For this month’s bread with the Breadbakers, our host, the wonderful Mireille Roc of Chef Mireille’s East West Realm chose Quinoa as the theme ingredient. I was excited to be baking with quinoa because I love quinoa in all forms. I have even made a Quinoa chilli to the horror of some but admiration of many. I also managed to convert a few white rice lovers over to a nice Quinoa Biryani . And I have made dime a dozen pancakes and flatbreads with it. But what I had never done was to actually make a loaf of bread with it. So this was a bread …
Chilka Fishermen’s Prawn Curry
It’s officially the Football Season. Yes, there is Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Footfall season. Fall in colorado is much hyped and short lived. Winter I don’t really look forward to. You didn’t think I was the “weekends in the snow capped mountains skiing types”, now did you? No, I am far from it. I don’t hate it, but let’s just say waking up to the possibility of shoveling snow away from the driveway is not on my bucket list. Never was. I do like Spring and Summer. But I like the Football season more. It is the season when …
Chicken Xacuti
Goa – the land of the Vindaloo and cashew Fenny and fish curries, abundant sea food and just the place for a perfect beach vacation. It was on one such idyllic vacation, more than a decade and a half ago that I discovered Goan Cuisine. As a young and inexperienced tourist (not traveller) my plan was to see all the places everyone thought I should see and check them off the list. I did see the places and take in the sights in a rather touristy manner, I however stumbled upon Goan cuisine on the Baga Beach and was …
Monji Achar – Kohlrabi Pickles in Mustard Oil
While most of the world was making something sweet for the Mother’s day and indulging in creamy decadent desserts, the scene at our home was the opposite. It was a day of savory indulgences and a day of “Home Spa”. My daughter’s idea of making me have a great mother’s day was to have her Dad cook up a storm of savory things while she presented me with the make up supplies and a “gift certificate” to redeem. The gift Certificate read, – “Personalized make up services by Shloka”. I am NOT a make up person. I just don’t have …
Easy Vegetable Biryani
Believed to be of Persian origin and having travelled to India through travelers, merchants and Mughals, the Biryani is a much loved dish across India. Lizzie Collingham in her book , Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, says that the Persian dish pilau was transformed into biryani in India. There is no definite text to authenticate when Biryani came into existence, but it is largely attributed to the Mughal Empire. The present day Biryani essentially is rice and meat/vegetables/sea food/fish cooked in layers with aromatic spices using a process called Dum. The rice is partially cooked separately and the …
Wozij Chaaman – Paneer cooked in Spices
Simmering away on the stovetop, filling the kitchen with aromas from sweet cinnamon, spicy clove and hot chillies, used to be this wozij Chaaman in my Grandma’s home. She is almost 78 now and still feels pleased to cook a meal for all her grand-kids or for anyone visiting her. My Grandmom inspires me. Her story gives me courage and conviction to face life each day. Her deep set eyes, surrounded by wrinkles, light up every time she sees one of her grandkids or their kids. She looks forward to our visits and starts planning for them days in advance …