Cabbage, Grapes, Olives Salad in a Red Wine & Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

I had a bit of salad left over from yesterday - the lettuce was wilted, but the rest was fresh. So, I reused the kalamata olives, gherkins, and peppers; and added cabbage and black grapes to the mix. The vinaigrette is made of 1 part red wine vinegar, 2 parts extra virgin olive oil, sprigs of oregano, and a heaping of poppy seeds. I'd bought the poppy seeds ages ago and hadn't even opened the pack till today -  Had seen a salad dressing somewhere with poppy seeds added, so why not?!

Kalamata Olives, Lettuce, and Green Pepper Salad

An old flame of mine used to say "If you have't eaten kalamata olives, you've wasted your life." If that is so, then today was the first day of putting my life to good use. Since the salad below has that tang from the olives and the gherkins, I just dressed it with rosemary-infused olive oil.

Onion, Cinnamon, and Dry Fruit Pilaf

This is a really nice comforting rice dish with caramelized onions, a ton of cinnamon, and made richer with cashews, raisins, and green grapes. I made mine using red rice, which is notorious for having a really long cooking time (40 minutes!).

Miso-Sesame Baked Tofu

In this cookbook I have, there's this recipe on baked tofu that uses dark soy sauce, tamari, honey, ginger, garlic and toasted sesame oil as the marinade. Notice the little golden chunks of tofu below? Pretty, right?

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

Potato and Turnip Rösti

Rösti would be a fancier term for the humble potato pancake. I added a couple of turnips in mine, seasoned with only fresh black pepper and salt.

Parsi Ras Chawal (Spicy Tomato Gravy with Rice)

I usually have one meal a week with my family, with me taking a break from making my own meals or ordering takeout. I do ask my mom to either make a vegetarian Parsi dish or to make my portion seperately and then add the meat to their portions later on. This time, its a dish called ras chawal, which would translate to spicy tomato gravy with rice. It's quite unknown compared to other Parsi specialities and I can't find a single recipe of it online.

We usually add mutton to this dish, or serve it with boiled eggs. But this one's all vegan with just potatoes and drumsticks. You're supposed to suck the flesh inside the drum stick, not eat the chewy fiberous outside. The recipe is a rough gist I got from my mom.

Savory Indian Pancakes

Inspired by Andrea's Japanese savory vegetable pancakes, here's my Indianized version using leftover vegetables like corn, cabbage, and french beans. Sort of like an eggless omlette or frittata using maida (all purpose flour) as the base, peppered with tumeric and chilli powder.

Two Awards and Time to Give Back

Having received a couple of blog awards over the last month, I guess its my time to give back. Thanks a lot, Heather and Mateja. Why the delay in this post? Because I didnt really know how these bloggie awards work! :) I thought I was just a "nominee" and was waiting for a "winner" to be annouced....