Muthias are one of my favorite Gujarati snacks. They are steamed cakes made with a combination of healthy flours such as semolina, whole wheat, chickpea flour and so on combined with grated bottle gourd or zucchini. I make these all the time – it’s an acid friendly food – you just have to omit the chili from this recipe.
I learned this recipe from our family friend Neha Mazumdar who makes some of the best Muthias. This dish goes really well with a nice mint or coriander chutney.
Manni Sel is one of my very favorite Sindhi dishes. Sindh is a province that used to be in India before partition, but is now in Pakistan. Manni Sel is usually made with rotis or bread ( Indian bread) that is at least a day old. These rotis are soaked in a delicious cilantro and mint based gravy.
I don’t make rotis so I just use Trader Joe’s tortillas as a substitute. They work great. You could use any of your favorite tortillas or rotis in this recipe. Make sure that when you cook this dish – you don’t put too much of the rotis in it – as it will become too dry. Keep the dish nice and gravied as the rotis tend to continue soaking the gravy long after the cooking process is done. This dish freezes really well too.
Nobody makes Manni Sel better than my best friends mother, Veena Thani does. I just love all her recipes because they are simple, really healthy and so so yummy!
Bitter gourd (karela) is a vegetable that I really didn’t grow up loving. The only way I could tolerate it when I was younger was when it was deep fried and covered in spice.
This spicy sautéed karela recipe however, changed my whole relationship with this vegetable for me. Maggie who makes the best Trini food ever – makes Karela in the simplest, most delicious way.
You can make this dish as spicy as you wish – just increase or reduce the number of chili peppers – and you can use whatever peppers you have but tasty peppers is the key to this recipe. This recipe is best cooked in a cast iron or nonstick pan.
All I need is a bowl of dal to go with this karela and life is good!
Here is a gorgeous twist on a traditional raita. I had made a spicy rice and needed something to go with it. I found some pureed beets in my fridge and decided to experiment with them. The results were really delicious! Beets take quite a long time to cook – make sure when you are boiling them that they are cooked through. The next time around I might just boil and grate them versus pureeing for more texture.
I added ingredients I had lying around ( I have a lot of kale thanks to my farmer freind Peter) but you can substitute it with spinach or any leafy green. I also decided to top it with some lightly toasted nuts and hemp seeds last minute and it made such a difference to the taste. Use any nuts you have – if they are larger nuts like almond or walnuts – chop them down.
Luchi aloo is Kolkata’s version of Puri Aloo but it’s so much better especially if you eat it on the streets. There’s nothing like a piping hot luchi, smothered with spicy curried aloo. Here’s a great homemade version of this recipe.
Plantains are a really wonderful source of fiber and vitamins C and A. They taste especially good when spiced up and pan-fried to make a yummy meal that can be served with pretty much anything.
Chadachadi is a Bengali dish that is made with a hodgepodge of leftover vegetables. There is a strong flavoring of mustard seeds and mustard oil that gives this dish a distinctive tangy, depth of flavor.
Parwal is a green vegetable that is indigenous to the Eastern part of India. It is also called pointed gourd or potol. It looks a little like tori/zucchini but has different flavoring and texture. Here is how we cook this vegetable in my mother’s kitchen.
Nepali cuisine consists of several spicy sides dishes which are eaten with rice and lentils (dal). These are called “achars’ or chutneys and are made with a variety of vegetables. One can use the base recipe for the achar and just vary the vegetable that is used.
Here is a wonderful recipe that Manju makes which comprises of bitter gourd (karela) and is topped with ground roasted flax seeds.
Ever eaten the vine and leaves that the pumpkin grows on? In India this is rather common in the Northern parts and is really delicious and healthy. Here is how we make this dish in my mother’s kitchen.
The Restaurant Fairy's Kitchen™ 