by Currylicious | Aug 31, 2017 | Reviews
I have been wanting to start this new category which helps people find some good vegetarian offering restaurants during their travels.
During my recent travel to VA beach, I found 3 gems of restaurants which offered excellent vegetarian choices. Usually I look for more vegetarian choices on the menu, quality of the food, taste and flavor profile of the dishes before I am completely impressed and have to write about the restaurant.
So lets do this:
- TUPELO HONEY: Tupelo Honey is one awesome place and the Chef is Eric Gabrynowicz. Chef Eric is a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist, Top Newcomer from Zagat was voted Food and Wine Magazine’s “Peoples Best New Chef- New York.” He brings Tupelo Honey Southern inspired dishes that are simply crafted and made from scratch with responsibly sourced ingredients that bring the best of every season. Dishes we ordered and ate: My pick for cocktail which you can never go wrong is Tupelo Margarita was so smooth and perfect drink for the evening paired with an Appetizer like Blistered Spicy Okra with buttermilk ranch dip. For main course, my favorite pick was the Cauliflower steak with parsnip puree. I have never come across a dish so healthy grease free baked just enough to give the perfect crunch at the same time cooked so well. The icing on the cake was their unique dessert which came in mason jars and my most favorite pick was the Banana bread pudding – hands down! Let me tell you the one thing that blew me away was on the kids menu – there was a veggie burger which was delicious and my daughter wiped her plate clean.( https://tupelohoneycafe.com/location/virginia-beach/)
- WHISKEY KITCHEN circa 2014: At Whiskey Kitchen, they have partnered with outstanding local vendors, and hired a team of motivated employees who are all inspired to share our mission of bringing authentic, honest and regional cuisine to their community.My recommendations would be the Strawberry jalapeno cocktail. I love spicy cocktails but this one was so smooth. They use fresh strawberries ( all the fruits and vegetables are from an all natural local sustainable farm) and jalapenos which is de seeded just enough to leave that slight kick of spice at the end of your palette.For Appetizers we ordered Buffalo cauliflower bites which used a WK red sauce. I must say the sauce is a bit tangy so if you like that you must definitely order it. I liked the Jalapeño popper pizza which was different and had just the right amount of spice kick to it. For the mains, we ordered the Beet burger which was delicious and the Fiesta Bowl was out of the world. The corn straws that come with this dish is amazing. (https://www.thewhiskeykitchen.com/)
- Masala Bites: Nestled in Red Mill Commons shopping center of Virginia Beach, Masala Bites is rapidly becoming an Indian culinary hotspot. My recommendations here would be Gobi Manchurian for appetizer, couple favorites for the mains-
Paneer Makhani, Mewa Malai Kofta and Amchuri Bhindi Masala. Let me tell you guys the bread was simply out of this world – we got the Garlic Naan and the Amritsari Kulcha yummy yum! It is a must try! Its fresh and hot out of the clay oven or tandoor. Simply amazing! (http://www.themasalabites.com/about.html)
by Currylicious | Jul 18, 2017 | CUT THROAT KITCHEN ON FOOD NETWORK
I am so excited to write a post again and talk about my experience filming for Cut Throat Kitchen in Hollywood Studios, LA. Alton Brown is my all time favorite and I am so excited to finally meet him and my fellow competitors in the show.
As you all know, Cut Throat Kitchen is not just a food show. It involves a lot of strategic moves and planning every move wisely so I dont get eliminated.
I will definitely say that it is going to be such a different experience than cut throat kitchen. I arrive in LA to film the episode :
http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/cutthroat-kitchen/episodes/how-does-that-crab-ya#episode-tunein
As you all know I am a big Foodie and so trying to eat at one of the yummiest places and trying to relax before the show tomorrow. And not to forget, I had the chance to meet some great personalities like Mr Pen and Teller in this trip and to tour Hollywood studios.
I am so excited and nervous at the same time not knowing what I am getting into but trying my best to relax now so :
Please tune in tomorrow at 9 pm on Food Network to watch me on Cut Throat Kitchen with none other than my favorite Alton Brown!!!!
I will be posting in detail talking about my experience filming and being in the show so dont forget to tune back in to by blog again…
Until then…..loads of love from my kitchen to yours – please visit my blog tomorrow to get a recipe of my vegetarian version of crab cake which is delicious!!!!
by Currylicious | May 26, 2016 | BLOG
The Newcomers-Encore Club is a social club open to all residents of Short Hills and Millburn, no matter how long they’ve lived in the area. The Club organizes various fun events and activities through out the year for its members.
One of my good friends Neetu Salhotra approached me with an idea for offering a cooking class for the Newcomers group. I agreed and we both exchanged a few ideas and emails to come up with the following menu for the group.
- Quinoa with roasted Cauliflower, Cranberries and Walnuts
- Curried Brussel Sprouts with Paneer and Bell Pepper
- Lentil pudding
I printed recipe cards and handed it to everyone. There was a lovely group of 10 wonderfully enthusiastic people ready to whip up these dishes. I split them into groups of 2 and they were so good at following the recipe and carrying out their tasks like chopping/ cooking/ seasoning/ garnishing-that we finished the class right on time for all of them to taste the dishes that they cooked as a team.
It was interesting that they all had one thing in common to tell me that they learnt a few new ingredients that they used in the class-
- Freshly ground garam masala
- Fresh coriander seeds
- Fresh cardamom seeds for the pudding
- “Jaggery” for the pudding- it is a healthier substitute for sugar
- Dried Fenugreek leaves for brussel sprout dish
I think it is extremely gratifying to know that people have a nice take away from the class apart from learning to cook couple dishes -in this case- introduction to a set of new ingredients that they werent used to cooking with and now are willing to incorporate in their everyday cooking:)
I am very grateful to all of you and always appreciate the team effort that leads to such wonderful cooking experiences with beautiful people like you.
Stay tuned for more events coming up soon…..
by Currylicious | Apr 21, 2014 | Nandini's Food Court, Recipes
HEALTHY ROASTED FENNEL SOUP BY CURRYLICIOUSME
Recently I went to this restaurant which had some awesome Italian dishes of which their Roasted Fennel Soup blew me away! The soup was delicious and I made up my mind to recreate that dish excepting I did not want to use potatoes. The roasted fennel soup in the restaurant had potatoes which according to their Chef helps make the dish thicker in consistency and creamier.
I tried to recreate the same soup at home minus the potatoes 🙂 I would love to share this extremely delicious yet healthy dish with all of you today.
Ingredients
1 medium Fennel bulb with fronds
1 medium Onion4 garlic cloves
1 tsp lemon pepper powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne
2 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup vegetable broth
salt to taste
Preparation:
1) Take a baking pan and cover it with aluminum foil to avoid messy clean ups:) The first step is to chop the fennel bulb.
How to chop the fennel bulb?
Chop the fronds or the tiny spikey leaves off the fennel bulb. DO NOT THROW away the fronds as it is very flavorful and can be used as a pretty garnish for the soup.
Take off the outer layer or leaf from the fennel bulb and then cut in half. Similar to onions, fennel also have a core at the bottom that has to be removed carefully using a knife. I usually cut a V shape around the core and dice it out.
Now wash the rest of the fennel and chop evenly into small uniform pieces. Transfer the chopped fennel pieces to the baking pan covered with foil.
2) Dice a medium Onion evenly and transfer to the pan with chopped fennel pieces.
3) Chop garlic finely and transfer to the pan with chopped onion and fennel pieces.
4) Drizzle olive oil along with salt, cayenne, lemon pepper and garlic powder and toss to mix well.
5) Stick the baking pan in the oven at 360 F for about 45 minutes.
6) Once done, take it out of the oven, let cool and transfer to a food processor or blender.
7) Blend the pieces of baked and chopped fennel, onion and garlic along with vegetable broth.
8) Transfer the blended mixture to a pot and check seasoning and add 2 tablespoon of milk (to add creaminess to the texture) and wait till it boils.
9) Your roasted fennel soup is ready and you may garnish it with the fennel fronds.
Roasted Fennel Soup by Curryliciousme
Roasted Fennel Soup by Curryliciousme
by Currylicious | Dec 11, 2013 | Recipes
Ingredients:
1 can of chick peas
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1tsp lemon pepper powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 cloves of garlic
Salt to taste
Canola Oil
1/4 cup grated coconut- frozen or fresh
Preparation:
Heat a pan with canola oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and wait till splutters. Add turmeric, cayenne, coriander powder, salt and lemon pepper powder. Then chop garlic and add to the pan. Saute for less than a minute. Then transfer the chick peas from the can and mix well for about 3 min’s so it soaks in all the flavors of the spices.
Turn off the heat and add the grated coconut and mix well.
Enjoy! This is such a great healthy snack!
If you do not wish to use the caned chick peas, you can buy the packet of chick peas from the store and soak it overnight. Pressure cook it and use the cooked chick peas.
