Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala Recipe | Simple Dahi Bhindi Recipe

Learn how to make Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala ~ Crispy okra cooked in creamy and spicy yogurt gravy

There are many advantages of cooking from food blogs than cook books. One you get introduced to new cuisines with simple as well exotic ingredients. Second you get to see how the actual dish looks with drool worthy photos posted along the recipes. For me the best part is you can easily reach out  the blogger and clear all your doubts/queries which otherwise is not possible with cookbook authors. And not to forget, you get all these services without costing you a penny. Yup, the buzz word is free. ;)

Ingredients for Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala

Since twelve years of blogging, I have tried many recipes following the recipes posted in blogs. Very few times the end result ended up in garbage but many a times it was licked clean from plates, spoons and even the serving bowl. When I think of those recipes which have become my family favourites, I realised I haven’t posted most of them. So with this new mission of mine, I will be posting all the recipes I had tried and tested from bloggers and most importantly, loved by my family will be posted under the tag called  Recipes from Your Kitchen to Mine.

Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda Recipe | How to Make Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda

Learn how to make Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda ~ Onion fritters in a delicately spiced creamy yoghurt gravy from Punjab

Everyone has some food that speaks to them, conveying security, exultation, and are the universal cure to any bad day! One bite and all your worries seem to disappear, and you sink into a sense of oblivion. One bite, and it can positively change your mood and make you feel better as they work their magic! That is the power of comfort foods!

Comfort food can be something simple, complex, rich, healthy or downright indulgent! There is no right or wrong kind of food when it comes to comfort food. Any meal that conjures up feelings of joy and safety, memories of childhood or good times, or brings simple pleasure is what comfort food is all about. If you are feeling lonely, food can be your new best friend; if bored, let food be your entertainment; if you are stressed, food can be your luxury spa treatment. Whatever the feeling, you can seek help through comfort foods.

Blueberry Yogurt Ice Lolly Recipe | How to Make Simple Frozen Berry Yogurt Ice Lollies (Video Tutorial/Recipe)

Learn how to make Blueberry Yogurt Ice Lolly ~ Simple, low fat, no added sugar berry yogurt ice lolly recipe/Frozen yogurt ice lolly recipe

After what felt like a longest winter, it’s starting to too feel much like summer now. And what better way to celebrate it by making some delicious ice lollies. How about some light, healthy, low-fat, creamy and no added sugar Blueberry Yogurt Ice Lollies?

Frozen yogurt ice lolly is no new recipe or concept for me. Growing up in a South Indian town where summer meant temperature shooting up the roof, the only way to keep the complaining kids quite was to making barrel full of sherbet or smoothies and freezer packed with homemade ice creams and ice lollies. When we kids sneaked out without drinking a glass of milk either mixed with almond-spice mix or Bournvita, she would pop the glass in the freezer and present us with chocolate flavoured or almond flavoured milk lollies! :) The mango lassi was my favourite summer treat and one fine scorching summer day, amma poured the leftover mango lassi into ice lolly moulds and from that day, mango lassi ice lolly became one of the most popular and loved frozen treats in our family.

Belgaum Kunda Recipe | How to Make Belgavi Kunda

Learn how to make Belgaum Kunda or Belgavi Kunda ~ Sweet caramalised milk fudge from Belgaum, North Karanata

The festival of colours and love, Holi is just around the corner marking the arrival of spring and new beginning. This Hindu festival also signifies not only the end of winter, but for many it’s a day to meet friends and families, play and laugh, drench one another in rainbow colours, forget and forgive, and repair broken relationships. Holi is also celebrated as a thanksgiving in most part of North India for a good harvest. For me no festival is complete without some sweet dishes to not only sweeten our mouth, but also our life. I have this wonderful sweet dish called Belgaum Kunda or Belgavi Kunda from North Karnataka today which is made by reducing and curdling the milk and cooking with caramalised sugar syrup.

Belgaum, located in the state of Karnataka is a cultural city known for its rich multi-cultural heritage, architectural splendour, remnants of a rich and colourful historical background and for its natural beauty. A swathe of mesmerising emerald green landscapes with breath taking waterfalls and misty hills, Belgaum is a home for many religious monuments and architectural wonders oozing old world charm that is sure to satiate your spiritual and aesthetic loving soul. Just an hour’s drive from Dharward, my home for 4 years of engineering studies, this city of Belgaum had left its mark on my life with a sense of pure bliss. Although my limited student budget didn’t stretch very far, it didn’t stop my wanderlust soul from making several trips to this beautiful city that enticed me with its historical charm, rich culture and cuisine.

Rajasthani Haldi Ki Subji Recipe | Fresh Turmeric Curry Recipe

Learn how to make Rajasthani Haldi Ki Subji or Fresh Turmeric Curry ~ Fresh turmeric and green peas cooked in a spicy, creamy tomato and yogurt curry

Curry lovers all over the world are familiar with one ingredient without which you can’t imagine cooking curry! I am talking about one of the most popular spice turmeric which leaves yellow stains on everything which it comes in contact with. It’s one spice that’s been traditionally used as a spice in Indian, Asian and African cuisines for more than 4,500 years! So what made this quintessential ingredient for curries and stews to migrate to fancy (not) things like Turmeric Lattes, cold pressed juices, smoothie bowls etc? What is it about this stone age staple that suddenly graduated into some kind of super food in the last couple of years?

Turmeric has always found its way into our dinner plates every single day. There isn’t a savoury dish in our home that goes untouched without a sprinkle of this gold dust. I grew up hearing about the healing properties of turmeric since I was a toddler. One sneeze and my grandma would run to her kitchen to make me a cup of Turmeric Milk or Kashaya with a generous pinch of turmeric. According to her there isn’t a cold or sore throat can’t be healed with a warm cup of turmeric milk. A scratch, a cut or deep wound was healed with a coat of turmeric paste either prepared by grinding the fresh turmeric root or by mixing ground turmeric with water. Pimples, skin problems? No problem. Ground turmeric from fresh roots or powdered form mixed with sandal wood paste or gram flour or milk or fresh cream had always been our choice of face mask for any beauty treatments. The trust we have on this golden hued spice was not born a year or couple of years ago, but since over 4,500 years ago which is now backed with scientific researches making turmeric one of the most admired super foods of the century.

Roasted Hassleback Potatoes with Rosemary and Spicy Garlic Yogurt Dip Recipes

Learn how to make Roasted Hassleback Potatoes with Spicy Garlic Yogurt Dip

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

~ Albert Einstein

Last week was the most testing, tiring and anxious time for K and me as parents. It was not something entirely new as LD periodically finds himself swallowing cocktails of paracetamol and ibuprofen sometimes flavoured by teaspoonful of antibiotics! ~sigh~ It’s not my favourite sight, but something I have come to accept and carry on as his doctor keep reminding us how he is more susceptible to infections when compared to his peers due to his birth history. We hope that it will get better as he gets old when his immune system is better at coping with infections. For few months, it did look that way until LD ended up in the hospital!

Mosaranna or Curd Rice Recipe | South Indian Tempered Yogurt Rice Recipe

Learn how to make Mosaranna or Mosaru Anna or Curd Rice ~ Popular South Indian rice mixed with creamy sweet yogurt, finely chopped vegetables and fruits tempered with green chillies, ginger and indian spices

~Long rant alert~

Let me warn you in the beginning. This is going to be one long rant. If you are here for the recipe, just skip it and scroll down to the recipe part.

Food blogging is 24/7 job, and mostly it is unpaid/low paid job. We food bloggers put hours and sometimes, days of work into creating every single blog post; recipe idea, back ground food/recipe research, recipe creation, recipe testing, re-testing 4-5 times, taking accurate measurement of the ingredients, jotting down tips/little useful notes, food styling, food photographing, editing the photographs, writing the blog post, crediting/mentioning the original source, editing and finally posting/publishing it. The work doesn’t end there! We also read patiently and reply to every single queries. Apart from labelled as food bloggers, most of us are the sole photographers, content creators, editors, cooks, cleaners, food stylists and also the dishwashers!

And there are some people who ‘research’ on Google and get ‘inspired’ by others write ups and recipes and simply ‘ctrl C + ctrl P’ not just the recipes, but also the stories/prologue to the recipe posts. I will not call them lazy. I will not even call them naïve. They are simply the plagiarists who ride high by stealing others content and passing them as their own and go another step by ‘copyright’ing the stolen content! What for? Fame? Money? Popularity? I don’t know! When my 6 year old knows what's right from wrong, I find it rather saddening to see a well-educated people who pretend to be ignorant and plays victim card, It clearly shows that education and ethics and values are two different things!

Restaurant style Mughalai Methi Paneer Kurma Recipe | Simple and Easy Methi-Paneer Curry

Learn how to make Restaurant style Mughalai Methi Paneer Kurma ~ Fresh fenugreek leaves and Indian cottage cheese cooked in lightly spiced creamy onion, cashew and yogurt gravy

With the temperature shooting up to 20+ deg C, the British summer has finally arrived in my neck of woods. It means plenty of sunshine, ice creams, spending most of day time outdoors, gardening and of course, less time cooking in hot kitchen. This is the time of the year where my recipe developments and cooking experiments in the winter months come to my rescue as I churn dishes that take minimal effort and less cooking time. One such recipe is this creamy and dreamy Restaurant style Mughalai Methi Paneer Kurma cooked using home grown fresh tender methi or fenugreek leaves.

Few weeks back, during the months of spring when the temperature crossed single digit and crossed double digits, LD and I started our little garden project. Tickled by our success story of growing our own veggies last summer, this time we have decided to double our effort and grow more veggies, especially greens, to nourish our body and soul. This year our little potting shed is filled with trays and pots of greens growing in abundant, making a steady supply to kitchen in cooking the nutrition rich meals to grace our dinner tables.

Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani Recipe | How to make Veg Biryani

Learn how to make Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani ~ Layered and dum cooked aromatic basmati rice with curried vegetables flavoured with saffron, ghee roasted nuts and fresh mint and coriander leaves

A very, very good pot of Hyderabadi Vegetable Dum Biryani is one of the top 5 favourite foods of mine. It is one dish that I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Yes, that’s how much I LOVE it. There is something quite magical about the whole process of making and eating it, right from carefully roasting the spices for Biryani Masala Powder to layering it. It is quite exceptional experience to open the sealed lid to reveal the perfectly cooked biryani with its heady aroma to finally eating a morsel of this heavenly meal where each grain of rice is kissed by the spices.

As a teenager, I had mastered 3 of my most favourite ‘fancy’ dishes; Malai Kofta, Gobi Manchurian, and Veg Cutlets. When I was in 11th, our science teacher Miss Maria who also happened to head exclusive ‘Ladie’s Club’ for the young ladies taught us to make Hyderabadi Vegetable and Chicken Dum Biryani. This is her recipe, Miss Maria’s Hyderabadi Veg Dum Biryani. 

Matar Paneer Kurma/Korma Recipe | Simple & Easy Peas and Paneer Korma Recipe

Learn how to make Matar Paneer Kurma ~ Peas and Indian cottage cheese cooked in a mildly spiced onion, tomato and yogurt curry

The home looks like a storm has passed with cloths piled on the bed, gifts and boxes of chocolates piled in one corner. The extra-large suitcases are wide open and ready to swallow everything that I throw in its mouth. Few of my salwar kameez and boys’ kurtas finally see the light after being packed away in vacuum sealed bags for a year. Living in a corner of the England where there are very few brown faces means the ethnic cloths remain packed away until we go on our annual pilgrimage to our mother land! :)

Spices used for Matar Paneer Kurma/Korma

I have tonnes of things to finish, and yet here I am watching my fingers tap dance on the keyboard as I think about meeting our loved ones after almost a year. Sometimes I feel this anticipation, the bubbling excitement and the unexplainable joy before the trip is the best part than the whole trip itself! It reminds me of a quote I had read a long ago and imprinted in my memory. It goes something like, ‘do not care much about the destination, but simply enjoy the journey’.

Dum Aloo Kashmiri Recipe | How to Make Kashmiri Dum Alu

Learn how to make Dum Aloo Kashmiri ~ A traditional Kashmiri dish of deep fried baby potatoes cooked in creamy almond and cashew gravy, no onion-garlic recipe

After a month of sultry hot summer days, the skies have opened their doors to cool showers. The welcoming sight of rain drenched plants and trees and the pearly rain drops on a window pane is what exactly we needed after a days of heat waves. As the temperature dropped couple of degrees, our cravings for some spicy delights just went up a notch! Another reason to love the pittar-patter rain!

Husband had come home with a bag of baby potatoes from market and dropping few hints about the Dum Aloo Kashmiri he had had couple of years ago! I pretended not to hear him as the last few attempts of making the famous Kashmiri Dum Aloo were far from being a success story! And the triple sin of not just cooking the potatoes, but also deep frying them before dunking in a rich cashew-almond gravy was something I wanted to avoid when I am on a path of eating healthy! Well, I don’t have to say who won in the end! Interestingly I am not even ashamed to have had committed this triple sin! Ha…

Bimbli Mosaru Gujju Recipe | Simple and Easy Bimbli Recipe

Learn how to make sweet and sour Bimbli Mosaru Gojju ~ Bimbli in sweet and spicy yogurt sauce

Year 2014 came and went by in the blink of an eye. A lot of things happened in 2014; many exciting things, many stressful events, and a whole new beginning. 2014 was the year where many life changing events happened in our lives. We uprooted our lives from a place that had become our home and moved to a place which we hope to make a home that we all love. It’s not been an easy year to say the least, but we never settled for anything less adventurous.

Bimbli or Bilimbi or Bimpuli

Happy New Year dear readers who still patiently wait to read my rants! With my blog posts becoming so sporadic, I am not surprised to see dwindling readership to this almost abandoned blog. With my life getting maddeningly busy with things that are out of my control, the blog has to take a back seat. As much as I want to replenish my recipe repertoire and breath some life into this blog, the lack of motivation and writer’s block, which seems to have made a comfortable permanent home in my so-called creative side of the brain, are enough reasons to almost abandon this much loved part of my life! On top of that, the never ending personal task list and unrealistic deadline I have set for personal commitments in real life is keeping me away from virtual world.

Savory Multi Millet Pancakes with Garlic-Herb Cheese Spread Recipe | Guest Post by Sanjeeta of Lite Bite

Learn how to make Savory Multi Millet Pancakes with Garlic-Herb Cheese Spread Recipe from Sanjeeta of Lite Bite

Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body.
~ Joseph Addison

And there is someone who spreads her cheerful personality through her innovative recipes, interesting anecdotes, and beautiful photographs and she is our one woman wonder Sanjeeta of a stunning blog called Lite Bite. True to her blog name, Lite Bite is a treasure trove of healthy recipes and beautifully styled photographs that will leave you in awe! From simple home cooking to fusion cooking, Sanjeeta’s tremendous talent shines through her blog where she easily transforms the not so healthy food into light, delicious and flavourful affair. You can’t help but marvel at her unique recipes that will make you wonder why you didn’t think of cooking it before?! Lite Bites is full of innovative and delicious recipes that demonstrates eating healthy and balanced food doesn’t mean one needs to compromise on taste, flavour and comfort. I feel honoured and privileged to share my virtual kitchen with Sanjeeta today who is going to share another ‘lite bites’ from her amazing recipe repertoire with us. You can follow Sanjeeta on her Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.

Food blogging is the ultimate hobby I could indulge in for hours on end. A captivating hobby turned into a full-time passion now, which fills me with excitement and self-worth every single day. Food blogging gives me endless entertainment, raises curiosity, creates memories and helps connect with wonderful online friends to grow together.

For many people, food is just fuel for body and an everyday comfort to celebrate life. To a food blogger ‘food is a subject’ which they seek to understand and explore. They don’t just eat good food but are inspired by it and visualize many forms of art in it. They take food to a different altitude.

Beetroot Pachadi Recipe | How to make Beetroot Pachidi

Learn how to make Beetroot Pachadi ~ Beetroot in spiced coconut and yogurt gravy

We three have been very busy here.... Busy doing nothing! Oh wait... We are enjoying the bright sunny days with clear blue sky, lush greenery around us, a lazy stroll in our parents farms, breathing fresh air, warmth of sun shining on our faces, reading books in the cool evening breeze, sleeping under the twinkling stars, playing in the mud and building sand castles in the beach and eating whatever our heart desires! We really have been busy... ;)

Mango Lassi Recipe | How to Make Punjabi Mango Lassi

Learn how to make Mango Lassi ~ Thick, sweet and creamy mango and yogurt drink flavoured with aromatic cardamom, a refreshing Indian summer drink

It was hot summer day when the sun scorched every object that came in direct contact under his blazing rays. On that particular day the temperature shot up by another few degrees making already miserable hot day even more difficult to bear! People looked up at the sky eagerly looking for the sign of rain to bring the temperature down to bearable degrees, but all they could see by squinting eyes was the sun god shining bright with his full glory, blissfully unaware of the complaints that were thrown at him from one part of the world below him! Amidst all the complaining people, the girl wearing white salwar kameez breezed through the crowd. There was only one thing that was going in her teenage mind as she quickly walked through the street lined with shops and complaining people. She knew where she wanted to go, away from curious glances and gossiping tongues, to meet her beloved who was waiting for her with bated breath.

Dahiwale Mushrooms | Mushroom Yogurt Curry Recipe

Learn how to make Dahiwale Mushrooms (Mushroom Yogurt Curry) ~ Marinated mushrooms cooked in spicy and tangy yogurt gravy

The entire India and Indian expats scattered around the world busy making preparations for Gowri-Gaesha festival of beloved Hindu elephant headed God Ganesha, the story at Monsoon Spice household is rather sad and quite different! With Lil Dumpling suffering from high temperature, both HD and me are taking turns in taking days off from work and looking after our precious little one. It’s been just 3 days and Lil Dumpling has lost oodles of baby fat!

Soute Kayi and Alasande Majjige Huli Recipe | How to Make Majjige Huli

Soute Kayi and Alasande Majjige Huli ~ Served with Rosematta Rice

Lil dumpling’s second birthday came and went… at lightning speed! We were planning to skip the birthday party and spend the whole day doing what LD like to do the best, that is running around in the open space chasing butterflies, bum bees (bumble bees;) and playing for hours on slides and in swings! But in the end we decided to have a very cosy birthday party, just like last year, with few special friends.

Indian Semolina Pancakes, Raisin and Currant Chutney, and Kokum Cooler - A This-and-That Snack - A guest post by Susan @ The Well Seasoned Cook

Rava Uttapam (Semolina Pancakes with Raisin and Currant Chutney and Kokum Cooler

This lady friend of mine has very special love affair with legumes. She is the brain behind very popular and wonderful food blog event called My Legume Love Affair or MLLA which will be celebrating its third year anniversary in few weeks’ time! Yes, I am talking about the lovely lady Susan behind the very special and B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L food blog The Well Seasoned Cook (don't you love the name?!). I have known Susan for the past 3 years and I never fail to notice her eye for details which reflects through her stunning food and life photography. It is my greatest pleasure to have Susan here on Monsoon Spice as a guest blogger. Do check and participate in her yet another popular Black and White Wednesday, a culinary food photography event which challenges you to look at vibrant and colourful food in monochrome! Visit her beautiful blog, if you have not already done so, and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter.

Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake – A Guest Post by Nisha @ Look Who's Cooking Too

Caramel Pear (Upside Down) Cake

When I was absent from blogosphere for almost a year, I missed out reading my favourite blogs and chatting with my lovely blog friends. When I came back I found that there were many new food blogs, more than I had on my google reader! Among the lot, I found some really unique and interesting food blogs with beautiful narration and well presented food. One such blog was Look Who’s Cooking Too by gorgeous Nisha. I found her blog by accident but falling in love with her blog was no accident! Nisha shares wonderful recipes from her home and abroad, and the goodies she whips up in her London kitchen is something that will leave you drooling over your keyboard! It’s my joy to bring Nisha to Monsoon Spice kitchen. You can keep in touch with Nisha by become her friend on Facebook.

Mooli Raita | Radish Pachadi Recipe

Mooli Raita | Radish Pachadi 

No rants or ramblings or memories to share with you all today! Alas, the word that usually forms in my mind coming from heart and flowing at my finger tips tapping on keyboard seems to have left me today…all alone!