Sim's Food Diary

It's just my love for food.. whether it's cooking or baking..

[simsfooddiary]

Let’s start the day with Bread Dhokla sandwich.. A quick dish which anyone can make! #breaddhokla #dahidhokla #breaddhoklasandwich #desitadka #breadforbreakfast #whatsforbreakfast #morning #bread #breakfast #indianbreakfast #foodgasm #foodporn #bellpeppers #dillifoodies #gurgaonfoodie #simsfooddiary

[simsfooddiary]

A wonderful and very easy recipe! The combination of bread and yogurt is amazing.. a must try !

You can prepare this for breakfast or evening snack with tea!

Here goes the recipe - 

Take a cup of yogurt (preferably hung). I used Danone Greek yogurt. It’s pretty thick. One wouldn’t need to strain out any water from it.

Now add in 1 tbsp of very finely chopped onion, 1 tbsp of very finely chopped red bell pepper, very finely chopped green chilies (i added in 1 tsp - depends on how spicy you want it. You can totally skip it too if you are not a fan of green chilies). Add in 1 tbsp of chopped coriander , salt to taste, sprinkle of red chili powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp cumin powder. Mix well.

Now take the bread slices. I personally like honey oatmeal bread. I love the little sweetness it has in it. Cut them into 4 equal parts. Now take the yogurt mixture and put them on the bread liberally. Cover the bread with another slice of bread.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan (can even use butter - no harsh rule what to use in this).

Add in 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida (hing), pinch of sesame seeds, 7-8 curry leaves, 1/2 tsp chopped green chilies and a pinch of turmeric.  Now add these bread slices into the pan. Turn the bread to the other side after about a minute and let it get a golden hue on it. It will be crispy by now. Take it off the pan and it’s ready to eat!

As you bite into it, you realize it’s perfectly crispy. The mustard seeds and curry leaves also add to the crispiness!

Perfect snack for kids too !!

Try and let me know !! :)

[simsfooddiary]

Let's start the day with Bread Dhokla sandwich.. A quick dish which anyone can make! #breaddhokla #dahidhokla #breaddhoklasandwich #desitadka #breadforbreakfast #whatsforbreakfast #morning #bread #breakfast #indianbreakfast #foodgasm #foodporn #bellpeppers #dillifoodies #gurgaonfoodie #simsfooddiary

[simsfooddiary]

My Diwali Dinner - Bihari Style Mutton

It was my nephew’s first Diwali.. He’s just 11 months old and such a cutie! And I went over to my sister’s place to celebrate Diwali with her and her 2 kids. Her husband was traveling out of town for some work, so the celebration was just amongst us at her home.

Instead of getting the regular mithai (sweets), i made cinnamon rolls and brought that to her place... Yes yes... recipe coming in the next post!! 

And for dinner, we decided to keep it simple by making just one dish. She’s a good cook too, but i decided on cooking at her place. I knew she hadn’t ever tried Bihari mutton, so decided to make that. Otherwise we just make punjabi mutton curry at our homes which is equally delicious (will post recipe some other day for that). She said that she will make maida roti/parantha to go with the mutton. I thought yeah that would be a lovely combination! And it sure was!! :)

I learnt this recipe from a friend who belongs to Bihar (India), so credits go to him too ;)

So here are the list of ingredients and the Recipe...

INGREDIENTS:

Mutton (1kg)

Mustard Oil (7-8 tbsp)

Ghee (2-4 tbsp) (more or less according to taste)

Jeera (Cumin) (1tsp)

Bay Leaf (2-3)

Star Anise (2-3)

Cinnamon (1/2 inch stick)

Green cardamom (4-5)

Black cardamom (3-4)

Cloves (5-6)

Whole black peppercorns (8-10)

Dried red chillies (2-3)

Turmeric powder (1 tsp)

Red chilli powder (2-3 tbsp)

Coriander powder (2 tbsp)

Mutton masala (3-4 tbsp)

Salt (to taste)

 Ginger Garlic paste (3-4 tbsp)

Finely sliced onions in half (roughly 8 in number)

Coriander (to garnish)

RECIPE:

Take a thick bottomed wok. Heat 7-8 tbsp mustard oil. Now let it actually burn. The thing with mustard oil is that if you don’t let it burn, it tastes raw in your dishes. Once smoke starts coming out of it, turn off the gas. Now let it cool for around 5-7 minutes. 

Turn on the gas again and after about 30 seconds, add jeera (cumin), bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, black cardamom, cloves, whole black pepper and dried red chillis broken with hand. You can just take all these out before hand and add them all together into the oil. Sauté till 10-15 seconds. Make sure not to burn them. Now add in sliced onions (for 1 kilo mutton). Sauté till golden. Now add combined ginger garlic paste. (If you have ginger garlic paste separately, then add in 2 tbsp of each. Sauté the onions till golden-brown. 

Now add in turmeric powder, salt to taste, coriander powder, red chilly powder (to taste; but i added in around 2-3 tbsp, coz this mutton is supposed to be super chilli !), mutton masala (now if you don’t have mutton masala at home, you can also add in chicken masala - they are more or less the same) . Now keep on sautéing further for around 10 odd minutes. 

Now add in the mutton pieces. Mix well and keep cooking on slow flame uncovered for around 30-40 minutes. (Remember to keep on mixing in between,otherwise the masala will stick to the wok. Now you don’t want that, otherwise you will be struggling to let it off from the sides of the wok, plus once stuck, the masala will burn - you definitely don’t want that burnt taste!). After about 30-40 minutes,add in 1 cup water and mix. Cover and keep on cooking on low flame for another 20-30 minutes. Keep on  checking the mutton in between. It might dry up and you’ll need to add in more water. 

The consistency should be more or less thick. This dish doesn’t have too much gravy. It would have been perfectly cooked till now. Soft, succulent pieces would be inviting you to take a bite... Do that so that you can check how well they are cooked. Now add in desi ghee (I prefer around 4 tbsp to add in the rich taste. You can even add in 2 tbsp. Yes, this dish has a combination of mustard oil and ghee! And the flavor.... Truly divine!. Mix a bit after adding ghee and turn off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves. It’s ready to serve!.

Enjoy with roti/parantha or rice. 

Note: be generous with red chilli and mutton masala ;)

[simsfooddiary]

This Vada Pav is dedicated to my hubby @kaps59 He's stayed in Pune for sometime and vada pav was kinda his staple diet. I learnt to make this from my friend's @kohlipriti mom-in-law .. so thanks to her ! Vada Pav with fried green chillies and chilli peanut chutney.. Yummy! #simsfooddiary #vadapav #streetfood #spicyindianfood #roadsidefood #spicytadkafood #potatoesinbun

[simsfooddiary]

Anyone for Mango jelly with strawberries and mint? I just love desserts!! #desserts #simsfooddiary #strawberrydessert #mangodessert #jelly #sweettooth

[simsfooddiary]

Dedicated to all my fellow Punjabis.. The ideal weekend lunch. made at every home.. Rajma Chawal with sliced onions. Green chilly and mint-coriander chutney #simsfooddiary #punjabifood #indiantadka #spicyindianfood #rajmachawal #weekendlunch #homemadefood

[simsfooddiary]

Sometimes I get in the mood of healthy cooking.. Made bulgar wheat salad with bell peppers.. it's just like cous cous salad. #simsfooddiary #simplefood #healthyfood #bulgarwheat #couscous #healthyeating #salad

[simsfooddiary]

Can a simple dish as khichdi get this exciting? Yes.. with a tadka of mustard seeds and curry leaves! #simsfooddiary #simplefood #khichdi #rice #dalrice #curryleaves #tadka #homecooking #indianfood

[simsfooddiary]

My day starts with Methi parantha! Yes.. winters are here.. well nearly... But methi is definitely here!! One of my fav paranthas! Now about to dig in!! #simsfooddiary #methiparantha #breakfast #punjabifood #loveparanthas #indianbreakfast

[simsfooddiary]

Made Bread Poha/Upma after long! I can actually have bread in any form.. I love it so much.. it's definitely my staple food!! #simsfooddiary #breadpoha #breadupma #indianbread #desitadkaa✌ #breakfast #indianbreakfast

[simsfooddiary]

My first Tumblr Post!!

Today is the start of my journey with blogging..

I’ve been cooking for like years. It all started out when I started helping my mom in the kitchen. Food was taste to me.. It has always been! There are some who just eat to survive.. But even as a kid, I used to taste everything and of course had my likes and dislikes just like everyone!

Now after all these years of being in the kitchen and a lot of coaxing by my friends and family.. I have started to write about my food journey.. It’s just the start.. so there will be silly posts… (coz of the excitement) and not so professional photos.. :) But this is the journey I have started.. 

I love Food and most of all I love when people try my food and fall in love with it… That’s why this journey.. I want to reach out to all those who probably find cooking difficult, to the people who just don’t cook.. to the people from whom I can learn more!