"Skinny" Eggplant Rollatini

Eggplant rollatini recipe is often a twist on traditional eggplant parmesan: fried eggplants, milky-cheesy filling, lots of marinara sauce, baked in oven with a blanket of mozzarella. There is also a very similar Italian recipe - Involtini (means "little bundles") - where thinly sliced meat is wrapped around cheesy filling and cooked in tomato sauce. Apparently, you can also call "Eggplant Rollatini" as the vegetarian version of the traditional "Involtini".

And, what I have for you here is a lighter, skinnier version of eggplant rollatini without sacrificing any of its original flavor.

Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes

Okay, this is another long-pending item going off my list. Stuffed tomatoes (or stuffed veggies) has been on my bucket list ever since I started blogging. But, I was very hesitant as I wasn't sure how it would turn out or if my family would like it, especially the kids.

But, with a dozen ripe tomatoes in my pantry waiting to be used and with a recipe for "Stuffed Tomatoes" from Giada herself (co-incidentally I had this book on "Everyday Italian Cooking" by Giada), I thought it would be a crime to let the recipe go.

Mango-Greek Yogurt-Strawberry "Lassi" Popsicle

Fruity, sweet, creamy, refreshing and healthy summer treat brimming over with flavors of fresh mangoes and roasted cardamom.. Yum!

Did I ever tell you that I got this "DIY Popsicle" bug for more than a year now. And, I finally decided to take the plunge. Summer is here and what is more satisfying than a cold home-made popsicle on a hot sunny day? Ah.. home-made popsicles.. can the deal get any sweeter?!

Gobi "Cauliflower" Musallam

Ughhh... I hate chopping cauliflowers. Chopping cauliflowers involves a lot of work and cleaning after. The florets are so crumbly and messy, that you will end up having little white bits everywhere on your countertop. So when I saw this recipe, it was right up my alley as the head of cauliflower can be used as is.

Mughlai style, rich & creamy Gobi Musallam may look like a lot of work but the end result is SO worth it! Try this recipe once and I am sure that it will become your go-to dish for parties & get-together! You can serve this perfectly cooked cauliflower on a bed of hot rice or with roti/naan.

Whole Enchiladas

"Whole" enchilada is a traditional Mexican recipe where stuffed (usually black-beans for vegetarian option) tortillas (I made multi-grain tortillas) are covered and cooked in tomatoes & chile based "enchilada" sauce. I served whole-enchiladas with a Corn-Mango-Avocado salsa (recipe below) on the side.

Multi-grain Tortilla

Tortillas, being the staple food of Mexicans, is the first thing that you need to work with any Mexican recipes. Flour/Corn/Wheat/Multi-grain, Small/Large -  yes, there are lot of commercial tortillas available in the market. But, why buy them, when you can make them at home, that too for less!

Home-made tortillas are way too thin, soft, chewy, simple & healthy too. These home-made tortillas made a wonderful base for my enchiladas (recipe here).

"Roasted" Enchilada Sauce

Some things in life are much better when made from scratch, like this enchilada sauce for example. "Whole" enchilada is a traditional Mexican dish where stuffed tortillas are covered and cooked in tomatoes & chile based "enchilada" sauce. When your sauce is rightly flavored, the whole enchilada turns out just right... like MAGIC...!

This sauce uses a secret ingredient (red bell-pepper), can be made in short time, extremely tasty & flavorful. Pardon my bragging but this recipe uses only fresh, organic & real ingredients. No-CANNED-ingredients of any sort.. now, isn't that cool?

Pasta with Roasted Bell Pepper & Cilantro "Vegan" Sauce

Do you like roasted red bell pepper? Then, you should try this creamy, luscious, flavorful sauce - a great way to jazz up your pasta dish and to make use of this season of vegetable bounty. Would you believe if I told you that the sauce uses only "three" ingredients - bell pepper, tomatoes, cilantro - can't get any simpler, can it?! Trust me, this is such an easy, straightforward "VEGAN" sauce that you can put up in very less time.

Lauki Ki Dal

Lauki, also known as bottle-gourd / opo-squash in English and sorakkai in Tamil is one of the most under-used (or should I say unused, mmm?!?!) vegetables, both in my parent's side and my in-law's side. Though no one could clearly explain the belief or custom behind not using this vegetable, it was strictly followed without any exceptions. Thus, lauki became one of my most loathed vegetables.

Every single time in grocery shop, I have walked past this vegetable with lot of arguments in my mind whether to buy it or not but never had the courage to give in. Recently, I had a friend visiting us and guess what, she had this recipe of lauki with bengal gram that she vouched for. I knew it was so long overdue for me to outgrow my dislike for this vegetable and decided to try it!

Parotta

Hello there! It's been a while since I got down with a good recipe.. Oh... how I wish the time slows down a bit and lets me catch up! After I completed the online food photography course (check this post to know more about the course), my blogging kind of took a back seat.. maybe it's the break, or maybe it's because my routine is changed... uhmm.. not sure. But, I am hoping to get my blogging mojo back! Help me folks.. give me some love.. show your support..

Parotta or barotta, as we call it in south-India is a layered, flaky breakfast bread. Parotta is so popular amongst all of the street foods that you can literally see parotta stalls at the corner of each & every streets of Tamilnadu. It is quite a sight to see "parotta master" artfully flipping parottas in the air like how the chefs here flips pizza dough in the air. Parotta, as such is a bland dish and has no taste. It is usually paired up with "salna", a variation of vegetable kurma that is spicy and runny. When poured hot over the parotta, the parotta soaks up all the flavors of salna and becomes softer & juicier.

"Eggless" Lemon-Blueberry Mini Loaf

Happy Spring, or is it Summer already?! Is the weather crazy or what? Just two weeks into Spring and I am already seeing people in summer outfits... shorts, tank-tops, t-shirts, sandals seems to be the trend. With such huge shift in weather conditions, where are we heading?? Often enough, just the thought of it creeps me out..

In an attempt to keep myself cool, I had to bake this beautiful blueberry-lemon cake. For all you know... just the thought of baking something lemony makes me feel better!! This sweet-tart lemony goodness with bright "spring" flavors is not only simple and quick to whip-up but also extremely delicious... Just one more reason to be thankful for... S-P-R-I-N-G!!

Aloo Gobi

Hi there... for those who are wondering where I had been all this time, I am still here.

I’ve been taking an online food photography course called "30 Days to Better Food Photos". Yea, you heard it right... 30 days in a row. With a super-busy life and a food blog to maintain, I wasn't even sure how a daily shooting session would work. But then, I decided to push myself farther and give it a go!

Black Forest Buns

"Valentine's Day" is the theme for February month's challenge of "We Knead to Bake". I don't think there could be a better choice than the "Black Forest Buns" that Aparna chose for us. A German tradition, "Black Forest Gateau/Cake" pairs rich chocolate cake with cherries. Flavored with kirsch (fruit brandy from cherries) and with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and more whipped cream on top, makes a stunning dessert for Valentine's Day. Now, think of the same deliciousness (sans kirsch & whipped cream) rolled out into cute little "Black Forest Buns". An ambitious baking project, I would say.. but is extremely tasty.

Bisibele-bhath

India is popular for its varied diversity in culture, language, religion, climate and most importantly FOOD!! Infact, every household has unique recipes, proudly carried over for generations, that are special in their own ways. One such signature dish from Karnataka (Mysore/Bangalore region) is "Bisibele-huli-anna" or "Bisibele-bhath" (Hot lentil rice).

Quick Bean & Corn Quesadilla

A quick 10-min evening snack idea that your kids will love! For the stuffing, I made a sautéed black bean & corn mixture, and for the side I made a mild tomato salsa and served it with chopped avocados.

Rice Idli

There is no better food than "idli" to start your day on a rich & healthy note. These soft & spongy streamed rice cakes, made out of rice and black lentils, is a quintessential south-Indian breakfast that is now savored all over India and across the globe too!

Unlike US, where the first meal of the day is mostly grab-and-go, make-ahead, packaged-and-ready-to-eat types, Indians tend to have freshly cooked, detailed and complete breakfast. Especially in South India, idli stands out to be a popular breakfast food, for it is calorie-rich, steamed and fat-free.

Whole Wheat Spinach/Palak Pizza - Indian Style

There is nothing Italian about the pizzas anymore. Today, pizza is more of an universal food. But, the most wonderful thing about pizza is that it is very accessible and can be easily customized to fit people's needs and taste. Infact, it makes me think that India has indirect roots to pizza through naan, as both share similar ingredients, prep and cooking methods. Again, the texture of all base sauces of Indian curries kind of resembles Italian pizza base sauces. So, what's wrong in tweaking an Italian pizza to suit Indian tastebuds?!

Well, this recipe is one such experiment of mine - "Whole Wheat pizza with Spinach/Palak sauce" loaded with onions, tomatoes, pineapple and jalapeños finished with cheese on top... YUM is the word!!

Sun-dried Tomato and Arugula Pesto Pasta

"Simple, easy and delicious" - defines pasta for me. Pasta is my fallback dish, my ultimate savior whenever I am in a time crunch or tired or in no mood to cook. My kids love pasta and for them, pasta is a fancy food. They love to eat pasta, any time of the day!

We particularly love pesto pasta and I have tried various combinations of greens & nuts. What I like about pesto is that, it is not only super-quick & easy to prepare, but also a great way to sneak in lot of fresh greens, veggies and nuts. Once in a while, I add parmesan cheese and make it extra fancy for my kids. The most satisfying part about pesto, my kids cannot pick greens/veggies out and throw it off their plates. The good stuff just goes in with little (or) no resistance and in that sense, pesto pasta is truly a winner!

Bean-Mix Soup

A simple and delicious soup recipe with bean-mix that's hearty, healthy, filling and will warm you up in the winter. Best thing about the recipe, it works with all kinds of bean-combo and goes without saying, beans are very healthy too! (high in fiber, rich in protein, low in fat and contains no cholesterol).

Chili Paste

Chili paste is a versatile hot sauce that can be added to a number of recipes in Chinese cuisine, Thai cuisine, Mexican cuisine etc. While every cuisine uses native chiles and have their own combination of ingredients, this recipe is very basic using only chiles. I have used Indian dry red chiles which can be compared to cayenne red peppers. You can experiment this recipe with any type of chili that is available in your local market.

Roasted & Curried Butternut Squash Soup

A warm & spicy soup made with roasted butternut squash, carrots and a varied selection of spices.

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

A simple go-to weekend meal and a tasty break from all your regular pesto sauces.

Quinoa Salad with Black Chickpeas & Arugula

Yet another weekend went by, packed & busy. Luckily, I had time to watch two documentaries - "GMO OMG" and "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead by Joe Cross". Both are great food documentaries and must-watch. While the first one exposes the black side of GMO products in the market, the second one stresses on the importance of adding more fruits and veggies to the diet. If you have a Netflix account, I insist you take time and watch the videos, for they will help you in the long run.

Pal Payasam - Rice Kheer - Rice Pudding

Pal Payasam (or) Rice Kheer is the quintessential dessert of Indian cuisine. Traditionally, ghee-roasted rice is simmered in reduced milk, flavored with cardamom & saffron, garnished with nuts & raisins. When making rice kheer, major time & effort is spent on cooking milk until it reduces half its volume, so the dessert is sinfully rich & creamy!

"Vegan" Savory Crepes

Last week at farmer's market we picked a crepe stand to eat our breakfast. I chose a savory crepe that had sautéed spinach, avocado, basil pesto, feta cheese in it and was too good. When asked, the crepe stand owner sounded very secretive about his recipe and did not want to share. Since then, I have been "seriously" researching on various crepe recipes from across the globe only to develop an eggless recipe of my own, which now happens to be vegan too. And, that's precisely one of the reasons why I love being a food blogger!!

Aloo Palak

Aloo Palak is an extremely popular recipe in restaurants, parties and home too. Potatoes (Aloo) simmered in a spinach (Palak) based green gravy is truly delicious and also, very healthy!