tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75181457453357953132026-08-16T03:08:56.813-07:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger280125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-85742020722905157022022-01-15T22:31:00.001-08:002022-01-15T22:32:18.942-08:00

Welcome to our eighth episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to Europe, to the country of Armenia.  It took me a while to decide on what I would cook from Armenia. I had originally settled on lavash as it is a bread that I really like and definitely want to start making at home. However, as I started researching and exploring the foods, I found this Armenian "pie"

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-46204368847258053632021-08-21T11:56:00.002-07:002021-08-21T11:56:53.425-07:00

Welcome to our seventh episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to the South American continent and we are making a delicious dish from Argentina. Argentina is known for its meat dishes, however as I started researching the foods, I realized that there were several vegetarian options to choose from too. So, I turned to my garden for inspiration. It was late spring when I made

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-52869818720752994202021-05-20T17:48:00.008-07:002021-05-20T18:05:17.074-07:00

We have two Barbados Cherry bushes, which are about 4 years now and are producing a lot of cherries. We've been picking about a hundred cherries a day over the last 2-3 weeks. Finally the stage has come where our consumption cannot keep up with the number we are harvesting daily.  So, naturally the next step was to figure out how to use these to make something tasty out of them. Various

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This is the best home cooked butter chicken I have ever tasted!! Butter chicken was one of the first chicken dishes that I ever ate and it is one of my favorite chicken preparations!! It is one of the most popular chicken dishes available at Indian restaurants. I always wanted to make it at home and have it be just like the authentic restaurant version which I remember eating in India. I tried

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-39726253961094381042021-03-12T20:05:00.006-08:002021-03-12T20:21:00.849-08:00

Welcome to our sixth episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to the Carribean islands of Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua is pronounced as "Antigah"). Antigua and Barbuda are islands in the West Indies.  As I was researching the cuisine, I learnt that there are many dishes which are similar across the various Caribbean islands like fungie. There are many seafood and other

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-15802544556312840772020-12-31T18:18:00.000-08:002020-12-31T18:18:45.978-08:00

Let me start by saying that this is an amazing recipe. It is one of the tastiest Mexican foods that I have eaten in recent memory. It is spicy and has a burst of flavors and everyone in the family absolutely loved it. I am so glad to have found this recipe because it is perfect to use all the roselle hibiscus petals after making tea. And now I have a way to use the large harvest we have had this

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It has been years since I have been buying tortillas from the store. Initially, when I was a student, I used to buy whole wheat tortillas which used to be my substitute for chapatis/rotis. When I started making tacos and burritos at home, I started using the corn and flour tortillas. However, it always bothered me that these store bought tortillas had such a long shelf life and a really long

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-76240243897607358572020-12-01T16:42:00.005-08:002020-12-01T16:43:30.312-08:00

Rava cake (semolina cake) is one of my most frequently baked cakes at home. It tastes absolutely decadent. This cake is so delicious that it does not need any icing on it. So it is always eaten plain or infused with other flavors. Given how delicious it is, I feel any frosting or icing would detract from its tastiness. In fact every time I have suggested that I try icing the cake, I have heard

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-56703775347008871552020-11-28T14:43:00.001-08:002020-11-28T16:25:39.825-08:00

Welcome to our fifth episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to Angola. Angola is a country in Africa. As I was researching the cuisine for the project, I came across many exotic meat dishes. I also found that there are many fruits grown here but they are usually eaten as fresh fruits for dessert. I was able to find a few vegetarian dishes, like beans in palm oil, a hearty

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-88195072379010068202020-11-13T09:47:00.002-08:002020-11-13T09:47:13.816-08:00

I made this recipe based on my memory of our neighbor in Pune, from decades ago. She had come over to our house during Diwali. She had brought sweets to share and was most excited for us to try out this sweet and guess what it was made of. All of us guessed that it was kaju katli and her grin just grew bigger. Finally she revealed to us that she had made this using rava and there were no nuts.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-77908817408841928812020-09-24T22:18:00.003-07:002020-11-28T14:31:25.838-08:00

 Welcome to our fourth episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to Andorra. Andorra is a very small country, described as a tiny independent principality, in Europe. It is between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains. I had not heard about it till I started this project. So far, this has proven to be the a difficult one to choose a recipe from, because there are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-87657255864306926902020-09-06T13:29:00.003-07:002020-09-06T13:29:36.278-07:00

Ambadichi chi bhaaji is one of my favorite greens. The English name of the plant is called Roselle Hibiscus and in Marathi it is called Ambadi and in Telugu it is known as Gongura. It is found in Asian/Indian stores as gongura leaves usually. The leaves are very sour and are great in curries, stir fries and chutneys or dips. As a child this was a rarity as it is not an easily available vegetable.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-65696250717511850162020-08-28T22:39:00.009-07:002020-09-14T18:36:28.065-07:00

Welcome to our third episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This time we are headed to Algeria. Algeria is in Northern Africa. As I started researching Algerian food, I read that the cuisine is influenced by all the exchanges with different cultures and people over centuries.  There is a heavy French influence (it was a French colony) and a common breakfast I observed was croissant and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-20960318673638129082020-08-16T21:52:00.002-07:002020-08-16T21:52:45.552-07:00

Welcome to our second episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. The second country, in an alphabetical order is Albania. It is in Europe next to Greece and along the Mediterranean Sea. While I was researching the food of Albania, I came across so many recipes that it was really difficult to pick one.  So with this episode, I am presenting three great Albanian recipes. I decided that I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-81732326667811590262020-08-05T17:07:00.001-07:002020-08-05T18:47:06.517-07:00

It has been a strange year thus far and it looks like we are in it for the long haul. One day is very much starting to blend into another.  Tired of the same routine, I was thinking that I need a project. Something to look forward to or bring excitement. Usually, it is a special occasion or a party or a trip that we are looking forward to, but this year all those are very muted and parties

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-1159858579947840312020-07-22T17:22:00.003-07:002020-07-22T18:10:31.007-07:00

Laminated dough recipes are lengthy! That is important to remember as you start on this recipe. The first time I made a laminated dough was when I was in 6th grade. I made a puff pastry, under the watchful guidance of my mom who walked me through what each step meant. And the main thing I remember about that was that it took us the entire day to make it. So, I'd not been tempted to make such a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-23832689672034668152020-07-11T23:40:00.002-07:002020-07-11T23:44:02.391-07:00

We visited India last summer and explored the foods at the restaurants that we used to frequent while growing up. I was lucky to find that all the restaurants were still around and we soon got down to eating the food that was deeply embedded in our memories. Finally, after sampling everything we had craved over the many years, we decided to try something new.  At one of the restaurants we

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-7392026595175375842020-06-30T12:31:00.002-07:002020-06-30T12:31:37.360-07:00

This is a delicious and fresh way to use beetroot leaves. Ever since we started growing beetroots, I have been able to have harvests of fresh leaves throughout the growing season. I used to use these in stir fries and curries. And then I ate this delicious salad at my friend K. J.'s house and I was hooked. I think if you have fresh, tender leaves, this is the most delicious way of enjoying them.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-7876425744188501722020-06-30T11:39:00.001-07:002020-06-30T11:39:16.570-07:00

We have several moringa trees and this year we are reaping great harvests from them. One of the things we do is share these with our friends and others on gardening groups. But given the health benefits of the morninga pods and leaves,  I am trying out different recipes to include these. This recipe is a most basic method of cooking the moringa pods. Once they are cooked you can add it in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-89731112988033552072020-06-12T22:59:00.001-07:002020-07-06T11:10:27.375-07:00

This is a delicious and quick recipe, which is perfect for a busy weekday or weeknight meal. It requires a few ingredients and takes just about 20 minutes to make including the cooking time. The lemon and garlic are the main flavoring ingredients and they enhance the dish. A light meal which can be paired with a side salad or steamed vegetables, to make a complete meal. Our family (the meat

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-34735568826131392442020-06-06T16:58:00.000-07:002020-07-09T11:55:03.920-07:00

This is a delicious bread filled with a sweet red bean filling. It is inspired by the Japanese anpan bread but is not a traditional recipe. This has been shaped as a star.  You can get really creative and shape it in any shape, like how we shaped it into a pretty bun earlier. This is a really great breakfast recipe but we often enjoy it as dessert as well. And it pairs really well with milk

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-86887361687850087782020-05-26T16:09:00.003-07:002020-05-26T16:54:00.346-07:00

It has been a while since I have updated the blog, however the experimentation is going strong and I have been able to create delicious, repeatable recipes. I have been wanting to work with sourdough for a while and I had even gotten some starter from a friend a few years ago, but didn't really end up using it. I love baking breads and instant yeast ones have always been my go to.  So, with

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-72189365008318748332019-09-27T10:54:00.001-07:002020-06-08T17:02:49.908-07:00

I was never fond of kachoris while growing up and hadn't tried making them at home. However, after a request from a family member, I decided to make it at home. These kachoris turned out delicious. I saw a few videos on youtube and understood that the key to a pastry/khasta texture and bite is to fry the kachori on really low heat.  Also, I have realized the kachoris taste delicious

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-79246693489677631372019-09-18T18:41:00.003-07:002020-06-08T17:03:17.183-07:00

I remember that there was always homemade butter in the fridge growing up. But I always used to prefer the store bought salted uncultured butter as a child. Now that cultured butter is not easily accessible, I really miss it a lot. Especially when I eat the Marathi flatbread called Thalipeeth. It was another dish I really wasn't fond of, but enjoy a lot as a grown up. It is interesting how

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518145745335795313.post-13098558489033269412019-09-18T18:17:00.004-07:002019-09-18T18:19:25.500-07:00

I lovingly remember the wheat halwa or as she called it "lapsi", that my mom used to make for us when I was a young child and I remember relishing it. She used to make this especially if we were hurt because of the simple and nourishing ingredients. I also recently got to know that the same is also offered as "kadah prasad" in gurudwaras.  I hadn’t made it because it felt too much of a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0