Whats Cooking!!!!

Being from Orissa sea food is what we do. My family from mom's side comes from the coastal city of Paradeep where sea food is abundantly available and enjoyed. So I can safely say we know our fish, shrimps and crabs. Eating crab takes lot of time and effort, but as a family we would sit down for lunch with our crabs and eat it for hours. That time used to be the best part of a vacation, enjoying our food, teasing each other, eavesdropping on what adults are talking about and ignoring heat and sweat. Those were real good days.  Back then my mom would kill and clean the crabs by herself, and thats how it is ideally done. But me being me decided to go the easy way out. I got precooked crab legs from Costco and made the curry and it is not half bad.  Ingredients: Crab : 5 legs ( if you prefer to prepare your own crab use 2 whole crabs) Potato: 2 medium peeled and cut into wedges Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Ginger garlic Paste: 3 tsp Coriander Powder: 1 tsp...

I just realized that I have been obsessed with cooking typical Oriya food . I guess I need to visit  India and have some food made by Mom. I really miss her cooking .  Mom used to grow a lot of vegetables, fruits and greens in our garden. I remember my Mom and Dad spending lot of weekends working in the garden. Mom used almost all the parts of plants best to her ability and everytime she gave us something to really relish.Here is one more from my mom's kitchen.  Mula Saaga or Muli ka Saag made with Radish Leaves is a massively popular saag item from Orissa.It is nutritious and easy to cook.  Ingredients: Radish leaf (mula saaga): 50 gm I used the leaves from a bunch of radish that I bought at my local farmere's market. Vegetables: 1 cup cut (vegetables like potato ,eggplant,  and radish may be used) Grate Coconut: 1/3 cup   Oil: 2 tbsp Mustard paste (sorisha bata): 2 tbsp Red Chillies: 2 full Panch phootan:1 ts...

Lau known as bottle gourd or opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. Lau Besara is preapared by cooking Bottle gourd in a paste of mustard. This item is relished with rice or Chapattis. This curry specially close to my heart, mom used to make this  for us a lot as we had a big garden and when you plant lauki it grows more than a family can eat. When I cooked this my house smelled like old days and I was real nostalgic and cannot wait to share this one with you all. Ingredients: Louki (lau): 1 small peeled and cut into small pieces Potato: 1 medium cut into small pieces Green Chillies: 2-3  chopped into pieces Vadi: 5-6 (optional) Punch-phutana: 1 tsp  Mustard Paste: 2tbsp ( grind, 2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 5-6 cloves of garlic pod) Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp oil: ...

Shahi paneer is a preparation of paneer in a thick gravy made up of cream, tomatoes and spices. It is a popular north Indian recipe. It is mainly eaten with roti, chappati or other Indian breads. Paneer is the Indian word for cottage cheese, and shahi is the Indo-Persian term for royal.  Ingredients: Paneer : 1 cup Cubed Onion : 1 medium sized finely chopped Tomato: 1 large chopped Green chilli: 2 ( adjust per your taste) Ginger:  1 inch chopped Red chilli powder: 1 tsp Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp Sugar: 1 tsp Cashew: 1/2 cup (Soaked in warm water for 30 mins) Oil: 3-4 tblsp Salt as needed Coriander leaves:  for garnish Procedure: For preparations like these where we need the paneer to be firm, I use store bought panner. The thing with store bought paneer is generally little tough to use. So before you start cooking, soak the paneer in some warm water for 30mins. This will make handling it easier and the paneer would be real soft ...

Idli is a traditional breakfast in south Indian households. Idli is savory cake of south Indian origin popular throughout India.  Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments.  I am not a huge fan of eating idli in restaurants, the only place I love to eat idli is at home. My mom makes the amazing idli, its fluffy, soft and yummy. I have been trying to make idlies like her for a long time, I tried frementing it for longer period of time, adding Eno for quick fermentation, nothing worked. Finally I surrendered and asked mom her secret, she said it needs a little more elbow grease!!!! Her's are so fluffy and soft because she mixes the batter real well to incorporate enough air before letting it ferment. So I did the same and got the perfect idli ...... YOHO!!!! Ingredients: Urad Dal: 1 cup Rice: 1 cup  Salt : 1 tbsp Water: 1/4 cup Procedure: Soak the Dal and rice over night. Gr...

Egg and rice is  a great combination, at least from my point of view. So the other day for dinner I wanted to make something that was easy and quick and didnot need me to do a lot of chopping and cutting. So I decided to go with a egg fired rice but with a twist and it ended up with this recipe and its good :) Ingredients: Eggs - 4 Rice- 2 cup cooked Onion- 1 large finely chopped Tomato - 2 chopped Green chilly- 2 Turmeric pwd- ¼ tsp Red chilly pwd- 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp Mint Leaves: 2 tbsp chopped Biryani Masala: 1 tsp Oil - 3 tbsp Garam masala pwd- ½ tbsp Coriander leaves - handful Salt to taste Procedure: Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat oil in a fry pan, add onion, green chilly with a pinch of salt and let it cook till onions are translucent. Add the chopped tomato and toss it, cover and cook. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add turmeric pwd, red chilly pwd, ginger garlic paste, garam masala pwd and salt. Cook till it turn...

Couple of days back I made mutter paratha, a Sunita inspired dish. Here is another recipe with peas, but this time it is inspired by another dear friend of mine Shanta. We moved to the states almost at the same time and have been friends since then. Mutter poori was kind of Shanta's go to dish when people would visit. After 3 years of marraige she prepares so many other delicious dishes but still this dish reminds me of her. I really don't know her recipe but here is my take. Ingredients: Stuffing Green pea:1 cup Ginger:1tbsp grated Cumin powder:1tsp Red Chilli Powder: 2 tsp Green chilies:2 whole Garam Masala Powder: 1 tsp Salt Oil Dough: Flour: 2cup Salt: 1tsp Oil: 2tsp Salt a pinch Water to make the dough Procedure: Stuffing: Wash the green peas and drain the water Make a paste of the peas, ginger and green chilies. Try to use as little water as possible and make a smooth paste. Heat oil(1tbsp) in a non stick pan. When the oil...

India is the largest producer of fenugreek in the world. Fenugreek has three culinary uses: as a herb (dried or fresh leaves), as a spice (seeds), and as a vegetable (fresh leaves, sprouts, and microgreens). Fresh fenugreek leaves are an ingredient in some Indian curries. The other day I was talking to Sunita regarding vegetarian cooking when she mentioned making methi saag on a regular basis, so inspired by her I bought a bunch but was not sure what to do.  So I tried to make methi paratha and it turned out pretty good. Ingredient: Methi Leaves: 1 bunch finely chopped Wheat flour: 2 cups Yogurt: 1/4 cup Red chilli powder: 1 tsp Turmeric powder: 1 tsp Cumin Powder: 1 tsp Salt: As per taste Oil For cooking Procedure: In a bowl mix the methi leaves, red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and salt to taste and mix well. Add the yogurt to the bowl and mix well. Add flour to the bowl little at a time and knead adding water as required. M...

Its Cinco de Mayo (translated “May 5th”) time. It is a Mexican holiday that seems to increase in popularity each year in the United States. In fact, today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated even more enthusiastically throughout the United States than it is throughout Mexico. It has become a celebration of independence, liberty and freedom - ideas which unite the people of both countries.  It calls for good food, drinks, music and party with friends and family. So why should I not participate by posting one of my favorite mexican dish Quesadilla. We had one at Rain Forest restaurant in Vegas. It was so divine specially after a wild night and  huge hangover.  So  tried to cook it at home and it turned out great. This is going on my menu for next party. Ingredients Shrimp: 8 large peeled and deveined Tortillas: 4  (I used Las Fortunitas Jumbo Flour Tortillas) Avocado: 1  diced, tossed with juice of half a lime Tomatoes:...

Egg fried rice was my Mom's go to lunch box item. Its quick and easy to make and honestly me and my brother loved it. You can make it with fresh cooked rice or with left over rice. Ingredients: Long Grain Rice:1/2 cup Cooked  Eggs: 2 beaten Vegetable Oil: 2 tbsp Garlic: 2 cloves crushed Onion: 1 small chopped Peas: 1/4 cup  Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp Salt: 1 pinch Spring Onions: for garnish Procedure: Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok. When the oil is hot add the beaten eggs into the wok and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until softly scrambled. Remove the eggs from the heat and set aside. Heat the wok over a medium heat. Add rest of the oil and swirl it around to coat the sides of the wok. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, onion and peas and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes. Stir the rice into the mixture in the wok, mixing to combine and stir to mix in the eggs thoroughly. Transfer to serving dishes and serve garnis...