Cooking for Beginners/Dummies- Indian style

Hi all, I normally hate evening times, primarily because I'm hungry and in sudden need of food . Normally my In laws have tea with bakery items like biscuits, rusk, farzan like mixtures etc. I come from a background where we don't like those type of food, also I personally don't have tea, so I end up feeling hungry and hell and end up starving cos I'm too lazy to make food for myself. This vermicelli Upma is however a very quick recipe and feels as good as eating instant Maggi. The only work is chopping an onion . Most people nowadays have chilly ginger and garlic already in a ready to use paste form. This is very convenient for busy people like me who want food quickly and can't wait. Let's see how it's done.. Vermicelli Upma Ingredients 1. Roasted vermicelli/semiya- 1 cup or 250 grams 2.onion- 1 small sliced thinly 3. Tomato -1 small (optional ) 4. Ginger and green chillies - 1 teaspoon (either chopped thinly or in paste form) 5. Mustard se...

Hi all Apologies for the delay in writing new posts, but it was navaratri last month, one of my favourite festivals from childhood. I got too busy with it, mostly did a lot of new recipes, some of them a hit, some mediocre . I'm writing several posts now, litrelly a whole article on how we celebrate Navaratri and other recipes, just that they are halfway complete. My laptop fudged up and is now in the service centre for motherboard component change (pretty expensive), so all these things through the mobile which is very tacky. So here is a list of posts you can look out for. I may not be able to get it to look very pretty but I'll tidy up once I get my laptop back. 1. How is Navratri celebrated by south Indians.  (Mumbai based malayali's account) 2. Shezwan Chilly paneer (with Chings secret chutney) 3. The art of making sundals 4. Sabudana payasam 5. Semiya badam payasam 6. Oats carrot Upma 7. Tomato rice / pulav 8. Easy Mozzarella cheese mini samosas 9. Basi...

Hi all, Another easy recipe  for bachelors. Many a times , I buy cereals (cornflakes. Chocos, brand lakes) which gets quite boring after a while. After sometime these cereals get soggy and loose there crisp texture. #HowToRevive old Cornflakes: Very simple... just microwave in 30seconds burst which means after every30seconds, toss and keep again. I do it for total of 1.5 minutes.. Now the tossing part is very important. After the first 30 seconds, you'll see that the flakes seem to harden and feels more wet. Worry Not, friends, that's the moisture surfacing on each flake. By tossing, you are basically air drying the contents. Hence toss it for like 5 times, then microwave again. Toss it, you'll see the texture has changed and the flakes are getting crispy. Now I normally just make something out of these revived flakes immediately as they don't store well Typically my goto recipe is my cornflakes milkshake with chocolate oreos and dates. I can go crazy with th...

Hi All, I have always fancied the big heavy British breakfast concept however it's just too much for an Indian, no Matter how non veggie he or she is, I mean no indian would prefer to have blood pudding(at least a vast majority of us wouldn't, in India nothing can be generalised). But the whole idea of eating a big hearty breakfast to start the day is interesting and a break from our daily idles and parathas... I have put together a selection of items that is essentially Western but suitable for the Indian palette, most of these are packaged items so very less cooking which means a beginner can easily make this . I made such type of breakfast first when I was in my late teenage to surprise my mom for mother's day, of course my mom is a pure vegetarian so all the items were veggie, but over the years, I've discovered more varieties of items to include and after coming back to India, I refined the menu based on what's available in the Indian market. British br...

Hi All Breakfast has now become mostly a glass of Orange Juice and toast. Of course growing up it was different for most of us, there will be elaborate meals with healthy fruits, milk /cofee/juice. For a south Indian, Breakfast is very important. Its just that breakfast is so versatile for us that you cannot imagine skipping something so delicious.But for a working person including me, our corporates demand most of our time which makes it impossible to make elaborate meals. Today we will discuss some quick, on the go type of Pseudo Traditional modern Breakfast items Keeping the Indian palatte in mind. Before starting, there are some tips Id like to share as a form of meal plannning. You see, certain advanced preparation in the weekend or maybe a readymade cheat can help you ace breakfast Making a pleasure Tip1 : Make Idly / dosa batter during weekend, It will last for a week. I normally buy local batter readymade from stores. If you need to know how to make Idly / dosa batter, ple...

Hi All, Have you ever got home and want to whip something up really fast. Today's Dinner recipe is one of the most basic dishes you can cook . It's easy, filling, and really cheap(no expensive ingredients) . You can really impress your family  / better half with this meal. As this is a meal plan, I will post a game plan which will help you plan how to cook the whole thing. To complete the meal, add a dessert which can be as basic as Fruit platter or elaborate as Carrot halwa( I have never made it myself so I cant write the recipe for it). I also add a raita to cool myself, Raita is very simple and just some yogurt/ curd with some chopped vegetables would do. Game Plan for potato masala with Jeera rice Dinner This recipe will  take around 15 minutes of preparation and  half an hour cooking time. There are certain overlaps you can do to minimize time. Step 1: washing everything and keeping everything ready.  Start by washing and soaking the rice.Next peal...

Hi All, Today we will discuss the basics of Indian cooking that you need to know before cooking for yourselves but most importantly if you are cooking for others / guests / Potlucks / parties etc. Indian cuisine is one of the most popular and flavorful cuisines in the world. But its also one of the most diverse and complex cuisines. From north to south ,East to west, Indians are united by a diverse culture. Each state ,region and community has their own recipes . Each one of these recipes are of course connected by the common Indian love for spices or the Curry. Today we will discuss key points before cooking for guests: 1. Selection of the Type of Indian cuisine 2. How to make dishes easy to carry and serve- compact and tasty 3. Basics of the Indian Spices and the basic spices - What you need in your pantry before cooking. 4. Selection of recipes based on Audience 5. Elaborate dishes Vs simple Indian Food 6.Utensils and other items that you need in Kitchen for Indian Cooki...

Hi All, This post is one of my most Favorite food in the world. It was introduced to me from a very young age by my Grandmother.She called it Bombay Toast. I always thought it was her recipe, Later on I found out that this Bombay toast is one of the most intresting, most loved recipe Internationally called as french toast. Now I'm not sure if this was invented by the French neither do I know how the professional chefs makes them. My grandmother's version uses basic white Local bread. This is one of the easiest recipes that Bachelors and Spinsters can make in their Rooms/ Dorms. But it can be easily messed up which I will discuss in the recipe. Be careful not to mess up( which can also be delicious).   Bombay Toast or French Toast for Beginners / Bachelors  Recipe type:  Breakfast, Snacks Prep time: 5 minutes    Cooking time : 2 minutes / Slice Serves: Depends Ingredients Please see notes on how to scale the ingredients   1. Brea...

Hi all.. I'm a beginner, an experimental cook. I love to cook but somehow messes up most of what I cook.. Very occasionally I make things that my big family loves. I'm sharing my tried and tested and approved ( by my family) recipes for other beginners like me to follow.. Peanut Chutney : Peanuts are very healthy .Loaded with proteins, it's excellent for vegetarians. Peanuts are very popular as a raw nut, fried or boiled but did you know that while fried peanuts are more popular and simply eaten , boiled peanuts are considered more healthy. Today however I'm using roasted peanuts to make a chutney that is very popular in Tamil nadu . You can eat it with all breakfast items like idly n dosa and also with chapati or poori as a side dish. It has a nutty, creamy texture very different from normal chutneys. From my research (googling), I found that this chutney can be made in two ways. 1. Raw peanuts with skin on simply ground and seasoned and tempered. 2.Roasted ...