Blanquette de Veau - Veal Stew

I picked up some veal stew meat on one of my trips to the grocery store. With the cold weather outside, I felt like having something warm and comforting for dinner. I looked up a few veal recipes on Epicurious and elsewhere on the web, and I decided to go with the Blanquette de Veau. It's a French dish which basically means veal stew. The rule is to keep it as 'white' as possible, so refrain from any green garnishes. Also it's traditionally served...

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Chicken Liver Fry (Kerala style)

This dish is a family favorite! This is my mom's recipe and I've loved it every single time she made this since childhood. My sister and I would fight over the last bits all the time. My mom used to make it in an old cast iron skillet, so the spices and onions get nicely caramelized, with crunchy powdery liver bits stuck to the pan. Gosh that's the best part! Back in Saudi Arabia, we loved having this with Khubuz and Laban (thick buttermilk)....

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Bread Upma

I haven't even heard of bread upma until the day I made it. My hubby suddenly had a craving for it, and told me about this dish that used to be very popular in Tamil Nadu during his childhood. Before chaats from north India became popular and invaded the snack scene in south India, these were a regular item in most tea shops. Nowadays, you can never find this in a restaurant menu. So he asked me to look it up and make it for him. I went through...

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Sesame Ginger Chicken & Chinese pantry list

I've been wanting to make Chinese food at home, just like the ones I had in Chinese restaurants as a child in Saudi Arabia. My first attempt was a Szechuan chicken recipe, because the hubby and I like spicy food. After hunting down the main ingredient for the heat - sichuan peppercorns, aka prickly ash from a chinese grocery store, I was all excited about trying this recipe from another blog, which I shall not name. It called for 2 tablespoons...

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Egg salad sandwich

This is a quick breakfast recipe. Would take roughly half an hour from start to finish. Serves: 2 sandwiches Ingredients: Whole wheat bread - 4 slices Eggs -  2 Green onions (spring onions) - 1 stalk, sliced finely. (can substitute with chives, dill or herbs of your choice) Mayonnaise - 1 tbsp (or Greek yoghurt, I used half of each) Dijon mustard - 1 tsp Salt & Pepper to taste Method: Immerse the eggs in water and bring it to...

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Muringakka Theeyal

Theeyal is a delicious tangy curry that's popular in Kerala. Some of the popular theeyal are: Ulli Theeyal : made with red pearl onions Muringakka Theeyal : made with muringakka (moringa oleifera pods) Pavakka Theeyal : made with bitter gourd Here is a recipe for muringakka theeyal. Ingredients: Muringakka/Drumsticks (moringa oleifera pods) - 3-5 nos. Red pearl onions - 1 cup Grated coconut - 1 cup Black peppercorns - 1 tbsp Coriander seeds...

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Naadan Beef curry (with coconut milk)

Porotta and beef curry. Some of the combinations that is synonymous with Kerala cuisine. I haven't dared to make a porotta at home yet. It really is such an ordeal, even back in Kerala, families buy them from the local thattukada (food stall). Beef curry on the other hand, is best made homemade, with freshly ground spices. Previously, I made beef curry using chuck stew meat, which was good. This time I tried sirloin tips, and it turned out...

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Garam Masala - Homemade goodness!!

When I was a newbie at cooking, I always resorted to using store bought spice mixes, especially garam masala. As I progressed, I realized that the secret to getting that authentic taste in curries, is freshly roasted home ground spices, just like mom made it. The recipe of garam masala varies in every household. The basic ingredients in any garam masala would be the 3 c's - cinnamon, cloves and cardamom (green ones). Then you can add some other...

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Nectarine raspberry cobbler

Nectarine raspberry cobbler bubbling away. https://share.htc.com/PP2BPmjo6 "Fresh out of the oven. Delish...

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Chickpea feta burger

I wouldn't call it a veggie burger because it contains eggs. It is a delicious and healthy option on a hot summer day. I served this with a nice dill tahini sauce. Ingredients for chickpea feta burger: 200 grams chick peas soaked and boiled with salt 100 grams feta cheese crumbled 2 eggs 1 grated carrot 6 red pearl onions 2 cloves garlic 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1 tbsp oil Ingredients for dill tahini sauce: 1/4 cup tahini 1/4 cup dill minced 1...

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Shahi Paneer

This is another version of Shahi Paneer that I tried last night from The Novice Housewife. I found it while browsing through Pinterest. It was so creamy and delicious, I couldn't wait to get this up on my blog. Also prepping is easy. The ingredients need to be only roughly chopped and boiled, as it will be pureed into a smooth paste. The novice houswife's recipe also gives out many handy tips worth reading. The ones I liked: Soaking the paneer...

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Naan

  Naan is an Indian bread that I've been wanting to try making at home for a long time. It's traditionally made in a Tandoor which is a hot clay oven. Obviously a commoner like me won't have a clay oven at home, so we usually had them at a restaurant. But my mom used to make a similar one at home on a stove top when I was a kid. It used to be one of her specials served with keema matar, made specially for her children. :) I tried a recipe...

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Shrimp and Veggie Pasta Casserole

This is one my most favorite casseroles. I love shrimp and I love white sauce. Combine it with pasta, mixed veggies and you've got a solid meal! This recipe is inspired from a mix of two recipes. One from the heritagecook and the other from stacey snacks. Ingredients: For shrimp: Large shrimp - 1 pound (1/2 kg) - shelled and deveined Garlic - 3 cloves - minced Green onions (spring onions) - 2 stalks Butter - 4 tbsp - softened Lemon juice...

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Egg and Vegetable Stew (with variations for chicken, beef or lamb)

This stew is a traditional Syrian Christian curry served for breakfast with Appam (lacy rice pancakes). I like to have it any time of the day with toasted bread, if there's no ready batter for appams. It's very rustic and hearty, like the filling of a pot pie. (Maybe I will try it in a pot pie someday). Serves: 4-6 Ingredients: Eggs - 4 large Onion - 1 medium size, chopped Ginger - 1 inch, minced Green chillies - 3 or as per your spice level Chopped...

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Canneloni Florentine

This is a dish I first ate at a vegetarian Italian restaurant in Bangalore called Little Italy. Its one of the fewest restaurants where I did not miss meat! Ingredients: Canneloni tubes - 12 tubes For canneloni filling: Butter - 4 tbsp Onion - 1, chopped fine Garlic - 6 large cloves, minced Carrot - 2, peeled and grated Spinach - 2 cups,chopped White pepper powder - 2 tsp Salt Breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp Feta cheese/Grated paneer/Ricotta cheese...

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Keema Matar

Keema matar is one of my favorite dishes. My mom used to make this for me and my sister when she feels like treating us to something special. She used to also make a pan grilled bread that was a lot like naan to go with this. When I started to cook on my own, this is one of the first recipes that I decided to master. Its quite simple and delicious! Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef (you can use ground lamb, chicken or turkey too) 1/2...

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Stir-fry noodles

This recipe is very similar to my Pancit Bihon recipe. The main difference is that I use rice noodle in the Pancit recipe. In this one, I use either Udon noodles or Ramen (Maggi noodles is also Ramen). Ingredients: Noodles: 2 packets Bacon - 4 strips Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped fine Ginger - 1 inch piece, chopped fine Onion - 1 chopped (optional) Assorted vegetables (choice of grated carrots, sliced french beans, corn kernels, green peas, sliced...

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Egg Fried Rice

This is my favorite recipe for egg fried rice. Usually it contains only rice, egg and soy sauce. But I like it with thinly cut vegetables too. More like a combination of vegetable and egg fried rice. Ingredients: Rice - 1 cup Eggs - 2 French beans - 10 nos. Carrot - 1 large Green Peas - 1/4 cup Corn kernels - 1/4 cup (optional) Green onion (spring onion) - 1 stalk Ginger - 1 inch, minced Garlic - 2 cloves, minced Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp Sambal...

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Gobhi Manchurian - Cauliflower Manchurian

This is an Indo-Chinese recipe, that's very popular all across India. Cauliflower is known as Gobhi in Hindi. I heard a funny story about a pure vegetarian software engineer in India, who was sent to China on an assignment. Being vegetarian, your options are pretty much limited in China. This guy confidently accepted the assignment, thinking that he can order Gobhi Manchurian and survive. To his horror, there is no such thing as Gobhi Manchurian...

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Beef Fry - Kerala style

This recipe is different from my mom's recipe. It's an adaptation from Vazhayila. But the quantity of spices used for the meat masala seemed a bit too much for me, so I made a few changes here and there. My mom uses a lesser amount of the masala. Both use coconut cuts (thenga kothu). As I wasn't in a position to break open a fresh coconut to cut out the pieces, I used grated coconut from my freezer. Still tasted amazing with steamed rice and...

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