Chutneys in India are a staple that you eat with your meals. It is an excellent accompaniment with your meals and most of them are easy to make. The four chutneys featured in this post are some of the more popular ones that most people are familiar with.
When I first came to the US from India 20 years ago, everything was new to me. I discovered very quickly that everything in the US is self-service. Being from a country where very few things are self servce, it took some time getting used to. Also, I noticed that there were very few people around, at least very few people walking anyway. So even if I needed help, I could not find anybody to ask questions. After staying at the temporary dormitory for a few days and eating the food that my mom had sent with me (thank goodness for that), I decided to venture out of the university dorm and eat at a restaurant.But before the restaurant story, let me give you a background on why I thanked my mom for sending food with me.
…continue reading Four Types of Chutneys
Tags: Chutney · Gluten-free · Vegan
This is a simple yet very tasty dish made with lentils and rice and served with potato curry. The ghee complements the dish.
Last weekend, we stayed at the Quinault Lodge in the Olympic National Forest and had a really good time. We had not been on vacation for a while and really enjoyed the much needed break. We visited Port Townsend which is a nice little town and ate at the Silverwater cafe for lunch. The lunch was excellent. Then we found a cupcake place just around the corner from the restaurant that also served gluten free cupcakes. My wife and daughter were craving for dessert and we were pleasantly surprised to find gluten-free cupcake selection at the Perfect Endings cupcake place. Then we had a leisurely stroll around the town window shopping the various types of stores.
…continue reading Rice and Yellow Lentil Porridge with Spiced Potatoes (Khichdee)
Tags: Entree · Gluten-free · Lentil · Vegetarian
This dish is made with Eggplant and lightly spiced. It is eaten as an appetizer with french bread or cracker. Make it spicy and try with Naan (Indian Bread).
When I started making this recipe, I wanted to make a traditional spicy eggplant dish that you find in Indian restaurants. As I was about to start cooking, I realized that I did not have tomatoes since I had used that to make a spicy split pea lentil recipe that turned out really tasty. Then I realized I was missing another key ingredient, Paneer (Indian Cheese). At this point I was too lazy to go out to the store to pick those items. I had to think fast as to what I was going to make for the blog and dinner. My daughter was starting to get impatient and she shouts “Dad, I am hungry! Is the food ready yet”. Ah, the pressure between trying to come up with a recipe when I do not have all the ingredients and a hungry little girl. Think, Think, Think.
…continue reading Eggplant Pate
Tags: Appetizer · Gluten-free · Vegan
Lassi is a traditional Indian beverage made with yogurt, sugar and spices and blended together.
It has been more than a month since I posted a recipe. Life has been hectic since the last couple of months while our house was on the market. I could not cook much at all. I really missed cooking and posting recipes every week. Now that we are settled nicely in our new place, I am much more relaxed and will start to post recipes every week. I will start off by posting two recipes of a drink from India called Lassi. It is a drink made with yogurt and cardamom or roasted and ground cumin. It can be made in various ways but one of my favorite ways is the traditional way and one with Mango (that is popular in Indian restaurants).
…continue reading Lassi (Indian Yogurt Drink)
Tags: Beverage · Gluten-free
A traditional Indian dessert called Shrikhand made with yogurt that is hung in a cheescloth overnight. It is then whipped with saffron and cardamom.
In case you were wondering why I have disappeared from the blogosphere and have not added any new recipes for a little more than a month, here is the scoop: We decided to sell our house. As part of that, there was a lot of preparation that had to be done – cleaning the house, finding the broker, the paperwork and did I say keeping the house clean. Finally our house is on the market and it has been a few weeks since it went on sale. It’s really a chore to keep the house clean – we have to clean it up the previous night so that the mornings are easier on everyone. Also, I have to make sure I do not cook food that will spread the aroma or smell of the food around the house, depending on how you look at it. If I do cook with spices, I make sure I air the house out to get the aroma or smell out by morning! Anyway, long story short, now that we have got the routine down pat, I decided to start cooking again. So now I will “try” posting the recipes every Thursday again until we move the first week of April to a new place.
…continue reading Shrikhand (Traditional Indian Yogurt Dessert)
Tags: Dessert · Gluten-free
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