Lemon Quinoa | Lemony Quinoa Pilaf

South Indian style lemon rice is probably one of my favourite rice dishes. It is a delight both to make and to eat - the fragrant tempering, the hot and sharp tastes, and the beautiful yellow colour are so inviting! Its also so easy to make that it can be ready in a snap. It is also great to make if you have left over rice from a party or get together. Lemon rice is one of the dishes I love to make when we are planning a road trip or a picnic. It travels so well, tastes delicious hot or cold, and you never have to worry about the accompaniments.

Panch Phoren Tarke Wali Chana Dal | Bengal Gram Lentils with Five Spices

The first time I came across Panch Phoren was in university. Invited for dinner at a Bengali friend's home, I enjoyed some delicious vegetables prepared with these spices. Of course, this was not the first time I had tasted this spice mix - but it was undoubtedly the first time my attention was drawn to it as a cook!! After dinner my friend showed me a bottle of this mix - a delightful combination of mustard seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and fenugreek seeds. A bit like a spice combination for a typical pickle from Uttar Pradesh!! No wonder I loved the flavours.

Hara Matar Kootu | Green Peas Kootu

Here is a simple and healthy recipe for you and your family. A mix of yellow moong dal, green peas and a freshly prepared spice mix, this kootu is simply heartwarming. I love to make this recipe in the winter when its snowing outside and so cold you would not want to budge. The ultimate in comfort food, enjoy this kootu with hot rice and dollop of ghee on the top!!

Moongphali ki Chatni | Peanut Chutney

Not all chutneys are made equal and peanut chutneys hold a special place the Indian kitchen. To begin with there are just so many ways of preparing them. Then there are the many textures, the flavours, the combinations, the dry chutneys which can stay pretty much forever if refrigerated properly and the wet versions that disappear before the meal is over!! I could just go on.

Lucknowi Dal | Creamy Lentils Lucknow Style

Lucknowi Dal or Creamy Lentils Lucknow style are a delicious addition to any full Indian Thali | Meal. This is one of the tastiest ways of making Toor Dal | Arhar Dal| Split Pigeon Pea. Pigeon Pea when cooked by itself gives a really creamy dal! In Lucknowi Dal, we just make it creamier by adding some milk to the final product. The result - a deliciously tasty, wonderfully satisfying dal that goes beautifully with steamed rice!

Daring Cooks March 2011: Filled Potato Patties from Peru

The Daring Cooks March 2011 challenge was wonderful - filled potato patties from Peru. Even though I am really pressed for time these days, I knew I just had to make this particular recipe, albeit with some modifications to suit our tastes!! Details of the filling to follow.

Tamatar Moongphali Pachidi | Tomato Peanut Chutney: Version 1.0

Few days back I made rava idli at home. It was a real treat. My desi mixer-grinder stopped working a few months back and I have not been able to make any of our favourites including idli, dosa, uttapa, chutney since. Having sworn off buying another blender until I find something that is truly heavy duty and will fulfill the needs of a desi kitchen, I am stuck with pursuing recipes that require at the most a dry grinder!! Finding one to do replace the conked machine is no easy task. Any one with any suggestion, do leave a note in the comments section - I will truly appreciate any input in this matter :)

Baigan Pakoras | Baigan Bhajis (Eggplant | Aubergine Fritters)

Its been grey, cold, and rainy here over the weekend. Some snow flurries would have been welcome and pretty, but somehow they never really made it and all we got was a chilly drizzle all day for two days!!Sunday turned out to be long and exhausting and by evening, I could not wait to dig into some comfort food, stick my achy feet up on the couch and relax!!

Nariyal Wale Fras Beans | French Beans with Coconut

French Beans were always a great seasonal favourite in Delhi. Fresh and tender beans would flood the markets in early winter. Sweet and crisp and known as Fras Beans they'd dominate the menu in a multitude of ways. Here I get beans all year round, the fresh ones too, as they come from all across the globe. I also grow them in my vegetable garden in the summer, and the yield is pretty good.

Spicy Lima Bean Curry

Finally I got time to do some real cooking. I had been tied up in some writing last week. So we were making do with quick dinners. But by friday morning I was really beginning to miss the kitchen. The frigid temperatures and the heavy snow we have been experiencing for the last few weeks also made the warmth of the kitchen really inviting:) And so I set out to prepare some of my favourite recipes - spicy, fragrant, and deliciously warming.