Anshu's Food Odyssey

Tamatar ki Chaat is a lipsmacking recipe originated in the holy city of Benaras or Varanasi. Loaded with tongue tickling flavours, this chaat is very unique as compared to other chaat recipes across other parts of India. The recipe is divided into two parts: first, a rich tomato curry which has all the goodness of khoya (dried milk solids), cashews and poppy seeds. The second, makes for the base of this chaat - tomato and potato mixture which is a unique blend of spicy and tangy flavors. One thing you would note about this chaat is that it is topped with nimki or the mini namakpaare instead of sev for garnishing. Also, being a holy city you would not find the use of onions and garlic in most of its preparations, and hence, it is not garnished with chopped onions. Just in case you are enticed with the flavours and want to know the recipe, scroll down below. Banarasi Tamatar ki Chaat Ingredients Tomato Curry Tomatoes (small, grated) - 2 Finely chopped gi

Bhakarwadi are crisp and fried pinwheel shaped savory snacks popular across Western India. A perfect blend of flavors, sweet, spicy and tangy, makes them quite addictive. If you have been following my blog, you would know, I am all geared up preparing some delectable Diwali snacks for this year. While last week, I posted the recipe of famous Maharashtrian sweet, CHIROTE , this week I have this beautiful and lipsmackingly delicious, BHAKARWADI on my blog . Very easy recipe, do try it and you would never get those store ones again. Bhakarwadi Recipe | How to Make Bhakarwadi Ingredients FOR DOUGH All purpose flour/maida - 1 cup Gram flour/besan - 2 tbsp Warm oil - 2 tbsp Carom seeds/ajwain - 1 tsp Dried fenugreek/kasoori methi - 1/2 tsp Salt - as per taste Water - 3 to 4 tbsp FOR FILLING Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp Cumin seeds/jeera - 1 tbsp Fennel seeds/saunf - 1 tbsp White sesame seeds/safed til - 1 tbsp Poppy seeds/khus khus - 1/2 tbsp F

With nation celebrating the beautiful festival of 'Ganesh Chaturthi' with all pomp and show, the much awaited season of festivities in India has formally come to a kick start. Lined up from now, are some of the most popular festivals of India - Dussehra, Diwali, Chhath Pooja, Bhai Dooj and Christmas. I have already begun with the preparations for all these celebrations; first on my list is this  beautiful, delicious, flaky and crusty, " Chirote " or " Chiroti ". A traditional Maharashtrian sweet delicacy, it is made using refined flour, deep fried and coated with powdered sugar. For those who love their snacks to be uprightly sweet, can also dip it in sugar syrup. Melt-in-mouth and highly addictive, I promise you will not be able to resist yourself from eating more than one in one go. Looking for the recipe? Here you go .... Chirote Recipe | Chiroti Recipe Ingredients Maida/all purpose flour - 1 and 1/2 cups Ghee - 2 tbsp + 3

Sheer Khurma or Sheer Korma is a delicious traditional Mughlai dessert made on the festival of Eid . A creamy, thick pudding made with milk and roasted sewai (vermicelli) topped with whole lots of nuts and dry fruits, it surely makes for a palatable treat for all those with a sweet tooth. So, on my blog today, is indeed a detailed recipe on how to make Sheer Khurma at home... Sheer Khurma | Vermicelli Pudding | Sheer Khurma Recipe | How to Make Sheer Khurma Well, the term, Sheer Khurma comes from Persian language wherein 'Sheer' refers to 'Milk' and 'Khurma' refers to 'Dates', and hence Sheer Khurma can be deciphered to 'Milk cooked with Dates'. According to legends, Sheer Khurma came to India with the Turk and Mughal rulers, and in the beginning, it was just the thickened milk with dates that was consumed first thing in the morning to celebrate the joyous festival of Eid . However, with years passing, vermicelli and nuts beca

Malai Peda is one of the most popular Indian sweets . These little discs of deliciousness are primarily made using fresh chhena (cheese curd), khoya (dried milk solids) and condensed milk. There are numerous variants of Malai Peda that are available in the sweets shops these days; while the plain peda and kesar peda are the most common, what I am fond of the most is the chocolate flavored one. Absolutely decadent and melt-in-mouth, these chocolate pedas make for an apt sweet for any festival or special occasion.  Well, I am making them for the upcoming Raksha Bandhan , if you too are looking for some homemade sweet recipes, do try them out. I promise, you won't be disappointed. Chocolate Milk Peda | Milk Peda Recipe Before I jump to the recipe, let me tell you that I have used fresh chhena. For that, bring about a liter of full fat milk to a boil. Let it cool for 5 minutes and then slowly start adding a little vinegar until the milk is nicely curdled.

Arbi ke Patrode as called in Hindi, Patra in Gujarati and Alu Vadi in Marathi, whatever you name them, these colocasia fritters make for an uber delicious snack to be munched anytime of the day. The vegan, gluten free and  savory fritters are made using leaves of colocasia or taro root, which are smeared with a thick gramflour batter, stacked on top of each other, rolled, steamed and finally tempered with aromatic spices like mustard seeds, curry leaves and white sesame seeds. Arbi ke Patrode Recipe | Patra Recipe | Alu Vadi Recipe | Colocasia Leaves Fritters Please note that colocasia leaves or arbi ke patte are mostly available during the monsoon season . And don't you think that perfectly adds to the monsoon fun leaving you with yet another beautiful variant of fritters to enjoy with that hop cup of evening tea, while simultaneously soaking your soul in the lovely weather and pitter patter of the rain drops pouring in the balcony?  I am sure by now, you

Imli ki Chutney or the Sweet Tamarind Chutney is one of the most basic chutneys in Indian cuisine. This lipsmackingly delicious sauce or dip is made using tamarind pulp and jaggery, then spiced with aromatic spices like fennel, roasted cumin powder and dry ginger powder. Any Indian Chaat like Bhel Puri, Dahi Bhalla , Paapdi Chaat and Aloo Tikki are absolutely incomplete without this luscious sweet & sour chutney. If you are making khatta meetha pani for pani puri   or making some samosas, this chutney is definitely gonna come handy. You can prepare it in a big batch and freeze a part of it for later use anytime. And let me tell you, even if you are not freezing, imli ki chutney would easily last in the fridge for about 2 to 3 months; just store it in a clean sanitized glass bottle or jar. This blog post today, talks about how to prepare this beautiful Imli ki Chutney at home. Do try and I am sure, you are gonna love it. Imli ki Chutney | Sweet Tamarin