Posted in Rice & Dal

Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

Paradise Hotel, a landmark on Sardar Patel Road in Secunderabad which is so hard to miss. A crowded road with equally crowded biryani house which has been serving thousands of people day and night since 1953. I still clearly remember,  6 years back when I first visited Hyderabad; lunch at Paradise was ranking very high on our must-to-do list. Their signature biryani was truly succulent, flavorful and aromatic! It was a delicious experience. When I first came across the recipe for Hyderabadi Birynai at Swasthi’s Indian Healthy Recipes, I knew I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to cherish my experience in my own…

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Posted in Dips & Raita, Maharashtrian, Winter Special

लाल भोपळ्याचे भरीत / Bhopalyache Bharit / Pumpkin Raita

I think this is the easiest and quickest recipe you can make with Pumpkin. It has very few ingredients and it does maintain Pumpkin flavor. “Lal Bhopla” in Marathi translates to Pumpkin and since this recipe has yogurt in it, we can call it raita but more traditionally it’s called भरीत / Bharit.   It’s cooked pumpkin mixed with yogurt seasoned with flavorful tadka using mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, hing and curry leaves and green chilis. Some sugar and some salt. That’s it! The simplicity of ingredients really elevate the pumpkin flavor. [purerecipe]

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Posted in Maharashtrian, Snacks, Winter Special

भोपळ्याचे घारगे / Bhoplyache Gharage/ Sweet Pumpkin Puri

My primary school had a unique tradition of biding farewell to 4th grade students by taking them on a two-day trip to Mahabaleshwar. It’s a hill station  situated amongst Sahyadri range and it’s about 115 km from Pune. This used to be the only two-day school trip and I still remember all the planning and plotting we did to decide who all would stay in one room and how we would convince out favorite teacher to stay with us in our room. of course, food was an important part of discussion and also a prestige issue as to who gets what from…

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Posted in Appetizers, Breakfast, Gujarati, Quick n Healthy, Snacks

દુધી ના મુઠીયા / Dudhi na Muthiya / Steamed Bottle Gourd Fist Cakes

A Diet Friendly Recipe Moist and fluffy inside; golden crispy outside; the Muthiya make a perfect pairing with a cup of tea! ‘Muthi’ means fist in Gujarati and it’s called Muthiya because the dough is turned into cylindrical shape using fist. Made with whole wheat flour and grated dudhi with very little oil, since the dough is steamed and then sauted in a typical Indian tempering, this dish is perfect for those who are on a “diet”. I love Spinach and Cilantro in my Muthiya, it adds moisture and flavor and color. So I actually made Dudhi Palak (Spinach) Muthiya…

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Posted in Soup, Winter Special

Butternut Squash Soup – Take 2

The last time I used Rosemary to flavor my butternut squash soup. This time I ran out of all herbs so I turned to my most favorite seeds – fennel seeds 🙂 It was an ‘aha’ moment for me and hence I decided to blog about the same recipe twice. “Eat like a local” is a mantra for healthy eating, agreed. But “Eat like a local with Indian Spices” is my new mantra for delicious healthy eating. I firmly believe that anything become ‘gourmet’ with addition of Indian spices and that’s what exactly happened with butternut squash. The basic recipe is still…

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Posted in Breakfast, Maharashtrian, Quick n Healthy, Superfoods

भाजणीचे थालीपीठ / Bhajaniche Thalipeeth

 Comfort, redefined! There are times when we eat to find a feeling beyond fullness. We eat looking for a feeling of joy, a momentary salve for sore spirits, a feeling of goodness. At times like these, we usually turn to what we call “comfort food”. वरण भात (Varan Bhaat), rice and dal in its simplest cooked form rates high on my list of “comfort foods”. Then comes the khichadi and my all time favorite –  थालीपीठ (Thalipeeth) with metkut and yogurt! It’s a very common and very typical Maharashtrian recipe and it’s speciality is that it’s a perfect menu for morning,…

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Posted in Know Your Food

Know Your Food

Do you really know your food? There is a popular saying that goes “you are what you eat”. And if we don’t know what exactly we eat, we are definitely missing something. Food is as fundamental as it gets and our relationship with food has been changing every year. I came to the US back in 2008 and just under three months I put on 8 pounds. It was shocking for my mom to see myself 8 pounds heavier. Back in India, I was never overweight and she always thought I was not eating enough. Now as I recall, outside…

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Posted in Desserts, Festival Special, Maharashtrian, Quick n Healthy, Winter Special

Til-Gul / Tilachya Wadya / Sesame Candy

तीळ गूळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला! Makar Sankranti, marks the transition (Sankraman) of the Sun into Capricorn (Makar) rashi on its celestial path. Traditionally this has been one of many harvest seasons in India and being agriculture based community, harvest season and festivals always go hand in hand. Known by different names, it’s celebrated all over India. In Maharashtra, we celebrate it by exchanging til-gul laddoo and halwa as token of goodwill and we fondly say “तीळ गूळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला” which means “Savor this sweet Til-Gul and may the sweetness fill your thoughts and speech”. The Til-Gul literally translates to Sesame…

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Posted in Breakfast, Jams & Pickels, Spring - Summer Special

Homemade Pineapple Jam

Simplest Jam made with Exotic Ingredients When I was little, one of my favorite treats were fresh pineapple. A pineapple is a seasonal fruit in India so finding ways to preserve it for rest of the year was quite natural. The obvious was Pineapple Jam; still my most favorite! I like it crunchy and not spreadable like store bought ones. So I prefer not to blend it. If you plan to keep it for longer which is so hard since it’s so tempting, you can use some preservative. But for me simple sugar syrup works best. Many recipes ask for…

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Posted in Soup, Winter Special

Butternut Squash Soup

Hearty Soup for cold winter days The best thing I loved about butternut squash is that it’s practically indestructible. It lasts for months (as long as you store it in a dry, cool place) I was instantly attracted to buy a butternut squash and I did think of making soup on the very same day. The day did arrive only after few months. I peeled it and was pleasantly surprised to find it in a perfect condition. And hence the story of my butternut squash soup ended on a sweet note. Trust me, peeling it is the hardest part. Adding…

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