The foodie feeds

Halloween is just around the corner, so I thought it would be a good idea to share my Pumpkin soup recipe. The soup is extremely easy to make, and since I have a soup maker at home, it is also very convenient. You can change quantities of the ingredients based on your liking or based on how much quantities you have available. It will still turn out delicious!  Ingredients: 1 bowl cut pumpkin pieces 3/4th bowl cut carrot pieces 1 medium onion 1 big clove garlic 3-4 black pepper kernels salt to taste 1/4th cup milk (optional) Recipe: 1. If making it in a soup-maker, just add all the ingredients (except the milk) in the soup-maker with water, set the soup style to 'smooth' and your soup is ready in 23 minutes! Then pour in a vessel and bring to boil with the milk. Some like the creamy texture that comes with milk; I don't, my mom does. It's up to you. If you don't want the milk, just pour the ready soup from the soup-maker into your servin

There are some sweets that look very royal, very fancy; yet when you start making them, you realize how easy they are to make. Malai sandwich is one such. Time and patience, are however, essential here. Malai sandwich is not quick to make, but that's only because it involves a lot of sitting time. Ideally the rasgullas should be made a day in advance so that they have soaked in the syrup and have become sufficiently sweet. Making the malai sandwich is a three step process - 1. making the paneer 2. making the rasgullas 3. making the sandwich The problem in my house is that my kids will want a bite or more after every single step. So by the end of the second step half of it is gone already. In fact there have been times when we have never reached the malai sandwich stage ;)  When you do though, it's worth the wait! So let's get started. Ingredients: For the rasgullas: 2 litre milk (I generally use 1 ltr full cream milk and 1 ltr low fat; all low fat is ok

There is something magical about the combination of garlic and cheese that makes these rolls irresistible. If you have made bread before, these rolls will take your bread making experience to the next level. Even if you haven't, tell me the cheese and garlic in the photo below don't make you want to start! :) Believe me, there is nothing more therapeutic than baking your own bread! Here's what you will need. Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour (maida) 2 cups wheat flour 1 and 3/4th cup water. 3 tsp active dry yeast 2 and 1/2 tbsp sugar 2 tsp salt 2 and 1/2 tbsp olive oil For the filling - 1/2 cup butter (room temperature) 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced. coriander chopped 1/4th cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Italian seasoning Recipe: 1. Warm the water. If you have not made bread before you need to know that it is extremely important that the water be warm - neither hot, nor cold. 2. Add the sugar and mix well. 3. Add the yeast to the water and let

My children love chicken and nothing makes me happier than when I know they love what I make for them. So on the occasion of Mothers Day decided to try something new with chicken. The kids loved it. The dad loved it. I slept a happy mum. Ingredients: 4 boneless skinless large chicken breasts 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional) For the marinade 3 tbsp olive oil 3 tbsp honey 1 lemon juice and zest 1-2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper powder 3-4 tsps red chilly powder 1 tsp cinnamon powder 2 tsp cumin powder Recipe: 1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade. 2. Clean the chicken breasts. Place one by one in a sandwich bag and pound till the chicken breast becomes flat. I generally use my empty vinegar bottle for pounding. Pounding will make sure the breast is thin and will cook easily. Another option is to gently cut it horizontally to reduce thickness to half. 3. Place the chicken in an air tight container and pour the marinade, gently rubbing it into the chicken as muc

Ingredients: For the usal (pulses with gravy) -  1 and 1/2 cup of any pulses (matki, moong, chavali, vatana etc) 2 medium onions 1/2 cup dry or wet grated coconut 1.5 tsp sesame seeds 1.5 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp cummin seeds 3-4 black pepper seeds 1-2 cloves 3-4 red chillies 1 tsp tamarind paste For the tarri   (spicy watery topping) -  2 onions 3 ripe tomatoes 1 small boiled potato kanda-lasoon masala ( a must!) Serving- Sev, farsan, poha, onion, coriander, lemon, bread slices on the side. Recipe: Usal -  1. Soak pulses overnight. Next day drain and pour in muslin cloth. Keep covered, till they develop good sprouts. Pressure cook them just one whistle. Do not overcook them else it will be one mushy paste and we don't want that. 2. Cut onion in any shape and saute on some oil till pink in color. 3. Dry roast coconut till coconut gets a light brown color, Add All the seeds and spices and let them roast a bit too. 4. Grind the onion and coconut mixtu

Who doesn't crave Chinese food, once in a while, yet dreads the oil and the harmful additives that come along with it? Here's a simple and quick recipe to satiate those cravings. If you are a fan of Panda Express - this chicken will taste, somewhere in between the orange chicken and the kung pao chicken. And the best part is, it's done in less than half an hour (Ideal for kids tiffins too)! Ingredients:  500 gm boneless skinless chicken breasts/thighs/mixed 1 egg white 2 + 1 tsp cornstarch. 200 ml orange juice 2 tsp orange zest 2 tsp soya sauce 2 tsp white vinegar 3 tsp demerara sugar 2 tsp minced ginger+garlic salt, pepper, cashews, roasted sesame seeds spring onion (optional for garnishing) Recipe: 1. Cut the chicken into medium sized cubes. 2. Beat the egg white and add to the chicken, 3. Add 2 tsp cornstarch, salt and pepper to the chicken and mix well, making sure it coats the chicken evenly. 4. In a wok take 2-3 tbsp of oi

If you love flan (or egg pudding) you will love this healthier sugar-free variant (Ok, let's be honest; I've sneaked in some sugar in the caramel. But if sugar is an absolute no-no you can make it without the caramel syrup as well). The recipe needs very few ingredients and is so easy to make, you'll be making it often. Ingredients: 1 cup milk 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla essence 3 tsp sugar 6-8 pitted dates. Recipe: 1. Cut the dates into small pieces and soak in warm milk for around 15 minutes or till they become soft.  2. Blend in a mixer to a smooth mixture. 3. Remove in a bowl. Add the egg and essence and whisk for couple of minutes till foamy.  4. Keep a big tray with some water in the oven and preheat for 10 minutes. 5. Lightly grease a glass bowl (you can also use multiple small bowls for individual serve) and keep ready. 6. Take the sugar and 2 tsps water in a vessel and keep to boil on medium flame. In between shake the vessel t

Hummus is a Levantine (eastern Mediterranean) dip that's made from chickpeas. After some not so successful attempts, I had almost given up on making it at home (something was always more or less or wrong). But recently while hogging on some awesome food at the Dubai Food Festival (#eattheworlddxb), I had a chance to attend a show by celebrity chef Suzzane Hussaini. With her hummus recipe and tips, I embarked on the journey to make the perfect Hummus again. And voila! You can get a hummus recipe anywhere online. But I am posting one here for reference. The Tips at the end of this post are what make all the difference. Ingredients: 1/2 cup chickpeas 1/2 tsp soda 2 tsp store-brought tahini paste (or 1/4 cup sesame seeds, 1/8 cup olive oil) 2 small cloves of garlic 2 tsp lemon juice or as per taste salt olive oil. Recipe for the tahini paste: 1. Light roast the sesame seeds. Do not over roast or make too dark. 2. Put the roasted seeds and olive oil in a blender and