Veg Spring Rolls for your party platter

As we enter the Diwali week, the festive excitement is at its peak. While cleaning and never ending shopping are on your to-do list, it is also the best time of the year to catch up with friends and family and no get together is complete without delicious food. For your next Diwali party, try these simple yet popular Spring Rolls from the Indo-Chinese cuisine. As you get busy with the Diwali preparations, these vegetarian spring rolls can be made ahead of time and even frozen.  The best part is they taste so much better than the store bought frozen stuff.

Loaded with colourful vegetables wrapped in a crunchy pastry, this delectable snack is sure to be a hit with both kids and grown-ups alike.

May your home be filled with light and your mouth be filled with delectable food, wishing you all a very happy and prosperous Diwali!

Palak Paneer – Better than the restaurant

In North India, if  you have guests coming over for lunch or dinner, it is must to have a paneer dish on the menu. Though there are so many paneer recipes to choose from, Palak Paneer definitely stands out. The spinach gravy is very different from other paneer recipes and it does not need cream, cashews or loads of butter to enhance the taste. Palak Paneer not only tastes delicious but is also packed with vitamins: a great way to serve spinach to kids.

Soft paneer cubes coated in a smooth mouth watering spinach puree jazzed up with aromatic spices and herbs: a scrumptious classic recipe that beats the restaurant anyday!

Bliss Balls – Date Laddu

This year Ganesh Chaturthi coincides with the official start of Spring in Sydney. Days are getting warmer and flowers are starting to bloom everywhere: harbingers of the new beginnings, of all things beautiful and auspicious to come.

Bliss balls are the perfect healthy snack to satisfy your sweet cravings. These balls are packed with goodness of nuts, gluten free, vegan and have absolutely no added sugar!

Looking for some healthy sweets ?

Punjabi Bhindi – A Summer Staple

Bhindi or Okra, also known as ladies’ fingers is widely used in Indian, Middle Eastern, and Caribbean cuisines.  Packed with vitamins and minerals, these beautiful green pods can be cooked in different ways. Punjabi Bhindi is a simple North Indian recipe in which okra are stir-fried and cooked with onion and spices.  Delicious, healthy and easy to cook – this recipe is a summer staple in Punjabi households. 

Zero Oil Aam ka Achaar

Pickles and chutneys are an integral part of Indian cuisine. Mango pickle definitely stands out as the most relished achar(pickle) and there are various different recipes to make it. While most recipes call for soaking the mangoes in litres of oil, this recipe uses absolutely no oil. The key ingredient in this recipe is asafoetdia or hing. With only four ingredients, this pickle is easier than making a salad and tastes awesome!

Do you like pickles to pep up your meals?

Chocolate Sugar Cookies – Holiday Special

 

Happy New Year! Holidays are the perfect excuse to eat and indulge. And when it comes to indulgence, what tastes better than something chocolatey? These Chocolate Sugar Cookies soft in the center and  crisp on the edges, are melt in your mouth delicious! They go perfect with a good cup of coffee or tea and are a great holiday cookie.

Palak Patta Chaat – Diwali Special

Diwali season is on and so is the excitement. I have always associated Diwali with smells. When the breeze begins to have a bit of chill and you can smell frost in the early autumn mornings, you know Diwali is around the corner. Smell of fresh paint, burnt leaves, crackers and, of course, aroma of homemade sweets and snacks evokes nostalgic memories of Diwali. I miss all that fun in Sydney.

Diwali is the biggest Indian festival and also, the biggest excuse to eat and indulge. In fact, people eat so many sweets during the days leading up to Diwali that by the time it is Diwali day, no one even wants to look at the sweets!!! How about giving your guests a break from sugar this Diwali and offering them something chatpata? Surprise your guests with this easy but packed with flavour, Palak Patta Chaat, and I bet they will not stop raving about it.

Are you bored of sweets?

One year on and not out of excuses to eat!

This month ‘Khane Ke Bahane’ celebrates its first anniversary. One year on and we have been finding more and more excuses to eat! With the huge variety of cuisines and recipes that vegetarian food offers, I am confident that we will not run out of excuses anytime soon. A big thank you to all my readers, followers, friends and family for the love you have showered upon me and my blog. And what better gift I could have than 200+ likes to mark the anniversary. I will be giving away many more delicious recipes as return gifts!

Punjabi Baingan ka Bharta

Baingan ka Bharta divides the world into two classes – eaters and non-eaters. While some people relish its smoky flavour, others find nothing appetizing about the pulpy eggplant. If you further analyse the two groups, you will find an interesting pattern. While women are big fans of this mashed eggplant dish resembling the middle-eastern Baba Ganoush, the ‘non-eaters’ are generally men and my family ‘was’ no different.  Hence, after marriage, I would not cook Bharta very often but whenever I did, Mr. Hubby would find an excuse to not eat. However, when I made Bharta last week, I successfully convinced him(not giving any other options for dinner) to at least try. And to my surprise, Mr. Hubby finished dinner describing it as delectable.

A good recipe can produce great results that can convert a non-eater into a fan. Are you up for the challenge?

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi – Besan Ke Laddu

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all my readers! While it’s not yet time to pack the winter clothes here in Sydney, I can smell Spring in the air. The days are getting warmer and the flowers are in full bloom everywhere. The most awaited season of the year is here! I particularly look forward to Spring in Sydney, as it not only brings lovely long sunny days but it also marks the beginning of festivities and celebrations that continue until year-end. Starting with Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaurthi, there is a festival every couple of weeks until Diwali followed by my little one’s b’day,  Christmas and then New Year. With so many occasions to celebrate, it is also a very busy time for me but I love the festivities and, of course, the awesome food.

Besan ke laddu is a rich traditional sweet that is not only very easy to make but also tastes delicious. My Mum makes a batch every few weeks as my Dad loves eating these laddus every night after dinner. He warms them slightly in the microwave before eating that makes them taste even better.

I make these laddus only once a year on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, when I bring my Ganpati home, to welcome the Lord with His favourite food.