8 am craving: Spicy Thai Curry Noodles

Spicy Thai Curry Noodles: In many cultures this would be considered the perfect breakfast food!

This morning I woke up early anticipating to do a vigorous yoga practice. Instead, I stayed back and gave into my 8am craving!

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Super Bowl switch up: Rajma Curry

Move over chili! Switch up your Super Bowl Sunday menu with this kidney bean curry in a delicious onion gravy sauce.

If you’re planning to take part in Super Bowl Sunday festivities why not give your typical chili dish an Indian switch up?!

I had some leftover red kidney beans this week from a Mexican meal and turned it into a green chili spicy Punjabi Rajma Curry which is in a thick onion gravy sauce. Those expecting a bowl of typical chili on Super Bowl Sunday will not be disappointed if you serve this up instead!!!

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10-minute Channa Masala

January is a great month to hone your cooking skills, get back to basics in the kitchen and liven up your dinner times by trying a delicious new recipe from that cookbook sitting on your shelf!

The quickest curry I know!

However, for those of use who made resolutions for the New Year (I know, resolutions are so 2001 but we still make them anyway!), you may be spending extra time towards new activities like scuba diving lessons or learning to salsa dance or following a new fitness regimen.

We all want to get better at life with each passing calendar year, right?! But keeping up with our busy new “activities” can sometimes leave us without enough time to properly nourish our bodies.

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Layered Curried Vegetable & Kidney Bean Moussaka

Layered Curried Vegetable & Kidney Bean Moussaka

This week I indulged in a monumental meal that I had to share with you. A couple of weeks back, my cousin Jaimini and I made a Vegetable Moussaka which was both hearty and delicious.

Craving it again, I knew I could make it just as tasty but spicier with Arvinda’s Curry Masala!

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Aloo Gobi ~ Potato & Cauliflower Dry Curry

Aloo Gobi ~ Potato, Cauliflower Dry Curry

I know it’s Mardi Gras today (Fat Tuesday) and to chime in on the celebration I should have cooked some good Southern cooking – amen! Heck, Red Beans and Rice doesn’t stray all that far from North India’s popular Rajma Curry of spiced red kidney beans. This is on my ‘recipe list to share’ – coming soon!

In the meantime, I’m cooking with winter vegetables and want to share one of the easiest Indian dry curries I know. Once all the ingredients are added, put the lid on, set it to medium-low heat and it’s all low maintenance from there!

It’s a great way to eat cauliflower with some healing spices. The turmeric in the masala beautifully colours this dish yellow.

Here’s the video:

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Winter warming Indian comfort: Masoor Daal (red lentil curry)

A winter warming comfort food ~ Masoor Daal curry.

Nothing says winter warming comfort better than an Indian daal dish. Daal or dal, is a lentil curry. We refer to the uncooked “dry” lentils as daal as well.

Daal is simple to make. For the recipe below, we’re using red lentils (masoor daal) which is widely available and is a good source of dietary fibre, protein and essential amino acids. Lentils are also considered to be an iron-rich food!

The protein content in masoor dal is also impressive – 100g (lentils) uncooked gives you 22g of protein! 🙂

Have a peek at how easy it is to prepare:

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Tikka Masala vs Fish n’ Chips: Which one won?

My family is visiting from the UK which always stirs up conversation about what is hot and what is not in the “curry capital (country) of the world”. Back in 2001 (ten years ago!), foreign secretary Robin Cook claimed Tikka Masala as the national dish of England overriding fish n’ chips. Who knew?! I’m not surprised. The winner of Gordon Ramsay’s F Word best local restaurant competition in all of UK went to Lasan (meaning garlic in Hindi) last year. Now that’s another UK Indian restaurant on my ‘to-eat’ list!

Arvinda’s Tikka Masala–our new formula is launched! Hope you can try it!

This is a good reminder for me to let you know Arvinda’s Tikka Masala–our new formula–launches on this Black Friday! Although not as popular in Canada as the US and UK, we had many requests from customers for a Tikka Masala recipe using one of our blends and our new improved formula will do just that! See recipe below.

I usually make Paneer Tikka Masala as a vegetarian substitute.

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A happy Earth Day message that’s good for everyone ~ The Everyday Flexitarian

Roasted Cashew Curry with Cauliflower and Peas from Everday Flexitarian by Nettie Cronish and Pat Crocker (Whitecap, 2011).

Everyone’s food ethos is different and people make choices on what foods they eat for varied reasons. I’ve talked before about how Indians have mixed food philosophies in India, including both extreme vegetarians who don’t consume anything that even resembles meat like tomatoes, to those who consume lamb, goat, pork, chicken and even beef where beef eating is still considered taboo in certain areas of the subcontinent.

Any environmentalist would say eliminate meat consumption from the diet entirely to make a positive impact on the environment. The Food & Agriculture of the United Nation states, “livestock production is one of the major causes of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, including global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.” These are the prominent messages we’ve been hearing for several years and most recently from authors like Jonathan Safer-Foer (Eating Animals, Back Bay Books, 2010).

However, we know that vegetarianism for many is clearly not feasible otherwise we all would have become pure vegetarians by now.

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Homemade Paneer Workshop

There are only two ingredients in paneer, an Indian cheese — homogenized milk (3.8% milk fat); and vinegar or lemon juice to act as a coagulant to curdle the milk.

Making homemade paneer is simple yet impressive. It’s worth the effort, as homemade paneer has a creamier texture that can also be crumbled, making it versatile for a stuffing for Indian appetizers, such as Samosas. Make this organic!

See just how easy it is: (For the recipe, read our Paneer Workshop article in Edible Toronto Magazine).

Step 1: Boil milk, add lemon juice or vinegar. Strain through a cheese cloth.

Step 2: Squeeze out excess liquid.

Step 3: Apply weight to form into a small disc.

Step 4: Cut into cubes for an amazing North Indian paneer curry!

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Try your homemade organic paneer in this delicious, traditional North Indian dish Mattar Paneer ~ Indian-style cheese with peas. Mom will be impressed!

Ingredients:
1 cup paneer, cubed
1 ½ cups peas
1 tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
¼ cup ground tomatoes
1 ½ tbsp. Arvinda’s Curry Masala
1 tsp. sea salt, or salt to taste
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup light cream
¼ cup ground almonds (optional)
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro, to garnish
½ tsp. Arvinda’s Garam Masala, to garnish

Heavenly paneer cubes enrobed in a creamy scented curry sauce. Pairs perfectly with chappatis or naan and basmati rice.

Method: Add oil to a pan and bring to medium heat. Add onions and fry until caramelized, approximately 10 minutes. Add ground tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add Arvinda’s Curry Masala, salt and sugar. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add peas and cubed paneer to the masala paste and mix well.

Add cream and ground almonds and stir. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Add half a cup of water. Simmer for another 8-10 minutes. This dish should have a thick creamy sauce. Serve in a serving dish and garnish with cilantro and Arvinda’s Garam Masala. My mouth is watering just writing about this!
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A teaspoon of: Broken Social Scene. Listening to: All To All. Been anticipating BSS’s new album since this magical Toronto night. I’m in musical heaven.

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Easy for a crowd – Curried Lentil Carrot Soup with Garam Masala

I know everyone enjoys those canapés and savoury starters like samosas at a holiday party. I like them too, however as a hostess they can be labour-intensive to prepare, especially when guests are arriving on short notice.

Frustrated and frazzled party-throwers often run to their frozen food aisle for the many boxed-up savoury hors d’oeuvres available, which can be expensive and often contain additives too.

When I’m in a bind, my favourite party tip to feed a crowd is to make a soup, served up in a shot glass or espresso cup with a cool garnishing.

Soup makes a perfect presentation for a party

It’s a low-fuss preparation, something you can make in one big batch and you know your guests can fill up on something flavourful (and healthy too!).

For your next gathering, try Arvinda’s Curried Lentil Carrot Soup served in an espresso cup garnished with a pappadum wafers.
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Arvinda’s Curried Lentil Carrot Soup

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