Garam Masala Tuesdays: Aloo Parantha (Indian flatbread stuffed with potatoes)

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Aloo Paranthas, where I come from, are comfort food at its best.

Parantha is nothing but a flat bread. Its an unleavened dough made from whole wheat flour and cooked on a tawa/skillet. Paranthas can be made plain or stuffed and aloo (potato) is most popular when it comes to stuffing paranthas. Paranthas can be eaten  just like that, on their own, but a really good way to eat is to pair the paranthas with yogurt/curd and your favorite pickle.  Aloo paratha is a great one-dish meal for the family that can be served anytime of  the day!

The best paranthas that you will ever find are served in small shops on the roadsides, called dhabas. Some of the best ones I have had, were outside the GE call center (BPO) in Gurgaon, India. The first time I had a parantha there, was when I was an undergrad and my cousin and his  then girlfriend (now wife :)) took me and my brother out partying. After a fun night, my cousin took us to this dhaba for paranthas. Even at 2am the place was crowded with people. My cousin ordered aloo paranthas for us and after a brief wait, a small boy came with our plates of paranthas with a cube of melting butter on top. The parantha was huge and I was sure I would end up wasting it- but one bite and I could not stop myself. I had to really restrain myself to not order another. I did take a few more bites from my brother’s second parantha! Well, I could afford it then!

The second best I have had were when my senior sneaked us out from our hostel during my first year in undergrad and took us to a dhaba next to the IGI airport, Delhi. You should all know Delhi is not a safe place for woman, even during the day and at night time it gets worse. So there we were- just us girls out at 2 at night in a place that was full of scary truck drivers, waiting for our paranthas. And boy, were they worth it. I would still not recommend any girl to go their alone- it did not look like a safe place. But, if you have bodyguards with you, do pay this place a visit!

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Garam Masala Tuesdays (or not): Cucumber Raita & Naan Pizza

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Ok, I know I have been slacking with GMT. I did not post last week because I had other posts to catch up on (by the way, there are still 2-3 recipes in my drafts!) And this week again I could not post on Tuesday.

Its not that I did not have anything to post- I did make Indian- of course I made Indian– its what we eat everyday! But, I just did not get time. I would have posted on Tuesday- but then I was busy the whole day baking three layers of cake and in the evening we went to watch the new and final movie in the Harry Potter series (can’t believe it has come to an end!). Wednesday morning I was busy decorating those cakes- it was my friend’s daughter’s first birthday and I offered to bake a cake for her. In the evening was the barbeque she was hosting for all of us. I thought I’ll post on Thursday but our internet decided to give problems and I had no connection most of the day. Amidst all this I was also dealing with an ant infestation inside our house. Today, finally I found the root of the problem and sprayed tons load of insecticide and put a layer of turmeric powder (my mom says that helps keep ants away) on the crack from where these ants are coming. I hope I have solved the problem but any other suggestion is welcome for future reference!

Not that you asked, but for those of you were interested to know why I did not post, now know!

Since I have been slacking with GMT and haven’t posted for a while, I thought I would post two recipes today instead of the usual one.

And, I do realize its not Tuesday but well, we don’t need Tuesday to make Indian now, do we?

And since its a weekend I am posting recipes that you can whip up in minutes and have the whole day left to relax and unwind with your family! Read More →

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Tokri/Katori Chaat Station

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So, I had an awesome 4th of July weekend. We went to the Grand Canyon. Spent the night in Sedona. Had a day trip to Flagstaff. Watched a Bollywood movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. Saw Transformers: Dark Side of the moon. Weren’t too impressed by it. On our way back home, got caught in a major dust storm and thunder showers. Overall, a tiring but fun weekend.

The weekend started with a night out with my girlfriends.

Now, the thing about me is that I just can’t hold my alcohol. My drinking capacity on most days is just a glass of wine. On certain days its a little more. But, most of the days its just one glass. When my body is a little brave, I can hold in 2-3 glasses. But, some god-forsaken days, I try to be braver than usual. And those days are followed the next day by a very horrible, sickening feeling called a hangover! The girls’ night out was one such day- where not only was I braver than usual, I was trying to be smart as well and mixed my drinks! Now, mixing drinks is a no-no especially if you want to avoid really bad hangovers. But, that night I tried to act too smart with my alcohol. And like anyone who tries to act too smart but actually isn’t- I fell down real bad the next day.

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