Lemons & Rinds

When it comes to kid lunches, we never run out of options. Especially, if your kid loves easy, simple, delicious no fuss food, you are a winner. I dnt fancy eating Thalipeeth much while in India. But now after becoming a mommy myself, I'm always looking for options for healthy easy meals. Thalipeeth comes a winner than. With your choice of vegetables, mostly root vegetables go very well since they can be grated and added to this). Just the other day, my mum was complaining about my father being fussy with his Thalipeeth. He likes it only with onions and spices. However, since my brothers also eat, she likes to add red radishes, cabbage or carrots too. So now what? She looks for options to please everyone. To add spice to this fight, I informed that my lil one likes it with lots of raddishes and carrots!!! Super healthy!!! Anyways, this is one dish a staple in my house. Here's what I do: Flour of different types rather whatever is a staple in the pantry. I try to add mor...

Its hard to digest when parents say their kids do not like vegetables or whole grain items. Something so delicious like fresh and seasonal produce is so satisfying to the palate, especially during warm days. Its simply a matter of how they are served. Each produce has its own unique taste and there are herbs to enhance its flavor.  Its spring time and our farmer's market is full of seasonal vegetables and fruits. We grabbed a bundle of tender asparagus stalks over the weekend and our little one is eager to find out what mum's going to do with it. So the first thing this morning, he got the asparagus out, and since than I have been wondering what to make. I browsed for a curry for dinner, and while chopping that, I made a quick pasta for lunch with asparagus and grape tomatoes. How convenient and healthy can that be! So here's what I did for the pasta: 1 cup whole wheat pasta few cut into half grape tomatoes 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste 1/2 cu...

The other day at the Farmer's Market, I grabbed some Italian Eggplants. Not much difference from the regular Big Eggplant, these are bit smaller in size. Also, now with the temperatures reaching 90deg, I try to finish up cooking in the mornings in just an hour or so. This idea of grilling the Eggplant is my way of cutting cooking time as per the season. All the more because, our toddler relishes the simple grilled eggplant and for the adults I add it the Bharta Masala. For this one my handy gas grill was used. I sliced 3 medium size Italian Eggplants in roundels, not fine slicing though, otherwise it will fall apart.  Grilled them skin on with olive oil, salt and pepper. Till here, it is for kids to be relished with a sour cream dip. For adults, I chopped 3 bird chillies, 1 medium size onions, some ginger and garlic (thats to taste and yes, I have given up making those ginger-garlic paste and storing in the refrigerator, it dsnt do any good to the dish, waste of time...

While in India, eating chicken at home on Sundays would mean Chicken Curry. My mother and the rest of the extended family on both sides (meaning Maternal and Paternal), would make blind folded Chicken curries on Sundays. It was such a routine for years and years, that the new generation has reached its saturation point. I have a terrible nausea of chicken curries now in my 30s. (My mother still makes chicken curry on sundays, with the same masala, and refuses to abandon it at ay cost). So, thanks to my life a little away from my beloved families, and above all our little toddler who loves Chicken, Parmesan Chicken was the solution to my boredom. It is something I can never ever go wrong with and I can make plenty and plenty of servings of it. I guess a dish that the cook herself loves (no no darling, I am not a feminist!!!), always comes out the best. Crispy, golden brown crust on the outside and moist chicken on the inside, is what makes it so delectable. Time and...

At Lemons and Rinds, I try to keep things as fuss free as possible. Hence, making things from scratch or rather, creating them myself makes it easy for me to work with them. For instance, I used to buy paneer from Indian grocery stores. Each brand had its own varied texture, making it a, experiment for me, everytime I bought it. So, thanks to Youtube and all the freeby channels, I started making my own paneer (not that was a complete duhhh at it, but) needed some headstart and confidence to make my own thing. So, thats how DIY paneer was born. It has been more than three years now that I have been making home made paneer. Also, another point to be noted is that my son (oh, yes, I am getting used to putting his excuse for every new venture) relishes the soft wholemilk Paneer all by itself. The store bought ones (I dnt even know what milk they use, cow, goat, 4%, 2%..no clue!) are super tough to begin with. So eating a cube all by itself is not a possibility.  Palak Paneer  ...

I know of friends and folks that call their mom's for recipes, even I do seldomly. However, I am lucky to have been asked for recipes by my mother and cousins. That is with regards to modern recipes or DIY foods like paneer. My mother is a cooks traditional Maharashtrian, with Malvani/Konkani take on dishes. Coconut is the key ingredient in everything, no matter my parents be diagonised with Cholestrol problem or Diabetes. Coconut is the king. This same principle does not apply to me. I put our health first and than tradition, though for 28 years of my life I devoured my mom's food. Anyways, back to the point of calling for recipes. The other day my mother and I were discussing Vangyache Bharit, or Baingan Bharta as called in the north of India. In Maharashtra, there are several ways of cooking Eggplant Bharit. The eggplant is first charred over open fire and than raw ingredients are added like in a grilled salad, raw onion and crushed peanut being the main ones. T...