Lightly-spiced toasted pumpkin fillets

The spiced pumpkin fillets are perfect as appetizers or as an extra side dish at the dinner table.

Extremely easy to make. Try them from Vidya's kitchen.

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini sauce

The recipe sounds lovely and the photograph is appetizing. I'm sure it tastes great too! - http://online.wsj.com/articles/einat-admonys-recipe-for-roasted-eggplant-with-tahini-sauce-and-herb-salad-1409168285

Buckwheat pancakes. Mmm Yum.

Photo courtesy from 'The Internet'

I am becoming a big fan of buckwheat pancakes. Several people I know are staying from gluten. What better way to start off the day than with buckwheat pancakes. It is filled with nutrition, some carbs, protein, vitamins plus a lot of taste. Extremely satisfying.

Start off making your pancakes just with the flour. You can then enhance the taste even more with fruits, nuts, cinnamon, etc.

Here is the nutrition fact I picked off Wiki.

1. Nutrition Facts
   BuckwheatBuckwheat
   

   Amount Per 100 grams1 cup (170 g)1 cup (170 g)

   Calories 583

2. % Daily Value*

   Total Fat 6 g	9%
   Saturated fat 1.3 g	6%
   Polyunsaturated fat 1.8 g
   Monounsaturated fat 1.8 g
   Cholesterol 0 mg	0%
   Sodium 2 mg	0%
   Potassium 782 mg	22%
   Total Carbohydrate 122 g	40%
   Dietary fiber 17 g	68%
   Protein 23 g	46%

   Vitamin A	0%	Vitamin C	0%
   Calcium	3%	Iron	20%
   Vitamin D	0%	Vitamin B-6	20%
   Vitamin B-12	0%	Magnesium	98%

Crockpot Lasagna

If you want rich taste and a satisfactory palette, then this Crockpot lasagna does complete justice.

Absolutely delicious, try it from Vidya's kitchen.

Mayuri - Looks like they are back

Today being a special day I decided to give Mayuri, the Indian restaurant in the suburbs of St. Louis one more chance. After the last experience months ago, we had decided never to eat at Mayuri again. However, there aren't places around that are any better either.

We were pleasantly surprised right from the start. First of all, the display of the buffet tables were better with more space to move around. Secondly, the place looked cleaner. Thirdly, the vegetarian dishes were quite delicious. The spread consisted of pakoras, vadai, pongal, idli, sambaar, a few different types of chutneys, pulav, a variety of southern indian curries, some northern indian specialities, the usual salad, pickles, condiments, non-tart plain yogurt and desserts.

I was not sure if the chef or the ownership had changed. Nobody we spoke to had a clear answer. I went there with low expectations but came back quite happy.

Would give this place 4 **** stars.

Exotic cluster beans sabji - side dish

There aren't too many dishes you can prepare with cluster beans. I usually make the traditional south Indian ones such as usili, plain curry with or without coconut, puli kootu (my mom's special recipe), or add them in aviyal. Of course there is the cluster bean vatthal that my mom use to make at home. But, that's for another day.

This is a northern Indian preparation with a bit of garlic, cumin and red chillies. I have not added onions, you may test it with or without onions. I use the same recipe to make okra sabji as well.

Try this one from Vidya's kitchen and post your comments.

Cucumber Raita from Vidya's Kitchen

A simple Raita is all that is needed to go with any Indian bread or dry main dish like biryani, pulav or a spicy rice dish.  

Try this Cucumber Raita from Vidya's kitchen.  Just a few ingredients suggested in this recipe in a bowl of non-tart yogurt will make the cucumber raita absolutely tasty. Some people add Greek yogurt which might make the dish tart. In fact, I tried it yesterday to make it more healthy but it did not taste good. So go with fresh bland yogurt.  Check it out from Vidya Swamy's kitchen.

Shredded Brussel Sprouts in Olive Oil with a hint of Parmesano/Reggiano cheese

Shredded Brussel Sprouts in Olive Oil with a hint of Parmesano/ Reggiano cheese

If you think you don't like Brussel Sprouts, abandon the thought right away.  Try this recipe first. 

Besides, here's a list of nutritional benefits that Brussel Sprouts provide - Vitamins K, A, and C, fiber that can lower cholesterol, helps heart health, lowers blood sugar, lowers inflammation, offers antioxidants and mineral such as manganese. Furthermore, it has flavonoid antioxidants like isorhamnetin, quercitin, and kaempferol to protect against oxidative stress on the body's cells.

Visit Vidya's kitchen site for other scrumptious recipes.

Sprouted Bean Dish

This is a repeat posting.  A friend had requested it again.  So, here it is again.

Sprouted bean dry or with gravy from Vidya's kitchen.

Lunch at restaurant Paradise, Biryani Point in Ballwin, MO

Today being Father's day, my husband and I were eagerly looking forward to lunch at this new place Paradise, Biryani Pointe.  I am talking good lunch, not great.  It is hard to come by great Indian cuisines, unless you are in the city of Chicago or New York. Sadly though, it fell short of even our minimum expectations.

Dark walls with big framed photographs too high on the walls didn't do much to the ambiance.  It was clear that there was no interior designer involved in this exercise. We decided to overlook this. We were there to eat not critique the decor.

What about the food?
It was a decent buffet spread.  Being a vegetarian, I decided to concentrate on the right side of the buffet table. I started off with an idli, chutney and sambaar.  Plus a few onion rings. The onions rings dripped in oil but tasted decent.  The other 3 items were tart and over salted.  Bhindi (okra) tasted good but then again too much salt.  After a bite of the idli and dip of the sambaar and chutney, I decided to abandon the plate.  By now the place was packed, people waiting in line outside the entrance. I guess everybody had the same expectations as we did being a Sunday, Father's day, and the newest restaurant in that strip mall.

Took another plate and decided to taste the naan, vege biryani, channa masala and dhal.  Biryani was good. The rest were high in salt.  Had a few bites of the naan and some yogurt that was supposed to be raita. It had a few slices of onions and nothing more. Took another few spoons of biyani and moved on to the dessert.  Dessert was carrot halwa which was decent.

I wasn't too happy, so turned to my husband to get a feedback on the meat items.  He had a plate filled with items as you see above - chicken biryani, tandoori chicken, naan and a few crunchies. He rated the food as a 4 over 10, 10 being the highest.

I don't think I will be going to this place for anything else other than their biryani.  Quite disappointing.  Not sure if the owners will read this review.  However, they can turn everything around by being watchful of a few ingredients such as salt for one.  I wish them well and hope they succeed.  With a few adjustments they can.  Standards need not be as high as in India but poor tasting food will just not survive.

Good luck to the owners.