A farewell to 2010, with mini quiches

It has been a good year for One Hot Stove. Here are a few highlights:

1. The summer of 2010 had me moving into a new kitchen and sharing a few pics of my new playground. Two new appliances found their way into my kitchen- an ice cream maker which kept us happy all summer (and my peeps decided that the peanut butter chocolate was their favorite flavor of all the ones I tried), and a rice cooker

Blog Bites: The Holiday Buffets

Welcome to the Blog Bites: Holiday buffet edition. We have two spreads for you- one for brunch and the other for dinner, for a whole day of festive eats. Each of these wonderful dishes has been inspired by a post on another blog in a gesture of sharing and friendship across the globe.

A brunch buffet

Janet is the queen of decadent breakfast treats and you can get your day to a fabulous start

Butternut Squash Lentil Soup

We hosted a small dinner last night and the menu was an easy and satisfying one.

Soup- With sweet seasonal butternut squash and hearty lentils, with a touch of curry
Salad- Fresh greens with a choice of balsamic and ranch dressing
Bread- Cheesy bread straight out of the oven
Dessert- Warm brownies with coffee ice cream

The soup was something I made up on the fly, and even with the simple

Season's Eatings

I spent a snowy Sunday baking up treats for the holidays. It is utter luxury to take a day off from weekend chores and social events and instead to chop chocolate, whip eggs, sprinkle spices, roll dough and fill the kitchen with the aroma of home baking. All while basking in the soft glow of a warm home while snow piles up outside the windows. 
This is the resulting gift box of festive eats, and

The Leaning Tower of Stickiness

V's birthday cake is something of a tradition in our home because this guy loves his sweets. As opposed to me. You could pour potato chips into a bowl and stick a candle in it and I'd be quite giddy with happiness.

Anyway, I spent the last month poring over blogs to look for this year's birthday cake for V. One baking book was mentioned a lot- Sky High irresistible triple-layer cakes by Alisa

12 Tips to Minimize Food Waste

I've been reading the blog Wasted Food for several months. When the blog author, Jonathan Bloom, wrote a book about food waste in the US, I checked it out of the library and have been reading it over the past week.

We all know about the fact that there is a lot of food being wasted and we all agree that it is a bad thing. But the book has some stunning facts and statistics that got me thinking.

Thanksgiving 2010 Diary

This post will be updated as the day progresses, in a kind of "live blogging" style- a diary of a day of cooking and baking. 


Thursday, Nov 25- Thanksgiving 2010 is about to dawn. At 5:30 this evening, there will be about 6 hungry guests arriving here. All I have done so far is grocery shopping and menu planning. Everything else will happen (one hopes) in the next 11 hours.

It is 6 AM and I am

Samosa Crostata

For a few weeks, a box of frozen pie crusts from Trader Joe's has been hanging out in my freezer, waiting for an occasion to justify the indulgence of flaky pie crusts. When we all (including Mr. Dale) were invited to a Diwali celebration this weekend, the time seemed just right.
I wanted to mimic the taste of classic deep-fried samosas- with the fried pastry crust and the spicy vegetable filling

A Festive Sugar High

Of Tiramisu

Last weekend, the parade of witches and zombies prowling the streets symbolized the start of the holiday season in the US.

I had big plans for a orange-and-black Halloween dinner. In the end, it worked out with some adjustments. There was a black bean soup, vegetable-cheese enchiladas in a orange-ish gravy (totally delicious, by the way) and spinach salad with almonds that have

Blog Bites 9: The Holiday Buffet

Towards the end of last year, in a moment of temporary insanity, I declared that I would try 40 new recipes in 40 days and post about each one until the new year. It was a crazy and exhilarating experience. This year, I have better control over my impulsive behavior. Still, I am keen on making the best of what's left of 2010 and cooking and baking to my heart's content.

The rest of the year is

Warm up with One Dish Meals

October's Blog Bites challenge was to look through your favorite blogs and try a recipe for a one dish meal. Here it is, a big dose of tasty comfort in six different categories. Please click through and read the entries and their sources of inspiration- you might find some terrific new blogs to follow.
The goodness of grains and beans can be the base for so many hearty one pot meals.
Anu makes 

The Radish as Comfort Food

It's a sambar...it's a rasam...it's a dal with features of both; a totally inauthentic recipe but so tasty that you should try it anyway.

I owe a great debt to food bloggers- really I do. It is very nice to learn how to make impressive desserts and elaborate dishes for special occasions. But the coolest thing is when blogs teach me fresh new ideas for everyday meals and different ways to cook

Self-Saucing Cabbage Curry

I love low-maintenance recipes. The ones where I don't need to hover over the pan watching like a hawk, or stir the pot constantly until my arms muscles quiver in protest. Where I can put the ingredients in, say "see ya later" and come back to something good and tasty. This is one such recipe.

It uses cabbage, the inexpensive and unassuming vegetable that can be dressed up in a hundred different

Summer's Last Hurrah

One of the happiest things that happened to me this summer was the direct result of a policy at my workplace. Every Thursday (this started in August and will continue into November), local farmers were invited to set up tents and tables and sell their fresh produce right in the courtyard, in the shadow of offices, hospitals and research buildings, in an urban setting where thousands of employees

Cheesecake Brownies

Has it really been a couple of weeks since I posted anything new on this blog? Time sure flies when you are having fun- and I've been busy knitting myself a sweater, reading some interesting books (more on this at the end of the post), teaching and learning fun new things and generally taking a short unplanned break from blogging. Which can be ever so refreshing and an antidote to blogger's block

Iron Chef-Bloggers BB7 Round-Up and on to BB8

The challenge last month was to pretend we were Iron Chefs and use one ingredient in two different ways, both inspired by recipes on other blogs. Here are the ingredients, from A to Z and the innovative ways in which they were used...


Anchovies~ Tiny saltwater fish with a pungent and savory flavor. From what I have heard, you either love 'em or hate 'em. At Stephfood, Steph uses them in a

You Say Tomato

This month's Blog Bites challenge was to pick an ingredient and use it in two different ways. One ingredient that sneaks into way too many dishes that I make is the tomato. Tangy-sweet with a happy red color, I use tomatoes year round but other than the few summer months, they tend to be of the canned variety.

Here is what I made with tomatoes in the past week. Lately, the focus has been more on

Kitchens Revealed: a Link Party

On my last post, Sangeetha mentioned that she would like a sneak peek into my little kitchen. Well, this weekend started with a lovely and relaxed morning so I thought it was as good a time as any to snap some pictures and share them here.

I've had fun putting together my new kitchen in the last month, trying to make it as organized and functional as I can. Much as I love to cook and bake,

Cold Coffee for a Tea Party

Are you one of those people who loves sucking down pricey grande glasses of cream-topped something-cchinos from the corner cafe, you know the one with the little green signage with a mermaid on it? I'm not one for coffee drinks, but V loves them on occasion and so do many of my friends. If you are one of the coffee drink devotees, you might be interested in this cheap, simple way to fix your

Roasted Tomato Chutney

This recipe started when I bought a couple dozen beautiful tomatoes at the Farmers Market last Thursday. Then I kept the oven at a slow and steady 200F for a whole 12 hours on Friday and roasted the tomatoes with garlic and herbs, transforming the already tasty tomatoes into something more like candy.

That night, I put together the pasta salad that was my Big Discovery of last summer. A year

Cocoa Brownies

The US is looking forward to Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end to summer, and in my home, we are sure to have a busy and exciting time. Our dear Italian friend arrives this weekend with her husband, baby and sister and they will stay with us for a week. The guest room is ready, sheets and towels are freshly washed and the fridge and pantry are stocked up with enough food for a small army.

To

BB7: The Iron Chef Edition

I watch my fair share of food-related programming on TV and one of the shows I often find while channel-surfing is Iron Chef America. In this culinary game show, a theme ingredient is revealed at the beginning of each episode, and the two competing chefs must make 5 different dishes using that ingredient. For instance, the secret ingredient may be chocolate, in which case the chefs are given

BB6 Mega-Potluck: I hope you're hungry!

Picture, if you will, a gorgeous relaxed weekend. The day is warm without being hot, breezy and sparkling with sunshine. The skies are blue with sprinkles of puffy cottony clouds. In short, the perfect day for a picnic.

The time is 11 AM, and long tables have been set out in the grass. Bloggers from all over the world have been magically transported to the scene and they come laden with dishes

Back to Basics: Crushed Peanuts

Funny thing about cooking- you might try an elaborate dish, try to replicate the professionally styled picture from a cookbook or cook a meal for 20 guests. Then one day you make something completely basic, like a pot of yogurt or a masala from scratch, and the big thrills seem to pale in comparison to this simple achievement and the accompanying sense of empowerment.

An event called Back to

Mrs. Kumar and the Green Thumb

A childish tale children's story for the food-fiction event, Of Chalks and Chopsticks, hosted this month by Desi Soccer Mom. Thank you for the monthly incentive to work on our writing skills and for permission to let our imagination fly away for a few brief moments.

* * *
Mrs. Kumar and the Green Thumb
Roma's Mamma let out a deep sigh. Of course she adored her gap-toothed 7 year old, and of

Let the good times churn

So after holding out for many years, I gave in and bought an ice cream maker last week. There was much rejoicing in my household the day it arrived. I had to sit everyone down and explain that no, they could not have ice cream that very night because although the churning itself takes only 30 minutes, homemade ice cream calls for patience. The bowl has to chill for ages, the ice cream mixture has

Cool Onion Dip

Some days ago, we awoke on Saturday morning to gorgeous blue skies, glanced at our long list of chores and errands for the weekend- then tore up the list and went kayaking instead. With Neighbor Girl and her sweet little dog, V and I spent 4 hours floating lazily down the muddy but serene and scenic Meramac river.

Here's a picture of Neighbor Girl's dog, complete with a doggy-sized life vest.

BB5 Round-up, A Bonus Sandwich, and on to BB6

The challenge this month was to try a sandwich or wrap from another blog, and here are the delightful recipes that made it to the party-

Cool, juicy, sweet and salty- SS (SS blogs here): Lettuce wraps with sprouts salad. Inspired by Manjula's Kitchen.

A frankie by any other name would taste as divine- Aquadaze (Served with Love): Chicken egg kathi rolls. Inspired by Bong Mom's Cookbook.

She

Rajma Wrap

Dried beans and legumes are the "little black dress" of my kitchen. Keep them in your pantry and they can emerge dressed up for a feast or dressed down for an everyday lunch, and everything in between. 
In this recipe, kidney beans are decked out in their summer best, wrapped in a light wheat tortilla along with cool yogurt, fresh greens and sweet tomatoes. The inspiration for this wrap came from

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

We had a cozy pizza & cake party on the holiday weekend. Chocolate and peanut butter seems to be an ever-popular flavor combination around here, so I dug into the bookmarks and found the perfect recipe to try- peanut butter cup chocolate cake from Baking Bites. The recipe looked suspiciously simple. Aren't layer cakes supposed to be a pain to make?

To make it just a bit more complicated, I

Summer Fare: Raw Pasta Sauce

While the blog has been rather quiet this past week, real life has been busy and productive. I passed my road test and finally renewed the drivers' license, something I had been putting off for way too long.

My new job starts in just 3 days and I know it will take a while to adjust to the new schedule. But this blog brings me a lot of joy and is an ongoing diary of my food-centric life; I don't

Blog Bites 5: Sandwiches and Wraps

We've had a couple of tricky, off-beat themes for Blog Bites in the past editions, but this month, the theme is as simple and straightforward as can be- Sandwiches & Wraps.


These foods are on my mind because summer is here in its full sticky sultry glory, along with the annual quota of picnics, trips and vacations. Lighter meals are perfect for eating on the go, great for lunch boxes and easy

BB4 Round Up

All this month, dozens of bloggers took the challenge and cleaned out ingredients lurking in their kitchens, using recipes from other bloggers with tasty results. Here they are, sorted out by the lurking ingredient. I hope you find lots of ideas here to use up food from your own kitchen and minimize waste.

Grains

Angela of The Well-Worn Apron bought whole rye berries but did not end up using

Pretzels R Us

Neighbor Girl and I have been swapping skills over the last couple of months, and we are having a blast with it. She happens to be at one extreme of the fitness scale- hiking, mountain biking and winning races, running and who know what else- and I am, ahem, at the other extreme. So she's dragging me out to run with her, making me huff and puff up stairs, and making me do something called P90X

Weekend Cooking and Baking

The ongoing heat wave has resulted in a sort of house arrest this weekend, but homebody that I am, it doesn't bother me a bit to be trapped indoors with plenty of time to cook, bake, craft and read.

We are moving to a new neighborhood (hopefully to a place with a backyard) next month, so it is imperative to eat down the pantry and start over afresh in a new kitchen.

Shopping at Soulard market

Lemon and Sugar

For me, this combination of sweetness and tangy citrus is particularly irresistible in summer. And it carries infinite possibilities too, perking up everything from baked treats to beverages.

This month's Sugar High Friday is edition #67, hosted at The Well-Seasoned Cook, where the theme is Bar None, a celebration of bar cookies. I love to bake but cookies are my least favorite thing to make

I Can't Believe It's Not Kheema

In addition to all my own groceries that I'm unearthing this month, I also inherited some groceries last week- two of my dear neighbors moved away and brought me food that they did not have the heart to throw away and did not have the space to transport to their new homes. This is how my bag of TVP (dry soy granules) acquired an identical twin- another bag of TVP to keep it company.

So it really

Once upon a time...

The following is my first attempt at writing fiction, for the creative and unusual Of Chalks and Chopsticks event hosted this month at Bong Mom's Cookbook . Last month, I read the first round up with joy and amazement at the creativity of dozens of blogger-writers. It gave me the courage to spin my own yarn...

Mrs. Kumar and the Sweet Tooth

It might have started as a peaceful week, but today

Very Green Soup

Contrary to what Kermit from Sesame Street says, it is pretty easy being green, by which I mean making eco-friendly choices, if people around you have the right attitude. For instance, when eating at a restaurant I usually can't finish my portion so the leftovers come home with me in a box. It feels great to not be wasting the food, but I feel a pang of guilt about bringing home a disposable

Restaurant Envy: Mesir Wat

A few weeks ago, a dear friend and I found ourselves in a quiet Ethiopian restaurant in Washington DC, home to the largest community of Ethiopian immigrants in the United States. We were sighing with relief that we were finally indoors getting a respite from the unseasonal heat wave, and giggling with anticipation of the tasty meal. It was my friend's very first time tasting Ethiopian cuisine and

Lentils with Peanuts

The daily bread for me (like for many Indians) is actually daily rice and dal. I was so excited when Suma announced the Delicious Dals of India event. Adding a few new dal recipes into the dinner rotation can only be a good thing.

Growing up, the everyday dal was the simplest ever- varan. On other days, there was amti. In fact quite often, leftover varan would be converted to amti. Other types

BB4: What's Lurking in the Kitchen?

I have a little quiz for you. Look into your kitchen cupboards, your refrigerator and freezer and raise your hand if you see any of the following:
Open bottles of jams and preserves that have not been touched for months
Ingredients bought for a specific recipe that you have not used again
Foods given to you as gifts but that you never get around to using
Food at the back of the freezer that you

Adaptation Edition Round-Up, and Your Chance to Vote

Here they are- bloggers taking on the challenge, adapting the recipes of other food blogs to fit their own tastes and their own needs. A recipe is a mere suggestion, a starting point, a source of inspiration, how it evolves is up to the cook.

I hope you enjoy reading each post, that you discover new blogs and find new recipes to try. At the end of the round-up you can put in a vote for your

Strawberry Quick Bread and Strawberry Shrikhand

For someone who is not too fond of strawberries, I have surprised myself by making and posting three desserts involving strawberries in the short span of a week. That's because seasonal strawberries are beautiful little things, aromatic and sweet-tangy, nothing like the hard tasteless strawberry-shaped pellets that grace supermarket shelves all year round.

When I have extra fruit on hand, my

A Sunny Weekend

We have had pretty dismal weather here for the past week or two- grey skies, showers and the rest of it. This morning I was shocked to see a bright yellow round object in the sky. Apparently they call it the Sun. It was the perfect day to visit a local Farmers' Market and this week we stopped by Tower Grove Park.

I bought...
Free range eggs which will be used over the next couple of weeks for

A Berry Luscious Treat

It is strawberry season and my friend from next door (mom to Shanti the husky) informed me that she had 2 pounds of plump strawberries patiently waiting in her fridge. She happens to own an ice cream maker and the fate of the strawberries was sealed once we found this easy, gorgeous recipe.

We decided to make the ice cream together by which I mean that Shanti's mom pressed the on button on the

Pesto Pasta Frittata

My huge cooking spree last weekend for the birthday party left me with a fridge full of odds and ends, and this week has been fun, coming up with inventive ways to use all that food and not waste any of it.

I made a big batch of pesto pasta salad for the party, and this morning, discovered the remnants from cooking that dish- some cooked pasta (I boiled more pasta than I ended up using for the

There's An App For That

Think of any occasion where people come together. Throw in a few snacks and appetizers and you have a party on your hands. Here are three apps I made last weekend and all of them passed the taste test, so they made it to the blog. 
The first involves a bright green fruit with a pale green, creamy interior- the avocado. As a bonus, we also have the tender leafy green herb, cilantro. Add to that

My First Bundt Cake

It is always such an honor and pleasure to make a birthday cake for someone. As much as birthdays remind us how quickly time is passing by, they also take us back to being a kid again- blowing out candles on a birthday cake with puffy cheeks and eyes tightly closed as we make a wish. 
Yesterday, V and I threw a birthday bash for our extra-sweet downstairs neighbor, inviting a dozen of her friends

The Winner of BB#2, Etc.

The votes are in, and the winner is jaangri (sweet sticky fried spirals) from Harini of Tamalapaku. Harini, please send me your address if you would like a little gift from me. Congratulations on being the most popular recipe this time around!

I want to thank all of the participants (if I could, I would send all of you prizes because all the entries were fantastic) and hope you will come back to

Blog Bites #3: Adaptation

Blog Bites is an event where we cook from other blogs, with a different theme for each month. The credit for this month's theme goes to SS who blogs here

She shared her idea on this post where I was asking for suggestions for themes, saying 
"One thing that struck me as a theme, maybe its been done, I don't know.. am mentioning the thought here anyway - Make a dish from another blog, but change

An Omelet Without Eggs?

In all these years of posting recipes, I've somehow forgotten about one of my favorites- tomato omelet. If there is one thing I can say about this recipe, it would be "plays well with others" in the sense that it is low-maintenance and fits into many different diets.

Although called an omelet, there are no eggs involved and this recipe would work for a vegan diet and for those who don't eat eggs

Copycat Edition Round-Up & Vote for Your Favorite Entry

Here they are- bloggers taking on the challenge, replicating tastes that they love and recreating memories in their own kitchens.

I hope you enjoy reading each post, that you discover new blogs and find new recipes to try. At the end of the round-up you can put in a vote for your favorite entry.

Savory Dishes

Snacks

PJ of Ginger and Garlic remembers swapping secrets with her childhood friends

Kutchi Dabeli

Just under the wire, I'm sending in another entry to the CopyCat edition of the Blog Bites event hosted right here on One Hot Stove.

I wanted to bring a dish to a birthday party today and decided on a street food that I have not eaten in a while- Kutchi dabeli. This is a carb-lover's delight, a spicy mashed potato filling (along with assorted goodies like fried peanuts, tangy tamarind chutney,

Freestyle Cooking: Vegetable Kurma

As much as I love to read cookbooks the way other people read novels, and to read 200+ food blogs on a regular basis looking for new dishes to try, my daily cooking is quite free-wheeling. It is unfettered by black and white recipe instructions, dictated instead by the current residents of my fridge and pantry. Last night's impromptu creation was tasty enough to make it to the blog.

I soaked

Baking Cakes in St. Louis

Apparently this year marks the worst allergy season in St. Louis. And don't I know it. It has been a miserable couple of weeks, and the reason for my unplanned absence from the blog. Experience tells me that I should grin and bear it, because luckily seasonal allergies are, well, seasonal, and they will go away in a few weeks.

I'm here to post a last-minute entry to one of my favorite food blog

Saffron Cardamom Lemonade

Last month, I spent two happy, busy afternoons cooking with two groups of fifth graders at Discovering Options here in St. Louis. Those hours reminded me that when a child learns to cook, especially as part of a group, it is about so much more than just making a plate of food. To be able to cook, you have to be able to read a recipe, follow directions, identify ingredients, be able to measure

Tender Coconut Ice Cream

It was the 1980s and while the world around me was dealing with serious matters of oil spills, assassinations, industrial catastrophes, and falling walls, I was sedately making my way through primary and secondary school. The highlight of the school year was the summer break when we took the overnight train to Bombay and visited our grandmother, aunt and uncle for several weeks.

I was unaware

Carrot Almond Halwa

Sometimes it is only a mental block that keeps me from trying recipe variations. For instance, I am so accustomed to dairy-based Indian desserts that wrapping my head around vegan Indian desserts can befuddle me. A few years ago, I cooked lunch for a group of vegan guests. The appetizers, main dishes, salads and sides all were a breeze but I tripped up while planning dessert and  resignedly

Blog Bites #2: The Copycat Edition

The first edition of Blog Bites was fun for me, but before we get to the round-up of last month, here's the theme for the next round:


Blog Bites #2 is the Copycat Edition!


The idea is quite simple. Think of some food or beverage that you enjoy but have never made at home. It could be something you enjoyed at a restaurant, on vacation, at someone else's home, at a catered event like a wedding,

The Singing Chef's in my Kitchen

Thanks to everyone who played along in the guessing game at the end of my last post. There were several guesses along the lines of edible stuff as one might expect to see in a cooking pot, including noodles, sevai, vermicelli, spaghetti squash and sev for falooda, which is one thing I really wish I was making!

Milli was the first to guess the correct answer, which is that I was dyeing wool in

Dal Fry Under Pressure

As in many Indian kitchens, my kitchen is presided over by a large and noisy beast- my pressure cooker. If there is one appliance that will pay for itself many times over in terms of time, energy and money savings, this is it.

Walking around typical neighborhoods in India around 11 AM in the morning, it is common to hear hissing, shrieking and whistling noises made not by people but by pressure

Ven Pongal and Eggplant Gothsu

Blog hopping in search of new and interesting rice cooker recipes, I stumbled on this rice cooker ven pongal from Sukanya's blog. What an enticing picture it is- definitely the sort of recipe that makes you want to run to the kitchen and cook it right after you have tried pawing at the screen. Which is exactly what I did last night, the cooking, not the pawing at the screen.

Yes, ven pongal (a

Date Tamarind Chutney and Aloo Tikki Chana Chaat

Whew, that's a mouthful of a post title. But a tasty mouthful, I promise you.

Over my decade-long stint as a home cook, there are several things for which I have made the journey from home-made to store-bought and back full circle to home-made. The sweet and tangy date-tamarind chutney is one of these. It is one of the first things I learned to make from scratch, in Bombay. Once I was running my

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

Sometimes, a little vegetable goes a long way. I bought a modest wedge of pumpkin last Saturday, and sweet and nutrition dense as it is, it fed us three times over- I used a third of the wedge for pumpkin kaap (made the same way as these but using pumpkin slices instead of eggplant), a third for the excellent pumpkin dhansak from Nandita's blog, and the last portion for this soup.

The inky,

Rice Cooker Upma

I was weighing the pros and cons of buying a rice cooker and did the sensible thing- I asked my wise readers to weigh in. My tiny kitchen space necessitates that all appliances go through a lengthy vetting process before being allowed in. When I asked about rice cookers, I was rewarded with dozens of great suggestions via comments and e-mails. The Cooker wrote in to say that you can make

Back to Basics: Eggplant and Potato

"But is it blog-worthy?"

This is a question that I seem to ask myself quite often. Some of my favorites never make it to these pages because they seem too simple, somehow. Like this homely eggplant potato bhaaji (subzi, a combination of a braise and stir-fry) that I made last night. But these are the recipes I keep returning to, that I have made so often that I can cook them on auto-pilot, and

Blog Bites #1: The Round Up

All this month, until March 25, 2010, the first Blog Bites challenge is to use your pressure cooker or rice cooker or slow cooker and try a recipe from another food blog.

Watch this space to see the entries, as they come trickling in. Newest entries are listed first so everyone gets their turn at the top of the post.

March 25. Sayantani made Bread N Butter Pudding from her mother's recipe.

Blog Bites #1: Cookers

Monthly Blog Patrol, fondly known as MBP, was one of my favorite blog events. The idea was to choose a theme each month and make a recipe using another food blog as the inspiration. Coffee of The Spice Cafe started this event, and there were many fun rounds, including One Pot Wonders, Say Cheese and Street Food. I myself hosted one edition here, Less is More, for recipes using 5 or fewer

A Home-style Punjabi Dal

In all seasons and every kind of weather, I need my dal-chawal (lentils-rice) fix every few days. The particular hunger for dal-chawal is just not satiated by any other kind of comfort food. Luckily, between the various regional cuisines of India, there are enough types of dal to keep me happy and well-fed for several more decades.

For last night's dinner, I dusted off a long-bookmarked dal

I Dream of Summer: Pistachio Kulfi

By the time mid-February rolls around, people around here get very fidgety. And by people, I mean me. It feels like winter has been around for years, and I am eager to bypass the next few weeks on the calendar and head straight for April or May, when the fresh produce finally hits the markets and when I can go for a walk without 10 minutes of coat-buttoning and scarf-wrapping.

When friends

Feeding a Crowd: Wraps, Indian Style

To someone like me who usually cooks small portions for my family of two, cooking for a crowd needs a little bit of planning and some simple math to scale up the recipes. Today, I made a tray of wraps for a potluck, and I wanted to jot down the proportions for future reference.

These wraps have some Indian flair, stuffed with a crunchy salad and either a paneer pepper filling or a vegan chickpea

Mushroom Soup with Potstickers

You've probably noticed that One Hot Stove has a new look. On Friday, I was in a mood to do some long-overdue renovation in this space, so I cleared out the clutter and painted the walls in pure white for the cleanest look possible. Now I think the look of the blog better reflects the way I want my life to be- uncluttered and simple. The biggest change is that I now have pages (like the recipe

Making Yogurt at Home

Before I begin this post, I have a question for you all. A reader sent me this description and asked if I could identify this fruit/vegetable. I am stumped and have no idea at all. The reader asked,

" I was hoping you could help me identify a fruit that I ate in India. It looked like an edamame/soybean pod with prominent bulges. If you peeled away the green part, the insides were several pods

Egg Salad, Indian Style

Many weekends, you will find V and me sitting huddled at a table with 6 other people, in a school gym or church meeting hall or some such venue, trying to answer really random questions in a trivia fundraiser. It is a very St. Louis thing, apparently.

Trivia games are fueled by the steady consumption of soda and popcorn (free! from the sponsors!) and whatever snacks the competitors bring to the

Vegetable Bread Soup

Today's recipe is a Friday night fridge-cleaning special. I had several dried shriveled crusts and end-chunks of bread sitting in the fridge for a week. For a moment there, I was tempted to sigh and toss them out. But truthfully, food waste is the most regretful and avoidable thing of all, and stale bread, no matter how dried out, has infinite potential to be recycled into good food.

As a kid,

One Hot Stove Turns 5!

After V recovered from his seasonal cough and cold, it was my turn to have a bout of sickness and that's why I disappeared from this space for a while, spending quality time hacking away on the couch.

But enough about that. This is an exciting day for me, because this wee blog celebrates her fifth birthday today! And to celebrate the day, I wrote a suitably long-winded post.

How time flies...

Thai-Spiced Mushroom Noodle Soup

I feel like I am living in Sleepy Hollow. Does anyone remember Sleepy Hollow, the horror movie? I don't remember anything about it except that the village was perpetually swamped in a dense fog in that movie (oh yeah, and some headless guy was riding around in the swirling mist).

Well, St. Louis has been enveloped in a dense fog for days now, and in the middle of the sickly weather, V has a

Crispy Dosa

The perfect antidote to dreary foggy winter days? A classic South Indian brunch of dosa slathered with potato masala and dunked into eggplant sambar.

I had my eye on Shilpa's butter dosa recipe for some time. The story of the crowded restaurant that served these dosas was so vivid, and the batter is very interesting in the way it uses wheat flour and rice flour in addition to rice and urad dal.

Sweet Comforts and Candied Treats

Last weekend, I made two desserts that are both extremely popular and simple to make, but that I had somehow never got around to making before.

It started with a conversation with a friend last month when the subject of Indian restaurant buffets came up and she confessed that she was in love with Indian-style rice pudding; enough to go back for second and third helpings whenever she found rice