. I think its the yin and yang concept that manifests itself in the recipes.  

Method

1. Marinate about 250 gms of deshelled and deviened prawns (I left the tail on) for about an hour with 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp vinegar a little bit of honey and salt to taste.

2. Cut 1 onion into lengthwise thin strips. Julienne  about 1/2 cup of carrot  and 1/2 cup of capsicum. Finely chop about 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of ginger. In Chinese cooking most of the ingredients are cut in the same shape. You can also cut all the vegetables into cubes instead of julienne. Cubes takes slightly longer to cook.

3. Take 2 tbsp  of oil in a pan. Add 2 tsp of cornstarch to the prawns. When the oil is hot, saute the prawns till they are pink and start to curl. Dont overcook the prawns as then they become harder.Remove from pan and set aside

4. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the carrots for 2 mins till slightly soft. Remove from pan and set aside

5. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the onions. When the onions are pink, add the ginger and garlic and saute briefly on medium flame. Add capsicum and carrot and saute till the vegetables look cooked. 

6. Mix 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp vinegar, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp corn starch and add this to the pan and bring to boil. The mixture will thicken and coat the prawns and the vegetables beautifully.

Serve with rice /noodles. 

As I was writing this post, I wondered whether what I bought today was shrimps or a prawns? Googled and found this post. The differences are so subtle that  I would rather enjoy my food - anyways whats in a name....

This is a very simple dish of one of my favorite vegetables - I believe one can hardly go wrong with bhindi.

Method

1. Wash, pat dry  and cut 1/2 kg of  Bhindi (OKRA) into 2 pieces lengthwise after cutting off the edges.

2. Take oil in a pan. When hot, Add 1 tsp cumin seeds and  a pinch of asafoetida (hing)and  2 -3 crushed garlic pods .

3. Add  bhindi  when the cumin seeds crackle and stir for 5 mins or till the  bhindi  looks slightly cooked.

3. Now add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tsp amchoor powder and saute till the  bhindi  is coated well with the masalas.

4. Add salt and 1-2 tsp besan powder and saute till the bhindi is well cooked.

Serve hot with chapatis.

I have tried many ice cream recipes but none have  given me as consistent results as this one. This mango ice cream came very close to the one they serve at Natural's parlours. I have tried this same recipe with different fruits like jackfruit, chickoo, custard apple, banana, guava, dates, apricots and they have all turned out tasty. Thanks to my cousin Kalpana tai for parting with her secret recipe :)



Method
1. Take 1 cup of full toned milk, 1 cup of any of the above fruit/dry fruit pulp (Here I used Alphonso Mangoes finely chopped) , 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of milk powder. You can also add some fresh cream if you like. I add slightly less than 1 cup sugar but you can adjust the sugar according to your taste.
2. Blend them all in the grinder till an even consistency is achieved. You can taste it now and add sugar/ pulp according to your liking.
3. Freeze the mixture - takes about 8 hours to set well.
You can serve this ice cream topped with some freshly cut pieces of the fruit.

Felt like cooking something rich today. This recipe certainly fit the bill with its cream and cashew component :)


Method
1. Cut 500 gms of paneer into cubes. Sprinkle salt, chilli powder and turmeric on the paneer pieces and keep aside for sometime.
2. Take 2-3 tsp of oil in a pan and saute these paneer pieces till slightly cooked - say 3-4 mins.
3. Remove paneer and keep aside
4. In the same oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2-3 pepper corns, 2-3 cloves, 1 inch cinammon and saute.
5. Add 1 big onion finely chopped and 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and saute till onion is brown in colour.
6. Add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and let them cook with lid on. After 5 mins add chilli powder (According to taste) and 1 tsp coriander powder, 2-3 cashew nuts finely chopped, add water to the dry mixture and cover lid and let it cook.
7. Now when the mixture looks cooked, remove it from heat. Let it cool a bit and make a fine paste of it in the grinder
8. Again add the paste to the pan and cook it till it comes to a boil. Add the paneer pieces and some kasoori methi (finely crushed in between the palms of your hand) and add salt and sugar according to taste. I also added 2-3 tsp of fresh cream.
9. Cook for 2-3 mins and then remove from heat. Garnish with freshly chopped Coriander leaves and serve with chapatis.

This recipe is heavily inspired from Vah re Vah video. However I avoided the elaborate stuffing and deep frying of paneer for the sake of time/effort.

Hubby loves the Kurma served in the Udupi hotels in Karnataka along with Puri. So tried this recipe from aayisrecipes.com and it tasted as good as the one served in hotels. 

Method
1. Take 2 tsp oil in a pan. Roast 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 inch cinamon, 4-5 pepper, 2-3 cloves, 4-5 red chillies and 1 tsp fennel seeds. Grind with 1 cup freshly grated coconut to a coarse paste.
2. In the same pan, fry 1 onion finely chopped. Add 1 cup peas, 1 medium sized potato cut into cubes, 1/2 cup of cauliflower florets, 1 tomato cut into cubes, 1/2 cup beans. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and salt and let it cook to a boil.
3. When almost cooked, add ground masala and salt. Bring it to boil. 

Serve hot with Puris for breakfast. can also be served as a side dish for lunch/dinner.

I think this is one dish invented to mitigate the feeling of guilt of having deep fried puris by giving it a healthy twist 

Method
1. Clean and blanch about 1 cup of Spinach leaves in 1 cup water for less than 5 mins. 
2. Grind the blanched spinach along with the water with 2 green chillies, 1 inch ginger piece, 1 tsp cumin seeds and salt. 
3. Now add wheat flour (atta) and knead in to make a dough. Add enough atta to get a firm dough.


4. Roll into puris and deep fry.

Serve hot with Vegetable Kurma.

We like Red thai curry - I used to generally cook it with chicken and vegetables. Last week I had bought some prawns and decided to cook prawns the Thai way..and it was so tasty...The flavor of coconut milk goes best with prawns and I think this dish tasted better than Thai curry with chicken or with vegetables. Here is my recipe for Thai Prawn curry.

Method 

1. Take 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add 1 large finely chopped onion, 1 tsp finely chopped ginger and saute till soft and the onions urn pinkish. Add 2 green chillies slit along the length and 3-4 blades of lemon grass and saute

2. Add 50 gms of  of red curry paste and cook for a minute.

3. Add 2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped and saute till tomatoes are soft. Add 50 gms of coconut milk powder dissolved in 1 cup of water to the pan. Adjust the water according to your taste. Let this come to a boil and then let it again simmer for 5 mins.

4. Add 1 cup of deveined and deshelled prawns and cook for 5- 10 mins or till the prawns are cooked.

5. Last add 5-6 chopped coriander stalks and some finely chopped coriander leaves and cook for a minute.

Serve with rice.

What I love the most about cooking is that it lets you be creative in your day to day life. You experiment with your spices and you sometimes have a totally new taste. Last week I cooked this mutton curry with no particular recipe in my mind - just mixed spices that I love and created this dish :)





Method


1.Heat 2 tsp oil and 1 tsp ghee  in a pressure cooker. Add 1 large onion finely chopped and saute till its brown. Add 1 inch ginger, 7-8 pods of garlic, 1 inch cinnamon, 5-6 black pepper, 2-3 cloves, 2 elaichi, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds and saute for 2 mins. Grind the whole mixture in grinder to a coarse paste.
2. Again add 1 tsp oil in the same pan and add 1 bay leaf. Add the above mixture and saute for 2 mins. Add 2 small tomatoes finely chopped and cook it till tomatoes soften. Add 500 gms of mutton, 1 tsp garam masala,  1 tsp red chilli powder (or more according to your taste) , water and pressure cook for a good 5-6 whistles. I added some fresh mint leaves for added taste.
3. Open the pressure cooker after the steam is out and adjust the salt. Add the juice of half a lemon and garnish with coriander leaves. 


This curry tastes awesome with both rice and chapatis.

This was one of those days where the dish turned out so tasty that I forgot to take pics and remembered that I need to take a pic for the blog when the last piece was left :) 
I was also too hungry to decorate the plate and hence the fish remains in spotlight in the pic.

Very easy recipe and tastes yummy and spicy.



Method

1. Mix  a pinch of Turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilli powder (you can add more depending on taste), 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1/2 tsp chopped coriander powder, salt, 4-5 curry leaves roughly chopped, 2-3 sprigs of coriander leaves roughly chopped,1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp oil in a bowl. Coat around 6 fish pieces evenly with this marinade. You can leave the fish in the marinade for an hour.

2. Roll the fish in a little Maida (All purpose flour) to hold the marinade together and then Pan fry on a low flame in a tawa. You need not add more oil as the marinade itself has oil.
I used Rohu fish here but you can try this recipe with any fish and it will taste good.

Here is my Indianised version of Chilli Chicken - one can never go wrong with this dish!

Method

1. Marinate 500 gms of boneless chicken pieces with salt, ginger garlic paste, soya sauce according to taste.

2. The usual method is to deep fry the chicken pieces. However I like it sauteed in 2-3 tsp of oil. I saute it till the color changes to brown and the chicken looks 70-80% cooked.

3. Remove the chicken aside on a plate.

4. Heat 2 tsp oil and saute 1 finely chopped onion (you can use the whites of spring onion), 2 inches of Ginger finely chopped, 10 pods of garlic finely chopped and 4-5 green chillies.When sauteed, add 1 capsicum chopped into long thin slices. Saute on high flame and dont overcook the vegetables as they taste better if they are crisp.

5. Add the chicken pieces, 1 tsp soya sauce(soya sauce is salty so be careful with salt), 1 tsp green chilli sauce, 1 pinch sugar, salt to taste, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp corn flour mixed in water and cook again on high flame for 10 mins stirring continuously.

6. Add a cup of spring onion greens cut into 1 inch pieces. Stir them into the dish and serve with fried rice.

Method

1. Take 1 cup white vinegar, 3-4 tsp sugar, salt and 1 cup of water in a pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally till the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool completely.

2. Add the 20 pearl onions, 10 garlic, 3-4 red chillies to the solution and mix well.

Do not confuse pearl onions with shallots

Pearl Onions look just like normal onions but are smaller in size. Shallots are darker in shade and are pointed at both ends (more like garlic cloves)

More info on 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_onion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallot

3. Pour into a dry glass jar and allow the pickle to mature for 3 to 4 days at room temperature and then refrigerate.

Serve with chicken starters.

Chicken Cafreal is a Goan chicken dish. I find it very easy to cook and has almost always turned out good. Here is the recipe I follow

Method
1. Dry roast 1 tsp coriander seeds,  1 tsp cumin seeds,5-6 cloves,2  green cardamoms, 5-6 black peppercorns and 1 inch cinnamon till the spices are slightly brown. 



2. Add 1 inch ginger, 4-5 cloves of garlic, 2 green chillies, ,and half onion roughly chopped. I also added 5-6 stalks of coriander leaves and sauteed all these till they are slightly cooked. 

3. Now grind all this  to a fine paste using a little water and salt. Make deep incisions in the 500 gm chicken and add all this fine paste and refrigerate for two to three hours (no need to freeze).

4. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the marinated chicken and cook covered on medium heat stirring occasionally. Add a little warm water if required to avoid scorching. 
5. Cook for 15 mins. When almost done add vinegar/lime juice according to taste and cook for two to three minutes. Serve hot as a side dish.

Came across this quick and easy Microwave recipe on the Tarla Dalal's website and I had to try it. 
Tastes incredibly delish and doesnt take even 10 mins to cook.


Method
1. Mix 1 cup of full cream milk, 1 cup of grated paneer, 1/2 cup of condensed milk (I used Milkmaid), 3 spoons of sugar (adjust according to your taste), 2 tsp of Ghee, pinch of cardamom (Elaichi) powder in a large microwave bowl and cook in the microwave for 6-8 mins.
2. Remove from microwave and let it to cool. Once cooled, chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. Yummy rabri is ready. Garnish with Saffron(Kesar) strands and dry fruits and serve.

Here is the link to the recipe on Tarla Dalal's website.