Saffron Trail

healthy vegetarian cooking

Easy Indian Cooking, Tips

Tips and tricks to help you with Indian cooking

This Cooking Tips series is all about making cooking easier- right from buying and storing groceries / produce to kitchen hacks, time saving shortcuts and tips to make your life easier in the kitchen. This post rounds up some of the useful tricks to have up your sleeve for Indian cooking! [This list will be updated regularly, so do bookmark it for easy reference.] If you liked this post, also check out:

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  • Today’s harvest apart from the big haul of spinach! Check that out in stories 🌿 ✨Double beans - I so love the speckled beans inside ✨Few baby bittergourds ✨Cherry tomatoes ✨Sweet potatoes . As the weather turns cooler, I’m praying for a more productive garden. I got some beautiful black and purple speckled runner beans from my Airbnb host in Oxford and sowed them in my garden. They are a couple of inches tall now. CANNOT WAIT! #saffrontrail
  • Mumbai style veggie and chutney sandwich grilled in the old fashioned stovetop toaster along with some ginger chai- my kinda happy meal. You agree? . #saffrontrail #breakfast
  • Dinner last night for friends - For snacks, I made a mint murukku and bite sized masala vadas. For dinner- ✨Potato roast ✨Onion sambar ✨Pomegranate cucumber salad ✨Banana raita (missing in pic) ✨Onion vadam and banana chips ✨Badam halwa and Mysore Pak . Instagram tip: Save this pic if you'd like to try this menu in the future :) I do that with interesting recipes and menu ideas all the time 😊
  • This is my fav pic of me from this Diwali and more so because it's clicked by my fav photographer - my son 🤗 He gets better with every click and also brings out the most natural look from me. . He does get a bit impatient when I ask him to compose the shot better (read as not cutting my head off or including the messy corner in the frame) but he's a quick learner :) Looks like I'll finally have photos that are more than just selfies 😁 . Saree - an old Kanjivaram from 2004 - I'm not a 100% sure, my guess is it's from @tulsisilks Chennai. The saree is very grand so I wanted to pair it with a simpler blouse as I was mostly between home, music class and some neighbour visits. Blouse @umbaradesigns (swipe to see)
  • This Diwali, I reduced the number of tealights drastically and lit more traditional oil lamps. More time consuming yes. Messier too. But some of these burn for 14 hours at a stretch, lesser waste and much more satisfying. . A wonderful few days, indulging in favourite foods, sharing goodies with friends and neighbours, and now the daily routine awaits, which is also a joy and comfort 😊 Hope you all had a fun filled Diwali !
  • Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Deepavali ✨✨✨ . Mullu murukku and Ribbon Pakoda from my amma's recipes explained over the phone. Jowar laddoo with coconut and sesame seeds adapted from @acefoodie 's recipe Cocoa burfi from @shaanthram 's recipe (Her Deepavali prep and recipes are the best. Reminds me of my family coming together and making all these goodies ) . Yesterday Dhanteras was wonderful with our community event for the people who work here, husband gifting me something special 🚘and @madebygoogle making me smile with their Pixel 3XL gift personalised in the sweetest way! . Spending my morning with a cup of coffee, listening to Pandit Jasraj and basking in gratitude. This picture captured on the new #pixel3xl 😍
  • [Diwali Delights] #stXdiwali . ✨✨✨✨I shall be posting a recipe a day until Diwali that you can make for the festive season. Tag me if you try any of these and I shall repost my favs in my stories. The hashtag #stXDiwali will be used in all my Diwali recipes ✨✨✨✨ . One of the easiest savoury goodies to make for Diwali and which involves no deep frying is this Chivda made using puffed rice. You can also make one using roasted flattened rice (poha) which I’ll share with you tomorrow. Wishing you a very happy Deepavali for all those celebrating early morning tomorrow and to others a happy chhoti Diwali 💕💕💕 . Here’s the super easy recipe for this one: Makes 12 servings Ingredients 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 3-4 dried red chillies, broken into pieces 2 sprigs curry leaves 1/2 cup raw peanuts 1/4 cup cashew nut halves 1/4 cup dried coconut bits (copra) 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional) 1 teaspoon salt 200 grams puffed rice Method In a large saute pan, heat oil. Fry mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves until seeds pop. ✨ Add the nuts and dried coconut pieces and fry on medium fame until cashews and coconut turn golden brown. ✨ Stir in the spice powders and salt. ✨ Add the puffed rice to this tempering and stir together on a low flame until it is combined well with seasonings. If needed, divide into two batches and proceed. ✨ When slightly cooled, transfer to airtight containers.
  • Egg dosa made fancy for Sunday special breakfast -- topped with tender spinach, ripe avocado, sliced chilies and red cabbage microgreens (thank you @livingfood.co for the green gifts) . A touch of green livens up any dish for me 😍 Double tap if you agree ☺️

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