Veggie Recipes.

Veggies in any form is good for health and our diet should always have a balanced intake of veggies. Therefore, we always keep a frozen pack of veggies in our refrigerator along with the fresh ones for rainy days. One such pack is the Normandy vegetable blends and we get the bigger pack of it from Costco.
Now the blend contains – Cauliflower, broccoli, yellow squash, carrots, and zucchini and do not exactly come from Normandy but are locally produced.
Also “Normandy” was first used to describe mixed vegetables in an announcement in a newspaper in 1995 in Rockland, Maine.
So not sure how it got the name, but I love the combination of veggies it has and how colorful they look together when cooked right.
This recipe is a simple vegan stir fry using Indian and oriental sauces. I had written this recipe using the “Magic Masala” from Alco Eats USA but tweaked the same by using curry powder instead for the blog.
This is simple, easy, and colorful and tastes equally great. Try and let me know in the comments below -

Flatbreads are called to be the earliest forms of pizza and Sandy loves them. This evening Rihaan had his soccer classes and I had to make something quick and savory to eat before we leave. I saw the flatbreads in the refrigerator and tada, I knew what I am making. Generally, flatbread pizzas are one of the easiest and quickest to make, the only thing you need to care about is your sauce and the toppings. Most often you use alfredo or marinara sauces with flatbreads but I had none of them so decided to create my own sauce. It is a great option for a quick meal and Rihaan loved it too, so it’s definitely kid friendly which has been the request off lately from many of you.
Do try it out and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.

We eat a lot of baked vegetables in our household, they are healthy and aren’t too difficult to make generally. We make dried and moist baked veggies both, experiment a lot with the sauce and the ingredients. This sauce is something which I thought would work well as lemon – garlic and butter goes well and is used in many dishes using salmon. Surprisingly it tasted a lot better than I thought and hence this recipe gets a space here, this is a good dish and can be a good substitute for your regular dinner.
Do try it and let me know how you like it in the comments below. Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe, do follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

It was the Super Bowl LV weekend and one of the biggest sports extravaganza in Earth was on show again. It was an exciting time for everyone around in the states and we were no different. We had been following a norm of throwing parties for super bowl for a few years now, it is like a yearly ritual similar to a festival like Diwali or Christmas J

The rules are straight – Pizza’s , lots of Wings , Beers , chips and dips and pick a team to support. Luckily we have KC in the bowl for the last two years and hence supporting a team from your state makes it more special. So for 2020s party I thought of making a new dip which is sort of Indian with an international vibe to it and can be had with Chips and Tortillas.

This is when I created a dip which I am calling the “Palak Paneer Dip”, again it doesn’t taste like Palak Paneer as it is a dip and not a curry but preserves the soul of the dish cause of the spices. This one is easy yet innovative and cooks in quick time and you can try it out in this years Super Bowl… its time you serve your guests a homemade dip J.

***For my mates in India, Super bowl is the final of NFL in USA. It is in simple words , the final of the franchise competition for a game called “Football” (not soccer mind you) which is extremely popular in this county and has an uncanny resemblance with Rugby . This is on par with IPL finals and more, the advertisement slots during the breaks are one of the most expensive in the world. Some of the biggest stars in the world perform during the breaks, the whole country is shut down with even corporates not deploying new features to their products during the weekend. Historically a lot of companies do their product launch with an Ad during the super bowl to ensure it gets maximum notice. And yes “game ko halke me mat lena”, most of the times the games go to the wire as close as a few seconds decide who is the winner.

Do try the recipe and let me know how you like it in the comments below.

Tandoori is always associated with meat, mostly Chicken and is regarded as a quintessential Indian Appetizer . I love eating Tandooris and I can probably eat them any time of the day. Tandoori gobi is a great alternate vegetarian option for tandoori chicken. Cauliflower is a little sturdier than most of the vegetables and hence can withstand the heat in a tandoor. It does get the necessary charred layer on the top whereas the florets gets softer when they get cooked making them a great alternate choice for chicken.
Gobi masala is a great Indian dish too. In fact, this was the first ever entrée that I cooked from scratch in my life. I was in my 9th standard when I decided to cook the dish. I followed the recipe I found in a cookbook which used be given as complimentary with the all famous Prestige Pressure Cooker. I still remember it was so tasty, It was back then I realized that I can cook and more importantly cooking is fun.

Tandoori Gobi Masala is a dish where I have combined Tandoori Gobi and Gobi Masala in a single plate as a solo dish. I am not entirely sure and you might find this dish in some restaurants too but mine is completely unique and I developed the recipe utilizing the basics of both the dishes. This can be made vegan if you do not use curd in the dish but that would make it a little more drier unless you substitute it with some coconut milk. It is a great recipe and a super tasty one, do try the same and let me know in the comments below.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

Potol has always been the favorite of Bengalis, I have improvised a little to make it more exotic. This was an experiment that turned out to be an amazing find.

This flavorful and nutty starter is a go to dish in a lot of middle eastern towns.

This is my rendition of the dish, Please try the same and let me know in the comments below.

Our days back in Pune, we used to visit a nearby garden restaurant – Shivanjali a lot. It was a Udipi style restaurant and for a change I used to love the Vegetarian starters there more than the non vegetarian ones. It was there I had first tasted this dish and it was love at first bite .This is also common dish these days in the Menu of a lot of Indian Bengali wedding dinners. I am presenting to you a simplified version of the dish which is very easy to prepare, my intention is to make it a popular item in your kitchen too.

Interestingly while writing the recipe in this blog I got a message from Geeta that she was planning to cook for Devs bday and I asked her to make this for his Birthday Dinner. She prepared a total platter of exquisite looking dishes and this guy was in there too. This page is dedicated to this lovely couple.

I am really out of names for this dish , I am calling it Naan Pizza Bites as I have used Mini Naans to make this dish and have used several toppings like in a Pizza. I used the mini naans from Stonefire (You can order the same from amazon, the link is in the page below ) , this can also be done using home made Naans of Flat breads.

I had first made this dish when we had some friends home and a lady said – “Can you make us something that surprises us?” I took the challenge but had no idea what I was supposed to make, so the first step is always to check the refrigerator and see what have you got. Then get your brain cells to work and think what can we try to make and lastly get into the real action of making the dish. It was also evening time and the sun was shining so wanted to make something that we can eat sitting in the patio , gossiping endlessly.

I myself was surprised with the vibrant and lively flavors I was able to generate on this dish and would definitely recommend you to try this at your home.

So here is the recipe of the dish that includes favors from China, India and Italy , hope you like it . Do try it and let me know in the comments below.​

Poutine is a classic Canadian dish from Quebec. It is French Fries served with Cheese and brown gravy in the most primitive sense. The legend says that the dish took birth when a customer requested cheese curds on his to go order of fries and the owner decided to pour the curds on top of the fries in a plate to avoid a mess. He later added the brown gravy to keep the fries hot for a prolonged period and hence was born – “the Poutine”.
This is my take on the Poutine, I have added some vegetables, used boiled potatoes for the healthier reasons and have also used some spices to add some flavors to the dish.
My choice of cheese is Parmesan as I wanted to get some crust on the top, you can use other forms of cheese based on your likings. Mozzarella or Provolone cheese would give you a melting texture on top and a lot of folks love that as well.
This is a quick and easy one to prepare and can serve as both an Entree and an Appetizer.
Do try it and let me know your experience of this Poutine in the comments below.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

Friday evening was paneer night, yeah we decided to cook everything with paneer . This is a recipe I developed then, while wanting to cook an Indian curry which is slightly unconventional. I first chose the color of the dish to be white and then backtracked from there to develop the recipe.
This dish is a little sweeter for my palate but is a good option for a change in case you are a Paneer lover. The use of almonds adds a little texture, and the coconut milk adds the creaminess you crave on your paneer gravies.

Give it a try , this may be the Paneer variant you were searching for
Do try it out and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.

My love for the Awadhi Cuisine would never end, and this time I thought of writing my version of an Awadhi Classic – Mughlai Paneer. This a very rich and tasty dish and becomes everyone’s favorite instantly. The key to this dish is the gravy which is made of Almond Paste and Fried Onions which gives it a slight Sweetish flavor. My version of the dish cooks in quick time and should be tried at home.

Do check the video in YouTube and follow me in YouTube and Instagram.

We love white sauce pasta in our household and a quick white sauce pasta is a regular in our weekday dinners. This specific dish is something I have made many a times on weekends when we have friends’ home and we feel like making something cheesy and Italian. The idea is simple, take pasta in a tray with a lot of veggies, prepare a white sauce and then bake them together to integrate them into a single dish. I do not broil at the end generally but have tried that too and if you like a little char and crust on your top, you should try that while making this recipe. Do not broil for more than 3-5 minutes, I do not broil as that takes away the softness from cheese on the top.
You can also add veggies and herbs of your choice while making it, I have suggested a few but you can always improvise.

Do try the recipe , check how you like it and let me know in the comments below.

A few weeks back I made this confession that I didn’t know “The White Biriyani” existed and this was one of the good things that came my way me in 2021.
I have been getting a lot of requests for a Paneer recipe and hence I decided to recreate the dish using paneer.
The recipe is very similar to the chicken white Biriyani I shared before, but I have added garam masala and a pinch of chat masala to add a little more flavor to the rice. I also had sautéed the paneer pieces with some butter in the beginning before tossing them into the rice pan.

I was skeptical again about this dish, but I kept cooking, and this is what I achieved in the first go. I served it with some spicy mushroom roast to balance the plate. I could taste and feel the sweetness from the Anjeer (fig), the smell of the spices, the aroma from the kewra water, the creaminess from the coconut and cream and the nutty texture from the almonds and that is what I wanted in the recipe.

This is a perfect recipe for a vegetarian meal. Enjoy ..!!!

Try and let me know how you like it ..??Do try it out and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.

India was a land of Kings, Queens, Nawabs and Begums and there have always been dishes which were exclusively prepared only for the Royal clans by special cheffs. These curries were made with the so called exotic ingredients and spices which weren’t available easily to the low earning peasants. Shahi Paneer is a prime example of one such curry which typically belongs to the Mughlai Cuisine and this is my rendition of the same. Hope you like the slightly different version of the curry , I have not used tomato which is generally used in the licensed curry.

Do let me know how do you like the recipe in the comments below.

Indo Chinese food and Biriyani are two of my biggest weaknesses in food, one evening I wanted to cook something different and that led to this experiment. I call it the Indo Chinese Biriyani as it uses elements from both the dishes and brings them together.It is also an Instant Pot recipe and hence is easy to prepare.
Historically Indo Chinese food originates from the China town in Kolkata where Chinese migrants settled down during the early 18th century to work on sugar mills. The debate is still on if Nanking or Eau Chew is the first Chinese restaurant in India but Indo Chinese food saw its renaissance after the Indo Sino war which forced a lot of Chinese folks living in Kolkata to convert their tanneries into restaurants. The result is history as Chinese style of cooking married with Indian spices gave birth to a cuisine which is very popular and the most sought out food in India.It’s sold by road side street vendors and also in restaurants, so its both rustic and exotic and that is the beauty of this cuisine.
Biriyani similarly has its root from Iran , but found its home in almost every state in India after Mughals introduced it. You can find Hyderabadi, Sindhi, Kolkata, Thalaserry, Thalapakattu,Karachi and so many other varieties of Biriyani’s in the country which talks about its popularity across Pan India.
This dish is an ode to my love for both the dishes.
Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe, do follow me in Instagram and facebook.

Paneer Makhni is an emotion for a lot of us who grew up in India. You go to any restaurant in india, you always end up ordering this one for vegetarian options as you can never go wrong with it. It does vary between restaurants - like it is creamier at places, the paneer used may be butter fried or grilled, the gravy may have melon seeds instead of cashews at many places, the consistency of the sauce may differ etc but the soul of the dish always remains intact. I have been cooking different forms of this dish all my life and it is a must in my menu when I invite folks’ home. This is also a dish which is relished by everyone as you can always control the spice level and make it conducive for everyone’s palate.
This recipe is a very easy version of the dish. I have used ground spices in my recipe, but you can always substitute that one with garam masala powder to keep it simple. I would insist to use ground spices though for experiencing the most authentic taste.

Do try it out and let me know how you liked it.
Let me know in the comments below -

Cream of mushroom soup is a simple type of soup where a basic roux is thinned with cream or milk and then mushrooms and/or mushroom broth are added. It is a very popular soup has been one of the most consumed vegetarian canned soups in the world.
I decided to use the same idea but twist it to make a Green colored soup in similar lines using Spinach. I am calling it the Cream of Spinach soup and I have used an instant pot to prepare it.
I have used thyme as my herb, if you do not like its taste then do replace it with some other herb as thyme in soups isn’t for everyone. This is a super easy dish and can be prepared in pretty quick time.

Do try it and let me know how you like it in the comments below. Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe, do follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

Mushroom is a go to ingredient in our home and when it comes to cooking it , we try a lot of experiments on it. The mushroom mutter methi malai is a famous north Indian dish which is served in a white gravy. I just tweaked it a little to make it a little yellowish than white , hope you guys like it.

Let me know in the comments below.

There are days when we are busy, and people often resort to frozen food or ready to eat packs then. We try to make some soups or salads during our busy days to ensure we eat healthy as well as fresh. Salads are great meal options and should be in your meal plans. Here is a simple and easy recipe which you can make in minutes and eat, it’s got carbs too in the form of
potatoes and fills your appetite too. Go for it, you would love it.

Do try the recipe , check how you like it and let me know in the comments below.

Biriyani is everyone’s favorite and one of the most talked about Indian/Middle Eastern dishes around the world. It has got a long rich history and has taken inspiration from everyplace it has reached. This is why there is no single recipe for Biriyani, the ones in Middle East is a lot milder than the ones served in the southern part of India. The Awadhi or Kolkata biriyani is more aromatic and is served with potatoes while the Sindhi and Hyderabadi biriyani are cooked in layers. Some biriyani’s also use coconut milk, coconut and different forms of rice instead of basmati like the Thalassery or the Thalapakattu biriyanis. There is Karachi biriyani which according to a local chef in my city uses tomatoes as the base in contrast to curd which is the base for Hyderabadi biriyanis. The sides served with biriyani has also been inspired by locales with chicken chaap, salaan , raita etc. being served along with the rice. The Indian adoption of Biriyani’s has given rise to a new version which is Vegetarian Biriyani. It is a meat free version of the Biriyani and uses a variety of vegetables including paneer to satisfy the Biriyani lust of all vegetarian folks. The recipe I am sharing here is a step ahead replacing rice with Quinoa and thus making it a healthier vegetarian version of the classic.
The recipe is simple and uses quinoa as the ain ingredient for the dish. I have not used curd in this dish as curd makes the quinoa mushy and hence should be avoided here. If you chose to use rice instead, you should use curd in the step marked with ***.
I have used a frozen pack of vegetables, you can use fresh ones as well. The choice of veggies is entirely upon you but refrain from using vegetables like Yellow squash which melts easily while pressure cooking. They would spoil the texture and consistency of your biriyani.
So all you biriyani and health lovers, this is for you ..!!! Please try and let me know in the comments below if you like it.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

Someone said - All good things are unhealthy, well almost all .. :)
Just look at fried food - all those fritters, patties, fries , poutines , vadas , falafels, tempuras, KFCs . Anyways so going back to the topic, fried food is always good. This is the soul idea of this dish.
Fry Paneer in a crispy manner and then pour a tikka masala inspired sauce on top before serving. Use crumbs to make the layer extra crispy, cut paneer into bigger slices and that makes it tastes great. You want to eat something fried, fry this. The sauce on top hides the fried layers and helps with your guilt conscience as well.

Do try the recipe , check how you like it and let me know in the comments below.

I took a dig at the Italian Cuisine with flavors of my own with this one. It is a light recipe and can be cooked pretty quick, it provides a savory taste and lets you go out of your comfort zone to cook something different for you family.

Easy to cook and very very darn tasty to eat. I had made it for my room mate years ago , he loved it so much that called his mummy and told her - "baingan dahi mein bhi banta hai , zabardast banta hai" (you can cook eggplant and yoghurt too and it tastes fantastic).

Sharing the recipe here so you guys can try on your own.

Everyone loves a cozy bowl of soup in the winter, and we are no different. We make a lot of soups and this “Tomato ginger carrot soup” is one we make often in our household, invariably changing spices every-time as there are no rules to making a soup. This soup has got 4 vital elements to it - ginger gives the kick you need to sooth your throat, carrot that gives the color and sweetness you crave in your bowl, tomato dominates the flavor by making the bowl its own and finally the spices you add in it transforms the taste to suit your palate.
This soup was also featured by “RED GOLD tomatoes” in their websites, so this must tell you the recipe is ought to be good.
Well … soups are the easiest thing to make, and they always taste good and that is the best about them. Anyone can make soups is what I believe, so get your chef aprons on and make this bowl of soup for your friends and family.

Try this one , you would love it ... you can also comment with the spices you think might work better with this .