What is paneer? Paneer is a kind of fresh cheese made by curdling milk using an acidic food ingredient like lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt (curd) or citric acid. Paneer is a soft yet firm, non melting cheese that is made without using any kind of rennet. It is also not fermented or aged like other kinds of cheese. To make paneer or chenna, milk is boiled and then curdled with a acidic ingredient....
Rice flour is the secret ingredient in those tempting crunchy Pakora & Murukku, Crispy cutlets & patties , gluten-free pancakes & cakes. All-purpose flour, gram flour (besan) and rice flour is what most home cooks and bakers turn to when they need an ingredient that works every time. What is Rice Flour? Rice flour is nothing but fine powder you get form grinding raw rice. White rice is the standard when it comes to rice flour while you do have milled brown rice and flour made from glutinous or sticky rice....
Lemon Pickle Lemon Pickle also known as preserved lemons is a traditional condiment where lemons are preserved in a brine. A basic brine for this purpose consists of salt and lemons or lemon juice. Sometimes various spices are also added to balance the acidic and sour taste of lemons. After preserving the lemons in the brine for a period of time, they ferment and soften after which they are edible. In the Indian lingo this is known as achar – Lemon pickle....
They are a good source of protein, vitamin C, folate, Iron, fiber, Zinc, potassium and many more nutrients. Mushrooms are the only kind of plant food with vitamin D. When they are exposed to sun light, a small amount of vitamin D is synthesized in them. There are a few hundred kinds of mushrooms that grow across the world, not all are edible and some can cause severe toxic effect on humans....
This andhra style beerakaya curry can be easily tweaked to suit your taste. It goes well with plain rice, ghee or roti & phulka. I make this kind of simple, healthy & delicious vegetable curries for our dinner. It just takes about 30 minutes from start to finish including chopping and preparing the ridge gourd. Choosing Ridge gourd Ridge gourd is one veggie which is best consumed when it is young....
About Schezwan Fried Rice Schezwan fried rice is a popular fried rice variety from the Indo chinese cuisine. It is quite popular & is most ordered in Indo-Chinese restaurant. Unlike the regular fried rice, schezwan fried rice is hot & spicy with bursting flavors of ginger, garlic, soya sauce & red chilli paste. This is an easy recipe to make better than restaurant quality schezwan fried rice. It is so much flavorful, delicious and super simple to make with pantry staples....
Most people make this during festivals and celebrations as it a crowd pleaser and is super quick to make. If you are wondering what is it? About Semiya Payasam Semiya payasam is a South Indian pudding made with vermicelli, whole milk, sweetener and cardamoms. Semiya is a Telugu, Tamil & Malayalam word for ‘Vermicelli’ and Payasam is a South Indian milk pudding. There are various kinds of vermicelli available in the market made with different grains....
With several hundreds of street food options in Mumbai, your taste buds literally sing out of joy. Tawa pulao is one of the popular meal options that’s spicy, flavorsome and simply delicious. About Tawa Pulao Tawa pulao is a rice dish made with precooked basmati rice, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, bell peppers, pav bhaji masala and coriander leaves. This rice dish is similar to a pilaf / pulao but is made on a large flat iron griddle known as tawa....
Tomatoes are not native to India and were brought by the Portuguese explorers in the 16th century. However they were grown from the 18th century & over the years have been adapted into the Indian cooking. Today India is proudly the second largest cultivator of tomatoes. Like eggplants & pumpkins, tomatoes are fruits, classified botanically as berries but used extensively as a vegetable for culinary purposes. Tomatoes form the base of many curried Indian dishes....
This post will help you to make the easiest, delicious, juicy & soft yogurt marinated spicy kababs which make a great appetizer. These can also be served as a side with some biryani, pulao or in wraps, sandwiches and salads too. These taste best when served with a good mint raita chutney or kebab chutney. You can also serve this with green chutney. These chicken kebab can be grilled in a Oven, on charcoal fire or on a grill pan on the stove....
Chicken Kolhapuri Kolhapur, a city from the Southern Maharashtra in India, is well known and famous for a lot of things. While the Mahalakshmi Temple stands on top, the culinary delicacies representing the most flavorful & spiciest foods are equally well-known. The city is also popularly known for the Kusti (wrestling) & handicrafts. Misal Pav, Pandhara Rassa and Tambda Rassa are some of the dishes from this cuisine. Chicken kolhapuri along with Veg Kolhapuri , is mostly seen on the restaurant menus especially in the South Indian and Western Indian states....
About Mango Ice Cream Mango ice cream needs no introduction! It is a basic ice cream flavored with either fresh sweet ripe mangoes or with artificial mango flavorings. It is one of the most sold flavors in the Asian countries. A conventional Mango ice cream is made with heavy cream, sugar, milk, eggs and mangoes or flavorings. It is a custard based ice cream which is churned to get an airy and light texture....
They evoke the memories of fun times spent together with family and friends. These are perfect foods for get-togethers and potlucks. This dish is no different — has all the elements and hits the right notes on the taste scale. About Masala Puri Masala Puri is a delicious street food from Bangalore, where flavorful green peas curry is served over a bed of crushed crisp puris, garnished with onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and sev....
What is Vada? Vada are a kind of deep fried savory snacks mostly made with lentils, spices and herbs. The Word “Vada” may have been derived from the Sanskrit Term “vataka”. According to the popular Indian Food Historian, KT Achaya, vada dates back to ancient India, as far as 500 BC with mentions of the food as soaked and ground pulses, fried in ghee. Till day, traditionally made vada are offered to Deities/ Gods in Temples and Hindu homes during puja....
Mushroom Masala Curry Mushrooms are not a common veggie in the traditional Indian cuisine yet they are used to prepare so many dishes like mushroom biryani, mushroom pulao, curries & mushroom stir fry. Indian cuisine is by far diverse and each dish is made in numerous ways depending on the region. Most days I cook 3 meals a day. This gives me the chance to experiment a lot with different dishes....
If you’re looking for a dish to balance all the sweets you’re having for Diwali, why not add this savory finger food to the mix? This spicy biscuit is with wheat flour and a hint of spices. Like its sweet sibling (shankarpali) this is crispy, flaky and downright delicious! Savory diamonds, tukdi, nimki, call it what you want, this snack adds a refreshing zing to your snack table on regular days and on special occasions....
It is so much flavorful & can be eaten without a side. But most people prefer to serve it with a simple raita, Kachumber or a vegetable salad. For a special meal, we serve it with a good restaurant style curry, raita & some papads on the side. About Matar Pulao This super easy one pot peas pulao is made much the same way as any other Indian rice pilaf....
Pistachio Ice Cream While pistachios themselves have been eaten and cultivated in the Middle East for thousands of years, pistachio cultivation did not take off in the United States until the mid-20th century. Around this time, American cook James Wood Parkinson was experimenting with sweets in Philadelphia in 1940 and came up with a brilliant idea – flavoring ice cream with pistachios. For those not in the know, Philadelphia is famous as the birthplace of Eggless Ice Cream in the United States, also known as Philadelphia-style ice cream....
Vermicelli is one of those most common ingredients used in Indian homes to make kesari, semiya upma and kheer. There are some sweets which I rarely make at home, considering the amount of unhealthy refined sugar that goes towards making them. This semiya kesari is one of them. I choose to make this as a last minute option since it can be made quickly within 15 minutes & tastes good....
Pulusu can be prepared with most vegetables like pumpkin, bhindi, potato, sweet potato, yam, drumsticks and even with eggs. It can even be prepared with a combination of veggies. Here are some more pulusu recipes on the blogBendakaya pulusuEgg pulusuGummadikaya pulusuFish pulusu Sorakaya pulusu is made with just the basic ingredients and no garam masala is used. Pulusu has a natural flavor of the veggie cooked in tangy, sweet and hot ingredients....
