Author: Nidhi Bothra

Crispy Chickpea Loaded Baked Potatoes

Crispy Chickpea Baked Potatoes

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Crispy Chickpea Baked Potatoes — colorful and rich, these are the ultimate way to enjoy a fluffy baked potato! With crispy masala chickpeas, herbed yogurt, pickles, olives, and other toppings, I can’t get over how colorful, rich, and yet still light these are! I tried a similar dish called Kumpir in Turkey and this my version with a few Indian-inpsired twists! HOW TO MAKE CRISPY CHICKPEA LOADED BAKED POTATOES: We’ll start by poking holes into our potatoes and coating them with olive oil and salt before baking these until nice and golden brown. Then, we’ll make our crispy masala chickpeas! We’ll toss the chickpeas in olive oil, smoked paprika, oregano, chaat masala, and salt. Bake these until crispy. And now it’s time to assemble! We’ll cut open our beautiful baked potatoes and gently mash the insides. Add in butter and cheese and mix to make these super fluffy and rich! We’ll add a drizzle of this silky herbed yogurt, pickled, olives, pickled red onions, beets, and another drizzle of that herbed yogurt! Top with our …

Rajasthani Gatte Ka Pulao

Rajasthani Gatte Ka Pulao

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Gatte Ka Pulao — With golden brown besan ke gatte and crisp veggies, this is a comforting rice that is enjoyed on special occasions in Rajasthan! Drawing from it’s royal roots, the depth of flavors will convince you that this pulao is truly fit for a king! WATCH HOW TO MAKE RAJASTHANI GATTE KA PULAO: To make the gatte, we’ll mix besan with our spices, green chili, ginger, and and oil. Start kneading this and add some yogurt and water to help it form a stiff dough. Then, we’ll roll and shape these into a cylindrical shape and put them into boiling water. Saute these in some oil for a crispy golden brown crust. For the pulao, start with your whole spices, cumin seeds, and aromatics. Add in your rice, water, and spices and cook covered until the rice is 60% cooked. Fold in your gatte and some veggies and cook until done and fluffy! Finish this off with a dash of garam masala, a squeeze of lemon, and some cilantro. Truly, this dish is …

Steamed Moong Dal Bhapiyas

Steamed Moong Dal Bhapiyas

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Steamed Moong Dal Bhapiyas — soft, fluffy, and packed with protein, this is the ultimate Murshidabadi lunch for when you’re craving a filling and nutritious meal! Similar to idli, these Bhapiyas feature moong dal, peas, and cilantro for a flavorful, melt-in-your mouth meal! I had this at my cousin’s place in Kolkata a few summers ago and I’ve been thinking about it ever since! I hadn’t gotten around to making it until recently, but truly this is such an undiscovered, yet gem of a recipe. WATCH HOW TO MAKE STEAMED MOONG DAL BHAPIYAS: Start by soaking your moong dal and blending it with ginger and green chili. Then, we’ll whip this vigorously to add in some air and make this so light and fluffy! Next, we’ll fold in our peas, cilantro, salt, turmeric powder, and eno for an even softer texture. Mix this well and now it’s time to steam! I used these cute banana leaf cutouts for steaming but you could also use an idli pan. Once ready, just look how beautiful they are! …

Pahadi-Raita-Cucumber-Yogurt-Raita-Dip

Pahadi Raita – Cucumber Yogurt Raita

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Pahadi Raita — a refreshing flavorful cucumber raita from the northern hills of India, this is no ordinary raita! With heaps of fresh mint, mustard oil, garlic, and green chilies, this is truly the ultimate accompaniment to jazz up any meal and even works great as a dip with papdi or chips! I’ve added some extra grated beetroot, carrot, chopped onions, and tomatoes for some break in texture and it was so good! WATCH HOW TO MAKE PAHADI CUCUMBER YOGURT RAITA: Begin by grinding mustard seeds, salt, and a touch of red chili using a mortar and pestle. This is the traditional way that it is made in places like Uttarakhand and it really helps to bring out the flavors so don’t skip this! Now, we’ll add to our beautiful ground spices some fresh garlic, green chilies, coriander, and these vibrant mint leaves. Grind this into a coarse paste. To this, we’ll add creamy, beaten yogurt. Then comes the crunch and freshness: grated cucumber, carrot, finely chopped onions, tomatoes, and grated beetroot. Don’t forget that …

Sugar Free Khajoor Dates Coconut Peda

Khajoor Coconut Peda (Sugar-Free)

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Khajoor Coconut Peda (Sugar-Free) — an effortless mithai that comes together in under 30 minutes that’s aromatic with delicate flavors of rose and cardamom! Made with simple ingredients and roasted milk powder for some richness, these are truly the easiest way to celebrate during the festive season! WATCH HOW TO MAKE SUGAR-FREE KHAJOOR DATES COCONUT PEDA: We’ll soak our dates in warm milk and blend into a paste which will be all the sweetness for the peda. Then heat some ghee and milk powder on medium heat and roast until you get this gorgeous golden brown color. At this stage add milk in parts and stir until you achieve this wet dough or wet mawa consistency. Adding milk powder will give depth and richness like mawa to the pedas. Now add in your shredded coconut, the dates paste we made, some ghee, cardamom powder, and rose water. Let this cook for a bit until it comes together and then let sit to cool. Now we can roll them into these cute round pedas, roll them …

Pineapple Coconut Cake Jars

Pineapple Coconut Cake Jars

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Pineapple Coconut Cake Jars — these adorable desserts are going to be the easiest dessert to enjoy this Rakhi! With layers of vanilla cake or biscuits, caramelized pineapples, and delicate whipped pineapple cream, these come out so dreamy and are perfect for entertaining! WATCH HOW TO MAKE PINEAPPLE COCONUT CAKE JARS: We’ll start by sautéing some fresh pineapple with sugar until just caramelized for one of our layers. Next we’ll make some Pistachio Coconut milk. Bring some coconut milk to a simmer with some sugar, cardamom, and crushed pistachios. In the end we’ll fold in saffron and watch this become so silky and rich! Now it’s time to assemble! For the base I’ve used a vanilla pound cake but you can use any cake of your choice, store-bought would work great if you’re short on time, even rusk or crushed up biscuits would be great! We’ll top this with our Pistachio Coconut milk, fresh whipped pineapple cream, and those beautiful caramelized pineapples. Garnish with some mint and gold sprinkles for extra elegance and enjoy! If …

Smoked Sprouts Bhel With Fruits

Smoked Sprouts Bhel

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Smoked Sprouts Bhel — crispy and chatpata, this is the perfect way to spice up your appetizer game. With crisp, in-season fruits for sweetness and nutritious mung bean sprouts, this is the ultimate nutritious chaat with a smoky twist! WATCH HOW TO MAKE SMOKED SPROUTS BHEL: We’ll start by adding some chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, and in-season fruits for that hint of sweetness. Then we’ll toss in our sprouts which’ll help add volume and make this a guilt-free nutritious evening snack. Now for the smoky twist! Put some ghee on a charcoal piece and cover for a few minutes to really infuse the flavors. The depth and richness from this is truly divine so definitely don’t skip out on this — it’s worth the extra effort. Toss in the bhel, chutneys, a big squeeze of lemon, and our chatpata spices to finish this off. I’ve served this in these paper cones for that classic street-side feeling and your Smoked Sprouts Bhel is ready to dig in! If you like this, please try my other …

Orange Vanilla Rice Kheer - Rice Pudding

Orange Vanilla Rice Kheer – Rice Pudding

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Orange Vanilla Rice Kheer — dress up your usual rice kheer (pudding) for a festive Rakhi dessert with this delicious twist! With a rich, creamy vanilla rice kheer base and a fresh vibrant orange jelly, this is an aromatic and colorful treat to share this Rakhi! WATCH HOW TO MAKE ORANGE VANILLA RICE KHEER (RICE PUDDING): We’ll start by simmering our milk with the soaked short grain rice or crushed basmati rice. We’ll also add condensed milk, vanilla extract, and some fresh orange zest. Once this thickens, we’ll fold in some pistachios and set this aside. Then, we’ll make the vibrant orange jelly. Bring orange juice, sugar, and a pinch of salt up to a boil. It’s super important to use fresh orange juice for the next flavor. Stir in a corn starch slurry until thickened and we’re ready to assemble! Add a layer of that silky vanilla kheer and then spread on our orange jelly. Garnish however you’d like, but I used fresh fruits, pistachios, edible flowers, and edible gold foil for an elegant …

Rajasthani Dal Baati - Masala Baati with Dal

Rajasthani Dal Baati – Masala & Plain Baati With Dal

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Dal Baati — a quick and simple version of a Rajasthani classic! Spicy tadka dal is paired with soft, melt-in-mouth masala and plain baatis with a drizzle of ghee! I have so many childhood memories enjoying dal baati and my kids love it too. There’s nothing better than keeping traditions from back home alive here in the US! WATCH HOW TO MAKE RAJASTHANI MASALA & PLAIN BAATI WITH DAL: To make the masala baati, I’ve used a mix of wheat flour, makki ka atta, besan, and along with some spices, ginger and cilantro. We’ll add in some ghee and water and knead until soft. While this is resting, let’s make the plain baatis that turn out so soft! We’ll mix aata with suji, baking soda, ajwain, ghee, and water. Then we’ll add yogurt to make for that melt in your mouth texture. Knead this well and set aside. Then we’ll shape the baatis into balls with a little divet on top and bake. To make this quick Rajasthani dal we’ll roast our whole spices and …