Guest Blog Post: Gobi Manchurian and Mock Chicken Curry

My friend Trupa and I grew up in Seattle together, and bonded when we were 12 and in some Diwali dance program in which we had to wear fish costumes. Now, Trupa lives in North Carolina, and we gchat daily about recipes, kitchen appliances (yes, you DEFINITELY need the soda machine to make sparkling water), and what we will be making for dinner. Trupa also recently got engaged, so congrats to her! Since she cooks so often, I decided to ask her to contribute her recipes to Hom Nom. She has shared not one, but two recipes with us! Welcome, Trupa! 

Diwali Party!

While baking up a storm for dessert fest, we discussed doing an Indian food night.  Well, it started with "can you bring Indian food tomorrow before the party?"...um, no, but, I'd be happy to do a post-dessert party wrap up feast!  And...Diwali was soon approaching!  So the DESSERT FEST 2010! chefs decided that an Indian dinner night was in order!

Pedas, Round 2

Clearly I loved pedas enough to give them a second go-round when my first recipe didn't go as planned.  This time, I went straight to the source: Vidya Maushi.  I think the first peda I ever had was hers (probably when I was 13).  What better time to try this out then for DESSERT FEST 2010!

Pedas, Round 1

I haven't come across many indian sweets I haven't loved.  When I go to family friend's parties, I usually stuff my face with srikand and pedas.  So naturally, now that I've mastered ice cream, I want to move forward into the scary realm of disgustingly sweet yet flavorful indian treats.  And, pedas are my favorite (apart from rasamalai) so...off I went in search of a recipe.  

Rasamalai

My mom's signature dessert is rasamalai.  In fact, there may or may not have been an incident involving my younger sister where we fought, leap frog style, for the last piece of her rasamalai.  I probably won. 

Shahi Falooda Cupcakes

And today we have a lovely treat from a guest blogger: my friend Asmi.  Asmi made me some lovely cupcakes for my birthday celebration!  And, because they were pink, they of course had to make an appearance here on Hom Nom.

I've never had falooda, that I'm aware of.  Asmi explains what it is below.  We toyed with the idea of making falooda ice cream, but it didn't materialize since I was so busy making 800 other kinds of ice cream.  These are very delicious rose flavored cupcakes with candied almonds and pistachios.  A really fantastic birthday treat!

Mom's Quick and Easy Chicken Curry

From my farmer's market adventure, I had quite a bit of cilantro left.  Also, since I had gone on a falafel binge, I hadn't eaten meat in a while.  And, since I was craving some Indian food, I decided to make some chicken curry instead of order from Bricklane.