Zucchini Thepla/Spicy Zucchini Flatbread

rowsing around the categories on USMasala you will notice a couple of different other Thepla recipes - the classic Methi Thepla and the Tofu variation of it. Here's another one.
You may find this a little unusual but the thought of this dish puts me on a train with my family... the train speeding through the country and I find myself sitting on the lower berth (after of course having fought with my brother for the window seat) with my gaze fixed outside staring at the lush green crop fields that race past us and the warm yet cool breeze rushing in as we wait for the train to take us to our destination... then you are suddenly pulled out of the trance by the loud sound of your name... thats mom demanding we get together as it was lunch time... and there it is... she opens her tote bag and pulls out a couple of boxes. Wrapped in tinfoil in those boxes are these wonderful flat breads with awesome dry potato curry and pickle. The already beautiful breeze is now filled with the wonderful aroma of the roasted fennel and carom seeds from the bread and the potatoes.

Mom almost always made these as lunch and as dinner when we traveled. She claimed they stayed nice and fresh even after being packed for several hours... and fresh they were... gone in minutes. Of course I didn't think much of it those days... after all that was mom and this is what she always made, right? ... aah... the things we take for granted.

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Pyaz Ke Pakode Wali Kadhi/ Onion fritters in spicy yogurt curry sauce

ou can cross the seven seas and eat the food served by the best chefs from the most celebrated lands but I believe my foodie friends will agree that there is nothing like a bowl of that most loved comfort food that you can snuggle up in the comfort of your home and feed your soul with.
You may think the above is too strong a sentiment for a bowl of kadhi, but that is how I feel about it. Comfort food doesn't have to be complex or even exotic, you cannot explain it. Just the aroma of a hot bowl of simmering kadhi gives me a strange sense of comfort. It always elevates my mood, pulls me out of the clutches of a bad day and reminds me of home, mom and good times spent with family. Give me a choice between the bestest dessert in the world and a bowl of hot kadhi trust me I will always choose the latter. That is how much I like it, you get the idea. Kadhi is classically paired with plain rice or 'chawal' and is especially pure bliss on a cold rainy day.

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Paneer Methi Makhani

hat to make for dinner tonight? A thought that haunts me immediately after having finished with lunch. Asking hubby usually is returned with "just make anything" or "can we order some takeout" (he is sweet I know)! Hmmm... I usually know I will make rotis but what do I make to go with it. I do try to come up with something new every now and then but being a vegetarian sometimes limits your choices. I face a similar situation when I find myself deciding on what to take for a potluck, or a get-together that would be different and not the same old regular veg preparations.

Now paneer is most everyone's favorite but how many times can you make and serve the same butter masala, jhalfrezi or parathas for that matter. So in my quest for making something different yet elegant, simple yet exotic and healthier than other paneer recipes and of course quick 'n easy, I combined two of my absolute favorite ingredients- paneer and methi. I did not want to make the regular white gravy loaded with cashews and cream so opted for a very easy and quick makhani or butter-less masala version. I was more than pleased with the results and the fact that it was an addition to the list of answers for the eternal question of what to make for dinner :)

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Methi-Matar/Fenugreek-Peas Stuffed Paratha with Grape Walnut Raita

tuffed parathas are really popular in India. They can be found on the menus of high-end restaurants as well are made fresh to order in road side dhabas. They come in different types obviously varying by their filling. I have yet to meet a person who does not like them, yes regardless of their filling. There is just something about them.

A stuffed paratha is basically an unleavened and pan fried flat bread stuffed with variety of fillings like spicy potatoes, peas, cauliflower, paneer and even with chicken. You can even find them with sweet fillings too. They are generally served simply with pickle, yogurt or just a little pat of butter... mmmm! It is a staple dish in almost all Indian households with minor variation in the recipe here and there. I remember mom often used to make these for breakfast and also sometimes for dinner with tomato chutney during winter times and it was always soul satisfying.

Hubby loves aloo paratha and my favorite is the one with stuffed peas. In this recipe I added some of the leftover methi leaves to my regular recipe of matar parathas and the result was fabulous. The sweetness of the peas with the flavor of methi and all the spices tucked inside the crispy yet soft bread was a total winner.

I chose to accompany my parathas with some raita. The raita below is one of my mom's famous raita recipe. The sweet tiny mini grapes with the fresh creamy yogurt and nuts is a the perfect side with these or any kind of stuffed parathas.

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Methi Chhole aur Ajwain Puri/Fenugreek chickpeas curry with fried puffed bread

he past week was good fun. My brother was visiting us for the last few days, hubby took a couple of days off work and then of course the festival of Holi. We had a lot of fun with a lot of hanging out, cooking up a storm, riding around town, eating out on occasion when I did not feel like cooking, playing a game of cards or scrabble... you get the idea. All in all, it was great and as I write this on late Sunday evening (which by-the-way is the worst time of the week for me) with mixed emotions I realized I missed out on updates from the blog world for which I believe I owe an apology to all my dear friends.

This is a dish that I made a few days ago, again in my methi cooking frenzy, which like most other methi dishes was a hit with hubby and believe it or not with my little princess too. It is a protein packed dish and is relatively easy to put together too. If you like chhole, you are gonna love this. It goes great with puris and especially a flavored puri like the ajwain puri that I have posted here. The ajwain flavor is simple and nice and the puris can be had as a snack by themselves too.

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Methi Thepla/Fenugreek Flatbread

ubby has officially declared me the "Methi crazy gal". I secretly do a happy dance when I see fresh methi ( fenugreek) bunch in the Indian grocery store, grow them in my backyard when they stop selling them in the stores and with all this always make sure I have the biggest stock of kasoori methi in case I run out of both options... lol :)) Lately I have been getitng lucky with the fresh methi. My local Indian grocery seems to carry it everytime I visit, and everytime I get two big bunches. As you can imagine, I've been cooking and eating a lot of methi based dishes lately.

Last sunday for dinner I was not in the mood to cook something elaborate and thought of making some methi thepla. It is a well known Gujarati bread which is thankfully a full meal in itself :) and of course my family favorite.

Fenugreek/Methi is very common in Indian cooking. The leaves are used as herbs, the fresh leaves are cooked like methi dal and aloo methi curry, parathas are made of these and even ladoos of methi seeds. The dried leaves which are popularly known as Kasoori methi are often used to flavor a lot of dishes, mainly creamy paneer and non-vegetarian gravies. The seeds are used as a spice.

The popularity of the fenugreek is not just for the numerous medicinal properties it has to offer. The seeds and the leaves are subtly bitter but offers a very strong unique and distinctive flavor to any recipe they are added to. 

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Methi - Paneer Biryani

Apparently fresh green Methi (fenugreek) leaves and I have a special relationship. Whenever I see a good fresh bunch at any grocery store, I always always buy. I buy as much as I can cook over the next several days without any of it going to waste. A couple of days ago I got two big 'ol bunches from our local Indian grocery store and have made a few things with it since. Here's the first and my favorite. 
The Biryani probably needs little introduction. What especially charms me is its versatility in the different variations you can make it in. This version with methi leaves gives the already exotic dish that extra flavor that combined with the slight sweetness of paneer and the texture of each individual grain of rice just gives a burst of flavors in your mouth.

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