Karahi chicken

   'Karahi Chicken', an Pakistani dish, derives its name from the round, circular shaped wok (called as karahi) they are cooked with.   Prepared with tomatos and green chilly as its base, this gravy is not only flavourful, but also was delecious.  

With an toddler around, I decided to go with moderate amounts of green chilly (If you wish this dish to be highly spicy, you can add more amount of green chillies) Remaining amount of green chilly, was substituted with capsicum slices to give an sweet touch.  This dish, is cooked as an one pot meal and traditionally was cherished till late nights.  Simplistic approach, with easy-peasy ingredients and no-oil cooking complements this dish an lot.

Araichu vitta sambhar

Running out of sambhar powder?  Or often wondering the secret-ingredient for restaurant-styled thick sambhar??   Don't worry.... this, araichu vitta sambhar comes to your rescue :D  'Araichu vitta' in tamil means freshly grounded, accordingly this sambhar utlizes an medley of spices from your kitchen, that are freshly dry-roasted and powdered.  This powder, not only comes in handy when your sambhar powder goes out of stock, but also acts as an, 'thickening agent', thus making the latter more fragrant, more tasty and restaurant-styled.

And, one other difference from sambhar is that, in araichu vitta sambhar, tempering is done by the end.  Since, we add no spices other than dry-roasted ones, we may not be sure about the spice- content of sambhar.  Hence, tempering accordingly with number of red chillies might yield you an perfect, balanced output.  This is really, an blessing in disguise, isn't it? 

KHUMB DOPYAZA - Mushrooms cooked in double onion masala

   'Dopyaza' meaning for double onion masala, actually originated when an cook (from Mughals), accidentally added lots of onions into mutton curry.  This  dish was much favoured by the kings, and hence the name originated.  For such an delicate curry, and an blessing for onion-lovers, why can't we drag them around and play with our veggies ;) Yes, they paired up excellantly with mushrooms and my other half couln't be happier than that. (I, really wasn't surprised, for an man who loves to eat raw onions, cooked ones must have pleased far...)

Onions, at first, used for usual sauting and  finally used as an garnish too (garnishing ones were deep-fried).  Apart from accompanying spices like black cardamon, bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns, they also pair with souring agent (curd/mango/tomato puree).  So, let us move to this delecious curry at once.  

Tiffin sambhar / Moong dal sambhar

We plan a lot for our life, isn't it?  Physical work-out, an brisk morning walk, gardening, trying out new interiors or exotic classes like Yoga, embriodery... my list goes on :)  But, time constraint hardly cuts down our options to one out of ten.  Though we plan an lot to do, plenty of our time goes into kitchen, thus sparing none.  Yes, this dish is dedicated to such constraints.... an sambhar, which is more delecious (than traditional) and more easy to make within little time is all I can start with... :P

This sambhar, is my hubby's favourite.  Using moong dal (instead of tuvar dal), tunes up the taste and also reduces the time of cooking.  This sambhar does not need pre-soaking of tamarind, since we are using country tomatos to achieve the same.  They can be aptly prepared for breakfast and served piping hot with idly/dosa.  Well, my husband grew an lot fond of it, that he wants them to replace the normal sambhar made for lunch.  Does that doubt? Well, try for yourself and be surprised with an overwhelming response.

Rainbow cupcakes

    CUPCAKES.......those wonderful, tiny delights topped by an gorgeous swirl is my all-time-inspiration. I love to experiment with cupcakes, but running almost an nuclear family, restricts me to bake  twice an month.  And with not-so-cream loving hubby, I had to opt for an minimal or no-creamed cupcakes.  So, once when I came through sour rainbow strips in an super-market, I really knew what to make from them.... :D  :D  Do check out my other cupcakes collection.... Dairy cupcakes, Butterfly choco cupcakes, Orange cupcakes, Panda cupcakes  Vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate icing. 

Rainbow-themed cupcakes, which can also be smeared by blue coloured buttercream, topped with white buttercream swirls with rainbow crossing over, is an perfect party food and would please any kid with an summer boredom :)  I avoided blue buttercream, and replaced it with an blueish cake batter, thus my icing-usage was reduced, an fact to satisfy my hubby's soul :D