"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.

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.

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!

Inji Thogayal / Ginger Chutney

Apparently, I seem to do a lot of blog-hopping these days.. I am nothing but inspired by all the great blogs from across the globe with wonderful recipes and big beautiful pictures. The pictures in this post is nothing but a mere evidence of my inspiration.. otherwise, who would even think of putting a spicy ginger relish and the shot glass together? But, I had total fun playing with the light, props and my DSLR on a dark & gloomy day.. the best part, all of the pictures came out so well, I think... what do you think?

Keerai Poricha Kootu

Of-late I seem to post a lot of lentil-based recipes in the form of soups and sides. This recipe again is a lentil-based south-Indian recipe called "Keerai Poricha Kootu", a simple, creamy, luscious & comforting side served alongside rice. Though the star ingredients of the recipe is spinach & pigeon-peas, freshly ground paste of coconut, cumin seeds, red chillies/pepper corns adds a great flavor and a spicy kick to the recipe. Hot keerai kootu mixed into rice with potato fry on the side is a killer combo!

Tomatillo Dal

Today was a very tiring day. In addition to my daily cooking chores, I had too many things to take care of. During such days, I turn to this this simple "no-fail" comforting dal. Preparing dal is a simple & straightforward process - pressure cook dal/lentils along with the vegetables and finish it off with a garnish/tempering. The wonderful aroma of tempering/tadka itself is so appetizing that it will make you want to eat.

Radish - Sweet Potato - Kale Hash

A warm & comforting vegan hash that uses radish, sweet-potatoes and curly kale and spiced up with curry powder. Extremely delicious and can be prepared in minutes. Pairs up so well with rice/roti.

Palakura Pappu with Methi

Pappu/Dal is one of the quitessentials from Andhra Pradesh, south-eastern state of India. Simply put, an Andhra meal is not complete without pappu. Pappu refers to a thick stew usually prepared with toor dal/pigeon peas with/without vegetables and is a ready source of proteins in a mostly vegetarian diet. Some of the very popular "Pappu" varieties from Andhra are thotakura (amaranth) pappu, menthikura (fenugreek leaves) pappu, palakura (spinach) pappu, dosakaya (yellow cucumber) pappu, tomato pappu, beerakaya (ridge gourd) pappu, sorakaya (bottle gourd) pappu. The basic idea of making a classic pappu is very simple & straight-forward - just pressure cook pigeon dal along with vegetables, whichever that you are using and finish it off by garnishing with tempering/tadka.

Thakkali Sambar / Instant Tiffin Sambar

I can never imagine making a sambar without lentils, PERIOD! Pressure cooked, mashed lentils is used mainly for getting thicker consistency. So, when I had this thakkali sambar at my friend's place, I simply couldn't believe that the sambar hadn't use any kind of lentils / thickening agents. 

Infact, I did not believe until I tried it for myself. And YES, this sambar is one of the quickest & easiest recipes around that goes with any kind of south-Indian breakfast. 

Beets Stir-fry

"Beets Stir-fry" - One of the many ways to enjoy beets. Grated beets aids in quick cooking and you can enjoy this curry as a side... or as a rice-mix or even better, as a simple salad. The addition of moong dal to this curry not only makes it hearty & healthy, but super-filling too!

Kala Channa Masala

Of late, I am focusing more on adding traffic to the blog. One such effort of mine is to get the blog "Yummly Certified". Yummly has a large user base and features some of the best food blogs from around the world. All I had to do was to write a guest-post for them with a new, simple recipe (that is not featured in my blog so far), with high resolution pics. If they approve of my recipe and the pictures, then the recipe is featured in their site while the blog also gets "Yummly Certified"! "Win-win"!!!

Beetroot Dal

Beetroot Dal - well, what's so special about this dal?! Besides beets & lentils, this dal also has beet stem and greens. All these days I have been trashing away beet greens without knowing that they are edible, how ignorant of me?! But, when I saw this recipe here, my whole perspective about beet greens changed. I just had one bunch of beets in my pantry, and I decided to put them to best use along with the beets & lentils.

Avocado Raita

This cool & refreshing avocado, cucumber and mint raita is a healthy tweak to your regular raita's and a great way to add yogurt to your diet.

Avocado gives this raita a thick & solid base and so, you could even use buttermilk to make this raita. If using yogurt, add required water to thin it out. Use greek yogurt / sour cream to make this raita and voila.. you've just made yourself a creamy & healthy dip for your veggies & chips!!

Dal Panchratan

Dal Panchratan, also called as Panchmel dal is a Rajasthani special. The word "Panch-ratan" means five gems as this recipe is made by combining five protein-rich lentils that is commonly available in any Indian kitchen. I used toor dal, moong dal, black whole urid dal, black chickpeas & whole masoor dal to make this supremely delicious & a filling dal!

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer, a rich & spicy palak (spinach) based gravy with paneer and other Indian spices. This iron & protein rich gravy is one of the popular north-Indian curries all over, especially in Punjabi dhabas. Palak Paneer serves as a perfect side for rice/roti. I personally have seen a lot of desi folks and Westerner friends going crazy for palak paneer.

Gobi Matar Masala

This recipe of cauliflower & peas masala is very similar to my matar paneer gravy, but with one surprise ingredient. 

Gujarathi Kadhi

Creamy, smooth, spicy, delicious, refreshing, flavorful, comforting... this is what is "kadhi" for me! 

Though I was brought-up in a south-Indian family set-up with occasional home-made north-Indian recipes, kadhi always takes me back to my roots & is comforting in every possible way, for this is the north-Indian version of our very own "Morkuzhambu"!

This recipe is for making plain kadhi, but you can add deep-fried pakoras (made with besan flour / moong dal) and increase its nutritional value. Kadhi pairs up well with rice/ roti/ kichadi.

Matar Paneer (Gravy with heavy cream)

Undoubtedly, one of the mouth-watering & delicious gravies, that pairs up well with roti / rice varieties.

Milagai Podi

A spicy south-Indian condiment that pairs up so well with idli/dosa.