The Best Thing in the World is Edible

Potatoes - Rusty and Best!

2010-06-14T10:16:00.000-04:00

Potatoes are miracle tubers packed with energy. Fried, Mashed, Baked - in any form they taste delicious. If they are part of a dish, they give special flavor to the dish. Starting the day with a baked potato for breakfast is very good. I like them in very many ways... So here are some delicious recipes. Most of them serves 2.

1. The (Indian) Potato fry/curry:

    Potatoes (white/red) - 6 small (cut with skin into 1/2 inch cubes)
    Olive Oil/Gingely oil - 1-2 Tbsp
    Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
    Chilly Powder - 1-2 tsp (based on the spiciness you want)
    Salt - As per taste (1-2 tsp)
    Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
    Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
    Curry leaves - 2 strands

In a pan heat a little gingely oil, add mustard seeds, once it splatters add cumin & curry leaves. Now add the potatoes, stir well so that the oil blends in with the potatoes. Sprinkle some water, cover and let it cook for 5 mins over medium flame. Once they are slightly done, add turmeric and chilly powder. Keep it closed again for 10 mins. The bottom would be slightly roasted now. Stir the potatoes again and leave them for 10 more mins. Once they are done remove them from flame.

* Alternatively you can add more masala to increase the flavor.
* Or just stick with pepper and salt only to get a French fries feel.
* May be mix in Italian herbs instead and toast it in the conventional oven for 1/2 hr @ 375 degrees.
* Chop up some garlic with it to reduce any gastric effects it may cause and to give a different flavor.
* Instead you could sauté some Onion & Peas in oil and add the boiled potatoes. And mix in turmeric, chili powder, salt and garam masala and make nice potato masala for Puri, Chapathi or Dosa. Could also be used as a filling for somasas and veggie puffs!

2. Mashed Potato:

    Potatoes - 3 Medium
    Milk - 1/2 cup
    Butter - 1 tbsp
    Pepper powder - 1 tsp freshly ground
    Salt - 1/2 to 1 tsp
    Rosemary - fresh or dry 1 tsp

Boil the potatoes in pressure cooker or stove top with water. Alternatively you can boil it for 6 mins in microwave on high. Cool it under running water and once comfortable to handle peel off the skin. Throw them in a bowl and mash them well using a fork or a masher. Add in the butter, salt, rosemary and pepper and mix them well. Finally mix in the milk. Refrigerate it for 30 mins before serving. Some pics here from my kitchen :)

* If you are fine with egg, then boil a whole egg, remove the outer shell, chop it into little pieces and mix it into the mashed potato :)

3. Baked Potato:

Traditionally it is done in the conventional oven. The taste will be good if you use the russet potatoes (thick skin dark brown). Clean the potatoes and scrub well. Then butter the skin and leave it in the oven @ 375 degrees for around an hour. Check after 35 mins for a turnover.

You could also do it in the microwave. After cleaning in a bowl pour 1/2 cup of water for two potatoes. Poke the potatoes with a fork deep enough. Rub some butter on the outside. Microwave on high for 5 mins, then turn the potatoes and microwave for another five mins.

After the potatoes are baked, make a slit and push the edges to open it up. Spoon in some butter and some fresh pepper. Top it off with lite-sour cream and chopped chives. Enjoy!

Bisibele Bath - A comfort yet nutritious food!

2010-05-18T09:04:00.002-04:00

Bisibele Bath - is a Karnataka (India) based dish, roughly translating to "Hot Lentil Rice". Though Tamilians might wave a hand and say this is nothing but a version of "Sambar Rice", the nutrient composition makes it quite different. Incase you want to try, check out the recipe in annasaarupalya .

I have made it a few times, but only this Friday it dawned on me. This dish has some amazing features.

1. Its protein content is high because of the Rice and twice the amount of Lentils used.

2. The Carbs are also balanced as the lentils have carbs and the rice used is less.

3. Mostly for this dish an assortment of vegetables are used. For 4 people I am used to adding atleast 3 cups of veggies (mix of atleast 5 types).

4. The good fat Ghee (clarified butter) is added for frying the raw masala ingredients, the quantity used can be limited. In restaurants they tend to increase this amount, but not to dangerous amounts.

5. This dish can be a sole dish in a meal or can be made as a main course of a multi course meal. It can be combined with a side of veggies or papadum (the way I like it!)

What impressed me was the carbs + protein + fat ratio. It is 1:2:0.5, this is something every dietician would recommend, for a food to be so tasty yet completely balanced all by itself is not common. The ancient Indians must have been quite thoughtful to come up with this. mmm... guess I need to do find more such complete comfort foods from my country.

Haveli - Scary Good!

2010-04-20T19:35:00.007-04:00

I think it’s been a while since I wrote about restaurants. I do eat in a few now and then but never got to pen them down. So here is one.

Haveli is near the downtown of Middletown and is a little far-off from the highway. It was not a planned visit for me, I generally go to Udupi and on Mondays it is closed so decided to try this one. When I arrived there, the place caught me by surprise, It was in a turning below a huge rock and had a rustic look, if not for the GPS I think I would have easily missed it. Haveli to me is more of a Rajasthani Mansion with garden and I have seen a few. But this one looked like a rich vilan's house with cheetahs inviting at the door. The door itself was a sturdy wood with a metal knob and there was no feel of a restaurant inside.

Inspite of the spookiness I barged in and was perplexed to find more of the mansion feel inside. A waiter took me to the table immediately and gave a menu card. There was nothing different about the dishes though. It was a typical North Indian (in US) restaurant's menu. I decided to go for a Thali (full meals) as I was really hungry. Within minutes he came back with the starter samosa and tea. They were small and nice. Tea was good as well, but had to mention Indian chai, else would have got hot black water. The soup was also quick after this, followed by the food platter with rice, curries (4), dhal, yogurt, chapatti & dessert. The taste was really good and the swiftness was impressive. The food was light too, not oily at all. Mine was vegetarian so not sure how the non-veg would taste. The total cost felt a bit on the higher end, seemed OK for once in a while visit.

The settings inside gave a clean and rich look with huge paintings and sculptures, it was different. Definitely worth a visit, if you manage to get past the scary outlook :)!

Lazy Smoothie ;)

2010-04-20T16:42:00.004-04:00

Yesterday evening after getting back from the gym the lack of sleep over the weekend made me tired and sleepy. I wanted to have something light, soothing and easy to make item so that I can finish the other pending things and go to bed early. Remember the fruit salad I described in the pervious post? Well I had some leftover from that night. I was thinking of filling a bowl of that and eating it, but then somehow I wanted juice, hence decided to go with smoothie. Back at home I never knew about *smoothie, I have always had milk shakes or plain fresh fruit juices. I love the ones in “Jamba Juice” and always wanted to try them at home. I have made mango smoothie but never attempted a mixed fruit one.

So here is what I used (gave 3 servings):

Apple - 1, chopped into big chunks (remove the skin if you want to)
Strawberries - 4, halved.
Papaya –1 cup
Fruit salad left over - 1.5 cups (grapes, oranges, strawberries, apple)
Honey - 2-3 tbsp (it’s better than sugar, but if you won’t agree by all means go on with sugar)
Plain non-fat yogurt - 1/4 cups (can increase quantity & use regular if preferred)
Ice - 6-7 cubes (But I used water instead)

Added everything to the blender (or the Indian mixer’s juice jar), after a minute's swirl my smoothie was ready. I saved some for later :D. As always I was lazy to load a camera for the pictures, the one here is from my cell phone! If you are trying this and do not have all fruits, try some sweet and some sour combo – works out perfectly. I was not in a mood for very cold that’s why skipped the ice. Also if you hate some fruits this is the best way to eat it :), but I love them all so try and tell me.

Next I am going to try strawberry-banana smoothie

*Smoothie: A drink made from pulped fruits or vegetables.

A healthy dinner with Adai, Avial & Fruits

2010-04-19T11:48:00.002-04:00

This weekend I had guests at home and wanting to be a good hostess, I decided to make something they like. "Adai" became the obvious choice of main course after careful consideration of the time of their visit, the liking and the preparation process all put together. Since I had just made a few South Indian dishes for the Tamil New Year, I was in the cooking zone. After inquiring about the recipe a bit from reliable sources back at home I decided to go for "Avial" as the side dish. With that all the veggies, protein and carbs for the day would be met, so the dessert choice for was fruit salad with ice-cream ;).

Lets get to the details, Adai is a crepe made with ground pulse batter and I can go on and on with its protein and carb value. It is easy to prepare the batter and to make the dish, although a little planning may be required for time management. To add to its nutritional richness my mom adds Soya beans to it. Then the Avial, its simple steamed veggies in a coconut, chili & yogurt broth. Both dishes use a little oil (or more if you are all about taste :D). Then the dessert a lovely medley of seasonal fruits and a nice little scoop of ice-cream.

Now the making... (in my style)

1. Adai (serves 4):
Soak channa dal - 1/2 cup, toor dal(thuvar dal) - 1/2 cup, urad dal (black gram dal) - 1/2 cup and Soya beans(dried) - 1/2 cups and Soak 1 cup of raw rice/boiled rice (preferrably the one used to make idlis) separately, all for 2 hrs or more in warm water. Drain the rice first and grind it coarsely with few curry leaves, 2 red chilies, 1 green chili and finely cut ginger (2 tsp). Now drain and add the dals to it, add necessary water to make a thick finely ground batter. The consistency should be a little looser than vada batter and thicker than dosa batter. This process would take 10 minutes.

Before making the crepe add some chopped onion (1/2 cup) to the batter, if are not a big fan of Onion you can skip this step. Heat a round skillet/pan/tawa on the stove top until water drops sizzles. On a medium heat start by pouring the batter in the center and then working it in a circle outwards (about 6inch-8inch in diameter). The crepe should be thick unlike dosa. Add a few drops of oil around the edges and cover it with a lid for complete cooking. After 30 - 40 secs turn it over. Give it 15-20 secs and remove it off the pan.

2. Avial (serves 4):
Cut a variety of vegetables into 1-2 inch rectangular pieces, totaling 3 cups. The veggies that could be used are raw bananas, potatoes, yam, eggplant (small Indian ones), drumstick, carrot, green beans, broad beans (avaraikai) etc., the ones that are not generally used are leafy vegetables and Onion varieties.

Steam the veggies in a pan or pressure cooker with a little salt, don’t make them mushy though. While they cook, take 1/4 cup of yogurt, add 1-2 tbsp of water to loosen it mix it well and keep it separately. Now grind 1/2 cup coconut with 2-3 green chilies and 1 tsp of jeera to a fine paste. Once the veggies are done, heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a pan, add curry leaves to it and sauté for a few seconds, add the veggies to it and reduce the heat to Low. Mix in the coconut paste. Add 1/4 tsp of turmeric and add the required salt (remember that there is already some salt in the veggies). Switch off the heat and after 30-45 seconds mix in the yogurt. Voila tasty Avial is ready :).

3. Fruit Salad:
Depending on your love for fruits you might just devour it single handedly but I would say 4 people can eat it. I tend to avoid bananas in this because they change the taste so much. Now the trick is to add enough amounts of sweet, sour and tart fruits, no bitter ones please. You can use strawberries, blue berries, papaya, mango (make sure it is fully ripe), kiwi, apple, orange, grapes (white/black), cantaloupe, honey dew and so on... Using toasted walnuts/almonds and honey drizzle as toppings adds to flavor and is healthier than fudge :)

If using papaya, keep it separately and add them in the end based on individual taste. Also the ice-cream add it only if asked for, have at least 2 kinds (vanilla/chocolate). Infact when I made it I had to go for 3 different styles of this item. one just fruits, then fruits with honey drizzle, then fruits with ice-cream and honey drizzled :) Toasted walnuts finished it beautifully!

Tips:

Once the batter is ready you can refrigerate it, if it is not used immediately.
Before using the refrigerated batter thaw it in a hot water bath for 5 mins or in room temperature for 15-20 mins.
Boiled Rice here refers to Puzhungal rice that is used in Indian cooking for making dosa/idli batter.
Adai is best when eaten hot, but as an option you can save them in hot packs until it is served.
If you end up with left over Adai, refrigerate it and then thaw in microwave for 40 secs to a minute until it is soft, break it into little pieces and soak it in a salted buttermilk cup and enjoy as a tasty snack!
In Avial, make sure the veggies are of the same size so they cook even.
I would not suggest any replacement for coconut oil but if you really want try any vegetable/sunflower oil.
Remember not to add the yogurt when the stove is still hot, it would make the yogurt go watery. The look and taste will be affected. If by mistake you poured it remove from the stove top immediately!

My Bruschetta Trial!

2010-04-09T16:16:00.000-04:00

I was working from home and felt nauseated in the late afternoon. I was hungry but did not feel like eating anything and wanted lemonade to ease my stomach. I did not want to spend much time either, so decided to take a 10 mins break. When I opened my refrigerator I saw bread, but then I already had bagel thins for breakfast and was not in a mood for bread. Then I saw the half tomato waiting to be used with some grated carrot and crumbled feta cheese. Voila! I decided to make my version of bruschetta. Well it turned out to be a healthy one :). Loved it so much that I decided to give the recipe here.

As always I will put it in lay man terms without much cuisine feel. I took two bread slices, chopped each into 4 pieces as mine were quite big whole wheat/whole grain bread. Heated the pan (that I use to make Dosa), roasted the bread pieces brushing a teeny-tiny bit of butter on both sides (Alternatively you can put the butter brushed bread into the oven @ 400-425 F for 5-6 mins). Once the bread was light brown and hard, I plated them.

In the meanwhile I had made the topping with finely chopped 1/2 tomato & 1 garlic, mixed with a table spoon of feta cheese (can substitute with fresh mozzarella or gorgonzola), 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper, a table spoon of grated carrot, some dry thyme and rosemary (if u have basil/cilantro u can chop some and add). I spooned this mixture on to the bread and drizzled some olive oil. This would serve 2 people so I saved half for later :). This with some lemonade was wonderful and was over in 15 mins. Tried the pictures with my cell phone, may not look great, but tasted wonderful.

Asparagus - My New Chocolate Mousse!

2010-03-19T10:53:00.003-04:00

Who does not love chocolate? 90% of people love chocolate in one way or the other - light, dark, plain cocoa, milk chocolate etc., and chocolate mousse is all about chocolate. It is one of my favorites and I used to have a big craving for it! Off late that has shifted to a vegetable.

Though I like vegetables and salads I never had a craving for any particular vegetable. I do have favorites like the okra fry and brinjal fry that my dad makes, baked potatoes etc., but this vegetable got me right there, so simple & so perfect. Yes the asparagus. I have had asparagus for almost 3 years at various restaurants in salads, soups, pasta dishes, roasted etc., but the tipping point was in the office canteen a few months ago. They had beautifully boiled asparagus, seared afterwards, so it had the fried feel but boiled taste :). Ever since I wanted to try it at home and have done it a few times too - each time it was a different way and so far I liked them all! Now I CRAVE for it, yes I do, yesterday I chose it over potatoes.

Here are some of the ones I tried - won't be elaborate but will be easy to understand.

1. Asparagus - Plain:
This is the simplest of all - chop the asparagus into bite size pieces after washing them, if the stalks are hard don't use the last part of it near the base. Brush it with some butter and sprinkle pepper, salt & rosemary. Mix it well and leave it in a pre-heated oven at 350 degree for 20 mins. If you like it crunchy fine you can remove it, but I like it a little mushy, so take it out mix it well and leave it in for another 10 mins and you will be all set!

2. Asparagus - Boiled and Seared:

This is the craving I talked about. Bring water to a boil, throw in some salt and drop the asparagus into it. Don’t take a lot of water because the more water the more nutrient will go in it. After 8-10 mins remove the stalks, don’t let them cook to the mushy level. Heat some butter or Olive oil in a frying pan, add some sesame seeds, (if you like peanuts you can add them too), oregano and fry them for sometime. Add the boiled asparagus to the pan reduce heat to medium/low-medium for 5 minutes - turn over for 2 mins and take them out.

Frying can be done in the Oven too @ 375-400 degrees - Roast peanuts and sesame seeds for 10 mins and then add the asparagus coated with olive oil or butter and leave it in for 10-12 mins - turning them over half way.

3. Asparagus - Lentil Salad:

Lentil (Masoor dhal) is my favorite pulse. Soak a cup of it in water for 45-60 mins and then cook it in a pressure cooker or pan with some salt. In a sauté pan heat a table spoon of olive oil, add mustard seeds, finely chopped garlic (1 or 2 pods), fennel seeds, and 2 dry red chilies broken / 1 chopped green chili & curry leaves. Fry them for a minute and add some French cut asparagus (1 inch pieces cut at 45 degrees angle). Let it cook for 10-15 mins. Once the asparagus has cooked add the cooked lentils to it and mix them all. If you like it spicy add some pepper to it. Remove it from heat and serve it over a bed of lettuce (I used real big size pieces) sprinkled with lemon juice.

Tips:

Buy the ones with thin stalks. If stalk are thicker cut the portion near the bottom before boiling, if you missed cut atleast after boiling.
Try not to waste the excess water from the boiling, it is nutritious, so you use it to cook rice the next day or store it in refrigerator and use it as vegetable broth.
Do not over cook as it will become chewy and the fiber will get in your teeth.

My Weight Watching Saga!

2010-01-20T18:11:00.002-05:00

Like most women out there I am also sometimes conscious about that growing waistline (not population or money). In the Past.... I was lean till my college 3 year. Ever since I have been growing in width. It could be attributed to the fact that I stopped playing football or any other games, I sat at home eating and sleeping for 6 months until I finally joined a software company. Needless to say the day long desk work in turn added more to the waistline. Finally my love for food did it all!! .I started eating Non-veg for no reason at all. I went overboard on that and started devouring anything everything on the plate. I succumbed to the magic power of ice-cream and finished tubs of it. There were more supporters than devil's advocates. Then I went on vacation back home and even my parents were shocked to see "more" of me. That’s when it hit me... the sudden realization of having gained 33 pounds in 4 years.

On my return I joined the Gym and started following a 2 protein + 1 carb + 1 fat diet. I hated the gym, just could not do it. But I stuck with the diet for around a year. Overall I lost around 18 pounds, but the waist line did not reduce much. Again work, depression, more work, lack of exercise, more food, more friends, more restaurants - it all added up and got 15 pounds back to my body. I finally decided to give up non veg food and join the gym again and see it through. But the distance mattered! I could not make it more than a month in the gym. The guilt of paying money to the Gym added to the other things, but I gave up Non-Veg strictly. Yet again with all the mighty heart I decided to do it once again, this time with sense.

I was searching for online videos on daily home exercises. I stumbled on Spark People. It helped me to gain some confidence and I tried the simple exercises. I just could not do it. I was huffing and puffing. But this time I had a whole network watching my progress. I was not willing to give up. I even added the K-challenge to it and when I went on vacation I had lost 10 pounds with 2 inches on the waist too and my parents were happy :). When I got back I was so temped to get back to my dream weight. This gave me a booster to hit the gym again, more methodical and prepared. I made a bet with myself to run the 5K in March '10. The first day I could not even run 5 minutes continuously in 4.5 m/hr. It’s been a month now and I have improved to 10 mins for 2 miles @ 5 m/hr and shed 5 more pounds.

Though I am not all that strict I stick to vegetarian diet with more protein, less carb and low fat - not anything in particular but general. Once in a while I surprise my metabolism with restaurant food or ice-cream. For the exercise part I am trying to do 3 days cardio and 3 days strength alternating in a week. Monitoring both eating and exercising on Spark people. Learning to cook healthy :). Reading more stuff about health and diet and food (doing my analyses too..). For a good start I am on the GM Diet this week!! More to follow on these lines...
Update: I finished my Diet and shed another 6 pounds. Now overall I am only 9 pounds more than that dream weight. Now the concentration is around the waist and on the 5K :)

New Year @ NYC!

2010-01-04T12:26:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone! Wish you all a Grand New Year 2010! So many things happened last year, and so much is in store for the next year. So many of you read my blog posts and encouraged me with your straight comments, silent comments and personalized comments. Thank You Thank You Thank You! This year I am planning to improve my skills and also write more often. With all your blessings do read my posts as always and give me your thoughts on it.

On New Year guess where I ate? New York City - the most happening place on earth. After the 7 hrs wait and watching the ball drop who won’t be hungry. I wanted to eat something warm and then stroll down to central park. Right around the corner on 49th & Broadway I saw SBarro's an Italian style chain restaurant. I did not have much expectations from this place since I had their spaghetti @ Buckland hills mall. But I anyway went in with friends. Though the crowd was huge, the line was moving fast enough. I took the Veggie Pasta with Marinara and a coffee. The lady there and the server were happy faced at 1:00 am. With the warmth of their kindness, we took one of the tables. There were enough tables to support the crowd.

I took the first mouthful - first for the year and it was like "Amirtham (food of gods)". The pasta has been cooked in goat cheese, mozzarella mix and some nice veggies, warm enough to melt down and the marinara was beyond anything I have ever tasted. It seemed to me as the best food for the New Year. It made me so happy that the stroll that followed was amazing. I was hearing appreciations for the Pizza too from my friends. A good place in that area, with a very reasonable and affordable price. I would recommend it, if you are planning a visit to the Time Square.

So, Here I start this year with these words - Cook Well, Eat Healthy and Prosper!

Starbucks - Around the Globe!

2009-12-16T14:37:00.001-05:00

Coffee - it was discovered in a remote village in the Arab region but has took over the world with its powers. Every country has its own speciality brands and flavours of coffee. Over the years I have also got used to coffee in India and in US. Few weeks back I was travelling to India via Brussels. The plane landed in Brussels at an odd time as per EST. So to keep my mind working I needed coffee. After all the security checks and formalities I had more than an hour to kill until the flight boarding. I saw a cup of starbucks on a table next to me. Suddenly I got a feeling to drink caffee latte, wondering where is the starbucks shop I wandered around the airport trying to locate it. The green lady logo of starbucks, visible at a distance brigtened my mind. I walked biskly towards it, the smell of coffee increasing with every step.

I joined the queue, dreaming all about the foaming latte, I even made up my mind not to add sugar to it and was thinking about where to sit and read my book with this coffee, the corner plush couch was so welcoming (rather Wilkomen). The much awaited moment came and I asked for my cup of latte, the lady at the counter smiled and said 3.90. Fumbling with my wallet to take the card I noticed the person at the next counter handing over some unfamilar coins. Oh Darn it! I am not in the US. The lazy mind was trying to speed up the brain somewhere in the middle of the night to find out what is the currency and it occured to me it is Euro and I am in Europe. I had no Euros. I put up a vague smile and asked the lady if she will take dollars. With the nod she took the $20 bill I had and read out from the system that the amount is around $6.00 and gave me the change in Euros. With a reeling speed my mind woke up and screamed "What!!!", thankfully not loud enough.

With that coffee in my hand for which I no longer had the appetite I gave way to my Mind again. In the plush couch I was wondering why was it $6.00... should it not be the equivalent of $3.90 instead it was €3.90, hmmm the business world. Point being should the amount not be the same across the globe? I was grasping on the real world scenario of the Economics and the cost of living playing. All these days I never thought about it this much,until I saw the same exact brand and product being sold at different prices at two different places. Yeah the Indian stuff in US was costly but then it was because those products are exported as final products, but this is coffee.. it is made there. The Bording call was announced for my plane and on the way I was saying to myself I should have bought a local brand coffee and it must have been cheaper and I would have got a chance for a different taste too. Sometimes, Love of Food has its Price!

Beverage of the world..

2009-10-16T11:38:00.002-04:00

Yes of course there is Beer, but this is more about the other widely consumed, international drink: "TEA". One drink but has humongous flavors, variety of colors, hundreds of ingredients - hot, cold, iced, tangy, orange, lemon, passion, jasmine, soothing, sweet, black, green, light, white, with milk, flower flavored, bitter, simple, rich, creamy, mild, strong, spicy, plain...and..goes on... Sipping a hot cuppa tea in front of a window leaning on the wall or sitting in a sofa with a book in your hand and nice rain outside can be heavenly for some. Early in the morning, when the sleepiness is still sticking around a hot cup of tea can freshen up someone’s day. In the middle of the afternoon when staring at the monitor is not helping with the problem and the urge to go home is overwhelming a nice flavorful tea can awaken those brain cells to come up with solutions. After a yoga class in the quite state of the mind when the whole body is peaceful just a plain green tea can enhance the serenity.
When the tea offers choices definitely I have my picks.

1. Indian Chai - No need to say. Just the right amount of decoction, milk and sugar it can be divine. There is masala variety too with dry ginger, elachi & pepper your "dil would mange more" :)

2. Twinings Earl Grey - Twininnings has lot of kinds Earl Grey, Lady Grey, English Breakfast, Irish, Black Tea etc., but I love the Earl Grey - The bergamot flavor in it will go well with few drops of lemon juice, nice cup of hot water and some drops of honey. Can drink it all winter evening watching the snow come down!

3. Tazo's Passion - This flavor needs some guts. It is sour so most guys do not like it. But nothing can be a compromise for this on a work day afternoon where you are trying to figure out the code. It tastes like an alcohol free wine with rich flavors. Plain hot water and the tea bag in it, that’s all it takes, right at your desk you can get the freshness. You need to smell it, sip it roll it over your tongue and then drink it. Some like it cold too. I like it hot, sometimes cold & unsweetened.

4. Chinese Jasmine Tea - I am not sure if there are any good brands for these, but the best place to have it is in a Chinese restaurant. If you are lucky you will get it with the tea extract on top with the filter and it will be dripping in to a lower flask with hot water. If you do not like flower flavors avoid it. Most Chinese & Thai tea has this flower flavor.

5. Iced Tea with Lemon - A simple freshly brewed ice tea with the perfect amount of lemon and some sweetening is wonderful for summer. It goes well with dinner too and you can avoid some sodas that way! Most of the American restaurants have it, can be bought at stores and can be made at home too.

So what is your favorite Tea?

Good Eats!

2009-10-07T14:22:00.002-04:00

Though I like to try different food items in various restaurants and a big fan of food, I am not stuck to the food network 24x7. I do watch some episodes of "Chopped", "Dinner Impossible", "Iron Chef America" & "Throw down with Bobby Flay", But my favorite of them all is "Good Eats" by Alton Brown followed by Ellie Krieger's show.

Actually that was the first show that made me even watch food network. I am not a fan of Rachael Ray and other food network stars (No offense Guys!), but Alton Brown. For me his show is more of a Physics/Chemistry class than cooking. He analyzes and explains in simple terms what temperature does to various foods, about the utensils to be used, the technique for cooking and all those behind the screen stuff. Each item he cooks is like a science experiment and really cool. Even people who hate cooking will start cooking after watching his show. The ginger ale, scrambled eggs and the episode on pasta were amazing. Always his recipe will be simple but the truth behind will be mind boggling. If you get a chance watch his show, its celebrating 10th Anniversary now. So Good Eats!

Protein for Vegetarians

2009-09-28T15:35:00.000-04:00

I have often heard people complain that Indian vegetarians do not get enough protein. I could not help but laugh. Guess what? There is protein in every form and kind in vegetarian food. First and foremost the vegetarian(not vegan) food is not just vegetables, it includes an array of fruits, diary products(milk, cheese, yogurt), oils, grains, beans etc.,

Other than the veggies and fruits everything else has a good amount of protein. The staple Indian food is Rice or Wheat. Both have equal amounts of Protein. 1 cup rice has close to 8g of protein and wheat 6-7g. The chana dal cooked has about 10g of protein per cup and bengal gram, chick peas, and other dried and cooked peas have around 14- 15g per cup. Our beloved yogurt has 14g per cup and milk 10g per cup. Ofcourse meat has more protein for the same quantity, but then there is enough fat, cholesterol and triglycerides that would make the protein insignificant.

Mandatory including of atleast 3 items from rice/wheat, beans (variety), dhal, yogurt and milk in every meal will make sure the protein needs are rightly met. Once in a month you can make a paneer dish or add Soya chunks to your rice. And once a week sprouted legumes. The dried beans can be soaked in water for 4-5 hrs and pressure cooked with salt. If it is canned no need to even soak it and cook it. Add to it a sauté of mustard seeds, jeera powder, curry leaves, onions and grated coconut and it will be heavenly.

It is also easy to make the vegetarian dishes unhealthy. Yes constant eating of restaurant foods, loading the dish with oil/ghee, enriching the dish often with whole milk or cream will increase the fat and cholesterol instead of helping with proteins. It also helps to substitute Wheat for Rice atleast for 2 meals as Rice has more carbs :), even better if the rice is stove cooked and the starch is drained (like in the good old days).
So, Have a Healthy Meal!!

Not My Cuppa Tea!

2009-09-09T13:12:00.007-04:00

On our way back from a wonderful weekend at the Adirondacks we made a stop at Springfield, MA to have dinner. Because of the lousy drive we decided to have some good Indian food and went to "Sitar Restaurant". The place was impressive, close to the highway, spacious with good ambience, warm paintings and clean rest rooms. The only thing that was out of place was the baby pink cloth napkins :).

The waiter would not take the order until all of us were at the table, so after a few minutes of irritated waiting, we ordered some thalis with a tea/coffee (sounded pretty good for the price), khadi and a chicken vindaloo. During the wait, we relaxed, discussing about the rest of the plan to reach back on time and lingering on the sweet trip. I had ordered Tea with my Thali. I felt the day was not great so far with - a short kayak trip because of time, the feeling of weekend being over and the thought of getting back to work the next day. I was expecting the warm, thick, flavorful perfect Indian chai to make my day.

After a few minutes seeing the waiter come back with our tea, I was thoroughly excited to taste it. He first put down a small aluminium container, I was wondering what was that for. Then he kept few packets of sugar and then the cup of tea. Alas! The world was spinning in my head. It was all confusing for a moment. I felt like the young girl waiting in line on a hot summer day after an hour long play to buy a scoop of chocolate sundae topped with hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles, but instead when her turn came there were only mint flavored pop-sickles. Anyone who sat in front of me would have seen the horrified dissapointment blended with overwhelming anger on my face. How can they do this to me? That was the only question my brain was asking then. The black liquid in the tea cup had a triumphant scream of ruining my day.

When my mind settled and was able to process the situation, I realised I got the normal black tea with cold milk in a seperate container and some sugar packets and not the Indian chai, made with tea decoction, milk, spiced up with elachi and dry ginger, thick and rich, and the sugar mixed in. Since my friend suggested they must have mis-interpreted and I should have mentioned "Indian Tea", suddenly the little girl's hope to find the sundae in a near by shop came to me and I called the waiter to see if I can get "Indian tea" specifically. What I heard wanted me to smash the tea cup and walk away from there. They do not have Indian Tea!!!

In few minutes my friend expressed the same hatred of discontent – the one akin to tasting beer soaked jammun, when he got his milk and sugar deprived coffee. :) I can now understand why the term "It’s not my cuppa tea" came into existence. Even though the Khadi, vindaloo and thali were good the tea spoiled the start for me. I could not assimilate the fact that Sitar was only in the name and it was trying to portrait a Guitar instead, true to neither and losing the Indian-ness in it.

Birthday Bumps - Cheesecake Factory

2009-06-20T13:21:00.004-04:00

Join me in imagination. Its your Birthday and your friend has arranged a surprise party in the restaurant you were wanting to go and you have no idea that all your friends and colleagues who dont even know each other are going to be there and you get to eat your favorite cheese cake on a Friday evening. I dont know about you but I would absolutely flabbarghasted. I planned such a surprise for my friend at CheeseCake Factory, West Hartford.

As planned 3 people arrived an hour early and made reservations not because I was lazy to do it its because they have a policy of not taking reservations after 4 pm. Yes thats what I asked, who reserves before that? Very well I had even ordered the Tiramisu Cheesecake (mmm delicious!) before hand and had asked them to arrange for baloons and all party stuff. But when I got there with the Birthday Boy I was surprised to find that we need to wait one more hour to get the tables, after some half hour I thought I would check on the progress and went back to the desk and asked them. I was told I need to wait an hour and a half more. By then some bachelors already hit the bar inside and the family ppl went shopping with the kids to kill time.

Another 1 1/2 hrs , that would be ridiculous. I was so ashamed when one of kids became cranky with the waiting and that family had to leave. The worst part is the way the waitress treated us. We are sick of waiting for 2 hrs, this was an unplanned surprise not just for the birthday boy but for all of us. Ofcourse the "Cheese cake" here is the best so had to get that and I called another restaurant nearby and booked it there. They made sure we had a good time and even took care of bringing this cake in the mexican style with all surprise. Though it started bad it did end Well, unfortunately it gave a very bad impresion on Cheesecake factory though :). Everytime we think of going there we remember this and avoid it. I have been to this same chain in CA and it was good there. We always made reservations and I dont know why they came up with this strange rule of no reservations. This is a perfect example of Good Product and Bad Management.

India Kitchen, Manchester, CT - Really????

2009-05-10T23:05:00.010-04:00

I went there today hoping to have some nice lunch with a friend. This place is very near to the highway exit in a residential area with ample parking space and pleasant staff. The place is clean and neat with narrow beautiful chairs, well my friend was wondering how will a fat American fit in one of those (8\). This restaurant was opened recently so I was waiting to taste something new. We ordered tea, samosa and some idlis and waited for almost 30 mins in a near empty restaurant to find out we have to pick vada as samosa was not available.

Finally, (after what felt like light years) we got our orders. I digged right away into my idlis only to find they were dry. My friend reported masala dosa was oily and Veg Briyani looked good but had no spiciness and had strange vegetables (I found Cucumber??) in it. Hunger striking us we were happy to find Raita and Tea appeasing. We found the Sambar Vada tasty too (forgetting the fact it looked like bonda!!). One more caveat to Andhra guys!! Do not Expect the food to be Spicy or Salty.

My Sunday would have been better even with an hour long waiting and noisiness of something like I-Hop I guess. May be Time will heal it. The lunch buffet starts from next week... Lets see how that tastes.

Update:
01/25/10 - The management has changed in this restaurant and they have some help from Priya Restaurant too now. The food is much better. In the weekend buffet Pongal/Vadai/Sambar are the highlights. Need to improve on the north Indian dishes though! Idlis are also very good with those chutneys. Tastes like the ones you get in Chennai hotels.

Update:
04/21/2010 - Again a disaster, this weekend buffet was horrible, either the dishes had too much salt or no salt at all masking all other flavours. The pongal was watery and the sweet did not taste anything close to a Mayisurpak.

What do I look for in a Restaurant?

2009-05-10T22:52:00.004-04:00

I have critiqued about one restaurant here so far, but before going further I thought I would put out what do I look for in the restaurant.

1. The very first thing is availability meaning how long is the restaurant open, but this is not the major one.
2. Next is the cleanliness, appearance and the wait time in the restaurant, any table booking options etc.,
3. The taste of the food and the varieties available, this is the main thing.
4. Quantities and Quality for the Price is the next main thing.
5. The turn around time between order and the food coming to the table.
6. Other amenities like rest rooms, wi-fiis, parking space etc.,

I would add anything else I find about the restaurant like the authenticity, locality, accesibility etc.,

Priya Restaurant - RockyHill, CT

2009-05-10T02:40:00.008-04:00

On a particular Sunday noon around 2:30 pm my friends and I realized we have not had lunch yet, so decided to go to Priya. Driving about 20 mins we reach there and got our seating without any wait time. One good thing about this place is the lunch is a buffet menu so no waiting for ordering food either.

I have my own style of eating here.. I always like to try all items in a buffet so I take a little of everything. In addition to the items on the buffet they serve masala dosa to the table. In general it is tasty food and more items in a reasonable price. But you got to be careful about certain things. The rices in general say Chicken Briyani, Vangi Bath etc could be a little spicy sometimes. What I have found is atleast one rice item will be spicy. This restaurant has an Andhra origin so spicy is OK. The Food is not oily which is a plus point. Sometimes the dessert wont be what you really expect it to be. The place is definitely cramped. I wonder how they managed to come up with so many tables in that small a space.

I have been to this restaurant 10-12 times now and I have found it clean always. When you order food to the table instead of buffet most south indian food are good.. the sambar vada, dahi vada, pesarattu etc are nice. Avoid North Indian items because they are not as good as what you will expect in a North Indian Restaurant. The Briyani too will be in south Indian style. Some Tamil Nadu items are not really there, I ordered a Onion Rava once and was dissapointed. The Wednesday night chat buffet is great if you are planning to try.

Inspiration

2009-05-10T02:05:00.004-04:00

I am a big fan of food. There is nothing that is edible that I wont eat. But ofcourse I have special preferences and likes. I owe my taste buds to my parents' cooking. They are the best.
My likes for food made me write this blog. I dont think there will be any recipe post here, but if I come across anything worthy in the net or discover something during my own cooking I shall post them. I love to try new stuff though I wont say I am the Best of the cooks :).
Most of the posts will be about the restaurants I have had food so far. So if you go to any of these restaurants you will have an idea on what to order and what to eat and especially what to avoid. You can consider this blog as a critique blog, sure there will be more to it. For easy identification the post title will say it all.