Wedding Break

Ah well.... here goes something I never really imagined myself doing.

But as a Marathi saying goes- "lagna pahave karun". It means that to understand what a wedding entails, get married and you'll know.

I'm getting married in December. I thought I'd be organised enough to be able to manage one weekly blog post at least. But it's been a long time since I have been able to enter the kitchen to cook something new. 

So, I wave the white flag and surrender to the wedding preparation mania! And I accept that even thought I have free time left over from it (whatever little it is), I need some of it to myself and some for both of us and our families.

What I can't stop doing is reading, penning down ideas, dreaming and drooling about food. I will continue doing that and will share all my tales shortly. 

I will continue writing my weekly KYT articles for a few more weeks and maybe take a little bit of a break from them too closer to the wedding.  

Till I see you again,

Disha!

Know Your Town (Thane Vaibhav) Article: Spiced Up Parathas

My article dated 31st October in Thane Vaibhav's Know Your Town.

KYT Article 31st October 2014:Spiced Up Parathas

Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

Lights. Food. Fun. Family. Festivity. The festival of Diwali brought with it wonderful celebrations this year.

The festival of Diwali calls for special food. Mom's and grandmom's get together in the kitchen to make yummy faraal of crsipy chakli, spicy chiwda, decadent laddoos, flaky karanjis... oh, such delicious food! 

It's food of festivity. It's food of family togetherness. It's food that you can't resist. It's food you HAVE to eat.    

Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

Now that Diwali is gone, it is time to put the stomach to a bit of rest and detox the body a little. Soups are a great way to do this!

Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

This mixed vegetable soups has many different types of vegetables and is full of nutrients. The browned garlic and cinnamon powder add two layers of flavours. It has very little oil and no carbs. And it is very filling. 

Mixed Vegetable Soup Recipe

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

6 medium sized tomatoes quartered
3 medium sized onions quartered
1 cup diced yellow pumpkin
1 cup diced bottle gourd
2 carrots diced
2 tsps cinnamon powder
2 cups water divided
2 tsps oil
8-10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste

Method

Pressure cook the vegetables with 1 cup of water and the cinnamon powder for about 10 minutes.

Puree this mixture to make a thick soup of it. Sieve this mixture.

In a pan heat the oil. Lower the flame and add the finely chopped garlic to it. Fry it slowly over the low flame till it turns brown.

Now add the soup mixture and mix well.

Cover and simmer on a low flame for 5 minutes for the flavour of garlic to seep through the soup.

Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot!

Know Your Town (Thane Vaibhav) Publication: Homemade Pastas

My article in KYT that appeared this Friday on making pastas at home. 

KYT Article 17th October 2014: Homemade Pastas

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

Creamy and crunchy. Those are the first words that come to me as I sit to write about this sandwich. And that is something I cannot move past as I think of this sandwich.

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

But I should move on and talk a little bit about coleslaw. It is foreign to us, after all. Coleslaw is a salad made primarily of shredded raw cabbage dressed with vinaigrette. However, mayonnaise has replaced vinaigrette in many ways, so whatever coleslaw I've had till date has been dressed with mayo.

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

I was craving some really good coleslaw day before, but I am off mayonnaise (though I use the veg version) for some time. So I  racked my brains, used some substitutions, and came up with this! A healthy, veg coleslaw sandwich recipe!

Veg Coleslaw Sandwich Recipe

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Assembly Time: 2 minutes per sandwich

Serving size: 8 sandwiches

Ingredients

2 cups grated cabbage

1 cup grated carrots

2 cups hung curd

1 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp pepper

Salt to taste

16 slices of brown bread

Method

In a bowl mix together the hung curd, garlic paste, salt and pepper. Whip them well so they form a smooth and even dressing.

Add in the grated cabbage and carrots and mix well. The dressing should coat the vegetables well. 

Taste and adjust seasoning.

To make the sandwiches, spread a 1/2 inch thick, even layer of the coleslaw between the two breads. Cut diagonally or vertically and serve!

New Food Beginnings

I realised something new yesterday. I am entering a new phase of cooking. And there are newer and exciting things I have to learn now.

I got engaged in May and am getting married in December. I have started cooking a bit at my to-be home too. I made my garlic dal a few days back, some mixed vegetable soup day before yesterday and aamti (dal) last night. As I have been cooking these dishes and getting feedback about them, I've realised that there are so many newer things that I have to learn about cooking for myself and other people.

I've been a lover of Indian cuisines and a lot of international ones. I've always experimented with them in my kitchen to create and eat what suits my taste palate. And not all of them are always going to be hits. The garlic dal with it's flavouring from slowly cooked garlic was a hit. But the soup (which I like a little sour) needed some onions while steaming to balance out the sourness with their sweetness.

So you see I have a lovely new learning goal coming up for my cooking. Four die-hard foodies. Some common taste preferences. Some completely different ones. Everyday cooking. And finding the right balance of tastes for all.

Oh, I'm not worried. I'm looking forward to the learning and the feedback. I know there are going to be hits and misses. It's always been a part of the game and will always be. It's finding those hits and replicating them that I am looking forward to! Because learning something new is always fun! 

Know Your Town Articles: Catching Up

I've ben completely swamped these last two weeks with shifting adn wedding preparations etc etc. So I am finally catching up on my blogging (before I rush out for some more wedding shopping!). 

I've had two more articles printed in Thane's only local newspaper's Friday supplement Know Your Town (and I have officially become a regular columnist and all!). Here they are for you!

Thai-in Up Your Kitchen on 26th September, 2014

Know Your Town (KYT) article 26 Sep 2014

Kabhi Kabhi Kadhi 3rd October 2014

Know Your Town (KYT) article 3 Oct 2014