Just as little Krishna loves fried snacks, Ganesha loves good food too :) which is why a whole lot of sweets & savouries are made for Ganesh Chaturthi. 

My MIL made a huge batch of Chaklis this morning & I took a few pictures before they are stored away so that no one can eat them before it is offered to the Lord. So these yummy Chaklis are for Lord Ganesha.

There are tons of recipes for making Chaklis. A few use Maida or All purpose flour, whereas a few use  besan & rice flour, The one that I've made uses Rice flour & Urad dal in a proportion of 4:1. The rice flour along with melted butter lends a crisp texture to the chaklis while the urad dal adds a very yummy taste.

How To:

Enjoi them with a hot cup of Coffee ...

Hope you guys have a great time celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi ..

This goes to Anjali's place for the event for Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration

How many of you make it a point to eat salads everyday?? Well, atleast I am not one of those. While, I do appreciate  a well made salad, I am plain lazy to whip up a salad on a everyday basis & I am happy eating Rice:-)

The other day, I made this simple Pomegranate & sweet corn salad with a dash of bell pepper in it. The sweet taste of pomegranate & sweet corn blended so well with bell peppers & the vinaigrette. I hope you guys love it as well

When Cheryl from Cheryl Duncan & co. asked me if I would like to review Hari Nayak's latest cookbook,  I readily agreed. And, Stephanie from TUTTLE PUBLISHING was gracious enough to send me  a complimentary copy of Hari Nayak's latest 'My Indian Kitchen', I was thrilled for I heart cookbooks. As a food blogger, I have more than one reason to fall in love with cookbooks.

Those of you, who do not know, Hari Nayak is an Indian celebrity chef who lives in New Jersey. He is also an author who has several books to his credit. Nayak hails from Udipi, a small town close to Mangalore. So all those who love South Indian food, you can look forward to some lovely South Indian recipes here.

The book arrived on rainy afternoon here, I immediately sat down with a cuppa Masala Chai, & as I flipped through the pages, I was already in love with this book. The pictures are by Jack Turkel are such a visual treat. Along with a few of his popular dishes, this book includes some of his family recipes as & a few tips & tricks which makes cooking easier.

The book starts with an introduction to Indian Cuisine & what I loved was a note on Pairing Wines with Indian food. Now we all know, which wine to pick with that spicy curry.

The book then gets divided into 9 delicious chapters beginning with recipes for Indian Spice mixes, the quitessential Indian Chutneys, Appetizers, Soups & dal, Vegetable & cheese dishes. There is a separate section for sea food & another one for meat & poultry. There is another chapter dedicated to Indian faltbreads & Rice varieties, in which he also teaches how to cook the perfect Basmati Rice. There is a Desserts & drinks section at the end, which features some delectable desserts. I personally loved the Pistachio & Mango Ice Cream.

A few other unique recipes that caught my fancy were the Avocado & roasted cumin Raita, Potato & Onion Fritters, & Zucchini with lentils & roasted garlic. These recipes are a perfect way of giving western vegbetables an Indian touch.

If you are a vegetarian who hates buying cookbooks because of the Non Vegetarian recipes in them, you need not worry, for this book has ample Vegetraian recipes. I am a vegetarian myself & I was not dissappointed with the veggie collection here.

However, if you are trying your hand at Indian cooking for the first time, this book is perfect to make a beginning & it lives up to its tagline, 'Preparing delicious Indian meals without fear or fuss'. For a novice, the pictures are such boon because you will know what the end result should look like. Most of the recipes are very easy & with simple narration, anybody can get a hang of what Indian cusine is all about.

In case you already own this gorgeous book, some of my favorite recipes in this book that you may want to try are

There are a lot more other fabuluous recipes from this book, which I will be doing in my upcoming posts .. Do watch out

Verdict

Nayak's effort is sincere which reflects in his recipes. The narration is simple, precise & well written. Nayak clearly suceeds in his motive to make Indian cooking less intimidating.

It is a solid cookbook which covers a wide array of the vast Indian cuisine. As the author rightly puts, 'It is for all who love the value of a home cooked family meal' .. Those who love collecting cookbooks,this book definitely deserves a place in your book shelf. It also makes for a great gift to cooking enthusiasts .. Go for it ..

If you wish to know more about Hari Nayak, visit his website at http://www.harinayak.com/.

Also, log on to http://www.myindiankitchen.com/ , to have a look at the recipe gallery.

We get this wonderful variety of green mangoes called Gini Mooti Mavinkayi which literally translates to Parrot Faced Mangoes :-) I don't know, what it is called in other languages though. Please to let me know, if you are aware of it.

These mangoes aren't extactly sour. The skin is not to be peeled off, as it lends a sweet taste to the mangoes.

We love eating these mango slices with some salt & chilli powder rubbed on them. But sometimes I also love to temper them with some mustard seeds, chilli & coriander powder .. YUMM

Enjoi !!! But do not over indulge as you may end up with some bad cough ..

I was looking for something that I can make with potatoes & I fumbled upon this recipe. The moment I read this , I knew I would be making it soon ..

It took about 15 minutes for me to make this & the end result was just yummy

While I was making this, I didn't really expect it to be any different from the dry potato curry that we all make, But it was way different that that .. I would call it a cross between our Desi Pottao Fry & Potato Wedges from McDonalds ... But you will love it for sure ..

My Dad is the official Khichdi maker at home & he makes the best Khichdi ever (Infact much better than my Mom)  He doesn't use many spices which is why its so simple & lovely & comforting. I actually make several versions of Khichdi  but nothing beats my Dad's Moong Dal ki Khichdi

There is nothing like digging into a hot bowl of kichdi on a monsoon evening. Serve it with some kadhi on the side & you'll be in heaven.

The weather here right now is perfect for a hot bowl of Tomato Soup & if it is spiked with some fresh Rosemary, can it get better than that??

It was very cold & gloomy this afternoon & it was a perfect excuse to dig into some piping hot soup .. I ate mine with some toasted Baguette and Aaah Bliss !!

What I loved was the addition of Rosemary. It adds an interesting twist but it isn't very overpowering. Next time, try adding Rosemary to any of your soups .. You will love it

Serve with some crusty toasted bread .. Enjoi !!!

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I guess, most of you reading this would know that it was my Birthday a couple of days ago .. Well, Shankar, surprised me with this Pulao for the Birthday lunch .. Hence, the name of this dish :-)

I was actually quite thrilled with the idea that He'd be cooking something. Since he is a novice, I wanted to give him instructions  lend a helping hand  But I was shooed away from the kitchen The only thing I did was, measure Basmati rice & soak it in water. I really don't know where he got this recipe from, but it was just fabulous ..

You Will Need:

For the Paste:

How To:

Serve with any Raita of your choice .. Enjoi !!!

While, Shankar was at it, I was quite unhappy about the fact the he was frying up all the ingredients to make a paste. I told him, it wasn't necessary because the paste will anyways be sauteed before adding rice. Because of this, we actually had a mini fight in between :-)  But the end result was very good .. Frying up the spices before grinding does lend a unique taste .. Do not skip it, if you are going to be trying this ..

Anyways, I did have a Fab Birthday .. All of you, who stopped by to wish me, Thanks so much .. It really made my day :-)

Here's another sweet post from me because, Yours Truly celebrates her Birthday today .. So here is one of my favorite desserts but with a slight twist. Yes, its Rasmalai with a hint of Mango ..

I made these using store bought Rasgullas, but if you have time, you can make Rasgullas from scratch. If you are hosting someone at a very short notice, & you want you add your own touch,  then this is a perfect dessert.

The addition of Mango pulp gives it a lovely flavor, but do not over do with it. You do not want the Rasmalai to be tasting like Mango Kheer.  If you are using about 500ml milk, then pulp from half a mango is sufficient.

You Will Need:

As a South Indian, I love Rice & there are no two ways about it. But, there was a time when I was watching my weight, & I stayed away from rice as much as possible, limiting its consumption to about twice a week. Did I miss eating rice?? Yes, BIG time ..

And this Broken Wheat Pongal was my closest substitute to rice .. Not in terms of taste, but cooked moong dal & broken wheat did create that mushy texture, somewhat similar to traditional Pongal .. So this was what my Lunch/Dinner would be, whenever I missed rice ..

Transfer to a serving bowl & top with a tsp of ghee before serving .. Serve HOT .. Enjoi !!!