Cauliflower, Potato and Tomato Curry

An Indian wedding goes many many days long. The typical Indian wedding is approximately 3 to 5 days long. Can you imagine planning all different breakfast, lunch and dinners for hundreds of guest for all those days? Especially when the bride’s family loves food and looks for the innovation and the groom’s family is in the restaurant business? That is what happened in our situation. Menu planning was a feat for my family and we wanted to make sure we had unique dishes that were not the standard fare and therefore will be remembered by our guest. For me, it was important to surprise my soon to be hubster with some of his favorite dishes all throughout the event. Everyone loved it! Till this day, we get complimented on the feast we had catered. (Special thanks to Rasoi and Palace of Asia and my cousins for making this happen!) For our wedding day lunch, I had Palace of Asia create a punjabi spiced version of the dish that I am about to share with you – Cauliflower, Potato and Tomato Curry. The hubster loves this dish! My mummy would make it for him all the time when we dated and once we married, I learned to make it for him. It’s hearty, simple, fast to throw together and requires very few ingredients.

The main veggies in this dish are cauliflower, tomatoes and potatoes.

The spices are very basic as well – just salt, red chilli powder turmeric and a pinch of garam masala. It’s perfect for a cold winter night.

Cauliflower, Potato and Tomato Curry (serves 4-5)

1 large potato – chopped in 1/2″ cubes
1/2 head of cauliflower chopped in small pieces (approximately 2 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 plum tomatoes – chopped in medium pieces
1 1/2 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds (rai)
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds (jeeru)
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. red chilli powder (I used 3/4 tsp. since we like ours a little spicer)
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder (haldi)
1 1/2 to 2 cups of water
Salt to taste
1-2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional)

1) Heat oil in a kadai/skillet/sauté pan on medium high heat.

2) After 1-2 minutes (once oil is heated) add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and wait for them to sputter.

3) Add chopped potato, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and mix.

4) Lower heat, add 1/2 cup of water and cover pan/wok. Place heat back on medium high and let potatoes cook for 3-4 minutes.

5) Add cauliflower and mix. If water has evaporated, add another 1/2 cup.

6) Cover and cook on medium high heat for approximately 5 minutes until cauliflower are slightly tender.

7) Add chopped tomatoes and an additional 1/2 to 1 cup water if needed. (We like ours with more gravy so we added 1 cup).

8) At this point, my mother recommends squishing some of the potato pieces with the back of your spatula/serving spoon to help create a thicker gravy. It really works! After all, mummy knows best!

9) Add garam masala and mix. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes soften up and some of the water thickens to a gravy.

10) And voila! It’s ready to serve. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with roti/paratha or rice along with your favorite accompaniments. (We used homemade mango pickle, pickled peppers, onions and papadum).

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do! I hope this inspires the hubster to make it for me one day! Keeping fingers crossed!

Restaurant Review: Vinyl

Happy Broadway Week everyone! One of best things about NYC is theater. The only negative about this is good seats at a show can be very costly! The solution: NYC Broadway Week and Off Broadway Week. During this time, tickets are 50% off to some of the most popular shows like The Lion King and Wicked! My husband and I have taken advantage of this every year and see as many different shows as possible. This year, we decided to go to Wicked!

. My first Wicked experience was a couple of years back with my bestie. Since then, I have been itching to see it again. This year – the Hubster made it happen. I couldn’t be any more excited to sharing his first Wicked experience with him! Verdict: I still loved it!

Enough of talk on the show. One broadway tradition is the pre-theater dinner. The theater district offers a range of restaurant options including some of our favs Tolache, Carmine’s and John’s Pizzeria. This time around we tried a new place – well new for me – Vinyl. This retro diner offers an eclectic upscale diner menu highlighted by an equally enticing cocktail menu. To start with, we ordered a side of their brussel sprouts. Our waitress was really honest with us about this dish – some people love it and some people hate it. We loved it! If you like tangy, lemony and spicy all in one, you will want to try these brussel sprouts. I wanted to just drink the cooking juices left at the bottom of the bowl. For our entrees we ordered the veggie burger with fries and the truffle mac and cheese with a small side salad. The truffle mac and cheese was divine!

. Instead of using traditional elbow macroni, this was made with gemelli pasta. This has to be one of the best mac and cheeses I’ve tried so far. The veggie burger on the other hand was a disappointment for me.

First, the bread was not sturdy enough to hold the burger together. The veggie burger and all it’s toppings were just too big for this thin small sliced bread. The veggie burger itself was not my favorite. It tasted more like a bland black bean burger. I would recommend not ordering this item.

As for the drinks, I recommend the Don ho. To us it tasted like spiked ginger sugarcane juice and brought us back to our homeland of India.

All in all it was a pretty good pre-theater dinner.

P.S. If you are not to tired after the show, stop by Schmackary’s for cookies and shakes. Believe me you won’t regret those extra calories!

Till we meet again!

Restaurant Review: Sabores Restaurante Mexicano,Hoboken

Random date nights are the best! Especially when they are filled with sangria and some healthy Mexican food! Last night, the hubster gave me a break from the kitchen and surprised me with a special date night at Sabores! This restaurant is amazing! Two floors, outdoor seating in the summer, a little bar and best thing of all it’s BYOB! Bring a bottle of wine and they will make you sangria, bring tequila and they will make you margaritas, bring champagne or prosecco and they will make you a mimosas and bellinis all for a very small fee. We brought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and had a pitcher of white sangria made. It was very sweet and definitely mellowed out the taste of the wine (personally just how I like it!). I was super excited to go to this restaurant due to their extensive vegetarian options and especially because they had vegetarian tamales! Unfortunatelly, when we tried to order the vegetarian tamales, the waiter said they were basically finished. However, after learning that it was going to be my first tamale experience, he went to the kitchen and learned there was one last tamale left and served it up for me.

And for my first tamale experience it was okay. I expected more sweetness from the corn and then more flavor from the veggies inside. I will give it one more time before I make my final verdict on tamales. For our main dinner we ordered Sopa Azteca (tortilla soup), Plato fiesta (nachos) and vegetarian enchiladas rancheras. Let’s start with the soup.

The portion size was much larger than we expected and we wished we had gotten the smaller size because it filled us up! It had the makings of an amazing soup but was somewhat lacking in the flavor department. It just didn’t compare to the tortilla soup at our East Village spot El Camion. Would I order it again? Most likely a no but catch me in another NYC polar vortex and I might just say yes. Next comes the nachos.

Now, I make a pretty mean plate of nachos myself and my base point is always that. Can I just say, I may just have a new base point?! These nachos were truly amazing! The right proportion of black beans to cheese to lettuce to tomatoes on each bite! Not to mention the chips were pretty sturdy and were able to hold the load of the toppings and stay crunchy. As full as I was, I kept nibbling on them and didn’t want them to take away the plate! Last, we’ll move onto the enchiladas which we unfortunately forgot to take a picture of (what can I say we were so tempted from the presentation that we dug right in!). I loved these enchiladas for the flavorful sauce, the loads of veggies and for the fact that they did not load up on the cheese. As a vegetarian, I appreciated that I didn’t have to settle for just beans and cheese. This offered me a healthier lighter version of a traditional favorite. Looking forward to my next visit there to try some more of their vegetarian options!

Thank you Sabores for a great date night!

Restaurant Review: Charrito’s Hoboken

Sometimes all you want is some good homestyle cheap Mexican food. My husband and I get cravings for it! We had our spots when we lived in NYC but after moving to Hoboken, we didn’t know where to go! And one magical cold winter night we stumbled upon this place – Charrito’s located right in downtown Hoboken on Washington Street. We walked into this tiny place and felt so welcomed by the wait staff – it was as if we were walking into their home. We decided to forego appetizers this time around and went right for our entrees. My husband ordered one of his favorite Mexican dishes – veggie enchiladas and I went for veggie chilaquiles! Every since our trip to Cancun where we had the best chilaquiles for breakfast everyday, I try them at every place we go to hoping to find something like it! How did this compare?

To be honest, they were a bit disappointing. They lacked the flavor, veggies beyond onions and peppers and some crunch. Not to mention I was disappointed with the browning avocado slices =|. No bueno! But not to fret, my husband’s veggie enchilada’s were the saving grace.

Proper ratio of cheese, tortilla to veggies and sauce. Our favorite part was the side of refried beans. They reminded us of our childhood. I could have done with another side of those! So although we will never order the chilaquiles again, we will certainly going back for the enchiladas!

Presenting: Indian Food???

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Indian food. After all, it is the food of my origin and the food that conjures up memories of my childhood. Although the cuisine of India draws you in with its delicious aroma and tantalizes your taste buds with its complexity of flavors, visually, it leaves something to be desired. Daily Indian fare- at least the region I am from – consists of bread (roti, paratha, etc), a vegetable dish, a rice dish and either one of the many variations of lentil soup (daal) or yogurt lentil soup (khadi) all meant to be eaten family style. Even most Indian restaurants serve and present the food in this manner. The plating and presentation would receive abysmal marks if it were judged on Top Chef or Iron Chef. There needs to be change!

And so today this little Indian foodista has taken on a personal challenge to take traditional Indian food and give it a food makeover. Stay tuned for the adventure ahead!

Restaurant Review – The Frying Pan

This weekend has been epic! Being that our time for living in Manhattan is coming to an end, we decided to make the most of it. We were definitely out and about taking in all the experiences the city has to offer. Friday night started off with a trip to The Frying Pan – a bar/restaurant located on a ship docked in the Hudson River.

Once we got inside, the only thing I could think of was why hadn’t we come here before! It was one of my favorite NYC experiences. Imagine lots of young professionals kicking back, enjoying buckets of beers, laughing and conversing the night away all while taking in the sunset over the Hudson and watching the NYC skyline come alive.

As far as food and drinks are concerned, it was an upscale version of pub fare with options for everyone. We were tempted by the garlic fries and had to have an order (maybe two) of those.

Although the old bay seasoning and chunks of soft roasted garlic did add some additional flavor to the fries, they were not as spectacular as I thought they would be. The drinks on the other hand were really good. The most popular choice of drink was buckets of Corona’s. definitely a chic way of serving beer. My drink of choice was the white sangria.

With pieces of peach and blueberries, it was perfectly sweet and refreshing. Perfect for a summer day.

Whether it’s for date night, getting together with a huge group of friends, happy hour or brunch, this place is highly recommended for all.

P.S. Don’t get deterred by the line, it moves quickly!

Mixed Vegetables in a Tomato Gravy

I always feel like I am on a time crunch and late for everything. I am constantly late for work eventhough I live within walking distance! I am constantly late getting home from work which makes me late for the gym (well in all actuality I usually skip this part 😦 eeks!) and in turn puts me on a time crunch for making dinner. And when the hubby is hungry – quick simple meals are key! One of my favorite simple dishes to make is my mummy’s mixed vegetables in a tomato gravy. This is such a comfort dish for me and perfect when all you have on hand is basic essentials. The spicy tomato gravy in this dish is perfect to soak up with a nice crusty piece of bread. Using a few fresh ingredients and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables cuts down on the prep work making this meal super easy and quick! And if you keep these essentials stocked in your home – it becomes the perfect go to meal.

Mixed Vegetables in a Tomato Gravy

1 large onion – chopped in medium size pieces
1 large potato – chopped in 1/2″ cubes
1 green bell pepper – chopped in small pieces (optional)
1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables (the one we use includes corn, peas, carrots, green beans and lima beans) – washed
1 1/2 plum tomatoes – chopped in medium size pieces
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. red chilli powder (this makes it spicy! Use 1/2 tsp. if you don’t want it too spicy)
1/4 tsp. coriander & cumin powder
1/4 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. sugar (optional)
1/2 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
Salt to taste

1) Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add cumin and mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter.

2) Add onions and sauté until soft and translucent.

3) Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Sauté until tomatoes are soft and start forming a gravy.

4) Add potato, frozen mixed vegetables, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt to taste and water. Also add bell pepper if you have it on hand (we didn’t so I omitted it).

5) Close cooker. After two sounds of the whistle, turn off the stove. Once pressure cooker cools down and pressure is released, open cooker. Place stove flame medium.

6) Add cumin coriander powder and garam masala. If you like more gravy, add 1/4 cup more water. Let it cook for 5 additional minutes. Per your taste, add sugar (it does not sweeten the dish – just gives a nice balance to the acidity of the tomatoes).

When ready to serve, garnish with fresh coriander (we didn’t have any on hand =\ ). Serve with paratha’s or toasted bread. My favorite is a nice crusty French bread (not toasted) to dip in the gravy – however to be figure friendly we had toasted multi-grain bread. And lastly add your favorite accompaniments like onions or tangy homemade mango pickle.

Note: If you do not have a pressure cooker – do not fret! It will take just a little longer to cook it with traditional methods. For a quick way to do this – slightly cook the potatoes and vegetables in the microwave and then add to the tomato gravy with water. Simmer on high heat until vegetables are tender.

Hope you try the first recipe I am posting! Feel free to leave comments!