Anshu's Food Odyssey

Khaman Dhokla is one of the most popular Gujarati snacks that is made with gram flour (chickpea flour) and which makes for a quite healthy and nutritious option to satiate those sudden hunger pangs. Owing to its steamed cooking style, it is also a guilt-free choice, perfect for the weight watchers and those looking to shed few extra kilos. Needless to say, made using chickpea flour, it is gluten-free and provides for an ideal snacking option for the ones sensitive to gluten. Technically speaking, Khaman and Dhokla are two different snacks; the latter one originally made from a batter of chana dal and rice fermented overnight. As fermentation is a bit time taking process, Khaman comes to the rescue and provides for an instant substitute with no fermentation hassles. Absolutely soft and spongy, plus loaded with a medley of flavors: a bit sweet, bit tangy and bit spicy, it is one of my go-to recipes when it comes to satiating my taste buds asking for some " chatpata snack

Festivities like Ganesh Chaturthi , Dussehra and Diwali are just around the corner. For me, this is the most awaited time of the year with decked up markets, a little chill in the air and happiness all around, emanating an aura of positivity and elation in each and every heart. This is also the time when I gear up for the celebrations indulging in shopping, decorating the house and offcourse preparing some traditional sweets and savories at home for all my friends and family. While last year, I made this melt-in-mouth kalakand , vanilla sandesh with strawberry dust and Punjabi style meethi mathri , this time I am planning to go ahead and make this popular sweet from the state of Gujarat: the sweet sata also called as thor . Traditionally, sata is a deep fried pastry, but just to keep the calorie count low this festive season , I decided to go a healthy way and instead of frying, opted to bake them. Trust me, they came out as flaky, crispy and delectable. If you are also looki

Kheer is one of the most famous and loved desserts in India; be it any festival or auspicious occasion such as Diwali , Holi , Eid or Raksha Bandhan , it is one delicacy that finds a top place on the festive menu . Having said that, kheer is of different types and can be made with varied ingredients depending on the occasion and the region. While the most traditional version of kheer that can be found across India is the kheer made with rice, yet there are other farali versions too that are often made during the festival of Navratris and the holy month of Shravan, when many Hindus observe fasts and abstain from having any grains in their meals . Amongst all the farali versions,  sabudane (sago pearls) ki kheer is byfar the most common and is literally enjoyed by anyone and everyone. I too am fond of this delicious kheer and make it whenever there's an opportunity. For past few weeks, I have started observing fasts on Thursdays and as an offering (prashad), I try to make som

I remember how much I loved the chocolate sandwich biscuits in my childhood. Filled with a luscious, lickable chocolate cream sandwiched between layers of crisp and crunchy cookies, they were my best accompaniment to a glass of milk every morning. Even today, these biscuits happen to be my weakness; though we can easily get a variety of them from store, the satisfaction of baking these lovely beauties at home is simply inexplicable. Plus the heavenly chocolaty aroma that fills through the kitchen is something that instantly transports you to another world. No wonder, I am always in a lookout for reasons and occasions to bake them.. If you think baking them is a daunting task, let me tell you, its quite a simple chore much like baking any other biscuits. The only new thing with them, is making a butter cream frosting which also takes just a couple of minutes that too with only a few basic ingredients in hand. I must say the end result is simply fantastic with crunchy biscuit laye

Paneer Pasanda is a rich and creamy delicacy from Mughlai Cuisine wherein stuffed fried cottage cheese cubes/triangles are dunked in a luscious tomato & cashew based gravy. This is a perfect recipe for parties, get-togethers and festive occasions. Well, paneer or cottage cheese is one ingredient that is so so versatile. There are literally an endless number of recipes that can be cooked with it; palak paneer , shahi paneer, paneer butter masala , paneer tikka, kadhai paneer, matar paneer, paneer kofta  and paneer bhurji are some of the common ones that are cooked most often at homes. Coming to Paneer Pasanda , making it is slightly complex and time consuming when compared to other paneer dishes. But, just in case you want to add a variety to your usual paneer accompaniments, it makes for a perfect dish to go on your menu. It is one recipe that was long-due on my to-do list and fortunately I got the opportunity to make it last Saturday for a small get-together at our place.

Rasgulla  or Roshogulla is one sweet delicacy which is synonymous to the Indian state of West Bengal. The soft and spongy cottage cheese dumplings cooked in sugary syrup, make for an ultimate delight for all those with a real sweet tooth. Though this palatable Bengali dessert is quite common and is easily available in every sweet shop throughout India, yet nothing can beat the satisfaction which you get making it with your own hands. But let me tell you, making this dessert demands a lot of patience and skill. I tried making the rasgullas couple of times, but every time the result was a disaster; either my rasgullas turned out to be flat, remained uncooked from inside or turned out to be hard with a thick sugar syrup coating. After about 5 to 6 tries and after seeing couple of recipes on the internet, finally I got what I was waiting for, the perfect spongy rasgullas with a juicy inner core. I flavored them with a little saffron that made them all the more delectable. One can abs

Thai Cuisine needs no special introduction; a unique blend of flavors with refreshing aroma of exotic herbs, unmatched sharpness of red chilies, soothing sweetness of coconut milk and a tantalizing tartness of limes, it has carved its own very niche on the international culinary platform. Truly speaking, Thai Food is all about a well balance of flavors: sweet, sour, spicy, salty and bitter. Our love for this exotically flavorful cuisine started during our three years of tenure in Singapore, a country that truly deserves to be called a melting hot pot of South East Asian flavors, be it Thai, Malay, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese. The best part was, since every ingredient used in Asian cooking was so easily available, I could try out many recipes at home....and Thai was always preferred over other cuisines because my husband was a big fan of Thai cuisine; off-course the credit goes to his frequent visits to Thailand for work where his taste buds got acquainted to all the enticing