Month: April 2014

It’s time for some sprouts indulgence at Tingle Your Taste Buds! I still very clearly remember an incident when during a casual conversation, I told someone that I had sprouts for breakfast. The reaction was – “Oh what along with it?” and I said “Nothing, just that.” which was responded to with “Really? It was enough?”. Well, the answer truly is that it is more than enough and am sure all sprout lovers across the globe will concur with me. In India, traditionally sprouts have never really been an integral part of our diet. So while people are turning health conscious and many have now started including sprouts in their regular diet, there is a section of people who still think that it is not the perfect breakfast item. But we strongly recommend everyone to have sprouts religiously due to its numerous health benefits. If you do a google search on “Health Benefits of Sprouts”, you will find countless articles listing scores of them, the most attractive one being that it helps in weight loss 🙂

A friend of mine said that she always thought sprouts are bland so she never felt excited to have them. But once we shared our sprout salad recipe with her, she was amazed and now has it regularly for breakfast. You can have sprout salad by itself or you can have fruits/bread along with it if you like variety but do not keep yourself away from this powerhouse food item. Cooked sprout also tastes great and it makes for a scrumptious main course dish which goes well with rotis or breads. The best thing about sprouts is that they are easy to digest and so they leave you feeling “fulfilled but not full”.

So this week we present two Indian Cooking Recipes – Sprout Salad and Sprout Sabzi – which will inspire you to keep up the Sprouts Indulgence!

We never thought we would share non-vegetarian recipes at Tingle Your Taste Buds because we cook only vegetarian food at home. But we received so many requests for it from our patrons who love non-veg food that we decided to include this category as well through our Guest Chef recipes. This week our Guest Chef is special – firstly, because he is our first male Guest Chef and secondly, because he has shared with us the first non-vegetarian recipe at Tingle Your Taste Buds. The Guest Chef recipe this week is something fishy – well, quite literally !

Fish is indubitably adored by non-veg lovers across the globe. It has innumerable health benefits and eating it regularly can protect one from many serious diseases. In-fact, I read about an interesting research which stated that children given lots of fish from the age of three are less likely to have criminal records by the time they become adults! I have umpteen number of friends who are crazy about fish prepared in different styles. I used to find this fish fetish amusing till I had this marvelous dish called Mackerel Rava Fry cooked by our Guest Chef himself. This Indian cooking recipe has been shared by Abhishek Sinha from Goa.

Mackerel Rava Fry is a konkani style of preparation and to me it means a lot more than just a dish – having it is like relishing and assimilating the beautiful culture of Goa. Mackerel is a widely available species of fish found in both temperate and tropical seas. A useful bargaining tip shared by Abhishek is that always ask for extra numbers while bargaining at the local market and don’t bargain for the price. Not only is this recipe finger licking good, it is also very nourishing and easy to digest. So have something fishy and treat yourself 🙂 !

The love for mangoes is prevalent across India – no wonder it’s our National fruit ! The moment the mango season kicks in, every household starts savouring mangoes in various forms. Ripe fruit, raw fruit, drinks, pickles – the list is endless for what all one can do with the king of our fruits! There are over 1300 varieties of mangoes in this world out of which, around 1000 are cultivated in India. As this is the mango season, we all look forward to glorious mango recipes to enjoy this fruit to the fullest. So this week Tingle Your Taste Buds presents two tingling mango recipes for you all – “Aamras” and “Aam ka Meetha Achaar“.

Aamras is an Indian cooking recipe that goes best with pooris or parathas, but you can have it all by itself as well – it’s so satisfying and nutritious! Personally, I have always preferred Aamras over having the ripe fruit. Our second Indian cooking recipe is the first pickle recipe on Tingle Your Taste Buds – Aam ka Meetha Achaar. One of the most loved pickle recipes in India, it is truly versatile as it is an ideal side dish with any main dish. Imagine a meal – parathas/poori with Aam ka Meetha Achaar and Aamras! Simple and perfect meal of this season, ain’t it? 

 

Yoghurt, Yogurt, Dahi, Curd – the health benefits of this wonder with several names is not unknown. I have always been a huge fan of yogurt and it has been an integral part of my diet since childhood. What truly amazes me about yogurt is that it can be had in so many different forms and it can be used to prepare various dishes – this is why I call it a wonder! It is the best thing to have on a heavy or an upset stomach, and having it on a hot or tiring day almost gives a feel of having something divine or pious (The authentic Punjabi lassi is actually referred to as amrit by many). When we were thinking of posting some quick Indian cooking recipes, without any second thought we decided we will start with posting some quick yogurt recipes. In today’s world where we all are having a race against time, quick recipes are something which we keep looking for. So this week, Tingle Your Taste Buds presents two Quick Yogurt Recipes for you all!

Our first quick yogurt recipe has been sent to us by our Guest Chef for this week, Aarti Sriramka. She works at TCS and being a working mother, has loads of responsibilities. But she juggles between office and home with aplomb, and at the same time, also pursues her passion for cooking. She shares with us her prize winning recipe of Bread Dahi Vada which is sure to be a hit with your family and guests.

Our second quick yogurt recipe is “Buttermilk” or, as it is popularly called, Dahi Ka Mattha or Chaas. A pleasant beverage which will leave you craving for more!

Summers are a time when our appetite goes for a toss – our tummy refuses to accept rich and heavy food but at the same time, foodies are always looking for ways to satiate their taste buds. This summer especially has been a tough one for all of us and all am looking for to have in this scorching heat is ice-creams or cool drinks or yoghurt/ yoghurt based dishes.

Talking of ice-creams, one dessert which I absolutely love is Kesar Pista Kulfi. Our whole family is a huge fan of the Kesar Pista Kulfi prepared by mom and what better than bonding over it in this hot climate. Our first summer recipe this week at Tingle Your Taste Buds is of Kesar Pista Kulfi – it is an easy to make and extremely fulfilling cold dessert.

Our second recipe this week at Tingle Your Taste Buds is Dahi Vada – this yoghurt based snack is perfect for get-togethers or special occasions. It is rich in flavours but at the same time, it is light on your stomach and a refreshing dish to have during the summer season. Enjoy these cool summer recipes!

During the process of cooking, we all make mistakes whether we are a novice or an expert. Sometimes we realize there is excess salt in the gravy or sometimes we end up burning something,  the list can go on! In such cases, following some cooking tips and tricks can go a long way in giving your dishes the extra oomph and making the cooking process comfortable by preventing things from going wrong or correcting what has already gone wrong. Additionally, in today’s time when there is so much stress on re-use, there are numerous ways in which we can avoid wastage while cooking as well. So here is a list of cooking tips and tricks which Tingle Your Taste Buds swears by, and hope you find beneficial as well.

Tip#1 –  Always remove the stem of green chillies before preserving it in refrigerator, the chillies will stay fresh for a longer time.

Tip#2 – To avoid worms in Rawa/Sooji (Semolina), fry it without oil till little brown and then store.

Tip#3 – To avoid sticking of ground onion to pan/kadhai while frying, add a little salt.

Tip#4 – Dry fruits should always be stored in refrigerator for keeping them fresh for longer time.

Tip#5 – If curd tastes sour, add some milk for making the taste better. For making lassi and raita with sour curd, add milk instead of water.

Tip#6 – Left over dry cooked vegetables like cauliflower,mixed vegetables etc, can be used for making delicious vegetable sandwiches.

Tip#7 – If salt is more in cooked gravy, add a small ball of atta and heat it for 2-3 minutes and then remove the ball.

Tip#8 – After peeling the top skin of an onion, keep it in water for sometime before chopping to avoid watering of eyes.

 

Trying a new recipe in today’s world is very simple – just one click on the internet and you are presented with umpteen recipes to choose from. While there are a number of websites/blogs on Indian Cooking Recipes, sometimes finding an easy to comprehend, homely and delicious recipe can still be a tough task. “Tingle Your Taste Buds“ is an Indian Cooking Recipes website for everyone because we believe there is a “Chef” in all of us. Our mantra is  – “Cooking well does not mean cooking fancy” and we promise to make the process of cooking fun and simplistic for you all. So keep visiting and tingle your taste buds with us!