Veggie Takeaway Day - Kashmiri Biryani and Tomato Bharta

One of those days when you just want a break from work, watch cartoons, and order greasy takeaway foods. For lunch, a Kashmiri biryani which is sweeter than the usual Hyderabadi biryani and with chunks of pineapple (YUM! But since when did Kashmir become synonymous with a tropical fruit like pineapples?!). It was served with a yoghurt raita (thrown away) and a spicy pea-based gravy and a papad.

Kashmiri Biryani

Veg Biryani and Cabbage, Onion, Tomato Upma

Lately, I've been feeling a bit lazy to cook anything for myself and also feeling a bit stifled with having so few fresh ingredients to work with. I'm waiting for this sunday when I can buy a truckload from the farmer's market. So, last night, I just ordered a Vegetable Dum Biryani. It came with a yoghurt raita, which I chucked away. My brother's always amazed why someone would pay Rs. 120 for a vegetarian biryani, when for only Rs. 10 more you get the chicken version. Ten rupees - that's the worth of a chicken's life?!

And this morning, for breakfast, a cabbage, onion and tomato upma, along with my coffee-coconut milk concoction.

Cabbage, Onion, Tomato Upma

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup semolina or an upma premix
• 1 cup chopped cabbage
• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 1 cup of water
• Teaspoon of olive oil
• Half a lime
• Handful of coriander

To make:

• In a pan, gently dry roast the semolina/upma premix for a minute or two.
• Add water to the roasted semolina and cook for approximately 7-10 minutes.
• Once the semolina is cooked, add the chopped up vegetables and stir for 1-2 minutes.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately with lashings of lime juice.

Subway Fix

Finally, a Subway sandwich that actually looks like the one on their posters!

Going Down South

A typical South Indian breakfast: Medu wadas and dosas.

Such a relief to find medu wadas that are crunchy and fresh coconut chutney that actually tastes like...coconut!

Friday Gluttony: Veggie Noodles and Cauliflower Manchurian

Amid a chilly December and a niggling cold, this is all I could think of eating yesterday. And the cauliflower balls deceptively tasted like fish fillets - so much so, that I had to double check the reciept to see if I was indeed eating fish.

And for dessert? Nothing, yet. But I will soon be the proud owner of A World of Cake, courtesy of a giveaway at Sprinkles of Parsley. Wonder what I will do with the cookbook?! Even if you can't/won't eat them, you can always gawk at the delicious photos!

Subway Snafu

Speaking of Subway subs, I was shocked to learn that my favourite Southwest and Ranch dressings have eggs and milk.Says who? Check this out. I was taking a break from work and fantasizing about which dressing I'd try later that day - Only the dressing is up for debate; the sandwich is always Veggie Delight. So, I started looking up what each of them is made of, how many calories etc on the Net. I couldn't find much information relevant to Subway India, so the parent company had to suffice.

Well, I shouldn't really be surprised or disappointed - nothing that great tasting ever comes without a little suffering - be it animal or human. Even so, I guess we all prefer living in sweet ignorant bliss. Somethings are just better off not knowing, right?

So, taking a printout of the Subway Allergen chart, I demanded an explanation from the Subway guys at my local outlet - How could they not label the dressings as veg and non-veg?! In bloody INDIA! Or at least mention to customers standing in the veggie section of the store that hey, your veggie sandwich isn't all that veggie anymore?!

But they explained that all their dressings in India are vegetarian and contain no eggs. PHEW! Now, whether any of them contain milk? I didn't ask.

Wednesday Gluttony: Chole Bhature

Ahead of my dreaded dentist's appointment last night, I decided I direly needed some greasy Punjabi food. I have yet to meet a more sadistic man in my life!

Monday Gluttony: Bhindi Masala and Garlic Naan

I woke up Monday morning with a huge and painful swelling on the right side of my face - all the way from my nasal cavity down to my chin. I'm usually waking up after a boozy night out with various kinds of bumps and bruises that I have no recollection of the next day. But I can't possibly go to work looking like a chipmunk with walnuts up one cheek. Add to that, it was very painful. So, I stayed back at home to go to a doctor AND a dentist.

And even though my veggies are in the process of withering away and are crying out for me to finish them off, I decided, against my better judgment, that what a sick person really needs is some comfort food. Not some high-brow raw vegan shit. So, I ordered a bhindi (ladies finger) masala, with three tandoori rotis and 2 garlic sesame naans. And I polished that off, with a tub of orange+tutti fruit icecream. Yes, there was - shock,  horror- milk in it. But hey, when in pain, you do what you can to soothe yourself, right? I know, its no excuse, but I still don't touch regular milk (in teas, coffees, etc. And while not raw, most of my meal was still very much vegan (Which is something I'm relating to, much more than being just raw all the time).