Indian Food Archives - My Inner Shakti

Dishoom (and Eating My Way through London)

Eating at an Indian restaurant can be a “double edged sword” kind of an experience for a person of Indian descent. On the one hand, INDIAN FOOD! On the other hand, you always question how good the meal will be or if it will compare to your mom’s home cooking.

When everyone I know insisted that I eat at the restaurant Dishoom in London, I knew this would not be one of those experiences. It was likely going to be one where I wanted to lick my plate clean. And it so was!

Five of my coworkers and I headed to the King’s Cross location on Thursday afternoon for lunch. For being such a popular restaurant, the entrance is not very grand. In fact, I would’ve missed it altogether had I not been with other people.

The inside of the restaurant, however, is beautiful and very open. Unlike other Indian restaurants I’ve been to, this one has a very modern and clean feel.

The menu is representative of that as well – lots of traditional dishes like daal, mutter paneer, paneer tikka, etc. alongside unique/fusion dishes like a mango and paneer salad, slaw, etc. It was so hard to choose what I wanted!

Luckily for me, my coworkers were up for sharing a number of dishes. We started with sides like far far (fried Indian snacks made from rice flour), bhel (puffed rice, nuts, pomegranate seeds, and a few other yummy things), okra fries, and chole bhatura (chickpea stew and a fried puff bread). We also shared the mango and paneer salad and black daal (creamy lentils).

For my main entrée (yes, we each also ordered separate dishes), I went with the paneer frankie – soft paneer, sautéed onions and bell peppers, greens, and a spicy mint chutney all wrapped in a romali roti (thin flat bread). I was struggling to finish but you better believe I ate every last bite. It was the perfect combination of textures and flavors. The chutney definitely added a lot of heat and herbaciousness (is this a word?!).

The salted lassi I ordered was the perfect cooling element of this meal. Not too thick and definitely not watery in consistency, I really loved how the yogurt flavor came through in every sip. Delicious!

Eating at Dishoom was most definitely an unforgettable experience – from the food itself, to the décor, to the service. I can see why people make it a point to dine here.

I will definitely be back!

Other notable restaurants I tried this past week include Pret a Manger (haha!), All Bar One (went twice for breakfast), Lupita (unique Mexican food), and Kimchee (Korean food).

Overall, my trip to London was a lot of fun. It was great to connect with so many people on both a professional and personal level. Excited to see what 2016 will bring…hopefully more trips to London (and Dishoom)!

Creamy Eggplant and Potato Shak (Recipe)

written by Parita 8 Comments

*Shak is a generic north Indian term for vegetables in spices.

While in Chicago, I learned a lesson in Indian cooking from my friends Roshni and Ankita. Keep it simple!

You see, I have the tendency to overcomplicate my Indian food with too many vegetables, spices, etc. But after watching them make delicious dishes using one or two vegetables and just a few spices, I quickly realized I was doing it all wrong.

And Vishnu agreed. After eating Ankita’s cauliflower and potato shak one night, he looked at me and said, “See, you have to keep it simple.”

Well, that’s what I plan on doing from now on!

In fact, I made a dish last night that was simple enough to prepare but didn’t lack in the flavor department. This potato and eggplant shak is creamy, comforting and perfect with a side of rice and yogurt.

I can’t take all the credit though. When I mentioned my new “keep it simple” rule to my mom, she told me about a sauce she makes that pairs well with all kinds of veggies and beans. I even got her to email me a loose “recipe!”

And that, my friends, is how this Creamy Potato and Eggplant Shak was born!

Without further ado…

Creamy Potato and Eggplant Shak

For the sauce:
2 cups water
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 small green chili, cut into several small pieces
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/3 cup raw whole almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Heat water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add all of the ingredients to the water, except salt and garam masala. Stir to combine. When the mixture starts to boil, reduce to medium heat and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Drain the mixture, reserving the water. Place onion/tomato mixture in a blender and puree until combined into a thick paste. Place saucepan over low heat and add olive oil. Pour onion/tomato mixture back into the saucepan. Add salt and garam masala. Mix everything together, cook for additional two minutes and set aside.

For the vegetables:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium eggplant, diced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add cumin seeds and cook for 1-2 minutes until they are deep brown and fragrant. Add potatoes along with 2/3 cup reserved water [from sauce]. Reduce heat to medium, cover the pan, and cook for 5-10 minutes until potatoes are almost cooked through but still firm to the touch. Gently fold in eggplant. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes until eggplant is cooked through. Add turmeric, salt, and red chili powder. Mix well. Cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the sauce to the vegetables along with 1/3 cup reserved water [from sauce]. Gently mix everything together, cover, and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Add additional salt if needed.

Serve with naan/rice/quinoa and yogurt.

Happy Friday!

Highlights From My Trip Home to Atlanta

written by Parita 11 Comments

Trips home always feel super quick. There’s never enough time to do everything any of us want. While this trip was similar in that way, we still did quite a bit all things considered.

– After picking me up from the airport on Wednesday, my mom and I drove to Vishnu’s house to have dinner with his parents. I wasn’t going to have another opportunity to see them on this trip, so we went straight there. It was fun as usual! Our dinnertime conversations never fail to make me laugh (A LOT!).

– My dad and I went back to the airport to pick up my sister on Thursday. That evening, when my parents left for a henna party, my sister and I went to Cold Stone for ice cream! I texted my sister last week telling her I wanted Coffee Oreo ice cream at some point during my trip. When it came time to decide where to go, Cold Stone was the perfect place because we could both create whatever flavor combinations we wanted. I went with coffee ice cream, Oreos, and fudge. Aekta got a mix of cake batter and cheesecake ice creams with brownie pieces.

– We made a day trip to Clyde, North Carolina on Friday. My mom got an email about a temple located on Mt. Soma, so we decided to make it a family trip. The drive was really scenic with the tree filled mountains being my favorite! The temple itself was on the smaller side, but the surrounding views were absolutely beautiful. If we lived closer, I could see myself visiting regularly.

– We tried two new restaurants over the weekend. Burger 21 was a Yelp find that turned out to be a winner all around. My mom and I split two different veggie burgers, while my dad and sister got their own chicken burgers. We also split sweet potato fries and regular fries (these came with a tasty cheese and ale sauce). I definitely want to get a milkshake next time…the Oreo one was calling my name!

On Saturday, my sister and I decided to take my parents to Antico in the city. Aekta and I had both been before when the restaurant first opened in 2009, but since my parents never really venture into the city on their own, we decided to make the drive down. And it was so worth it. The brick oven pizza is some of the best I’ve had in Atlanta. And the entire city agrees – not only was there a 15 minute line to get in, but we had to grab a table across the street because there was no indoor seating at the actual restaurant. YUM!

– My mom made Upma (a savory cream of wheat porridge of sorts), and it was so freaking good. It’s a little spicy, creamy, and very hearty. When I went to take a picture, my dad looked at me and said, “Parita, it’s just Upma.” JUST UPMA!? Maybe to him. Haha. I had a couple of (huge) servings on Thursday as well as on Saturday.

My mom also made her famous lasagna on Sunday before my flight. Her “secret” ingredient is a can of refried beans that she adds to the sauce to help thicken it up. It’s pretty much one of my favorite things to eat when I come home!

– I am officially obsessed with The Mindy Project. My sister, knowing I would love the show, asked if I wanted to watch it with her. She even offered to start with season 1 episode 1. I am now four episodes in and in love with Mindy. She’s a little annoying and I’m often embarrassed for her, but there’s something about her that’s easy to relate to and so fun! Seriously, start watching this show if you don’t already. My sister put it best when she said that it’s the perfect way to end a bad day because you’re guaranteed to laugh!

– And finally, I have some sad news. After 12 years of togetherness, my nose ring and I broke up. As I was brushing my teeth on Thursday morning, I noticed my nose ring looked funny. After a closer look, I realized it was literally stuck in my nose. When I tried to pull it out, the area around it started bleeding. After almost 1.5 HOURS, a few tears, some pain, and a little blood, I managed to pull my nose ring out with a pair of tweezers. My poor mom was by my side the entire time helping in any way she could. We were both SO relieved when it finally came out. And while I’ll miss having a nose ring, I’m not going to get a new one. I’m done! Thursday’s experience was pretty traumatic.

Have a great Wednesday!

Last Week’s Notable Meals {3}

written by Parita 13 Comments

Happy Monday!

I’m all about living in the moment (or trying to at least), but part of me already wants to fast forward to next week. Only because we get Monday off for Memorial Day! AND we get an early release day on Friday. Bring on the 3.5 day weekend!

This past weekend was very normal and as simple as they come – cleaned, ran errands, spent time with Vishnu, hung out with friends, etc. Good stuff!

So before I share last week’s notable meals, I have to admit that all of the pictures included in this post were taken with my iPhone. I just didn’t have the energy to pull out my SLR, set everything up, and snap multiple pictures. I was too hungry…and a little lazy!

With that being said, here are last week’s notable meals…

Kale and Feta Quiche with Lemony Broccoli

This was a Cook Smarts (<–affiliate link!) meal and it was delicious! We had an entire carton of eggs to use, and I knew I wanted to make some kind of quiche dish. A quick search on Cook Smarts led me to this recipe. It was really simple to make, included just a few ingredients, and was ready in about 35 minutes. I actually swapped Swiss cheese for Feta because I feel like Feta adds so much flavor to dishes like this. Good choice on my part!

Pesto Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes (and Grilled Chicken for Vishnu)

Word to the wise – pesto is freezer friendly! So do yourself a big favor, make a huge batch, and freeze what you don’t use. It comes in handy! This dish was another quick one – Trader Joe’s quinoa and brown rice pasta, basil pesto, and cherry tomatoes. I also added a little extra cheese to the pasta before serving (this shaved cheese blend is one of my favorite things EVER!). Vishnu ate this with a grilled chicken breast. And he was in charge of making that!

Zucchini, Onion, and Mushroom Shak, Whole Wheat Bhakri, and Yogurt

Shak = spiced vegetables and Bhakri = Indian flatbread

Growing up, we ate shak and bhakri almost every day for dinner, and I’m trying to bring back that tradition in a small way. While I don’t think I’ll make shak and bhakri every day, I want to try to make this kind of meal at least twice a week. This particular shak came together in 10-15 minutes. All I did was sauté the veggies in a little oil and added a few spices and some salt. That’s it! The bakhi was a little more involved because it’s made completely from scratch – 1 cup of whole wheat flour, a couple pinches of salt, olive oil, and water. I then rolled out the dough with my Indian rolling pin and cooked each bhakri in a small frying pan. Not as good as my mom’s but still pretty tasty!

TJ’s Roasted Red Pepper Soup and Avocado Melts

This dinner was Cook Smarts (<– affiliate link!) inspired and obviously came together really quickly! I simmered the soup in a pan along with a few additional spices (garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne). And for the avocado melts, I smashed up an avocado along with some cilantro, lime juice, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne, spread the mixture on four slices of bread bread, topped with Muenster cheese, and set under the broiler for ~3 minutes. Easy peasy and delicious!

Vegan Spiced Eggplant Curry

My mom emailed this recipe to me earlier in the week and said that she was going to try it out. She really loves Kiran’s site! Both her and my dad loved it, so I knew exactly what I was going to do with the eggplant sitting in our fridge. While I did have to modify the original recipe slightly (I didn’t have all the spices it called for), it turned out great! Again, so easy to make and extremely flavorful. We ate our curry alongside some rice and yogurt.

Well, there you have it – our meals from last week. It was a tasty and fairly laid back week in the kitchen, which I always appreciate!

And if you’re new to this notable meals thing I have going on, click here to check out my other posts (scroll all the way to the bottom)!

Happy Monday!

Best thing you made last week?

Thanksgiving 2013 Weekend Recap

written by Parita 17 Comments

Where to start?! Over the past few days we enjoyed some really delicious food, great company, and lots of laughter. In one word, Thanksgiving 2013 was memorable!

Thanksgiving Day

I woke up bright and early on Thursday and headed straight to the kitchen to start cooking since I was in charge of the food for the day. My aunt, uncle, cousin, and his little girl were coming over around noon, and I wanted everything to be ready by then.

Our lunch spread mirrored our Friendgiving feast except for a few changes. I made whipped sweet potatoes, mac n’ cheese, quinoa salad (more nuts, no greens, same dressing), corn muffins from a box, cranberry sauce, and baked chicken for the meat eaters. Lots of good eats!

A bit later in the afternoon, my parents, sister, and I headed to the theater to watch the new Bollywood movie Ram Leela. If you’ve seen it already, please leave a comment telling me what you thought. Personally, I liked a few aspects of it but found it to be a big disappointment overall. It just didn’t live up to the hype!

We ended our day with a little Black Friday shopping. We (minus my dad) went to the mall, shopped in exactly 3 stores, and came home. All of this took 4 hours – the lines were ridiculous! Even though we found some great deals, I don’t think I’ll be doing it again. Not quite my thing.

FRIDAY

On Friday morning, I woke up, worked out, and headed to Tina’s place to pick her up for our donut date! Tina and I went to high school together and reconnected via our blogs. Since she still lives in Atlanta, I contacted her to see if she had time for a meet-up. After a few emails, we realized that she lives in the neighborhood next to my parents’. Small world, huh!?

Anyways, we drove over to Dutch Monkey Doughnuts, where we both picked the chocolate cake donut with peanut butter filling (perfection!) and caught up on life since high school. We talked about our blogs, Best Body Bootcamp, family, and other random things. It was so fun seeing Tina after all these years. I’m hoping we can meet up again next time I’m in town and hopefully get more ATL bloggers to join us (ahem, Laura!).

Later in the evening, Vishnu and his family came over for dinner (Thanksgiving part 2). My mom prepared some delicious curries, including saag paneer (spinach with cubed paneer cheese), daal makhani (lentils), and chole (chickpeas). The saag paneer was my favorite. It was spicy with a hint of sweetness, and the soft cheese added the perfect bite. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

And what dinner party is complete without dessert? Not ours! My mother-in-law’s apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream were the perfect ending to our spicy meal.

After saying good-bye to my parents and sister, we headed back to Vishnu’s house where I spent the rest of the weekend.

SATURDAY

After lounging around for a bit, we headed to the mall to do some window shopping…or so I thought. My MIL had other plans, as evidenced by the Michael Kors watch I got as an early Christmas present! Truthfully, I had never even stepped inside a Michael Kors’ store before, so this was a treat!

Once we were all shopped out, we made our way to CPK for dinner. I was adamant that the Tostada pizza be one of the three we order. And guess what? It was the favorite by far. Go me! AND go UGA!!! We made it to the restaurant in time to catch the last 45 minutes of the game. It was nail biter for sure.

SUNDAY

Our flights back to Miami weren’t until the late afternoon, so we spent Sunday morning talking and hanging out around the house. After eating lunch, Vishnu’s brother dropped us off at the airport. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to book us on the same flight, which meant that I was still in Atlanta when Vishnu’s plane landed in Fort Lauderdale. We finally made our way back to Miami around 10:30 pm. Talk about a long travel day!

Now I’m just getting everything ready for my trip to London (I leave on Friday!). I honestly can’t believe that 2014 is right around the corner! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat???

2013 FAMILY PICTURES (don’t ask why we didn’t take one big family picture!)

How was your Thanksgiving holiday? Tell me all about the fooooooood!

Unexpectedly Good Masala Dosas

written by Parita 14 Comments

On my way home from work on Wednesday, all I could think about was dinner and what I was going to make. Since Vishnu’s been spending his days and nights at the library, I’ve been doing my own thing most nights of the week. I had settled on making a quesadilla for dinner when much to my surprise, I found my hubby studying at home. Woo hoo!

Dinners together are rare right now, so I changed my mind about the quesadilla and decided to make an Indian meal. As I looked through our pantry, I found dosa (savory Indian crepe/pancake) and sambhar (a slightly spicy Indian soup) mixes hiding in the back. I called my mom to ask a couple of questions, and she reassured me that it would turn out just fine.

Before I share the details about how I pulled this all together, I want to say a few things about these mixes. First, most Indian grocers carry Gits brand products. And most major cities have at least one Indian grocery store. Just ask Google. Second, these mixes are not really healthy. About half way through, I looked at the ingredient lists and found things like partially hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening and butylated hydroxy anisole (a preservative). Not a fan of hydrogenated anything so that was a bummer. However, we do not eat Gits dosa and sambhar very often so I let it slide. And finally, using these mixes was not intimidating at all. It was honestly one of the easiest Indian meals I’ve ever made.

For the dosa mix, all I literally had to do was add water. That’s it. When actually cooking the dosa, I was extra careful to maintain an even layer of the mixture. Dosas are best when thin and crispy (in my opinion).

The sambhar was a little more involved. I had to add water AND chopped tomatoes..haha!

For the masala filling, I cooked a medium onion and a large sweet potato in coconut oil and added a bunch of spices (turmeric, mustard seeds, red chili pepper, cumin/coriander powder and salt). It turned out really well.

Leftover masala mixture

As I was plating everything, I realized that something was missing – a chutney (sauce)! I frantically called my MIL (she’s a dosa expert), and when she didn’t pick up, I called my mom (who also makes great dosas). She asked me what I had on hand and gave me a few ideas. I quickly mixed together some Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, coconut powder, salt, sugar, and red chili powder. I know this sounds strange, but it was perfect on top of the dosa. The cool yogurt complemented the masala and sambhar perfectly.

Side note: Vishnu didn’t like it, but only because he prefers his chutneys dairy-free.

I was so proud of myself when I took the first bite and realized that my dosa actually tasted good!

How I eat dosa: fill with masala, top with chutney, and dip in sambhar

I highly recommend visiting your local Indian store and picking up some different mixes. Who knows…you may end up with a delicious dinner!

Have you ever tried a masala dosa? What’s your favorite Indian dish?

New Header + All Things Food

written by Parita 24 Comments

See anything different today? Hint – look at my NEW header! I’m so excited to “unveil” it today (officially anyway)!

I’ve been exchanging emails with Sarah at Wildflower PR for the past few weeks sharing ideas and concepts that I wanted to incorporate into the header. Sarah did an absolutely AMAZING job! I could not be any happier with the final design. She took a very loose vision and turned it into something very Parita. I wanted the header to say something about not only the blog and the things I write about but also me as a person. If you look closely, you’ll see a piece of dark chocolate on the left, a zen garden like icon on the right, and tons of Indian type designs – the whole thing is pretty incredible.

THANK YOU, SARAH!!!

And not only is Sarah a talented designer, but she’s also so easy to work with. I basically love her! If you’re looking to make any kinds of changes to your blog (or are looking to create beautiful business cards, etc.), I highly (highly highly) recommend you contact her. You won’t regret it!

Ok, so on to food – my favorite topic!

Lakshmi over at The Rich Vegetarian tagged me in a fun little food survey, so I thought I would share my answers. As you know, I love talking about all things food.

P.S. Be sure to check out The Rich Vegetarian. Lakshmi writes wonderful stories about food, recipes, and the restaurants she’s tried. If you’re from Atlanta, you should especially click over because so is she!

What are your three favorite things in your fridge right now?
Silk unsweetened almond milk, a container of crumbled feta cheese, and an 86% dark chocolate bar.

What’s the one thing you always have on hand?
Beans – all different kinds – black, garbanzo, kidney, red, white, great northern. Love them all!

What’s one thing you’d never have?
I’m a pretty adventurous vegetarian eater. This means I’ll try anything as long as it doesn’t have any meat in it. With that being said, I’ve never tried a lot of “meaty” dishes. Alligator tail/pigs feet/pork belly all come to mind.

If you had an unlimited supply of anything, what would that be?
Dark chocolate and and all different types of cheese – I don’t discriminate!

What’s your go-to market and what do you get there?
Publix and Batten’s Farmers Market. I can find pretty much whatever I need between these two places.

What ingredient are you currently loving?
Garlic. I add a lot of it to everything (with the exception of sweet dishes). A lot = triple the amount a normal person would typically use in a given recipe.

What’s your favorite thing to whip up at home?
I’ve been making Lindsay’s sweet potato banana bites on a weekly basis. Best little snack ever!

Any songs you like cooking to?
I don’t listen to music while cooking. Must change that soon!

What are the best items to have on hand for a quick and easy dinner?
Quinoa, tofu, 3-4 different veggies, and hot sauce.

What are your favorite kind of leftovers?
Casseroles, roasted veggies, pizza, any variety of Indian curry, anything my mom makes.

Fill in the blank: If I’m cooking to impress, I make…
Maybe this is just to impress myself, but I would have to say Indian food – raita, my aunt’s corn curry, bakri (bread), and rice. Oh and my mom’s mango lassi. That’s a must!

What’s your condiment of choice?
Sriracha – just a little bit delivers a ton of flavor (and heat!).

What’s the strangest thing in your fridge at the moment?
Indian tea masala and only because neither of us drink tea. I think my mom brought it when my parents last visited in August. Who knows!

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When a midnight snack attack strikes, what’s the plan?
Scoop of peanut butter and a small glass of almond milk.