Indian As Apple Pie

As the granddaughter of a landowner and farmer from the heart of Punjab, India, I implore you, please do not refer to Punjabi Palak Paneer as simply Saag Paneer. The word saag has become interchangeable in the West to mean cooked, spiced, and pureed spinach with cheese. While the word saag refers to greens cooked and mashed down, this dish when cooked with spinach is referred to as Palak - the Hindi word for spinach. Saag typically refers to a dish that includes other kinds of leafy greens like mustard greens. Typically, this kind of saag does not include paneer, i.e. Sarson ka Saag (Pureed Mustard Greens).  I have now perfected Palak Paneer in the...

Dragon Fruit. I know you've seen it. The pink or yellow waxy - kind of strange - item in your produce section that you've likely been avoiding. I'm here to tell you - take the plunge! Buy one and you may just be surprised not only how delicious they, but how simple they are to use.  Indigenous to Mexico and South America and now found in many parts of Asia, this fruit grows on a climbing cactus. It is either pink or yellow on the outside and either white or magenta on the inside with tiny black seeds like a...

Soup Broth. You need to buy it, right? Wrong. It needs to be meat-based, right? Wrong. You need broth to make everything you make taste good, right? Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Homemade Vegetarian soup broth is simple. And, it uses up all of those leftovers in the fridge that are about to go bad, uses the nubs of your ginger and turmeric that you cut away and did not want to bother peeling, and is so incredibly easy and simple that you'll kick yourself for ever paying money for broth in the first place. I don't really use a recipe -...

Oh Rajmah, how can I even begin to do you justice? And, how can I even begin to tell all of you how critical this dish is to a Punjabi home? Every Punjabi I know has a story about Rajmah (Kidney bean curry). One relative ate it in his school dorm every weekend doled out over rice with a side of curds. It wasn't as good as home, but it was rajmah. My dear friend from graduate school in Hawaii was so homesick for Delhi that he tried to replicate his mom's version adding ketchup instead of tomatoes that he did not have handy...

I get it. Thanksgiving won't be the same this year. But, we still get to say 'Happy Thanksgiving' even if it is online rather than in person - what I will be doing with my extended family. Thank goodness through all this madness we can still cook. Below, you'll find my favorite Indian-inspired recipes for Thanksgiving. Make one or make them all. Make them now, or save them for another time. And when you do, know that I and my family are wishing you the best in health and happiness this Thanksgiving. I am oh, so grateful for all of...

Baking your tofu is a very easy way to prep this plant-based high-protein low-calorie powerhouse. It gives you a consistency that is perfect for all sorts of dishes that go beyond the standard East and Southeast Asian to even include Indian, Mexican and Italian. The thing about tofu is that it takes on the flavor of the ingredients you cook it with, and if you can get the texture just right, you can do so much more with it.  Most know about pan frying. While I cook it this way as well, I do find that getting it seared just...

One of our favorite meals is peas with Indian cheese, or Mattar Paneer. I actually developed my ground Punjabi Masala to make my life simpler when whipping up Mattar Paneer for my family. I've now done all the work for you! This masala is a curry starter - not really a simmering sauce like our other sauces including Tikka Masala. You don't just dump this in and go. You also add in a few other spices But, the heavy lifting is done for you! Just a cup or two mixed in with veggies and protein and some water and spices...

I love this soup, from page 49 of my book, The Indian Slow Cooker. I have now successfully made it for the Instant Pot. The recipe below is after three attempts to perfect it. What I learned? Upping the turmeric worked out just fine - I was nervous it would taste too earthy. And, the increased turmeric, along with the black pepper, and the fat from the cashews is a fantastic and healthy elixir that is at once warming and healing for your body. Enjoy this as a meal with a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds, crushed tortilla chips, or a hunk...

Why would you ever consider swapping out tofu for your precious paneer? For me, it's simply so I can eat more. I know, I'm a glutton for good food. But, it's hard for me to keep my portions micro small to balance out my daily calories and still feel good about myself on the scale. Consider this. 1 ounce of paneer has about 90 calories - tofu about 20. Multiply that by 8 and all of a sudden one meal can really take that calorie count up fast especially if you are like me and love seconds. I would never...

I love a good Aloo Gobi. It should be at once spicy and dry, but cooked through. My tests in the Instant Pot, however, were not quite meeting my high threshold for taste and texture. Until this recipe. A few tips for you. Keep the cauliflower and potatoes on the slightly larger side. Dice them too much and they will get mushy. You must add at least 1/4 cup of water. More than that and the dish gets mushy because cauliflower and the peas do release some moisture as well. I also don't mix the cauliflower until the dish is...