Saffron Trail

healthy vegetarian cooking

Uncategorized

Eggplant salad with spicy greens – From garden to plate

Brinjal Blooms – I like these more than the vegetable 🙂 There are people you love at first sight and you can’t wait to know them more and spend more time with them. Then there are others who you can’t decide about. But you wouldn’t mind meeting them once in a while. And finally, the third type, wh

by  
Leave a Comment
Uncategorized

Saraswat Lunch Menu from Rasachandrika

Regional Indian cooking has such variety that it’s mind-boggling. Every culture has had it’s cookbook bible that it trusts to preserve the heritage and authenticity – Meenakshi Ammal is one such great lady who put down traditional Tamil cuisine in three volumes. Such books are not only wonderful to discover in our kitchens the kind of food that is hardly ever available in restaurants, but also to give a great insight into the other cultures in our country. I can say the same about some of the food blogs 🙂 Rasachandrika, written by Ambabai Samshi is one such cooking bible for Saraswat community – and I was glad to buy it a few months ago – this showcases Chitrapur Saraswat cooking

by  
Leave a Comment

AS FEATURED IN

AS FEATURED IN
  • not always in a saree and big bindi
  • Two delicious recipes that use whole bunches of spring onions for that punch of allium flavour as well as the bright green colour- in my latest column for Mint Lounge. . Sharing the recipes below so you can save the post to your folders / take screenshots. . ❓Apart from using them as a garnish, what are your favourite ways to use spring onions❓ . SPRING ONION ‘AKKI ROTTI’ Makes 4 INGREDIENTS 2 tsp oil 2 cups spring onion greens, finely chopped 2-3 green chillies, sliced 2 tbsp peanuts, crushed 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp fresh coconut, grated 1 cup rice flour 2-3 tsp oil for cooking METHOD Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and sauté spring onion greens until wilted. Stir in green chillies and peanuts. Add one cup water to this along with salt and coconut. Bring to a boil. Empty the cup of rice flour in the water. Turn off flame, cover and keep aside to steam for 10 minutes. Using a wooden ladle, incorporate all the flour into the liquid to make a dough. Remove on to a flat surface and knead to form a smooth dough. Divide the dough into four portions. Between two plastic sheets or baking paper, roll out into a thick roti. Cook on both sides on a hot pan using a few drops of oil until golden spots appear. Serve with coconut chutney or podi. SPRING ONION AND POTATO SALAD Serves 2 INGREDIENTS 250g potatoes (4 small) 1 tbsp olive oil 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced (optional) 1 cup spring onion greens, finely chopped 1/4 tsp salt A pinch of chilli flakes 2 tsp lemon juice 2 tsp wholegrain mustard METHOD Pressure cook or boil the potatoes. Peel and cut into 1-inch size chunks. Over low heat, sauté the garlic in oil in a pan. Add celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Toss in the chopped spring onion greens and stir on medium flame for 3-4 minutes or until wilted. Add the potatoes, salt and chilli flakes and toss well. Remove into a bowl. Add lemon juice and wholegrain mustard and toss well to combine. Serve warm or cold .
  • That was dinner last evening. Cabbage subzi with onion and potato, carrot-cucumber-basil salad with salt and lemon juice, phulkas and dahi. According to my son, I make the perfect cabbage to go with roti and ammama (my mum) makes the perfect cabbage to go with Rasam rice 😍 . I like to stick to a very simple dinner on Mondays which means either roti subzi or dal rice kinda menu. Much needed if the weekend has been frought with indulgences.
  • Making our day better by simply sitting in a corner of a room- this lovely bunch of flowers. . I subscribe to this weekly flower box from @theshadesofspring and they send us a surprise mix of flowers every Saturday. . Check my stories for more pics
  • Inspiration can come in any form. Whether it be food, fashion or even furniture. This marshmallow inspired sofa is a prime example how one can beautifully be #Reinspired. @scriptonlineind has found the perfect balance of style and comfort to provided a unique #FreedomOfLiving. Guess it's time to #ScriptMySpace. . . Tell me how you’ll reinspire these marshmallows? I plan to dip them in the melted chocolate and then drizzle white chocolate and sprinkles over it 😍
  • Currently in harvest mode are these green Mysore brinjals and small sized karelas --swipe to see these plants in my garden. . Do share with me your ideas for these two veggies🍆🍃 because I'm going to have a lot of these in the coming days😁
  • in my happy place . . . . This saree is over 12 years old bought from Kalanjali -Hyderabad
  • This beautiful song from the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is set in Raag Khamaj. It’s a tough one sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Javed Bashir, took me quite a bit of practice to learn at least some of the soulful nuances of this number.

Follow Me @saffrontrail