Meenal's Kitchen

Something new something fresh–part 5

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:40:00 +0000

4 posts to my friend's series and going strong still. And I have more coming up:)It just keeps getting better.Check part 4 here.) and part 3 here.)

I am very excited to introduce you to today's chef-Richa. Richa and I have been friends for over 2 yrs and she's a wonderful friend. A fashionista, who loves to sport the latest trends and designers, a go-getter, beauty with brains and sweetness personified is who she is. I can safely say that so far that I have never seen upset or angry even once and that's no mean fate :))Shes great..you get the picture, right?:)

Richa and I

The recipe Iam about to feature here was yummy- Bharwa Mirchi . She made this along with some other with a bunch of other delicacies and I truly loved it.Just the picture, makes me want to have some again.I assure you, you will feel the same way once you look at it.Here goes the recipe:)

You need:
Green Chilies: 13 large sized
Grated Coconut: 4 tbsp
Potato: 1
Fresh Coriander leaves: a few springs
Oil: 5 tbsp
Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp
Aniseed powder:1/2 tsp
Cumin powder (roasted and grinded):1/4 tsp
Coriander powder (roasted and grinded):1/4 tsp
Amchoor: 1 tbsp
Salt: to taste

This is how you make it
Wash & wipe green chillies. Slit and deseed. Apply a little salt and keep aside for thirty minutes. Wash well and let drain.Boil, peel and grate the potato. Clean, wash and finely chop coriander leaves. Heat two table spoon of oil and temper with asafetida and mustard seeds .Add coconut and sauté till lightly colored. Add grated potato and sauté for another five minutes. Add red chili powder, aniseed powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and amchoor. Sauté till well mixed.Season and add coriander leaves. Remove from heat and set aside.Stuff mixture into chilies and keep aside. Heat remaining oil in a shallow pan. Place chilies, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and serve hot. Yes, it was D-E-L-I-C-O-U-S :))Enjoy the Bharwa Mirchi.

Bharwa Mirchi

Something new something fresh–part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:43:00 +0000

Yes its Thursday,(But Iam still thinking of it as late late Wednesday night so I can tell myself I made the Wednesday blog post).Iam putting together "Something New Something fresh part-4" at this unearthly hour ,that's how much I love this weekly feature. Incase you are wondering why I didn't feature this on Wednesday, here's my excuse ..Iam still celebrating my bday which mostly turns out to be week long, thats how lucky Iam :))(Read more here.)

And today Iam very happy to introduce you to my friend Ishita. This Leo Lawyer was born on August 15th(fantastic coincidence)and is a wonderful girl.If you read my blog ,you would know that she's the one who's baby shower we celebrated in March.(Read more here.)We have known each other a while and we are close now,close enough for me to think of her like a younger sister:)She's smart,spirited and knows how to speak her mind and I really like that about her.In June, she's going to be mommy to a baby Marisha:) Can't wait to see the little rock star.

Ishita and Me

This Bengali lioness loves Seafood and cooks it really well.So I pestered her to give me this recipe and she was sweet enough to give it to me right away. Thanks Ishi!Its called Bhapa Chingri (steam cooked prawns in Mustard sauce)and its delicious. I don't need to say anything because the picture from Chef Ishita says all:)

You need:
10-15 Prawns(depending on the size)- shelled, washed and deveined
1-1.5 tbsp - Mustard seeds
4-6 - green chillies
2 tbsp of coconut powder
2 tbsp of coconut milk (Ishita uses both as the coconut milk adds flavor and the powder adds to the texture of the sauce)
mustard oil(it is important to use mustard oil as it adds to the pungent taste which is the speciality of the dish)
turmeric powder
salt to taste

This is how you make it
After the prawns have been cleaned and washed, marinate it with salt and turmeric powder and keep aside. In a spice/coffee grinder, take the mustard seeds and grind it dry till it forms a fine paste. For the last few seconds put in 2-3 green chillies in the same grinder and grind it together with the mustard seeds. Take out the mixture and soak it in enough water to form a paste & keep aside.
Now, in a small to medium size stainless steel air tight box, coat the bottom slightly with mustard oil. now add the prawns, coconut powder, coconut milk mustard paste, salt to taste and turmeric to the box. Add a little water but not too much. Before shutting the lid, add a little extra mustard oil to the dish along with the rest of the green chillies slit vertically.
Place the tightly shut box on a bed of water in a large skillet and put it on medium high heat. as the water boils, it will heat up the box and cook the shrimps. Ensure that the skillet does not run out of water. Cook for 10-13 minutes(shrimp takes very little time to cook) and then take the box out of the water. leave the lid on till the box cools down and then open.

Enjoy the shrimp in mustard sauce with plain white/brown rice.

Bhapa Chingri

When it rains it pours

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Pun Intended :)) I fell sick for about 10 days and then was recovering and then before I got in any kind of shape to post, my laptop gave up on me .I am working from a loaner right now and don't have access to a lot of my food pictures and thats why you saw hardly any posts from me this past week so I do have a lot of recipes to share...SOB! SOB!

But I have been well, alive and definitely kicking. Today is my birthday and Iam blessed to have a wonderful husband, family and friends who have things planned for me through the week. I look forward to returning with lots of pics from this week, eating at different restaurants and sharing those stories with you all :)

Cheers :))

I also wanted to thank Priya for giving me the "I love your blog" award. Priya thanks so being such a sweetheart and honoring me.I also ,really like your blog.You can follow Priya's blog here.

Will return with a ton of pictures and stories next week. Till then, watch this space for my "cooking with friends" section tomorrow, where I feature another wonderful friend and her recipe

Something new something fresh–part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:26:00 +0000

Dear friends,I am stoked at your comments and words of encouragement on this series. It has galvanized me and I hope to feature more and more of my friends every Wednesday. It was such a bummer that I missed last week’s entry but you all know why that was:) I am just very glad to be back and posting again. Check out part 1 here.and part 2 here from the Something new something fresh series.

So without further ado, let’s just jump right in and I’ll introduce you to today’s Chef. She is..... Aparna.Will you believe me if I tell you, that we have never met...even once.Yet, I feel like we have known each other for many years!!She lives thousands of miles across the world and we are connected only through the world wide web and yet we’ve been friends for 4 yrs now.I look at that as an achievement in itself. Wouldn't you:)?

We met on a social networking site,decided to take a chance on each other and look how that chance paid off ..because today I consider her a really good friend (we have talked about all things under the sun). She recently got married to the love of her life V,who’s a great guy and also a very good cook.Needless to say, Iam very happy for this creative and artistic woman. All the very best on the exciting new chapter in your life, my friend :))

Aparna on her engagement day, Feb 09

Aparna's recipe has a fabulous name.It's called Ali Nazik and is a Turkish dish. (Aparna had this dish at a friend's place and loved the taste so decided to make it herself. She customized it’s a bit to suit her taste buds and it turned out well despite apprehensions). The dish is served in 2 layers on a serving dish. First comes the vegetarian part of it, and the beef part is layered on top of that. This sounds so yummy that I have to try it soon.Let’s get cooking

You need:
For the beef preparation:
260gm ground beef (you could use ground lamb if you don't have beef).
1 medium onion, chopped.
2 medium tomatoes, diced.

For the vegetarian preparation:
3 medium sized egg plants.
5 green capsicums.
6 cloves of garlic, chopped.
200gm yogurt (you could reduce or increase this as per your liking).

Spices and garnish:
(The measurements for garnish and spices vary according to personal liking.)
A bunch of parsley, chopped.
5 to 6 green chillies - sliced.
1 teaspoon of black pepper.
2 teaspoons of chilli powder.
1 teaspoon of coriander powder (a spice that i added on my own).
Salt (as per taste).
Around 4 tablespoons of olive oil.

This is how you make it
The Vegetables
Broil the eggplants and capsicums in the oven. (If you like her, don't have an oven, you could roast them over open flame, something that's done for making baingan-bharta, but without the oil).
After the vegetables have cooled down, peel off the burnt layers. Rinse in water.
Dice the capsicums and the egg plant pulp and mix them up together.

(Note: Usually, the capsicum-eggplant mix is not cooked over flame. Rather, olive oil, chopped garlic, chilli powder is mixed into the mix. She wasn't sure, how well she would have taken to the 'raw' taste of the mixture, hence this variant.)

In a deep pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium flame.
Add the chopped garlic and saute (don't let the garlic bits burn).
Add in the eggplant capsicum mix into this, stir will. Add in salt as per your taste and chilli powder. Stir and mix everything well.
Take the mixture off the flame. Add in yogurt (as mentioned before, you can reduce or increase the amount of yogurt; depends on your personal liking). Make sure that the yogurt is not watery. The mix that you get by adding the yogurt should be of a nice and thick consistency.
Transfer this mix to the serving dish.

The Beef
Saute the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan over medium heat.
Add in the diced tomatoes.
Add salt (as per taste), coriander powder, black pepper powder.
Keep stirring for a while so that the spices mix well with the onion and tomatoes.
Add in the ground beef and keep stirring until cooked.(Note: Its okay to add in some water in between, just make sure that the beef preparation is not 'watery' in the end).
After the beef is done, layer this beef mixture over the eggplant-capsicum mixture that you had put into the serving dish.
Garnish with chopped parsley and sliced green chillies.ENJOY

AliNazik

Back (with a Bang I hope)

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:58:00 +0000

One terrible week and Iam back as promised. This flu was quite persistent ,just didn't want to leave me the heck alone:) After losing my voice and trying to eat food that mostly tasted like cardboard ..I am raring to go to the kitchen and conjure the spiciest thing I can think of, but Iam still recovering and my system is not yet ready for that spicy jolt so I'll take it easy and graduate to some interesting food soon:))

Good to be back and THANKS so so much for your love, support and good wishes .Means the world to me and I REALLY appreciate it. Recipes coming soon:)

Down but not out

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Hello Friends,

Hope you all have been well and posting regularly :) No post from me since Monday , that's because Iam under the firm grip of the flu and even though I would love to,I cant post recipes and stories right now. Looks like the Wednesday series might elude me as well.

I will be back in a few days, hopefully fit as a fiddle :))

Ciao
-Meenal

You asked for it "Grilled Lemon pepper Salmon"

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Michele,who is a blogger pal for 4 years now had this to say to me recently “you can still take a picture of food and make it irresistible to the viewer. I’ll have to scroll and see if you have a fun and 'doable' recipe for Salmon. My kids are picky and I'm trying to get them to eat fish. So far, it's not working. But I keep trying because fish is so healthy!”

Thanks a ton Michele and not a problem at all :)I grew up eating a lot of fish and it’s an integral part of my diet.So a quick and doable salmon recipe is child's play for me. Some of you who are not into salmon ,must wonder ”what's the big deal??” Well,salmon is packed with Omega 3 fatty acids,amino acids and other minerals which make it perfect in every way.Lets talk some benefits, shall we?
•Muscles, Tissues, Enzymes, Hormones etc
•Cardio-Vascular Health
•Metabolism
•Eye Care
•Brain & Nerves. Read some more here.

Beauty benefits:(ladies do I have your attention now:)?
•helps improve the production of collagen, keratin and melanin.
•prevents dry skin patches
•prevents wrinkles :))Is that reason enough??
•boost's the skin's ability to retain water.
•improves skin texture and adds luster to eyes, skin, hair and nails. More here.

Are we still thinking ??? OK, in that case,lets go to a recipe ,that should surely convert you.Iam going to start with a easy-breezy recipe for salmon .I call it the Grilled Lemon-pepper salmon

You need
4 Alaskan salmon steaks
For marinade
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1.5 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

This is how you make it
Mix all ingredients of the marinate and pour over the salmon steaks. Cover and let the steaks absorb the marinade for about 10-15 minutes. You are now ready to grill the fish. Place the marinated fish on the grill and let it cook(you could pan fry it, bake,broil it,cook it in foil,whichever technique works for you). If the steaks are thin you could do each side for about 2 minutes and if they are thick , let them cook for about 4 minutes each. Be careful not to move or turn the fish too much ,as it could becomes really soft on cooking and disintegrate.

Garnish with lemon wedges, a sprig of cilantro and serve with salad, steamed vegetables, with rice or as is. Check out another of my salmon recipes here.

Grilled Lemon Pepper Salmon

Hope you and your kids like this one, Michele :)

Something new something fresh–part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:09:00 +0000

Welcome back to my "Something new something fresh" – Wednesday series. Got a good response from my last week’s posting and Iam back with my second post for the series. Read more about part 1 here.

Today’s Chef is Vandana- one of my closest friends.Here's a little testimonial I had written for her once "Smart, pretty, confident, friendly ,caring and a great cook, V is a friend I would custom order, but didn’t have to because I got lucky enough to find her one fine day. One of the most genuine people I know, she’s a terrific mix of traditional and the modern……."And this was 2 yrs ago. Since then our friendship has only grown and she’s like family.

Vandana and I at Durga Puja ,2007

Vandana and I at Durga Puja,2008

Vandana is a Bombay girl(I prefer Bombay to Mumbai:)and loves her spicy street food. She comes from a close knit family and also loves corn, diamonds and Abhishek Bachchan (in no specific order) and claims that she did not cook at all before she moved to the US of A.Haha..Right!! I love her scrumptious dosas and rajasthani food. Finally, here’s the recipe I would like to share from V’s Pandora’s Box- Corn Bhel (an excellent appetizer, mid day snack and very healthy).She made it last yr at a get together and it was finger licking good.

You need
1.5 cups corn–(she used frozen corn)
1 large onion-chopped
2 large potatoes–(she used Yukon gold potatoes)
2-4 green Thai chilies finely chopped(Use 4 if you like it spicy)
2 chopped tomatoes-(optional -she doesn't use it because of allergies)
2 tablespoon cilantro chutney (recipe given below)
2 tablespoon tamarind/date chutney(she used store bought chutneys)
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
Lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Chaat Masala
1 teaspoon Sandwich Masala (she gets it from Bombay)
1/4 teaspoon Amchur Powder - optional
Sev(Indian crispy noodles) for garnishing-(bought at any Indian grocery store)

Cilantro chutney
4 cups of cilantro leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic.
2-3 green thai chillies.
1 teaspoon (cumin) seeds
Salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste

This is how you make it
For Cilantro chutney:
Grind all the ingredients together and add a little bit of water for consistency. Add salt and lemon juice to taste.
Corn Bhel
Boil the corn with a little salt and turmeric. Drain the water & keep aside.
Boil the potatoes and peel and mash.
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients thoroughly and keep aside. This bhel can be served either hot or cold. When you are ready to serve, garnish with the sev.ENJOY!!

Corn Bhel

Soup for the soul

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:22:00 +0000

The Weather's been terrible here in Seattle lately but then its almost always bad (seriously,we Seattlites never know if it will rain,snow or be overcast the next hour.The Sun is always playing peek-a-boo,titillating us with occasional appearances through a cloud ridden sky and and then mysteriously disappearing on us for days on end.We are always prepared for the worst).

But even we, were not prepared for the snow storm in Dec'08 when it snowed continuously for week and we were forced to be under house arrest.Our state government was not equipped to handle all the chaos that ensued and all freeways and roads turned into free for all ski resorts.Though all that pristine snow is a sight to behold, its not fun after a week when one runs out of movies to watch,food to cook and people to call.A week then feels like a year.Arrgh, I never want to be in house arrest again with the weather holding me prisoner in my own home. For more pictures of how unforgiving snow in Seattle can be go here:)

Its almost April and we are still getting snow.As if that's not enough....the economic climate makes you want to throw up your hands in despair.With more 650,000 jobs lost in Feb'09 alone and the unemployment steadily climbing up(8.1%),we are learning to reach out for that comfort food,self soothe and just hang in there and hope it will get better.Or will It?

Its for times like this ,that I make my vegetable and turkey soup.A bowl of that, and I am instantly filled with a sense of well being and hope that all will right with the world again, for a few hours at least :) Try it, its good and did I say HEALTHY?

You need
1 tablespoon Canola Oil
1 cup chopped medium onion
2 cups ground turkey
4 cups water (you can use chicken or vegetable stock too)
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped Carrots
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms(any kind are fine)
1/2 cup Corn(fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
2 medium chopped Tomatoes
1 18oz can of black beans
1 cup Cooked baby shrimp ( I added them just for fun)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 Bay leaves
2 tablespoons Parsley
1 teaspoon cumin powder
Salt and Pepper -- to taste

This is how you make it
In a large pot,heat oil and add cumin and bay leaves.When they splutter add onions, mushrooms,carrots,bell peppers,zucchini,corn,black beans and ground turkey.Saute till the vegetables are soft and turkey looks cooked.Add diced tomatoes and saute till they are soft and done.Add salt ,pepper,cumin powder and water.When the soup begins to boil,add the cooked baby shrimp. Cook for a few minutes and stir in parsley.Simmer until done.Take off the soup and serve hot,as is or with bread. You can add a dash of lime juice to the soup.Feel better already? Mission accomplished :))

Vegetable and turkey soup

The Reappearance

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:20:00 +0000

Of what, you ask?I shall tell you in a moment or...two!! Well let me tell you a bit about myself first. Iam a marketing professional, also pursuing a course at UW(University of Washington).As part of the course, Iam working on marketing project for which me and my team mates meet every weekend and plan ahead for our project. OKKK, enough of the boring stuff already.The point is,the girls in the team are a lot of fun and we get along very well.Double that fun with food,drinks and conversation, Cheers to more of that:))

We met this morning-bright and early. Alix,our gracious host arranged for coffee bagels,strawberries and whipped cream.Elise got fruit and I got...that's right,this is where it reappeared,THE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE CAKE(TPUC).

One of my favorite cakes, TPUC is an absolute essential on my recipe arsenal.I learnt to bake it when I was 10 and associate it with a lot of special childhood memories.Needless to say, I have baked it again and again.I had blogged about it in Feb2006 when I hosted a party for the Superbowl.Read more about it(here).Back then I was a regular blogger.I suppose,the reappearance of this cake is a sign that I too,have resurfaced and this time no breaks for me.Pull out all the stops,Iam raring to go:)You can find the recipe(here)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

How did the cake taste??I think I will let this picture do all the talking.All Iam going to say is,Iam so glad everyone liked it and posed happily with the cake.Thanks ladies!!

(From left to right:Elise,Catherine,Me,Holly and Alix)

This recipe is dedicated to team CoreConcepts

Something new something fresh

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:12:00 +0000

Cooking for family, friends and fun is integral to my blog, this is where I publish stories and recipes around the three:).Today I begin, a weekly feature on my blog called "Cooking with friends" Every Wednesday, I will feature a friend of mine and her wonderful recipe:)).Iam very excited and hope you all enjoy reading it as well.

Today's chef is my friend Joyeeta, a sweet and wonderful person she's also a wonderful cook(though she doesn't want to admit to being one.)We met after she came across my blog and we started talking to each other:Joyeeta is inspired by her mom's cooking,and literally cooks up a storm everytime she hosts a party.I have been to many of her parties and you can only imagine,how much good food I have tucked in because of her.Recently,I went to another of her awesome parties and she had yet again outdone herself.Joyeeta has been a sweetheart to share all those recipes from the party and one by one I will feature them all .

Joyeeta and I at the Husky Stadium

Here's one of her many recipes,"chicken Satay with Peanut sauce". Try it, its really yummy:)

You need
For Chicken Satay
Chicken Breast cut lengthwise into strips
Wooden Skewers soaked in cold water for 1/2 hr or more
Marinade
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (eyeball the measurement)
Siracha chilli sauce (1 tsp)
salt
Cumin powder (1 tsp)
Corriander power (1tsp)
Garlic
Minced Shallots (2 tbsp)
Dark Soy Sauce (2 tbsp)
Brown Sugar (1 tbsp or more depending on taste)
1 tbsp oil

For peanut sauce(Courtesy of the Joy of Cooking)
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsps firmly packed light brown sugar ( i just used dark)
1 tbsp fish sauce (i used a little)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp canned Thai Massaman Curry Paste (i used Thai red curry paste)
1/2 tsp curry powder

This is how you make it
Chicken satay :Mix all the ingredients of the marinade and taste it to adjust any of the ingredients before adding the chicken.
You can also puree the marinade.Put the washed chicken strips into the marinade and let it sit for 2hrs to 4 hrs.Thread the skewer with each chicken strip.Hi Broil for 10 mins on one side,5 mins on the other.Time varies with each oven so keep checking to see if it's cooked, it should have a nice golden brown color. Garnish with basil leaves.

Peanut sauce :Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan.Whisk in a 1/2 cup hot water thoroughly.Simmer, stirring occasionally, over low heat until the flavors are well blended, 15 to 20mins. Stir in:Fresh lime juice.Serve it warm with the chicken satay!

A Hawaiian Baby shower and some chowmein

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:57:00 +0000

What a title :))Was at a good friends "Hawaiian " babyshower yesterday which was tremendous fun.It was so funny because there was rain all around and the weather was anything but Hawaiian.Turned out to be one of the most colorful babyshowers I have been to, with everyone in their Hawaiian best.The venue -N&N's place(gracious hosts),the cake- really cute,the food-outstanding (we did potluck..noodles baked in white sauce,fruit salad, pasta salad,chowmein,hummus&pita bread),charming decor ,fun games and great company all around.Even with the weather being a party pooper,what a fine Saturday indeed!

The beautiful cake :)

Me and mine felt Hawaiian and so colorful

The lovely parents to be

Our friends have chosen a beautiful name for their soon to arrive to bundle of joy(cant disclose it till she's here)and we wish them the very best.

I&P,here's a little poem for your baby girl

"Tiny fingers, tiny toes,
Little itty bitty clothes.
Dresses, ribbons & hair to curl,
We're tickled pink I&P are having a girl!"

A dress and cute little shoes for baby M

So what did Aunty Meenal make for the babyshower?She volunteered to make Chowmein for the potluck style party,which was well appreciated .Some of my friends asked for the recipe and here it is

You need
2 pounds precooked Yakisoba noodles(I get them at Costco)
2 medium sized onions-finely sliced
2 bell peppers-julienned(I chose orange and yellow for color)
3 cups baby spinach (any other will also do)
8 oz sliced mushrooms (crimini or button)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

This is how you make it
Heat the oil in a deep vessel and add diced onions, bellpeppers and mushrooms. Stir till the veggies start looking transparent and slightly wilted. Add the baby spinach and cover for a minute. All that spinach will have wilted down, you can now add salt and cover again.Once the veggies look like they are done , add in the yakisoba noodles, soy sauce and fold in everything so the veggies are nicely blended with the noodles. Top with black pepper and take off the heat. Serve hot :)

Vegetable Chow Mein
Cheers to the lovely parents to be :))

The Freindship award

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:26:00 +0000

And there it was ..the "Freindship award " from one of my newest Blogosphere buddies Anu. Thanks so much Anu, Iam smiling right now.

Here's what her blog read "It’s time for celebration. For what? Blogging pal Priya Sriram has awarded me “FRIENDS” award.I am elated to receive this award buddy. So sweet of you to remember me.For more read(here)

The award comes with the following tag:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers." Here are 8 of my blogging buddies.

(Asha from Foodies Hope)
(Indira from Mahanandi)
(Lubna from Kitchen Flavors)
(Kay from Towards a better tomorrow)
(Food Fanatic)
(Sandeepa from Bong Mom's Cookbook)
(Trupti from the Spice who loved me)
(Usha from Veg Inspirations)

Congrats you guys and pay it forward to 8 of your friends .

Holi Hai

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:32:00 +0000

Happy Holi everyone :)) For my non Indian readers who want to know what Holi is , here is some info(Holi).Every time around Holi and Diwali,I miss home so much its almost painful. My mind is flooded with good times and memories-friends and family hanging out,mom's superlative cooking,dad's organizing a community dinner and us kids helping organize and being mom's side kicks in the kitchen.

Holi was always such a blast.We started the day in our old clothes because we knew that they would be unrecognizable at the end of the day ,so why bother.White was the color of choice since it showcased all the other colors we would play with,so well.Some of us were more adventurous and wore new white and paid the price for it:))

Mom would start preparing all the goodies on Holi eve -gujhia, mathi, chaat, kachoris, gulabjamuns ,other sweets and a lunch menu(gosh, the woman never tired).Come Holi morning and we had a stream of visitors-applying dry colors on each others face and exchange holi goodies-funnn!!The ritual continued with us visiting more friends.After we had played dry holi for a few hours,the kids would graduate to the wet holi(mixing dry colors with water,the more adventurous tried to mix colors that would not come off for many days).We would splash that colored water one each other, over and over again on each other till we could not tell who the other person was .It was hilarious to return to school next day with pink ears or purple hands.Ofcourse none of us gave any thought to how all that color would come off. Let me just tell you, it took hours of cleaning just to look normal again, but always worth it.

The dry colors

And now to the Yummy part.We had our traditional Holi lunch of rajma(kidney beans), dahi bada/dahi vada/dahi bhalley( fried,salted lentil donuts in spicy yogurt),pulao(basmati rice with seasoning),poori(fried Indian flat bread),other side dishes that varied and kheer(stove top pudding made with rice, milk and sugar).Mom made sure, she passed on her recipes to her 3 kids and we proudly carry on the tradition to this day.The day ended with more friends visiting and before we knew it the day was over and we were already waiting for Next year.I still do:)

Holi in the US of A can be a lot of fun with the right people and Iam lucky to have the right people in my life. Though mom and dad can't be here all the way from India , I always feel their presence and blessings in all festivities and my celebrations with freinds.Here's one of my previous holi posts.(Holi 2007)and one of my holi recipes here(Tomato Paneer)

Holi 2008

Here are pictures from one of my host fun holi ever ..Holi 2005,we organized a get together and had about 20 friends over

just to give you an idea of the physical transformation

and how colorful too

What's holi without some singing?

So what's cooking in my kitchen for Holi 2009 How about some dahi vada(or dahi bhalley)?Dahi vada is popular street food and also is a great side dish to many an Indian dinner/lunch parties.Its essentially vadas(fried,salted lentil donuts) in thick,spicy yogurt sauce.
You need:
1 cup urad dal( washed, soaked overnight and ground to a fine paste.Dont add too much water or the vadas will not hold their shape)
2 inch piece of ginger grated
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
salt to taste
oil for deep frying(I use canola oil, you can use what you want)
2 cups yogurt
4 cups water
Red chili powder to taste
Tamarind chutney(you can pickup ready made chutney at the Indian store)
some lukewarm water to soak the vadas for a few minutes

For garnish
2 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon dahi vada masala(available at Indian grocery stores)
1 teaspoon red chili powder
chopped coriander leaves

This is how you make it
Fold in the grated ginger, green chillies and salt to the urad dal paste and salt.
Pre-heat oil for fryingand roll up your sleeves:)wet your palm with some water and place some urad dal batter on it.Shape it like a donut,then dip your finger in water and poke a penny sized hole into the donut.Gently drop it into the hot oil.(often times, the donut looks done from the outside but actually isn't cooked on the inside.The key is to have the oil at the right temperature and fry it till it turns a golden brown.Dont leave it in the oil too long, it turns dark and hard very fast).Now place these vadas into the lukewarm water you had kept aside. Let them soak for a few minutes and watch them .Dont let them turn all soggy. Take them out,remove the excess water by pressing between both your palms and keep aside.Now, prepare the yogurt with water,and salt(to taste). Blend into a smooth consistency. Divide into two parts. Add the vadas to the first part.Once that's done,pour the second part of the yogurt on top of the vadas.You can perform this step in a nice serving dish or you could do it seperately and then transfer it to a serving dish. Once in the serving dish,add the tamarind chutney in pretty patterns, then repeat the pattern with red chillies, dahi vada masala and cumin powder. In the end add some chopped coriander for that pop of color.(My picture doesn't have the coriander , I know ..I forgot)
There you go. Enjoy this colorful , sweet and savory dish.I look forward to posting more pictures from Holi 2009 celebrations on the weekend

This recipe is dedicated my family and friends

The Worlds Best Food Blogger .. In Ballard , Washington???

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:16:00 +0000

Yes,that's right. Molly Wizenberg is based in Ballard, WA and writes(Orangette).According to Rebekah Denn, Seattle P.i's food writer "Food blogs abound -- as do books from blogs -- but Wizenberg always has stood out as a storyteller as well as a cook, each written entry a jewel box of an essay and an impeccable recipe."Iam a big fan and totally agree. Molly, good luck with your new book "A homemade Life". Read more(here)

Bundt Cake anyone ?

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:47:00 +0000

A Bundt cake is a dessert cake cooked in a Bundt pan forming it into a distinctive ring shape. Bundt cake is pronounced "bunt", the "d" being silent and comes from the german word bund for a gathering.courtesy Wikipedia).A bundt pan is a round baking pan with a tube in the middle with fluted, decorated sides.more at The Find).I got mine at Costco and the results were very pleasing.Here Iam sharing the recipe with you
You need
2 cups granulated sugar
2.5 teaspoons vanilla/vanilla essence
4 eggs
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts(walnuts and raisins)
3 cups flour
Powdered sugar for garnish or topping

This is how you make it
Beat 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs. Sift the dry ingredients, then blend into the mixture.Finally add the nuts and fold in.Pour the batter into the greased Bundt pan.Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Remove from pan while hot.Cool cake and sprinkle with powdered sugar.I garnished the cake with sliced cherries and scooped melon balls(this is totally optional by the way.I just wanted to add some color)

Enjoy:)

Bharwa Karela

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:01:00 +0000

Iam so happy to be back and writing on my blog again. After the not so positive returning post,let get's to my first recipe of the year.

Iam very fond of karela.For those of you not familiar with the Karela, its also called bitter gourd(yes,its bitter but there are ways to do away with that.)From what I know, the bitter gourd has excellent medicinal virtues and one of its multiple medicinal uses if for diabetic patients to lower their sugar.Iam sure its got a ton of other uses(let's save that for another day.)I can tell you that as a child, I did not deal well with this weird looking, oh-my-god-bitter vegetable(but then kids are famous for not eating their veggies.My mom was very persistent though and with time I have come to love this humble looking green colored vegetable.

Before you even ask me, I want to tell you how to remove the bitterness. Once its peeled,karela is rubbed with salt and then left alone for a while.The juice that oozes from this process this process is drained and voila,you are now ready to make "stuffed bitter gourd" a.k.a bharwa karela or any other preparation that you may want.Let's start,shall we?:))

You need:

8 long Bitter Gourds
5 grated Onions(I use the box grater)
2 teaspoons Ginger paste
2 teaspoons garlic paste
2 teaspoons Amchur(Dried Mango Powder)
1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
2 tablespoons canola oil to pan fry(you can use any other oil)
1.5 teaspoon to cook the stuffing
salt to taste

This is how you make it:

Wash and peel the bittergourds. Slit them in the Center keeping the end intact. Sprinkle salt on the peeled bittergourds(eye ball it)and let them sit for half and hour.Fry the grated onions till they turn brown,then add ginger and garlic and stir.Add dried mango powder,red chilly powder,coriander powder and cook.Take it off after its cooked and let the mixture cool. Now pan fry the bittergourds carefully till they turn brown in color.keep them aside and let them cool.Your stuffing and bittergourds are now ready for the next step.Stuff the bittergourds with the mixture carefully, leave a spoon or two for later.Now arrange them in a pan, add the mixture, remaining oil and a little bit of water, the remaining mixture and cover the pan.Now cook on low heat for about 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with rotis/paratha.

I dedicate this recipe to my friend "V" who loves it:) Enjoy!!

Long time no see ..its the recession, I tell you:)

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:28:00 +0000

Hope you are all doing well and posting prolifically on your blogs.If not then,Iam sure that all you readers have been very busy checking out the myriad blogs out there,increasing their web traffic.

It's recession time!! So,what does the recession mean for Restaurants "With job losses mounting and diners staying at home, some share values have fallen out of the frying pan and into the fire.IHOP shares have dropped nearly 90 percent. Applebys and Ruby Tuesday have also seen nearly 90 percent share price declines."Everyone is pulling back," KeyBanc Capital Markets restaurant analyst Lynne Collier told USA Today. "The economy is playing into it." (read more: Here)

Does recession mean more cooking at home ..yes , it does .According to NPR food commentator Bonny Wolf " The recession has brought back home-cooked meals in a big way.It will mean an increase in cooking classes, because people will have to learn how to cook since we haven't been cooking at home for many years," she says.
(read more: Here)

Somber though for troubled times.

(courtesy: Here)

And on that "very positive note",Iam back. Will be posting a lot of recipes from here on out- some recession proof, some not, definitely a wider range of topics facilitating more discussion. Let me know through your comments if you want to see something else on my blog.

Ciao for Now :)

Diwali 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:37:00 +0000

I cooked a lot this yr ... and posting some pictures from Diwali ...will also post other pictures of food I cooked through the year and recipes will follow :)

Stuffed Gobhi

Dum Aloo

Falafel

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:43:00 +0000

Hello everyone, I know I haven't posted in ages but I have cooked like crazy all this while..There just hasn't been time.I took pictures,thinking all the time of posting them here but...if wishes were horses ,I would be flying by now ..

Things have changed and happened and those I will talk of another time but today I wanted to post my falafel recipe here :)

Falafel also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya,is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. It is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze (snack or tapas).

The word "falafel" is the plural of the Arabic word(filfil),meaning pepper.Variant spellings in English include falafel and filafil.

Falafel is generally served in pita bread, either inside the pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat pita. In many countries, falafel is a popular street food or fast food. The falafel balls, whole or crushed, may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzled with tehina (tahini). Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. During Ramadan, they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset. find more info here..So , ready for some felafel??

You need
1 cup dried chickpeas or 16 oz. can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons flour
Salt to taste
Pepper
Oil for frying

This is how you make it:
Soak dried chickpeas in a bowl,overnight.After soaking overnight , boil them. If using canned beans, no need for this step.Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander,cumin,salt and pepper(to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.Mash chickpeas, mixing all the ingredients thoroughly.Feel free to mix everything in a food processor to get a thick paste.

Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball and flatten slightly.Deep fry in oil until golden brown.

Serve hot with hummus or tahini .

Bread Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:57:00 +0000

Another quick appetiser recipe with THE ubiquitous potato.One of my favorites and always makes me think of mom who I used to watch fascinated as she rolled out this little elongated delights..This is for you mom:)

You need :
2 cup Mashed potatoes
1/2 cup Chopped onion (optional)
2 Chopped green chillies
12 Big Bread slices
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder.
1/2 tsp ajwain
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder .
1/2 tsp Amchur(dried mango powder).
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil to deep fry

This is how you make it:
Mix mashed potatoes, chopped onion, green chilli,red chilli powder,ajwain,garam masala,amchurand salt.Knead to make a smooth mixture.Divide the mixture into 12 equal parts. Soak a bread slice in water and then squeeze out the water by pressing the bread slice (flat) between the palms.Take one part of the potato mixture and put it in the centre of the bread slice and seal all its edges. Gently roll it between your palms to give it an elongated shape.Please make sure that the potato mixture doesnt leak out of the slice.Get all the 12 rolls ready to fry.Heat oil in a deep frying pan on high.Deep fry the bread rolls until golden brown.

Serve hot with mint/corrainder/chutney or chilli sauce or just plain tomato sauce.

Murgh Choley

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:05:00 +0000

Murgh is an Indian(mughal influence perhaps!!) name for chicken and sounds way more exotic. Combine that with chickpeas in a curry dish and you have on your hands a yummy,hot deviation from your standard chicken curry.

Murg Choley is basically boneless chicken pieces cooked with chick peas and spices.I always prefer to cook with it drumsticks(you are more than welcome to try it with boneless chicken).The heat of the spices used in this dish is contrasted by the coolness of the yogurt which also provides a certain tartness..

Try it, you shall not be disppointed ..Lets get cooking :)

You need :

6 large Chicken drumsticks(or use 1 lb cubed boneless chicken)
2 onionS Sliced
2 Cups boiled or canned Chick Peas or choley
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
3tbsps oil
Salt to taste
1/2 cup curd
1 tsp chilly Powder
1tsp dhania powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 green Chillies Chopped
2 cloves
2 Choti Elaichi(green cardamoms)
5 black Pepper corns
1 Stick cinnamon
diced corriander to garnish
small piece of julienned(sliced thinly) ginger to garnish

This is how you make it :

Heat 1 tbsp oil and fry onions to a light golden hue.Then remove ,grind into a paste and mix with curd. Now,add dry spices to 2 tbsp oil and add the curd-onion mixture.Follow this by adding the chicken drumsticks,dhania powder ,garam masala,salt and chilli powder .Stir it so that mixtures seeps in nicely into the chicken and then cover.Let it cook till the chicken turns tender.Now add the chickpeas(choley) and some water and let it all cook for 10 minutes .Garnish with chopped coriander, green chillies, ginger sliced and enjoy with rice/naan/rotis..

Tomato Paneer

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 15:38:00 +0000

I made this dish more than a month ago for Holi.The plan was to make matar paneer for the holi party but I couldnt get to the grocery store in time and decided to make do with what I had so Tomato paneer came up instead.It turned out super and was very well appreciated :)

You need:

3 large Tomatoes (ground into puree)
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
2 tsp Coriander Powder
3/4 tsp Tumeric
Salt to taste
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Cumin seeds for seasoning
2 tbsp Oil
1/2 lb Paneer (cut into cubes)
Coriander leaves to garnish

This is how you make it :
In a Pan heat the oil & season with cumin seeds.
Add ginger garlic paste and saute, then add the tomato puree .Follow this up with all the dry spices & stir to combine.Saute till the paste is cooked and leaves the edges of the pan .Now add the cubed paneer, covering it nicely with the tomato and spice puree. Add water approximately so that gravy has medium consistency.Cover with a lid and let it cook for a few minutes.The paneer is now cooked.Keep it covered for a bit so that the paneer imbibes all the flavors thoroughly.

Garnish with chopped corriander leaves and serve hot over Rice/pulao or Roti's.

Mango Bellini

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 02:03:00 +0000

Yeah yeah I know ...I shoud write more often but between globe trotting(read ,my recent trip to Europe) and playing Holi I dont get the time ..I now wish I had gotten more pics of all the delectable stuff we ate in London, Hannover, Amsterdam but thats another post:)

Talking of food ,I have so many recipes and dishes that I have cooked recently but just havent gotten around to posting them .Lets start with some of the recipes some of you have asked for fom my previous posts.

Mango Bellini:

this is delcious and takes less than 2 minutes to make .I made this as a substitute for plain ol Champagne:) . Was definitely well worth it .

You need
Champagne (any name,price range is ok)
Mango nectar(mango juice is also ok but mango nectar is thicker so I thought it did better)

This is how you make it
pour 2 parts champagne in the flute and follow it up with one part mango nectar .

Voila ..your Mango bubbly is ready:)

Holi Hai !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Meenal Mehta) — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 08:26:00 +0000

Hope you all had a wonderful holi .I had not one but two holi parties, both super fun.

Party Number 1..we played paint ball(messy but fun game) and followed it up with punjabi food( makke ki roti, sarson ka sag, paranthas, chole bature etc), played impromptu holi outside the restaurant and had some more fun later

Party No 1..in the restaurant, everyone's clean!!!

everyone after playing holi

party Number 2 ..very fun as well, this was a pot luck party for which I cooked tomato paneer, Paneer and raisin pulao and gulabjamun.We played with colors and danced and played card games..

clean one moment

Unrecognisable the next

The group Mug shot(do we have any colors left?)

Fantastic way to end the week, I say bring more such celebrations...

Here are pictures of what I cooked. Recipes coming soon:)

What I cooked for the Holi potluck

Tomato Paneer

Paneer and Raisin pulao

The wonderful, the evergreen Gulabjamun:)

ENJOY & HOLI MUBARAK !!!