Anshu's Food Odyssey

Lauki, also known as Doodhi/ Dudhi, Ghiya and Bottle Gourd happens to be a very underrated vegetable with a high nutritional profile extremely beneficial for our health. Being high in natural fiber as well as water content, it has a lot of cooling properties which help your system soothe and calm down especially in summers. At our home, though this humble vegetable is made in many different forms, however, there is one recipe made with lauki which is always high in demand and is made every other day. Yes! I am talking about Lauki ka Raita , which is not only healthy, refreshing and cooling to the palette but very delicious too. It can be paired along with any vegetable-dal-chapati combination. Also, it goes very well with pulaos and biryanis too. Do try it once and I promise, you are gonna hooked to it. Lauki ka Raita | Dudhi Raita  INGREDIENTS Yogurt, nicely whisked - 2 cups Grated bottle gourd/ ghiya/ lauki - 1 cup Fresh coriander leaves, optional - 1/4 cup Finely chopped

Jeera Pulao , Jeera Rice or the Zeera Rice as many call them, is one of the most common and basic accompaniments served on every Indian platter or thali. However, many a times, getting the perfect fluffed up texture of this rice can be quite tricky for some. Although a very basic and simple recipe, still I thought of sharing it on the blog for the beginners and bachelors who want to cook these rice with absolute perfection.  I'll be mentioning two methods to cook them; you can try any method that suits you! Enjoy the Jeera Rice with       - Punjabi Kadhi Pakoda     - Kale Chane ki Kadhi     - Gujarati Fajeto     - Dal Makhani     - Rajasthani Panchmel Dal     - Punjabi Mutton Curry Jeera Pulao | Zeera Pulao | Jeera Rice | Zeera Rice INGREDIENTS Basmati Rice - 1 Cup Jeera/Cumin seeds - 2 tsp Cinnamon stick - 1 inch Sliced almonds/ broken cashews (optional) - a few Ghee - 2 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tsp Whole dried red chilies (optional) - 1 to 2 Salt - to taste Jeer

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click and make a purchase through them, helping me retain and maintain this blog. Hey guys, what do you do with your leftover chapatis? Well, for us, leftover chapatis go in making these delicious PUDLA ROTIS or as we call them "besan ke cheele wali roti". I must tell you, these cheela rotis are one of our most favorite breakfast dishes that we enjoy with a cup of hot adrak wali chai (ginger tea), some chutney- achaar or even tomato ketchup.  I have seen these rotis made in our home since childhood. Whenever my mom would put up breakfast options to us, my father would always ask whether there are any leftover rotis lying. If yes, it was like winning a lottery for him as he would demand this delicious goodness and enjoy with his favorite mango pickle. Yes! he is so much fond of these rotis and would deliberately leave a couple of chapatis at dinner tim

Chicken Keema Matar Masala is a spicy and flavorful curry that goes perfectly well with various Indian breads like naan, paratha, roomali roti or even a simple plain chapati. Serve in your parties, get togethers, potlucks or enjoy as a hearty everyday meal; needless to say, this side dish is sure to come out as a winner every single time.  P.S. - Authentically, Keema Matar Masala is made with mutton mince, however, since we are not much into red meats, I usually cook it with chicken mince and it comes out as flavorful as the mutton one. If you wish, please feel free make this curry using mutton mince; the only thing you need to take care of is to cook the mince for a little longer time.     ALSO CHECK OUT CHICKEN RARA INGREDIENTS Chicken Keema (Mince) - 300 grams Finely chopped onions - 2, medium size Finely chopped ginger - 1 tsp Finely chopped garlic - 6 to 8 cloves Tomato puree - 1/2 cup Fresh

Creamy, tasty and amazingly flavorful, Andhra Style Peanut Chutney is a perfect side for South Indian breakfast like idli, dosa, vada, upma or even sambar rice. As the name suggests, it is primarily made with peanuts, however, a few basic pantry ingredients like garlic, onions and tomatoes also go in it, which make this chutney quite unique and different from the regular chutneys you normally see being served in many regions of South India. Andhra Style Peanut Chutney | Palli Chutney If you have been following my blog, you would have noticed how much I love chutneys, especially with the South Indian meals . Not to mention, the Coconut Chana Dal Chutney has always been my favorite, but there are times, when we don't get fresh coconut so easily. And this has now kind of become a new normal these days ever since the lockdown started; truly speaking, availability of such exotic items has now become really scarce especially in the North. And therefore, I have shifted

Bharwan Arbi Aloo ki Sabzi is a delicious dry masaledar sabzi, all packed with tantalizing flavors that go so well with rotis, chapatis and paranthas on the side. One of my most favorite side dishes, it is made by stuffing arbi (or colocacia/taro root) and potatoes with a flavorful and piquant spice powder. The stuffed vegetables are then sauteed to a crisp outer texture and a soft interior. Often I include stuffed brinjals/eggplants too in this sabzi, but, since I was out of stock of them, I skipped the brinjals and just made it with potatoes and arbi. Trust me, if you are looking for a unique and different style of stuffed veggies to go with your meals, try this combination and I promise, it will get regular at your homes. Bharwan Arbi Aloo ki Sabzi  INGREDIENTS Arbi/Taro Root - 250 grams Medium size potatoes - 3 to 4 Salt - to taste Red chili powder - 2 tsp Amchoor powder - 2 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Zeera powder - 1 tsp Haldi powder - 1/4 tsp S

Bhatura is a leavened, puffed deep fried bread made from Maida or All Purpose Flour. A popular recipe from the Punjabi cuisine, it is mainly served with spiced chickpea curry such as Pindi Chholey and Amritsari Chholey . Traditionally, bhatura is made using fermented dough, which is rested for minimum of 6 hours and has a peculiar tang to it. However, when you are short of time and crave for this delicious Chole Bhatura combo, these instant bhaturas come to your rescue. Quick and easy to prepare, they use Eno Fruit Salt as the leavening agent and trust me, that lends the bhaturas with that perfect crispness on outside and perfect fluffiness on the inside. If you can't lay your hands on eno, alternatively, you also have the option to use baking powder and baking soda. Without wasting any time further, let's start with the recipe. Perfect Instant Bhatura Recipe | How to Make Bhatura INGREDIENTS Maida/All Purpose Flour - 2 cups Sooji/Semolina - 2 tbsp

Paneer Makhani or Paneer Makhanwala is a famous Mughlai inspired preparation wherein soft cottage cheese cubes are dunked in a creamy, luscious and delicious tomato based gravy that is subtly spiced with red chili powder and garam masala. Many a times, paneer makhani is equated with shahi paneer and paneer butter masala , however, there are few considerable differences between these three preparations. As far as Paneer Makhani is concerned, the gravy of this soulful recipe is made using just tomatoes and few whole spices. Shahi Paneer, as the name suggests, is more of a royal preparation and involves use of cashews and almonds along with tomatoes while making its gravy. Lastly, Paneer Butter Masala also uses onions along with nuts and tomato in the gravy. So, I am sure, now you have a high level idea of difference between all these paneer family cousins. I have made this Paneer Makhani with my utterly favorite and delicious Makhani Gravy Base that I normally keep stored in my