Garam Masala Tuesdays: Mutton Patiala

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The cuisine of India that we love and cherish today is, to a large extent, indebted to the raja/ maharajas (kings) that ruled India.

Until the second half of the 19th century when India officially became a British possession, rajas (kings) ruled different states of India. When the British officially took over, Rajas and otherwise styled Hindu rulers were elevated to Maharajas. Stripped from most of their political power, and the worries of protecting their states from other invaders, lots of Maharajas took their attention to finer details of life.

Under the British, Patiala (a city in the Northern Indian state of Punjab) was the most important Sikh state. The most famous Maharaja of Patiala was Bhupinder Singh (1900–1938).  Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was a larger than life personality. His appetite for everything wine, women, jewels, sports etc was gargantuan. It was he who gave the Patiala state a prominent place on the political map of India and, in the field of international sports. Most of the buildings with splendid architectural designs were constructed during his reign. He was also the only Maharaja to be gifted a Maybach by Adolf Hitler!

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Guest Post by the Chef in Disguise: Kibbeh

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This post was supposed to go live a few days back, but since I was out of town and busy attending my friends’ weddings, the post got delayed.

As mentioned previously, I had asked a few blogger friends to help me out to keep this blog a little active while I am away on vacation. The first blogger friend to help me out was Ameena from Fancy That…Fancy This with her mouth watering Mango Tandoori Chicken Pizza. Few days back, Jane from the Heritage Cook shared a fantastic coconut layer cake recipe. Today, its Sawsan from the blog Chef in Disguise.

If you are part of the Daring Kitchen group, I am sure you have heard her name plenty times. My first Daring Bakers’ challenge was her first too and it was a prized challenge, where she got a truly deserved second place.

Sawsan makes lovely middle eastern food (well, actually everything that she makes looks and sounds great). And I love middle eastern cuisine. So when I asked her to guest post for my blog, I requested her to share something that is native to her.

Over to Sawsan and her fabulous dish.

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Kakori Kebab and Lehsooni Naan plus Giveaway Winner Announced

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“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”

— Julia Child

While we celebrated India’s birthday (our country has completed 64 years of Independence), the culinary world was celebrating the birthday of one of the most famous personalities where food is concerned- Julia Child. She is the most prominent figure in revolutionizing America’s culinary scene, bridging the gap between the home kitchen and the professional one. For Mrs. Child, mistakes were not the end of the world, just part of the game. I guess even the big boom in food blogging can be attributed to Julia Child and the admiration that one person had for Julia Child’s cookbook. Julie Powell’s Salon blog may be the first cook-through blog. And of course, the movie itself introduced a lot of people to the food blogging world.

We have a lot to thank Julia Child for. Mostly, gratitude is due for the inspiration she gave to us home cooks to follow our passion and not to give up on something we are passionate about. Julia Child began learning to cook when she was thirty-seven years old. That in itself should be a testimony to the fact : It’s never too late to follow your dreams!

Coming now to this week’s Garam Masala Tuesdays. I have two recipes for you and of course, the winner of my first Blogiversary Giveaway !

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