Wednesday, April 23, 2008

My chicken curries
















Among all chicken curries the murg butter masala or butter chicken is the most respected one. In every good restaurant we will surely find the name in the menu.
Though makkhani murg and murg butter masala have the same meaning literally, but their method of preparation is quite different. In my recipe they both are quite gorgeous and tasty dishes but very much different from each other in their look and taste.
In addition to these chicken dishes, which I prefer to make for a party are hariyali chicken (chicken curry with a green sauce of coriander) or the famous south Indian Cheddinad chicken curry.
But the most common, most easy and most tasty among all is the chicken curry made in East Indian style.
(from top to bottom chicken curry, hariyali chicken, chicken cheddinad, makkhani murg and chicken butter masala made by leepa)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

lentil curries











Lentils or pulses are very important part of diet in India. Since a major part of Indian population is vegetarian and pulses are rich in protein , it is always present in a meal in different forms.
In India, the word Dal is commonly used for lentils. We take it with rice or with chapatti.
The chickpea is one of the very famous and common lentils in India. The curry made with it is called choley . when we think of choley , a name automatically comes to our mind is Bhature. They both make a nice brunch set.
Among different lentil curries, Dal makkhani is the richest and goes nicely with rice or chapatti. It is a curry made with mixture of 4 types of lentils.Red lentil curries are also very commonly used in India, as they are a good source of protein and vitamins. For making the lentil curries more tasty we can add minced chicken or egg to it .
(from top to bottom red lentil curry with shredded chicken , dal makkhani, choley and bhature made by leepa)

rice dishes
















Rice is a major food in India. Though we eat plain rice everyday, in Indian cuisine many varieties of rice are available.
If you want to make vegetarian rice dish, mix vegetable pulao or pulao with dry fruits are really perfect for a weekend lunch or dinner.
But if you are cooking for a get-together or small family party, prawn pualo is the best rice dish in my view. In one hand it is gorgeous and in the other not so difficult to make. The most gorgeous rice dish for your special guest can only be chicken dum biriyani. Though it needs more care than any other dishes, it is the best one to impress your guest. With the chicken dum biriyani a simple raita is a perfect combination .

( from top to bottom raita , chicken dum biriyani, prawn pulao and dry fruit pulao made by leepa)

Sunday, April 6, 2008

evening snacks





















(from up to down photo of vegetable pakoda, mango lassi , samosa and cornbhel made by leepa)
If it is an evening tea party, then the name of samosa comes very first among all. Vegetable pakodas and corn bhel are some of very easy and tasty snacks which go very well with hot masala chai of India.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

mouth watering starters

















(Tandoori chicken and Fish cutlets made by leepa)

In an Indian three-course meal you can find many varieties of starters. I think many times making a starter needs more work and care than that of a main course curry. And of course starters are more delicious. When we are making a very special dinner consisting of chicken biriyani and chicken butter masala then starter should be of that status also.
In that case a starter can be tandoori chicken or Afghani chicken kabab or a baked pomfret. But sometimes we can make some light starters like fish cutlets also when we invite our guests for a dinner. when you serve your starters with a glass of Lassi then no doubt your guest will cherish your royal treatment for a very longtime.






Monday, March 3, 2008

Types of Indian food


Many foreigners think Indian food is only curries.
but Indian food consists of many varieties of curries, rice dishes, deep fried dishes, pan fried dishes, starters, baked and grilled items and many kinds of desserts and sweets.
(photo- baked pomfret by leepa)

The art of cooking


I think cooking is an art. That's why when two people cook the same dish, the taste and look is very much different.It depends on you, how much delicious and gorgeous you can make your dish.
For cooking Indian food you need lots of patience and care and above all interest.
(photo -Afghani chicken kabab made by leepa)
Since Indian food needs many spices , you have to have good knowledge about the spice.
spices are very much essential for Indian curries. but they should be added in right proportion and also at the right time.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008


Today's modern India is one of the most diverse countries in the world.It is a secular country allowing people of different religion to stay together in 28 states and 7 territories.People of different states use different language and have their specific culture and food habits.Inspite of these cultural, behavioral, regional diversities ,India has maintained its unique national identity .And the outside influence and invasions is always proved as an advantage for strengthening its unique diverse culture.
The food in India are of many different varieties depending upon different cooking styles. The cooking style varies not only from state to state , city to city but also from town to town.
(photo- Mix vegetable pulao by leepa)

Food Of India