cookbypassion

Dahi Bhalla is a snack originating from North India and popular throughout South Asia.  Dahi Bhalla is almost the same as you make  Dahi Vada. It is called Doi Bora in Bengal, Dahi Bara in Orissa and Mosaru Vade in Karnataka. In southern parts of India it is called as Perugu Garelu in  Andhra, Thayir vada in Tamil Nadu where the vada's are soaked in smooth yogurt and tempered with mustard seeds, cumin seeds and  curry leaves. Where as in North India Dahi vada / Bhalla are soaked in yogurt and topped with colorful and flavorful  green and sweet chuyney's. They are also topped with some chaat masala, chili powder and Sev. For Dahi Bhalla little sugar is also added  to yogurt. To make the perfect Dahi Bhalla the yogurt has to be fresh but not sour. Also the consistency of batter should be light. You can make the batter light by beating the batter with your hands  for about 2-3 minutes after you grind the batter. As I said in my last post during ...

Holi is a Hindu  spring festival originating from Indian subcontinent, is celebrated all over India. This festival signifies victory of good over evil. Holi is also called as " festival of colors or festival of love ".  Children and yound people form groups and play with dry colors or coloured colutions and water guns. Traditionally washable natural plant derived colours such as turmeric and kumkum were used. But the trend has changed and you get lot of other chemical based colors are available in market these days. People throw colors at each other  all day, sign and dance. Traditional snacks or delicacies are prepared on this day, such as Gijiya, malpuas and most importantly bhang which is a adult drink based on a intoxicating herbs. Today I have prepared a laddu with freshly grated coconut and poppy seeds. To make it little healthy and rich i have added jaggery instead of sugar. If the read the recipe you would know that I  have made this laddu with the stuffing w...

Mojito is a Cuban cocktail that is made  of  white rum, lime juice, sugar, soda water and mint. When preparing Mojito fresh lime juice is added to sugar and mint leaves. The mixture is then mashed with a muddler and then the rum is added. Once this mixture is mixed well, now is the time to add sparkling water or soda along with some crushed ice.  A Mojito with out rum or alcohol is called a Virgin Mojito or Nojito. There are Mojito variations that are made of adding fruits like grapefruit, passion fruit, oranges, pears and raspberries. Today I have made a Virgin Mojito with fresh strawberries. I have also added a tablespoon of fresh homemade Strawberry sauce to give it a nice color and sweetness. Click here to see the recipe for Strawberry Sauce.   Today's we are starting with final week of Blogging Marathon 97. Virgin Strawberry Mojito is  special drink I have made for my family on occasion of Valentine' s Day. As it is alcohol free kids  can also en...

Chinese Bhel is an interesting and delicious fusion recipe made with fried noodles tossed with freshly  sliced onion, carrots, cabbage and bell pepper. Along with lots of Chinese flavors like soy sauce and schezwan sauce. Chinese Bhel is a popular street food in Mumbai, India.  Chinese Bhel is adapted from Chinese dish Veg Chopsuey, transformed a bit and made as a  fusion recipe according to Indian taste buds.  Today for the final day of Week 2, am here with an  amazing dish " Chinese Bhel " under the theme " Fusion at its best". Here goes the recipe....... Ingredients: Hakka Noodles 1 packet Sliced onion 1/4 cup Sliced Bell pepper 1/4 cup Chopped green onion 3 spoons Sliced carrots 1/4 cup Shredded Cabbage 1/4 cup Schezwan  sauce 3 tsp Tomato ketchup 2 1 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce 1 teaspoon Fresh cilantro / coriander 2 spoons Salt to taste Oil for deep frying Preparation: Boil 3 cups water in a big pot with 1 spoon oil in it. Once the water bubbles add the hakka n...

Chicken Tikka is a Chicken dish originating from the Punjab region, which is in the Northern part of India. The boneless chicken cubes or pieces are marinated in some fresh masala, fresh yogurt along with salt to taste. The pieces are typically skewered and baked, or can be cooked on stove  top too with minimal usage of oil. Chicken tikka is served in dry and gravy form too along with some Naan ( Indian Bread ). Naan is a oven baked flatbread found in mainly in Indian Cuisine and Caribbean Cuisine. The recipe involves mixing of wheat or white wheat, active dry yeast, salt and water. The dough is kneaded for few minutes and set aside to rise for few hours. Once the dough is rises, its divided into balls and flattened and then baked. We also add some different flavors to the Naan. The most famous ones are Butter Naan and Garlic Naan. Pizza is a savory dish of Italian Cuisine, usually round flattened base of wheat based dough topped with Tomato sauce and cheese and baked at a very hig...

Satay or Sate is a Indonesian word, which means a dish of seasoned , skewered and grilled meat and served with Sauce. It is a Indonesian dish, also popular in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. Satay may consist of Diced or sliced chicken, goat, fish or pork. The meat is either grilled or barbecued  and then served with various sauces. The most common sauce served is soy and peanut sauce, this peanut sauce is also called as Satay sauce. Coming to today's dish and the theme I choose for this weeks Blogging Marathon. "Fusion at the best" is my theme for the week. Fusion food is a general term for the combination of various forms of cookery and comes in several forms. Regional fusion combines different cuisines of the region or sub-region. Asian fusion restaurants, which combine the various cuisines of different Asian countries.  So my today's dish is a combination of 2 Asian countries, India and Indonesia.  Idly is a popular dish in Southern part of India. It is a steame...