Oat flour is an indispensable ingredient in my kitchen. It’s the first thing I reach for if I’m making a gluten-free recipe, and I also like to add it to regular baked goods to give them an extra-soft, delicate texture. No matter how I plan to use it, it’s the one pantry staple that I always, always make at home. Blending my own takes less than a minute, and it’s so much cheaper than buying it at the store....

Pin Kadalai Kuzhambu Recipe (With Coconut Milk)Serves 2-3 Soak the chickpeas overnight in 3 cups water. Pressure cook and keep aside. Or, just use canned chickpeas. Use 1/2 cup warm water and blend the tamarind with your hand to extract the juice. If using paste, dilute it in 1/2 cup water. Heat a pan and bring the tamarind water to boil. Add turmeric powder, hing, salt and the sambar powder to this....

I tried this prawn roast recipe a couple of months after getting back but never got around to posting it. Here it is, finally. The process may seem a bit long-wound so I would recommend lining up all the ingredients so that you can add them in one by one. Preparation time is about 20 mins and cooking time another 20 so it doesn’t take that long at all. Note that I got cleaned prawns so if you don’t, then that will take extra time to prep....

As requested, here’s a list of some of our Kyoto recommendations! WHERE TO STAY Hotel Mume If you’ve never been to Kyoto (and/or you don’t speak Japanese), you need to stay here. Mume is a cute 7-room boutique hotel with the most graciously helpful staff who will send you to the best restaurants & sights. In Kyoto, the language barrier can make it difficult to find & book reservations yourself (especially if you have any kind of food limitations)....

Nutella one day, quinoa the next. This is what I call balance. Tasty balance. Last week, I had this huge head of red lettuce. After a few days of salads, I worked my way down to the small rounded leaves in the center. I thought they were just too cute to tear apart into another salad, so I thought… lettuce wraps. This could be a lovely spring appetizer, or a light meal for two....

Ingredients: Okra / ladies finger / vendakka – 15 (number of okras) Raw shelled peanuts – 3 tbsp Shallots – 4, chopped Garlic – 1 tsp, minced (optional, but add for more flavour) Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Salt – to taste Oil – 1 tbsp Curry leaves – a few (optional) How to Make Bhindi Fry: Heat oil in a pan and lightly fry the shallots and garlic....

I don’t do crafty baking very often, but I had so much fun making and decorating these orange shortbread cookies! This orange shortbread cookie recipe is based on the lemon shortbread cookies that I made last year. That recipe is a fan favorite, so I thought I’d do a more festive version of it for Christmas. This time, I cut the cookies into stars and decorated them with orange zest and these cute Supernatural white sequin sprinkles....

Before I tell you about this recipe, I wanted to make a quick announcement to our Chicago friends – this Saturday I’ll be attending the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago at the Quaker Oats booth. Stop by to say HI and enjoy a healthy snack of Overnight Oats. I’ll be doing the meet & greet from 11:30am – 12:30pm, hope to see you there! (click here for details) Ok, back to the recipe!...

Freezing the paneer makes it easier to saute and cook without crumbling, and also, it’s great to pull out on a busy day and make paneer burji, which is the easiest paneer recipe I can think of. Vegetable jalfrezi is one of those dishes we order in North Indian restaurants to add some ‘vegetables’ and therefore nutrition to our meal. We’re obviously kidding ourselves since most of these places use cream as the base of the gravy but still, it’s our vice and we ‘indulge’ with pride....

I feel fall suddenly coming on. We went for a walk last night after dinner and Jack made fun of me for putting a sweater on. But really, after living here so long, I think I can consider 75 degrees a “cold front.” While the break from the heat is a welcomed one, I can’t say that I’m quite ready for summer to end. I see sweet potatoes and butternut squashes starting to come in… there will be time for those… but for now I’m savoring the last of the good summer produce....

I have detailed information on how to use a pressure cooker to make cake so do check that post first before proceeding with this chocolate cake recipe. I had previously tried an eggless sponge cake in a cooker and decided to try a different recipe, a chocolate cake, with eggs this time. This recipe will work in an oven too but it worked wonderfully well in my cooker so I hope you try this out too....

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and chana dal. 2. Once the mustard seeds pop and the chana dal starts turning golden brown, add the hing and cashews. Fry until the cashews start turning golden brown. Now add the rava and fry till it turns golden brown (a lot of golden-brown-turning needs to happen in this recipe), approximately 5-7 mins. Add salt (regular, not eno), mix well, and let it cool....

This salad is my favorite sort of thing to make. I love how all the vibrant colors play off one another—the bright pink and yellow beets, the vivid orange carrots, and the pale green avocado. But even more than how these ingredients look together, I love how they taste. The avocado is rich and creamy, the root veggies are sweet and earthy, and watercress adds a peppery, refreshing kick. All together, they make a stunning side dish that would be perfect for a special occasion brunch or dinner (or even a regular one, for that matter!...

Smash burgers are exactly what they sound like! They are burger patties smashed thin onto a hot skillet or griddle, making them super delicious, extra crispy, and browned. Unlike our thick and juicy hamburgers, smash burgers are all about that thin and caramelized texture. Our version resembles Oklahoma onion burgers since we add a heap of thinly sliced onions to the burger patties before smashing them. So good! Don’t miss our homemade burger sauce....

Whenever I make a recipe that calls for shredded carrots – say, a salad or carrot cake – I always shred my own at home. I tend to avoid pre-cut produce as a rule, but I especially steer clear of bagged grated carrots. They’re drier and more brittle than ones I grate myself. Plus, when I shred carrots at home, I can taste their natural sweetness. Out of the bag, their flavor isn’t nearly as good....

Making Quick and Easy Shredded Chicken Tacos These shredded chicken tacos are a mix up of two favorite recipes on the blog. First, we make tender shredded chicken by gently simmering chicken with onion, garlic, cumin and a bay leaf (you can do this on the stove or use a slow cooker for the chicken — see notes below). Then we fill tortillas with the chicken and drizzle our creamy cilantro sauce on top....

This is the pasta we made for my sister and her husband on this unintentionally-late-cooking night. We actually handmade these pasta noodles, which I’ll have to show in another post. Between messy flour, sticky noodles, and it being 11pm… we failed to get photographs of any part of that process. Despite starting this meal way too late, it comes together super fast. The lemon and olive oil highlight the crunchy spring vegetables in a bright but simple way....

Grind to a paste: 1/2 cup grated coconut 4-5 shallots / ulli 1/2 tsp jeera 2 dry red chillies A pinch of turmeric 1 clove of garlic For tempering: 2 tsp oil A few fenugreek seeds / uluva / menthayam 1/4 tsp mustard seeds A few curry leaves 4-5 sliced shallots How to Make Thakkali Kuzhambu Take the tamarind water in a kadai and add the tomatoes and drumsticks to it along with salt....