Recipes From My Kitchen

Chilli oil is a great way to add spiciness to your salads and soups, and bring out its flavours. Its really easy to make and tastes delicious. It can be made with vegetable oil or peanut oil too, depends on what you plan to do with the finished product. I have used garlic to make it more flavourful. Like all hot oil infusions, the secret to making chilli oil lies in getting the temperature of the heated oil just right. Too cool and the oil won’t absorb the flavors; too hot and the chilli flakes will burn. For best results, use peanut or canola oil. You can also use olive oil if desired, just make sure it has a high enough smoking point. Steer clear of extra virgin olive oil. This is a basic recipe for chilli oil. Once you’ve got the technique right, feel free to jazz it up by adding garlic, ginger, cumin, sugar or other spices. To make it even hotter, add more dried chilies or reduce the oil to 1/3 cup. The chilli oil can be used almost immediately, but for best results lea...

Avocado Hummus recipe is like guacamole and hummus in one, and it is the smoothest and creamiest hummus recipe I’ve ever made! And the flavour is unbelievably delicious! Perfect for pita chips and veggies, or use it as a spread on your favourite veggie sandwich. This easy avocado hummus dip is also the perfect snack any day any time! This homemade hummus can be made in under 10 minutes and it makes for the perfect midday snack. To make the hummus extra creamy, peel the chickpeas skin! Yes! Peel the chickpea skin. This trick definitely gives you a creamy hummus. Another important trick is to add 2 cubes of ice while grinding. This gives a great color to the hummus. Serves - 4 Ingredients: 1 cup boiled chickpeas, drained 1 medium to large ripe avocado, cored and peeled 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving if desired 2 tsp tahini Juice of 1/2 lime 4-5 garlic pods, Salt as per taste Chilli garlic oil for garnish Method: Grind all the ingredients together to a fi...

Don't confuse this with guacamole —there's way more depth of flavor, which makes it one of my favorite summer sides of all time. But the real beauty? You're totally welcome to eat it with chips. (Just know it tastes amazing without them.) Swap out the veggies! If you have extra veggies in the fridge that need to be used, you can totally switch up this salad. Replace the cucumber with some sautéed zucchini or add in some chopped grilled asparagus. Add in some pickled jalapeños for some spice & tang or bell peppers for a milder, sweeter crunch or give it more of a Mediterranean vibe with oregano and some feta! This flavourful tomato and avocado salad is simple, colorful and healthy too! I love avocados and tomatoes, and the two complement each other very well. Red onion tastes really well as well, but i haven't added it this time. Dress it with fresh basil, fresh lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I promise you will fee...

Curry leaves has many health benefits like they help in reducing hair loss n premature greying of hair, helps in digestion, reduces acidity and indigestion, control diabetes, lowers cholesterol etc. Curry leaves powder are also given to newly delivered lactating mothers in some parts of India, considering the health benefits it has. Hey did I say it helps in weight loss too? Yes, incorporating curry leaves powder in the daily diet will help in losing weight by taking out fat and many other toxins from the body. Making curry leaves powder is very easy. Make it once and relish it for next few months. They can be served along with steaming hot idlis, dosas, curd rice, plain steaming hot rice+ghee/oil etc. I sometimes add a tablespoon of this to any vegetable or curries too to enhance taste and flavor. These type of spice powders come very handy when you are lazy to cook or running out of time. Here's mom's version of it.. Ingredients: 4 cups curry leaves, ...

Andhra Style Peanut Chutney is an easy and tasty chutney made with peanuts and is served popularly along with South Indian breakfast dishes. Among all the other Indian chutneys, this groundnut chutney is quite unique, given that there is no addition of coconut. You can choose to add whole peanuts or peanuts with their skin out, peanuts added without removing the skin adds a lot more fibre to the chutney, it also gives it a stronger flavour. Andhra Style Peanut Chutney is a delicious side dish with idli, dosa, and uttapam. It is also called  palli chutney  in Andhra and you can make it with coconut too. Ingredients: 1 cup  peanuts , roasted and deskinned, 1  tomato , roughly chopped, 3-4 dry  red chilies , more if you like it spicy, ¼ inch  ginger , 8-10  garlic pods , Small bunch of  fresh coriander , A small gooseberry sized ball of tamarind , 1 tbsp  sesame seeds, 1 or 2 tsp oil, Salt  as requi...

So, today a month has passed since the New Year was born. Wow! Time passes by so soon. January was a super hectic month and I was zipping in and out of town. February also looks chocobloc already and I have some exciting things lined up for the readers. I have also announced the Baking classes in February. You can get more details on my Facebook page . I will be adding a few more courses soon. Stay tuned on that one!!! A few days back my BFF Arundati posted a picture of a gorgeous Chocochip Chocolate Cake , and I knew right away I had to make it. I mean look at it, its so drop dead gorgeous. The first time I made it, I felt that the cake can be made a little more moist. So the second time I made it, I made a slight teeny weeny change to her recipe. I replaced the butter with oil. Rest was just straight out of her blog, this is what I got. Its totally free of mess and its just so quick to make. Serves 8 Ingredients: 1 cup flour , 1/4 cup oil + 2 tbsp  but...

Trifle pudding makes for an excellent dessert in parties. It quite easy to assemble, chill and then serve. You can also make individual portions of the layers in dessert glasses and bowls. This is a kid friendly recipe as I have not used sherry or any other alcohol. The word “trifle” comes from the old French term “trufle,” and literally means something whimsical or of little consequence. A proper English trifle is made with real egg custard poured over sponge cake soaked in fruit and sherry and topped with whipped cream. An English trifle is a quintessential dessert that has graced British tables for more than four centuries. This decadent-looking treat is simply luscious. Variations abound—some with jelly and some not, while fruit is a must-have for some and a turn-off to others. Essentially, a trifle needs a sponge soaked in sherry (for adults) or fruit juice (for teetotalers or children), a thick layer of creamy custard, and a deep layer of lightly whipped fresh cr...

This banana bread comes from my friend who years ago borrowed this recipe from her friend's mother. They being Catholics, had this recipe passed down from their grandmother. Passed down from generations, this recipe is truly delicious and is a recipe for keeps. That’s the wonderful thing about sharing recipes, the more good recipes we share, the better we all get to eat! Being a self taught baker, trials are a part of me until I perfect a recipe or find that recipe that meets my expectation. I have tried other banana bread recipes earlier and some of them were disasters.  This banana bread meets my expectations to the core. Its soft and moist and the flavor of banana really comes through. I did make a change from the earlier time that I baked this. I added 1/2 cup of brown sugar instead of a complete 3/4 th cup of white sugar. This gave a beautiful rustic brown color to the bread. I also added 1/4 cup of blanched almonds. I wanted a little crunch and I always thought ...

It’s hot outside, so let’s to talk about basil pesto! Have you made it yet? Pesto is one of my absolute favourite, ultra-flavourful sauces. Great pesto tastes fresh, herbal, nutty, garlicky and luxurious, all at once. Homemade pesto is infinitely more tasty than store-bought varieties. While pesto always seems fancy and gourmet, homemade pesto is very easy to make in your food processor or blender. Pesto originated in Liguria, Italy, where pesto is made in a mortar and pestle. (In fact, “pestâ” means “to pound.”) I don’t have the patience to crush basil by hand, one handful at a time. So, I recommend using your food processor or a mixer jar. Also, the main ingredient of the dish is pinenuts but, I have substituted it with some cashews. You can also add some walnuts. Drizzle a layer of olive oil on the top to avoid the pesto change its colour to dark green. Keeping it cool is very important otherwise it will spoil the taste of the pesto. So always store it in an airtight container and k...