FoodZone

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

2011-02-10T22:43:00.000-08:00

Today, I finally got some time to catch up on blogs and the first two posts I happened to check were Tanvi's Saffron Rice Pilaf with Chicken Balls and Kulsum's Molten Chococlate Lava Cake. Both recipes were like love at first sight. It was exactly when I was thinking about what to make for the Valentine's day that I found these two recipes. We generally tend to eat out on special occasions

Stuffed Dondakaya/Tindora Curry

2011-01-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

Here I come after a long break from blogging. Okay, this time the break is not because I was not cooking, but because I was not finding time to take pictures, edit and upload them. Finally today I got some free time to post this recipe for Stuffed Tindora curry. This recipe is originally from my mom and it has been altered a bit by my sister. The original recipe had just the channa dal,

Pav Bhaji

2011-01-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Pav Bhaji is a popular street food in India. Pav means bun and bhaji is curry made with different vegetables. The bhaji is a blend of different vegetables in an onion and tomato based gravy spiced with the aromatic pav bhaji masala. It is easy to prepare and is nutritious too as it consists of number of vegetables. It is traditionally made with butter and is topped with butter before serving.

Mango Pie

2011-01-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while that I posted a recipe on FoodZone. These days I haven't cooked much, and even if I cooked, those recipes were already there on the blog. I wanted to post some special recipe for Christmas but couldn't and then thought of doing that for new year and that did not happen either. Holidays have been busy with friends, parties and travelling around. Hope you all had a

Mysore Bonda

2010-12-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

Mysore is the name of a city in India and Bonda is a deep fried flour dumpling. I have no clue why this is called Mysore bonda. May be the recipe originated in Mysore and got that name. This is a perfect snack for the chilly evenings. All purpose flour is mixed with sour yogurt and the dumplings are deep fried in oil. Mysore bonda is a popular street food in South India - often sold along

Cranberry Rice

2010-11-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a very good Thanksgiving. We had a very relaxing Thanksgiving this year. Most of the time we make travel plans during thanksgiving. But, this year we decided to stay home and relax. Moreover we got back from a trip to a beautiful resort just last week and did not want to travel again. We had a potluck at a friend's place and I made the curry leaf chicken and this cranberry rice

Red Beer - Hubby's recipe

2010-11-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

Do you like beer? I hate beer. If you are a person like me who doesn't like drinking beer then this is for you. In this house 'P' is a beer person and I am the wine person. Yes, I don't like beer and he doesn't like wine. Red beer is something we both like and we occasionally make this. Bloody mary mix is combined with beer along with hot sauce, salt and pepper making it taste more like spicy

Beetroot Rice

2010-11-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

Rice is a staple food in the South Indian families. We eat rice for at least one meal everyday. Some of my non Indian friends call me "Starch Girl" :) Most of the times rice is served with a curry or a vegetable side dish or the rice is cooked along with vegetables and/or lentils. I often find it easy and interesting to make rice with different vegetables. Here is a simple rice dish made with

Red Lentil Rice

2010-11-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

Before I start cooking, when time permits, I go through the food blogosphere to get some inspiration and ideas. Sometimes it is the recipe that grabs my attention, but most of the time it is the beautiful pictures that really make me drool so much that I cook immediately. Even though you know that recipe, have been cooking for ages, when you look at a beautifully taken shot, you feel like eating

Colorful Potato Curry

2010-11-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Potato is one vegetable that is everybody's favorite. I have never met a person who doesn't like potatoes and they obviously taste good cooked in a any form. I usually make this as a side dish with rasam or sambar. Addition of cilantro and red pepper falkes make this dish vibrant and colorful. The picture was taken before adding cilantro. The kiddo doesn't like the cilantro, so I had to add

Tofu in Sichuan Sauce

2010-10-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Chinese food at home and from scratch? Sounds good isn't it? It is easy to cook Chinese food if you have the ready made sauces. But, if you can make the sauce at home from the most common ingredients, what's better than that. I follow this recipe for the Sichuan Sauce. It is simple, can be made with the readily available ingredients and most importantly can be prepared in 5 minutes. I usually

Pomegranate Milkshake for Pinktober

2010-10-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

October is national breast cancer awareness month. Everything turns pink in October. From the flight crew wearing pink uniforms to football players wearing pink helmets and shoes- Everyone doing their part for the breast cancer awareness. I too have been thinking of doing(cooking) something pink for pinktober in honor of all those who suffered/suffering from breast cancer. All the recipes I could

A simple cauliflower fry

2010-10-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

If a recipe is simple, requires less cutting and cleaning and can be done in 10 minutes, who doesn't want to try it. I love super fast recipes. I hate cutting and cleaning as much as I like cooking. When it is raining and you are in a mood for some spicy tangy food and you are lazy to cook, here is a simple recipe for you. Ingredients: Cauliflower florets: 2 cups Dhaniya(Coriander) powder: 1

Gongura Sorakaya Pulusu

2010-10-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

Gongura is a leafy vegetable widely used in South India. It has a sour taste. It is difficult to find Gongura in the place I live. So I decided to grow them. Usually Gongura is made in to a pickle/pachadi. Since I did not have enough to make pachadi, I made the gongura pulusu. Doesn't it feel good to cook with home grown vegetables? and the best thing about gongura is it doesn't catch any bugs. I

Rajma Masala

2010-10-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: Kidney Beans: 1 cup Onions(Finely chopped): 3/4 cup Tomatoes(finely chopped): 3/4 cup salt to taste Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp Cumin Powder: 1 tsp Coriander Powder: 1 tsp Garam Masala: 1/2 tsp Aamchur Powder: 1/2 tsp Oil: 3 tbsp Cilantro(finely chopped): 3 tbsp Cumin seeds: 1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste: 1 tbsp Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi: 1 tsp Procedure: Soak the kidney

Spanish/Mexican Rice

2010-09-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned before, my kiddo is a picky eater. She hates eating rice. Other day they had Spanish rice at the day care and her teacher said the kiddo loved it. I was like - my kiddo and eating rice, couldn't believe that. Over the weekend I searched couple of recipes over the internet for Spanish/Mexican rice and made this version. It was a huge success. Little monster loved it.

Vegetable Cutlets

2010-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

My mom used to make different varieties of snacks for us to eat by the time we returned from school and these vegetable cutlets were my all time favorite. She used to make something different and fresh every day. She always tried to make them healthy using lot of vegetables and very little oil and she always served them with fresh fruits of the season. My little kiddo is a very picky eater. So

Stuffed Okra - Bendakaya Ullikaram

2010-09-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: Okra: 10 Onion(large sized): 1/2 Cilantro( chopped): 3 tbsp Ginger root: 1/2 inch piece Green chillies: 4 Salt to taste Curry leaves: 4 Fresh shredded coconut: 2 tsp Seasoning: Urad dal: 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp Procedure: Make a paste of green chillies and ginger and set it aside. Cut the okra length wise into two slits to fill the stuffing. In

Cilantro Rice/ Kothimeera Rice

2010-09-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Long time back when went to Vegas, we ate at a Mexican restaurant in Venetian. We ordered something( I don't remember what it was) and they served cilantro rice as a side dish. The side dish was so good that I don't remember the main entrée. Me and my husband loved that rice. It looked like a simple recipe and I could taste cilantro lime and ginger. I thought of trying that after I get back

Black Bean, corn and mango salad

2010-07-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: Black Beans: 1 can Red Onions(finely chopped): 1 medium sized. Fresh Corn Kernels: 1/2 cup Ripe Mango(chopped): 1/2 cup Honey: 1 tbsp Lime Juice: 1 tbsp salt to taste Olive oil: 1 tsp Bell Pepper(chopped): 1/4 cup Cilantro(finely chopped): 1 tbsp Procedure: Add oil to a pan and when the oil is heated add the corn kernels and cook until the corn is cooked. Add the cooked corn to

Coconut Rice

2010-07-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Coconut rice is a simple south Indian dish that can be fixed in minutes. If you have left over rice, this is a great way to use it. I personally like it better with hot freshly cooked rice. When the rice is hot it soaks in the flavors of the seasoning and the coconut very well. Ingredients: Cooked White Rice( long grain or basmati) : 2 cups Fresh shredded coconut: 1/2 cup Salt to taste

Tofu Cabbage Rice - An article inspired dish

2010-07-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Other day I was reading an article on CNN that had a list of some super foods that are good for you. The list consisted of Cabbage, Tofu, Black Beans, Cinnamon, Tomato, Blueberries, Salmon, Cocoa, Basil, Yogurt. Here is link to the article.While I was reading that, I thought most of them we use on a day to day basis in our Indian cooking. I don't usually come up with a menu for my meals before

Pachi Pulusu - no cooking required

2010-07-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog my main intention was to treasure some of the traditional recipes from my family. There are certain recipes from my grand mother that only my mom knows now, after grand mother passed away. If I don't learn those recipes from her and pass on to future generations, that's it. They are gone. Saving those authentic traditional recipes in a blog on the world wide web is a

Tres Leches Cake - 3 milk cake

2010-07-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

My friend "S" told me about this Tres Leches Cake some time back and then she sent me pics of the cake she made. I have never heard of this cake before and the gorgeous pics she sent made me drool. When she told me Tres Leches means 3 milks and this cake contains the three milks whole milk, evaporated milk and the condensed milk, I had to try it immediately being a milk fan. I generally like

Pepper Rasam

2010-07-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am not a big fan of sweets. Spicy, tangy are my flavors. Today's post pepper rasam is a spicy tangy soup made with lentils and falvoured with freshly ground pepper. Back home in India, our meal often comprised of a dal, rasam/sambar or pulusu and a curry or a fry. Rasam/sambar was a must every day and my mom can cook at least 10 different varieties of rasams. This pepper rasam tastes heavenly