Fab Foodie Mama

As you, my foodie followers know, I absolutely love Indian food.  I have been trying to perfect some of the recipes I have posted here previously since I always seem to modify them each time I make them, either by a changing the spices or varying the cooking technique etc.  It's good to mature and perfect, right? Chicken Tikka Masala is (I think I heard this fact) the most popular Indian dish (outside of India) in the world, and I make it quite a bit, at least once every 2 months.  I've tried several versions of this prolific meal,  but this one from Aarti Sequeira, a Food Network star  - contained in her cookbook Aarti Paarti - is a simple and amazing take.  Other recipes have almost a half page listing of spices, yet this one, only a few.  I must admit, I was very skeptical.  How could all of the flavors come out with only ginger, garlic, paprica and garam masala?  I went for it and prepared Aarti's version, almost to the letter,  and...

Happy Summer, Foodie Followers!  I hope you are enjoying the fab weather, as I am here in the U.P..  However, no such luck of any resemblance to the 'lazy days of Summer'; we have been booked almost every day, and certainly every weekend since Memorial Day. The most notable thing I did this season, was back in late June/Early July, I traveled to Chennai, India for my brother's wedding.  It was an absolutely amazing experience to meet my new sister in law's family, to be immersed in the culture of South India for a week and of course, enjoying all of the amazing food.* I will be getting some recipes for some of the chutneys I had over there which I will add soon.  These two dishes here are not necessarily representative of Chennai or South Indian cooking, but delicious nonetheless and which I have made recently.  Chicken Biryani, is a drier, rice based dish with origins mainly in North India, but it has spread to all parts of the country.  Korma is also ...

As with any protein, marinating prior to cooking allows the flavors to really come to life.  This version of Saag Paneer started with a recipe I found in a cookbook by a Food Network personality, Aarti Sequira, titled Aarti Paarti.  This differs from another Saag Paneer   recipe I posted a few months ago in that this variation (#2) does not have any tomatoes and as I mentioned above, the paneer cheese is marinated in spices for at least 30 minutes prior to frying. Serve with basamati rice, naan, as a side dish or alone.   Me?  I had mine today as a side dish with a juicy hamburger on a gluten free bun.  Who said you can't mix up your food regions? - Eat what you love! Foodie Mama Saag Paneer #2  (serves 4 as a side dish or 2 for a main, with rice) Ingredients: 1 t ground turmeric 1/2 t cayenne pepper salt olive oil 12 oz paneer cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes 1 lb greens (kale, spinach, chard) with stems removed and chopped int...

When I received my Hello Fresh box a few weeks back there was a great recipe titled: Grilled Cheese and Veggie Jumble That dish was just delicious and it was the 'grilling cheese' which was the best part.  I had not used it before in any of my cooking and after looking on line, it is just paneer, the Indian cheese that I love in my favorite dishes Saag Paneer and Palack Paneer.  I had never tried to actually make either of these recipes, but I decided to give it a try.  Rachel and I found a recipe for Saag Paneer on AllRecipies.com and gave it a go!  We had it with naan and stuffed yellow peppers.   You can modify the heat to your liking. Saag Paneer Ingredients: 12 - 16 oz fresh spinach 1/2 lb paneer, cubed into 1-1 1/2 pieces* 3 T oil (vegetable oil or olive oil) 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 roma tomato, diced 2t ground cumin 1t ground ginger 3 cloves garlic, minced 2t garam masala 1 t tumeric +/- 1 T sambal oelek (or other hot c...

I absolutely love Indian food, but here, in the Copper Country,  we have no Indian restaurants and to cook it is both an art and a science. My brother John's girlfriend, Meena is from Chennai, and last fall she cooked the entire family an Indian feast.  She made Chicken Biryani, Daal Mkhani (black lentils in tomato cream sauce), Chicken Tikka Masala (the Indian dish all Americans know), Paneer Tikka Masala, Naan, Basamati Rice and Mango Lassi.  I t was like a dream come true and so very delicious.  She did a fabulous job and cooked for about 20 people.     From time to time, I make an attempt at preparing Indian food, either from package sauces or by following a recipe.  I have made butter chicken, chicken curry and a few other things with limited success.  Tonight, I was looking for a recipe to use up a head of cauliflower I had to use within the next 1-2 days, so I searched on Pinterest and found this.  It was simple to make...