Spinach is a great way to get your greens and is choc-full of all the good stuff. It may not be everybody's favorite veggie, but that is probably thanks to the unimaginative way it is often cooked!

Here is a host of spinach recipes that I often use to cook this leafy green. The result? My normally picky five-year-old loves spinach!

_{Photograph © James Braund | Getty Images}

The Good Greens originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 06:00:51.

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The beautiful western Indian desert state of Rajasthan is home to a host of delicious foods! There is a huge range of meat-based dishes and an even greater number of tasty vegetarian ones to choose from. The hot sun is made full use of and a lot of foods are dried and then fried or curried. The ingredients used also reflect the lack of water in this arid part of India - dried lentils and beans are utilised a lot in Rajasthani cooking. Food is often hot - as if to counter the intense heat of the sun! Dairy products play a huge role in everyday cooking with yogurt, buttermilk, ghee (clarified butter) and milk as key ingredients.

Sample some traditional Rajasthani food with my recipes for:

• Laal Maas - Red Meat Cury
• Daal- Baati - Lentils and Dumplings
• Papad Ki Sabzi - Poppadum Curry
• Bajra Roti - Millet Flatbread
• Moon Daal Ka Halwa - Moong Lentil Halwa
• Rasgulla - Cottage Cheese Dumplings in Sugar Syrup (pictured above right)

_{Photograph: Courtesy of www.soghat.com}

From Rajasthan With Love originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 04:22:40.

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It was a hot day where I live, until it rained this afternoon. Suddenly the temperature dropped and it felt like the perfect weather for a cup of steaming Masala Chai and bowl full of Bhelpuri (pictured above)! Yum, yum! What made it perfect was that our friends were over and we ate and drank together. Nothing like sharing the good stuff with good friends. This is definitely the life!

Rainy Weather Snack Time originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Sunday, February 28th, 2010 at 02:22:45.

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Biryani nicely made, is a pleasure to behold and eat! Fragrant long-grained rice is layered with meat or vegetables that have been cooked in a mixture of spices. This has to be one of my favorite foods! With Biryani, it is not just the taste that has me going ga-ga! I love how it is a meal in one dish!

My Biryani can be made with chicken, mutton, goat meat or mixed vegetables! My personal favorite however, is goat meat so I've used it in this recipe. FServe my Biryani with a yogurt Raita and Kachumbar salad.

_{Biryani photo © 2010 Petrina Verma Sarkar, Licensed to About.com}

How to Make Biryani originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 05:20:52.

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I have countless happy childhood memories of myself wolfing down embarrassing numbers of delicious Parathas (pictured above) - stuffed or plain - on weekend mornings! How could I help it? They were after all, as I said earlier, delicious!

The great thing about wholesome, filling stuffed Parathas, besides the fact that they are yummy, is that they are a meal in one dish, so to speak. All you need (and often you don't) is a nice pickle or yogurt salad to go with them and you're in business.

Try them - for breakfast, lunch or dinner - and see what I mean.

• Aaloo Paratha (potato paratha)
• Methi Paratha (fenugreek paratha)
• Palak Paratha (spinach paratha)
• Paneer Paratha (cottage cheese paratha)
• Kheema Paratha (spicy minced meat paratha)
• Daal Paratha (lentil paratha)

_{Image © 2010 Petrina Verma Sarkar licensed to About.com}

Parathas galore! originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 20:06:32.

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With Valentine's Day literally around the corner, you're probably planning how you will pamper the love of your life. I know I am. I also know that something sweet to eat will have to be on the list of things I do for him. The answer for me is to combine two of his favorite desserts into one and make him some 'Rabgulla'!

Rasgulla + Rabdi = Rabgulla (pictured above). You've got to try it, even if not for Valentine's Day, because it is truly, to die for! I've also recommended three more desserts that are perfect for making your someone special feel very special indeed:

• Gaajar Ka Halwa - a delicious, rich pudding loaded with nuts and dried fruits and tastes really good combined with vanilla icecream
• Cham-Cham - a typically Bengali (east Indian) sweet, also known as 'Pleasure Boats'!
• Gulab Jamun - dumplings traditionally made of thickened or reduced milk, soaked in rose flavored sugar syrup

_{Image © 2010 Petrina Verma Sarkar licensed to About.com}

Sweets for your sweet... originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 01:46:32.

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This blog post is prompted by a very interesting question I just received via email. In essence, the lady's question was about combining foods and she was keen to know what Indian dishes taste best with each other. The answer is simple, mix and match whatever ones taste good to you! Having said that, if you have a choice of several foods (at a buffet for example), try and mix flavors and textures. So, combine dry with wet (for example, a rice or bread with a vegetarian or non-vegetarian curry), try something neutral (rice or bread), something tangy (yogurt or pickle), a spicy curry (as hot as you are comfortable with), a dry dish.... To illustrate this point, a traditional Indian meal usually has rice or bread, daal (soup like lentil dish), a curry with gravy, a 'dry' dish without gravy, yogurt, pickle and maybe even a salad.

Thinking about this question brought the Thali to my mind. Thali is the Hindi word for 'a large plate', but has now also become the commonly used expression for a style of eating in India! So, Thali the meal (pictured above) refers to many different dishes (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian), served in small bowls called Katoris arranged on a Thali. A flatbread, rice, pickle, salad and dessert are also included. Thali is often a set meal but even more often, in really good Indian restaurants, it is eat-all-you-can with the waiters serving you continuously until you are full!

If all this has piqued your interest, why not try Thali at your place? Here are two suggestions for foods to combine:

• Non-vegetarian Thali - Jeera Rice, Lehsuni Daal, Gosht Dopiaza, Chicken Saagwala, Dahi Bhindi, pickle and salad. Add Jalebi for dessert!

• Vegetarian Thali - Naan, Butter Mutter Paneer, Kaali Daal, Baingan-Aaloo Ki Subji, Gobhi Aaloo Mutter Ki Subzi, pickle and salad. Serve Gulab Jamun for dessert!

_{Photo © Getty Images}

Mix and Match originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 06:08:22.

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It's annoying when cookbooks assume you know what some ingredient is, when in truth you may never have heard of or seen it. Don't know what dhania is and never laid eyes on haldi? Go to the glossary of terms and ingredients and get aquainted!

Talking of cookbooks take a look at some of my reviews for popular Indian cookbooks.

What's that? originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 05:13:17.

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If, like me, you've resolved to eat healthy this year, do include fish in your diet at least 2-3 times a week. It is rich in the vital Omega-3 essential fats that your body can't make but needs nonetheless. Omega-3s fight heart disease, certain cancers and believe it or not, asthma! And that's just a tiny part of the list of good things fish does for your body!

There's a variety of tasty ways in Indian cuisine, to fit fish into your diet. Try:

• Mackerel Raechad
• Fish Amritsari
• Fish Xacuti
• Goan Fish Curry and
• Fish Hara Masala

_{Photograph © Rosemary Calvert | Getty Images}

What's your favourite fish recipe? Share it with us on the Indian Food Forum.

Fishy Food originally appeared on About.com Indian Food on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 04:28:19.

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