Anshu's Food Odyssey

Bharwa Shimla Mirch or Stuffed Capsicum is a delicious Indian side dish made by stuffing green bellpeppers with a spicy potato filling, which are then cooked further until completely done. A Punjabi style recipe, it makes for a comforting dish to complete your meals.  Though traditionally, this recipe is made using green peppers, if you want to add some color to your plate, you can definitely go and use the colored bellpeppers as well. Also, the slitting style of the peppers varies across different homes in India, I have grown up watching the capsicums to be halved lengthwise at my home, so I do it the same way. If you wish, you can just chop off the head of the capsicum and stuff the entire pepper; whatever way you like. Bharwa Shimla Mirch | Stuffed Capsicum Recipe INGREDIENTS Green capsicums - 3 to 4 Boiled and mashed potatoes, medium sized - 4 to 5 Finely chopped green chilies - 2 tsp Finely chopped ginger - 2 tsp Crushed dhaniya seeds - 1 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Fennel...

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. Punjabi Kala Chana Masala is a popular recipe from North India . Healthy, delicious and vegan, it is made with black chickpeas that are soaked overnight, boiled the next morning and thereafter simmered in a delectable onion-tomato gravy. Served with plain steamed rice, it makes for a hearty and comforting meal.     Growing up, making this delicious  curry recipe  was   a kind of every Saturday affair at our home because of its black color (as per Hindu mythological legends, black is the color of Shani Dev and since Saturday is the day of Shani Dev, making something black in food is considered auspicious.... and besides our home, if you go to any Punjabi household on a Saturday, there are 90% chances that yo...

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. One of my most favorite summer drinks that I can relate with my childhood days is MANGO FROOTI. So refreshing and bursting with flavors, it was one of the go-to drinks whenever we returned from school. However, growing up, I realized that all these packaged drinks including our very favorite store bought Frooti had so many preservatives and was loaded with sugars, artificial flavoring and colors. Therefore, there came a time (precisely when I started food blogging) when I stopped consuming all these packaged drinks and started trying out fresh drinks made with real fruits at home. This HOMEMADE MANGO FROOTI is one amongst many such drinks. Let me tell you, it is absolutely refreshing, absolutely tasty and yes, preservative free and color free too. Not to mention, a perfect hea...

Bedmi Poori is a traditional North Indian fried bread (poori) that is stuffed with a delicious filling of a coarse urad dal paste, subtly flavored with aromatic spices like fennel and hing. Having said that, there are two ways of making this flavorful poori: one, wherein the urad dal mixture is added directly to the flour and kneaded into a dough. This dough is rolled into discs and later fried. The second method calls for filling the urad dal mixture inside the dough balls and then rolled into discs to be fried. The recipe I am sharing is the latter one where the pooris are stuffed with the dal filling. Ideally, the dal filling that goes inside the poori requires soaking the dal for 6 to 8 hours before grinding to a coarse paste. However, one may not love the idea of waiting this long to enjoy the bedmi pooris, therefore, I have come up with this instant recipe of the poori for which you would not have to wait for a long time. Bedmi Poori The urad dal filling is ...

Muthiya or Muthia is a popular snack/appetizer delicacy that comes from the state of Gujarat in India. The most famous version of these delicious steamed dumplings are often made with grated bottle gourd, some ginger, green chilies and a subtle hint of every day spices, all of which are further kneaded with gram flour into a dough. The dough is then rolled into a log, steamed till perfection and then sliced and tempered with an aromatic mix of mustard seeds, curry leaves and a handful of sesame seeds to lend it that beautiful flavor. Frankly speaking, muthiya makes for the most delicious and healthiest snacks to enjoy anytime with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Having said that, there are many variants of Muthiya. The one that I am sharing today is a diabetic friendly version which uses karela or the bitter gourd scrapings that are kneaded into a ragi and jowar dough for more health and nutrition benefits. Ragi and jowar are also good for those looking to shed some weight; if y...

Poha or Pohey is an easy and healthy recipe that comes together in no time. The dish makes for a  quintessential breakfast in Maharashtra and Gujarat ; and if you happen to visit these states, you would find them being served in every nook side eating joint and restaurant. Cooked with beaten rice that are tossed with peanuts, veggies/sometimes just onions and a subtle hint of spices, they absolutely make for a delicious meal. I first happened to savour pohey during my visit to Ahmedabad 5-6 years back. My husband was deployed on a project there and right across our house, was this busy breakfast corner that used to serve poha and fafda/jalebi during morning and evening hours. Packed with lovely flavors with a little hint of sweetness and tartness, topped with chopped onions, coriander, green chilies, pomegranate pearls, beetroot juliennes and a whole lot of nylon sev, oh! poha instantly became my favorite recipe to devour with a hot cup of ginger tea. Not to mention, it ...

Kathal , also known as Jackfruit is one of my favorite vegetables that can be found in Indian markets around July-August for a short period. The fibrous fruit with its shredded meaty texture makes for an apt substitute for non-vegetarians and you would be surprised to know kathal is often used for mock meat dishes in South East Asian countries. While this beautiful vegetable/fruit is quite delicious, there is only one negative factor to it; it's hard skin and an itchy sticky liquid that oozes out of it that makes cutting jackfruit a messy and difficult task. However, having said so, I'll share a foolproof trick to ease out the cutting process; just grease your hands and knife with generous quantity of mustard oil while skinning and cutting this fruit. Applying mustard oil will ensure you don't face any itchiness, thus, making the whole process a piece of cake. These days, already skinned and chopped jackfruit pieces are also available in the vegetable markets. ...

Overnight Oats ! Well, if you are hearing this term for the first time, let me start by giving you a quick introduction about the same. Overnight Oats is nothing but an easy, no-cook version of the oatmeal that is more like a dessert, so much tastier, creamier and denser than the regular stove-top cooked hot oats. Served chilled straight from the refrigerator, it makes for a wholesome meal to relish during summers. Not to mention, its quite a versatile dish in terms of flavorings; one can flavor it with fresh fruits of their choice, chocolate, Nutella, or just plain simple nuts and seeds. My version of this overnight oats comprises of a simple base topped with a couple of tablespoons of fresh mango puree, some chopped peaches and cherries and a sprinkle of sliced almonds and pistachios. You can go for the same base recipe and top it with any fruits that are in season; let me tell you creativity is the key here. So, make your brains do some exercise to come out with some inter...