Watch For New Upcoming Recipes

Hi, so far the New Year is going as planned. I have been successfully de-cluttering my home but it’s taking a little longer than I planned. I keep on finding things that I have forgotten about but they bring back lots of memories. Basically that’s what takes so much time. I have saved lots of things for so many years thinking I may need them. I am now saying to myself if I have not used it for four years I am going to let it go.

I am also working on some new recipes. The recipe for Peda that is milk based candy is ready. The recipe for Matar Mathi Malai (fenugreek leaves with peas and creamy cashew nut sauce) is looking good. I need to test the recipe one more time, as this will be my first recipe where I will be using a cashew-based sauce. Also I’m working on a recipe for Atta (whole-wheat) Ladoo with Gaund (edible gum). I am trying different techniques, as the current recipe requires more ghee than I would like to use.Watch for new upcoming recipes.

Why I Am Late For New Videos

It has been a while since I have posted a video. I am getting over a bad cold that I’ve had for  few days. My husband (my video grapher and person responsible putting every thing together) is quite busy this week. He will be available this weekend, so I will make sure to take a video this weekend.I will suggest to my friends, students in my class and every body else how to take care of a cold by using home remedies. But when I get a cold, I become very careless and don’t follow my own remedies, which result in a slow recovery.

Many viewers have questions about making dough, such as how much rolling or kneading to do and why the Roties they make are not soft. Soon I will be preparing a video on Roti again. This video will emphasize making dough, rolling, and provide tips on how to make sure the Roti comes out soft.

For making dough or batter, water measurements given in the recipes must be used as guidelines only. I think it is impossible to give the exact measurement of water because there are many factors that change how much water is needed. The brand of flour you are using, how the flour was milled, and how old the flour is are just some of the things that can change the amount of water you need. Just remember it is very important to get the right softness of dough and the dough must be kneaded enough. That helps to roll the roti or paratha and after cooking stays soft

My granddaughter loves to help me in kitchen she loves to roll the roti; she does a great job. The first time I was just amazed to see how good she rolled, but you know why she did so good — she was not worrying about making a mistake. I am telling you this to maybe help in your own cooking; just try and maybe they won’t be perfectly round but who cares. When my granddaughter rolls roti, we consider her rotis pieces of art and of course her Dadu (grandfather) just loves eating them. Roties rolled by her just taste so much better.

Taking Care Of New Moms

As I mentioned before, my younger daughter-in-law is pregnant and is due at the end of January. Everyone in the family is very excited about the new baby!

The postpartum period begins after the delivery of the baby and ends when the mother’s body has returned close to its pre-pregnant state.

I am looking forward to taking care of my daughter-in-law and of course taking care of my future granddaughter! New moms deserve special attention to rebuild their strength after giving birth. Nutrition and plenty of rest are essential to new moms to help their bodies recover.

Eating light, easy to digest food is important. Green vegetables, vegetables from the squash family, moong beans (dal), and whole-wheat bread are all good choices. Avoid cabbage, beans and lentils are considered harder to digest and create gas in the body. Also avoid anything sour, like tomatoes, tamarind, lemon, and oranges.

I am compiling a list of remedies that will be useful after coming back from the hospital. My list is based on these traditional beliefs, which may help new moms below are some of the home remedies:

1) Turmeric helps heal internal wounds – Take a half-teaspoon turmeric powder every day with lukewarm milk or water. Turmeric has many other health effects.

2) Fenugreek seeds are great to help prevent and ease back and joint pain. Fenugreek seeds or fresh fenugreek are also taken to help nursing mothers increase their breast milk supply. Fenugreek is also available at many health food stores.

3) Ajwain (carom seeds) helps soothe pain due to gas or indigestion. Every morning boil four glasses of water with two tablespoon of carom seeds (ajwain). Let it cool down to room temperature and drink this water throughout the day. Add ajwain as an ingredient when making roti or cooking vegetables.

4) Dry ginger powder also known as sauth; take with food. Ginger offers health benefits, including anti-inflammation effects, and can also be found in health food stores.

5) Gaund (or Gond) is an edible gum resin that is extracted from the bark of the tree. Gaund provides heat to our body and is usually eaten in cold winter months. Gaund and whole wheat ka ladoo is normally prepared for the nursing mother to help with lactation and provide nutrients for the baby. The main ingredients are whole-wheat flour, butter, nuts, gaund, poppy seeds, and sugar.

6) Lastly, I will be making “Panjeere”, which is a mixture of nuts and a variety of ingredients. Panjeere and whole-wheat ladoos are a must for new moms. Stay tuned, as I will be posting both of these recipes in the near future.

Happy New Year!

This year has flown by quickly! I am looking forward to 2009 and will be posting many more video recipes. Your support means a lot to me. This year I would like to receive more feedback and interaction from you, the viewers. I may not be able to address all of your suggestions, but I will do my best!

I talked briefly before about New Year’s resolutions…well this year my resolution is to de-clutter and organize my house. I know that it will feel good both mentally and aesthetically! But maintaining a clutter-free house can be hard. So this year, my husband and I have decided to tackle one room at a time and finish by the end of the January. This is one resolution I think can keep. Stay tuned for my progress!

Printer-Friendly Recipe Pages

If you’ve had trouble printing the recipes from manjulaskitchen.com before, please try again now. We finally had a chance to create printer-friendly versions for all the recipe pages. You needn’t do anything different. You can use the print preview option from your browser’s file menu to see the difference.  We’re continually working to make this website better. If you have any requests, please let us know.

Anniversaries Time

December is an important month; the old year is ending and a New Year is about to begin. In December, people think about their lives and make New Year’s resolutions; I don’t know how many of us follow our resolutions but it is still good to make the resolutions and try to live up to them. Coming up with my own resolutions makes me think about the past year and what really happened. It reminds me of things I enjoyed or was excited about and other things that made me feel down. In both cases, thinking about why I felt and acted as I did helps me to see what I should be doing in my life, today and in the future.

Another important thing about December for me is that this is the month of my own and my elder son’s wedding anniversaries.

Two years ago, on December 23rd, my husband put the very first video recipe (Gulab Jamun) on YouTube for me. I get a great deal of satisfaction and happiness from doing these videos. I want to thank my viewers for their support and their interesting and satisfying comments. My husband sometimes has a big smile while reading some of the comments and will tell me they are feeding my ego. Well, speaking as a cook, egos need to be fed, too, don’t they?

Enjoy Namak Paare

We just did the video for Namak Paare. This is a very traditional staple snack. Usually Namak Paare is made with all-purpose flour (plain flour, maida) but I make it using half all-purpose and half whole-wheat so I
can keep my husband and daughter-in-law both happy. My daughter-in-law likes to replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat whenever possible. Namak Paare is an all time favorite with my family to take on trips. They especially enjoy it with mango pickle.

Next I will be doing Potato Paneer Tots. I came up with this recipe while I was making Malai Kofta. I hope you will like it as much my family does.

Happy Holidays

I always look forward to this time of year. I don’t celebrate Christmas as I am not a Christian, but I do enjoy the Christmas spirit that my community shows. I enjoy seeing the festive spirit in my students and neighbors. This time of year also means that I get to spend more time with grand kids!

I plan on doing craft projects with my grand daughter. We will probably do some bead work and coloring.

I will also be doing what I love most which is cooking! I am planning meals for family dinners. For appetizers, I will be making khasta kachori, papdi chat, and masala peanuts. For desserts, I will make gulab jamun, gajar ka halwa, pineapple and cherry cobbler (my friend made this for me and everyone liked it). For dinner, chola battura is my younger son’s favorite. And one night this season I will prepare an Italian meal. Some of my neighbors have done a great job decorating their homes with Christmas lighting. We like to drive around to see the Christmas decorations.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a time to offer thanks, for family gatherings and holiday meals. There are lot of things I am thankful for, but I have to say I am most thankful for the unconditional love and support of my family. My two sons and their families will be coming to my house this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I am planning on making an Italian meal. I am also trying out a new bread dessert recipe. Make sure to check back for the video recipe! Then we will enjoy the rest of the evening by talking and playing games. It will be a great weekend enjoyed by all!

Apple Crumb Pie almost finished.

Yesterday, we went out with my younger son and his wife for a movie and dinner. We saw Slumdog Millionaire and we liked it very much. The movie is about social awakening of the poor in India. My younger son always likes to tease me about how much time I like to spend with him and I will say just wait till you are a father in two more months and then we will talk about it.

Today, I made Apple crumb pie for the third time and my husband finally approved.  So we will be taping tonight. Stay tuned…

Today’s Dinner – Fettuccini with Balsamic Vinegar and Bruschetta

Besides Indian, Italian food is my next favorite cuisine. Today, I experimented with pasta cooked with butter and balsamic vinegar and it came out really good. My family really enjoyed the pasta and I think this recipe should be shared, though I have not decided on a name yet for this dish. Most likely, I will call it Fettuccini with Balsamic vinegar. I served the pasta with green salad and Bruschetta topped with tomato and basil. The video will be posted soon, but here are some photos of the Fettuccini and Bruschetta.

Today's Dinner - Fettuccini with Balsamic Vinegar and Bruschetta

Today's Dinner - Fettuccini with Balsamic Vinegar and Bruschetta

Upcoming videos

I am behind schedule in producing video recipes. Today, we finally recorded the video recipe for Moong Dal with Spinach. I am hoping the video will get uploaded to You Tube later tonight. Last week I was really busy entertaining guests that were visiting from out of town. Also we had a wonderful baby shower for my daughter in law. I have two grand kids from my older son and for my younger son this will be his first child.

I am working on a few new recipes including:

  1. Paneer Potato tots
  2. Namak Para which is a saltine finger snack
  3. Apple Oat crumb will be the next dessert, my grand daughter enjoys this dessert a lot and she thinks I should do this next for sure.


Cooking class tonight at Torrey Pines

As some of you already know, in additional to providing cooking recipes on this website, I also teach cooking classes in person.  I give evening lessons at some of the high schools in the San Diego, CA area, which is where I reside.

This evening I will be giving cooking classes at Torrey pines high school. Since it’s the holiday season, I will be teaching holiday cooking for social events and for gift giving.

I never dreamed that I would enjoy teaching these classes so much. Rarely do I have somebody from India in my class. The students ages vary from 20 to 70 years old. Every body is very enthusiastic and surprised to see how easy it is to cook a flavorful Indian dish. All the students have eaten Indian food and their perception was it will be hard to cook and not very healthy. I am surprised nobody questions me, why I don’t use onion and garlic. They enjoy the flavors from the spices, vegetables and lentils and they love home made yogurt.

If you live in the San Diego area and are interested in signing up for my classes, please call the the San Diguito School disctrict for rgistering: 1-760-753-7073 ext. 5103

No butter in butter paneer masala?

Another frequently asked question is why do I call this recipe Butter Paneer Masala when I don’t use any butter in this recipe. Personally, I call this recipe Paneer Masala. I have had lots of requests for Butter Paneer Masala, so I researched this recipe and discovered that butter isn’t used. My recipe uses yogurt instead of cream to “butter up” the paneer. Also you can add blended cashews to “butter up” the paneer. I feel better and healthier using yogurt.