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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  • Any place I visit, markets are a must go for me. The Central Market in Port Louis did not disappoint. Established in around 1830s soon after the migrant indentured labourers started coming over to Mauritius, this market has fresh produce, meats, spices and a wide range of souvenirs to take back home. . * in these photos- -Roselle flowers which they use for achaar and also jams -Soup mix- pumpkin, carrot, celery and cabbage -Eggplant -Chow chow/chayote squash that they call Christophene and use extensively -Watercress -Pumpkins -Patty pan squash -Cabbage --Variety of chillies (piment) -Rocket chillies . @mtpaindia #disvovermauritius
  • You have the sea, the sky, a glorious sunrise and you think it's just perfect. And then nature tops it with a rainbow as if to say, here I just wanted to make your morning even more special. #gratitude 🌸🌸🌸 . Photo credit: @pikturenama . . #discovermauritius with @mtpaindia
  • Lunch at the restaurant within the sugar museum l'aventure du sucre - their dessert Chocolate Fondant alone is said to be worth traveling to this restaurant. It was a truly decadent dessert. The main was an Indian thali which looked better than it tasted. . This is a good attraction for the whole family with a large museum built in the earstwhile Beau Plan factory, the restaurant, a store where you can buy 12 kinds of sugar and the New Grove rum store. Swipe to see all the photos. . #STxMRU #saffrontrail #discovermauritius
  • Woke up at 5 this morning, did a video call with my son, told him about my plans for the day. Brewed a cup of coffee in the room and then went out to watch the sky colours at sunrise. A yoga session with the teacher at the hotel facing the sea and the blue skies followed by breakfast. I had an avocado on toast and a flat white. The avo toast had my fav kinda topping ie toasted seeds and also a bit of sting from the chilli oil πŸ˜‹ This is at The Restaurant at Salt of Palmar @saltresorts #wearesalt . Now we are off to explore some parts of Mauritius. Stay tuned to my stories for the sightseeing updates 🌞🌞🌞 . I'm on this trip with @mtpaindia to #discovermauritius #STxMRU
  • This post is to say hello to all of you who have started following me recently! πŸ‘‹ . Hi! I'm Nandita. I live in Bangalore and am mum to a 10 year old boy. I have been blogging about healthy lifestyle + vegetarian cooking on saffrontrail.com since 2006 - completing 13+ years of blogging. My cookbook The Everyday Healthy Vegetarian was published in Dec 2017. I write a fortnightly food column for Mint Lounge. I love creating recipes that are both healthy and delicious. . I've studied medicine but found my passion in food, nutrition, lifestyle management and writing. I learn Hindustani Classical music (find some of my singing in the MUSIC tab of highlights). You'll also find a bit of gardening and home decor on my feed. . I am currently in 🌊 Mauritius with @mtpaindia to #discovermauritius and share my journey with you. Our day one is at the stunning boutique hotel called Salt of Palmar @saltresorts #wearesalt which is so in tune with principles of sustainability and near zero plastic usage in the property. . If you recently started following me, do say hello in the comments and tell me where you are from! Looking forward to hearing from you.😍 . . #STxMRU πŸ“Έ@thatdoggonelady
  • I have a busy day today plus eating out lunch so I prepped this salad for my dinner. Will blanche kale leaves, add some ev olive oil and lemon juice and top with my toasted seed mix just before eating. That may be followed by some mango and yogurt πŸ˜‹ . In the salad: Carrot, cucumber, pomegranate, raw mango that has ripened somewhat, mung sprouts, curly kale . For more such healthy eating ideas, follow @saffrontrail
  • These flowers really made Mother's Day all the more beautiful! Thank you @la_fleur_in πŸ’› . . RESOURCES: Vintage style Pallankuzhi game from @westsidestores Jug from @freedomtreehome Bamboo lamp @urbanladder
  • My son and me bond a lot over food and cooking. . Watching episodes of Masterchef Australia together, discussing the dishes made by each of the contestants and wondering what we can replicate in our kitchen is one of our favorite things to do. In fact, watching this series has been a learning experience for him in combining textures and flavors in a dish. He has a keen sense of taste and it's no surprise that he is the main taster of all the dishes I make. . When I first taught him how to make ginger tea, he prepared a chart of the timings, ingredients etc. to get it right every single time just the way mummy likes it 😍 . Today for Mother's Day, I wanted to teach him how to make a mango shake a little bit fancier with the additional of a couple of unusual ingredients. We reached out for the convenient packets of MilkLane milk, which we prefer because it is safe from any toxins, antibiotics and has no preservatives or adulterants. We also made use of seasonal ripe mangoes, dried rose petals and sabja (basil seeds) to make these pretty looking milk shakes. Here's the recipe: . To make 2 cups . 1.5 cups MilkLane milk 1 large ripe mango, peeled and cubed 1 tsp dried rose petals (you can also use Gulkand) 2-3 ice cubes . for garnish: 1 tsp sabja seeds pinch of dried rose petals 1 tsp of finely diced mango -- In a blender, blend 1 cup milk with 1 tsp dried rose petals, mango cubes + ice cubes until you get a smooth texture. Divided this between two cups or glasses. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup milk between the two glasses, sprinkling the sabja seeds over the milk. Garnish with crumbled dried rose petals and tiny pieces of mango. Serve chilled. . Contest – Share with me one of your Mother's Day moments or your special dish with milk by tagging me in your post or story and the best 3 entries get a hamper from @milklane_official Entries from Bangalore address only (Sponsored content) . Happy Mother’s Day to all of you πŸ’•πŸ’•πŸ’•

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