Pepper 'n Spice

Pakoda originated in India. It can be made from paneer, potato or onion. We usually eat pakodas in the monsoon season. There is something magical about its crispiness during the rains. My mom surprised us today evening with these potato stuffed fritters. It was awesome!  Potato - 2, cooked, peeled and mashed Onion - 1, thinly sliced Green chilly -1, minced Ginger - 1 inch, grated Salt - as required Multi-grain bread slices - 4 Vegetable oil Shallow fry the onion, chilly and ginger until onion is golden brown. Add salt and mashed potato. Soak bread in water and squeeze well. Crumble it into potato mixture and stir till evenly combined. Remove from heat. Make small round balls or long shapes. Deep fry. Serve with tomato sauce. Quick tip - Bread pakoda and soup is a great combination.

The cake has a subtle orange flavour. If you have left over oranges, add slices in water for a refreshing drink. Fruit-infused drinks are popular to make water taste better and hence making you drink more. Try with slices of strawberry, lemon or cucumber too.  Plain flour - 1 and 1/2 cup Baking powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Orange zest - 1/2 cup Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup Butter - 1/2 cup Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Organic eggs - 3 Freshly squeezed orange juice - 1/2 cup Sieve flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add orange zest too.  Combine well. In another bowl, beat sugar and butter until well blended. Add essence. Into this, break eggs one by one, beating well each time. Add flour mixture, stirring until combined. Pour the orange juice and stir until evenly moistened. Pour cake batter into greased cake tin. Preheat oven to 180 C. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool...

Every time there is broccoli with dark green heads and crisp stalks at our local shop, I pick one. Broccoli in any cooked form is welcome in our home. Broccoli is a cross between cauliflower and pea. It contains a lot of phytochemicals which help ward off disease. All of the florets, its stem and side shoots can be used in dishes. A short cooking time brings out the best flavor and green color of the broccoli. I prefer to steam.  Leek, the white part - 1, thinly sliced Garlic - 2 pods, crushed Ginger - 1 inch, grated Olive oil - 4 Tbsp Broccoli - 1 Carrot - 1. peeled and thinly diced Potato - 1, peeled and thinly diced Chicken soup cubes - 3 Water - 2 cups Salt - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Pepper - 1/2 tsp Fresh coriander leaves - a few Blanch broccoli florets and its stems with a pinch of turmeric, salt and warm water. Steam broccoli, carrot and potato until they become soft. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic a...

Our neighbor aunt, Lillykutty has a mango tree which has hundreds of mangoes at this time of year. She gives us bucketloads of them as we all love mangoes, especially my little one. Fresh fruit juice is always good for health and hydrating too. This simple juice needs only : Mango, ripe - 3, peeled and coarsely chopped Carrot - 1, peeled and thinly sliced Apple - 1/4 piece, peeled and thinly sliced Freshly squeezed orange juice - 1/4 cup Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated Salt - a pinch Water - 1/2 cup In a blender, puree all the ingredients. The juice is ready. This juice tastes fresh because of the carrot and ginger in it. Enjoy the day!

The concept of cupcakes came into being because of the reduced time it takes to bake as compared to a whole cake. They were also initially called number cakes or 1234 cakes as it was easy to recollect the portion sizes of each of its ingredients - the recipe had butter, sugar, flour and eggs in the ratio 1:2:3:4. I use the spices, cardamom and star anise in this recipe. I accidentally discovered star anise when I was shopping for spices for my masala chai. It has a strong, distinct flavour. So I tried it with this cake. And the aroma at baking time was mild and pleasant. No wonder there are star anise perfumes! When I want to make more cupcakes, I just double all the ingredients. The ingredients are : Plain flour - 3/4 cup Baking powder - 1 tsp Milk powder - 2 Tbsp Cinnamon powder - a pinch Fresh cream - 1/4 cup Sugar - 1/4 cup Green cardamom pods - 4 Star anise - 1, small Vanilla essence - 5 or 6 drops Milk - 1/2 cup Sieve flour, baking powder and cinnamon...

Soup is a warm comfort food. There are clear soups and thick soups. This spinach soup is a thick one. I was encouraged to try making soups when my uncle, Ashok shared a soup recipe with me. Soups make you feel full because it contains a lot of water and fiber. Don't throw away any of the water that you use for cooking the vegetables or meat for a soup - it can be used for the broth.  Spinach Onion - 1 small, thinly sliced Ginger - 1/2 inch Green chilli - 1, sliced into small circles Potato - 1 small, peeled and diced Olive oil - 2 Tbsp Salt - as required Pepper - 1/2 tsp Chicken masala - 1 tsp Water - 1 cup Wash the spinach leaves and remove the stems. In a pan on medium heat, add the oil. Once it warms up, add the ginger, chilli and onion. Saute till the onion becomes soft.  Add the spices, Then the potato and spinach and 1/2 cup water. Stir around till the potato gets cooked. This might take a few minutes. Also the spinach will wilt. Allow this to cool. Then...

Cutlet is minced meat or vegetable dipped in egg, then rolled over breadcrumbs and fried. The North Indian vegetarian cutlet is called aloo tikki, made from potatoes, chili and onion. We usually use the canned tuna in our breakfast sandwiches. I thought I would try a variation; making cutlets from it. It turned out nice and crisp, perfect with rice. My little one liked it as a pav filling. The cooking is surprisingly simple; mashing, dipping, frying. I sneaked in some spinach leaves to add a little greens into the food. The tuna cutlets need the following : Tuna - 1 can Potato - 1 small, boiled and peeled Onion - 1 small, thinly sliced Green chilli - 1, sliced into small pieces Ginger - 1 inch, peeled and grated Cumin - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Chicken masala - 1 1/2 tsp Salt - 1 1/2 tsp Spinach - a handful, washed and shredded into small pieces Olive oil - 4 Tbsp Organic egg - 1 White bread - 2 Squeeze out the water from the can of ...