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Posts Tagged ‘PostAWeek2011’

Versatile Blogger Award

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on December 31, 2011 | 25 Comments »

An almost Happy New Year to you all! I want to share with you I’ve been passed forward the Versatile Blogger Award given to me by Meenakshi of MasalaArt, a wonderful blog about food, fashion and lifestyle. I can’t express enough thanks for this honour and to be a part of the wonderful blogging community!

Thank you for The Versatile Blogger Award!

I’m so grateful to have this platform to share with you my recipes, snippets of Indian culture, holidays and festivals, share my travel experiences and more. Thank you for your support, kind words of encouragement and wonderful feedback—it means so much to me!

In the spirit of receiving the award, I am required to thank awesome blogger Meenakshi of MasalaArt for the recognition, share with you 7 things about myself and pass this forward to 15 great bloggers.

So first things first…7 things about myself:

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Curried Cranberry & Almond Quinoa

Posted in Appetizers, Soups & Snacks, Gluten-Free, Holidays, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 25, 2011 | 14 Comments »

Good morning everyone…Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Curried Cranberry & Almond Quinoa adds some subtle Indian flavours to the holiday table.

On Christmas day my family like everyone else’s celebrates with a big meal – but one that’s definitely free of curries! Some years we like to switch things up. One year I had an Italian themed Christmas celebration—everything from the wine to baked pasta stuffed with spinach and ricotta, to the panettone for dessert was eaten with some Italian flair. Buon Natale!

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5 holiday gifts for the last-minute shopper (that won’t clog the landfill!)

Posted in Holidays, tagged , , , on December 21, 2011 | 7 Comments »

Treat a loved one to an Indian cooking class - learning whole wheat handmade naan from scratch is a welcomed skill for any Indian food lover!

This is the time of year when we show thanks to all the people who helped us throughout the year and show expressions of our emotions to those we love through gift giving and words of gratitude. What irks me about the holidays is when this message gets clouded with consumerism and the holidays become more about getting to the mall than spending time with each other. I’ve never been a fan of ‘big-box’ shopping and I must say the mall often leaves me with a feeling of anxiety!

Although I do my best to avoid the malls, I like to go to admire their beautiful Christmas light displays. This year's larger-than-life reindeers at Toronto's Eaton Centre makes the holiday season seem magical.


My favourite gift ideas are those that are handmade, homemade, artisanal, food gifts and experiential in nature keeping the environment at the forefront! If you’re still looking for a gift (that won’t clog the landfill) here are a few ideas:

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Citrus Chai Spice Sugar Cookies

Posted in Baking, Sweets & Desserts, Holidays, tagged , , , , , , on December 18, 2011 | 9 Comments »

Arvinda's Citrus Chai Spice Sugar Cookies.

Of all my holiday baking recipes that I make annually, this recipe is my favourite. The citrus notes pair amazing with Arvinda’s Chai Masala–which is the perfect holiday spice blend!

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Some like it hot

Posted in Dips, Chutneys, Sauces & Condiments, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2011 | 4 Comments »

I can't imagine life without hot sauce! Try this amazing Red Pepper Hot Chili Chutney if you like it hot.

In today’s cooking class we made a Vegetable Korma dish, one that’s typically mildly spiced with cream, yogurt and ground nuts. For my personal palate I find most Korma dishes way too mild unless I make it for myself with the extra chilies.

A common question I often get in our cooking classes is how to cater Indian dishes to a family that have different tolerances for heat levels. Some defintely like it hot!

The easy answer is the make a great hot sauce. Those who like heat will be just as happy with a milder dish with a fiery condiment on the side. I love a hot sauce that hits the back of the palate like a lightening strike. Now that makes a better Korma!

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Holiday Garam Masala Spiced Cake

Posted in Baking, Sweets & Desserts, Garam Masala, Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , on December 8, 2011 | 11 Comments »

Holiday Garam Masala Cake makes a great hostess gift.

It’s hard to believe it’s time to plan Christmas baking once again. I’ve scheduled my cookie bake-off this weekend just in time for sharing during the holiday festivities.

I’m all about hostess gifts from the kitchen. It’s a lovely gesture that comes from the heart and you can never go wrong with bringing food to a party!

Not only amazing in this cake, but try garam masala in your spiced holiday cookies, fruit cake and my favourite – hot chocolate!

The garam masala in a cake is warming and reminiscent of the holidays.

The savoury Indian spice blend really compliments any sweet with fruit, rum or dark chocolate—think of a salted caramel or dark chocolate with chili–it’s a similar combination.

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Wordless Wednesday: A typical Rajasthani Indian feast

Posted in Appetizers, Soups & Snacks, India Travel, tagged , , , , , , , on November 30, 2011 | 4 Comments »

A typical Rajasthani meal - Jaipur, Rajasthan. This very unforgettable meal was a showering of continuous food gifts...and now I'm left salivating and longing...


A teaspoon of: Marc Anthony. Listening to: Rain Over Me.

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Tikka Masala vs Fish n’ Chips: Which one won?

Posted in Curries & Mains, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 25, 2011 | 8 Comments »

My family is visiting from the UK which always stirs up conversation about what is hot and what is not in the “curry capital (country) of the world”. Back in 2001 (ten years ago!), foreign secretary Robin Cook claimed Tikka Masala as the national dish of England overriding fish n’ chips. Who knew?! I’m not surprised. The winner of Gordon Ramsay’s F Word best local restaurant competition in all of UK went to Lasan (meaning garlic in Hindi) last year. Now that’s another UK Indian restaurant on my ‘to-eat’ list!

Arvinda's Tikka Masala--our new formula is launched! Hope you can try it!


This is a good reminder for me to let you know Arvinda’s Tikka Masala–our new formula–launches on this Black Friday! Although not as popular in Canada as the US and UK, we had many requests from customers for a Tikka Masala recipe using one of our blends and our new improved formula will do just that! See recipe below.

Here is a short video clip on how to make Tikka Masala. I usually make Paneer Tikka Masala as a vegetarian substitute.

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The art of French Macarons (Indian-style)…and blogging (Clotilde-style)!

Posted in Baking, Sweets & Desserts, Entertaining, Events, Trade Shows, Benefits, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2011 | 8 Comments »

Indian Spiced Classic French Macarons: Chai Spiced Coconut Cream Cheese Macaron (front) and Garam Masala Chocolate Macaron (back).

Last year during the holiday season everyone was talking French Macarons. After watching the film Kings of Pastry, I was overwhelmingly inspired to take on the challenge to serve my guests at a holiday dinner party Classic French Macarons—but Indian-style!

If you saw Kings of Pastry you too would be aroused by their mouth-watering utterly majestic and artful hand-crafted sweets and be inspired to take on a feat of your own in the kitchen. These genius pastry chefs pour their hearts and souls into the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition putting their lives and loves on hold to win the title of Best Craftsman in France.

That film was enough inspiration to keep me up till midnight slaving over a hot oven in my first attempt at making my Indian-spiced macarons. A complete failure that was!

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Don’t waste that pumpkin! Pumpkin Curry recipe

Posted in Recipes, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on November 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

This simple curry can turn your Hallowe'en pumpkin into a good meal!

It breaks my heart to waste food. When so many people suffer from hunger, not only globally but also here in our own city, I’m reminded not to waste any food–and I always say, good food shouldn’t be wasted! Very fitting to discuss global food security this week, especially since our world population hit 7 billion.

If you haven’t already yet thrown out your Hallowe’en pumpkin, think about turning that perfectly ‘good food’ into a delicious meal. Just be sure to cut away any parts that are burnt from the candle or just used the back uncarved side for cooking.

This week, I used my Hallowe’en pumpkin to make a Pumpkin Curry–one of many ways to eat a pumpkin!

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