What is coconut chutney? Coconut chutney is a famous yet simple South Indian condiment made with grated coconut and a mix of fresh spices and herbs. Coconut, fried gram, ginger/garlic, and chilies are ground together, and then some oil tempered with red chili, mustard seeds, and curry leaves is drizzled on top to get this…
What is summer without mangoes? Actually, the right question is: what is summer without Indian mangoes? We get mangoes here in the USA, but they pale in comparison to their Indian counterparts. They don’t have the smell, sweetness, or juiciness of the mangoes that I have grown up eating. So, I try to make as…
Narkel bori die lau er ghonto Beginners always find cooking Indian food daunting because most popular Indian dishes require a long list of spices; spices that non-Indian kitchens have no use for. And this explains the “curry-powder” phenomenon. The problem is, what passes or is recognized as Indian food is usually the rich, greasy, spicey,…
Rainbow pancakes are so fun to make and they look so pretty that we have been making these every alternate day. Most of the rainbow pancake recipes that I have read online are too elaborate, and, frankly, too much work for breakfast. So I have used a boxed pancake mix for these. I tried a…
What is palak paneer? Palak paneer is basically India’s answer to a creamy spinach dip, or creamed spinach, or spinach lasagna. It’s morsels of cottage cheese (paneer) cooked in spinach (palak) gravy with aromatic spices. A moderately simple recipe to make, this vegetarian north Indian dish is however not for impatient cooks. The best palak…
How to make Bengali fish butter fry? The Bengali fish butter fry is probably a malapropism of fish batter fry but remains totally acceptable because it does taste melt-in-your-mouth buttery. Fish butter fry or fish batter fry is not commonly made in Bengali home kitchens. This is one of those Bengali recipes that is implicated…
Any Bengali with a teeny bit of sunlit space has a potted lime plant. We brighten up our dals with gondhoraj lime, we juice up a boring meal with a wedge of lime, and no bier bari (wedding) is complete without a side serving of nun lebu (salt and lime wedge). So, it’s a shame that lime…
I frequently get asked how to cook pulao, specifically, how to cook the Bengali style basanti pulao. I will be honest with you. I don’t cook pulao very often. Pulao, I think, is haughty and temperamental. It looks at the cook with disdain and judges them. If it doesn’t like what it sees, it sweats and…
Did you know that organic eggplants are highly sustainable with low water and carbon footprints? And as long as no pesticides are used, they cause no significant damage to air, water, land, soil, forests, etc. If you are trying to go vegan or eat and cook more consciously, this is a great vegetable to incorporate…
Sausage and jalapeño mac and cheese This is by far the most requested recipe on my blog. This is also the recipe that I make almost every alternate day because my son LOVES mac and cheese. And what’s there not to love? It’s just pasta, lots of cheese and a good white sauce. The best…