Indian As Apple Pie

Traditionally, vegetarian Indian meals have at least three components: a vegetable sabzi (stir-fry), lentils, and rice or bread. The idea behind this theme? That the lentils afford a vegetarian protein to help nutritionally balance out the meal.  I don't know about you, but most days I'm lucky to just get dinner on the table. I'm not always able to make sure we have that protein component in our meals even if we still want to eat a vegetarian diet. Why, I'm on a mission to taste test non-traditional ingredients in my recipes. Ingredients like quinoa, cashew cream, edamame, are known outside the...

My mother came up with the name for this snack. It's essentially a baked chickpea fritter or pakora cut up into little pieces - tukri in Hindi refers to little pieces. One of the key differences between this and a fried pakora is that most of the veggies are coarsely hand grated to give you a distinct texture rather than just chopped or sliced.  This recipe is in my second cookbook, Vegan Indian Cooking (page 104), but I got to thinking. Why limit myself to chickpea flour? I had Teff flour in the pantry and have always wanted to give it...

I've always had a love-hate relationship with Sweet Potatoes, shakarkandi in Hindi.  On the one hand, I know how good they are for us - high in beta-carotene and Vitamin A. On the other, they're intimidating to cook. Baking takes at least 45 minutes. Boiling means they are water logged and tasteless. I needed a better way. My go-to food bible, The World's Healthiest Foods by George Mateljan, had the solution. If you don't have this book, get it - every food is in here with basics on nutrition and optimal ways to cook and preserve nutrients along with delicious and easy recipes. ...

The perfect snack, wrap, bread. Naturally vegan, gluten-free, and absolutely delicious, besan poora is a common breakfast item and snack food in North India. It is traditionally made from besan, or flour made from ground black chickpeas.  As we head into 2016 and aspire to eat healthier, I added some quinoa flour. With 4 grams of protein per 1/4 cup it's a fantastic way to boost protein in your family's diet without compromising flavor. It's an especially important component for the Indian community - where we eat largely vegetarian, but still want and need protein.  2 cups besan (chickpea flour) *1...

Oh yes, I did! I took the Mumbai street food Pav Bhaji and made it completely comfortable on your dining table. If you're not familiar with this snack, pav means bread, while bhaji means vegetables. The story goes that street vendors came up with this popular combination as a lunch option for workers that wanted something lighter and faster than traditional Indian food.  Amongst my kids' friends, we call it veggie sloppy joes. When making these at home, serve them up on a large tray so guests can assemble themselves. Above, from left to right, you have Cilantro Green Apple Chutney, toasted...

You're thinking 'great'.  I finally got hooked on good Indian food and now this punk is going to tell me I've been eating it wrong all these years? Well. Kind of. Not really. Okay, maybe just a little bit. Stick with me and I'll show you that the light at the end of this tunnel is not so far away. Promise! Hint: it has everything to do with the sides.  A good Indian dish is all about layers of flavor and texture, but so is the meal.  In my classes I like to tell folks that cooking an Indian dish...

In Hindi, whenever we finish a monumental task, we like to say, 'Muh mitha karo'. Roughly translated, this means - to make your mouth sweet. It's a way to mark your accomplishment - to make you feel special and to recognize the auspiciousness of the event.  Last week, I handed in the manuscript for my third cookbook, "Indian For Everyone,' which will release later this year (2014). It was 328 pages and 64,000 words of pure accomplishment. Hitting 'send' on my computer keyboard was like a weight was lifted off my chest - a weight that I'd lived with for the last...

Because all of you have been so interested in this recipe from feedback on my Facebook Fan page (Indian As Apple Pie) I am posting it here as an early Christmas gift. I truly feel like this experiment has been a gift for me and my house. I have been trying to curb our rice consumption and substitute it in ways that make sense to our Asian upbringing and are delicious so that we never lose a flavor beat - and that means for my hubbie too.  I'm so sorry this is not as pretty as my previous posts with...

It’s a well known fact that I’m a single mother of two little girls during the week. My husband has traveled for our entire 13 years of marriage – often leaving on a Monday and returning on a Thursday, Friday, and even Saturday morning at times. When he returns, I hear the predictable, “What’s for dinner?” This question is often met with a simple, one-word answer: ‘Dal’. Despite the fancy dinners my husband gets to enjoy when on the road consulting and schmoozing clients – the only thing he truly craves is a deep, steaming bowl of freshly-made dal (also...

   “Do you want some potatoes in that tofu wrap?” Standing at the Whole Foods breakfast counter I had to hold myself back from screaming, “HELL no!” I mean, seriously? If the guy behind the counter only knew how many potatoes I’ve eaten over the last month – all in my quest to perfect my Aloo Tikki recipe. If you know me at all, you also know how committed I am to Indian street food. I live and breathe for it, and have always tried to replicate it at home. Spicy potato patties are just one favorite. They are traditionally...