Ragda Beetroot Pattice Recipe / Beetroot Pattice With Ragda ~ Diwali Delights

Ragda Beetroot Pattice is a very popular Indian street food. Here Ragda is the thick curry made with dry white/yellow peas and Pattice is an adaptation from the English word Patties which is generally mash potato cake. But in my dish I have replaced the potato patties with Beetroot, Mashed Potatoes and Paneer / Cottage Cheese Patties. Ragda and Pattice are cooked separately and then assembled on a plate. Two Beetroot Patties are placed on a bed of dry white / yellow peas thick curry. Then a spicy garlic Chutney, a sweet Tamarind Chutney and Minty Tangy Green Chutney is drizzled over it. This lip smacking street food is finished off with a garnish of chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and nylon sev / very fine, deep fried, gram flour noodles. Diwali and these tongue ticklers are synonymous with each other. I love to fill my Diwali with a variety of dishes which have my personalised touch.

Methi Malai Kofta Recipe / Raw Papaya Cottage Cheese Dumplings In Fenugreek Fresh Cream Gravy ~ Diwali Delights

Methi Malai Kofta / Kofte are Raw Papaya And Cottage Cheese Dumplings Cooked in a luscious Fresh Fenugreek Leaves, Fresh Cream Gravy. Festive meals are always special and they deserve to be unique, indulgent, redolent with decadence and should leave an everlasting mark on your taste buds. This dish is just that and it is sure to take your festive fervour to a flavour crescendo.

Gil E Firdaus / Hyderabadi Sweet Dish ~ Happy Diwali

On the auspicious day of DIWALI it is my heart's desire that good health, wealth, wisdom, prosperity tiptoes into the abode of my friends, family, co~bloggers, every single person who has visited my Blog till date, all those who are reading this post right now and everyone who has touched my life in some way or the other.

HAPPY DIWALI DEAR READERS 

POHA / ATUKULU / AVAL RASMALAI / BEATEN RICE DESSERT

This dessert is my ode to my MUM-In_law. In fact I owe everything I make during the festival of Ugadi to her. She makes porridge with beaten rice which is delicious to the hilt. I wanted to give it my touch with a beaten Rice Rasmalai. All I can say, if you try making this dessert, it cooks up in a jiffy and the end dish is completely a party for your taste buds.

Kashmiri Phirni Recipe ~ Diwali Sweet / Happy Diwali

In her finery she bent down while placing the oil filled earthen curved palm shaped lamps with a cotton wick running right through their center. As she moved from one place to another with a tray filled with Diyas or earthen lamps, her anklets made the sweetest tinkling sound. I simply could not take my eyes off her as she struck a match stick & started to light the Diyas. In the flame of the lit Diyas her face was covered with a golden hue, her gold ornaments dazzled & she looked just like a divine creature who had transcended on earth to grace the special day. It was Diwali eve & the lady in question was Netra Pandita Aunty, who lived in the garden encircled bungalow down the road. I was a starry eyed teenager those days who was completely blown away by her grace, poise & beauty. As I followed her with my eyes she glided across the room like a princess who wore shoes made of flowers. She returned a few minutes later with garlands of orange & yellow marigold flowers & started tying them up in different places of the room. By the time she finished her decorations that room looked sun kissed with the abundance of Diyas & marigolds.

Himachali Chana Aloo Madra Recipe / Traditional Garbanzo Beans In Yogurt Curry From Himachal Pradesh

Himachali Chana Aloo Madra the decadent, rich dish from one of the most beautiful States in India is a complete treat for the senses. Himachal Pradesh which means abode or land of snow in Sanskrit is true to its name. Nature has showered it's bounty on this state. Situated in the northern most part of India and home to some of the most famous hill stations, just like the splendour around, the people who live here are synonymous with charm, grace and kindness loaded hearts. The cuisine of this region is spicy and makes use of a lot of yogurt, cardamom powder and is generally slow cooked to bring forth the huge array of flavours.

Diwali Mini Vegetarian Thali ~ Wish You All A Dazzling And Prosperous Diwali

Dear Readers How are you all celebrating Diwali this year? For me Diwali starts and ends with food. I will be preparing a vegetarian Lunch Thali. Also there will be sweets galore and a very special sweet called Zauq E Shahi which means Royal taste and is mini Gulab Jamuns served in Rabri. In the evening when a thousand Diyas (Earthen lamp with a wick dipped in oil) will illuminate my home I will join my hands in prayer and just like every Diwali, this Diwali too, I will pray for Light over Darkness, Hope over Despair, Good over Evil and Love over Hatred. Along with all this I shall repeat something in my mind which I had promised myself to do many years ago. I will once again uphold my promise of embracing every aspect of the Globe while being rooted to my Rich Indian Culture and tradition. That's what my food too shall always reflect. Global with an Indian Soul.

Zauq E Shahi Recipe / Mini Gulab Jamun In Rabri / Fried Khoya ( Milk Solid ) Balls In Very Thick Milk

Zauk E Shahi translates to Royal Taste. This dessert from the Awadhi Cuisine treasure trove combines the very popular Gulab Jamun with the quintessential Rabri. While trying to trace the history of the Gulab Jamun, I came across this very interesting story of it's nemesis. I am not sure whether this is a folklore or there is some truth in it. Nonetheless since I was fascinated with the story, I had to share it with you my wonderful readers. 

Chettinad Cauliflower Chukka Recipe / Spicy Dry Cauliflower Curry From Chettinad

I am an ardent lover of Chettinad Cuisine. For those of you who are not familiar, Chettinad Cuisine is the food that the Nattukotai Chettiar community from the Chettinad Region in the south Indian State of Tamil Nadu, cook in their home. This beautiful hamlet is not only known for its rich cultural heritage, ornate magnificent homes with large kitchens, but most importantly the Spice trade which thrived between the Chettiar community with countries like Burma, Java, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius in ancient times. No wonder their food is resplendent with taste and aroma infused by the use of these perfumed spices.

Beetroot Paneer Curry Recipe / Lightly Grilled Cottage Cheese In Creamy Beetroot Curry

Whenever I am working with Beetroot I keep staring at that gorgeous colour that splashes out and kisses my fingers with love. Indeed as Red symbolizes the colour of love, I feel that there is a heart connection we have with the beetroot. For me it is the vegetable of love. Speaking about the heart connection, Beetroot loves your heart and your heart , the most important organ in your body remains healthy if you allow the love of Beetroot to spread over it. How? Without going into the technicalities, I would like to put down here, that Beetroot has high concentration of dietary Nitrate which our body processes into Nitric Oxide. Nitric Oxide in turn is known to help our blood vessels relax. As our blood vessels relax, there is a reduction in our blood pressure. Reduced Blood Pressure means Reduced Chances of Heart Diseases and Stroke. 

Khirer Chapa Mishti / Traditional Bengali Style Milk Fudge

I am a huge fan of tradition, rituals which define our festivals, celebrations and food which has been passed down from one generation to another. Although I am at the same time big into neo cuisine, fusion dishes, global cuisine, molecular gastronomy etc. a part of me is always on the lookout for recipes which have been lost in the tides of time, recipes which are slowly disappearing from our kitchen because of our busy lifestyle. This is solely my opinion, that, as we embrace the neo we should not let go of our years and years of culture and tradition. They are what defines us. As we cannot imagine a tree without roots, I feel we too would be rootless without our cultural heritage, which for me is unthinkable.

Baked Malai Sandesh Recipe / Baked Sweet Cottage Cheese In Thickened Milk ~ Shubho Mahalaya

I wake up with a jolt and a pounding heart and strain my eyes to look through the dark room. Collecting my self and my thoughts I wonder what woke me up so early. I pick up my mobile and see the time. It's 3 a.m. in Dubai. My eyes fall on the missed call and I scroll down to see that Ma had called. In a flash everything comes back and my eyes light up with a broad smile. I take a deep breath and try to imagine the intoxicating aroma of the pristine white Shiuli Phool (Night Flowering Jasmine). Then I tip toe out of the room, walk downstairs and open the door. As I step out neither can I feel the nip in the air, nor can I see the dancing kash phool (Kans grass native to India) in the far horizon. It's still far from being cold and in the light of my house I can see only Palm trees. Sigh!! I am in Dubai and not in Kolkata, where my heart is. Today is Mahalaya, a very special day for Bengalis. I sit in my garden and call Ma. All she says is "Shon" (listen) and then the most familiar voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra buzzes into my ears, as my eyes swell up with tears.

Churmur Recipe / Kolkata Street Food Churmur Chaat Recipe / Indian Street Food

Churmur or Churmur Chaat is a tasty street side snack from Kolkata, India. It has boiled potato as its base and the tongue tapping build up of this snack is done by adding veggies, condiments, fritters, flavoured liquids etc. resulting in a flavour bomb which is sure to delight your senses. There are different ways of making this and every street food vendor selling Churmur has his own touches added to this. What's wonderful about this snack is that you do not have to visit Kolkata to experience that immense flavour burst. You can make it in your home by following my easy step-wise pictorial recipe, given right below. But one thing I must tell you, whenever you visit the City Of Joy, Kolkata do surely stop by at a roadside Phuchka Cart and try Churmur from there.

Cauliflower Burfi Recipe / Kabishambardhana Barfi Recipe / Cauliflower Fudge Recipe

Hello Beautiful People. A sizeable portion of my lovely readers worldwide must be immersed in the preparations of celebrating Diwali ~ The Festival Of Lights. The number of sweets that has swept over Social Media has already kick-started the festivities a week back. Going through the numerous sweet and savoury recipes I was thinking to myself, thanks to Social Media we get to see Recipes from every nook and corner of India and try them in our home kitchen without having to travel to that part right away. Wonderful isn't it?