Chutneys/ pickles are generally served at almost every meal in India/ Nepal. They round up the entire meal with the punch/ spiciness. This tomato achar from Nepal is the perfect accompaniment to Nepali vegetarian thali. Tomato chutney/ pickle is a popular one all over India too. Each region has its own version of the recipe. So, this Nepali tomato achar is slightly different from the way I make chutney and it’s absolutely delicious....

No-Bake Raspberry Yogurt Granola Tart: this lightened up, no-cook tart is bursting with delicious summer flavors and makes for a PERFECT Back to School recipe. Hey Everyone, with ‘back-to-school’ already upon us and with literally no time to spare, these No-Bake Raspberry Yogurt Granola Tart is a life saver. They are what I call ‘Multi-Level’ recipe in our food world. It can be served as breakfast, snack or even dessert for the whole family....

Pongal at our household was always with fun and fight. It’s fun because of the rangolis and of course food. ;-) I love to do rangoli so usually for pongal it will be big one in the front yard with colors and same in the backyard too. As we worship Lord Sun for pongal, we do the puja in the backyard. (Close to Tulsi plant.) We decorate the place with rangolis and keep the sugarcane, turmeric all that stuff....

The assorted side dishes that we make for idli and dosa make them exciting. Don’t you agree? While I love my idli and dosa with coconut chutney and sambar, I love it with other sides like kadappa, kurma, and other assorted chutneys. And this red onion chutney is one such recipe. Vengayam in Tamil means onion, and it’s popularly known as vengaya chutney in Tamil. It’s very similar to kaara(spicy) chutney but sans tomatoes....

Pan fried oatmeal, guys. I’m pretty excited about this. Push aside that typical bowl-of-mush oatmeal and replace a beautifully presented pan-seared oatmeal. How to Make It The scenario starts basically the same as the bowl-of-mush (which, by the way, I also love). Cook steel cut oats and milk (and a couple other pantry staples) until they are thickened. Then pour it into a baking dish and let it cool in the fridge overnight....

I hope you’ve had the opportunity to enjoy fresh peaches this summer. I love in-season peaches purchased from the farm market or orchard. The fragrance of a perfectly ripe peach is incomparable and the taste! Dripping with juice, soft and flavorful, it’s simply the best! How long it takes: 15 minutes to prep, 50 minutes bake time Equipment you’ll need: 9 x 13 inch baking dish, mixing bowl Servings: 8 Peaches add so much deliciousness to recipes, too....

The Sparkliest Cookies Peanut butter crinkle cookies are a fun and simple changeup from classic peanut butter cookies. My recipe makes thin and chewy, soft and irresistible peanut butter cookies with satisfying crinkly crackles throughout the surface (similar to snickerdoodles or chocolate crinkle cookies!). They have a great peanut butter flavor and a frosty sugar coating that’s just so pretty. I love this recipe because it’s easy to make (it does involve some chilling though) and uses ingredients you’ll already have on hand....

P is for Pizza, precisely Pesto Pizza and it’s my favorite kind of pizza. This is my second recipe from the land of Italy after Focaccia. I love thin-crust pizzas and the one that I posted earlier is also a thin crust one and today’s recipe is also a thin crust one. Will you believe me that this pizza is a perfect weekday dinner and it can be prepared within 30 minutes with proper planning?...

The BEST Pink Sauce Pasta Another satisfying (and meatless) pasta dish, this is a cousin (sister?) to my vodka sauce. It’s made with tomato sauce blended with cream, and makes a satisfying, velvety sauce. The flavor is a perfect blend of tangy tomato sauce and rich cream, plus some parmesan and fresh basil too! Why You’ll Love This Recipe Only 15 minutes of prep work, and the rest of the time is hands-off....

Soft & Chewy Pudding Cookies Ever since I learned how easy it is to make homemade pudding, it’s unlikely you’d catch me at the grocery store buying a packet of the instant stuff. You know, the little box of powder where you just add milk and wait five minutes? I thought I was done with it for good. And for the most part I am. At least I’m done buying it for its intended purpose....

Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes – No Box Mix Required! After many requests, I’m finally sharing a pumpkin pancake recipe. As many of you know, pumpkin is not one of my favorite ingredients, which can make taste-testing pumpkin recipes a challenge. Luckily I have Zach, who loves anything pumpkin and takes his job as taste tester very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he’s eaten these pancakes pretty much every morning this month!...

These days I have been receiving a lot of vegan recipe requests, mainly vegan desserts. So this holiday and festive season, I will be sharing quite a few vegan desserts. Stay tuned for some delicious desserts. Now coming to today’s recipe, if you are looking for easy to bake cookies with your kids, these cookies are your best bet. Instead of candies and chocolates, you can make these cookies as treats....

If you’ve read my post about black beans vs. pinto beans, you know lentils and beans are staples in our household, providing the main source of protein in our diet. From simple dishes like Bengali moong dal to fragrant carrot cucumber kosambari, and heartier options like chana dal fry, we incorporate legumes into a variety of meals. I’m always focused on making sure we get plenty of protein. When I’m not making a dal or curry (like this zucchini kootu), I love whipping up dips like spicy chana dal chutney or chickpea patties....

Infact I have been making chocolate cookies for ages now using oil however it always missed that smooth buttery texture & crunch which a butter cookie has. But I was not ready to make cookies using butter as we all would agree that cookies are something we don’t even count when eating. I had also heard that chili goes really well with chocolate and had been wanting to try experimenting with it....

I’m excited about this quinoa salad with orange and grapes. I LOVE it. It’s hands-down the best salad that I’ve tasted so far this season. (I know I say that about every salad. I’m just a salad girl. What can I say, salads get me excited!) How long it takes: 15 minutes, plus 10 minutes to cook the quinoa (you can do that ahead) Equipment you’ll need: saucepan, mixing bowl, zester or microplane Servings: 8 side servings or 4 main course servings We’ve been eating a lot of vegetarian salads with more of a Mediterranean vibe lately, like this chopped Greek salad or Israeli couscous salad....

I love winter vegetables and go crazy over the freshness and variety available! This aloo matar recipe is a family favorite. In the winter, when the carrots are in season, I use deep red carrots for this recipe. However, since regular carrots are available throughout the year, this is a dish that you can make any time of the year. This salad is a great option as a cold summer salad as well....

It’s soup week here at Cook’s Hideout, if you haven’t noticed yet. After Mexican flavored black bean soup and this Italian flavored pizza soup, today I have this Thai flavored vegan red curry soup. This is for the final day of this week’s ‘Warm Soups and Stews’ BM theme. Ingredients needed for Thai red Curry Soup: The most important ingredient for this soup is Thai red Curry paste. You can make it at home or use store bought....

Tangy red wine vinaigrette, with good extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with chopped shallots is pretty much a perfect dressing. It tastes great on all kinds of salads: fresh greens and vegetables, pasta salads, grain bowls, you name it. I’ve been making my own salad dressings for years. Once in awhile, I pick up bottled dressing at the grocery store in a weak moment, use it once, and then it sits in the refrigerator until I finally toss it....

This post is in partnership with Flatout. Thanks for supporting Rachel Cooks by reading about brands I love and use in my home! How long it takes: less than a half hour Equipment you’ll need: baking sheet Servings: 3 Any other fall lovers out there? Our new house has a bigger porch than our old house did and I went a little fall-crazy, decorating with bales of hay, pumpkins of every color, and mums....

What is Phool Makhana? Phool Makhana is the puffed lotus seeds or the puffed fox nuts. The seeds come from a plant named Euryale Fox, and it is abundant in Eastern Asia, and in India, it is mainly found in the state of Bihar. It has a lot of medicinal values, and NDTV Food lists the benefits in detail and also explains how the lotus seeds are processed. You can make a lot of dishes with phool makhana including curries, kheer, etc....