U is for USAL/MISAL

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

IMBB #22: Idiappam and Stew

Every month, the "Is My Blog Burning" (IMBB) event challenges food bloggers with a different theme. This month, Amy of "Cooking With Amy" (the first food blog I ever read!) has challenged us with the theme NOODLES!. Almost every cuisine in the world has its favorite noodles, and my personal favorites are the Italian spaghetti ( I love it in a tomato-cheese sauce, the way my mom made it), Chinese

WCC #2: Vegetable Moussaka

Alicat and Sara host a really fun event every month, challenging food bloggers to take those cookbooks off the shelves and put them to good use in their "Weekend Cookbook Challenge" (WCC). This month's theme is Winter Comfort Food. So many foods come to my mind when I think of comfort foods: vegetable gratins, casseroles, soups and stews, hearty pilafs. But I knew right away that I wanted to

Sugar "Low" Friday: Date-Nut Slices

Do you suffer from post-dessert guilt syndrome (PDGS)? It is a condition affecting millions of people. Major symptoms include wrestling with one's conscience when the time for dessert comes around ("Death-by-Chocolate" or "Fruit Platter"..hmm??), forgoing dessert only to stuff yourself with cookies in the middle of the night, and most commonly, making New Year resolutions to eat less sugary foods

T is for THALIPEETH

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

Meme: Cooking Challenges 2006

A few days ago, Kalyn of "Kalyn's Kitchen", who always impresses me with her beautiful presentation and interesting posts (not to mention the focus on healthy recipes!), tagged me for a very interesting meme: my five cooking challenges for 2006? Ever since I started writing this blog (almost a year ago!), I have taken on small cooking challenges, baby steps like making custard from scratch or

S is for SOLKADI and SHEERA

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

Blog Party: A Retro "Cheesy" Fondue!

When Stephanie announced that the theme of this month's blog party is "Retro", one word screamed out loud at me: FONDUE! For one thing, it is a retro food that I actually love to eat (The same cannot be said about some other retro favorites like jello salad and spam). For another, I own a pretty retro-looking fondue pot, a small red electric one that I bought for a few dollars at a moving sale. A

R is for RATALA KEES

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

5-a-day: Spinach-Mushroom Soup

If its Tuesday, it must be ARF/5-a-day over at Sweetnicks! Today, I am playing along with a nourishing soup that wraps you with comfort like a warm fuzzy scarf. Spinach and Mushrooms are quickly cooked into a simple soup. A little bit of butter, cheese and milk go a long way in making this soup taste rich and flavorful. It is fine to use fresh or frozen spinach in this recipe. I often find

Q is for QUICK BHADANG

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

Street Food: Pani Puri

A few days ago I was wandering the aisles of a South-Asian grocery store that just opened right across the street from my workplace, and my heart jumped when I saw a bag of fat little puris: time for some pani-puri! Here is a street food that is wildly popular all over India although it might be called by different names; gol-gappa in Northen India, puchka in Bengal, and pani-puri in Maharashtra.

P is for PITHALE

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

Recipe Watch 1

I'm starting the new year with a new segment called Recipe Watch. Over the course of visiting all my favorite blogs, I always come across recipes that I instantly want to try out, and over the past weeks I have actually managed to try out quite a few of them. In the style of Cathy's "Dining with the Bloggers", I thought I would share these my favorite "discoveries" with you all. Every time I have