Laksa is a popular noodle dish from south east Asia. There are many variations of this dish and each regions’ version has slightly different spices or ingredients. The one that I first had and adored was in a Thai restaurant. Ever since then, I have been an addict. So, here’s my version of chicken laksa with Thai flavors. It tastes delightfully refreshing and light, yet nurturing and filling at the same time.
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Herbed Broccoli Soup with Cheesy Polenta Croutons
When we think about broccoli, it’s the shape of the florets that come to our mind and we picture it in salad or crudites, but it can also be used to make soups that are delicious and pretty to look at. Broccoli is the most nutrient rich of all the vegetables and belong to ‘cruciferous vegetables group’. Low in calories and high in vitamins and nutrients, it’s a perfect diet or health food. This herbed broccoli soup is a wonderful way to get your cruciferous veggie intake.
Vegan Meat Masala
I know what you are thinking right now, “How can a vegan dish have meat?” ‘Well, it can”. Jack fruit or ‘kathal’ is one of those unique fruits that is used as a meat substitute for vegetarians and vegans. When young and green, the fruit has a mild flavor and meaty texture. When ripe, it has a strong fruity flavor that can be eaten raw as a fruit or used in desserts. In India people don’t wait for the fruit to ripen and consume it while it is still very tender. I grew up eating it in curries, pickles, semi dry dishes, and rice preparations like biryani. The fruit is rich in energy, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals and free from saturated fats or cholesterol making it more nutritious than many starchy staples. When cooked well, using heavier spices like black cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf in the preparation, it is indeed a satisfying meat alternative.
Steamed Fish in Mustard Sauce (Bengali Style)
Today, I’m bringing a simple but interesting preparation of Bengali steamed fish (Bhapa Ilish) to go along with plain boiled rice. The bengali diet includes a lot of fish and the use of mustard oil, seeds and paste. I am not a bengali to claim that fish is staple at our home or I liberally use mustard but I do try to eat fish once or twice a week , cooked in different ways. I made this dish for a group of friends who are bold enough to try something new at my home. There are two ways of preparing bengali style steamed fish, in a steamer or in oven. I like the oven method better because it is cooked and served in the same dish, reducing the amount of time needed for cleaning afterwards.
Reader’s Request: Aloo Samosa-glutenfree of course!
Samosas are flaky, crispy and triangular shaped pastry shells that cocoon seasoned potatoes, peas, lentil or meat. They are the most recognizable finger foods in Indian cuisine. They are deep fried which makes them so addictive and if you are like me you might eat 2-3 in one go and still have a hankering for more.
Daal Saag / Lentil Stew with Garbanzo Leaves
Gosh! It seems too early to be really posting a winter dish but my garbanzo/ chickpea plants are getting dry and woody and I wanted to use the tender leaves before I uproot them. Every spring I make a small kitchen garden with selective plants. Since most of them do not survive after the frost its a new effort every year. There is not a lot of space for my kitchen garden but I choose vegetables that taste better when fresh and quick to grow. I plant tomatoes, few herbs, salad leaves, chillies, couple of veggies, and then I also make an effort to try one or two new plant every year. This year I experimented with chickpeas. I sowed few black chickpeas in early April and got beautiful plants. Unripe chickpeas or green garbanzo are often picked out of the pod and eaten raw as a snack or can be enjoyed in so many different ways. The tender leaves are used raw in salads, cooked in soup or a lentil stew that we call it, daal saag.
Punjabi Dum Aloo
My mother in law loves potatoes. Love, as in addiction. Pretty much everything she cooks or has cooked all these years had potatoes in it. Now that they are going back to spend winters in India, I thought I should cook a farewell potato dish – Dum Aloo, for their 7 months stay with us. Dum Aloo specifically belongs to Kashmiri cuisine. It’s delicious taste made it popular all over India, hence you will find several variations of it using slightly different ingredients. No matter what you use, how you cook every dum aloo recipe is finger licking good. The recipe I have for you is of punjabi dum aloo with yogurt gravy which is enriched with charmagaz (melon seeds) and freshly ground spices.
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