Hearty Spices

2 large Red Bell Peppers 2 large Tomatoes, peeled and chopped 2 tbsp minced Garlic 1½ cups Water or stock ½ cup Milk ½ cup sliced Onions 1 tsp Red Chili Powder ¼ tsp Curry Powder Salt and Pepper to taste 1 tsp olive oil 1 tbsp fresh Lemon Juice For the garnish: Thinly sliced Green Onions Garlic Croutons Cream Grill the bell peppers turning them on and off till the skin starts to turn black for about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and cool for 10 minutes. Peel, remove the seeds and chop. Heat oil in a large enough saucepan and add the onions and garlic. Cook till the onions start to soften. Add the chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, red chilli powder, curry powder and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add the water/stock and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 20-25 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and grind into a smooth liquid. Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve hot and garnish with garlic croutons, sliced green onio...

Marinate: 800 gm Chicken Boneless Breast Meat, washed, pat dried and cubed into bite size pieces 3 tbsp Ginger juliennes 2 tsp Garam Masala 3 tbsp Yogurt 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder 2 tsp Salt 1/3 tsp Turmeric Powder Others: 3 Cloves 3 tbsp Sunflower Oil 4 Curry leaves 1 Yellow Onion, large, thinly sliced Spring Onions Greens, chopped, for garnishing 1 tbsp Ginger juliennes In a bowl or a resealable plastic bag, marinate the chicken for about 2-4 hours in the refrigerator. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature atleast an hour before cooking. Heat oil in a non-stick heavy bottomed pan at medium high heat and throw in the cloves and thinly sliced onions. Stir fry it till the onion is lightly browned. Add the curry leaves and saute it for just a minute more. Add the marinated chicken and mix it well. Close the lid for about 20 minutes. Later, open the lid and stir it gently and cook uncovered for a few more minutes, till it is quite dry. Garnish with the gi...

Take 1 1/2 cups of Almond Flour, 1 cup Sugar, 2 cups Milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Heat 4 tbsp of Butter in a wide mouthed pan until it melts. Add the almond milk, a pinch of Saffron, 1/2 tsp of Cardamom Powder and cook until it reduces in quantity is reduced. Add a pinch of Yellow Color, a tbsp of Ghee and continue mixing until the halwa thickens (If you touch with wet hands, it should be non sticky) and leaves the pan. Add 1/4 cup of sliced Almonds , remove from heat and let it cool down. Take a parchment paper and cut into small pieces to make halwa balls and wrap.

Marinate  2 lbs of cleaned, boneless, skinless and diced Chicken for an hour with 1 tsp of Black Pepper Powder, 2 tsp of Salt, 1 Egg White, 2 tbsp of All Purpose Flour, 1 tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 tbsp of Red Chilli Powder, 2½ tbsp of Corn Flour and Juice of ½ Lemon. Deep fry the chicken pieces till they acquire a golden shade (don’t let them become crispy) in oil. Drain and keep aside. In a bowl, beat 1 cup of Yogurt, Salt to taste, 1 tsp of Garam Masala and a pinch of Red Food Color till the mixture is runny adding ¼ cup of Water if needed. Set aside. Heat 1 tbsp of Oil in a pan; saute 4 cloves of minced Garlic Cloves  and fry till golden brown. Add 12 slit Green Chilies, few Curry Leaves and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add the yogurt mixture to the wok and wait for the first boil. Then add the chicken pieces to it and mix well till the chicken pieces are well coated with the yogurt mixture. Keep mixing till the chick...

½ kg Ridge Gourd/Beerakaaya, peeled and chopped 1 large Onion, finely sliced 2 Green Chillis, slit length wise 1½ – 2 tbsp roasted Sesame Seeds ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder Salt to taste ½ tbsp Oil Popu: ½ tsp Mustard Seeds ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds ¾ tsp Urad Dal (minapappu) 1 tsp Channa Dal (senagapappu) (optional) 1-2 dry Red Chillis, tear & de-seed Few Curry Leaves Sprinkle 3-4 tbsps of water to the ridge gourd pieces, salt and turmeric powder and place lid. Cook on low to medium flame till the ridge gourd is almost cooked and the water evaporates. While the ridge gourd is cooking, heat oil in a separate cooking vessel, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds, urad dal and red chillis and saute for a minute till the dal turn red and you get a nice aroma. Add curry leaves, green chillis and onions and saute for 4-5 minutes. Add the cooked ridge gourd and combine. Cook on high to medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Lower heat, add the roasted sesame seeds powder and combine. Cook wit...

Dough - In a bowl, mix 2 cups of Wheat Flour with Salt to taste and a tbsp of Ghee , forming into smooth dough with W ater as needed . Separate dough into golf-sized balls and set aside. Mooli Mixture (Radish Filling) - Squeeze out all the water from a cup of grated White Radish and mix Salt to taste, 5 chopped Green Chillies, an inch of grated Ginger and set aside. Paratha - For each dough ball, roll out the dough into a small circle and put around a tbsp of the raddish mixture in the centre. Bring the ends of the circle together and form into a ball. Seal the edges completely so that the stuffing does not come out. Roll out these dough balls into a 6-inch circle. Fry on a heated pan adding a bit of ghee around the edges to crisp it up. Serve hot with Tomato-Chili Ketchup.

Prep - Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Batter - In a large bowl whisk together a  cup of All Purpose Flour, 1/2 cup of Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder, 3/4 cup of granulated Brown Sugar, 1 tsp of Baking Baking Soda and 1/2  tsp of Sea Salt . In a medium-sized bowl, combine the 3 ripe mashed Bananas, an Egg, 1/4 cup of melted Butter , 1/4 cup of Oil and 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract . Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the ½ cup of toasted Walnuts / Pecans, coarsely chopped (Optional)  and 3/4   cup of Dark Chocolate Chips . Scrape batter into prepared pan. Top the batter with 1/4 cup of Dark Chocolate Chips. Bread - Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 55 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from th...