Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

About Me

Hi Friends, I’m happy you are here. You can call me Neetu, which is my nickname, or Balvinder, which is my first name. My first and foremost passion is feeding my family delicious and wholesome food. This motivates me to cook and try new recipes.

My love for food was developed very early because of our nomadic life. Since my father was in the Air force we got to travel all over the country, which gave me ample opportunities to experience different cultures and cuisines.  This love was further progressed into a passion when I got married to an armed forces officer. Being an army officer’s wife  I went to a lot of social events and hosted a few parties myself. Somehow the art of cooking and entertaining got interwoven in my life.

 

Malcesine 2016

 

Then destiny conspired and brought us to this beautiful British Columbia in 1999.  My family and I are now well immersed in Canadian culture and citizens of this country. I am a full-time homemaker as well as do bookkeeping, payroll accounting, and other stuff like keeping track of the inventory for my husband’s business. This keeps me going during the week. In my free time, apart from writing this food blog I love to do gardening, yoga, go for long walks and hikes and DIY home decorating and designing.

My journey to the blog started 3 years after I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance. I began searching for gluten free recipes, but what I found was that a lot of gluten free sites were mostly posting simple soups or salads. The desserts were also unappealing to me because they were only made from rice flour or almond meal. Going gluten free isn’t as easy as deciding to start eating gluten free food, especially if it is more of a necessity than a choice. I wanted real food, something that was nutritionally balanced, flavorful and enjoyable even for gluten eaters. For Punjabis, chapati (flatbread) is an everyday staple, but not a single site at that time (2008) had a recipe for gluten free chapati. This led me to try various combinations of flours and came up with a healthy gluten free mix for chapati with no starch or gum. That was the moment when I thought of writing down my gluten free recipes in a notebook. Since I always loved to cook and bake from scratch, creating gluten free recipes was not too difficult for me.

My real connection with the internet happened in 2011 when I was healing from my abdominal surgery. I had nothing to do during those days so I spent my time watching TV, reading books or whatever required minimum movement. On one such day, my husband asked me if I could help him do some work on the computer. I was getting bored and needed something to do so I felt more than happy to engage myself in something other than books and TV. My experience with the internet before my surgery just consisted of me checking emails or occasionally looking at some gluten free recipes, but now that I had a lot more free time I actually started exploring more on the internet. One of these days I came across Google’s blogging platform, Blogger. It interested me. I followed the steps, scribbled about my gluten sensitivity and hit “publish’. It was free and in just a few minutes I ended up creating a blog. It was a step taken into the unknown, which was scary for me. However it soon became my addiction.

Writing a food blog has given me a platform to share my love of food that I grew up eating at home or wherever I traveled. The recipes posted here are not just for people with gluten intolerance, sensitivity or celiac but they are simply good for anyone. They are tried, tested and created by me or adapted from other sources. Sometimes I fail and sometimes I succeed and that’s the fun of gluten free cooking and baking.

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope my gluten free recipes will inspire you to get back in the kitchen and have some fun with the food. If you try one of my recipes, let me know. Take a photo use the hashtag #simpleglutenfreekitchen and tag me @simpleglutenfreekitchen on Facebook or Instagram. You can also find me on Pinterest ,  Twitter and YouTUBE.

All the content on this blog is copyright protected. If you want to use my image or recipes please let me know and provide a link to credit my work.  You can reach me at balvinder@simpleglutenfreekitchen.com

 

Updated August 2017

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wow gf Flour must be hard to find when you eat out… Wonderful site you have here. I have to go check out more recipes now!!! Charu

    Reply

    • Not really Charu!I mostly order foods that are made from corn or have salads with meat. Now most restaurants offer GF Menu but I do have to search before I go anywhere. Even in India one can find G F chapatti flour and some baked goods.

      Reply

  2. Hi there Neetu, so glad to have stumbled upon your website. I am not celiac but have been GF on and off for the past 2 years (more strictly for the past 3 months!), especially with my baking. Just like you, my love for baked goods know no bounds. And I also love naan with Indian/Pakistani food. I’ve tried to make GF rotis in the past and have had some luck but am excited to try your sorghum flour rotis, looks simple enough. I will most definitely be bookmarking several of your recipes and trying them in the days to come. Thanks!

    Reply

    • I am glad you stumbled upon my site, Meera. Its not hard to follow gluten free life style, if you strictly follow some guidelines. I have no problem cooking at home or eating outside in a restaurant but when I go to my friend’s parties there I need to do some questioning. If you have read my recent post on Shahi Paneer, you will know there is gluten hidden in items you can not imagine.
      You will find some of the baked goods and even different types of gluten free flatbread recipes on my blog you will love. I will be looking forward for the feedback.

      Reply

      Reply

  5. Hi Balvinder,

    I’ve only spent 10 minutes on your blog but I’m SO excited to see a gluten free Indian recipe site! For the last year or so I’ve been wanting to move away from my focus on wheat & sugar based food. My husband and I are Indian vegetarians and have been eating a lot more wheat breads/white breads/rice than we should. Back home our food had more variety – my grandmother’s Rajgira (Amaranth) paranthas, makki ki roti, bajre ki khichdi, jowar (Sorgham) methi thepla, tons of snacks made with besan etc., but I almost never make (or even remember to make) any of these now.

    Recently a close friend was diagnosed with a bunch of allergies – wheat, sugar, dairy, rice, tomatoes and most meats. She enjoys Indian food and this motivated me to look for Indian recipes that she can eat and also help me wean myself from my wheat addiction. I never imagined I would find such a wonderful resource of ideas and recipes, but the internet is full of surprises!! Thanks for all the work you’ve put into this site, I look forward to exploring it further and cooking gluten free!

    Reply

    • Hi Tulika, thank you so much for your amazing comment. When I first went gluten free I had no clue where to start and there was not even a single gluten free Indian recipe site. Since I loved cooking different cuisine, I stated experimenting and decided to create a blog to help new people love gluten free lifestyle…… You are right the food our mothers cooked had variety and this blog is my humble attempt to revive those countless memories I have of my mother’s recipes along with my own.
      Feel free to explore the recipes I already posted and sign up to receive email for more wonderful recipes or you can subscribe to my recently created flip board (by clicking my name on bottom right), where you can check my posts in magazine format.

      Reply

  6. Hi Balvinder
    I stumbled upon your website via google + pic of the eye-catching dal. Being a Punjabi and having to be gluten free must be so hard. You have done an amazing job working positively towards the GF zone! Love the way you have said you are a research associate etc etc:) we do all the hard work and an appropriate name for the position is surely well earned.
    with best wishes to you
    Anupama

    Reply

    • Thanks Anupama for visiting! Actually Indian food is very much gluten free other than our chapati and some sweets.
      Haha! every woman is a research associate. She does the most demanding job,..spending her entire life doing unpaid work at home, caring for kids, inculcating good values and also managing work and social life outside the house 🙂 Hope to see you more around here.

      Reply

  7. Hi Balvinder, thank you for visiting my blog, it lead me to yours, and I’m very excited to find your lovely blog! Gluten-free is something I’m very interested in too, suspecting intolerance in myself. I’ll be exploring your blog a lot!

    Reply

  8. Hey… I too am a full time research associate in Human relations and Child development!! I only realized it just now – thanks to you! 😛
    And yes, its tough, its challenging, but its also fun and the most rewarding job ever 🙂

    Reply

    • Haha, Kimberly my child is an adult now and is in University but a mother’s responsibility never stops.
      I respect you for your effort and time of compiling a list of food bloggers to follow on Google+. Very pleased to find my name in it. Thank you!

      Reply

  9. Glad to find you here.Always there is something common in every foodie and food blogger which we can start a conversation. Like your site.Keep it up!Had a good time reading some posts.

    Reply

  10. SSA Balvinderji, I just stumbled upon your site while googling for gluten free samosa recipe. I have an 11 year old daughter allergic to eggs, nuts (except peanuts) and all cereals (except white rice). when she was younger, she didn’t really care for Indian appetizers. But as she is growing and exploring her culture, she wonders if she can taste and enjoy different Indian flavors. Samosa is one such food that lures her. Your recipe includes sorghum, brown rice etc. I tried using Betty Crockers gluten free all purpose flour and it didn’t work for me. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for me. I was thinking about incorporating some dal flour but thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask expert for help before I start experimenting on the rice flour/dal flour samosa crust. Your advice will be much appreciated; thank you so much!

    Reply

    • Hi Dolly,

      I see a lot of kids these days having multiple allergies.I am glad at least your daughter can eat peanuts, dairy and some other grains. My samosa recipe does not have sorghum flour. I used a blend of white rice flour and oat flour. Since oat is a cereal grain, you can totally add lentil flour. I have often added yellow mung daal and urad flour in my poorie recipes and they come out great. Its little hard to roll and fold but not impossible. Use cling wrap and don’t forget to add psyllum husk or xanthum gum for a binder.
      Happy cooking! Do let me know how everything goes.
      I am glad you stopped by and if you have any other question you are most welcome to ask.

      balvinder

      Reply

  11. Dear Balvinder Ubi, I have been a fan of yours ever since I stepped in (my first comment is as above :)) So pleased I landed here. And ever since, every time anybody mentions ‘gluten-free’ the first space that comes to mind is your space. I mention it to them knowing for sure, they are going to be in a safe space and will benefit for everything you have to offer. 🙂 thank you 🙂

    Reply

    • That’s the probably the best compliment I have ever received. Love you my dear! Friends like you who are exceptionally creative bloggers are my biggest inspiration 🙂

      Reply

  12. Hi Balvinder Ubi, I’m so glad to have come across to know you through some friends on google plus and have been a silent follower of you!!….I thought it’s high time to be connected and that too through food!!…Loved your space and the benefits of following your gluten free recipes…I will be definitely stopping by now and then to enjoy your valuable recipes!!….Thank you dear…So very happy to be connected!!

    Reply

  14. I stumbled across your website by chance when searching for a gluten free cake and roti. I am not allergic to gluten and I am grateful no one in my family is but i understand the allergies and other intolerances as we have many friends with assorted variations. When we have friends over with requirements, I always make sure that we meet them. There is a 6 year old girl of my best friend who is allergic to gluten and I tested your lemon pound cake and maggi noodles recipe for her. Those were fabulous recipes. I am going to pass on the link to my friend.

    Reply

  15. Hi Balvinder, my friend Devi recommended your site when we ate lemon pound cake at her house. My daughter loved it and want me to make it at home. I will try some of your other recipes too.
    My daughter loves cake pops a lot . Do you have a recipe for that?

    Reply

    • Hi apsara, welcome to my blog. I don’t have a cake pop recipe but you can make pops by crumbling any cake and adding frosting to it. They are easy but little time consuming. I will post cake pop recipe whenever I get a chance next year.

      Reply

  16. Hi Balvinder,

    I was diagnosed for gluten sensitivity year and half ago. Since then we have adopted the gluten free cooking, Me and my wife always look for recipes using the gluten free ingredients. Your site contains wealth of information and recipes and we will try them.

    Also you may already know but millstream foods now have lots of gluten free flours available.

    Thanks,
    Jatender

    Reply

    • Thank you for appreciating my blog jatinder! Yes I am familiar with millstream foods and I buy their yellow cornflour. Haven’t yet tried their chapatti flour. Last month I bought Teja’s gluten free chapati flour to test, its useless, very sticky, seems like there is no whole grain only starch, although the bag says it has sorghum and amaranth along with rice and corn flour.

      Reply

  17. Thank you for creating a GF website! Indian breads are tasty, but I cannot consume them anymore due to celiac disease. Now, I could follow your guidance!

    Reply

  18. Great blog Balvinder…I look forward to your gluten free recipes as I’m fairlygluten sensitive myself…How lovely to be living in gorgeous BC…we lived in Toronto,Ontario for seven years and then moved away for a bit…Happy to connect in this space…

    Reply

  20. Baking with gluten-free flours is not at all easy. I have tried and I often fail horribly. Though I do not need to eat gluten-free products, I do not mind experimenting. I shall subscribe to your blog and hope to pick up tips from you, Balvinder. Thank you for dropping by my blog. Cheers.

    Reply

    • Hi Dippy Dotty Girl,
      There is no need to GO on gluten free diet to add gluten-free flours as new ingredients in your recipes.
      We should both thank Dolly who re-shared your French Toast post on her blog and it took me to your blog.I’ll be more than glad to subscribe to your blog too.

      Reply

  21. Hi Neetu, Loved to read your story. Your passion for cooking comes through clearly and I can totally relate to that! You have an amazing blog here that I am going to explore in detail! thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Indu,
      Thank you for reading my story and your blog is lovely too.
      I thought my comment on your blueberry pie did not go through because it twice gave me an error note.

      Reply

  22. Hi Neetuji,

    I love your besan flowers/hearts recipe (with rosewater and cardammom. For your gluten-free interest, have you tried south Indian sweets like minnepasunne? Urad daal heaven. Try sailusfood blogpost. best wishes.

    Reply

  23. I’ve been reading your blog and looking through recipes on your website and you have a lot of great ideas. I have a question. My son can’t have gluten, rice, potato, or almonds. This is all new and we just got the results of his reactivity testing this week. He had already been eating gluten free for a few weeks, but not with not being able to have rice or potato ingredients it’s been challenging. Considering the majority of gluten free flour blends start with rice, do you have any recommendations for a good a AP GF flour blend that doesn’t use rice flour or starch, almond or potato starch?

    Reply

    • Hello Kristen,
      Thanks for the comment. To be honest, I have not come across any AP GF flour blend that doesn’t use rice flour, almond meal or potato starch. Generally, I am not in favor of eating too much rice flour or starches, hence I cook and bake with alternate Whole grain gluten-free flours. But in order to have that Gluten like texture and air up the harder flours I use use starch in small amounts. Can your son eat lentil flours? If he can then you can easily switch the starches with Urad Flour or Soy Flour combined with xanthum gum or psyllioum husk.
      Just to give you an idea following recipes do not have any type of starch.
      Paneer Oat Pancakes
      Pithaud with chaunke mattar
      Oat and Walnut Thins (you can switch rice AP flour with quinoa flour)
      Besan Dhokla
      Polenta cakes
      You can browse through my pages-Gluten Free Flour Pantry and Chickpea flours.
      Hope this helps!

      Reply

  24. Cassava flour is gluten free and considered AIP diet approved.
    I loved your Maggi noodle recipe too! Thanks for sharing

    Reply

  25. Hello Neetu Ji,

    I made a flour mix for my son. I used 2 cups of White Rice flour, 1 cup of Jwar flour, 1/2 cup Ragi flour and 1/2 cup of Besan flour. Problem I am facing is Roti getting too dry. Its hard for 3 year old to eat that dry Roti. Do you know how could this be avoided. Any advice is appreciated.

    Reply

    • Hello Karuna,
      The combination of flours you are using will certainly give you a dry roti. Even adults can not eat this. I would suggest you make chapati using jowar only. The roti comes out soft. The key is to add the flour in boiling water and knead it well. You can check the rest of the recipe here. For everyday roti or paratha I use my white flour chapati mix, recipe here.
      I usually use ragi flour for making crepes, the recipe is not on my site. The other thing you can do is use buckwheat flour make crepes out of it. They are easy to make and are soft.. can be had as chapati. Check the recipe here.
      There are other roti and crepe recipes on my blog. Use the Search function or category on the right side of my home page to find out more recipes.
      Please read the post and recipe carefully and follow the recipes precisely.
      Hope all this information will help you to make something nice for your son.
      Thank you for visiting my blog.

      Reply

  26. Hello NeetuJi,

    Thanks a lot for you suggestion. We did the same and it worked. I have another question is it safe/recommended to give Jowar flour roti each day ? We live in Germany and Jowar flour we got here on the packing says May contain traces of Gluten is it normal ? Can we keep using this flour.

    Regards
    Karuna

    Reply

    • Karuna, If your son is gluten intolerant or celiac you should buy certified gluten free products.Traces of gluten is not normal. I buy sweet sorghum from Bob’s red mill. If it is not available in Germany you should order it online. I don’t think eating jowar roti every day would be a good idea but you can check with a doctor. My personal suggestion would be to include all types of gluten free grains to get their benefits.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *