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Recipes that use herbs and spices as a key ingredient.

Moong Dal Cheela: Savory Lentil Pancakes

26 Nov

We normally make cheela – a savory pancake popular as breakfast food in India – with besan (gram flour), but my taste buds prefer the more delicate flavors of moong dal cheela. Moong dal has the added edge of being less taxing to the tummy than gram flour.

On to the cheela recipe, with step-by-step pictures…

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Okra with Ginger, Coriander, Sesame Seeds and Olive Oil

23 Nov

Okra with Ginger, Coriander, Sesame Seeds and Olive Oil

I was planning to make Sailu’s bhindi sambhariya for dinner when to my dismay, I found that my okra wasn’t the right fit for it – too large, not tender enough. So instead I cut the okra into vertical strips and cooked it with a sort of Indo-western spice mix. The result was an unexpected delight – nutty and fresh, delicate and sharp.

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Tomato Ginger Chutney with Roasted Peanuts

16 Nov

A chunky, nutty tomato ginger chutney with a sprinkling of roasted peanuts. Like the sound of it?

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Tomato Toor Dal

10 Nov

Tomato Toor Dal

Of all the types of dals, split toor dal (also called arhar dal) is the one I cook most often. I don’t always put a tadka with it, sometimes just plain boiled dal with salt and a few drops of lime juice tastes great when the rest of the dishes on my place are spicy. On other "tadka" days, tomato toor dal is one of my most-loved ways of having toor dal.

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Bhindi Do Pyaza: Okra, and Twice as Much of Onions!

1 Nov

Bhindi Do Pyaza

Bhindi (okra) with a generous mix of onions and Indian spices – bhindi do pyaza (literally: okra with twice the amount of onions) is a lovely vegetable dish to go with chapatis.

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Lauki Raita: Yogurt Dip with Bottle Gourd

28 Oct

Lauki Raita

Raita (yogurt dip), with bottle gourd as its prime ingredient, provides a lovely balance to rich Indian gravies. Bottle gourd and yogurt are bland on their own, but the other ingredients that go with lauki raita give it a suprising tangy twist.

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