I typically choose music over movies most of the time. But during the holidays, one of my favourite traditions is to make different spreads of bitings and appetizers to enjoy in front of the fireplace to accompany a couple of good films that come highly recommended. Keyword is good because like most people, I dislike bad movies. 

Here is an easy snack perfect with some drinks in front of the fireplace – Madras Maple Walnuts, ready in 10-15 minutes. 

Madras Maple Walnuts

Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts halves, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. butter
¼ cup pure Canadian maple syrup
1 ½ tsp. Arvinda’s Madras Masala 

Method of Preparation: Preheat oven to 275F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a saucepan, melt butter. Add maple syrup and Arvinda’s Madras Masala and mix together. Cook for 3-5 minutes on medium-high or until maple syrup slightly bubbles and reduces. Add walnuts and coat well. Spread walnuts onto baking sheet and bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Be careful not to burn walnuts. Serve with drinks or on a cheese plate. 

As for movies, here are three of my selections: 

Something political – SHARKWATER (2006)
Toronto native Rob Stewart, activist and filmmaker uncovers the truth about one of the earth’s most beautiful and fascinating creatures, the elusive shark. Sharkwater is stunning visually and displays Stewart’s love and passion for sharks, awakening emotions within us to also join in his journey to protect the world’s sharks and appreciate their true beauty and innocence. Moving yet gutwrenching.

Something whimsy – GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1998)
This modern take on Charles Dicken’s classic novel Great Expectations starring Gwyneth Paltrow (Estelle), Ethan Hawke (Finn) and Robert De Niro, is set in the Florida Keys then moves to contrasting, sophisticated and cultured New York City. Character development, cinematography, and visually beautiful setting make this a worthwhile watch. Director Alfonso Cuarón adds a splash of various shades of green in the backdrop and cast wardrobe, evoking feelings of a whimsical and almost dream-like setting. This is an annual holiday must-see for me. 

Something good-hearted – AMAL (2007)
Local talent,  Toronto native, award-winning film director Richie Mehta brings us the humble story of Amal, a poor and deeply honest auto rickshaw driver in New Delhi, India. Mehta’s story shows us, “sometimes the poorest of men are the richest” and that happiness in life can be achieved and found in the purest and most simple things. Definitely a must-see for anyone who circuits the film fests — great performances and stellar film direction. The feel-good storyline and greater life messages in this film is the cherry on the top! 

Those are my holiday film pics; if you have any good recommendations please drop me a line. 

Listening to: Life of Mono by Mono.

Masala-Spiced Chickpeas

What you’ll need for 3 servings (4 servings requirements in parenthesis)

Masala:

• 1 teaspoon(s) ground coriander (1 1/3tsp) — can substitute sage and lemon zest for coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin (2/3 tsp)
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) ground red (cayenne) pepper (1/4 tsp)
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) ground turmeric (1/4 tsp)

Chickpeas:

• 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) vegetable oil (1/4c)
• 1 cup(s) finely chopped onion (1 1/3c)
• 1 can (15-ounce) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (1 1/3 can, 20 oz.)
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper (2/3 tsp)
• 1/3 teaspoon(s) salt (1/2 tsp)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) fresh lemon juice (2/3 tsp)
• 1/8 cup(s) fresh cilantro, for garnish (OPTIONAL)

What you’ll do:

• Combine masala spices in a small bowl or cup and set aside
• Heat oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet until hot, add onions and saute until they’re light brown.
• Add masala spices and mix, continue heating over medium-high heat for a minute or so until you can smell the spices
• Add chickpeas, a tablespoon of water, the salt, and the pepper. Stir constantly until you see the first chickpea split (about 6-7 min). If the mixture becomes too dry, add a little more water.
• Add the lemon juice, give a quick stir and remove from the heat

Serve over Jasmine rice

Disclaimer: Blog is not intended to hurt anyone, no subtle racism conveyed, writing  for the sake of fun. Whichever singh is reading this, please dont sue me for few reasons:  By suing you are actually giving lot of importance to this blog, 2. If at all I want to be sued, I would prefer a rape or some kind of sexual offense on some hot Punjabi Kudi..rather than being sued for insulting Daler Mehandi, 3. Even toll free number for my credit card does not authorize my information, when I call up to enquire something the sweet sexy computer voice says ” I know you are calling this number because its toll free”  aka I am bankrupt

As I was depressed ( for the past month or so) and finding ways to cool myself down, I hit upon this new fitness+fun+dance aka Masala Bhangra (http://www.masaladance.com/) , an innovative dance style founded by Sarina Jain.  The moment I saw some thing about Bhangra, reminded of the fun times during grad school where me and my friends make it a point to cause as much nuisance as possible by participating in northie style dances…Dandiya, Bhangra etc. The most decent thing I imagine doing during these dance hang outs was actually snatching  a dining table from some Gaboors** and standing on top of it along with few friends and kept a bottle in center and did a round dappnkuthu as you find in our Tam movies, the location was picture perfect, downtown Hilton Chicago ball room.If you assume 2$ per pair of dandiya sticks, our gang would have broken a considerable amount of Gaboor Kuchis. The funny part was, we paid 15$ as cover but ended up causing damages significantly more. The food was simply awesome and too spice it up you had wonderful GinbajakGilmaaz*** for birdie hunting.   This would be one of the important places where my economics was very sound, return on investment was very high and the risk was also minimal.

The word Bhangra just reminds me of turban clad military men having ladies kerchief (pink, yello, green, blue) in their hand and shooing away mosquitos sitting on heroines` nose ( reminding of Guru Sishyan Rajinikanth comedy)and they would be accompanied by percussionists who would have drums bigger than theri size and the words drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaa….shavvaa shavvaaa…ballee ballee would be the main lyrics of the song.

Sample this :

Recipe for Bhangra, from Chennai:

Lungi , (should look very cheap, so cheap even a beggar would not use it to sneeze) : 20 meters for non Daler mehandi fans, 2 kms for Daler Mehandi Fans esp Tunuk Tunuk Tun

Beard: So thick and dense that you can even stuff your morning meal inside: 20 kgs, no options have to check with Pazani temple authorities, they alone can cater to “bulk” [hair] orders

Kerchief, This is the most important prop of Bhangra, best place to source it would be during any darn LGBT pride parade, there alone you can find miles of silky Pink clothes: 1 km, all cut and toned into 5×5 square pattern, bordered with some silver lining

People: All kinds of people, drunken people on the verge of puking would be the best fitting persons for Bhangra recipe

Music: Daler Mehandi !!!! he is the epitome of Bhangra,even when he farts or sneezes one could hear the words Durrrrrrrra, Shava shava, balleee!!

Putting these together, you have a tasty Bhangra recipe…Now this Sarina jain has gone a step forward and found Masala Bhangra,wherein Bhangra dance is used to reduce calories/weight etc I was first laughing my ass out when I imagined the sight of Bhangra being used to shed weight…I thought this is a joke, i later Youtubed and found some videos where Sarina is instructing about Masala Bhangra..At first I thought another Desi rip off..but as I browsed more videos, I kind of liked the idea of dance+fitness..for some real funky bhangra remixes..She is even nick named Jane Fonda, desi version OMG!

“By combining influences from her own Indian heritage with 14 years in the U.S. fitness industry she has created an exotic new kind of “calorie-burning” cultural dance experience. As seen on national and international media, fitness personality and creator, Sarina Jain of Masala Dance & Fitness Inc. is back with her Bollywood inspired Masala Bhangra Workout™ Volume 3. With years of experience in the world of fitness, Sarina has developed three workout volumes that are calorie-burning, fun and easy to follow. The Masala Bhangra Workout™ has been quoted as “a lively and modern, vigorous and effective workout utilizing moves from traditional Indian folk dance.”"

Sounds a trial! Would probably try this work out once and post my experience..

P.S

Gaboor: Most disgraceful encomium you can use to refer to a ek gaon mein ek kissan…similar analogies Madarasiwala for Madrasis, Goltu/Community for Andhra (Err…Does it still exisit in full? ) Gaboor is for Gaboor people..The etymology has its root from 2 different words, Gay and Kapoor..
Kapoor: The first family of bollywood, the only roles/characters the Kapoors did not manage to play would be tree, sand and dung

Gay: Not the gay meaning happiness gay, this refers to gays who are happy being gays aka Sarrrug Ghan,Karan Johar etc

Gay + Kapoor= Gaboor, this adjective would encompass all the sense/nonsense Shit that is constantly fed by the ek gaon mein ek kisaaan people

Gaboor Kuchis: Kuchis aka sticks used by Gaboors aka Dandiyas

GinBajakGilmaas: Items, Pigars, Bippa, Bifpa, Jil and Jungs

I know everyone enjoys those canapés and savoury starters like samosas at a holiday party. I like them too, however as a hostess they can be labour-intensive to prepare, especially when guests are arriving on short notice.

Frustrated and frazzled party-throwers often run to their frozen food aisle for the many boxed-up savoury hors d’oeuvres available, which can be expensive and often contain additives too.

When I’m in a bind, my favourite party tip to feed a crowd is to make a soup, served up in a shot glass or espresso cup with a cool garnishing.

It’s a low-fuss preparation, something you can make in one big batch and you know your guests can fill up on something flavourful (and healthy too!).

For your next gathering, try Arvinda’s Curried Lentil Carrot Soup served in an espresso cup garnished with a pappadum wafers.

Soup makes a perfect presentation for a party

Method of Preparation:
In a bowl, wash lentils in 4-5 changes of water, or until water runs clear. Drain.

In a medium pot, add carrot cubes and cover with water. Add drained lentils and salt, and bring to a gentle boil for 15-20 minutes or until softened and cooked.

In a separate pot, fry onions in ghee until softened. Add Arvinda’s Curry Masala and mix. Add cooked lentils (with liquid) and carrots. Puree using a hand blender. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add extra water to thin out soup if necessary. Add extra sea salt to taste, if required.

Serve in espresso cups garnished with cilantro, a sprinkle of Arvinda’s Garam Masala and pappadum wafers. Serves: 4-6 regular servings, 16 smaller servings.

Note: Pappadums are lentil crackers or wafers, typically deep-fried or grilled. You can purchase them from an Indian store and fry them at home.

Listening to: A crowd-pleasing song, More Than This by Damhnait Doyle.

If you have a great party suggestion, favourite food, or a fun song for a crowd, please let me know!

 Lucid Dreams by Masala

2009 (11 tracks, 56:38)

electronica/dance

On the first of December, we hosted Arvinda’s Merry Masala Cookie Exchange at Nella Cucina featuring holiday goodies infused with Arvinda’s artisanal spice blends. In attendance was Suresh and Jenny of Spotlight Toronto, who are also a part of Toronto’s FoodieMeet @foodiemeet, an online community of VERY passionate Toronto ‘foodies’.

The FoodieMeet Bake Off is on

A couple of emails later, I was invited as a baker to participate in the FoodieMeet’s Bake-Off in support of The Stop Community Centre on December 13. I read the details and thought the invite should have read, “please bring your sweet tooth”. This was going to be ’sweet tooth’ heaven, plus a good party at Samovar Room (a great place by the way, reminiscent of Russian bar Pravda). An invite not to be turned down!

Amongst the professional and amateur bakers, judges and FoodieMeet attendees, I was most impressed with the hyper-creative, heightened taste buds and sophisticated palettes all under one roof. Everyone there really loves food, which I found very inspiring.

Bakers were to be guided by the theme, “Escape Toronto”. I went with our Arvinda’s Merry Masala Cookie Exchange’s Curry Mango Snow Crescents. Give passionate foodies an “Escape Toronto” theme, and you’re left with an array of heavenly sweets including–Coconut Cupcakes with Kafir Lime Icing; Tandoori Shortbread Tarts with Passionfruit Curd; Chinese Almond-Cookie Cupcakes with a Wonton Wrapper Snowflakes; Sticky Date Cake with Beer-Caramel Sauce with Pomegranate Compote; Sri Lankan Jamaican Patties (savoury); Mayan Spice Mousse Macarons…I could go on.

I’m intrigued by the fact that FoodieMeet members were all strangers living in Toronto and got together entirely through Twitter. According to my FoodieMeet fellow bakers, if you’re ever looking for some good Indian or Peruvian cuisine, or need to find a great restaurant in a certain part of Toronto, shoot @foodiemeet a tweet. There’s a good chance a FoodieMeet-er will tweet you back with a delicious answer…and maybe if you’re lucky, even some company too!

Maybe it’s finally time to get on Twitter…for the second time. A couple of days since the event, my sugar high subsides but my mouth still waters when I look at the pics!

Mayan Spice Macarons

Chinese Almond Cupcakes with Wonton Wrapper Snowflakes

Arvinda's Curry Mango Snow Crescents

St. Lawrence Market White Velvet Cake - very creative!

Tastes just like the holidays!

Listening to: Carefree and Victorious by The Perishers, just how we felt at the Bake-Off party! Thanks everyone for a very sweet night.

Rajma Masala n Ghee rice… yummy combi…

Hi, guys this is chotu. This is a story of my elder sister payal; she is ten years elder to me. We live in mumbai. And she lives in Chennai. She is a brilliant young woman, cute and petite with a height of 5.5 feet, with a body that is tenderly average at 38-31-37 and growing mature. I always loved her like a good brother would do. After two years of her marriage, she had a baby boy. One day when I was busy reading for exams, she called. Mom talked to her and later on mom told me that she is coming to our home for few days as her husband is out of station for some business purpose. Since last year, he has got some project overseas. So he has to go there very frequently and for long time. I was very happy and excited to see my sister after 2 years of gap. She was 25 then and I was 15.
Finally she came with her cute baby and we all were very happy seeing her. We talked the whole day. But meanwhile the baby started crying, and my sister had to go in bedroom. So after some time I just went inside the room to check if baby is sleeping now or not, and I found my sister feeding baby with her left boob completely open. I was amazed seeing real boobs 1st time in my life.

I used to go to the boys and ask questions on some sex topics and they would give some out of the world fantasy answers. But in all they made me lust for my sister. It was one of those times that a my class mate discovered that his sister was using a drug to enhance her milk production since she had less milk secretion. I heard the name of the tablet ‘Milk Thistle’ and registered it in my mind.

That whole evening I kept thinking about payal’s boobs and the wet spot on her blouse, but I never realized that it was oozing milk due to excess production already. I wanted to see her boobs grow big, so I decided to buy the tabs and check it on her. The next day after school I ran to the medic and asked for the tab, he look at me viciously and asked me for whom was it. I said for my sis, he said that he normally does not give such tabs without prescription, but since he knows my family he gave it. It cost Rs. 12 for each I got four for fifty rupees. I waited for my opportunity to mix it in any of her drink and decided that I will mix it in her milk which my mom sends to her through me after dinner. I did not know how many tabs need to be taken, so I was in a quandary. I knew one is definite can she takes two?? How much milk will come if she took three? Lots of questions came into my mind and I decided that I will give her two tabs and save the remaining two for the next night. My mom asked me to give the glass of milk to my sister and I took and in between the stairs I put the tabs in and kept stirring and gave the milk to her.
She drank the milk while I waited, she told me to go and sleep, while I said I was waiting for the glass. She said she will keep it herself. I went to my room and waiting to see if her boobs started growing but nothing happened. I wanted to see some change in the morning but again nothing was visible. During breakfast I noticed her boobs from close proximity and could see her breaths heave and make her boobs flower bigger than normal and she was also restless. My anxiety started growing nastier and I wanted to see her huge engorged boobs. Spurt milk. I kept following her all day to see what she would do. Somewhere in the afternoon, I found her talking to my mom after lunch, she was telling her that her breasts have grown bigger and more milk is dripping constantly and her chest was paining. My mom, asked her to lock the door and pull the window drapes, as I was also sleeping in the same room, I was pretending to be in deep sleep. My mom asked her to remove her blouse and show her boobs, she immediately removed it. That was my blessed moment of seeing my sister’s boobs. They were big and round and off white in color. Her areolas where fully aroused and dark brown in color, her nipples were wet with constant dripping, my mom told her not to allow her tits be dripping as the wetness will create a septic and the same would be transferred to the baby while it drinks the milk.

Hi, guys this is chotu. This is a story of my elder sister payal; she is ten years elder to me. We live in mumbai. And she lives in Chennai. She is a brilliant young woman, cute and petite with a height of 5.5 feet, with a body that is tenderly average at 38-31-37 and growing mature. I always loved her like a good brother would do. After two years of her marriage, she had a baby boy. One day when I was busy reading for exams, she called. Mom talked to her and later on mom told me that she is coming to our home for few days as her husband is out of station for some business purpose. Since last year, he has got some project overseas. So he has to go there very frequently and for long time. I was very happy and excited to see my sister after 2 years of gap. She was 25 then and I was 15.
Finally she came with her cute baby and we all were very happy seeing her. We talked the whole day. But meanwhile the baby started crying, and my sister had to go in bedroom. So after some time I just went inside the room to check if baby is sleeping now or not, and I found my sister feeding baby with her left boob completely open. I was amazed seeing real boobs 1st time in my life.

I used to go to the boys and ask questions on some sex topics and they would give some out of the world fantasy answers. But in all they made me lust for my sister. It was one of those times that a my class mate discovered that his sister was using a drug to enhance her milk production since she had less milk secretion. I heard the name of the tablet ‘Milk Thistle’ and registered it in my mind.

That whole evening I kept thinking about payal’s boobs and the wet spot on her blouse, but I never realized that it was oozing milk due to excess production already. I wanted to see her boobs grow big, so I decided to buy the tabs and check it on her. The next day after school I ran to the medic and asked for the tab, he look at me viciously and asked me for whom was it. I said for my sis, he said that he normally does not give such tabs without prescription, but since he knows my family he gave it. It cost Rs. 12 for each I got four for fifty rupees. I waited for my opportunity to mix it in any of her drink and decided that I will mix it in her milk which my mom sends to her through me after dinner. I did not know how many tabs need to be taken, so I was in a quandary. I knew one is definite can she takes two?? How much milk will come if she took three? Lots of questions came into my mind and I decided that I will give her two tabs and save the remaining two for the next night. My mom asked me to give the glass of milk to my sister and I took and in between the stairs I put the tabs in and kept stirring and gave the milk to her.
She drank the milk while I waited, she told me to go and sleep, while I said I was waiting for the glass. She said she will keep it herself. I went to my room and waiting to see if her boobs started growing but nothing happened. I wanted to see some change in the morning but again nothing was visible. During breakfast I noticed her boobs from close proximity and could see her breaths heave and make her boobs flower bigger than normal and she was also restless. My anxiety started growing nastier and I wanted to see her huge engorged boobs. Spurt milk. I kept following her all day to see what she would do. Somewhere in the afternoon, I found her talking to my mom after lunch, she was telling her that her breasts have grown bigger and more milk is dripping constantly and her chest was paining. My mom, asked her to lock the door and pull the window drapes, as I was also sleeping in the same room, I was pretending to be in deep sleep. My mom asked her to remove her blouse and show her boobs, she immediately removed it. That was my blessed moment of seeing my sister’s boobs. They were big and round and off white in color. Her areolas where fully aroused and dark brown in color, her nipples were wet with constant dripping, my mom told her not to allow her tits be dripping as the wetness will create a septic and the same would be transferred to the baby while it drinks the milk.

I knew if they come to know that I am not sleeping or even half awake, they won’t start what they wanted to as per mom’s plan. So I acted like 2 sleeping pills had started its effects. Sis came close to me and at the same time baby in her hand started crying. So mom shouted in a low voice to take baby out and told her to make baby sleep. Sis sat on the bed just in front of me and took his boobs out and put nipple in baby’s mouth. That was really arousing for me and I was in big trouble. Because one side I was watching my sis’s nice watermelon boobs and feeling horny and other side my mom came from my back side to check if I am really sleeping or not. It was very difficult for me to pretend like sleeping with full hard on. And I also dint took any blanket to cover my body. So I was sure if mom come close to me, she definitely would see my hard on. So I stated moving my body and saw mom taking her steps back. Now I was sleeping with my back visible to them. Mom went to sis and said it’s not a right time. Let’s go out and will come back after ½ hour. They went back to the main room making me desperate and horny. My dick was so hard I had never seen it before. Because I saw real boobs just an 2 feet away from me…..!!!!I couldn’t control myself and I knew they won’t come back in this room for 30 minutes. So I went to the bathroom to jerk myself.

In bathroom I found my sis’s undergarments. I dint care about her panty but I was more curious to touch her pink bra….I took it and smelt it, ohhhhh my got what a smell it was, I still can feel that smell….And now I started rubbing my dick with her bra…at first I thought to put bra back because I would be in trouble if sis found my semen on her bra. But on next moment one dirty idea came in my mind and I kept stroking my dick with her bra. And I came a large amount of load on her bra and on floor. I washed some part of bra and left some part with my semen. It took almost 20 minutes to jerk myself and clean everything. I came on my bed and again stated waiting of my chance to get some more action.

After 20-25 minutes, mom and sis came in room and this time they dint have baby with them. So I thought they don’t want any disturbance this time. Sis came close to me and said my name loudly…. I dint reply at all. She shook me a couple of times and I did not respond and then again shook me heavily and I responded lightly and slept back, mom told her that he is responding semi-consciously and this is the right time……I couldn’t see what they are doing because this time I dint want to take any chance by opening my eyes.

My blood was gushing into my loins and the wait was growing too intolerable. Then mom instructed sis to lie down next to me, and my cock started to grow. She then told her to remove her blouse and bra completely and is bare cheated, she instructed her to hold me like her baby as in feeding position and she asked her to rub her nipples on my lips. Sis was amazed but she had to do it to get rid of the pain in her chest. She did as she was told; I did not know what to do and sis also had the same doubt and mom told her to keep rubbing gently and he will open his mouth that was enough instruction for me to act. But I dint want to give up so easily because I was enjoying her nipples rubbing to my lips. After few minutes of that awesome experience, I slowly pretended to open my mouth and mom immediately asked her to put the nipple in my mouth. And she did. I did not start sucking immediately. Sis asked her what to do. She said wait he will start sucking. For that you need to put some milk into his mouth now she asked sis to press her boobs and let some milk flow into my mouth, she immediately did and a stream of milk flowed into my mouth as if to choke me.

Dum Pukht cuisine is one of the oldest and very popular cuisine which started off in India some 200 years ago. Dum Pukht literally means choking off the steam. It allows the meat to cook on low heat so the meat cooks in its own juices. This is especially useful in cooking a biryani where the meat juices and the resulting steam cook the rice, allowing the rice to absorb the flavour and aroma of the meat. The end result is a flavourful and fragrant biryani which is incomparable to any other biryani.

Ingredients :

Chicken : 1 Kg.

Curd : 250 gm.

Chilli Powder : 1 tsp.

Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp.

Garam Masala Powder : 1 tsp.

Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 1/2 Tbsp.

Shahi Jeera (Black/Royal Cumin Seeds) :  1 tsp.

Onions : 5 medium-sized

Chopped Coriander Leaves : 2 Tbsp.

Long-grained Rice : 750 gm. (preferably Basmati)

Cinnamon : two 1 inch pieces

Cloves : 4 no.

Black Peppercorns : 5 nos.

Black Cardamon (Masala Ilaichi) : 1 no.

Green Cardamom : 4 nos.

Bay Leaf : 1 no.

Chopped Green Chillies : 1/2 tsp.

Lime Juice : 1 tsp.

Salt : to taste

Milk : 2 Tsp.

Saffron :  A few strands

Ghee ( Indian Clarified Butter) :  2-3 Tbsp.

Refined Flour (Maida) : 200gm

Method :

Finely slice the onions and they fry them in ghee till browned. The sliced fried  browned onions  are known as Barista which is an essential part of any Indian biryani.

Soak the rice in plenty of water. This is very important as the Basmati rice tastes better when you have soaked it for at least half an hour.

Warm the milk and add the saffron to it to infuse it with the saffron flavour.

Make a dough of the refined flour and water.

Clean, remove skin and cut the chicken into 12-14 pieces. To the chicken add the curd, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, half of the barista, half of the chopped coriander, shahi jeera and salt to taste.  Keep aside for 1/2 hour.

Meanwhile heat plenty of water at least a 4 times the amount of rice. When it starts to boil, add the cinnamon (one 1 inch piece), cloves (2 ), peppercorns (5 ), black (1/2) and green cardamom (2) and salt to taste to the water. Drain the rice.  Then add the rice to the boiling water and let it cook till half done.Then drain the rice and spread it on a plate to cool it done and stop the cooking process.

Heat the ghee in a heavy(thick) bottomed pan (Handi) and add the remaining cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and the bay leaf. Then add the marinated chicken and saute for a few minutes. Then layer it at the bottom of the pan. Then layer the rice on top of the chicken and sprinkle the remaining barista, chopped green chillies and the chopped coriander on the rice. Pour the saffron infused milk and lime juice on the rice.

Cover the mouth of the pan with the dough and press down the lid on top so it completely seals the mouth of the handi. Let it cook on low heat for about 45 minutes.

Using a knife separate the lid from the handi and remove the dough. Then mix the rice lightly with the chicken and serve with cucumber raita.

These Marinated Tandoori Spice Bocconcini Bites will add some holiday colours to your next party table! Serve alongside cheese platters and antipasto items. Delicious they are…

An Indian-inspired antipasto

Ingredients:
18 bocconcini cheese balls (regular size)
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Arvinda’s Tandoori Masala (use less for a milder flavour)
½ green pepper, cubed
½ red pepper, cubed
½ red onion, cubed
flaked sea salt, to garnish

Method of Preparation:

In a bowl, mix olive oil with Arvinda’s Tandoori Masala. Toss with bocconcini, cubed peppers and onions. Marinate for a couple of hours.

On a grill or sauté pan, slightly cook peppers and onions. Thread onto toothpicks with bocconcini. Garnish with a light sprinkle of flaked sea salt.

Listening to: All of Me by Michael Bublé. Crazy Love makes a perfect holiday selection!

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This year took me from Salem, Massachusetts to New Orleans…Cape Cod to Chicago…Las Vegas to Wichita…and Aspen to No Name.

It was fun to visit so many different places which are home to some very significant regional cuisines. And I was pregnant for half of the year, so what else would I do, but eat?! That was one happy baby…

In New England, seafood is king. In Hyannis this summer we stopped at The Seafood Shanty and I’ve already mentioned The Barking Crab in downtown Boston.

New Orleans took us to Cafe Du Monde of course for fabulous beignets & Cafe Au Lait, Herbsaint where we dined on Gumbo of the Day and Rabbit Croquettes, Muriel’s Jackson Square (a former brothel) for Flash Fried Oysters and Pecan Crusted Louisiana Alligator, and braved the lunch line at Mother’s for the Famous Ferdi’s Sandwich. We were stuffed, needless to say.

During our multiple trips to the Windy City, we dined at the phenomenal Cafe Absinthe in Wicker Park – the Roasted Beet Salad, Tuna Tartar and French Martini’s (post-Edie!) were incredible. Chicago is also home to one of my favorite restaurants Bin Wine Cafe, which boasts an incredible artisanal Cheese Selection and Tempura Green Beans with Citrus Aioli to die for. And of course what trip to that city would be complete without a stop at Lou Malnati’s for Chicago-style deep dish pizza?

In Las Vegas, we relied pretty heavily on room service while staying at the Signature MGM Grand. Though LV has become quite the culinary mecca, being 7 months pregnant and roaming the halls of a casino didn’t sound like such a good time. We did make it to Craftsteak at the MGM Grand for a few appetizers including Roasted Sunchokes, and to one of my favorite dives: Bautista’s Hole in The Wall for Old-School Italian.

In Wichita, home to a large Lebanese community (nearly every restaurant in town has hummus on their menu, who knew, right?) my favorite things include the Fattoush Salad at Bella Luna Cafe, the The Josephine Sandwich at Caffe Moderne and the Duck & Arugula Flatbread at Oeno Wine Bar.

And finally on an overnight trip to Aspen, which was handicapped by the addition of a baby AND a dog, we enjoyed breakfast at The Restaurant at the St. Regis, feasting on Colorado Fruit Meusli, the Whipped Egg White Fritata with the local and ubiquitous Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese and of course, a side of the Elk Sausage.

Here at home, the Denver area boasts some awesome restaurants and my local Parker, Colorado & vicinity favorites are listed below. I’d love to hear your local favorites too!

Mexican: Guadalajara – Fish Tacos
Thai: Indochine – Pad Kee Mao
Sushi: Yutaka – Everything!
BBQ: The Hickory House – Smoked Pork
Indian: Masala – Spring Dosa
Pizza: Sazza – Seasonal Pizzas and Salads
Burger: The Warhorse Inn – Naked Burger with Cheese
Mediterranean: Goga’s – Mischka Kabob/Greek Salad

Photos: Top Row: House of the Seven Gables (Salem, MA), Mansion in the Garden District (New Orleans, LA), Tree (New Orleans, LA), Middle Row: Seafood Shanty (Cape Cod, MA), City Skyline (Chicago, IL), Van Gogh Painting (Goodland, KS), Bottom Row: Fall Foliage (Wichita, KS), Snow-Capped Mountain (near Aspen, CO), No Name (I-70, CO)

Continuing on with my Stonyfield yogurt recipes, last night I created a delectable yogurt chicken dish that incorporates a vast array of spices and herbs such as cloves and coriander. This is a wonderful dish to warm you up on a chilly December evening.

Ingredients

• 2 small onions
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 teaspoon peppercorn
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 14 ounces diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups Oikos plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup macadamia nuts, mashed
• 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté onions until they begin to caramelize.
• Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add all spices.
• Stir until well combined; let it all mix together in the skillet for a few minutes.
• Add tomatoes and water; mix well. Reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes while it thickens.
• Whisk Oikos plain Greek yogurt into the sauce; mix well.
• When the sauce begins to simmering again, add chicken; simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked.
• Serve over warm brown rice or whole wheat pasta.
• Sprinkle with mashed macadamia nuts and fresh basil.

In The News…

Benefits of Eating Fish May Depend on Preperation

Whole Foods Rewards Healthy Employees

Feeling Blue, Green Tea May Help

Welcome December, which also means welcome in the sweets and treats, and cookies galore! The last few days I’ve been in the grocery and specialty stores to stock up on baking supplies, all which have ‘end caps’ brimming with flour, sugar and candied cherries waiting to be turned into fruitcakes, sugar cookies, shortbread and more. Are you inspired yet!?

If you’re looking for a ‘sweet’ change of pace to this year’s cookie bake-off, try using Arvinda’s Indian spice blends paired with your traditional festive ingredients.

Arvinda’s Chai Masala is great in sugar cookies, shortbread, fruit-based desserts like a roasted apple or pear cake. Also makes a rich, steamy authentic cup of Masala Chai too!

Arvinda’s Garam Masala is the perfect spice mix in your fruitcakes – the richness of fruit, nuts and brandy can handle this spice blend’s intensely intoxicating aroma and flavour. Pairs nicely in savoury cheese biscuits and crackers too, ideal for a cheese plate. Or try an unconventional savoury and sweet Garam Masala Crème Brulee.

All those who attended Arvinda’s Merry Masala Cookie Exchange this week had a chance to experience our spicy creations first-hand (and were good at it too…delicious!). Thank you for coming and take a peek at our cookie mayhem!

It's merry masala time!

The low down on Arvinda's Citrus Chai Spice Cookies

Elizabeth Baird, Canada's very own baking guru was there too - what an honour!

Busy, busy baking

Finishing station

Before

After!

Simply festive Garam Masala Gingerbread Squares

The fan's favourite

Time to eat!

Thank you also to Food Network Canada and Spotlight Toronto for the tweets that night!

Apart from the Queen’s Speech, the golden hour on Christmas Day is when that steaming turkey comes out the oven.

But Cardiff’s veggies and vegans share a different story. The nut roast is the classic staple, but it doesn’t give you the same sense of wholesome satisfaction. You can’t baste a nut roast. You can’t pour its own juices over itself. You can’t put your hand right up it and stuff it with oranges.

Instead, making it feels more like baking a slightly unsatisfying fruitcake. You have to roll up your sleeves and get right into a mixing bowl instead of watching it spit in the pan.

Nut Roast. Yum.

So how can you escape these dry recipes? How can vegetarians use a centrepiece that matches a turkey, but without the ethical worries?

Ten million turkeys are slaughtered for Christmas each year in the UK, according to DEFRA. While wild turkeys can live up to 10 years, those in farms are fattened up and killed when they are up to just 26 weeks old – some as young as eight weeks.

So going veggie or vegan, even if just for the day, is a good idea. But you’ll need to be clued up on how to cook something decent first.

Take some tips from Wayne Thomas. The 44-year-old chef from Llanharry runs the Canteen on Clifton Street, one of Cardiff’s only Western-style veggie-friendly restaurants.

The Canteen was set up as a café in 2007, and with unusual menus that change every three weeks, it is a haven for veggies and vegans. Tables for two back straight onto the tiny kitchen in which Wayne and business partner Tony Thomas, 44, do their work.

It feels like being cooked for by your two cheeky middle-aged brothers. The pair don’t bother turning tables, so come the end of service at around 10pm they step out the kitchen, throw their aprons aside and interrogate the guests. Beware if you didn’t finish your gnocchi.

Chef Wayne Thomas demonstrates vegan pasta

This year’s Christmas menu begins tomorrow and mixes restaurant favourites with an alternative Christmas choice.

The new dish is a mushroom pithivier with cashew nuts. It’s a savoury, earthy vegan pie which mixes conventional nut roast flavours with the Britishness and all-round smile factor of a good hearty pie.

If you’re vegan, a good puff pastry is still easy to achieve. Just substitute egg with potato starch to bind the mixture, and if you still want that eggy taste in your dough, try putting in yeast flakes. This small dried foodstuff is a good flavour substitute and is sold by most specialists.

The restaurant is no stranger to weird flavour combinations. Dishes on the Christmas menu include cheese gougères (pastry balls) with spicy cheese and chocolate mole, and Christmas pudding soufflé.

Wayne said: “You do the same thing week after week after week, so it gets incredibly boring. The customers like it. We’ve been called ‘esoteric’ by one fella!

“We do use the name for the dish rather than the anglicised version of it. But it does mean we’ve got names wrong on the menu – people go home and look them up on the web. And we’re not beyond making up the occasional word.”

When Wayne goes home to his carnivore family at Christmas, he takes the back seat cooking the vegetables. But he does like to experiment, he says, and he has even cooked the infamous “tofurkey” – a huge lump of tofu made to taste like meat.

While this sounds about as appealing as a huge lump of tofu, this meat-cheat could go down well as your centrepiece, especially if someone in the house will be eating meat this holiday. Just put the two side by side and join in the fun.

“You get a load of tofu,” he said. “If you’re not vegan, mix it up with a bit of egg. Roll it onto a piece of cling film and put a traditional stuffing in there.

“Roll it over itself, then wrap it up so it’s watertight and poach it for a quarter of an hour to set the proteins. Unwrap it once it cools and you can treat it just like turkey. It goes well with an onion gravy.”

To get a more meaty texture, try using wheat gluten, used to improve the gluten content of British flours. Mix it with water to make a paste called seitan, a great protein source, which you can then mix with the tofu to take off the rubbery edge.

The Canteen on Clifton Street

The Canteen is always making interesting veggie food, and it is not Cardiff’s only decent vegetarian restaurant – but the problem is, many of the city’s full-size eateries run along an Asian-fusion theme. Curries and daals are not the best bet for that big centrepiece on the dinner table.

But if you do fancy an unusual Gujarati snack to start off your feast, take some tips from the family-run Vegetarian Food Studio in Penarth Road.

Wales’ only fully vegetarian Indian restaurant runs as a café in the daytime. Locals buy huge cartons of fried goods like their homemade Bombay Mix and chatter away under cheerful Hindu decorations.

The number of dishes on the menu will top 200 in the new year, and 28-year-old chef Neil Patel, who lives with his wife in Sully, near Barry, won’t be slowing down soon.

He said: “We started with 42 recipes, on a small A5 page. Now our menu is pages and pages long. But people like the old stuff, so we keep it in to please everybody.”

And for a great alternative snack he recommends masala dosa, a rice and lentil pancake that’s vegan-friendly. The mix is a different animal to British styles of cooking, with the starches from the rice, instead of milk or butter, fermenting to make the mix creamy.

Soak rice and black lentils together in water overnight then blend them to a paste in the morning. Leave this to ferment for three days at room temperature. Ladle the mix onto a hot griddle pan just like a normal pancake, and eat on its own or filled with curry or daal.

Canteen on Clifton Street

Vegetarian Food Studio

RECIPE

Mushroom, cashew nut and tarragon pithivier with mushroom, chive and parsley sauce

Originally from the Canteen on Clifton Street

1. Soak the wild mushrooms in a little warm water for 20 minutes. Drain and keep the water aside.
2. Shallow fry the onion in olive oil until pale. Add the chopped button mushrooms, followed by the wild mushrooms, stirring gently.
3. Reduce the water used to soak the mushrooms in a separate pan until syrupy. Add to the mushroom mix, cooking until all moisture has evaporated.
4. Add the herbs and season with salt, pepper and tamari or soy sauce.
5. Allow to cool, then place in a blender and blend. Leave some lumpier bits.
6. Add the breadcrumbs and cashew nuts until you have a filling that is easily mouldable.
7. Roll out the puff pastry until about 1in thick and cut two rounds, the about 6in and the second about 5in across.
8. Take a handful of the filling and mould into a disk about 3in across. Place this onto the 5in pastry, placing the larger one on top and using the egg wash to stick the two halves together. The enclosed pie should resemble a flat-topped hill. Score a pattern in to top, being careful not to cut through the pastry, and cover the whole pie with egg wash.
9. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 200C.
10. Bake in the oven until golden brown.

My children are carnivores so when they (now grown-up) visit, meat is a treat.

Cheaply produced meat means people can eat it every day as a cheap takeaway.

But eating meat daily is neither good for the health of the animals, consumers or planet.

Some people need to eat meat, while others argue our soils need  manure for soil-strength.

We just don’t need to be mass-producing meat on an industrial scale.

So it’s about trying to get a balance. There’s a spontaneous revival of the traditional way of eating:  have a feast of (well-reared) meat once a week and live on the leftovers.

Join the Feastarians, Weekend Carnivore or Paul McCartney on a Meat-free Monday.

Which leads me to this delicious lamb curry.

Quadrille Books had offered – on Twitter – a free copy of Anjum’s New Indian.

Canny New Media marketing device, eh? I like - and copied it for my own books!

So I contacted Quadrille on Twitter and the big beautiful hardback copy signed-by-Anjum arrived by post.

Its subtitle is Indian Food Made Easy.

Sadly, not easy enough for me. The ingredients list looked too long. The pages too big and glossy.

I felt daunted.

For simplified Indian dishes, I rate Quick Indian Cooking.

However after months of free-book-on-Twitter-guilt, I finally tackled a recipe.

Gujarati lamb and dumpling stew – it was bloody delicious.

But I did simplify it. I left out the dumplings for a start.

Note: I substituted raw ginger for horseradish because Middle Child cannot stand ginger and takes it Very Personally if I cook with it.

Horseradish works incredibly well. Grate it raw, cover with white wine vinegar and it keeps in a jar in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

Here’s my version: 

Ask the butcher for lamb for stewing - or mutton. Mutton is cheaper because it is  a grown-up animal. Stewing will soften the tough older meat of mutton.

Unlike pigs and poultry, it is harder to farm sheep intensively - sheep continue to roam freely and eat grass. So if you are going to eat non-organic meat, lamb is your best bet.  

I bought about 400g of organic lamb (about £4) which fed 4. I cut up the pieces quite small.

Then I browned the lamb pieces in a pan to seal the taste, then removed them.

Add a teaspoon of mustard seeds and when they pop, add the sliced onions and fry until brown.

My gratitude to Anjum grew - I don’t know what to do with mustard seeds and now I was using them like a pro.

Meanwhile, in a blender (I used the grinder attachment), make a paste of 20g of ginger – or raw grated horseradish – and 5 large peeled garlic.

This paste is a great discovery. I use it for spicy vegetarian dishes too.

Add the paste to the onions until it gently colours, about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste (I omitted the 1 tsp. of sugar), 1 Tbs of ground coriander and 1 Tbs of ground cumin; 1/2 tsp of turmeric and 1/2 tsp of chilli powder. Cook for 20 seconds.

Add about 100 ml water (I omitted the 3 pureed tomatoes) and cook gently until completely reduced, then fry the paste for 5 mins until the oil comes out.

These instructions were brill as I tend to overcook spices and not get the ratio of water-to-spices right (too watery or too dry). This worked! Thanks, Anjum.

I added a quarter of a block of coconut, not the recipe’s can of coconut milk. I also forgot the 1-2 tsp of lemon juice. I didn’t measure the water but Anjum said 200ml (for 600g of lamb).

I forgot the sweet potato but that would have been a wonderful addition.

I chose this recipe because of the chickpeas. I can’t eat a lot of meat – although I do love its rich gravy flavours – so I was happy to have meat-bits with my beloved chickpeas.

I had already soaked 200g of the raw chickpeas overnight and cooked them for an hour (or, as Anjum says, use a can).

I served it with organic curly kale and brown rice.

And it went down a treat with the carnivores.

Been on a mini-break trying to avoid outside food due to an on-going health crisis. But I couldn’t resist this one. Got a call late at night from a very hungry soul. It didn’t take me long (never really does when someone mentions food!) to agree to his plan of eating out so without hesitating we headed out in search of food at 2 AM in the night. Since we didn’t want to go anywhere far we began asking around and were directed to Andheri station.

Not too sure what the stall’s name is but it seems to have been operating for quite sometime now. At 2.00 AM you find all kinds of people waiting here for the bhurji pav, pulav and the chicken masala. Not sure of the prices as we had all three and paid INR 105 in total. Two of us sharing three dishes for just a little over a 100 bucks is a steal IMHO! There was also Pav Bhaji but the waiting time was too much.I’d recommend the Bhurji Pav and Chicken Masala though the veggies can try the Pav Bhaji.

Here is a tip if one wants their food to be served quickly. Wait at the counter and be nice to the guys cooking and the guys serving the food and they will serve u sooner than the others. As my friend put it ‘begging here really does help if you want to satiate yourself quickly’. Mind you, this place is not for those looking to satiate their taste buds but for those intending to fill up their hungry tummies!

(Couldn’t take a picture here due to some very ‘understandable reasons’ so this is the best I have. The stall with the bright light is the one which serves the delicious and oily food!)

PS: The food at Cooper is better and far more in quantity but the price is also higher. Also, if one is conscious of the crowd then cooper is a safer bet though Andheri too had its fair share of ‘hip and happening’ crowd!

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