Mole is a traditional dark colored sauce  used in authentic Mexican cuisine, with intense flavor from spices , chilies and chocolates.Generally, a mole sauce contains a fruit, chili pepper, nut, spices and chocolate or cocoa powder. The history of this sauce according to Wikipedia goes back to a convent in Puebla where the nuns created
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vol au vent means “wind blown”. these are light pastry cases filled with sweet or savory fillings. I decided to make these on a French themed Potluck event organised by fellow bloggers, chefs and friends. I was really enthusiastic about the event and decide to prepare vol au vents as starters and chicken frikasee for
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This is a spicy pomfret curry in Bengali style with the combination of onion ,ginger garlic and mustard paste. In Bengali traditional Bengali cuisine generally the use of tomato and garlic is not popular but I have used in this recipe to add a modern twist to the flavors. Print Pomfret machher jhal This is
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This is a popular Malayasian street food with crispy flaky crust and soft juicy chicken with the flavor of kaffeir lime, lemon grass and coconut milk. It is also called Karipap. I had to bake something for the bakers club meet and I wanted to prepare something with homemade puff pastry dough from scratch. As
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This is a chicken recipe from old Delhi evolved from the British  era . In the British version of chicken stew  the chicken and spices are cooked together to form a thin runny non spicy gravy in contrast to the Indian process of cooking where the spices are first fried or bhunao in oil. But
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This is a delicious cake smelling fresh from seasonal mangoes. I planned to bake this for father’s day as my husband like white fresh cream cake and my daughter loves mangoes. Eggless varietey can also be prepared. I have a fresh cream pineapple cake in my blog. You need to make a thin mago puree
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Pavlova is a meringue cake topped with whipped cream and fruits created in the honor of the Australian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova in 1920. The dessert is popular and  part of every festive menu in Australia as well as Newzealand. Ingredients Meringue 4 eggs 1 tbsp vanilla 2 tbsp cornstarch 1and 1/4th cup powdered sugar
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Curry roux is an instant mix made of flour, butter and ingredients of curry powder which can be added to any meat or vegetable stew to get a wholesome curry. Japanese curry powder consists of a mixture of spices similar to the Indian curry powder but its less spicy. It also contains the grated lemon
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Pizza Rustika is a meat and cheese pie baked during the Easter in Italy. It is also called pizza Giana, Giana meaning “God is gracious”. It is prepared for the feast to put an end to the Lent fast, perfect for indulgence during that period. I prepared a vegetarian version of this pie for a
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This is a vegetarian pizza  invented by  Pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito, Pizzeria Brandi’s chef in honor of the visit of queen Margarita. The queen wanted three prominent colors in the pizza present in the flag of Italy. Red in represented by tomatoes, green represented by basil and white represented by mozzarella. It is a quick easy
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  This recipe is inspired from Dal Gosht prepared with lentils and mutton is a fusion of Indian and Mughal cuisine which evolved probably after the Muslim invaders settled in India. I have prepared the Dal with chicken and minimal spices to make a quick delicious curry to go with steamed rice. Chickpeas is a
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It always gives me great pleasure to share my knowledge with the new generation and this time the opportunity came in the form of a cooking competition. I was  privileged to be invited as a judge in this inter-collegiate  flameless cooking competition held on 5th February 2019. Students from more than 12 colleges from  Western
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  A simple chicken curry mild spicy with minimum ingredients yet mind-blowing will take you to a virtual journey to the coastal plains of India decorated with green laced border of  coconut trees. The preparation is inspired by “Kori Gassi ” , the famous Mangalorean chicken curry and Kolhapuri chicken curry but uses lesser ingredients.
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  Valentines Day is about expressing  and spreading love. For me  love and chocolates are synonymous. Since my childhood I had been a great fan of Cadbury’s dairy milk and why not, when you crave for that melt into mouth silky velvety feeling, you definitely need one. The  latest one on the list is Cadbury’s
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  We can’t deny the fact that our lives are getting busier day by day. We have our job which we can’t ignore, a family to look after, friends to meet and also work late night at times. Our busy schedule often forces us to take out our mobile phone and call the nearest food
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  Cadbury Dairy Milk is not just a brand, but it is a name  which makes a kid’s face glow with an infectious smile, but why only kids?  it includes people from all generations, it brings out the little child in them. It is a gift which makes every festival a celebration, a party. I still
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  This was to impress my daughter who was down with cough and I was not able to give her enough time, as I was assigned the duty for being an external practical examiner for 4 days consecutively. The exam duty, assessment was already taking a heavy toll on me and above that my daughter
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  I had contemplated preparing this dish long back but as mutton or male goat’s meat is prepared only during festivals, my family likes to relish only on traditional preparations. The color is fab and the flavors and texture are unique, retaining the aroma of meat. The whole spices enhance the flavors of the spinach
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    Poush Sankranti is a festival in the state of Bengal which starts the end of harvesting time for the farmers. Poush and Magh are the two months in Bengal which depict the Winter season. The Poush Sankranti is celebrated on the last date of “Poush” month and is considered as an auspicious day
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  The custom of celebrating birthday with cakes and candles hail from early Greek culture where people used to celebrate the birthday of their Goddess during every 6th day of the Lunar month and Greeks used to take the cake to the temple of Artemis who is the Goddess of fertility and protector of mothers
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This is a popular recipe from Goa spicy and rich in coastal flavors. The crab used here was soft shell crabs. The shells soft like egg shells and milk soft ,juicy and succulent.

In a Bong family mutton curry is the favorite dish to relish during the special holiday weekends and during festivals. This is a unique preparation based on the flavor of black pepper and lime . The fragrance of lime which is also called (Gondhoraj lebu  ) in Bengali and black pepper paired with each other
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The food in Kolhapur  is ,strong in flavor from the spices  which are grown here ,the rich color and heat is imparted by locally cultivated Kolhapuri  Deggi Mirch . Prior to independence, Kolhapur was ruled by Bhosale Chhatrapati ,royal clan of the Maratha empire. The state is popular for its non-vegetarian food fare  as  during
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  This was not a planned trip but I was nurturing  secret wish of visiting  Kolhapur some day ,for their traditional cuisine and spices. But there was so much more . Being a Doctoral research student  of Computer Science, I got an opportunity to write and present a  research paper at the national linguistic conference
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This recipe is dedicated  to FBAI California Walnut Month , walnut is a wonderful ingredient for preparing pesto which is a classic Italian sauce  prepared with basil,pine nuts ,garlic  ,olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Green garlic is another amazing ingredient which marks the beginning of spring and these green bunches can break the monotony and
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    The FBAI one of the biggest online news channel for influencers and bloggers has taken an wonderful initiative to collaborate with California walnuts producing a month full of healthy indulgences by the expert chefs in 50 plus restaurants all over India, Bar stock exchange and some of the homechef’s kitchens . These restaurants will include California
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The Indianised version of Chinese food also known as Indo-Chinese food dates back to the time when Chinese migrants settled in Kolkata erstwhile Calcutta.Their cuisines undergone significant changes since then to adapt to the local taste ,flavors and weather conditions. Along with the popular Chinese ingredients like Soy sauce and vinegar ,the Indian ingredients sometimes
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Bengali cuisine is light and flavorsome , and spicy  from the green chilies ,the use of red chilies has started much later with the foreign influences. The ingredients used in the dishes were procured from the local cultivation and if you look at the history,researchers found that red chilies have not originated in India but
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    This is a summer chicken curry prepared when you have mango abundance in the season.Sweet and tangy with subtle spiciness are the key flavors of this curry. Ingredients 400 to 500 gm Chicken 1 big tomato 1/2 cup onions 1 cup mango pulp 1 cup curd 6 to 7 medium garlic cloves 2
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“Janma” meaning “birth” and “ashtami” signifies the 8th day of the month, “Bhadra” in the Hindu calendar. This day has special significance as it is celebrated as  the birthday of Lord Krishna . The Lord krishna is the 8th incarnation of  Lord Vishnu,one of the three prominent  supreme Hindu deities, Brahma(creator) and Maheshwar (destructor) being
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These are nutritious and healthy indulgences, if you crave for desserts and want to have them guilt free. Due to the addition of spinach and whole wheat they are rich in dietary fibers and iron and also make you fill full.  You can use them as breakfast muffins with any beverage or pack them as
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The “empanadas”, the name is derived from the Spanish word  “empanar” meaning to coat in bread .This a baked or fried stuffed pastry popular in America ,Spain,Portugal and parts of South America. They are popular snacks all over the world and filled with a variety of fillings including seafood, beef, pork etc.In India these semi
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Palmyra fruit also called Toddy palm in the Konkan region and “Taal ” in Bengal  and Ice apple in English is a versatile fruit. This tree is a native of India and almost all the parts of the plant are put to use. The sap of the tree is used to make toddy which is
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  I was delighted to visit  this beautiful restaurant located at the first floor of the  hotel Auriole which provides luxurious accommodation in the city  with terrace swimming pools ,modern amenities ,elegant decor  etc. The interiors of the Lume cafe is bright and luminous ,I guess it justifies the name(“Lume”) with lots of open space
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If you have tasted Dahi bhalle or Dahi vada  before ,  you will be amazed to know that this is not the same item I am talking about. Few months earlier I used to think that I know everything about making dahi bhalle and can pull off cooking this popular dish with perfection during any
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  What  a day! it all started with hustle ,bustle and the sweet sound of the crockery ,utensils and cutleries as the young ladies participating in the cooking contest organized by youngbutterfly.in in collaboration with the ,Culinary crafts , Powai began their cooking job of the day. A busy and wonderful day indeed .The tables were
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In Bengal this meal is about pampering son in laws  and treating him with a delicious meal. The actual event is on 19th June 2018.On this day , the husband of  daughter who is also known as “Jamai”  in  Bengali ,along with his family  ,visit their in-laws house with gifts .In this Bengali meal the
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Chiffon cake is a light spongy cake made fluffy with egg whites.It can be easily made gluten free using rice flour or any other gluten free flour.The emulsification process with lemon juice and vegetable oil packs bubbles into this cake and beaten egg whites make it super spongy,soft and moist.It is the first type of
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Bohri Khichda which is consumed during the holy month of Ramadan , is an amalgamation of flavors from the Hyderabad-i halem in which the broken wheat is cooked with meat and lentils and made a paste later and the traditional vegetarian khichdi cooked in every  Gujarati household.Traditionally the process is quite long intensive ,but   nowadays the cooking process is shortened by using tools like pressure cooker. The final dish was aromatic delicious and infused with intricate flavors of spices which  will compel you to ask for more. It was Finger-licking good.

  This weekend don’t miss the Thingyan festival at Burma Burma at Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, as the team has curated a special menu with the talented chef Ansab Khan and The founder and food enthusiast Ankit Gupta. The Thingyan festival, which is the New Year celebration of Myanmar, also called Myanmar water festival is celebrated
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  Baked yogurt or bhapa doi is a traditional Bengali dessert very easy to prepare with curd and condensed milk.In olden days this mixture used to be steamed due to the absence of oven .Now you can do the steaming process in the oven itself by filling the tray with water and baking the mixture
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I would not have known that such a delicious dish existed  ,if I had missed Lisa Watson’s wonderful post on twitter about the Easter Recipes.She is a gem of a writer and a chef ,you can read about the history of this wonderful dish ,in her blog.Easter Sunday is celebrated throughout the world to  commemorate
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I often need to make the mini cupcakes on popular demand from my child and her friends .With an intention to put health on topmost priority ,I prefer falling back on our traditional gluten free grains.”finger millet”,called Ragi or Nachni ,  in local language ,can be labelled as an wonder grain.It is high in dietary
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    In  this world of rat race,  intentionally or unintentionally  we learnt to ignore some of the precious advice of the elders regarding our health ,causing our health to be heavily compromised and leading a momentary superficial, so called happy life with immense stress.The #wellness conference by FBAI on 17th  March 2018, in collaboration
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  Dashanzi , an oriental cuisine restaurant at JW-Mariott Juhu , on its first year of anniversary launched Yum cha Saturdays led by Chef Vishal Atreya, Executive Chef at JW Marriott Juhu and his team.Yum cha literally in Chinese means “drinking tea”.It refers to the Cantonese tradition of drinking Chinese tea with dimsums. Owing to the
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  I have a sweet tooth and I love sweet dishes  but sweet and sour chicken is really unique but you will love it.I first had this dish during my trip in Hongkong and it was prepared with pork.The pork pieces were tender ,sweet and delicious ,though I would have loved it a little more
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If you have some overripe bananas sitting idle in your refrigerator ,you can make some delicious use of them in this recipe.Adding caramel in this cookie  takes the recipe to a new level of uniqueness.The combination is like a match made in heaven and you will continue to lick your fingers long after they disappear.These
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Kachori is  one of the most favorite Indian snacks ,hundreds of varieties and versions of whom you can find  in the local regional sweet shops.They are essentially deep fried flat breads with a spicy ,savory or sweet filling inside. Kachoris seems to be invented by Marwaris ,who are vegetarians,and hail from the land of Rajasthan
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These strawberry cupcakes are very close to my heart.prepared these during valentine’s day with strawberries mildly poached in white rum.The cakes were very soft and full of flavor from the strawberries.Then covered the cupcakes with a butter cream icing.I could not find my star nozzle for icing at the last moment and spooned the thick
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sui mai ,traditionally called shāomài is a flower shaped dumpling with an open top.I had these in Hongkong and the filling consisted of ground pork .The casing is thin and soft like wantons. They are popular in Chinese as well as in Japanese cuisine.I steamed these dumplings in a bamboo steamer purchased from Hongkong itself.Instead of
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