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07Jun 2012

Now we’re talking: Soy & Chickpea burgers!

We had an amazing lunch today and I am really proud of myself for getting it right in every respect.

There was Hungarian roasted pepper and paprika chicken (yum!) served with a side of tomato & basil couscous and golden crusted brussels sprouts on the table.

It was a feast and both V and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Yet, none of the above is the dish I will be talking about today. But don’t worry! I’ll post those recipes- because really I can’t keep all that good stuff to just me. You guys should be in the know too!

You guys should also be in the know of these burgers that I made over the weekend.

05Jun 2012

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Chicken Tikka Pasties

Shumaila ⋅ 15 Comments

This post has been in my folder for a long time and what’s a better day to post it than at the end of the four four-day celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee!

If you have been watching the coverage on TV of the the celebrations, I am sure you have been enamored by the grandeur that they were. Of course critics have argued that at such tough economic times do these celebration seem befitting. To avoid any debate, I will just stay clear off that topic(although there is a part of me that agrees, but this is a food blog and I want to keep it that). But I do understand that it is a big deal and maybe at such times you do need a reason to celebrate, even if it seems frivolous.

Nonetheless it was fun. It was like watching Kate and William’s wedding all over. And as befits a big British occasion, the rain was persistent and relentless.

10Apr 2012

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Channa Masala with easily available ingredients

Shumaila ⋅ 5 Comments

I started Garam Masala Tuesdays with three aims- one, to familiarize non-Indians with Indian cooking; two, to familiarize Indian cooking to Indian ladies like me, who had only recently forayed into Indian cooking and who like me did not have the pleasure of their moms to guide them through various aspects of Indian food and three, to share recipes handed down by my mother or friends or relatives or seen on different sites along with giving a little background about the dish.

Now, because of the above three aims I am always in a dilemma when I write any post for the GMT. I wonder if I am writing the recipes for Indians, non-Indians or for Indians who are living abroad.

Indians living in India have access to all kinds of spices and vegetables and their taste buds are used to eating Indian flavored dishes. Indians living abroad have access to most spices, but might not have access to all and if they have been born and raised abroad might not be used to the different flavors of Indian cuisine. Non-Indians might not have any of the spices and even though they like Indian food, they might find it a pain to stock up on the oh-so-many spices that most Indian dishes call for. On the other hand, if I post a recipe without the necessary spices, Indians who might cook from my blog will lose out on the flavor that these very spices hand to the dish- and then for them the particular dish won’t be the real thing.

So, the dilemma always remains- how do I make sure I cater to everyone’s needs?

Of course I can’t and won’t even attempt to. And today I thought I’ll try to cook from a non-Indian’s pantry perspective. I think that’s something that GMT misses out on occasions.

09Apr 2012

April SRC: Cooking from “I Was Born to Cook”

Shumaila ⋅ 16 Comments

I have been busy the past few days and it’s going to be like that for the next few days as well. This is also the reason why there have been no Office Thursdays for a while and I missed last week’s GMT.

I’ll try to blog as often as I can but if I go missing in between it’s because my in-laws are here and I will be busy catching up with them. Also, unlike with V, where I can tell him to wait for food while I photograph stuff, I doubt I’ll be able to do that now.

Fortunately, I was able to make and photograph my SRC assignment few days back, and able to schedule my post while V’s parents were getting over their jet lag.

16Feb 2012

Black Bean Burgers/Patties

Shumaila ⋅ 5 Comments

There are plenty of reasons why I chose to not post for GMT (again) this week.

One, I had my hands on the last of The Hunger Games Trilogy, Mockingjay, and could not put it down till I finished it.

Two, it snowed in our little mining town and it never snows here. Well, almost never. I just did not feel like spending time on the laptop while looking at the snow fall.

Three, I had decided last Sunday that I am taking no more pictures of my food, till I do not post the pile of recipes in my folders on my comp. (Actually I had decided, sometime last week, but broke that resolve to click the Mascarpone Meringue Cake and the Browned Butter cookies). My blogger’s block hasn’t been helping me in getting rid of the backlog, but till the pending recipes aren’t posted I am not clicking any more pictures.

Four, because it was V-day. Not that I celebrate Valentine’s day, but since V day is a play on what I call my husband (V) on the blog, I just found it amusing and thought would take a break for “V”day! And what would you know, on V day, V is the one who gets flowers and a card for me! You would think it would be the other way round. But, no- not in our household. V is the more romantic one. I’m the banal one. But, I can be nice too. I did make his favorite Baingan ka Bharta (roasted and mashed eggplant) for lunch. For dinner, we went out.

08Feb 2012

Spinach & Mushroom Omelet baked in a Bread Boule

Shumaila ⋅ 17 Comments

An omelet baked in bread.

What the F, right??

I know, that was my reaction too when I saw this on Josie’s site Pink Parsley.

Like her, I too wondered why can’t I ever come up with such brilliant ideas.

You have dips served in bread boules, soups served in boules- but have you ever had an omelet served in a boule?

This is the best breakfast meets any-other-meal kind of dish.

Josie made this for dinner and calls it a fantastic breakfast for dinner food. I actually made it for lunch. And thought it tasted great for lunch as well!

Unlike some people, who are particular that certain things can not be had for dinner, or lunch- I always feel eat what you want, at whatever time you want (well of course if that rule is applied sensibly- not eating junk every hour of the day- that’s not doing anybody any good).

03Feb 2012

Barbeque Chicken Tacos

Shumaila ⋅ 4 Comments

I try to be inventive in the kitchen but more often than not it is always a miss.

Like the time I tried to make salsa pasta. I know! What was I thinking, right?!

Well, I thought it would be the best of both worlds but it turned out to be the worst.

I actually blame it on the salsa (not the salsa recipe but that particular salsa batch).

I added more cilantro to the salsa than called for and in the hope of rescuing the salsa batch, I decided to mix it with some pasta thinking it might reduce the cilantro flavor and in the process I would come up with a new dish in the kitchen that would be truly my creation (while writing this post I did google salsa pasta and apparently there are versions of it floating around in cyber space).

07Nov 2011

Guest Post by the Chef in Disguise: Kibbeh

Shumaila ⋅ 11 Comments

This post was supposed to go live a few days back, but since I was out of town and busy attending my friends’ weddings, the post got delayed.

As mentioned previously, I had asked a few blogger friends to help me out to keep this blog a little active while I am away on vacation. The first blogger friend to help me out was Ameena from Fancy That…Fancy This with her mouth watering Mango Tandoori Chicken Pizza. Few days back, Jane from the Heritage Cook shared a fantastic coconut layer cake recipe. Today, its Sawsan from the blog Chef in Disguise.

If you are part of the Daring Kitchen group, I am sure you have heard her name plenty times. My first Daring Bakers’ challenge was her first too and it was a prized challenge, where she got a truly deserved second place.

Sawsan makes lovely middle eastern food (well, actually everything that she makes looks and sounds great). And I love middle eastern cuisine. So when I asked her to guest post for my blog, I requested her to share something that is native to her.

Over to Sawsan and her fabulous dish.

01Nov 2011

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Chicken Khada Masala

Shumaila ⋅ 10 Comments

India hosted its first Grand Prix last week at the Buddh International Circuit. I wish I had the opportunity to witness it but some other things had to be tended to. Not only did India offer Formula One a racing circuit rivaling the best in the world but it did so with its typical Indian warmth.

This is what Sebastian Vettel, the winner of India’s inaugral Grand Prix, had to say about his experience in India:

If you keep your eyes open I think you are able to learn a lot from the way people handle things here. It is a big country, a lot of people.. But they get along and are happy..even though people don’t have a lot here, in a way they are much richer than a lot of people back in Europe.

So true. And when the warmth of the people isn’t enough, the food and the culture of India will surely make you feel richer than usual.

08Oct 2011

Guest Post by Fancy That, Fancy This

Shumaila ⋅ 7 Comments

The past few days have been really busy. I have been busy packing, busy with last minute measures to lose weight while clearing up the refrigerator, and getting things in order before leaving for my vacation to India! I’ll be gone for almost 3 months (I know!How cool is that!).

I have three packed months ahead- October I’ll be spending time with V’s family. V’s mom has planned a trip to a national park while we are there, plus October is the month of festivals in India. November- three friends of mine are getting married- so I’ll be busy dancing, eating and catching up with my college and hostel friends while attending three different marriage celebrations. In December, I, along with my family will be busy welcoming a new member into the family ( fyi i am still NOT pregnant)!

So while I’ ll be busy doing ALL this I thought I would ask a few fellow bloggers to help me out and keep this blog going during my absence. Though I have tried to schedule a few posts of mine for the weeks to come, there will be a couple of guests posts by some very talented bloggers.

Today, I am glad to have Ameena from Fancy That..Fancy This for the second guest post on the Novice Housewife (check out the first here)

I got introduced to Ameena’s website fairly recently, but once hooked I have read every post of hers! I’m always laughing by the time I finish her posts. I love her blog and am glad that she agreed to do this guest post.

Before I hand over to her, one last thing as I finish this post on my Mac, the draft of which was partially written on my iPhone, all I have to say ‘Stay hungry, Stay Foolish’. RIP Steve Jobs.

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