Spicy Cumin Beef

Food hopping in NYC is one of our favorite things to do. One spot we never fail to miss is Cafe China in Manhattan. I first came across this place while watching Unique Eats on the cooking channel. They specialize is Sichuan cuisine, so its quite spicy that appeals to our tastebuds. I guess it's because my husband went in with low expectations thinking nowhere in America can you find the real spicy food. This blew him away, so much that he actually...

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Peach and Goat Cheese Tartine

This was a spur of the moment invention. I had some store-bought pizza crust, goat cheese, arugula and peaches that needed to be consumed immediately. So I combined them all on a lazy Sunday morning and it turned out to be pretty good. Even the photos turned out so good, I posted them on instagram instantly. CNN food shortlisted the above photo for their 5 breakfast ideas article. Click on this link to check it out. This was so exciting and...

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Fresh Apple Cake

Apples are in season. My neighbor, Kathy, made this amazing apple cake one weekend, and was kind enough to share two pieces with us. She even included a print of the recipe for us, in case we wanted to know if we were allergic to any of the ingredients, like nuts. Being Indians, I guess we're lucky not to be allergic to most ingredients. The cake was so moist and it had a beautiful glaze over it. We loved it so much that we decided to make a whole batch next time we got apples. And it was simply amazing, just like Kathy's! Special thanks to her. The...

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Olan

Ingredients: Ash gourd - 2 cups, cubed Red beans - 1 cup - soaked overnight and cooked with salt Coconut milk - 1 cup (preferably fresh, not canned) Green chillies - 3 - 4, slit in half Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp Coconut oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Method: Cook red beans with some salt and keep aside. Cook ash gourd with very small amount of water and salt, covered on medium heat. Once half cooked, add the red beans and cook uncovered until almost all water has evaporated. Add coconut milk, leaves and cumin powder....

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Chinese chicken dumplings

Ingredients: Minced chicken - 1 lb. Shitake mushrooms (dried, soaked and squeezed dry) - 1/4 lb. (half a packet) Napa cabbage - 5 leaves, shredded (marinated for 20 mins with salt and squeezed) Sambal - 1 tbsp Garlic - 1 clove, minced fine Ginger, minced - 2 tbsp White pepper powder - 2 tsp Scallions - 2 stalks, minced fine Hoisin sauce - 2 tbsp Light soy sauce - 2 tbsp Lime zest - 1/2 tsp Sesame oil - 2 tsp Gyoza wrappers - 1 packet Method: Mix...

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Chinese dumpling sauce

Ingredients: Low sodium light soy sauce - 3 tbsp Tamari - 2 tbsp Coconut aminos - 1 tbsp (optional) Sesame oil (i used chilli sesame oil) - 2 tbsp Malt vinegar - 2 tbsp Coriander root and stems, chopped fine (cilantro) - 2 tbsp Ginger, minced fine or grated - 2 tbsp Green onions, finely chopped - 2 tbsp (1 stalk) Sweet chili sauce - 1 tsp. Method: Mix all ingredients and let marinate for at least half an hour before serving. Taste and adjust as per your liking. For an extra kick, I also ground some sichuan pepper corns and sifted it to let...

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Zero-oil Tomato Sambar

I've made this sambar a few times now. Its a one pot meal that requires no effort except for prepping the veggies. When in a hurry, I only use tomatoes and make a tomato sambar. You can add additional veggies to this recipe. Veggies that go well in this sambar are spinach, carrots, beans,  snake gourd (padavalanga), drumsticks, ivy gourd (tindora/kovakka),sweet potatoes, potatoes, taro (cheppankezhangu/chembu/arbi), bell pepper, green peas. Ingredients: Lentils – 1 cup (use toor dal/masoor dal/moong dal/ or a mixture of these) Tomatoes...

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Stuffed Karelas in makhani gravy

Adapted from Tarladalal.com Ingredients: For stuffed karelas: Karelas - 8 small nos. or 4 large Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Moong dal - 1/2 cup Green chilli - 1, sliced thin Ginger - 1" piece Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Cilantro (coriander leaves) - a small bunch, minced fine Salt For makhani gravy Onion - 1 medium, chopped Ginger - 1"inch piece Garlic - 6 cloves Tomatoes - 3 Cashews - small handful Cinnamon - 2 sticks (about 2 inches) Cloves - 6 nos. Red bell pepper (capsicum) - 1 chopped or Red pumpkin - 1 cup chopped Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Tomato...

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