Anshu's Food Odyssey

Indian food culture is absolutely incomplete without the dry snack mixtures; be it South India or North India, people here need something to munch on either to curb their hunger pangs during the day or as an accompaniment to their evening tea or coffee. I remember during our childhood days, a huge wooden cabinet in the kitchen was used as a storage for a variety of such homemade snacks; methi nimki , namak paarey , besan ke laddoo , homemade jeera biscuits and nan khatai were some of the regular stuff that was stocked out in small portions whenever we felt hungry or when some guests visited our home. This healthy and absolutely lip smacking shahi namkeen mixture was also one of such snacks and was made quite frequently. Comprised of assorted nuts blended with spicy, tangy and sweet flavors, it truly used to be an addictive stuff that we loved to have with our tea in the evenings. Plus, come Diwali, and my Mom would make this mixture in big batches, seal them up in beautifu...

Dahi Bhalla , also known as Dahi Vada is one of the most popular street foods in North India . The tongue-tickling flavors imparted from dry spices and tangy chutneys, simply makes it an irresistible treat for every avid foodie. While these bhallas are often a chaat stall's glory, they also make for festive delights and are generally prepared in majority of the households during the time of Diwali and Holi . Whenever these festivals are round the corner, I look forward to making them along with numerous other sweet and savory delicacies like DRY GUJIYA ,   BANARASI TAMATAR KI CHAAT , CHIROTE , BHAKARWADI , ROSE & ALMOND KULFI , GULAB JAMUN and NIMKIS . If you too love this lip-smacking chaat and are in quest of a recipe that can yield super soft and spongy bhallas, then I am sure this recipe is not gonna leave you disappointed. However, there are few points that certainly need to be taken care of: first, whisking of the batter for good 10 to 15 minutes so that air ...