What you will see here is my obsession, my Home,Food and Bakes with an imperitive doze of style. Im passionate about cooking, baking and staging an experience therein. I love cooking for my family and… read more
How many of you made homemade baby food? I pretty much fed Aditya (my son) all homemade baby food, and I think it was so easy to prepare. I had a small stove top pressure cooker and that made making baby food a breeze. These stove top pressure cookers are quite common in India and every household in India has a couple of them for sure. Aditya did not like the sound of the pressure cooker and the whistling sound used to scare him. There was a version I had, which did not make the sharp whistling sound, but it was too big, so I preferred using the small one for baby food. I used to make smaller batches of food so I could make it fresh. If you ever made baby food at home, I am sure apple sauce was one of the things you made. So simple and so much better than the jarred version.
Chana Masala also known as Chole is a chickpea curry. There are countless ways to prepare this dish, depending upon the region, but originally this recipe belongs to Northern India. What I am sharing here is an authentic preparation that is cooked almost the same way in every North Indian family.
Dulce de Leche is a caramel like confection from Latin America. Dulce de leche is used to flavor candies or other sweet foods, such as cake, cookies and ice cream. My favorite uses of it are in a Banoffee Pie, filled in Tarts or swirled in a Brownie Batter like in this recipe Dulce de Leche Brownies which is absolutely Aah-MaZing! It also makes a good fruit dip. Dulce de Leche is not available ready-made in many countries, and that is why had the dire need to teach myself how to make it at home. A homemade form of Dulce de leche sometimes is made by boiling an unopened Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk for two to three hours in a pot of water or 30 to 45 minutes in a pressure cooker. I love using the pressure cooker, it saves so much time in preparing meals or in this case a terrific confection.
Lentils have been around for ages, they are among the oldest known foods, but it is only recently they get a place at the table globally. Lentils are as good for the environment as they are for our health. They are super versatile and a powerhouse of nutrients.
Mango and chili are like Yin and Yang! They complement each other so well. The sweetness of the mango gets livelier with the intensity of the chili and salt in this drink. This fruity fiery drink is extremely flavorful. It is so smooth you can easily guzzle up a few glasses and before you know it, you will be tanked and dancing on the table. However, if you like to skip the alcohol, feel free to do so and use orange juice in the same quantities as the alcohol omitted.
Butter chicken is a dish that was born close to home, in a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Delhi about 70 years ago. Delhi is arguably the culinary capital of India, and Moti Mahal contributed significantly to putting India on the food map of the world back then. Moti Mahal is a successful chain of restaurants with outlets far and wide. There is famous adage which says when you visit India you must visit the Taj Mahal and (you must eat at) Moti Mahal. Frankly, I don’t disagree, in fact I urge you to visit one of the branches in Delhi as it is most authentic in that part of the country in my opinion.
I was never fond of bananas as a kid, in fact I was always very wary of any snack that had anything to do with bananas. I quite frankly loathed the smell of it. But when I had my son, bananas being one of the foods introduced in the first year of his eating solids, I started buying them. Of course, initially he could not eat the whole banana and I became the dustbin for the leftovers (eye roll) I will not lie sometimes I started enjoying it. I think I used to be so tired with mothering duties, that a sweet snack probably gave me the much needed energy to keep going. I think that is when I realized what they mean when they say Bananas are so called mood lifters, once you eat one you do feel very satisfied as they are full of fiber and sugar thus making you feel energized.
Everyone who bakes a little, mostly has a chocolate chip cookie in their repertoire. There must be a million CCC recipes out there and not that the internet needs another one but here I am with my go to classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. I got this recipe from a friend’s mom about ten years back and this recipe is still my absolute favorite. This recipe uses bread flour which lends it an impressive chewy texture. If you want one good classic CCC recipe that is incredibly buttery and chewy in the middle, this is it.
Mustard Sauce is a pretty simple condiment, but if you try different grinds of the seeds, add different spices and vinegar to it, it can turn into something more complex. I absolutely love mustard sauce and can put it on a lot of things, but if you think you don’t like it, I really encourage you to try a different variety. It’s quite likely you might fancy something.
My parents were visiting us from India, and we thought of taking a small road trip and weekend off at Bellingham and Fairhaven. They are both such charming cities and close from Seattle, the drive by the Chuckanut Bay is extremely scenic. Our agenda for the weekend was to visit local café’s check out boutique art shops and walk around the delightful downtown of the Historic District of Fairhaven.