A Peek into my Life

During my daughter's summer vacation, we go to my parent's place in Gujarat for about a month. We come back relaxed and ready to take on the next school year. We also come back with a couple of more kilos on us; given all the delicious mangoes of Gujarat and even more delicious food cooked by mom. This year she made the most delicious alu wadi (if you are in Maharashtra) (or patra, if you are from Gujarat) I had till date. Since we are talking names in different languages, the English name of the leaf is colocasia leaf. Anyway, I tried the recipe as soon as we were back and settled at home after the month-long vacation. I had to record this delicious recipe for reference. This alu wadi is not deep fried but is crisped up on a cast iron skillet with a little oil. To achieve a good browning, the cast iron pan needs to be preheated on high flame first. Once it is hot, keep the flame low throughout the cooking. A small amount of oil along with low and long heat ensures a crisp ...

I had bought some mustard greens and was thinking of ways to cook them. The obvious one was sarson ka saag. I wanted to go a little simpler. I thought of pairing them with one of our favorite dried bean - black-eyed peas. I based this recipe on the famous palak paneer and followed a similar method. This has become our new favorite way to eat greens. I recently made kale this way too. I am so glad to have found another way to eat greens in a totally yummy way while still being so healthy. It never fails to impress the husband (and of course, me too) with its taste. Think of this recipe as a technique and use it on any of the greens, pairing them with different dried beans. Mustard greens with black-eyed peas Ingredients: 1 bunch (4-5 cups) mustard greens 1 cup black-eyed peas 1/2 cup spinach leaves (frozen) * 3 green chilies 2 inch ginger 1 small onion 4 large garlic cloves 1 tomato 1/2 tsp garam masala 2 tsp milk powder * S...

This year we have been eating a lot of salads. We started out eating salads every day when we were in a weight loss phase. Now that we have achieved some of the goals, we have slacked down on salads. I have been a fan of salads for a couple of years now but did not make them at home. As soon as the weather warms up, I am excited because it means I can eat salads when we are eating out (and get that salad thing going at home too). I did not make salads at home because I thought it was an involved process. Buy the greens, keep them fresh, make dressings. It also required keeping the pantry and fridge stocked for salad supplies. I, like many people, was not sure how much salad I would eat at home, to invest in the supplies. I say, if you enjoy eating salads in good restaurants, you can make salads you like at home too. It is really not that intimidating once you get going on your first salad. One of the big reasons we started doing salads was, to up the vegetable and fruit intake. Ou...