Whether you call them pine nuts, pignoli, pine kernels, or pinon, perfectly toasted pine nuts are a magical thing, aren’t they? I don’t get to experience their beauty and deliciousness as much as I’d like to since my kids have tree nut allergies but it makes them that much more of a treat for me. How long it takes: depending on the method you choose, 5 to 10 minutes Equipment you’ll need: a small skillet, microwave-safe plate OR small rimmed baking pan Servings: makes a half cup, or more if you choose Let’s be real, they’re already a bit of a treat given their price tag, but oh are they worth it!...

How long it takes: 3 minutes Equipment you’ll need: tall glass, ice Servings: 1 (or make as many as you like) Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte Torani pumpkin spice flavored syrup. This pumpkin spice latte is not a one-for-one copycat of Starbucks’. They use a sweetened pumpkin sauce made with pumpkin purée, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. Because the pumpkin sauce is thicker, you would need to use a blender for the creamiest latte....

This week blogging marathon theme is “kids friendly recipes with veggies sneaked in.” And as you might all know, I am hosting the kid’s delight event with the same theme as well. You can check about the event here and send in your recipes. :-) Children’s taste buds and their food preference change every day as they grow. What they fancied last month might not be their favorite this month....

Yesterday, I posted the traditional spinach molagootal with the coconut masala. Coconut adds a unique flavor, and there is no doubt about it. But for some reason, if you want to avoid coconut or if you are looking for kootu recipes without coconut then you are in the right place. We all love chow-chow, and it is vaandu’s favorite vegetable and needless to say that this is his favorite kootu too....

Golu and sundal are synonymous in my opinion. I love golu hopping and sundal collecting. All festivals, especially Navratri golu brings back those nostalgic childhood memories. I used to wear pattu pavaadai /silk lehenga and invite our neighbors to visit our golu and come back home with loads and loads of sundal. What is Sundal? Sundal is a healthy legume stir-fry prepared during the festivals which we offer as neivediyam....

Sometimes it’s hard to write a whole bunch of words about a recipe. I just asked my kids, what should I write about this pulled pork? My little man, N, who is 6, said, “Write pulled pork is gross!” How long it takes: An hour and half, start to finish Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot, small bowl, sharp knife, measuring utensils Servings: 6 (depends on how much you put on each bun) Thanks a lot, kid....

How long it takes: 45 minutes Equipment you’ll need: Instant Pot pressure cooker Servings: 6 Well, this Instant Pot Spaghetti is the answer to that problem. One pan – the insert of the Instant Pot. No need to drain the pasta. No need to wash three dishes for one recipe. I might never go back to making spaghetti the “regular” way again. Same goes for spaghetti and meatballs. If you guys haven’t gotten on the Instant Pot train yet, I think it’s time....

Potato is unanimously ‘the favorite vegetable’ of everyone in my family. Which means I buy pounds and pounds of potatoes every month. So when I saw this months theme of ‘1 vegetable - 3 countries’, I knew I have to make the most of my potatoes. First up is this Italian fried potatoes recipe that is extremely easy to make and oh-so delicious. I don’t think there is any country where potatoes are not used....

After ages, I am posting an Instant Pot and South Indian recipe. I hope you all enjoyed my Instant Pot summer beverages :horchata and raspberry green tea. Now it’s time for cozy comfort rice dishes and soup, and I am starting with this simple keerai sadam or the keerai kootu sadam. One-pot South Indian Instant Pot recipes You all know my love for quick and easy one-pot recipes. I have shared quite a few one-pot pulao and biryani varieties....

I am always intrigued by the variety of flatbreads that different cuisines offer. Starting with Indian paratha, like this spinach and paneer stuffed paratha to Italian pizza, like this dough made with semolina. Today we are exploring Middle eastern flatbread. In Arabic, Khobez or Khubz is the most common word for bread. It is also known as ‘aish’ in Egypt and ‘samoon’ in Iraq. The basic principle or recipe of these flatbreads is the same....

My latest success is cooking with kohlrabi greens, they are mellow and don’t have any distinguishable taste, almost like chard. So I made this dish that I learnt from my SIL in Sweden (which she made with spinach). Very simple to make and tasted good too.

When I think of malted desserts I think of malt shakes, which I have never tasted and have only have ever existed to me in 1950’s based books and movies from back when drive-in movies were still popular and boys and girls “went steady” (I watched a lot of “Happy Days” as a child). I think of girls in skirts embroidered with poodles and silky ponytails tied up high on their heads with ribbon leaning over formica diner tabletops and sipping thick, chocolate-hued milkshakes through striped straws....

The idea for these bacon cookies started as a Valentine’s idea. Even though I’m baking almost constantly, Zach rarely gets excited about what I’m making. He’s just not much of a desserts person and unless he smells bacon sizzling on the stovetop he doesn’t often come around asking for samples. So I thought I’d invent this recipe as sort of a love letter to him for Valentine’s Day and I married together one of my favorite cookie bases (my brown butter chocolate chip cookies, though the add-ins would be excellent with my worst chocolate chip cookies, too) with his favorite thing in the world: bacon....

These homemade vegan meatballs are the best. They are moist but not mushy, hold their shape and are very easy to make. And they take only 30 minutes to make. My vegan meatballs start with meatless veggie crumbles. There are a wide variety of options of these available these days. You can use TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein), frozen vegan beef crumbles and so on. Read the ingredients section for more information....

Mediterranean Zaatar Cucumber Yogurt Dip And just before we officially step into the New Year, I wanted to share my favorite dip with you for your New Year party or later events. For the past few weeks, we have been eating so much of desserts, creams, heavy soup and cheesy dishes that this dip looks like such a fresh-needed breather. Creamy Greek yogurt as a base and topped with juicy fresh chopped Persian cucumbers, onions, and pomegranate seeds along with zingy zaatar, feta cheese, pistachio and honey....

Here is my first semi-sweet pulav in this biryani-pulav series – Mishti pulao or the Bengali sweet rice. The Kashmiri pulav that I prepared was not entirely sweet even though it had the subtle sweetness. Let’s talk more about mishti pulao now. Gobind Bhog: For this pulao, we use the special rice called Gobind Bhog which is a short grain, white, aromatic and bit sticky rice from West Bengal. We serve the kheer and sweet made with this rice as offering to God hence its unique name – Gobind Bhog....

Hey ya’ll, as we head into February, if you are still sticking to your New Year’s resolution, then give yourself a HUGE pat on the back. Our update, well, we are still going strong on the “new year, new me” goal, and these gorgeous Winter Bliss Bowls have helped us stay on track (on many of those days where I could seriously dive into a bag of candies). For someone who believes in starting the day right, with an extra boost of energy, I’m a firm believer in adding yogurt along with fresh fruits to our breakfast—and these Bliss Bowls are loaded with it....

Sprouted Moong Dal Curry Here I am back after a week with the Konkani recipe that I missed to post before the Konkani Thali post. Before the April spree begins, I thought of posting this. When I was exploring Konkani recipes, I found this one and bookmarked. I did not plan to prepare it for the thali initially. But while preparing the Konkani thali, I realized I need to add some sambar variety....

You can find my traditional sweet and savory paniyaarams in the below links. I usually try adai with this mix but this time thought why not try paniyaaram?? I also added the veggies that I had in stock and eureka!!! Here is the multigrain paniyaaram with veggies. You can add any veggies that you have in hand. Its a filling and healthy meal/snack loaded with veggies and grains. You can serve this with the tomato onion chutney or with any spicy chutney that you like....

If you follow me on Instagram you’re probably just as invested as I am on this journey to the perfect waffle recipe. My sisters and I spent several days making waffles, non-stop, batch after batch, until this recipe was 100% dialed in and 100% perfect. I shared dozens of recipe fails and almost-successes in my Instagram stories. We got sick of eating waffles. Even the dogs seemed to get tired of them....