Varada's Kitchen and Garden

For a long time, Dulce de leche was on my list of things to try. But I had heard of just two methods, one was to slave over a stove top for four hours and the other cooking a can of condensed milk under pressure - unopened. Neither seemed worth the effort. A few months back everything changed. I bought a new Instant pot pressure cooker right in the middle of the holiday season and joined a Facebook group of IP users. Everyone was trying Dulce de leche. This is my attempt. I bought a pint sized mason jar and a can of Eagle brand 14 oz. condensed milk. I poured the milk in the mason jar and cooked it in the IP. Dulce de leche was ready. It was that simple. If you have an instant pot and a sweet tooth, you have to try the recipe. You will need 1 can condensed milk (I used the 14 oz Eagle brand sweet condensed milk) You will also need a mason jar. I used a one pint sized jar. Wash and clean the jar. Open the can of milk and empty the contents in the jar. Place the top on th

Kulcha has been on my wishlist of recipes to try for a very long time. But for some reason I had never really made it before. My daughter was thrilled with the simplicity of the recipe and we enjoyed the Onion Kulcha a lot. Some time back I posted recipes from a flatbread platter I recreated after being inspired at Sanaa, the restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Disney World. I was very impressed with the custom wooden trays they served the flatbread in. It had holes cut out to place the different bowls of dips. I had decided to recreate the flavors and enjoy a meal of flatbreads at home. My platter had five different flatbreads that I served with roasted red pepper hummus and cucumber dip. The breads in the picture above left to right are - garlic bread , spicy naan , plain naan , onion kulcha and aloo paratha . While I posted all the other breads I never got to posting the kulcha. You will need 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp. salt to taste 1/2 cup yogurt 1 tsp.

When my daughter went to high school she used to go out for lunch with friends occasionally. Their favorite haunt sold Bubble tea. My daughter insisted it was something I would like and so the two of use went out to get some. Bubble tea is very interesting, the large tapioca pearls add a nice texture to an otherwise boring drink. As you can tell I am not a fan of tea but I like to try new things. A few days back my daughter and I were in the Asian store looking to stock up on sauces when we walked through the tea aisle. We were looking at the large selection of green tea and wondering why I had never thought to bring my father here to pick green tea; when I spotted the tapioca pearls. I had to buy a packet and try making bubble tea at home. I used a basic bag of tea to brew the tea, added milk and sugar and the tapioca pearls. I was happy with the results. There are so many variations of the tea available now, I think I will try the pearls with fruit juice sometime. For now h

I was trying to do something a little different and came up with this recipe. There is nothing unique about this Spicy Tomato Dal, just added things I normally would not add to dal. The end result was really tasty and everyone loved it. Now this is part of my dal rotation. Ginger garlic is not part of my everyday cooking. Dal with cumin seeds tadka usually does not have ginger garlic paste added to it. I added it as an experiment that turned out great. Onion is not part of my everyday cooking either. In fact we prefer food without onions. If you like onion, you could add it before the ginger garlic and saute until transparent. You will need 1 cup toor dal 1 tbsp oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 dried red chili pepper 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste 2 tomatoes, diced 1/2 tsp asafoetida 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tbsp garam masala, I use rasam masala 1 tsp cayenne pepper, optional salt to taste Pressure the toor dal with 2 cups water. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds t

I usually cook for the day early in the morning. One morning a couple of weeks back I walked into the pantry for dal to get the pressure cooker going. I realized I did not have enough toor dal. So I got together a bunch of different dals and made a family favorite, Mixed Dal Ambti. I used a little of a whole lot of different dals - toor, channa, urad, mung and masoor. Each dal on its own is very flavorful. But together it tastes really great. If you have not tried using multiple dals in one dish yet, you are missing out. You will need 2 cups combination of dals, I used toor, channa, urad, mung and masoor 1 tomato, diced 1 handful baby kale leaves, diced 1 tbsp oil, I used olive oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp asafeotida 1 tbsp rasam powder or garam masala salt to taste Paprika or cayenne pepper to taste Pressure the dals in a pressure cooker. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they sizzle add the asafoetida and turme

Two weeks back my daughter had to come home in the middle of the week for an interview for a summer class. I asked her what she would like to dinner and she said comfort food - dal and rice. I made her this Mixed Vegetable Dal with rice. She was very happy. It is so easy to please college kids. My family is loves vegetables so I used a lot of them. You can any combination of vegetables. We like it when they hold their shape so I used zucchini, carrots and beans. If you like it you can use eggplant. You will need 1 cup toor dal or split pigeon peas Mixed vegetables of your choice. I used 1 zucchini, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 handful bean, diced 1 tomato, diced 1 tomato, pureed 1 tbsp garam masala (I use rasam masala) salt to taste Tempering 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp urad dal 1/2 tsp asafoetida 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 dried red chilli 1 tbsp oil (I use olive oil) Wash and rinse the dal. Cook in a pressure cooker. I heat the pressure cooker and let it steam. I t

Today I am posting a delicious Black Bean and Mixed Vegetable Salad. This salad is a complete nutritious meal. Mixed vegetables are a favorite in my family so I usually add a whole different array of vegetables to a lot of my everyday meal. This salad is perfect for weekend lazy brunches. As it is eaten cold it works great for lunch boxes too. For this salad I cut the vegetables using my Veggie Bullet. But if you do not have a vegetable shredder you could take a little time over the weekend and prep vegetables. Stock up the prepped chopped vegetables separately in glass airtight containers. When needed pull pull the required amount from each of the containers for a salad or other dishes. This is what I do every weekend. You will need 1 cup dry black beans or 1 can black beans 1 red bell pepper, sliced 1/2 head broccoli, shredded 1 carrot, shredded 1 big handful baby kale, sliced 1 zucchini, shredded salt and pepper to taste juice of 1/2 lime If using dry beans, soak th

I cook with Garbanzo beans very often. I use it in all kinds of sides and salads as it has a high protein content. But my husband and I like it best in salads. Today I am posting a recipe for Chole Chaat. Mix the cooked garbanzo beans with a little onion, tomato and basic spices and you have a tangy delicious protein rich snack. Two months back I was in the mood for chaat. I made several recipes over a couple of weeks and will post them one by one. We don't like food too spicy and I use chili peppers sparingly. If you like the chaat mild then this is the recipe for you. You will neede 1 cup dry garbanzo beans 1/2 onion 1 tomato 1 tsp shredded ginger 1 tsp chaat masala 1 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp turmeric powder salt and pepper to taste Soak the beans overnight. The next day pressure cook the beans until cooked. I let the pressure built up in the cooker, place the whistle and let it cook for 10 minutes on medium high heat. Then turn off the heat and let it cool and

Quesadillas are corn or flour tortillas folded in half with bean and other ingredients. While authentic quesadilla call for certain combinations of filling you could use the method of preparation and go crazy with the filling of your choice. This is what I used to do as quesadillas were a favorite packed lunch in our house. I used to try different combinations and had a few favorites. I do not make them as frequently now but once in a while I like to experiment. This recipe was well received as everyone in the family loves vegetables. Introducing vegetables as a snack at an early age may have had something to do with it. In fact, I try not to add too many flavor modifiers to my recipes so we can enjoy the taste of fresh vegetables. Some time back I got a Veggie Bullet, the quick and easy way to prep your food. The vegetables for this Cannelloni Bean and Mixed Vegetable Quesadilla were processed using this gadget. I shredded the vegetables so that they can be added to the quesadill

The recipe I am posting today is something I whipped up in a hurry on a weekend morning. My husband and I were at home. I was prepping the weekly vegetables and getting them ready for lunch salads when I realized I did not have anything planned for lunch. I put aside some red bell pepper and some green bell pepper combined it with some left over paneer, onion and tomato and whipped up this side. It is a version of Paneer Jalfrezi and I am calling it Red Bell Pepper and Paneer in Tomato gravy. In the picture above the flatbread or poli has been made by my husband. I have posted his recipe of chutney on this blog but never posted anything else made by him. He is always willing to try anything I make and waits patiently while I take pictures. Both of us liked this recipe very much and it was all gone very quickly. My daughter will be back from college for summer in three days. I am looking forward to spending time with her and making a lot of new dishes. You will need 4 oz. p