Indian Chickpea Curry

Punjabi Chole Masale is a curried Chickpea Side dish that is very popular in North India and Pakistan. Served with Bature, a fried Indian bread, a carrot pickle and a salad of onions, lemon and coriander it is a dish that North Indians often enjoy for brunch. As a student, I have enjoyed many a meals of Chole-Bature in Delhi and in Allahabad and after moving a to US created my own version of Chole using staples from the kitchen. Though a close cousin of Punjabi Chole Masale, this Chickpea Curry recipe isn't very authentic or traditional. It is however delicious and serves as a wonderful side with both rice and roti. So give it a try and I guarantee that you will come back to it again....

Magas, a guest post by my Sister-in-Law

Recently my husband had his yearly medical check-up and ever since he has been consciously avoiding sweets and desserts... Yet when his sister asked if there was anything special he wanted from India, without a second thought he said Magas. Magas or Magaz is fudge-y Indian sweet made with besan (chickpea flour), loads of sugar and ghee. It is one of my husband's favorite. I like it too and was delighted to see the box of Magas that my sister-in-law prepared for us.... and I quickly convinced her to share the recipe with all of us.

She is a cook in training and has learnt this recipe from her best friend's mother, Bharti Shah. She prepared these under her supervision and jotted down the measurements the way aunty had taught her. So the ingredient measurements are in grams and not in cups and tablespoons.. but do give it a try. You'll be duly rewarded....

Mme. Maman’s Chopped Liver # French Fridays with Dorie

I like salmon. I had a slab in the freezer and until I turned to Pg 30 of the book (Around my French Table) this morning thought that I was having salmon for lunch. But then I read the recipe and  realized that the salmon had to be cured for at least 48 hours... Oh no ! Only last week I had promised myself not to miss any more French Fridays with Dorie and try to catch up with the rest of the Doristas and here I was... unprepared to cook the dish scheduled for this Friday. I decided to start the process anyway while I caught up on a December recipe that I had missed....  Mme. Maman’s Chopped Liver.

This one was fairly simple to prepare and reminded me of my mother's chicken liver recipe. Only hers has some fried potatoes and eggplants in addition to the browned onions and sauteed well seasoned chicken livers. Also  she finishes her dish with a sprinkle of black pepper instead of allspice.. and serves it right away with rice and lentils. 

Since I am used to having my chicken liver piping hot, in spite of the recipe, I couldn't wait for the chopped livers to chill. I served it at room temperature with a helping of sour cream and sister-in-law and I enjoyed it over steamed rice with a side of lentils.

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about onion carbonara.

You can find a version of the recipe here . For Dorie's original recipe and more such delicious ones order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.  

Merry Christmas from Tasty Tuesday !

Hi  everyone !! 

Hope you all had a wonderful week and are ready for Christmas. Can you believe its Christmas Eve already ? I still have a few things to tick off from my to-do list before I can completely ease off into the Christmas mood.. and first off the list is the 42nd Edition of Tasty Tuesday !   

Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mom on the Run x2 | West Street Story | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Christmas Day Muffins

Tomorrow is Christmas and I am sure you have every meal planned out to the "T."  However these Christmas day muffins might just be perfect in case you have some space at your breakfast table and are looking for some inspiration. I shared them at Jerri's space Simply Sweet Home a few weeks back and thought I'll share them here today...

These eggless Christmas day muffins are inspired by Mrs Byatt's Christmas Day Muffins. They taste lovely with all the cranberry, hazelnut and orange marmalade glaze. Though healthier, they are a little dense when baked with whole wheat flour. So if you are in a mood to indulge just substitute the whole wheat flour with an equal measure of all-purpose flour and swing into the holiday mood...

Whole Grain Applesauce & Sour Cream Pancakes with Warm Maple Syrup

Lately I have been working on my archive of recipes. No it is not ready to be published yet... but hopefully it will be up by 12.1.2014.  Anyway.. while creating the archive I noticed that I haven't yet shared this family favorites with you... 

... my Whole Grain Applesauce and Sour Cream Pancakes with Warm Maple Syrup. 

Hubby likes them, I like them and now even the toddler likes them. They are soft and fluffy and taste wonderful with that warm maple syrup. I make them every other week and I always feel satisfied when I serve these for breakfast.. Firstly because the toddler has it without any fuss and secondly they are so nutritious. Besides the applesauce and (fatfree) sour cream, these are filled with the goodness of teff. As I have mentioned earlier, teff is a nutrition packed flour with higher protein content than wheat. It has twice as much iron as wheat and barley and a high concentration of a variety of nutrients including calcium and thiamin. Also, because of its high fiber content, is believed to help in dealing with diabetes and assisting with blood sugar control. 

Recipe Swap "Onion" Carbonara # French Fridays with Dorie

Cooking French on alternative Fridays seems to have become a norm with me. Though last week was different. I was travelling and there was no way I could have cooked or shared my review of Mme. Maman's Chopped Liver. The mixed reviews by Doristas are however making me curious about the dish, so you'll probably hear my opinions about it soon. For now let me tell you much I enjoyed Onion Carbonara...

Dorie describes this recipe as a variation of chef Michel Richard's play on the classic spaghetti carbonara. Since I have never tried the latter I cannot comment how the two compare in taste. All I can say is that onion carbonara is a very easy and tasty dish. All you need to do is steam the onions until they are just "al dente". Then saute the steamed onions with bacon bits and cream and finally dress it up with a yolk and cream sauce and a drizzle of Parmesan cheese. The process takes less than 10 minutes (provided you have bits of precooked bacon in your freezer) and the dish tastes amazing when served as a side with spicy chicken and plain rice.

I had cooked half of the recipe and immediately afterwards had a small portion for lunch. I liked it but was not overly excited. But when I had the chilled version for dinner, I realized why Dorie spoke so highly about it. Funny Dorie suggests serving it as soon as the yolk and cream dressing is added... I really enjoyed the chilled version better. 

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about onion carbonara.

You can find a version of the recipe here .  As I mentioned I cooked half of the recipe and used fat free sour cream in place of cream. For Dorie's original recipe and more such delicious ones order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.  

PÍO V (Nicaraguan Christmas Cake) # Baking Partners Dec '13 Challenge

With Christmas just a week away, it was only apt that Christmas cake be chosen as the theme for this month's Baking Partners Challenge. However when Swathi asked me to suggest few recipes I was at loss.. I am a newbie at the food scenario and have very little knowledge of  traditional recipes. I learn and cook from the books and websites that I find attractive and that explains why this blog does not have a specific direction. Anyhow a week later Swathi suggested that I look into Yule log recipes which led me to these ones... 

1. French Yule Log by Flore of Florilège Gourmand  from Use Real Butter
2. A Vegan version of Flore's French Yule Log from The Healthy Kitchen
3. Bûche de Noël (Williams-Sonoma Recipe)
4. Vegan Buche de Noel from Bon appetit

Besides the Yule Log Cakes, I also found this Nicaraguan Christmas Cake recipe that looked very appealing. So I included it in the list.. and decided to try this before I get started at the French Yule Log..

  

Pío V though called a Christmas Cake is really a gourmet dessert with a cake base and a custard topping that is typically served in Niacaragua during Christmas. It is made up of marquesote, sopa borracha, and manjar. Translated literally marquesote means cake, sopa borracha means drunken soup referring to the a rum-laced syrup that the cake is soaked in and manjar means custard. Apparently, this dessert is named after the 16th century Pope Pius V,  however there is no written evidence or verbal conjecture bearing proofs of it.

Tasty Tuesday #41

Hello  everyone !!

 Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mom on the Run x2 | West Street Story | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Tasty Tuesday #40

Hi  everyone !! 

 Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mom on the Run x2 | West Street Story | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Orange-Almond Tuiles # French Fridays with Dorie

I have to say, Orange-Almond Tuiles are one of the most elegant tea-time cookies I have ever tasted..

I got introduced to Tuiles recently and was pretty excited about baking them for French Fridays with Dorie. Though a little delicate and somewhat finicky, tuiles are always a delight to serve with tea. In the past I have tried Dorie's Translucent Maple Syrup tuiles and until Friday we thought that those are the best cookies we've ever had. But these tuiles are even better. They were simply delicious. Even the little one couldn't stop at one.

A Green Detox Smoothie...

Today we are travelling to Texas. Husband has a conference to attend, so son and I tagged along to visit my cousins who live there. With all the packing, cleaning, etc yesterday was pretty hectic. So much so that sitting down for lunch was not an option. Of course I could skip lunch altogether.. but thats not so good... right ? So I hopped over to to Swathi's,  Zesty South Indian Kitchen for inspiration .. and minutes later blended up this gem of a smoothie for myself...

Made with Baby Spinach, cucumber, orange juice, apples and pomegranate, this Green Smoothie can come in quite handy when you are looking for a quick antidote for your holiday decadence. The recipe is inspired by Swathi's Green Goddess Smothie. I did not have most of her ingredients in hand so I made a concoction of my own and was mighty pleased with the blend. I do not know why I do not make smoothies more often. They get done so quickly and if made with the correct ingredients they can be so satisfying and refreshing ... 

Herbed Manchego Cheese Soufflé with Onion Pear Jam

Earlier today I shared with you the recipe of a spicy Onion Pear Jam and as a teaser for what was about to follow, I shared a photograph of my herbed Manchego cheese soufflé topped with the spicy Jam. I had planned to post the souffle sooner... but then life happened and I had to wait till everything fell into place and I was free to jot down the recipe.. 

So here's the recipe of the cheese soufflé for you... I adapted it from Dorie's recipe of Muenster cheese soufflé. A few weeks back I had tried out her recipe for French Fridays with Dorie and found it a little bland for my taste. Recounting the experience I tweaked the recipe this time to add more flavors and guess what.... this time it turned out great. The soufflé tasted delicious with the added herbs and spicy jam and this time both husband and I loved it. 

Spicy Onion Pear Jam

Todays recipe is adapted from La Mia Cucina, the blog that belonged to the original Daring Baker,  Lisa Cifelli. She recently passed away and in her memory many Daring Bakers and old time bloggers posted gorgeous bakes soon after...  I did not know her personally or even otherwise but was led to her space and this particular Onion-Pear Jam several times in the past few weeks. It looked too interesting to pass off. So I adjusted today's menu and decided to give it a try..

It turned out even more gorgeous than I had imagined.

Tasty Tuesday #39... now in Ma Niche

Hi  everyone !! Its time for Tasty Tuesday and I am excited on being chosen as one of the 10 permanent hosts for this party. Thank you so much Annyonita !

 Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mom on the Run x2 | West Street Story | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Eggless Decorated Sugar Cookies & Weekly Menu Plan

The Christmas issue of Bon Appétit describes Sugar Cookies as Holiday Workhorse. But it takes time and patience to make the traditional sugar cookies.. Mix, chill, bake.. then make the royal icing and like a pro pipe it out make the cookies look like a work of art.. what if I told you that there was an easier way out. one that involves less time and less work. Wouldn't you be elated ? Well I was when I found the recipe to these

decorated cookies at My Diverse Kitchen...

Double Chocolate Cranberry Hazelnut Cookies

'Tis officially the cookie season and I have been baking lots of them. Few old favorites and some new ones. The old favorites are mostly Martha Stewart recipes.. Nothing beats the deliciousness of her chewy chocochips cookies... Nothing other than these Double Chocolate Cranberry Hazelnut Cookies...

In view of my husband's growing cholesterol and his doctor's advice I tweaked Martha's recipe to use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. Also I added some hazelnuts to the cookie dough.. Yes. like all nuts, the fat content in hazelnuts is high, however they are good unsaturated fats that keep your heart healthy and mentally alert. Consumption of the latter was also recommended by the doctor. (In case you are interested you can read more about the nutritional facts of hazelnuts here.)

I must mention that the whole wheat flour and the hazelnuts did not meddle with the awesomeness of these cookies... In spite of  their presence these cookies turned out to be as decadent as ever...