Samosas are available in most places in the world as little triangle pastries filled with a variety of vegetarian and non vegetarian fillings. They can be eaten as a snack with a cup of tea or served as a starter with any meal. Gujarati samosas are usually smaller and … Continue reading
I have seen a lot of recipes with Quinoa and I was keen to try some recipes with it as it is highly appreciated for its nutritional value; its protein content is fairly high –though not as high as most beans and legumes. There is lots of information and recipes using Quinoa on … Continue reading
Moist eggless banana muffins with a hint of spice and a surprisingly crunchy nutty crumble topping. Preparation time – 15 minutes Cooking time -25 minutes Makes 12 muffins Ingredients: For muffins 2 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup oil 1/4 cup coarsely chopped Brazil nuts (can use … Continue reading
A lot of Indian restaurants and take away places serve complimentary green chutney which is usually eaten as a dip with pakora, samosa, kachoris etc. Having worked in a restaurant and knowing the secrets of some their cooking, I never eat these chutneys as I am never too sure how … Continue reading
I never liked cooking the yellowy orange fleshed sweet potatoes as I always managed to get them soft and mushy. The white flashed sweet potatoes are very similar to potatoes and I preferred those. However, since my kids have started to cook them as sweet potatoes are healthier than … Continue reading
Ladoos/ladus are a name for a lot of ball shaped Indian sweets. Most ladoos are made from either a mixture of flours such as chick pea flour, wheat flour or semolina , sugar and nuts. Boondi/Bundi na ladoo (ladu) or besan ke ladoo(ladu) are one of the most popular sweets … Continue reading
Crispy Tunisian style stuffed semolina bread with a spicy vegetarian harissa filling. Preparation time 30 minutes Dough Resting time 1.5 hours Cooking time -25 minutes Makes 5 Ingredients: 240 g / 8 oz fine semolina 1 teaspoon fast acting yeast 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon oil 1/2 … Continue reading
Ingredients: Mixed Nuts (Almonds, Pistachios, Cashew nuts) – 1 Cup Poppy Seeds / Khus Khus – 2 tbsp Cardamoms – 4 -5 Sugar – 1 Cup Ghee Clarified Butter ( ghee)- 1 tbsp Method: 1. Slice all mixed nuts. Powder the Cardamom seeds. 2. In a heavy bottomed pan, add … Continue reading
APPLE TART The final result of the tart was worth all the time spent in mixing and chopping and waiting !! Do not look for too many shortcuts to reduce the time to make a flaky and delicious apple tart but the entire process is actually a real stress buster! … Continue reading
Think ‘Italy’ and you are instantly your mind is flooded with images of well dressed Italians, the Collosseum, the gondola and of course – pasta! What are the reasons that make Italian cuisine so popular and acceptable worldwide – the liberal use of olive oil? the freshly plucked tomatoes? the … Continue reading
Some of you might think that I am a regular viewer of the Indian soap opera “Iss pyar ko kya naam doo?” However, I have never watched this show. Have you ever seen this show? As for me, I sometimes just see glimpses of such shows when flickering through the channels. The recipe … Continue reading
A “crescendo” of mangoes takes place every year in India between the months of March and July. They roll into the markets in small numbers at the start of the season, being quite expensive. By the time the harvest peaks they are all over the place, playfully cheap and ready … Continue reading
Since my teenage days I have had a habit to scribble down any recipes that I like. I am not shy or afraid of asking people if I like their dish. I have many notebooks which I have filled with written recipes, rather than bought books. Most of the time … Continue reading
A few weeks ago my husband wanted to have some choley bhathure for the weekend and so I prepared it for him. While I was preparing the dough I started thinking about my childhood trip to Delhi and my mind was flooded with old memories (read here if you want to know more). … Continue reading
Its that time of the year again. Time to bake plum cakes and cookies, lavish meals being planned and families are eagerly awaiting the Christmas lunch with loved ones. Christmas trees are being decorated with star lights, there are carols being sung. All in all, its music and lights and … Continue reading
I am a great fan of aubergines, and in whatever way they are prepared, I am in heaven. My husband and son love them too. I cook and stuff aubergins with diffrent versions of masalas. So every time I prepare them, and I take photographs as I normally do, but for … Continue reading
Onion bhajis are one of Britain’s most popular and most frequently consumed Indian snacks. They have a unique and sensational flavour to them. Here in the United Kingdom they are eaten as starter or side dish in Indian restaurants along with poppadoms and chutney, pickle and mint sauce. In India, onion bhaji top the comfort … Continue reading
Today I will present to you Chana Rice, a delicious rice with chick peas. You will need : 1 cup basmati rice 1 cup chickpeas boiled (can use tinned chickpeas) 2-3 tsp oil 4-5 slit green chillies 1 big onion finely chopped 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes 1 tsp cumin seeds salt … Continue reading
Paneer (a fresh cheese) is the most commonly used cheese used in traditional South Asian cuisines. It is of Indian origin dating back to 3000 BC and is described in the old Sanskrit texts (The Vedas). It is widespread in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh; countries with a high portion … Continue reading
Today I would like to share with you a new dish, that was novel to me too until a few weeks ago. Many people have a certain mental image of daal when they hear the word. When I saw the recipe for this daal on TV, I was itching to … Continue reading
Love it or loathe it, it’s a fact that the IPL (Indian Premier league), cricket’s most glamorous Twenty-20 tournament, has returned in full swing in its fifth season! T-20 fever has not only been spreading all over India, but has spread to every corner of the earth. Certainly it has … Continue reading
Just when you think the weather is about to take a turn for the better, it ends up getting colder again. The cold weather can cause health problems. Cases of cold, flu and fever spread across the country, and now my daughter got ill, too! She is off school, and at … Continue reading
This week, Jagruti Dhanecha presents her new recipe on City Connect. Nan Khatai (Nan-khat-aa-ee) eggless biscuits originate from South Asia. They are extremley popular in India and Pakistan. Light, slightly crispy and nutty flavoured cookies; they just melt in your mouth and they are perfect with your tea or coffee. Delicate enough … Continue reading
Whenever I make any kind of bhajias or samosas I like to serve them with this tomato chutney/dip. It’s tangy and sweet to taste but can be made hot by adding chillies if you like hot chutneys. Ingredients: Time – 10-15 minutes 4 -5 ripe tomatoes 1 tablespoon lemon juice … Continue reading
Before I got interested in cooking, I used to order Malai Kofta Curry whenever we ate out as I used to think that this must be a very complicated dish to make. But believe me it’s not! Not only is it easy to make, it’s not too time consuming either. It’s a … Continue reading
Did you remember the recent hose pipe ban in the United Kingdom? It was rather strange that our country faced one of the driest periods on record. So the government issued a ban that effected almost 20 million people, introducing fines of up to £1000 if used. The government urged … Continue reading