Besan and Coconut Barfi

This is also called the 7-cup barfi. Barfi is an Indian fudge that is commonly made to celebrate festivals and other wonderful events in our lives. There are so many kind of barfis. This is a very easy to make barfi, it uses a few ingredients and does not take too much time either..

I learnt to make this barfi on my very recent trip to Arizona. We had a family reunion there and spent most of our waking moments, laughing, talking and sharing recipes. My sis-in-law's friend made these barfis for us. They were so delicious that I had to get the recipe. She was very gracious in sharing it with us. This barfi tastes a little like Mysore Pak. Try it and see, you will be hooked too.

Subzi Pakora Chaat

Tempura-like-batter-coated fried vegetables called pakoras layered with hot, sweet, salty and sour chutneys is another popular snack food in India.

This is another great recipe from  660 Curries cookbook, I adapted it a little to my style. You can serve this as an appetizer, or a snack. Just be prepared to make this a lot as this will be the most requested dish at your home.

 This is so simple to make once you have all the chutneys in place. I put off making this dish for the longest time thinking that it would not taste that special. After all pakoras are quite common in our household. However, the other day when I was making some onion pakora, I decided to go all out and make the Sabzi Pakora Chaat. It turned out to be such a hit with both my husband and my son. My son even came for seconds !

This dish does have a couple of chutneys, which are easily available in any Indian grocery store, or you can make them at home. Once the chutneys are in place this dish comes together rather quickly and disappears twice as fast. Do not be intimidated by the number of steps in the recipe, it is fairly easy to make. So once you fry enough of the pakoras , assemble them and pour the chutneys on them and serve. These taste best when hot or warm.

Sindhi Kadhi

Another Sindhi influenced dish that we love and have adapted to be part of our menu repertoire. This delicious kadhi is a little spicy and a little tangy and is laden with vegetables which makes it quite nutritious too.

Since it is so cold outside, we tend to stay indoors a lot. I will not say winter is my favorite month, there are a lot of things that I do not like but I am going to list the things I do love about winter.  You see I am practicing being optimistic, so here goes. I love to watch the snow fall, I love the way my breath fogs up as I talk. I love cuddling next to lit fireplaces with a mug of hot chocolate in my hand. And I love big bowls of hot soups for lunch and hot dals and curries over rice for dinners. And last but not least I love how everything looks white and pristine the morning after a snow fall.

Besan Ke Ladoo

I would like to wish all my friends and family a very Happy Diwali. So Diwali is here again and in the flurry of getting the home all spic and span and making sweets, I have neglected to post these recipes sooner. And now that there is only one day left I thought I will post a recipe that requires minimum effort and gives maximum pleasure !

So here is my very easy to make, delicious Besan Ke Ladoo recipe. This recipe is from my college days and was part of one of the menus in our cookery class. When I brought some of these ladoos home, my mom and grandma loved them and my grandma even made me make these again for her.

The only thing to keep in mind is to let the mixture cool down thoroughly. Also do not worry if your mixture feels too soft and your balls are flattening. If this happens, make all the balls and keep them on a plate and after 15 minutes roll each ball again between the palm of your hands. The mixture would have hardened a little and the balls will maintain their shape, this time.




Besan Ke Ladoo

Vada Pav

Vada pav is the quintessential Indian burger. It is one of the most popular street foods in India especially Mumbai. In Mumbai you will see these everywhere; outside local train stations, near shopping areas, next to colleges etc.

It is quick, cheap, filling and most of all delicious and many a Mumbaite will have this for a quick lunch on the go. I practically lived off this stuff during my training in that city.

I have tried to create my favorite vada pav recipe. There are a lot of vada pav recipes on the web and they are all pretty much the same except for adding little more masalas or different chutneys. This is based on Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe . He is the king of Indian cuisine and I do love his recipes.


You can use dinner rolls or burger buns, in India they use the 'ladi pav'. If you are using the dinner rolls , you can make your vadas a little smaller, however, if you are using burger buns, like me, make the vadas slighly larger.

Try this popular Mumbai Burger and have it the mumbai-style with a hot cup of chai. This dish brings back so many fond memories.



Vada Pav