Aloo Mattar is a popular Indian restaurant favorite, and equally common as a home-cooked meal. It is a simple-yet-delicious preparation of potatoes (aloo) and peas (mattar), cooked together in Indian aromatics and spices. In most Indian homes, this wholesome vegetarian treat is made as a home-style curry using the basic onion-tomato curry technique. At times though, Aloo Matter can appear in a dry almost-stir-fried-looking version. With Indian curries, the rule of thumb is that if you are serving the curry with rice, the consistency is much thinner so the rice can soak up the juices. On the ot ..read more

Cabbage is highly underrated as a vegetable, finding itself served as a dressing-rich slaw at most times in Western cuisines. However, back in India, you will often find this cruciferous vegetable as a delicious part of regular meals. The inspiration behind this recipe is a beloved and stunningly simple Thoran style of preparing vegetables with grated coconut and spices; a cooking technique I adopted during my years living in south India. I’ve tried this style of cooking with a variety of vegetables like beans, peas, and carrots in addition to cabbage; always with amazing results. Indian Thor ..read more

Much like any grain you use, the wholesome grain of quinoa is a blank slate, waiting to be infused with flavor and texture. In case you are unfamiliar with gluten-free quinoa, read more in this article. Nutritionally healthy, fiber-rich quinoa is one of the few foods that qualify as a complete protein source with all nine essential amino acids and important vitamins, minerals (especially manganese), and iron. I personally, enjoy giving Indian inspiration to the nutty flavor of this ancient grain. Here, I’ve created a pulao recipe using quinoa in place of Basmati rice, with caramelized onions ..read more

Aloo Mattar is a popular Indian restaurant favorite, and equally common as a home-cooked meal. It is a simple-yet-delicious preparation of potatoes (aloo) and peas (matter), cooked together in Indian aromatics and spices. In most Indian homes, this wholesome vegetarian treat is made as a home-style curry using the basic onion-tomato curry technique. At times though, Aloo Matter can appear in a dry almost-stir-fried-looking version. With Indian curries, the rule of thumb is that if you are serving the curry with rice, the consistency is much thinner so the rice can soak up the juices. On the ot ..read more

Peri’s Spice Ladle was started with a notion that while Indian food has a global fan following (which my site statistics and Chai tea sales show to be true!) there is some hesitation to cook it at home, perhaps due to a perception of difficult cooking techniques and inaccessible ingredients. My mission with this blog has always remained the same - to keep it simple and add Indian-inspired flavors to everyday favorites, while tweaking Indian classics, for a more global appeal. Parsi Lagan-nu-Stew is yet another classic dish from my native cuisine. It goes back to my roots, growing up in Mu ..read more

This Parsi specialty, to me, brings back childhood memories of family dinners around our cozy dining table. As we kids chatted about our day at school, all five of us would happily soak up the home-cooked goodness of Parsi chicken Bafat, at times made with mutton in place of chicken. Nowadays, the sight of my young sons doing the same brings on a nostalgic smile, with a thought that as our modern world evolves at breakneck speed, the value of a good ole homemade family meal is still priceless, and remains irreplaceable. Parsi Chicken Bafat, a Good Ole Home-cooked Family Meal Our family v ..read more

Parsi homes celebrate the start of auspicious days and special occasions with sweet servings, read more about that in my blog post on what makes Parsi food so unique. Growing up, it often meant a delightful breakfast of Ravo, semolina, and milk pudding, with a topping of delicious ghee-roasted nuts. At other times, Parsi sev-dahi is served which is sweetened roasted vermicelli topped with cardamom vanilla yogurt.  Every time I make my mom’s mouthwatering recipe for classic Parsi Ravo with sweetened semolina, eggs, and milk; the aromas of nutmeg, cardamom, and vanilla essence waft toward ..read more

Think of Chicken Farcha as a spiced version of the western concept of fried chicken. Served at most events and occasions, Farcha is a uniquely Parsi cuisine specialty of chicken pieces that are cooked to perfection, crisp on the outside, and succulent on the inside. Rather heavy in its most authentic fried version; this deviously delicious, can’t-eat-just-one-piece crunchy treat is prepared with chicken thighs or drumsticks, marinated in a signature Farcha spice blend, rolled in flavored bread crumbs or all-purpose flour, followed by a generous coating of spiced well-beaten eggs. The chicken F ..read more

Aren’t we all looking for more ways to get leafy greens into our meals? As it turns out, there’s always room for more spinach in our daily diet. Add a handful of sweet corn to a spinach curry, and you have a flavor-filled and colorful Makai Palak (palak is spinach and makai is corn), a truly delicious Indian preparation, worth bringing to your meals. Indian Palak (Spinach) Curry While this recipe is made with the addition of sweet corn to the palak gravy, feel free to come up with your own ways to diversify this dish. Add cubes of cottage cheese (paneer) to create the popular Palak Paneer. Or ..read more

As many of you who have been with me since 2012 already know, I start each day, with a steaming hot fragrant cup of Chai or Indian tea. In this post, the flavorful cup of tea is a personal favorite called Parsi-style ‘Choi’ as pronounced by us Parsi folk.  Choi is essentially infused with mint leaves and optionally lemongrass, along with fresh ginger root and cardamom. This cuppa Choi has been kick-starting my mornings ever since I can remember; a tea I can prepare with my eyes shut (most mornings, I’m pretty sure I do just that. And it makes a great pick-me-up during the afternoon s ..read more