Odisha Mo Odisha

 I will go back to my favorite saying... "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going".  This is my mantra for my evening dinners these days. During the day, work (office, house & kids) keep me super busy & I totally forget to plan for dinners. So when the clock strikes 5pm, my mind always goes into the fridge & tries to figure out what to cook which will be easy & healthy and will be liked (and swallowed) by kids).  This twist on my all time favorite spinach Moong daal dosa, incorporates a variety of vegetables & makes a yummy uttapam for week night dinners.  What I used.. 2 cups skinless moong daal Small piece of ginger + 1 green chili 7 or 8 curry leaves - finely chopped 1 cup finely grated carrots (Use the good old chopper & the task will be SO easy) 1 cup finely grated cabbage 1 bunch green onions - very very finely chopped Salt & pepper to taste Garam masala (or skip if your family does not like it) Red chilli flakes (skip if you...

 After the success and multiple bakes of the simple vanilla cake 🍰 🎂, this mango cake was a just calling out to be baked & devoured... Yes Devoured... :)  This mango cake is a twist on the Simple Cake recipe on this blog which is one of our go-to recipes during the pandemic. What I used... 1.5 cups Pancake Mix 2 Eggs (brown) 1/4 cup vegetable oil + wee bit more to grease the cake pan 1/2 cup mango puree 1/4 cup sugar (white preferable) Process Set the oven to 350 F Grease a small cake pan with wee bit oil Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl until a smooth batter is obtained Pour the batter into the cake pan Bake for 15 - 17 mins & do a toothpick test.

 Post-Holiday Breakfast can be a killer. After hours of slogging in the kitchen the night before, no one (I repeat, NO ONE) wants to slog again for breakfast the morning after. These spiced Apple muffins are designed to serve as the best breakfast. They are "make ahead" .. "store in an air-tight container for days"... "Can be consumed with milk or coffee & taste equally good" and last but not the least have the yummy flavor of spices & Apples which are so apt of the winters. I have used regular gala apples & I am sure the Granny smith kind will be good as well.  I have peeled the Apples however a lot of recipes ask to keep the skin intact.  I have used a mixture of Ground All-Spice  & Cinnamon for that kick of warm spices.  This recipe uses Eggs & regular AP flour.  What I used 2 cups Maida or AP flour 1.5 tsp Baking Powder 1/4 tsp Salt 2 tsp Ground All-Spice + 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon 2 medium Gala Apples Peeled Chopped into very small pi...

 The concept is super simple.  You want to eat vegetarian food which should... Be One-Pot which can then be put in the Dishwasher Use frozen vegetables so that I don't have to chop them Take very very less time to cook Be flavorful with typical Indian flavors Not have Gluten because it is not good for me to have gluten at night (causes Migraine) Be good for kids & grown-ups equally. That is when you take out the ever so dependable Instant Pot 6Qt, thaw some frozen organic mixed vegetables like carrots, peas, beans & corn kernel, wash up some basmati rice.... and Lo & Behold... Your One-Pot Light Gluten Free Dinner is READY. What I used 1 cup Basmati rice 2 cups of Frozen vegetables 1/2 red tomato chopped 2 tsp Neutral oil or Ghee 1 tsp cumin seeds + whole garam masala (Cardamoms + Cinnamon stick etc) 2 tsp Pulao masala 6 Qt. Instant Pot Wooden spoon/spatula Process Wash the rice thoroughly until water runs clear & keep them soaked until they are ready to be use...

There is no story for this recipe. This recipe is what I call a "CRY FOR GREEN FOOD IN YOUR DIET". Yes, I have been trying to get as much greens into our diets since many months now. Especially because they are nutrition dense & when it comes to baby spinach, they are really tasty too. I am not a huge fan of the regular spinach and they can be bitter but the baby spinach is not.  But then, what can you make with baby spinach? I tried them in Soup & Pasta and then in Khichdi and everywhere they lost their authority & face. While their taste lingered, their color was gone.  So I thought if instead of pureeing them, I just chopped them fine & added them to the Flour and made a paratha dough, then it'd look nice & surely it did.  Here's what I used 2 cups of roughly chopped baby spinach 2 tbsp dried fenugreek (aka Kasuri Methi) 1 cup of whole wheat flour Salt + Turmeric + Red chilli powder + Garam masala powder (all to taste) 1/4 cup yoghurt 2 tbsp Bes...

 The holidays always brings the zeal to bake. I am unsure why that is but every time Thanksgiving & Christmas holidays come around, you'd see almost everyone in the world will be baking something at home. The sweet smell of home baked goodies is so satisfying that even if I am staying away from Gluten, I want to bake cakes & cookies & tarts and stuff my family with them.  PS : No, I am not allergic, I am just reducing gluten in my diet to help with my migraines Growing up in Odisha, cakes & cookies were a rare thing. Mother would bake this simple vanilla cake in her Bajaj electric oven (with a glass top) or in her BIG HUGE Hawkins pressure cooker without the sealing ring or whistle and it'd be perfect in taste. Sometimes the cake's top would be so puffed up that it'd look like a volcano (Hindi word : Jwalamukhi).  This simple tutti fruity cake is kind of inspired by that home made vanilla cake that mother used to bake. Most of her bakes were eggless ...

 Let's start with the fact that I really do not like the "Prathamastami" as a festival. For whatever reason, the Odiya society decided to venerate & praise & give new clothes to the eldest child of the family along with a whole set of responsibilities & what-not. In my humble opinion, it should be a festival to celebrate all children of the family not just the eldest one.  Someone was even smarter to come up with something for the second child (in case they felt bad) called "Duhaan Podhuan" but then that was a weak attempt too because many (many) families have more than 2 children. What about the 3rd child now? What are we going to do about them? Aren't they humans? Don't they have hearts?  So anyways, in all I am not a huge fan of the festival in it's concept.  The food attached to it however.... YUMMM... The fragrant Enduri Pitha made inside of a pocket created with fresh turmeric leaves & steamed to perfection.. OMG..  Whether it i...

 Thanks to my dependable Vegetable chopper & the super innovative Instant Pot, making Gajar Halwa is literally "Halwa" (Indian street language for something super easy & silly).  It was an Odiya festival. Now, I have forgotten which exact festival it was but I do remember is that we were asked to make "bhoga" for "thakura" and something sweet should be made for "Thakura". Also, it was a weekend & I was in the mood for wearing saree (it being a festival & all). So there I was draped in a yellow saree which my M.I.L gave me the first time I went to her home after the wedding, with my small food chopper & about 2 Lbs of carrots, all ready to make the famous Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Porridge) What I used 2 Lbs Carrots  Cleaned --> Peeled --> Chopped into small pieces --> Chopped further in the food chopper into very very fine (almost created) texture 4 - 5 tbsp Ghee 1/4 cups halved cashews 1/4 cups raisins 4 cardamoms crush...

 Some days are just so lazy that they inspire you to do one-pot meals which is full of the right combination of Carbs + Veggies + Fat right in a Pressure Cooker. Those are the days when your hands & legs have given up totally. Those are the days when your mind has stopped thinking about food. Those are the days when the creativity has reached it's fullest content. When that happens to you, try this recipe. It is a super quick recipe because I used Organic Frozen Vegetables & Yes, I used my good old Indian Hawkins Pressure cooker for this recipe (as the title suggests).  This recipe is Gluten Free & gets done in like 15 minutes or so and is best enjoyed with some simple Raita  & Pakudi or Papad or may be a sprinkle of thin sev. Take your pick. It's a lazy day/night so do your best. You deserve a little downtime.  What I used 1 cup Basmati Rice Washed & soaked in water (till we are ready to use it) 1.5 cups organic Frozen Vegetables. I have the pre-...

 Do you remember any wedding that you went to which had amazing desserts? Any reception or wedding party where you enjoyed a bowl full of kheer rather than the actual main course meal?  I do. I remember very vividly my brother-in-law's wedding in Winter 2010 where the rice kheer (In Odiya we call it Kheeri) was to die for. Whoever knows me will know that I do not have a sweet tooth. I don't prefer sweets. Given the choice between sweet & savory, I will always pick savory. BUT... this kheeri was so yummy & the more it sat in the fridge, it tasted yummier.  After some asking around, I found that the trick was the whole milk & milk powder that was used & the kheer was cooked on low heat for a very very long time and it had the perfect mix of rice + mik etc etc. Well all these statements were not really helping me because no one (I repeat NO ONE) knew the exact measurements.  So I tried & tested this recipe almost every year during the winter break (B...