Avocado Paratha

March 30, 2020Breads, Lunch Box Suggestion, VeganAvocado Pancake, Avocado Roti, Bread, Chapati, delicious, Easy Cooking, Guacamole Bread, Healthy, homemade, Jain Food, Lunch Box, Main Meal, Onion Garlic Free Cooking, Roti, Side Dish, Swaminarayan, Teatime Snack, Unleavened Bread, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veshno Cooking, Video Recipeadmin

Avocado Paratha, these days I’m spending a lot of time at home, so I decided to experiment in the kitchen. I had one extra avocado left after making some guacamole dip. Avocados seem to be very popular these days most often served as “Avocado Toast”. I decided to put an Indian twist and use the extra avocado in delicious flavorful parathas. It actually turned out great and I enjoyed, but I think it needed a few tweaks. I added some extra spices and it turned out even better.

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Dates and Nuts Bar

January 26, 2020Desserts, SnacksAll Natural, almonds, Badam Burfi, Besan ki barfi, Candy, Cocoa Powder, Coconut, coconut Ladoo, Cooking Video, Dates Bar, Delightful, Diabetic, Flax Seed Burfi, Flex Seeds, Gluten Free, Gourmet food, Home Made, Jain Food, Kids Friendly, Lunch Box, Natural Alternative, Nutritional Bar, nutty, Quick And Easy, Recipe videos, Sattvic Food, Snack, Sugar Free, Swaminarayan, Sweet, Vegan, Walnutsadmin

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Mexican Refried Beans and Salsa

October 16, 2020Appetizers, Gluten Free, VeganAppetizers, Bread Pudding, Cooking Video, Dates and Nuts Bar, delicious, Enchiladas, Gluten Free, Home Cooking, Jain Food, Jalapeno Pepper, Lunch Box Meal, Mandir Food, Mexican Cuisine, Mexican Rice, No Garlic, No Onion, Pinto Beans, Refried Beans, salsa, Side Dish, Spicy, Swaminarayan, tomatoes, Vegan, Vegetarianadmin

My ultimate favorite cuisine is of course Indian. But I must say that Mexican and Italian cuisines are close seconds! Overall, I enjoy trying new cuisines with a variety of flavors. After coming to the United States, Mexican cuisine was the first new cuisine I tried. As you already know, I have a story behind every dish.

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Pithla (Besan Curry)

February 9, 2020Dal (Lentils), Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetables Curry / GravyBesan Kadhi, Bihari Kadhi, Cooking Video, Curry Recipe, Gatte Ke Kadhi, Gluten Free, Gujrati Kadhi, homemade, Jain Food, Maharashtrian Dish, Main Dish, Mandir Food, No Garlic, No Onion, Panjabi Kadhi, Quick And Easy, Satvik Food, Swaminarayan, Vegan, Veshno Cookingadmin

Pithla is a variation of Kadhi. Kadhi is made in many ways. In North India, Kadhi is made like a thick soup with pakoras dumplings. Another popular variation is Gujarati Kadhi, which is sweet and sour and made watery with a soup-like consistency. When first time I had gujrati Kadhi, I thought it was yogurt hot and spicy drink, and enjoyed very much, still my perception has not changed. Pithla, however, is thick in consistency. Sometimes I call this is Besan Ki Sabji. This is a quick and easy recipe to make. Pithla is made with few ingredients. It’s also gluten-free and vegan. Traditionally Pithla is served garnished with hot ghee (clarified butter). Pithla is a complete and satisfying meal.

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Punjabi Samosa

April 29, 2020AppetizersChaat, Cilantro Chutney, Cocktail Samosa, Cooking Video, Delicious Aloo Samosa, Gulab Jamuns, homemade, Indian Cuisine, Indian Traditional Food, Jain Food, Jalabi, Khana, Kids Friendly, No Garlic, No Onion, Potato Pastry, Potato Pattie, Punjabi Style, Puri, Satvik, Snack Popular Snack, street food, Swaminarayan, Tamarind Chutney, Vegan, Veshno Cooking, Yogurtadmin

Samosas are probably the most popular Indian snack, and street food. Samosas when paired with cilantro chutney are simply out of this world. I think they are universally loved and hard to resist. I have made variations and minor changes to my samosa recipe over the years. Check out my new and improved recipe for this family favorite!

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Ras Malai Cake

October 9, 2020DessertsBaked Ras Malai, Bengali Rasgulla, Cheena, Cooking Video, Delicacy, delicious, Dessert, diwali, Doodh KI Methai, Easy Cooking, holi, homemade, Indian, Indian Dessert, Jain Food, Milk Dessert, Mithai, Paneer, Party Food, Ras Malai, Ricotta Cheese, Royal Taste of India, Swaminarayan, Sweet, Valentine, Vegan, Veshno Cookingadmin

Ras Malai Cake is a twist on a very popular Bengali dessert “Ras Malai”. Ras Malai is made with homemade cheese known as “paneer” or “chana”. It consists of soft paneer balls immersed in chilled creamy milk. Ras Malai has been always my favorite dessert for as long as I can remember. Back when I came to the U.S. many years ago, Indian cooking was a challenge as there were very few Indian ingredients available. Indian groceries weren’t as plentiful back then. To top that off, I was also a new cook. I remember my friends and I would always experiment with different recipes for Indian food using whatever ingredients we could find. We knew we had to make do with what we had by being creative and learning to cook using the ingredients were available. One thing we discovered is using ricotta cheese as a substitute for paneer as it was the closest in consistency to paneer. We started using ricotta cheese to make many milk-based Indian desserts. It was then that I learned how to make Ras Malai. While it certainly was not the same as the “real thing”, it was super simple to make and very tasty! Most importantly, I got to enjoy a little taste of home with my favorite Indian dessert! I have done one more recipe using Ricotta cheese Microwave Milk Cake. Enjoy!

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Sweet and Sour Guava Curry

February 13, 2020Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetables Curry / GravyAmrood, cooking shows, Gourmet food, Guava Fruit, Home Cooking, Home Made, Indian food, Jain Food, Kadoo Ki Subji, Khatta Meetha, Main Dish, Mandir Food, No Garlic, No lahsun, No Onion, No Pyaj, North Indian Recipes, Recipe videos, Satvik Food, Spicy, Swaminarayan, Tropical Fruit, Vegetarian, Veshno Cookingadmin

Guavas, or “amrood” in Hindi, are simply delicious and probably one of my favorite fruits! This year I have an abundance of guavas growing in my backyard. I like to sprinkle chaat masala on guavas. The spiciness really brings out its flavor. Since I have so many delicious guavas, I decided it was time for me to make Guava Sweet and Sour Curry (Amrood Ki khati Methi Sabji).

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Vegetable Biryani (Instant Pot)

June 4, 2020Instant Pot, Lunch Box Suggestion, RiceBhojan, Bondi Raita, cooking shows, Cooking Video, Delicacy, delicious, Desi Khana, Gluten Free, Gourmet food, homemade, Indian Cuisine, Indian Traditional Food, Indian Vegetarian, Instant Pot Recipe, Jain Cooking, Khana, Lunch Box, Mint Lassi, One Pot Meal, Onion Garlic Free Cooking, Recipe videos, Rice Dish, Sattvic Food, Swaminarayanadmin

Vegetable Biryani is a complete, satisfying, one-dish meal. My mother would often say this dish is a fancy name for vegetable pulao. However, I think it is more than that. The secret behind this flavorful Vegetable Biryani is a spice mixture that creates the perfect balance of flavors. Basmati rice with a mix of fresh vegetables combined with this spice mixture turns into a dish of perfection! If you follow my steps, you’ll see I try to make this recipe as simple as possible. Vegetable Biryani also makes a great lunch box meal. Make sure to check out the footnotes to see how you can make this dish vegan.

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