tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-106116092009-11-24T02:16:19.805-05:00Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.comBlogger403125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-15013003364603140492009-11-23T21:19:00.002-05:002009-11-23T21:26:42.316-05:00

One day I learned a simple cooking technique that turned out to be one small step for me, one giant leap for my culinary skills. This is it: Grinding fresh spice pastes- in so many recipes, this is a step that takes the dish to a whole new level. In India, many kitchens are equipped with "mixies", compact grinders that can reduce tough whole spices to dust and churn fried onions to a silky

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-14118860417985124552009-11-22T15:53:00.001-05:002009-11-22T15:55:07.533-05:00

We love eating at restaurants that serve Middle Eastern cuisine; the menus are usually predictable but we love the line-up of creamy hummus, luscious baba ghanouj, crispy falafel and the rest of the mezze. A few weeks ago, I was happy to taste something new at a local restaurant (reviewed here) - ful medames, curried fava beans; excellent for sopping up with warm pitas. On my last trip to the

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-3847392610301389362009-11-21T20:05:00.001-05:002009-11-21T20:11:32.667-05:00

This morning, I realized that it is exactly 40 days until the dawn of 2010. Doesn't the year 2010 sound so futuristic somehow? All gleaming spaceships instead of this dusty old planet? To conjure up some excitement for myself, I'm getting started on a mini challenge: I hope to try 40 new recipes by the time the shiny happy new year rolls around. Am I crazy? Can I do it? Watch this space and we'll

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-81150233041477010972009-11-16T19:45:00.002-05:002009-11-16T19:50:11.382-05:00

Our friend Brad earned his doctorate last week and we hosted a dinner to celebrate this milestone. As the guest of honor, he got to choose the menu and (surprise, surprise) chose Indian food. I put together a North Indian-ish menu with tandoori tofu and tandoori gobi (cauliflower) as appetizers, dal makhni, fragrant jeera (cumin) rice, achari baingan and a crunchy salad for the main course, and

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-5422554923298565172009-11-08T09:32:00.003-05:002009-11-08T09:46:46.701-05:00

It is early November and already in North America one can sense the rising excitement of the annual holiday season. For anyone looking for something meaningful and creative to do, I want to share some information about a tax-exempt nonprofit organization project called Drop In & Decorate founded by food writer Lydia Walshin; I am an ardent fan of her informative and excellent blog, The Perfect

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-45806867015095992382009-11-03T14:37:00.001-05:002009-11-08T09:12:54.071-05:00

Every few weekends, we skip the usual grocery run. It is one of those small things that significantly reduces food waste by giving us opportunity to "eat down" the food stash and forces us to use up every last bit of produce. The bonus is that we have one less errand to do and a couple more hours to laze about, always a good thing. It is a bit of a game for me to look around the kitchen and say

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-21926395272490527652009-10-29T12:04:00.004-05:002009-11-03T06:36:30.051-05:00

Gift giving can be quite a challenge. It seems like everyone I know has three of everything and don't need any more "stuff" that just sits around and needs to be dusted. Most people like to eat, though, so edible gifts are usually well-received. As a small gift, I made some chocolate granola a few days ago. There is something very fun and decadent about eating chocolate for breakfast, and it

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-5145294697536004282009-10-25T11:57:00.001-05:002009-10-25T11:59:18.197-05:00

(Does anyone remember the ad running in the 80s/90s in India?) This is not an ad for tea bags, however, but a quick recipe for a spicy dip. We were invited to a birthday party last night where the food was Mexican-inspired, and this was my little contribution to the buffet table. This is like a 7-layer minus a few layers. I started by making the salsa. A few months ago, I shared my new

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-22507773363275976012009-10-11T07:34:00.003-04:002009-10-11T08:31:30.745-04:00

The Bookmark Project is back! Actually, it has been going on behind the scenes all this while, and after a lull, I found a gem in the bookmarks yet again. As a child, I loved to play pretend games of House-House and School-School (I played a pretty convincing knuckle-rapping schoolteacher and managed to frighten some of the younger neighborhood kids). Now that I get to play House-House on a

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-25155625761117328052009-10-07T17:37:00.002-04:002009-10-07T17:46:06.744-04:00

If you do something often enough, you end up being able to do it in your sleep. Here is a recipe for granola that I make very often and usually first thing in the morning, around 5:30 AM, so I can make it in my sleep, both literally and figuratively. V chomps his way through so much granola that it would be criminal to buy the expensive packaged stuff. I started off with a fairly typical recipe

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-56600928799147043722009-09-26T09:43:00.003-04:002009-09-26T09:51:16.553-04:00

I've finally figured out the rate-limiting step in my blog posting frequency. It is not the usual hub-hub of work, social events, errands, chores and the stress of knitting palm-sized sweaters. It is the fact that lately, I've been forgetting to photograph my meals for posterity! And without a picture, I can't seem to start a post. Well, last evening I did remember to make a lunge for the

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-5342593093081257412009-09-09T19:47:00.002-04:002009-09-09T21:04:48.249-04:00

When the fridge is bare and the pantry raid results in an odd assortment of ingredients, this is what's for dinner! Sometimes, one starts making a meal by saying, "there's no food in the home" and ends up with a dinner that is something special. I love when this happens. I usually plan my weeknight dinners a day ahead of time or at least the morning of. That way, any soaking, thawing and assorted

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-730167465390130732009-08-31T13:07:00.004-04:002009-10-29T11:34:53.058-05:00

Summer seems to be the time for get-togethers, an excuse for spending long afternoons clustered around a table that is groaning with food and drink and noshing with abandon. I made these little cheese-filled morsels earlier this summer and we made a big batch again yesterday to take to a party. The patties disappeared in minutes (late arrivals to the party were met with an empty platter) and

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-8231099747472389132009-08-24T07:04:00.000-04:002009-08-24T08:59:52.981-04:00

Kanchan from Kitchen Gossip gave me a sweet award and asked me to list 7 interesting things about me. Instead, I'll share 7 interesting things I did this weekend, in pictures. 1. Read a bookand started another book written in a similiar vein2. Finished knitting a scarfPattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery3. Went to the Farmers' Market and bought a vegetable I've never cooked beforeCan you

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-59382615290504276212009-08-19T10:16:00.001-04:002009-08-19T12:39:21.652-04:00

I'm facing yet another episode of the Magical Never-ending Cabbage. Every time I buy a large head of cabbage, it seems to last forever and ever. I shred it, saute it, steam it for one dish after another, and yet I can never seem to use up the cabbage. Does it sound like I am complaining? Never. Cabbages are the stars of my vegetable crisper. Budget-friendly (the current 5-lb monster cost me 2

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-32615315122679261872009-08-16T18:07:00.001-04:002009-08-18T06:56:19.805-04:00

Cauliflower, potato, onion, cabbage, beetroot, sweet potato, corn, beans, black eyed peas, kidney beans, lentils, brown rice, wheat, soy granules, tofu.These were some of your guesses when I asked about the two main ingredients of this veggie burger.All good guesses, and to be sure, over the years I have made veggie burgers with most of these ingredients. But when I spotted this veggie burger on

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-40562244428957906972009-08-15T09:48:00.003-04:002009-08-15T11:23:28.060-04:00

I've got questions, do you have the answers? ;)A) What ingredient formed the crust on these onion rings?B) What are the two main ingredients in this veggie burger?C) This one is off-topic. I'm going to Boston for a long weekend, so gentle readers, do you have any suggestions for must-see, must-do, must-eat things in Boston? I don't eat seafood so the chowda is out.Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-52897999962056292082009-08-13T18:06:00.004-04:002009-08-31T12:44:40.083-04:00

Regular readers of this blog know that I get a special kick out of being able to imitate restaurant favorites in my home kitchen. Dal makhni (which translates as "buttery lentils"- the name says it all) is one of those classic dishes that is probably on the menu of every generic Indian restaurant I've been in. The simplest recipes are often the hardest to nail down. But lurking in my bookmark

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-72296781425444011672009-08-11T07:59:00.004-04:002009-08-13T19:13:11.247-04:00

Years after she passed away, Julia Child is once again the talk of the town. I went to see the movie Julie and Julia this weekend, and quite enjoyed watching Julia Child's larger than life personality artfully brought to life by Meryl Streep. What I love about Julia Child has nothing to do with French cooking, really. It is the way she grabbed life with both hands and simply went on to do

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-56263192986861130932009-08-06T19:08:00.014-04:002009-08-11T09:00:05.342-04:00

Well, well, well. I certainly learn something new every day. Usually in the first 15 minutes after I wake up, as I am sipping the first cup of tea and browsing through the latest RSS feeds. I love all the beans in my pantry (and there are many), but the vaal (hyacinth beans) have a special place in my heart. Sprouted and peeled, they get cooked into two dishes that I have adored all my life. The

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-30715125596998943572009-07-31T10:14:00.001-04:002009-07-31T11:49:05.457-04:00

Sweet and sticky enough for ya? Wow- I'm getting better with my bookmarking behavior. I tried this recipe less than a week after bookmarking it! Bakers' Banter is one of my favorite baking blogs; written in a kind and encouraging tone and with well-tested recipes. I took one look at the excited faces of the kids making monkey bread (sweet rolls that you pull apart and gobble up) and wanted to

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-26771261425577433002009-07-29T09:34:00.001-04:002009-08-06T20:20:05.044-04:00

Once in a while, I come upon a food blog post that I immediately recognize as a precious gift from the blogger to us readers. Pim's Pad Thai for beginners was one such post. It contains a level of knowledge and detail that I wanted to learn from, and I bookmarked it, of course. Two years have gone by, and thanks to my ongoing bookmark project, I finally took the time to read the post thoroughly (

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-9569676283572019862009-07-27T17:22:00.003-04:002009-07-27T19:11:01.400-04:00

In Bombay, you can't throw a rock without hitting an eating establishment, and there is a very good chance that the rock will land on a particular genre of eating establishments, the Udipi restaurant. It refers to the cuisine of a particular region of Southern India, and these restaurants represent the best of both worlds, combining certain attributes of chain restaurants while also serving tasty

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-14228820444988597062009-07-26T18:37:00.003-04:002009-07-26T18:38:12.780-04:00

Care to guess what this contraption is?

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10611609.post-62982343705898653952009-07-23T13:47:00.001-04:002009-07-23T15:06:50.085-04:00

Happiness is......reading a good book and baking a good bread, both in the same afternoon. The current stack from the libraryThe book in question is the latest installment of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. There are times when you are just not in the mood for hi-falutin' writing, literary flourishes or subjects that give you sleepless nights; when all you

Nupurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03890441057480820053noreply@blogger.com42