The Gajar Halwa

Healthiest. Dessert. Ever.
And an Indian favorite.

This has been an insane six days at home, just full to the brim with family and food. Can't believe we are leaving already! Today I'm sharing my mother's signature halwa recipe. It's so easy!

You need equal parts carrots and full-fat milk. Wash, peel, grate carrots. Boil in milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Let it boil on medium heat till the milk is almost dried up; stir occasionally. Add sugar to taste - note that you really don't need that much sugar because of the natural sweetness of carrots and milk (less than 2 cups per 1 kg carrots/1 liter milk). Stir vigorously till all dried up. Add a spoonful of ghee to the edges and stir some more till the milk becomes grainy and brown (khoya). You could add a spoonful of cardamom powder OR Rose water for added essence. Garnish with nuts!

The Coconut Curry

Finish the week off with a little fish!

Coconut fish curry

Fillet your favorite white fish (I used basa as usual) and cut into chunks. Heat up a little mustard oil with mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. Add ginger, garlic and a chopped onion. Add salt and turmeric, and then add a fistful of desiccated coconut. Fry a bit before adding a pinch of garam masala to keep it light, and then finally pour in a half cup of coconut cream/milk. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, till done. Serve with brown rice and greens!

The Rezala

I'm in Kolkata right now, and there's a rule: when in Kolkata in the midst of mothers and street food, you don't cook.

Today's dish is brought to you by my mother-in-law. Chicken Rezala.

Boil some onions and make a paste. Fry in vegetable oil with slit green chillies and ginger garlic paste on medium heat and stir constantly to avoid blackening. Add chicken, bone-in. Add salt after the chicken goes from pink to white. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar. Add Kashmiri mirch for that glorious red color, along with a little garam masala. Make a paste of cashews and a tiiiny bit of posto and add that for texture. Then add a half-cup of coconut milk or any milk. Cook on low, covered; do not add water. Fry makhana (fox nut/ lotus seed) separately and add before the last simmer. Serve!

The Egg Curry

I call this the compromise between not cooking meat and not eating my greens. Egg curry for the confused soul.

Hard-boil some eggs. Peel them and put slits on them all around (without cutting through). Meanwhile heat a little oil and sauté onions and tomatoes with salt, turmeric, coriander and cumin powders, and some garam masala. Take off the heat and grind to a pulp. Heat a little more oil; add dried red chillies and ginger garlic paste, and then the boiled eggs. Fry them a little before drowning them in that ground pulp. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with hot parathas!

The Aussie Pie

If you have been to Harry's Café de Wheels you might be in love with the curry chicken pies they've got. I actually dreamt of making these in a drugged slumber I indulged in mid-migraine.

Get some shortcrust pastry and some puff pastry and let thaw. Meanwhile cook up small pieces of boneless chicken with tandoori masalas or curry powder. Add a fistful of flour, about that much cheese and a drizzle of milk to thicken up the chicken. Set aside to cool.

Cover muffin tin slots with short crust pastry. Add the chicken mix in your pastey bowls. Cover with a circle of puff pastry and poke a few holes on top. Brush with egg and bake for 25-30 min. Enjoy!

The Kadhi

My husband has been requesting this one for a while.

Kadhi is a gram flour-yogurt based curry with fried pakoras. My mom makes the pakoras without onions, but my husband would happily put onions on/in EVERYTHING.

Mix a bowl of a cup of gram flour with chopped onions, a pinch of baking soda, some red chilli powder, a pinch of turmeric, salt and water. Put spoonfuls in hot oil and deep-fry till brown. Set aside.

Mix another bowl of a cup of yogurt with a few spoons of gram flourflour, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Heat a little oil and crackle cumin seeds and dried red chillies in it. Add the yogurt mix and some water and simmer until happy with the consistency. Add the pakoras and simmer for another two minutes. Serve with rice!

The Pink Patê

Get fancyyyyy

Smoked salmon patê

These things are the easiest to make! Throw into a grinder some smoked salmon, less than half that quantity of cream cheese, a spoon of mayonnaise, a little lime, and parsley. Stuff into a bowl to set in the fridge; serve with a topping of parsley and scallion. That's it! Throw a baguette into the oven and toss up a pasta salad for the side!