Paneer-Matar Paratha

In case you missed my Aloo-matar paratha from a few moons ago, this paratha is similar only better, in that it has paneer - my favorite ingredient. I have sung praises of the stuffed bread or paratha in that post so pay a visit if you are super interested! Also I described how tricky it can be for first timer and takes a little practice to get it right. Anyway, addition of Paneer gives this stuffed paratha the added soft texture as well a mildly creamy taste along with the kick of the spiced up peas. This paratha is perfect for those times when you feel like eating a yummy bread and don't really want to deal with making accompaniments. Just enjoy with some spicy Indian pickle, a simple raita or heck even ketchup.

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Tags:Paneer-Matar Paratha

Homemade Bagels with Jalapeno Cream Cheese spread

This is another one in the line of my attempts to recreate at home a commonly available preparation that I thought for the longest time nearly impossible or at least too difficult to create at home. The humble bagel definitely proved to me it sure is a little tricky and requires attention to detail to get the best result. I speak from experience. The first time I tried it, it got too chewy and tough. After much I though I figured out where I was going wrong. To get the right taste and texture, you have to be very mindful of how long you boil the dough, the right pinch of baking soda and finally baking it just right. Once you get it how you want it, and not to mention with the easy-to-put-together but outta this world jalapeno spread, a fresh out of the oven hot bagel with a spicy spread will be close to if not the best kind of bread you ever had.

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Baked Red Velvet Donuts!

My kitchen drawer where I keep my bake ware is almost always in a disarray. All the different shapes and sizes of pans and trays oftentimes do not play very well together when it comes to staying organized. Then to top that I just cannot resist buying a baking pan or tray that I come across and it catches my attention. The donut tray I used for this recipe was another such thing that I had to have when I saw it the other day at the store. It was a Wilton brand pan and this recipe was in fact right on the packaging itself. They make the perfect shaped donuts and whats better is that you can actually eat a few since they are baked and not deep fried. To kick it up another notch, if the donuts are the red velvet kind, what's not to like, after all who doesn't like red velvet cake. These came out really nice and soft and velvety and then with that cream cheese glaze on top, you just go 'yummm'. They are perfect  treat for the upcoming Valentine's day too.
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One Bowl Everyday Chocolate Cake

Yesterday afternoon as I sat on the couch watching TV and waiting for dear hubs to wake up from his catnap so we go shopping, I suddenly started craving for chocolate cake. Nothing too fancy, just something that felt like cake to eat and was not-so-calorie-laden. A simple no-icing chocolaty cake that I can whip up in a jiffy. That is when this was made - a one bowl wonder, fuss free cake with my everyday pantry ingredients. A very basic beginner recipe that you can try your hand at even if you do not consider yourself much of a baker. It is moist, chocolaty with a very nice coffee flavor to it, has less calories when compared to most other chocolate cakes and so it can be your everyday cake.I made this in my new cute mini loaf pans but you can make it in a regular 5 x 9 loaf pan too, just double the recipe. I like it just this way - plain and simple - but you can most certainly dress it up with some whipped cream and berries if you so please. This is a chocolate cake you throw together real quick. It goes with tea and friends coming over on semi-short notice. It also makes for a great breakfast on the go.

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English Muffins!

Another ode to my love for bread. As much as I love eating different kinds, I love making them too. Take a look at the 'Breads' category and you will know what I mean. Talk about some serious bragging rights. Bread baking for me is almost therapeutic. The kneading is the best part (if you are mad at someone, this is the best way to calm yourself down. Yes, it works every time for me... lol). To be able to get out a loaf of delicious bread from a few everyday ingredients is a wonder - not to mention the smell of fresh baked bread that fills the house. The excitement to see the dough rise and then finally cut into it and see how perfect it came out... aah it is almost a high for me (I know I know this is probably the hundredth time I am writing this)... but its true :)
The english muffin got my curiosity only recently. It is not something that is commonly known in India. That one day when hubs got it for us at the mall food court I have wanted to make it ever since and am proud to declare they came out really good.
With some butter or jam spread, they are perfect for a quick breakfast and can even be quickly made into a burger for a light lunch. Whats more is that you do not need and oven to make them, they can be made right on your stove top in a regular pan. I had a batch ready when my little one got back from school all exhausted and hungry. She ate a couple before even getting her shoes off and invented a new kind of sandwich while she was at it, english muffins with cheddar slice and butter!

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Grilled caprese cheese sandwich!

Wish all my readers and fans a very Happy New Year 2013.
If you have followed my endless rants about my love for paneer and nutella this recipe is about the one other thing I totally can eat in any which way - the humble bread. This sandwich is the favorite form in which I like it too. Two slices from my favorite Italian bread or French baguette smothered with extra virgin olive oil with a slice of fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwiched within, made slightly crisp on a pan  - just enough for the mozzarella to melt and start oozing. Yum is all I can say.
I have another similar recipe here which is done more in a panini style. This is done like more of a sandwich.

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Missi roti/ Spiced Chickpea flatbread

India makes several different kinds of flat-breads, roti, paratha, naan, chapati to name a few of the most common ones. Missi roti is another such flat bread but with an interesting twist. This roti is made primarily with Besan or Gram flour unlike its counterparts that almost entirely are made of grain flour (most commonly wheat). Missi roti has its origins in the western part of India but due to its exquisite flavor profile, texture and the fact that being made of gram flour it is loaded with good protein, it is now common in many households and restaurants across the country. Needless to say it is one of my favorites too.
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Mango Ginger Cardamom Mini Bundt Cakes

It poured all day yesterday and not just your average rain but the kind that you hear loud and clear even when all locked up inside the house over the sound of the movie playing on TV. It is surely daunting at first, scary even with the occasional loud thunder but then you start to enjoy it. Hubs decided it was perfect weather for some backyard grilling. First we decided to grill some corn-on-the-cob followed by our favorite veggie pizza. When I went looking for my pizza stone in the drawer where I keep all my baking trays and pans, that is when I saw my mini bundt cake pan sitting idle stacked away and hidden under several other trays. If you noticed recently I have made a few mango based drinks from which I had some mango puree left over. That's when this dish was decided. The cakes turned out perfect with the exotic flavor of Alphonso mangoes and a hint of ginger to kick it up a notch.

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Condensed milk orange pound cake

ou would probably agree with me that oftentimes we crave for simple treats. No bells and whistles, just simple yet full of flavor. Don't get me wrong, bells and whistles are good and I am all for them but then there is always that morning that you want a simple breakfast, that evening that you want something nice and simple with your hot tea or coffee or that something that you can leave on the kitchen counter that hubby in his usual nonchalant self, lost in his own thoughts, picks up a piece and stops, looks around, gives you a complement on how flavorful it is and goes back to being himself. For me, this orange cake with a burst of citrus comes very close to that description. Light and fluffy,  sweet and refreshing pure spring-summer time treat! It could even be a mood lifter when you are feeling a little blue. 

I go for a light breakfast especially on weekdays. Be it a bowl of cereal or oatmeal or a quick sliced bread sandwich with some fruits and veggies. To keep things interesting, I always find myself looking for ways to come up with interesting but light and yet 'breakfasty' recipes. Interestingly enough this cake has worked many-a-times for me as a light breakfast cake. Then of course there is the possibility of dressing this cake up with frosting and it becomes a dessert. Take you pick.

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Nutella filled baked donut Muffins

Featured on: The Kitchn, Huffington Post, Parenting.com, DDG Daily

ow many times have you picked up a donut and set it down? Did I touch a nerve there? If I did, then read-on. I don't claim these to be the healthiest things around but they are perfect when you have a serious craving for those fried beauties. You get the same donut taste without all the frying. Being smaller they also give you portion control, be cautioned though that you will be tempted to pick up a few. These are delicious little treats, baked scrummy soft fluffy doughnut muffins coated with cinnamon sugar and filled with Nutella, how can you argue with that! Hot out of the oven, you blow on them till they cool down just enough and then chomp away... yes you can close your eyes too when you eat, it adds to the pleasure. We shamelessly finished the batch and don't even have any regrets.

They are very quick and ridiculously easy to put together. They also make for a great breakfast muffin and your kids will just love them.

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Cinnamon Rolls/Buns!

alfway through my pregnancy when I was carrying my little princess there was brief period of about a week when cinnamon roll was the only thing I would eat. We bought a whole big pack from our local Sam's club. The craving was gone in a few days but cinnamon rolls were stuck in my mind.

Cinnamon rolls need no introduction; sticky, sweet, sinful and utterly delicious. But the best thing about making your own is the irresistible aroma of the fresh rolls baking in the oven. The straight out of the oven, warm, soft and glazed rolls are heavenly you just want to dig into them and gobble them up... irresistible! On the day you feel like indulging, make these beauties.

I made them a few times since, made them again last week. Whenever I make them, the wonderful smell reminds me of my pregnancy days and then I see my little princess making a mess of herself eating them up. There is no better feeling. That makes this one special for me.

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Marbled banana chocolate loaf cake ~ eggless and butterless!

anana - as a fruit - is not something I am completely in love with. In fact to be honest I totally detest them - let's just say (without being too graphic) I can't even take a bite. I still buy them for my daughter and the hubs.
As strange as it may sound though, I like the banana flavor in cakes and bakes - go figure.
There's something special about the plain ol' Marble cake. It looks great without any extra effort and has that wow factor! It tastes great too and being two cakes in one, it satisfies people with varied taste too. Me and the little one being the chocolate lovers and hubs the vanilla and banana fan. It is one of the easiest cake to bake, requires basic ingredients which we mostly have in our pantry at all times! It is fun to  bake one at home and what makes it more exciting is the anxious wait with fingers crossed when you first cut into it and see the marble effect (yes I get excited about my food) - and the marbling effect is different with every slice.

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A Date with Chocolate Cake :)

n case you did not notice the nifty badge to your right, US Masala is proud to announce that it has been featured on yummly.com and has been 'Certified Yummly'.
Now on to this post.
A date with chocolate! Now that's a date I'd never pass on. If you have been a regular visitor to my blog you must know by now that I have a clear obsession with chocolate. Most of my baked goodies are either chocolate based or consist of nutella or both. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so-much-so that every time I eat anything sweet, I immediately need to eat something savory or spicy to 'clean' my palate. With chocolate, the story is a little different. Every time I think of dessert, I think chocolate. Even when I am online looking for ideas, I type chocolate based search words... even when I am blog hopping, the category I check is chocolate baked goodies. You get the idea.

I regularly make a date based breakfast cake that hubs loves to eat with his cereal before he leaves for work every morning. This time around, when I was in the mood to bake some cake with the leftover dates I got the other day, while mixing the batter came the bright (read:obvious for me) idea of adding chocolate and the result was magical, a soft chocolaty perfect breakfast cake. Added bonus is now I can eat it for breakfast too. Being butterless and eggless makes it even better.

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Semiya Pulao/Indian Style Stir Fried Noodles

uss free food is always welcome but quite often these recipes are very underrated. We make them quite often whenever we are racing against the clock to put food on the table but when it comes to showcasing your work we often put them in the back burner as 'yeh to ainvayi hai'. This is one such dish atleast in my household. I cannot remember how many times I have made it. Many different occasions - be it a quick lunch or dinner, pack something in a hurry for hubs occasional lunchbox or on kiddo's sudden demand of 'noodles'.  Every time I made it I always got applauded on how good it was. Never gave it much thought. Gradually it started to grow on me. The proverbial last straw was when I saw several foodies on the world wide web talking about how their semiyan got soggy and sticky when they tried this dish. That is when I decided it was time. So here goes - a savory indian noodle dish kicked up a notch with indian spices and ready in no time.

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Minty Fresh Berries and Fruit Couscous Salad

y
hubs is not the biggest fruit lover. Just about the only fruits he likes (read: can eat) are banana,
guava and ripe mangoes. I on the other hand love all kinds of fruit
(except banana and mangoes, go figure) and can live on the fresh fruit
juice and salads for a few days. Also, because of all the goodness of
fruit, I try to incorporate them in our meals at-least once a day. Hubby
always takes one or two bites and I am the one left to finish my plate and his. Same with my little one. She is even stranger with her fruit
habits. She only likes fresh pineapple and orange juice. Her reasoning
why she doesn't like a particular fruit is because of the color,
watermelon is too red, papaya is too yellow, guava is too green. But
then who's to argue with her that my dear pineapple is yellow too, lol!

Anyway,
thats a little 'fruity' detail about my family, back to the post. Summer brings in colors, brightness, vibrancy, fresh fruits and vegetables and 
also the sun and the heat. The local markets got crates of fresh berries and fruits and mostly on sale nowdays which means I completely go crazy and bought us more than we could handle. It was not possible for me alone to finish
(although I did finish most of them all by myself). Now, hubs is a salad fan mainly couscous salad and last weekend I was all set to make some veggie salad and I opened the fridge and saw the rack full of fruits wanting to get my attention and hence this recipe. Some time back I had a similar kind of salad at the salad bar of the local Whole Foods market so this is slightly inspired from that. Mixed in a
few home grown organic mint leaves and a lite lemony dressing. To
my surprise both hubby and kiddo loved it. It was refreshing, gorgeous
and a great alternative to regular salads and helps with your daily fruit intake as well.

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Raspberry Muffins (eggless)

uffins filled with the essence of summer, how does that sound? Not a big fan of the summer heat but the fact that summer brings along the juicy sweet tangy berries makes summer worth it. I happen to love raspberries. Who doesn't? They are just so cute! Juicy, ripe red raspberries subtle and light these are sure to lift up your mood and make you all sunny and chirpy!

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Cardamom Pancakes with Mango Saffron Compote/Chutney

ather's day this year was special as it has been for the last four years since we were blessed with our little princess. Now she is daddy's little girl so this Father's day I figured I'd make something that would be manly enough for papa and would be fun for his little princess to make and eat and they can sit together and enjoy. Little and I made these incredible pancakes for dearest papa this Sunday ~ warm, fruity, rich, decadent and gourmet breakfast/brunch with the best mango compote/chutney ever (dad is a BIG mango lover)... and yes if you look closer, these are pancakes with no eggs! The feedback from both of my critics was very positive :) Hubby later explained how amazed he was that the pancakes were as light and fluffy as the ones with eggs except only better as they did not have the eggy taste. Me personally am not much of a pancake fan so cannot say much about it but I surely have a thing or two to say about the compote. If this is any proof, every time I open the refrigerator I lick a fingerful of this chutney :) Tangy and sweet, very fruity taken to the level of exotic with the dash of saffron flavor. You will never go back to your syrup again.

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Lal Chana Ghugni aur Tikona Paratha/Black Chickpea Curry and Paratha

 was craving to have something that is closer to home and to the heart... and when you talk about close to home you often think of simple things that mom made that you enjoyed growing up. This dish is one of my comfort foods. Every time I make it, the sound of the sizzling spice and the aroma reminds me of home, of my childhood… lal chana ghugni used to be a staple back home – I love the flavor these special spices bring when cooked in Mustard oil. If you are not aware, traditionally most of the recipes from my native cuisine  use mustard oil for cooking ~ in my opinion the flavor that mustard oil imparts can not be replaced with any other substitute. This recipe is a plain, simple comfort food ghugni with poori or parantha reminds me of the frequent weekend breakfasts during our childhood days. The side dish used to be yogurt, pickle and gud (palm jaggery).

Every recipe from home comes with a satchel full of memories ~ while growing up and having mom to cook for me, I never really paid attention to how comforting and delicious some humble ghugni might taste and smell. It was just a part of everyday, which of course I didn't make much of in those days. After all that was mom and this is what she always made, right? ... aah... the things we take for granted...  Many years later, I love the smell intensely because I miss it so much and no matter how good I make it, it never comes close to the taste of mom's ghugni.

Paratha is a general term of a flatbread cooked in a pan with some oil. They come in various shapes and sizes varying from one region of India to another. Sometimes they are round, sometimes stuffed, even layered but for me parathas always have been these triangle ones, the ones that I picture in my head when I hear 'paratha'.

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Homemade Granola and Granola Trifle

runchy and nutty, fruity and filling, Granola is my "do not feel guilty after snacking" snack. I keep a big jar of it on the counter at all times for those late afternoon hunger pangs :)

There is no set recipe for granola besides a few basic components that are - rolled grains like oats, nuts and seeds, oil, spices, sweetener. Their homemade version is always the best as they can be easily customized to your personal preference. You can control the amount and type of sugar and oil, add your favorite nuts and choose your own grains. It works even better for those of us who have certain food allergies as you can rest assured of the contents of your snack. Granola has a good shelf life so you can make enough in advance to see you through for a few days or even weeks, not to mention it ends up being a lot cheaper too compared to buying from the store.

I always thought granola would be a bit a little tricky to make. But I soon found to my pleasant surprise they’re really not. It took me under an hour from start to finish, the hardest part being chopping the nuts (which you can simplify by getting the chopped ones from the store :)  Simply mix everything, boil some syrup mix both together in a big bowl and pour them into a baking dish. Done!

I can munch on fistfuls of this fabulous snack but one of my favorite ways to eat this is also as a Trifle. I cannot think of a better way to start the day than with a bowl of fresh fruit and berries and plain greek yogurt topped with homemade granola.

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Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Muffin ~ Eggless

K, so I have no idea what to write. I am sitting here staring at my laptop for the last fifteen minutes and I literally can think of nothing! Lots of vague thoughts ~ but I am trying hard to put the words into a decent meaningful sentence - "writer's block" anyone! 
So lets cut to the chase..for today I have a orange dark chocolate chip muffin for you guys, the combo which I absolutely adore. These are light, fluffy, citrusy, chocolaty and summery. Also, here's some excerpts collected from the glorious world-wide-web for your reading pleasure :)
Did you know the word Muffin either comes from the French word moufflet, meaning a soft bread, or from the German word muffe which is the name for a type of cake. As we all know there are two types of muffins which are famous, English and American. American-style muffins  are like little cakes, consisting essentially of butter, sugar and usually made with baking powder and soda. English muffins, on the other hand, are a cross between a bread and a cake and are are made from a yeast based dough.
So here goes the recipe that has the ability to make you sunny and chirpy..make sure you stock up on these for those times when you want to have cake but would rather eat something light.

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