Cake House

A couple of days back, we enjoyed a lovely evening with friends, good food and drinks at my place. I was in charge of food and we decided to use our newly acquired gas grill and a barbeque was set up. With a lot of  food and drinks around, I ended up with a big batch of grilled vegetables as left overs. Now to use up all those vegetables was a challenge and that's when this Veg Tikka Masala came to my mind. The gravy is the same that I make for my Chicken Tikka masala and the beautiful smoky flavor from the grilled vegetables made it even more amazing. Although I used the left over vegetables to make this curry, you can specially marinate the veggies, grill them on a gas grill or a grill pan and then add them in the curry. Here is the recipe to make this very delicious Veg Tikka Masala. All you need is To marinate the vegetables Capsicum - 1\2 ( cut into cubes ) Onion - 1\2 ( cut into cubes ) Baby corn - 3-4 ( cut into half ) Mushroom - 10-12 Paneer - 150 g Cauliflower - 10-12 smal...

Everyone in my house loves chole and since they are also a great source of protein, I end up making them at least once a week. The recipes I usually use to make Chole are either Pindi Chana Masala or Chole in an onion tomato gravy. This time I gave a little twist to my regular recipe and made Shahi Chole instead. The gravy was enriched with Khoya and milk and a little lemon juice and honey at the end gave it a wonderful taste and flavor. The recipe was very well appreciated and now I have another winner in my collection. Do try this Shahi Chole masala to give a change to your regular Chole gravy. Here is the recipe. All you need is Chole \ Chickpeas - 2 cup Oil - 4 tbsp Onion - 1 and 1\2 cups ( chopped ) Ginger paste - 1 tsp Garlic paste - 1 tsp Tomato - 1 cup ( chopped ) Coriander powder - 3 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder - 2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1\2 tsp Garam masala - 1 tsp Roasted cumin powder - 1\2 tsp Salt to taste Khoya - 100 gm Milk - 1\2 cup Lemon juice - 2 tsp Honey - 1 tbsp S...

Masala Chai...Although I don't drink tea on a regular basic, my family is addicted to it. My mom and dad needs a hot cup of masala chai first thing in the morning. Their day does not start without a kadak chai ki pyali  ( a strong cup of tea ) and so is the case with many Indians. Chai is an integral part of Indian life style and each house hold has it's own measurements and method, although milk, sugar and tea leaves remains a constant. This Chai masala is a blend of various spices which gives the Chai a unique flavor. You can store it in an airtight container and can add a little bit of it to you tea. I will be sharing the method to make the India chai very soon. Here is the recipe to make the masala for chai. Preparation time - 10 minutes Making time - 5 minutes Yields - 1 cup powder All you need is Cloves - 1\4 cup Green cardamom - 1\4 cup Cinnamon stick - 1\4 cup Black peppercorns - 1\4 cup Dried rose petals - 2 tbsp Fennel seeds \ Saunf - 2 tbsp Dry ginger powder - 2 tbsp...

Za'atar is a very versatile Middle eastern spice mix which is used extensively in middle eastern cooking. It is used as topping on the breads, mixed with olive oil as a dip and even in marination for vegetables and meat. It is basically a blend of dried herbs with sesame seeds and sumac and imparts a lovely flavor to the dish. Although it is easily available in the stores, the homemade version is much more flavorful. Here is the simple recipe to make your own Za'atar mix. All you need is Sumac - 1\4 cup Dried thyme - 3 tbsp Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp Dried oregano - 2 tbsp Sea salt - 1 tsp Marjoram - I tsp Method of preparation Dry roast sesame seeds till slightly browned. Cool. Mix all the ingredients in a blender and blend to make a smooth powder. Store in an airtight container for up to 15 days.