Mixed Vegetable Korma - Vegan and Gluten Free

Here at the Taste Chronicles headquarters (AKA my home!) we’re going through a few changes – logistical and dietary.  After living in apartments/ townhomes my whole life, I have finally bit the bullet and moved to a house in the ‘burbs. They tell me this is what it means to grow up.  The jury is still out on this adult-ing thing so I will let you know how it goes later. However, after 13 years of electric/ ceramic cooktops, I finally have a gas stove! I love love love it! I had forgotten how nice it was to cook on good old-fashioned fire.

On the diet front, we have moved to a low gluten/ gluten free and dairy free diet for the most part, which has been an eye opening experience. This has meant a drastic clamp down on processed foods. We were never big on the processed stuff, but now we’ve had to cut it out almost entirely. I am on a bit of a learning curve with this, so if you have any recipes and ideas please share them in the comments. 

This mixed vegetable korma recipe is delicious, vegan and gluten free and more importantly, doesn’t let you feel like you’re going without anything.

Yield - Serves 3 - 4

Time - 1 Hour

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Gluten - Free, Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian

Indo Chinese Chili Chicken

When an eight year old eats a dish, wipes it clean and declares - "This is the best thing I have ever had!", you gotta write that recipe down and share it with the world. Even if said eight year old is a particularly non-fussy eater. Even if you've only recently shared another recipe called Chili Chicken. 

Ever since I have come back from my holiday in Bombay, I have been going through an Indo Chinese food phase. It might be because my parents live perilously close to a Chinese restaurant in Bombay and I could smell their delicious food. All. The. Time. 

It has taken several iterations but I have got this Chili Chicken recipe down exactly the way I like it. One of the most important factors has been acquiring the right equipment. A wok is almost non-negotiable when it comes to cooking stir fries of any kind. I feel almost like a broken record when I say - High heat, quick cooking time. The shape of a wok is best for stir fries as well and you can get away with using much less oil while cooking a typical Indo Chinese dish. After several months of deliberation, I have recently invested in a large electric wok. It wasn't an impulse buy, I assure you. I have only used it thrice so far, but it works like magic. One of my friends tells me that his electric wok started to warp because he was using it on the highest heat setting all the time. But since I got this thing for its high heat setting potential, I am going to keep going. I will report back on any wok warping in a few months and let you know how it goes! For now, I present to you this eight-year-old approved dish. 

Chili Chicken can be had "dry" or "with gravy"(sauce) in restaurants and food carts around India. This recipe can be adapted for both, but as you can see, I prefer a thick "dry" sauce sticking to the chicken. The amount of chillies, garlic and ginger is up to your personal preference (see notes for ingredients marked *). Chilli chicken is a particularly pungent dish, so if that's not your scene then maybe this recipe is not for you! 

Yield - Serves 4

Prep Time - 45 Minutes

Cook Time - 15 Minutes

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1 comment LABELS: Asian, Indian, Poultry

Chana Masala

A big pot of chole or chana masala was customary in any late 80s - early 90's birthday party in my memory. An Indian vegetarian staple, chole is inexpensive, hearty, healthy and generally well liked by children and adults alike. Apart from my dad - he does NOT like chole! It is a bit of a running joke between us. We FaceTime quite often just around my dinner time. If I am having chole, I will tell him I am having "his favorite!" Then of course he has to guess which one of his 'favorites' it is - bhindi (okra), rajma (red kidney beans) or chole (chickpeas)! 

Skip the yogurt if you want to make this recipe vegan. It is vegetarian, gluten-free and overall awesome but it won't make your coffee for you.

Yield - Serves 2
Time - 40 Minutes

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Indian, Vegetarian

Prawn Sukka

If you follow me on Intagram, you probably know that I was visiting India for a month (If you don't follow me on Intagram - why not?!) Apart from a quick stop over at Singapore, I was mostly in Mumbai. One of my Mumbai food highlights, apart from my mother's fantastic cooking, was the Crab Sukka from Mahesh Lunch Home. Mahesh Lunch Home specializes in Mangalorean seafood dishes and the flavors in the crab dish was off the charts. 

'Sukka' essentially means dry. Here I have tried to recreate the flavors in a dry prawn dish. While cooking this, our building's fire alarm went off - it wasn't me! But I had to evacuate while I was in the process of cooking the spices. Which was SO inconvenient! 1) Because I smelled like a spice drawer; and 2) Because I really wanted to finish cooking this delight and dig in!

Yield - Serves 2

Total Time - 1 Hour

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Indian, Seafood

Sri Lankan Beef Stir Fry

Last Christmas (no, I didn't give you my heart - great, now that song is stuck in my head) we went to a stuff-yourself-till-you-fall-into-a-coma kind of a family and friends gathering. The food was predominantly Sub-Continental and I had one mouth watering dish that was so simple, yet so delicious that I HAD to have the recipe! So, I hounded the cook of said dish till she relinquished the recipe. She said it was Sri Lankan style beef and the recipe was simple enough. 

Now, I don't claim to know much about about Sri Lankan cooking, so I started researching the cuisine on encyclopedia Google and came up a bit empty as far as this beef dish goes. So, I asked one of my Sri Lankan work mates about it. After describing it to her, she said that it sounded like what they call a stir fry. But then she also added a disclaimer: "I can't help you if you have the Sri Lankan community after you with pitch forks." (Thanks, Sala) 

This is not like the other quick-cook stir fries I have done in the past on the blog. The recipe calls for A TON of onions which give this dish a natural sweetness. The spices themselves are subtle and it is nothing like the creamy spicy fare you sometimes have to suffer through in Indian/  Sri Lankan restaurants in western countries. 

Yield - Serves 3
Prep Time -15 Minutes + Overnight Marination
Cook Time - 40 Minutes

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Indian, Meat

Dal Fry

My mom makes the best dal. No really. I know that everyone says their moms make the best something or the other but I am not being sentimental here. I am simply stating a mere fact. My mom makes the best dal. I spent the first 2 years of grad school trying to figure out how she does it (I took classes, read a lot of papers, passed my comps and tried to come with a research project too - but mostly, I perfected cooking dal). I love dal. When I was a kid, I'd come home from school and often sit with a large bowl of dal and down it. To me, it is home plain and simple - true comfort food.

I can see my dad rolling his eyes if he's reading this. He does not think that dal deserves an honorable mention in any food related discussion. Dal simply exists as side in every single Indian meal. Always. Even my dad can't roll his eyes on this dal fry recipe because it is something that he used to whip up using leftover dal (cooked by my mom of course). It was delicious and deserves its own blog post! 

It is a fantastic source of protein and I would recommend it as an essential part of a vegetarian diet. I generally cook more dal than I need for a meal and freeze the rest for future use.

Yield - Seves 4

Time - 1 Hour

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian

Chili Paneer Stir Fry

I was looking through my drafts and found this old gem. Why I haven't posted this earlier, I don't know! This is one of those meals that I put together in a jiffy by scrounging up ingredients and hoping that something edible comes out of it. I ended up with something that will make its way back on my table again and again. The whole dish took about 20 minutes to make, mainly because I turn into a hungry multi tasking beast after work on weeknights. You might take a little longer to chop but don't cook it too long. Stir fries love high heat and quick cooking. Slowing it down make them soggy and mushy - no good!

I don't usually think of making chili paneer, which is a common Indo-Chinese fusion dish. Paneer almost always turns into some form or the other of matar paneer or palak paneer in my kitchen. Primarily, this is because most recipes for chili paneer start with battering and frying the paneer, which is a bit of a culinary turn off for me. Do you really want to deep fry your cheese? I don't, so I didn't. What we ended up with was a definite keeper. It has a good amount of heat from the chilies and chili sauce. Adjust the amount of chilies to suit your palate. 

Yield - Serves 2

Time - 30 Minutes

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Leave a Comment | LABELS: Asian, Indian, Vegetarian, Weeknight Lifesavers

Baked Samosas

My favorite of all Indian festivals - Diwali - is just around the corner. Yay!  Diwali is a time for family, friends, hope and new beginnings. Every year, when we were kids, we had a massive Diwali party a couple of nights before the actual day of Diwali. We put on some good shows that we still laugh about - dances, skits, parodies, musicals - the list is endless. We wore some horrifying outfits (the joys of growing up in India in the 90's) that still keep coming back to haunt us on Facebook. We put on our first saris, wore our first high heels, giggled and blushed at our first crushes. We roamed carefree around the neighborhood with sounds of fireworks all around us. Diwali is also a time for 'taash' (poker) and food! The night of the big party was my dad's annual taash event - it was an all night poker event - no kids allowed! 

Food coma was an essential part of Diwali. No matter whose house we visited, the "aunties" there stuffed our faces with sweet and savory treats that they had prepared tirelessly for days on end. I hope to continue this beautiful tradition. Though I don't know how to  make some of the traditional Diwali treats, I am determined to learn. 

I haven't made samosas before but I have eaten more than my share of them. I know exactly how I like them - not too spicy with the potato pieces intact, i.e not boiled and mashed. A bit of experimentation resulted in a pretty delicious, guilt free treat that was no too difficult to make after all.

Yield - Makes 10 Samosas

Time - 2 Hours

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2 comments LABELS: Appetizers, Indian, Snack, Vegan, Vegetarian

Mughlai Paratha with Minty Lamb Filling

You really have to try these parathas, you guys! In just in time for Durga Puja! For those of you not familiar with this festival - Durga Puja, is an annual Hindu festival celebrating the Goddess Durga. It is quite a big deal for most bengalis. That's where my knowledge of the subject ends. Even though I am a bengali, I am what they call "probashi" meaning someone who wasn't born or brought up in Bengal. 

In Bombay, Durga puja wasn't quite celebrated in the same grand scale that it was in Calcutta (which by all accounts sounds quite manic to be honest). But boy was it fun! We went pandal  hopping all over Bombay, catching up with other bong friends along the way. And the food! Once my dad was done with his customary dad duties, i.e propping me up on his shoulders so I could check out the idol, off to the Mughlai Paratha stall we went! He even went through a phase back in the nineties when he was making these pretty much every weekend, trying to get the recipe right. He's a great Sunday cook, my dad! 

Here I have come up with my own version of Mughlai Paratha and it was a trip down memory lane.

Yield - Makes 6 Parathas

Time - 2 Hours

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2 comments LABELS: Indian, Meat

Orange Blossom Flavored Walnut Semolina Halwa

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, y'all! There! I have said it. On a food blog no less. I know you will never fully trust me again. This is why when you click on the tag on the side panel that says "desserts" you will find three total entries - including this one. A sweet dish has to be pretty friggin darn awesome before I will be tempted to post it on here - or put it in my mouth. 

The upcoming holiday and festival season has me quite excited and inspired to try my hand at some old treats. Halwa, or semolina pudding is a no nonsense sweet dish that was very common at home when I was growing up. I have given it a spruce up here with the unexpected flavor of orange blossom water. I might have added raisins or dried cranberries if I'd had them on hand. 

Yield - Serves 8
Time - 1 Hour + 2 Hours Chilling

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6 comments LABELS: Dessert, Indian

Vegetable Tikka Masala

Daylight saving's here! Woohoo! It's the best. It is like waking up after a long cold dark night. I am no good in winter. I never thought I'd say this when I was in Bombay or in Florida, but I really miss the long hot humid summers. The two months of winter we had were pretty bearable. In Florida, that is. We don't actually have a winter in Bombay. 

But no more whinging. Let's talk about food! Look at this delicious tikka masala! I order tikka masala pretty often when I go to Indian restaurants, so I wanted to deconstruct the recipe and cook it in the Taste Chronicles kitchen. Ingredients such as mustard oil, black salt and roasted bell pepper give it a lovely smokey flavor. Definitely worth a try!

Yield - Serves 3
Prep Time - 20 Minutes
Cook Time - 40 Minutes

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4 comments LABELS: Indian, Vegetarian

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

When I was a kid, my family would go to visit my grandparents in Orissa during summer school holidays. It was a long train ride from Bombay to Bhubaneshwar – it took about 2.5 days by Minar Express. It was the most exciting thing in my young life, something to look forward to every summer. I loved Cuttack back then. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and best of all cousins. 

Traveling through India in a train is one of the most soul nourishing experiences that I am glad I haven’t missed out on. We travelled through the Ghats, down through Andhra Pradesh and up to Orissa. We passed through towns whose names we couldn’t really pronounce but tried anyway and made friends along the way with fellow travelers. We ate railway curries with pickles for dinner and snuck out to sit by the doors when our parents weren’t watching. The train coaches in India have doors that can slide open. I loved sitting at the door with my legs hanging out, while the train rushed through long bridges, while hanging on to something solid .The only fear I felt while my legs dangled off the train was the fear of being caught by one of my parents and getting in serious trouble!

One of the best parts of the journey from Bombay to Cuttack was the 2 hour stopover in Hyderabad. Long stop overs were always fun because the vendors would come into the train selling local delights – chai, bhajias, the best darned bread omelets in the world, just about everything. My sister and I always stayed back in the train compartment with my mom while my dad ventured out to replenish our water and food supplies. It was gross injustice back then! The Hyderabad stopover was special though. Hyderabad is well known for its Biryani. The second the train stopped at Secunderabad station, my dad would rush off to get biryani (from somewhere, I never figured out where!) but it always took him what felt like ages to get back. It was quite nerve wracking because I always felt like he was going to miss the train. But he always got back in time with the worlds best ever biryani. It was our little tradition.

The Biryani recipe that I am sharing with you today is nowhere near as good as the one I had on Minar Express while it pulled away from Hyderabad. It is not even the second best biryani in the world after the Hyderabadi one,  that’s my dad’s Sunday special biryani. But I like it enough to make it all the time – the third best in the world – if I may say so myself. 

Recipe adapted from Vahrevah.

Yield - Serves 4

Prep Time - 40 Minutes + Overnight Marination

Cook Time - 45 Minutes

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8 comments LABELS: Indian, Poultry

Chettinad Chicken

Sometimes, you plan your meals and other times the meal pretty much cooks itself with what you have in your refrigerator and pantry. Every now and again you end up with a winner! The recipe I am sharing with you today was definitely a winner! 

I picked up a huge bunch of curry leaves from the Indian store the other day, with the intention of drying up most of it for future use. I have done this in the past and it lasted me ages. I don't know about you, but I can't go through the huge bunches of curry leaves they sell at the market quickly enough and hate the thought of them rotting in my refrigerator. Drying them for future is the perfect solution - when it works! Yep, that's right ladies and gentlemen - I failed. I "over-thank" the drying of curry leaves (yes, you CAN over think drying of herbs) and ended up with a bunch of mold covered leaves which I had to chuck out. Bummer! Well, I am nothing if not determined and persistent, so I WILL try again and I will succeed! 

Luckily though, I used some of the curry leaves while they were fresh to cook an old favorite - Chettinad Chicken. Chettinad chicken is a South Indian spicy chicken curry that will make your heart sing and nose water. About time I posted a delicious soul warming curry recipe around here, don't you think? Chettinad Chicken originates from the Chettinad region from the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. South Indian curries have a very distinctive flavor, very different to the North Indian fare commonly found in Indian restaurants. An important part of this "South Indian" flavor comes from curry leaves. 

Yield - Serves 4

Time - 1.5 Hours

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8 comments LABELS: Indian, Poultry

Not quite Bharli Vangi

Looking at all my blog posts lately, I can see why you would think that I am a die hard carnivore. Believe me, I eat veggies most weeknights. It's just that the Indian staple of Bhaat (rice) + Dal (lentils)+ Bhaji (Veggies) is often less than glamorous, so I end up not blogging about them! 

Bharli Vangi is a Maharashtrian recipe. It is made by stuffing eggplants with a nutty spicy filling and cooking it in a delicious sauce. Quick geography lesson - Maharashtra is a state in the western part of India. Bombay, where I grew up, is in Maharashtra. The recipe I am sharing with you today is not quite Bharli Vangi, and hence the title of the post. "Bharli" means stuffed and "Vangi" means "eggplants" in Marathi. I am using the basic elements of this classic dish but I am not going to actually stuff the eggplants.

Yield - Serves 2

Time - 40 Minutes

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6 comments LABELS: Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian

Minty Cilantro Chicken Kebabs

I have been thinking about getting a George Foreman grill a lot lately. I am attracted to the idea of grilling veggies, kebabs, chicken, just about anything. Paninis for lunch? Sure can do! Just think about it - marinate the meat and then fuggedabouddit. When ready, stick it on the grill and you're done!

Then why haven't I gone and got one already? Should I really buy yet another kitchen gadget that I may realistically only use a couple of times? You know what I am talking about! You see a a new kitchen appliance and it seems to be radiating a glow and all of a sudden the angels start singing. You're convinced that this new gadget will change your world. It will make cooking easy, stress free and healthy. You go out and get it. And it turns out to be less than stellar. You use it a couple of times just because you don't want to admit you were wrong. But then the romance fizzles out. And it gets put away at the back of the kitchen cabinet, using up precious real estate and you slowly forget about it. I present exhibit A - my slow cooker. I was convinced my slow cooker was going to restore world peace. Slowly cook succulent juicy dishes while I was at work and I could come home to a hot meal minus the effort. Unfortunately, it only managed to make me feel like I was eating hospital food. Don't get me wrong, I still managed to make a couple of awesome dishes like this one and this one. But all in all it has fallen short of saving my life. I am not angry, slow cooker; I am just disappointed. So the jury is still out about this George Foreman grill. Do you own one? What do you think about it? Write in and let me know your thoughts!


The Cilantro Mint Chicken Kebab recipe I am sharing with you today would be ideal on any kind of grill - indoor or outdoor. You can also cook it in the oven on the broil setting like I have done here. Vegetarians, don't be disappointed you can try this with paneer (minus the meat tenderizer of course!)

Yield - Serves 4
Prep Time - 15 Minutes + 2 Hours Marination
Cook Time - 15 Minutes

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14 comments LABELS: Appetizers, Indian, Poultry

Butter Chicken

I feel like I am a bad Indian, posting a butter chicken recipe. Usually, I am the one dissing my friends who order it in restaurants. (Is 'dissing' a word now? Because I was totally expecting it to come up with a wiggly red line underneath.) But in my defense, the butter chicken you get in most restaurants are chicken pieces in ketchup and spices. So, yes, I nag my friends. Wouldn't you? If you saw them making a mistake? We do it because we're good people.

I posted my butter chicken recipe a while ago but I felt like the recipe needed a revamp. With real butter. We're going to give our conscience a mini vacation and do it the right way this one time. If you still can't get yourself to stop feeling guilty, I suggest inviting some friends over. Share the butter chicken. And the love. And the calories. Feel better? Good. Would you believe me if I told you that this is a ridiculously easy recipe? It is! 

Yield - Serves 4

Prep Time - 30 Minutes + 1 Hour Marination

Cook Time - 30 Minutes

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8 comments LABELS: Indian, Poultry