Recipes for all Occasions

The Cooking Tips Blog from Recipes for all Occasions

2012-02-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog Readers, I always provide tips at the end of each recipe. I am always looking for ways to improve or simplify recipes and try to provide tips that have helped me. Many of these tips apply across many recipes. I refer to my blog often while cooking (it is my recipe notebook). During this process I realised that it would be great to have tips related to a specific method of cooking or

Upma - A Farina/Semolina Dish

2012-02-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

Upma is a popular snack found almost everywhere in India (well at least the places that I have visited). It is a snack which is as popular as "Poha" and is just as widespread in availability. It is called many names like Uppit, Uppitu, Rava Upma, Sooji Upma, Sanja and so on (just the various names I know it by). It is made out of semolina, which is a wheat product. It can be made using just

7 Cup Fudge - Saat Vati Barfi/Vadi

2012-01-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

I made this recently for a get together and it was a big hit. I had doubled the recipe, and prepared a large quantity and by the end of the evening, the plate was almost empty. I also got a lot of compliments and requests for this recipe. So, I must conclude that this is indeed a lip smacking sweet and is liked by others just as much as my family and I do. The best part is that this recipe is

Amla Supari (Awla Supari) - Sundried Indian Gooseberry

2012-01-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

The "Indian" Gooseberry is one of my favorite fruits. I shall soon explain why I am highlighting the "Indian" part. This fruit is called "awla" in Marathi and "amla" in Hindi, and those are the names that I have known it by for most of my life. Now, of course sometime in my life I learnt that it is known as gooseberry in English and I filed it away in remote recesses of my memory. Also, before

Til Gul Wadi/Vadi - Sesame Seed Fudge

2012-01-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

The first week of January has passed by and we are inching towards 14th of January, when the first Indian festival of the year will be celebrated. This is "Sankrant" also known as Makar Sankrant in India. It is a festival to celebrate the harvest season. This is one festival which almost always falls on the 14th of January (this year it was on the 15th) and is based on the movement of the Sun

Nankhatai - Delicious Eggless Indian Shortbread Cookies

2012-01-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

A very Happy New Year to all my blog readers. I hope you had great first of January and are charged up to start the new year with good food. I thought what was better than to start the new year with a recipe of delicious Indian shortbread cookies, called Nankhatai. These are rather rustic and delicious and moreover eggless and extremely easy to prepare. These heavenly cookies are rather hard

Beet Root Halwa - Beet Root Pudding

2011-12-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have eaten beet roots in a variety of preparations in both the raw and cooked form, including cooked curries, salads and raitas. However, I had never tasted a sweet made from beet root. A few weeks ago, I had gone to a local Indian restaurant and I got a serving of sweet with my order. It was something I had never eaten before. It had a dark purple, blackish color, and it looked like the main

Sabudana Vada/Wada - Tapioca and Potato Fritters

2011-12-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

This is an absolutely delicious delicacy. Tapioca is called "sabudana" in the Hindi and Marathi languages (the pronounciation varies a little), and Vada/Wada refers to deep fried dumplings. "Sabunada Vada are deep fried fritters/dumplings made with tapioca and potato, with a lot of ground peanuts sprinkled in. Absolutely lip smacking!! This is a dish that is reserved for special occasions and is

Dal Fry - Seasoned Lentil Soup

2011-12-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

I must start by acknowleding the long gap between the last post and this one. And for those of you who read the blog regularly, I owe an explanation. Generally, I write about only food related topics on this blog, however since the explanation is non food related, here goes. For the longest time I have tried to stay away from synchronizing my email account to my phone and hence had to long in

Coleslaw - The Healthy Version

2011-11-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

So, the other day I was looking at the cabbage in my fridge and wondering what I could do with it. I was tired of making the same old stir fry and wanted to try something different. Suddenly a thought struck. “Why not make coleslaw?!” I really enjoy coleslaws. But, I haven’t really made coleslaw too often because of the large amount of sugar and mayonnaise that is needed to make the dressing. So

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

2011-11-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

The temperatures have dropped, the skies are grey and the weather is cold. This is the perfect weather to have a warm bowl of soup for lunch or dinner. I enjoy soups, especially during winter. The lighter ones serve as great appetizers while the heartier ones are complete meals. Broccoli cheddar soup is a hearty soup. Add a dinner roll and you don’t need to prepare anything else. I hadn’t tasted

Kesar Pedha/Peda

2011-11-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

My last post was about "Mava/Khoya". So, it was natural to follow it up with the easiest and one of the most traditional Indian sweets - "Pedha". Pedha is possibly the easiest Indian sweet that you can make if you have mava at home (whether home made or store bought). It is a great mithai to make for potlucks too, being very easy to scale up. Cooking time is around ten minutes or so and you can

Mava - Also known as Khoya, Khava and Khoa

2011-11-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

Mava is probably one of the most essential ingredients when one wants to make Indian sweets like pedha, laddoo or barfis. Mava or Khoa is milk that has been cooked for so long that the water content has evaporated and you are left with the milk solids. These milk solids contain all the fatty and protein content of the milk and are extremely delicious. Now, to make mava from milk is a lengthy

Karanji/Gujia - Indian Epanadas/Turnovers

2011-10-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

Karanji is a very popular sweet made during Indian festivals, notably Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi. It is generally made using the same recipe as modaks. So, whenever my Mom made modaks, she used to make karanji at the same time. The difference between the two is the shape. While modaks are rounded and shaped like dumplings, karanjis are shaped into semi circles. The stuffing is made from coconut.

Kaju Katli - Kaju Barfi - Cashewnut Marzipan

2011-10-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

This is possibly the best known sweet or "mithai" in India. Most people from all corners of India know of this sweet and might have eaten it as well. Whenever, someone visits from India, they will invariably get a request for this wonderful delicacy. This is also one of the most expensive sweets. It is garnished with silver foil, which is reserved to garnish the best sweets. This sweet can be

Recipes for the festive season - Diwali Recipes

2011-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

With Diwali right around the corner, I thought it would be a good idea to list out all the recipes that I have posted so far that you can make for the festive season. Many of these are ones that you make ahead and some of them can be made the day of. Here is a listing of sweet and savory recipes for the festive season. I also realized that I haven't posted a lot of savory recipes, so will be

Tabouleh/Tabouli - A Parsley and Bulgur Wheat Salad.

2011-10-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

Tabouleh is a wonderful salad. It is mainly made of bulgur wheat and parsley. This is the only dish I have come across where parsley plays the role of a main ingredient. Now, the very first time I heard the description, I thought that the parsley would over power the rest of the ingredients and it maybe on the more astringent side. Unfortunately I let my preconcieved notions get the better of me

Batata Vada/Wada (Fried Potato Fritter)

2011-10-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

"Batata vadas" are fried spicy potato fritters. It is one of the most common street foods in Maharashtra. Sandwhich one in a bun, add chutneys and voila, it is now a very Indian "burger". I have so many fond memories related to batata vadas. One that stands out is one rainy afternoon when my Dad and I had gone on a short hike on the outskirts of the city. There was a bracing wind, and a slight

Beetroot Raita/Koshimbir (Dip)

2011-09-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is a very easy side dish and a wonderful use of beetroot. The ingredients are simple but very nutritious and the taste absolutely delicious. Maharashtrians make many "koshimbirs/raitas" or dips. All of these are side salads which include include chopped vegetables and are generally dressed with yogurt sauce or even some tempered oil. Groundnut features as a prominent ingredient in many of

Eggplant Salad in Yogurt- "Bharit in Dahi"

2011-09-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is an absolutely delicious dish. While my mom made the 'baba ghanoush' style eggplant salad quite often, the version with yogurt was a rare occurence. I really liked it but I must not have mentioned it because she was under the impression that I didn't really care for it, for the longest time. So, this recipe is definitely a reminder to appreciate good food when I eat it. All of us make

Daal Baati (Dal Bati) - Recipe for the dal

2011-09-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

For information related to Dal Baati and the recipe to make Baati, see my previous post. The dal for the dal baati recipe is unique because it is made using urad dal. While I know that urad dal is a key component of idli and dosa batters, I haven't really seen it used as a main ingredient in too many dal recipe. The freshly baked, ghee dipped baati, is broken down into small pieces in a bowl and

Baati - Baked Whole Wheat Dumplings

2011-08-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

The first time I ate authentic dal baati was in Indore, about eleven years ago. I was visiting family and there were two occasions when I was able to savor this delicacy. The baatis were authentically cooked in an earthen stove. Then, they were dunked in ghee and served with hot delicious dal. I can never forget that experience. The taste of the baatis being roasted and baked in an authentic kiln

Mushroom Soup

2011-08-19T23:41:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, I didn't like mushrooms. Then sometime during my teens, I tasted them on top of a pizza and started liking them. Then, I tried the mushroom soup that my Mom made and I loved it. I still remember the last time I ate the one made by Mom. It was nine years ago and I still associate it with warmth, love and comfort. So, this is a recipe I turn to during the cold months or when I

Curried Plantains/ Kelyachi Bhaji

2011-08-18T22:33:00.000-07:00

Plantains are relatively a new addition to my grocery list. Plantains are raw bananas and are green in color. At this stage they are starchy and not at all sweet. You cannot eat plantains raw, they need to be cooked. The taste and texture of the plantain is similar to potatoes. Also, the raw banana skin is very tightly wound around the fruit, is very fibrous and difficult to peel off. Till about

Caramel Custard or Flan

2011-08-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Caramel custard, as I have known it most of my life or flan, as I have come to know it in the last few years, is possibly my favorite dessert. I still remember the first time I ate it in Delhi eons ago. It was absolutely delicious. I wasn't a big fan of sweets while growing up but this was one of those desserts that I never turned down. I am absolutely fascinated by the beautiful shades of golden