Prankster

A friend of mine invited me to lunch with her at Prankster one weekend (the day before I moved states, right before the holidays, and followed by my return to the US, which hopefully explains my very belated post). Once we met, she explained that we were going to be hosted by the ever-gracious Pawan Soni and try a little bit of everything on the menu. I had a such a great time eating and chatting with so many great, new people - I can summarize the experience with these few word: soooo.much.good.food!

Hungry Expat's "Indianized" Best Baked Potato

Growing up, baked potatoes were my go-to meal because they were quick and easy and required pretty much zero level of skill to make. An American baked potato, while filling, comprises of very little and is easily cooked:

Source

potato                            butter                        sour cream                   cheddar cheese              salt                            ground black pepper

It was also common to spice it up a bit with the ever popular Bac-os (for those of you uninitiated in American imitation food - that is bacon flavored "bits" made out of soy or some such) or chives. If you were really ambitious, you could also cover lightly in olive oil and dust with sea salt for a better baking result, but I rarely exerted that little bit of extra effort and opted for the quick and dirty microwave.

Experiments in Paleo: Cauliflower Curry Soup

A couple of weeks ago I was the sickest I've been with stomach issues since moving to India, and I've found that I feel better when I cut out certain foods. For the last few months I was a little lax sticking to paleo (read: too lazy to cook something separate for myself); however, I still managed to follow the gist of it, mostly. I was never on the hardcore paleo bandwagon, I just can't bring myself to cut out dairy, and I really don't understand why I should as long as the products I'm eating are not overly processed. Did our ancestors not have cows to milk? I'm pretty sure Indians have had yogurt since the beginning of time. Also, cheese. The main takeaway on dairy for me is that I'm choosing fresh cheeses rather than mass produced, processed cheeses that seem to stay "fresh" regardless of how long they sit in the fridge. I continue to steer clear of sugars (pretty easy for me considering how sickly sweet I find most Indian desserts), but I did allow some of the grains I so love back in my life. I even ate pasta one day and it was glorious. However, instead of slipping back into old habits, I maintained a healthier relationship with them, and instead of having the ever-present Basmati rice on a daily basis, I chose gluten-free parathas or rotis instead. I did allow myself some toast or crackers with tea or a sandwich on occasion, but bread is no longer part of my daily diet. In an effort to get back on the paleo wagon properly, I am kicking February off with another cauliflower creation.

I found this recipe for "Easy Curried Cauliflower Soup" on the All Recipes app last month when my friend was in town visiting. We gave it a shot with a few modifications and it turned out delicious. As winter is ending, but there's still a bit of chill in the air, I thought I'd make this for dinner tonight before it gets too hot to properly enjoy.

Cauliflower Curry Soup

1 tbsp ghee
1 red or yellow capsicum/bell pepper
1 red onion
3 carrots
garlic cloves (to taste)
1 head of cauliflower
32 fl. oz. vegetable broth or chicken stock
~2 tbsp yellow curry powder (or to taste)
~1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
Salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
Cream/sour cream/yogurt (to taste)
Parsley/cilantro (to garnish)

Experiments in Paleo

As part of my foodie adventure, I am always up for trying something new (and weight loss friendly!). When a friend mentioned to me that she recently switched to a paleo-inspired diet and was able to re-adjust to life without carbs fairly quickly I figured why not give it a try for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. After quite a bit of googling and reading, it sounds like a pretty simple diet for us since we already don't eat packaged food and have access to inexpensive farm fresh vegetables and meat. From what I can tell, we need to switch to more healthy fats and up our protein and vegetable intake. Fortunately, we live in the land of ghee so cooking with clarified butter is not a problem and olive oil isn't blacklisted. Reducing fruits might be more of challenge, but substituting antioxidant-rich berries and low-fat nuts should help with the transition. The main challenge, I think, will be cutting out the grains and legumes. Since we eat a lot of bread, pasta, rotis, rice, and daals, the first order of business was to find some satisfactory alternatives. Fortunately, I found quite a few rice and flour substitutes.

Tonight I'm trying out a recipe for cauliflower rice and pairing it with grilled chicken.

Southern Delights: Hungry Expat's Yellow Potato Salad

Photo credit

I love Indian food (probably because I don't have to cook it), but I was craving something different for dinner and decided to make some potato salad. This is a conglomeration (like most of my recipes) of several different versions of this dish. Hard boiled eggs are a staple in most southern recipes, but if you aren't feelin' them they are definitely not required. I'm used to my mom's recipe which uses more mustard than most so you can also cut back on that, depending on your tastes.