by Currylicious | May 25, 2012 | Recipes
Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
An inch piece of fresh ginger
Few fresh black peppercorns
Coriander leaves
Cumin seeds, a pinch
Pinch of turmeric
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 cup yellow lentils
Juice of 1 lemon
Canola oil
Preparation
Chop tomatoes, garlic and ginger.
Boil 1/2 a crockpot of water, add all the spices, then tomatoes, garlic and ginger. Let them cook for about 5 to 10 min s.
Transfer tomatoes, ginger garlic mixture into a blender and blend well.
Meantime cook your lentils and either use a hand blender or a whisk to break down the lentils to a smooth consistency. Add the lentils onto the blended tomato mixture.
Now grind the peppercorns and transfer them as well.
Finally take a small pan and add some oil, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and wait till seeds splutter.
Now transfer this to the tomato lentil mixture. Garnish with coriander leaves. Smells and tastes Currylicious! Enjoy!
by Currylicious | May 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
I came across the auditions for Master Chef Season 3- the Open Casting Call at Flatotel in NY back in November 2011. I still remember the day that I had called my husband, who was at work to let him know that I had decided to give Master Chef 3 auditions a shot and he was like” Are you serious”?LOL
I said that I had already pre registered online and knew exactly what I wanted to cook for my Open Casting Call. I made my favorite 2 dishes- My Bell pepper stuffed with Paneer Pasanda(grated Indian Cottage Cheese with colored bell peppers in a creamy sauce) and Punjabi Kadhi with Peas Pilaf!!!!!Yum…
My husband and I woke up at 6 am that Sunday morning and drove to NY city with the kids:) since we live in West Orange, New Jersey! My husband dropped me at the audition and took both our girls to New York Children’s Museum. I kept calling him to see if the kids were doing alright and little did I know that it was going to be “the most amazing day” that would change my life completely!
I was selected one of the top 100 contestants who made it to the elegant:) “warehouse” for filming MASTER CHEF SEASON 3 with the very famous judges- Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich! It was so much fun to meet such talented amateur cooks from all over the country and make wonderful friends along way……..
Check out the following link for a sneak peek from the warehouse where we (the top 100 contestants) meet the most amazing food GURUS for the first time ever!!!!! So much excitement and smiles- a day that I will never forget. Such an inspiring talk by the judges- http://www.tvgrapevine.com/index.php/the-shows/fox/101-master-chef-2012/1116-masterchef-the-best-amateur-cooks
Tune in for more to my blog at http://curryliciousme.wordpress.com
Till then…..
Love and currylicious dishes from my kitchen to yours!!
by Currylicious | May 18, 2012 | Nandini's Food Court
My Love Story with Mushrooms
Mushrooms-Plant of immortality?? Growing up in India, we never ate mushrooms and was never cooked in my household or my husband’s ! Me and my husband never tried mushrooms here since we were never raised eating one back home. So I had to do some research to make a delicioussssss dish that would get us to love shrooms!
Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium, yet they provide important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D. It is such an excellent substitute to meat for vegetarians like me and my husband. I came up with this dish and OMG !!!!!!and there s never turning back on the shroomssss ever again:)
I make this delicious sauce with cilantro, basil and coconut milk(very little!!!) and pan sear the mushrooms with onions and peppers. The best part is yet to come- Candied Ginger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Trust me -its heavenly and I mean it. You must try this dish and you will fall in love with mushrooms. My husband did and he’s a hard one to crack( LOL )
I plate the dish with some of my cilantro basil coconut milk sauce and place the pan seared mushrooms with onions and peppers and on top for the garnish——-its Candied Gingerrrrrrrrr.
This is one of my most prized possessions and so email me if you would like to try this and I will send you the recipe:)
by Currylicious | May 9, 2012 | Uncategorized
I have to begin by thanking God to present me with the most wonderful opportunity to be a part of this amazing show called “Master Chef- Season 3” on Fox. It was such an honor to cook for great chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot who are so encouraging. They are my mentors and I derive so much inspiration from them.
It has been so much fun to have met the most amazing group of 100 people who are talented and have such passion for food. I enjoyed every second of being on Master Chef- Season 3 and please read my blog for more updates as you watch the show.
Master Chef – Season 3 comes back with a two-night season premiere event on Monday, June 4(9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Tuesday, June 5 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
I was blessed to be chosen from the 30,000 hopefuls who auditioned at MASTERCHEF’s open casting calls all over the country, as one of the Top 100 amateur chefs to be given an opportunity to cook my signature dish for the one and only Gordon Ramsay!!
Here goes the first press release/ announcement by Master chef where the top 100 contestants are revealed. You can spot me on Page 4 under New Jersey:)
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/05/09/masterchef-serves-up-a-two-night-season-premiere-event-on-monday-june-4-and-tuesday-june-5-on-fox/133117/
Join me on this culinary journey where I share my experiences, some clicks with my friends and to see if this New Jersey mom of 2 little girls made it to the top 36?????
Tune in to my blog to look up my new posts filled with experiences from the sets of Master Chef once the show airs!
by Currylicious | May 8, 2012 | Nandini's Food Court
Mango Coconut Soup, yes you heard it right. I loveeeeeeee mangoes and my husband just got me a bagful the other day. Perfect excuse to tell him that the mangoes are going to go bad and have to be used in a “wise” manner so that they don’t get rotten over time 
I learnt to make this recipe from my mom and for some reason she said the perfect combination of a vegetable is spicy eggplant! I have added my twist to the recipe. I also love bulgur wheat because it’s so much better and healthier than rice. To be completely honest, I developed or acquired the taste for bulgur wheat but once you eat it a couple times, it gives you the same satisfaction as rice! I think you must definitely consider substituting bulgur wheat for rice and you will thank me one day:)
Ok I hope I am doing a good job writing this because at the moment my second daughter is playing drums on my head and my older one s sleeping on me. I am stuck either ways so decided to share this recipe with you !
