Pomegranates have been calling my name lately every time I go to the grocery store. This time, they called my name and said, “Hey lookie, I’m on sale!!!” And then two jumped into my cart. I had no idea what I would do with them, but I knew I was going to eat them. And take photos of them. They are so pretty! Did you know that a pomegranate is classified as a berry?...

My multi-grain, baked homemade croutons have been wildly popular so I thought I’d do a full tutorial on how to make croutons. There are different ways to cube the bread, different ways to season the bread, and different ways to crisp them up. I’m going to cover a lot here and by the time we’re done, you’re going to be experts! You’ll be making the best homemade croutons in no time!...

Welcome to your ultimate guide to simple syrup! You’ll find that there are unlimited uses for this easy but essential ingredient. Don’t buy pricey bottles of flavored syrups. It’s so easy to make your own, adding your own special touch with herbs, spices, fruits, or other flavorings. About simple syrup: Simple syrup is a key ingredient in cocktail recipes. Simple syrup is “liquified sugar”, it stirs in easily and won’t settle on the bottom of drinks like sugar does, undissolved, leaving your drink unsweetened....

I have Individual No bake cookie butter cheesecake today for ‘desserts in glasses’ theme. Cookie butter aka speculoos is a rich and decadent treat made with pulverized spice cookies (Biscoff), a fat (like vegetable oil or butter), flour and sugar until it’s a spreadable like nut butter. My love for speculoos started few years back when I tasted Trader Joes Speculoos and I have to say that it was love at first bite....

My instructions and recipe for Instant Pot jasmine rice and Instant Pot white rice have been pretty popular, and since not all rice is created equal, I thought it would be helpful to show you how to make brown rice in your pressure cooker as well. How long it takes: 49 minutes Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot electric pressure cooker Servings: makes 3-9 cups, depending on how much you want Rice is a tricky thing to make (crunchy!...

I welcome you all to the 12th day of this “Protein Rice Series.” I did not bother to find the roots of the recipe to figure if it’s from Jharkhand or Bihar exactly. Like Andhra and Telangana, I am going to mention as Dal Sagga from Bihar/Jharkhand. :-) Dal Sagga or Spinach and Lentils Gravy Let’s not dig into the recipe origin but rather let’s delve into the amazing protein content in this dal....

For the second day of this week’s blogging marathon, I have a healthy and nutritious snack made with sorghum aka jowar (in Hindi) aka jonnalu (in Telugu). This Jonnalu senagalu which literally means sorghum and chickpeas is a wholesome snack or a light meal that is packed with the goodness of whole grains. This recipe is from Usha’s blog. I gave her some jowar as part of our ingredient exchange challenge few months back and she made this amazing dish with them....

My family has a big sweet tooth. They enjoy just about anything that is sweet - like this dry gulab jamun, cinnamon sugar pretzel bites or chocolate macarons. With Diwali right around the corner, I have a perfect Indian dessert for you. Kaju Badam katli takes just a few minutes to make and this recipe is fool proof. It makes the perfect melt in the mouth burfi that is to die for....

Kakarakaya aka bittergourd/ bitter melon/ karela as the name suggests has a bitter undertone. It has a cucumber/ melon like texture. It originated in India and is now widely used in most East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. I personally like bittergourd because of its taste and also because of its health benefits. It is packed with nutrients - Vitamin A and C, folate, potassium etc.It can help reduce blood sugar....

After exploring the states from the North, we are travelling to southwest India today to Karnataka. It was created in 1956 and was originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed as Karnataka in 1973. Karnataka shares a border with my home state Andhra Pradesh and the language spoken, Kannada, has some similarities to our language, Telugu. Kannada script is also similar to that of Telugu. So I can probably say that I understand and read about 5% of Kannada....

I love lemonade, and as much as I love the simple lemonade, I love the flavored versions too. I have shared sweet and spicy limeade (kulukki sarbath), fresh cherry lemonade, barley lemonade, and Indian-style shikanji. We recently enjoyed this mint lemonade in a local Moroccan restaurant, and I loved it. It was unique, very refreshing, and slushy-style mint lemonade. Upon researching, I found that in the Middle East, this mint lemonade is called limonana, and it’s quite popular there....

A Two-Ingredient Topping Macerated strawberries are an unbelievably easy and versatile alternative to strawberry pie filling or strawberry syrup. They’re made with just sugar and fresh berries, and you can have them prepped in only five minutes! If you’re not familiar with maceration, it’s a very hands-off technique to soften and break down berries or other fruits. By simply adding sugar to cut the berries, they’ll become juicer and sweeter, and their flavor will intensify....

How long it takes: 35 minutes plus 1 hour chill time Equipment you’ll need: Food processor or blender, muffin tin, wire rack Servings: 12 In addition, cottage cheese contains lots of phosphorus, selenium, Vitamin B12, riboflavin, and other nutrients your body needs. Cream cheese can’t hold a candle to that kind of nutrition, plus it’s high in fat. But how does cheesecake taste when you replace cream cheese with cottage cheese?...

Mooli Paratha | How to make Punjabi Mooli Paratha So here’s an easy n quick way to prepare Mooli Paratha which is supposed to be filled with fresh Mooli/Radish in the dough. It’s then lightly sauteed with oil. It’s also known as daikon flatbread (mooli=daikon), However, in this version, we eliminate filling the dough process as we combine filling and flour to make a dough and then roll it into a paratha....

How long it takes: 40 minutes Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, large bowl, sheet pan, oven Servings: 4 When we saw a similar recipe in a Good Housekeeping magazine, we couldn’t wait to try it. Naturally, we made it our own and we are super pleased with how it turns out. Take meatballs up a notch with these Moroccan spiced meatballs. I think you’re going to love them! One Pan Moroccan Meatball Dinner Warm Moroccan-style spices....

Here is a crispy, crunchy and very addictive snack, namkeen. It is commonly made across India and has quite a few different names based on the region. They are called nimki, namak para/ pare and so on. Growing up, my mom made them frequently and we used to call them ‘chips’. These were our version of French fries and store bought potato chips. Namkeen is a broad category of savory snacks....

If you’ve ever been confused about which cocoa powder is best for your recipe, join the club! With some recipes that call for either type and others having a strict preference, it’s easy to feel a little bit lost. It’s important to remember that baking truly is a science, so there’s always a reason behind using one ingredient over another. This couldn’t be more true than with cocoa powder! Today we’ll break down the differences between natural vs....

Homemade Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies Peanut butter blossoms have always been my favorite cookie on the holiday cookie tray. They’re the perfect combination chocolate and peanut butter (like my peanut butter chocolate cake!), and they are so easy to make. Plus, they’re just so pretty with their sparkly exteriors! My recipe is made without shortening and instead uses butter for super soft, and, well, buttery results. You’ll love this swap (I do the same in my peanut butter oatmeal cookies!...

Fluffy, From-Scratch Chocolate Mousse While this chocolate mousse recipe will make you look and feel like fancy French pastry chef, you don’t need a culinary degree to make it. Really, it’s just a little more complicated than a chocolate pudding, but the results are much more impressive. My recipe has the classic silky and airy texture created by whipped egg whites and whipped cream. Its rich chocolate flavor is decadent, but not too sweet, and it looks so elegant served with a dollop of whipped cream (or chocolate whipped cream) and chocolate shavings....

It’s the final day of the month long mega marathon and I wanted to end it on a sweet note. I made this perfect eggless chocolate cake for my husband’s birthday, but the pictures I took looked awful, so I made it again couple of days back. Recipe for Perfect Eggless Birthday Chocolate Cake: Coming back to today’s chocolate cake, I asked my husband what cake he wanted for his birthday....