-
Bhel Pita Pockets
My dad is an undercover wizard/chef in our household. He doesn’t cook very often but when he does he always makes something that is magical. He combines that old school college-kid diet with Desi flavors and something delicious always comes of it. For me, this is his crowning glory creation. I can gobble up at least 2 of these at any point in the day. You could wake me up in the middle of the night to eat this and I would polish off a few of these in a heartbeat. In fact, he made this for my fiancé when he was in town and to this day he still…
-
Saadi Khichdi and Kadhi
Kichdi, Kadhi, and Kanda Bataka nu Shaak is the timeless Gujarati classic in most households. The iconic silver thaali meal is what most of us crave for when we are back at Mom’s house. I grew up being a kadhi girl but slowly over time I converted to the dark side of being a dal girl. I figured for the first of the #bhaktabasics series I should teach you all how to make both sides of the coin so you can all decide for yourselves. So have at it folks, are you dal people or kadhi people? Ingredients: Saadi Khichdi Ingredients: 3 c. water 1 c. of long grain rice…
-
Lemon Raspberry Cream Cups
My fiancé got me The Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking for my birthday and my cousins and siblings went through and marked all their favorite desserts. My cousin put two flags on this recipe, however I noticed that there wasn’t an eggless option for the lemon curd so I made a vegan version from @itdoesnttastelikechicken. It tasted AMAZING and I am so happy to have been introduced to this dessert. So the original dessert features a horn mold to get a cone shape from the puff pastry. After a sincere attempt and an EPIC FAIL I decided to pivot and turn the puff pastry into cups using…
-
Quick and Easy Papdi No Lot (Steamed Rice Flour)
Growing up in Minnesota, I didn’t have a lot of access to Indian grocers. I remember driving 8 hours to a grocery store in Chicago every few months to get the supplies we needed for meals. Papdi is something that is eaten very often with a meal. This dough is rolled out into a tortilla basically and then it is dried on sheets in the sun until it is very hard like plastic. You eat it by microwaving it, roasting it on an open flame, or frying it! They puff up and become very crunchy, its a great snack, kind of like a chip. We would wait until August and…
-
Agency and Empowerment in the South Asian Community
Whoa. What a huge topic. To be honest with you, this is such a broad discussion to have with so many view points but it is something that has been weighing on my chest for a few weeks now and I thought a blog post would be a great way to get my thoughts and feelings out. When I talk about agency in this post I am talking about the right to advocate for yourself, the right to your own voice. Often in the South Asian community, women and young people especially, feel that their right to speak up is stifled. For young people, it is the idea that you…
-
Garlic Naan
For me, no Indian restaurant meal is ever complete without warm, butter garlic naan. I love mine piping hot with lots of garlic and enough butter to fill the Pacific Ocean! This amazing recipe is from Host the Toast! She has made this recipe so perfect I could never improve it. I have now made this recipe a gazillion times and have all the measurements memorized. We used to be frozen naan loyalists but this little bit of effort in planning goes a long way! This recipe is super kid friendly, I even managed to get my little cousin in the kitchen with me to make these. These garlic naans…
-
Paneer Makhni (Paneer Butter Masala)
Where are the Paneer People at?! This dish is inspired by Swasthi’s Recipes, her recipes got me started on making more paneer dishes and I used her ingredients list and added a few additions of my own and changed the rations to suit my families tastes more. You get this wonderful buttery taste in the gravy, and it pairs well with rice or naan for an easy weeknight meal. You could fill this in a burrito with onions and raita, or fill it in a pita pocket for a fun modern twist on a classic. I hope you’ll try this meal for your next meal prep adventure! Ingredients: 600 g.…
-
Gujarati Dal
Every Gujarati household I know has a generational war in one thing: kadhi or dal. My mom is a kadhi girl herself but has been beautifully cursed to make the best dal on Earth. All of the women in my family are kadhi people and all the men are dal people but this dal definitely has converted a few folks over the years. It is wonderfully spicy, sweet and tangy all at the same time! This recipe is different from a lot of other Gujarati families from all over the world but I would definitely encourage anyone to give it a try and see if its just as magical of…
-
Spicy Pizza Dough
Almost everyone I know loves pizza, what better time to learn how to make it than quarantine?! This crust is spicy and crunchy, it hits all the right notes when it comes to pizza. It is a yeasted dough which I know makes some folks nervous. However, this dough utilizes instant yeast which lets you avoid that first proofing stage. The base of this recipe is from @SugarSpunRun I have made a bunch of adjustments and the below recipe is for 3 pizzas with a thinner crust or 2 with a thicker base. Nearly all of the spices are optional but these are just the ones I felt like adding.…
-
Bataka Poha
Bataka Poha is a classic breakfast item that is known in many regions of India. Poha are flattened rice flakes that are used in many common breakfast items like poha no chevdo, poha pettis, paapad poha and other items. This is so comforting when it’s piping hot with some khakhra and a big mug of chai. For some reason I look forward to eating this mostly at weddings when everyone does not want to be up that morning and the Pithi/Haldi call time is at some ungodly hour (9 a.m. haha!). You see a bowl of Bataka Poha, Fafda, and chai and you know that everything is going to be…
