A regular, almost a staple in my pantry, is Quinoa. I always have it on hand and most of my lunches are quinoa. It is a complete protein and for this forms a substantial part of our diet. A vegetable protein that does not have the calorie baggage is something I am not letting go of that easily. I try variation, adding different vegetables, legumes etc, to make it interesting every time I consume them. This is one of them. I love this variation since it looks immensely colorful and vibrant. I love stuffing peppers. I find in many sites including the food network chefs using Oven whenever they go for making stuffed pepper recipe. Being an Oven fanatic, I do look for ways to use Oven as often as possible but then all the recipes I find involves cooking the peppers in the oven for at least an hour!

That’s a lot of coking time and I am lazy! I look for quick methods often and so I do the quick (...)
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Post tags: almonds, bell peppers, carrots, cilantro, cumin, cumin-coriander powder, garlic, mint, onion, peas, quinoa

We belong to the think tank that does not believe in mixing anything sweet with savory. For example : I cannot come to understand Pineapple Rice, Kashmiri Pulao or Zafrani Pulao. With such a palate, I generally try to avoid adding sweet ingredients in my main dish. Having said that, Mango Salsa was quite intriguing to me. I could not for the life of me imagine how the sweet mangoes could co exist well with ingredients like bell peppers, onions and jalapeno(!!). Seemed v weird until I could take it no more and tried it myself. I was all prepared to make a horrible face and say “Blech!”.  But oh boy! Was I glad??????? You bet I was. Mangoes sure can exist in harmony and yet be charming enough. We loved it so much that I made it 5-6 more times until I was left with no mangoes.

The crunch of the bell peppers, mild tasting onions, minimal heat from the jalapeno went hand in hand with the sweet mangoes so well. I salute the genius(...)
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Post tags: bell peppers, cilantro, jalapeno, lemon, lime, mango, mint, onions

By now, the regular readers are probably aware of how much this “I Made This” feature means to me in this site. To be able to know how you found a recipe, your interpretation and your pictures for the v same recipe thrills me to bits every single time I see it. It not only motivates me to push myself harder with whatever I do, but it also inspires me when I see your additions and creativity to that dish. That way, I seem to be learning something new from you readers every single day.
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Post tags:

Its immensely sad knowing that the mango season is slowly going away for the year I thought it was gone when my better half came home one evening last week with a big basket of mangoes. He informed me that a Mexican grocery was selling it and they looked fresh – so he got them. They were succulent and v sweet. Came as a pleasant surprise and I was immensely overjoyed since I am a mango freak. Love them! The batch he bought had about 20 mangoes (It was on a sale – obviously!) and needless to say, I wanted to use all of them without any spoilage. While we enjoyed them as they are, I also managed to make some dishes with them among which was this cake.

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Post tags: all purpose flour, baking powder, cardamom, Dry mango powder, vanilla extract

Evening snacks especially during winter with a hot cuppa chai is one of the best things EVER!  One of the (dis)advantages in my house is that my pantry is not suitable for quick snacking except for dried fruits, fruits, nuts and seeds etc. So for the “real”(!!) thing, I would be forced to make some myself I know I bought it on myself cos I have no control on fried stuff. I love chips (esp.  Jalapeno chips!), saltine crackers etc which I eat and eat without stopping. My better half jokes that I can survive with only those around. So with such a situation, I am better off not buying snacks and repenting later. I count on my laziness and lethargy on making them as and when craving hits me. Usually the craving disappears after some time – our brains are our worst enemy sometimes!

Anyways, the other day, when this rain started splattering the windows, I caved in to making something fried. I saw few stale wholegrain bread in my counter (...)
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Post tags: asafoetida, chickpea flour, cilantro, cumin, curry leaves, garam masala, garlic, ginger, mustard, peas, potatoes, rice flour

check out myriad baked goods that she whips out using her M/W which will surely tempt you to start baking right away  – DK

Image Courtesy

1) How to Bake in M/W?

Baking in Microwave is actually Microwaving as you are making use of the Microwave rays to cook faster.For example,if you are baking a cake,the Microwave only helps it to cook faster rather than baking it.But the end result is delicious nevertheless.The brown crust and the texture can be compromised if you have the urge to eat a cake immediately,as in right-now!!

2) What are things to keep in mind when I want to bake something in M/W?

First things first-Use Microwave proof utensils for baking.Metal utensils,non-stick cookware and plastic bowls are not suitable.Make sure the size of the pan is appropriate[you don't want the batter to overflow and make a mess on your turn table].

3) What is the ideal temperature to bake in M/W?

Though many Microwave recipes require you to bake at full power[100%],out of experience,I can vouch that 70%-80% is ideal.As and when you start cooking/Microwaving,you can judge the temperature and time for yourself!!

4) What are the steps I should take if I am going to follow a recipe made in standard Oven in my M/W (temperature, consistency of batter etc?)(...)
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