Rajma or Red Kidney Beans
This is the most authentic Punjabi main dish, loved by everyone. Every Indian house makes kidney beans or Rajma at least once a week. Red kidney beans are a great source of protein for people on a vegetarian diet.
Sabudana Khichdi
Sabudana or Tapioca pearls are great source of energy and that is the reason it is mainly consumed by people in India when they are fasting.
Besan Ki Barfi
This is a famous sweet and very easy to make with only three main ingredients.
Ohno Khao Suey – Burmese Coconut Soup
Since my In laws have lived in Burma that is now Myanmar, this is one of our family’s favorite recipes. It surely is a comfort food on those cold days. We definitely make it on our Christmas get together. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. I have the vegetarian version here but …
Paneer Bhurji / Scrambled Paneer
Paneer is a very good source of protein for the vegetarian diet. I still have not met anyone who does not like paneer. You can make paneer at home with milk but if you do not want to be that adventurous you could buy at any grocery store.
Kadi With No Onion, Garlic or Ginger
This is a lighter version of the usual, thicker creamier version of the Punjabi kadi with no onion, garlic and ginger. This recipe is given to me by my elder sister, is a hassle free, quick recipe and really works for people who do not eat onions, ginger or garlic due to their preference or …
Aloo Methi / Fenugreek Leaves and Potato
Simplest and most aromatic vegetable. Fenugreek leaves have a lot of health benefits as well. It is not easily available at the American grocery stores but the Indian stores carry them all the time. The stores also carry dried fenugreek leaves, which are much stronger in flavor, you can use that also in this recipe …
Masoor Dal / Red Lentil
This recipe is my children’s favorite. Since it does not have too many spices added to it, the flavor of the lentil is enhanced. This is so easy to make because its a very simple recipe. I think it is the first recipe that my daughter tried when she left for college. We usually serve …
Besan Ka Chilla / Gram Flour Pancake
Besan or garbanzo bean flour is a great source of protein. It is somewhat in between pancake and crepe, so not as thin as a crepe and also not as fat as a pancake. It can be served as a breakfast item or an evening snack. The freshness of the cilantro and the green chili …
Noodle Attho / Burmese Noodle Salad
Attho is basically a mixture, it could be made of rice, noodle etc. I really like the freshness in Burmese cuisine, since so many fresh ingredients are used, it gives the dish a refreshing taste and is good for a quick snack or a meal. Since most of the ingredients are in our pantry, all …
Instant Kesar Peda
Peda used to take hours to make, as the milk was reduced and thickened on slow heat for hours. Since I promised I am not get any difficult recipes here is an easy dessert for you. It is made with just three main ingredients. Peda is one of the mithais which is made on auspicious …
Kadai Paneer
This is one of those recipes that when served, seems you took great effort in making this but on the contrary it is so easy to make with hardly any effort. I have cut down on deep frying and the heavy cream to make a healthier version of this dish but I promise there is …
Cha’s Choicest Akuri
When we were kids our favorite uncle made this for us. I actually did not know that Akuri is a Parsi dish, I literally thought my uncle made this name up. He would add any vegetable, that he sees in the kitchen to this dish. In fact I recently found out that Akuri is a …
Sheela’s Burmese Delight
Here is another Burmese recipe that is liked by everyone in our family. When we visit India we always request my husband’s masi to make this. Since this is the only place where I have eaten this and she really is not sure where she got this recipe from, I am naming it after her. …
Chow Chow / Burmese Coconut Jello
Burmese desert made out of Agar Agar (Kind of like seaweed) available at almost all Indian stores and also the Chinese stores. Agar Agar is vegetarian Jello. It is a very easy desert to make and is very cooling. You could add some food color to make it in different colors, would look fancier to …
Saag Paneer
The most popular dish among my non Indian friends is Saag Paneer. Saag is very popular North Indian cuisine. Power packed with nutrition and taste. Actually it is one of my kids favorite dish as well. I find it very easy to make. I usually make large batches of boiled saag and leave it in …
Spicy Japanese Eggplant
There are so many different kinds of eggplants available in the market. I try to make them very simply so the taste of the vegetable stays intact. I am using the long eggplant for this recipe with potatoes. Another easy side dish that can be added to the menu, with any lentil dish and can …
Bhindi Masala / Okra Masala
Okra or bhindi is one such vegetable that is liked by everyone. I still have to come across some one who does not like okra. In addition to the popularity this vegetable is also one of the easiest to cook. I personally do not like to use too many ingredients in the vegetables, I believe …
Garhwal Curry
Another recipe that I inherited from my mother in law. She would make this on our request when the whole family got together. I learnt it from her but still it does not taste as good as when she made it, but it is definitely one of my favorite lentil dish. It is a complete …
Aloo Parantha / Stuffed Potato Parantha
Wow one more use of potatoes loved by every one. In fact my one year grand child asks for this all the time. This is a universal favorite for all age groups from one year onward. Obviously, you might want to skip the Serrano peppers and the chili powder if you are going to make …
Calzone
Calzone or a pocket pizza is one of our family favorites. You practically can make the stuffing with anything you like, it could be mushroom, spinach, broccoli, onion, turkey, ground chicken the options are endless. If you are using meat stuffing just remember when you are sauteing, it would take a longer time to cook. …
Chatpati Gobhi / Spicy Cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of the most common vegetable in Indian cuisine, which makes it popular as well. Usually it is used with potatoes but I prefer it without potatoes, but you are welcome to use potatoes in this recipe. Cauliflower is a very low calorie food and it is also high in Vitamin C. I …
Ginger and Tamarind Rasam
Rasam is a kind of soup usually accompanied with sambhar. Just like sambhar, rasam has also a lot of different recipes. Rasam for vegetarians is like chicken soup for non vegetarians comfort food. Every region and every household in southern India have their own recipe for Rasam. Me being a Punjabi, have my own version. …
Aloo Frankie / Potato Frankie
Potato Frankie is a street food. This can be eaten as a snack to curb the hunger pangs in between meals or I usually eat it for dinner or lunch, when I get tired of the usual food. This is a welcome change. The good thing about this is its flexibility of the ingredients. There …
Paneer Kathi Roll
This is a high protein roll with paneer or if you want to add chicken strips instead of paneer that works too. This is a street food originated in Kolkata. Over the years it has seen a lot of variations, so the bottom-line is there is no hard and fast rule what should be filled …
Tamarind Rice
Tamarind comes from a fruit bearing tree. The pod looks like a pea pod. Tamarind has a lot of antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties. It is available in a lot of different forms, you can get a concentrated tamarind paste or its raw form. Usually when I have left over rice I make this dish, …
Poha (Flattened Rice Breakfast)
There are a lot of recipes to make Poha, every region has its own way to make Poha. As you know by now, I believe in the simplicity of the recipe and of course, a recipe that can be made in a hurry, this is a good one. I usually don’t like to start cooking …
Tomato Chutney
Tomato chutney is usually an accompaniment with the Toor Dal (Yellow pigeon pea split) and rice. In our house, it is a Sunday special light food. Since it is a very easy meal to make, it is a perfect lunch to make on a lazy Sunday. You can adjust the spices according to your taste.
Gulab Jamun
No Indian meal is complete without a dessert. When we talk about dessert Gulab Jamun is number one on the list. Although there are different stories on the origin of this sumptuous dessert, some stories say it is an accidental creation by the Mughul Emperor Shah Jahan’s personal chef and some people believe it is …
Tinda Subzi (Baby pumpkin)
Tinda or baby pumpkin is the member of the squash family. It is considered a very boring vegetable, but people like my sister loves it. She can eat this any time of the day. It is similar to zucchini and is about 5-8 cm in diameter. Very popular in Indian and Pakistani cuisine and is …
Easy Egg Masala Curry
When you have guests over who would only eat non-vegetarian food and you are a vegetarian or you really do not know how to cook anything nonvegetarian, then this recipe is perfect. It is easy and quick. I love it because of its taste and also of course does not take any extra effort. Try …
Mounk Ya Pa – Burmese Savoury Crepes
Let’s talk about street food from Burma. YUM!! is the word. Recently one of our relatives visited us and their wife, Rama showed me this amazingly easy recipe. In addition to the simplicity of the recipe, it is also very healthy and covers all essential nutrients. As far as the toppings are concerned you can …
Pyajo – Burmese chaat with gravy
Here’s another interesting street food from Burma, highly recommended as it is a nice change from the usual food. Other than the assembly of all the ingredients it is pretty simple but gives an impression of a festive and elaborate feast. You could grind the lentils and leave them in the freezer and thaw it …