Ingredient: black pepper

India !!! Indiaaaa!! the cricket fever is high all around from past many months. Starting with world cup and now ending with IPL, each and every match deserved to be watched and cheered too. My son is a biggest cricket fan in my family. From world cup to IPL he didn’t missed even a single match. And for every match he use to prepare the room as the stadium’s VIP stand where he use to cheer, shout, hoot and do all what he could do while watching the match live…and for such a die heart cricket fan COKE was the…

Let’s take a tour to Hyderabad today. Well had an opportunity to visit this city of Nawabi cuisines couple of times. Must admit, everything about Hyderabad is simply marvelous. The city show cases a splendid food culture in every corner. From gullis to mohallas ..from street food to fine dinning, Hyderabad has something special for each and everyone. The cuisine emphasises the use of ingredients that are carefully chosen and cooked to the right degree and time. Utmost attention is given to picking the right kind of spices, meat, and rice. Therefore, an addition of a certain herb, spice, condiment,…

Aam panna is an Indian drink renowned for its heat-resistant properties. It is made from green mangoes and is light pale in color, and is consumed as a tasty and healthy beverage to fight against the intense Indian summer heat. I have been longing to make this refreshing drink from quiet a long time. It was a few days back when i went to my mother’s place and she handed me a basket full of raw mangoes that had fallen in a windy storm. Didn’t wanted to make pickles and all, so used few for making dal, chutney etc and…

Summers is all about having plenty of drinks and beverages that keep our system clean and cool. Jal Jeera is one amongst those many Indian beverages that helps in keeping our system cool in summers and also helps in digestion and is an amazing h appetizer as well. It’s a refreshing mint and cumin flavored Indian lemonade.In Hindi, “jal” means water and “jeera” means cumin. The beverage form is essentially lemonade and jaljira powder, and is a popular summer drink in India.Indian women usually prepare Jaljeera powder at home and store it in an air tight container. Jaljeera powder generally…

One is either a vegetarian, a non vegetarian or an eggetarian! We have grown up learning ‘Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao Ande!’ There are endless recipes made with eggs all over the world. In India eggs are happily served in breakfast, lunch, dinner and even on road sides in winter evenings. Something that heats up the body and is a rich source of protein as well. In our daily affairs we commonly make omletes, poach, sunny side up, half frys, srambled eggs or bhurji , boiled and sliced and egg curries. There are different styles of making egg curry,…

Biryani is something i simply can’t get over it. This is the only dish which i can relish daily. After having tried Awadhi Biryani, Hyderabadi Biryani, Kerela Biryani it was now turn to lay my hands on Bombay Biryani. I had this during my stay in Mumbai somewhere near Lokhandwala. The taste was little mild as compared to North India’s Dum biryani. Luckily i had a packet of ready made Bombay Biryani masala which i had received a few days back from one of my good friend Anisa Arif also the owner of Zaika. Apart from whole spices i did…

Falafel is a Lebanese deep fried balls or patties made from white chickpeas/kabuli chana and/or fava beans. they are usually stuffed in pita bread with tahini, hummus or a vegetable salad or a assortment of veggies. Falafel is a common dish eaten throughout the Middle East. The fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food. When chickpeas are used, they are not cooked prior to use (cooking the chickpeas will cause the falafel to fall apart, requiring adding some flour to use as a binder). Instead they are soaked…

A glass of chilled Masala Chaas… Ahaaa, so Refreshing!!! Perfect cold beverage in hot summer. Keeps your tummy cool and happy. Originally, buttermilk referred to the liquid left over from churning butter from cultured or fermented cream. Traditionally, before cream could be skimmed from whole milk, the milk was left to sit for a period of time to allow the cream and milk to separate. On the Indian subcontinent, the term “buttermilk” refers to the liquid left over after extracting butter from churned yogurt. Today, this is called traditional buttermilk. Traditional buttermilk is still common in many Nepalese, Indian and…

Vazhakkai meaning Plantain or Raw Banana is something i have grown up eating. Since childhood i always had a privilege to be surrounded by South Indian neighbors. They often use to cook their delicacies and send us too in a bowl to relish. Since then i developed a strong liking towards South Indian Cuisines. The use of coconut and spices in the dishes is simply awesome which certainly makes it stand out from the other regional cuisines. I still remember the aroma that use to fume out from my neighbors kitchen making me salivate…lol The neighbors were kind enough to…

‘Chefs Across Boundaries’ is a group of Chefs who set up challenges every month to encourage the participants to innovate, think out of the box and explore the culinary world. This month, one of the Members Hetal Kamdar (http://hetalkamdar.blog.co.uk/) hosted the challenge and her theme was Pondicherry cuisine. The Union Territory of Pondicherry boasts of a sumptuous cuisine that shows strong French and Tamil influences. Puducherry formerly known as Pondicherry is a small charming Union Territory on the east coast of India consisting of four small regions namely Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. Whereas Pondicherry and Karaikal is in Tamilnadu,…

Presenting Chefs Across Boundaries – another feather in my cap! Chef’s Across Boundaries is a group of chef’s coming from diversified culture exchanging their regional cuisines. It is an initiative started by a handful of food bloggers and food enthusiasts who have taken up the challenge to explore unique and traditional recipes with a motive to expand culinary knowledge as well as to promote the hidden gems which are yet to make an impact in the culinary world. The swapping extravaganza is promising and it allows chefs to whip up new dishes. It’s a journey which is making me get…

In my family celebration is all about having Biryani. In any occasion, a good Biryani is always the show stopper. Usually i make varieties of Biryani following my mom’s and grandmom’s recipes but today again for a change i tried making by following the recipe of master chef Sanjeev Kapoor.