Traditionally this sandwich is made with meat(thinly sliced pieces of steak) and cheese stuffed in a long roll. But I ate vegetarian version of this sandwich at a mall and loved it . In vegetarian version, mushrooms along with peppers and onions are added as a substitute for meat. Mushroom has that meaty taste so they go pretty well in this sandwich. Ingredients 4 hot dog rolls or hogie rolls 2 tsp canola oil 1 cup sliced white button mushrooms 1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper  1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper 1/2 cup sliced onions 1 Jalapeno sliced into rings 4 slices Provolone cheese Mayo or ketchup as required Method First saute sliced mushrooms in a tsp of canola oil. Saute until nice and brown. To get perfect brown color spread them evenly without crowding in a pan. After mushrooms are nicely browned remove them on a paper towel. Add remaining 1 tsp oil and saute all the veggies until nicely charred but crisp to eat. Remember to add Jalapenos last while sauteing veggies. Mix...

Aloo paratha is a specialty from North India. Over there aloo paratha's are eaten for breakfast with just a blob of butter. But it also makes a good lunch, brunch or dinner. I have tried to spice up the regular recipe for aloo paratha by using nice aromatic seeds and grinding them to make a spice mixture for our spiced up aloo paratha's. Ingredients 6-7 medium potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed 1 small onion finely chopped 1 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves 1/4 tsp dry mango powder(amchur) 1/8 tsp red chili powder 2 green chili's finely chopped Salt as per taste Canola oil as required for pan frying Spice Mixture 1/8 tsp Cumin seeds 1/8 tsp Fennel seeds 1/8 tsp Mustard seeds 1/8 tsp Coriander seeds 1/8 tsp Fenugreek seeds For dough 1 1/2 Whole Wheat Flour(Approximately) + few for dusting Water as required to knead the dough Couple of pinches salt 1 tsp of canola oil + few for kneading Method Combine wheat flour, salt, oil and water as required little b...

Pickle is a spicy Indian condiment. And this is the perfect season to make Cranberry Pickle as we are so close to Thanksgiving, fresh Cranberries are easily available in grocery stores. Cranberries are cooked down to make a cranberry sauce and served with roast turkey for Thanksgiving. But we are going to use them today in pickle. These berries are little bit tart and sour in nature which makes them perfect for pickle. Ingredients 1 12 oz bag of cranberries 7 tbsp pickle masala (available in Indian store) For tempering 1/3 cup canola oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 tsp asafoetida 1/8 tsp turmeric powder Method Wash and completely dry all the cranberries (Just lay them on paper towel after washing them until dry). In a small pan heat some oil and add mustard seeds, once they crackle add Asafoetida and turmeric and shut off the gas. Let this tempering cool.  When Cranberries are  well dried pulse them in a food processor for 2-3 times. Now, we don't want a mush of cranbe...

Bhindi is also known as "Okra" in US and "Lady's Fingers" in other English speaking countries. It is a very popular vegetable in India and each region has it's own unique way of using this vegetable in their delectable dishes. Bhindi/Okra can be stuffed and stir fried, deep fried and used in curries, can  be used in Kadhi(which is a buttermilk based gravy) and can also be added in dals like sambar(dal from southern part of India). These were just the example of using Bhindi/Okra in variety of dishes. I once saw Paula Deen from Food Network using pickled Okra in a sandwich on her show, interesting combination right? Let's start with my recipe for Bhindi Fry. See if you can find smaller size bhindi for this particular preparation as we are going to stir fry whole bhindi with some spices stuffed in it. But if you don't find just cut bhindi into half. Ingredients 1/2 pound Bhindi/Okra (washed and dried) 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil 1 medium onion sliced S...

It is the season of Soups :-). I love the begining of winter, it is a perfect weather for heart warming soups. And lemon coriander is one of my favorite soup. I have seen it in one of Sanjeev Kapoor's book. I have made few changes though.This soup is fragrant, light and healthy and is so easy to make. Recently I uploaded few soup photos on my facebook page and got many requests for recipes so here it goes on popular demand ;-) Ingredients 3 14 ounce cans of Vegetable Broth(I use Swanson's Vegetarian Vegetable broth) 1 carrot finely diced 1/3 cup cabbage finely diced 1 small onion finely diced Stems from 1 bunch of Coriander/Cilantro 1/3 cup of  chopped coriander/cilantro leaves 1 inch ginger grated 3 garlic cloves crushed 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1 1/2 tbsp chickpea flour(besan) 1 tsp canola oil Couple of slices from whole lemon for garnishing(optional) Salt and pepper as required Method Heat oil in a pot add onions and saute till translucent. Add ginger and garli...

I love oven roasted potatoes. They are so much healthier than fries. I usually make them along with sandwiches. There are many different ways of roasting potatoes using different spices and herbs. Roasting any vegetable brings out the natural sweetness and flavor of that vegetable.  Potatoes come in different shapes, sizes and colors. Potatoes that I have used today are Russet Potatoes, which are more suitable for roasting mainly because of it's size and consistency. They don't fall apart when roasted in the oven. And also I have not peeled the potatoes as the skin adds nice texture after roasting them. Ingredients 5 large russet potatoes(washed, unpeeled and cut into 1 inch thick wedges) 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp thyme 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper as per taste Method Make a marinade by using all the ingredients except potatoes in a mixing bowl and then add potato wedges. Make sure all the wedges are coated with m...

Pasta is perfect for weeknight meal as it is easy and quick to make.We went to Cheesecake Factory(a chain restaurant) once and was going through their menu. There was this pasta dish that caught my eye. It sounded interesting and so I ordered that. It not only looked appetizing but also tasted delicious even though it was Sauceless. I have made it for quite a few times now by guessing the ingredients, making modifications every time to get the perfect taste. Pasta that I use for this recipe is Mezze Penne(it's smaller version of Penne Pasta). But you can use regular penne as well. Ingredients 1 1/2 Cup Mezze Penne Pasta 1/2 Cup Broccoli cut into medium florets 1/3 Cup Red Bell Pepper chopped 1/3 Cup Yellow Bell Pepper chopped 1 Medium Onion Chopped 1/4 Cup Canned or Marinated Artichoke Hearts chopped 1 Garlic clove crushed 10-12 Kalamata Olives Chopped Couple of Sun-dried tomatoes(optional) 2 Tbsp Pine Nuts 1/2 tsp Tomato paste 1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1/4 tsp ...

It's the pumpkin season!!!! Well, we get pumpkin year around but October is the peak season for Pumpkins as they are harvested in fall and early winter and are also featured at Halloween. There is much more to this vegetable than just pumpkin pie :-). Not that I don't like Pumpkin pie but there are variety of  Indian preparations for this bright orange colored vegetable. And Pumpkin Raita is one of them. In Marathi we call Pumpkin as लाल/तांबडा भोपळा because of it's color. My son brought this Pumpkin from his field trip at a Farm. So will make a few dishes out of it. And Pumpkin Raita is one of them. Ingredients Laal Bhopla/Pumpkin washed, peeled, diced into large chunks-: 1 Cup  1/2 Cup yogurt 2 Tbsp Roasted Peanut Powder Cilantro for garnishing Salt as per taste 1 tsp Sugar or as per taste For tempering 1 tsp Ghee/तूप (clarified butter) 1 tsp of cumin seeds 2 Green Chili chopped Method Cook diced bhopla into microwave or pressure cooker until soft. It cooks pr...