Shankarpali – Shakarpara – Sweet Diamond Cuts

Khurma in a serving plate on a table.

Shankarpali is a sweet crispy diamond-shaped snack that is quite popular in the Konkan belt of India. This bite-sized treat is made with just a handful of ingredients. Shankarpali is a popular sweet crispy snack from Western India. This sweet maida biscuit is also called shakkarpara or shakar pare. In the Northern states, it is … Read more

How To Make Green Chilly Paste – Meal Prep

Indian food always includes spices, be it dry spices or wet spices. You’ll often find our recipes calling for ginger garlic paste or chilly ginger pastes or some combination of these ingredients. And even if they’re not pastes, Indian recipes almost always have chilies or ginger and garlic in them in some form or the … Read more

Don’t Let The Garlic Turn Green! Make Pickled Young Garlic

Pickled young garlic in a bowl.

If you want to prevent your pickled garlic from turning green or blue, here’s how to do it! Here in India, sirke wala pyaaz is an easy-to-make pickled garlic recipe that uses only a few ingredients – rred onions, chillis, vinegar, sugar, salt, and water. It’s popular in dhabas and eateries all over the country. … Read more

50+ Savoury Mushroom Recipes

50+ Savoury Mushroom Recipes

Who would think that a fungus would be the life of so many dishes? From humble home-cooked meals to expensive delicacies, mushrooms are eaten all around the world in cuisines and cultures in different ways. We’ve put together 50+ savoury mushroom recipes for you to try at home!

Date and Walnut Cake for Christmas and Parties

Date and walnut cake with walnuts and dates on a black board.

A delightful cake made of sweet pitted dates and crunchy walnut pieces, the Date and Walnut Cake is often made for Christmas, special events, and birthdays. Easy to make at home, this traditional East Indian version from Mumbai is a much sought after Christmas delicacy!

Indian Red Pumpkin Dessert (Kaddu Ka Halwa)

Red pumpkin dessert served in a blue bowl with sliced almonds.

Kaddu ha halwa is an Indian pumpkin dessert that is quick and easy to make. A seasonal dish that is widely made by North Indians during festivals, this yummy sweet dish can be served cold, hot or at room temperature. Pumpkin Halwa is a speciality from North India that is now popular all over the … Read more

Why add Turmeric to Rice while Cooking?

Rice served with coriander and tomatoes.

Rice is a staple food all over India. It is eaten as a main dish, with a variety of dals, curries, and is even used in a few sweet dishes. Who doesn’t like Pulao, Fried rice, paella, or Biryani? The options are innumerable. But here’s why we Indians add turmeric to rice! Rice is a … Read more

East Indian Mango Pickle Recipe

Mango Pickle in a small white dish on a blue table.

If you love Indian food, mangoes will become an indispensable part of your diet. Other than as a dessert, mangoes find prominent use in curries and pickles. One popular one, this traditional East Indian Mango pickle is sweet and mouth-watering. Easily and quickly cooked, it can be stored for months.

Batata Bhaji – Aloo Sabzi – Indian Potato Dish

Just a closer look at the batata bhaji that is served with pav and lime - Pic by Abby from AbbysPlate

Potato Bhaji, also known as Aloo Sabzi or Batata Bhaji is a simple Indian vegetarian dish made of potatoes that is easy to make. It doesn’t have as much grease as French Fries and can be eaten as the main course or even a side-dish. We love having it for meals with puris.

EI Mutton Paya Khudi – Goat Trotters Curry

The masala gives the trotter curry a rich red color

How to make mutton paya curry? How to make goat trotter khudi curry? What is the recipe for the East Indian paya curry? Those are the questions that brought you here, aren’t they? My mom uses the same recipe that she uses for the East Indian goat tripe curry to make a gluten free paya … Read more

Easy Cabbage and Corn Vegetable Recipe

Corn and cabbage sabzi (veggies) in a black pot.

Remember the easy fried purple cabbage vegetable we made last week? Well, this week was pretty busy too. So mom made her easy cabbage and corn stir fry; another one of those quick and easy vegetarian dishes to cook when you’re in a hurry. Just chop, fry and eat! The traditional cabbage vegetable dish is … Read more

Quick and Easy Fried Purple Cabbage Recipe

Purple cabbage Sabzi - Pic by Abby from AbbysPlate

Some days you’re so busy that all you want is a quick and easy vegetarian meal that you can eat with bread or puris. That’s when this purple cabbage recipe my mom makes comes in quite handy. If you like a tongue twister, we call it baigani patta gobhi cha sabzi in Hindi. Or for … Read more

Easy Pineapple Wine Recipe

Homemade pineapple wine in two glasses next to a yellow flower - Pic by Abby from AbbysPlate

Pineapple wine is an easy-to-make-at-home fruity wine that gets served for Christmas, Easter, or other family gatherings along with all the other wines, cocktails, and drinks. Here’s how we do it here in Bombay aka Mumbai. Ingredients for the Homemade Pineapple Fruit Wine But first, the list of ingredients we use. 800 grams pineapple2 litres … Read more

Quick Easy Gulab Jamun Mix Cookies Recipe

Add tooti frooti on top - Pic by Sarah from AbbysPlate

Now that Mom is kind of a pro at using Youtube, she keeps running through different videos about gospel music, prophecy and of course food.  One day she came across a recipe using the pre-made Gulab Jamun mix to make cookies. So since we had a packet at home already, I figured why not give … Read more

Mom’s Green Pista Chutney recipe

Lather on toast or bread - Pic by Abby from AbbysPlate

We love chutney. Of course, we have to! We’re Indians. It’s one of the must-have vegetarian food items that we grew up with. And there are so many forms of chutney, red, green, yellow, white, brown! And chutneys made of tomato, coriander, garlic, coconut, dates, and so much more. One of the staple vegetarian chutneys … Read more

Vegetarian Christmas Cookies With Honey

Shortbread cookies are ready to serve - Pic by Abby from AbbysPlate

So this Christmas we were looking at the list of Christmas dishes made across the world, but we just wanted to make some simple cookies that tasted like shortbread and were yummy too! Are they better than Shakar para? Maybe! Keeping our vegetarian friends in mind, we decided to make eggless Christmas cookies. And of … Read more

Easy Indian Custard Powder Halwa Recipe

Chop into 1.5 inch squares

You know it’s nearing Diwali, when your family starts making many many sweets; and among them the traditional wheat halwas or Karachi Halwa or Cornflour Halwa or Custard Powder Halwas, or whatever your family calls them. This custard powder halwa uses a base or gluten-free custard powder or cornflour, and so is considered gluten free. … Read more

22 Dessert and Dinner Recipes using Dates

Collage of Dinner-and-Dessert-Recipes-with-Dates.

I love eating dates! A handful of the sweet luscious fruit is more than enough to satisfy my sugar cravings after each meal. I sometimes eat them as snacks too. Don’t you? I mean what’s better than eating a natural guilt-free energizing gift from God that’s full of all the right vitamins and minerals to … Read more

DF GF Khajur Dry Fruit Barfi – Dates Dessert

Anjeer barfi ready to serve.

So last week we made the sugar free gluten free anjeer barfi or fig barfi for dad that’s really yummy to taste. But this week we figured we’d show you how we do it when we want just dry fruit energy bars. No dairy, no gluten, no sugar! No added sugar is good for diabetics … Read more

Sugarfree GF Anjeer Barfi – Indian Fig Dessert

Cover with almonds and draw rough cutting lines - Pic by Abby from AbbysPlate

I love sweets, just like my dad. But dad is diabetic, so we try to keep his sugar intake under control. That doesn’t stop him from finding something or the other in the fridge to eat though. Even on the days we skip sweets, we’ll find dad right there in the kitchen rummaging through the … Read more

Spicy Brain Masala Recipe – Goat Brain Dish

Spicy homemade brain masala.

Brain Masala, a mouth-watering dish among Indian non-veg enthusiasts can be made in different ways. As East Indians, we also have our own method of preparing the traditional East Indian Brain Masala. And this too differs from home to home! Here’s my mom’s version of the spicy brain masala recipe! The difference from the regular … Read more

East Indian Mango Chutney – Aam Ka Murabba – Chunda

Indian pickles murabba and chunda in two white dishes on a black background.

Here in Mumbai, we make this lush sweet mango chutney every summer. Sweet and slightly spicy, it’s similar to the aam ka murabba or chunda; and tastes as good as a dessert. This mango pickle perfect as an accompaniment to meals or as a spread on bread or roti for snacks or breakfast!

Homemade Tomato Carrot Soup Recipe

Tomato and carrot soup in a blue bowl on a black table topped with cream and fresh coriander

This homemade creamy tomato soup recipe is the perfect variation of the simple tomato soup recipe. Why? It has carrots adding natural sweetness and turmeric powder for a dose of health. Here’s how to make this carrot and tomato soup recipe Indian style, or rather my mom’s style!