The Joy of Simple food - Dal Khichadi

The festive season is in the process, after eating loads of desserts and yummy food for Diwali, Christmas is already in the air, and the waft of cookies and cakes is everywhere.

However I was just missing some simple food, it always is the case with me, no matter whether I am travelling and having the most exotic food, or after a bout of parties, dose of festivals, it's always the simple food that calls out to my tummy. 

Is it only me or this happens to you too?? 

Anyhow ... I was craving some simple Ghar ka khana, easy on my palette and delicious nonetheless. So I whipped up some Dal Khichdi. 

It's very easy to make, have a look - 

Dal Khichdi 

Ingredients  

1 cup rice washed and drained 

1 cup toovar dal washed and drained 

1 medium onion finally chopped 

1 medium tomato finally chopped 

Few sprigs of curry leaves 

Coriander to garnish 

Ghee to cook 

Dried red chillies 

3 green chillies finely cut 

Pinch of asofoetida 

1 tspn turmeric 

1 tspn chilly powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tspn cumin seeds - jeera 

1 tspn mustard seeds - Mohri 

2 tspn finally chopped garlic 

Peppercorn, cinnamon, cloves 

Method 

In a pressure cooker 

Add 1 tbspn ghee, let it get hot add cumin, mustard, curry leaves, peppercorns, cloves , cinnamon,asofoetida  on low flame , let the aroma come out. Then add red chilly, garlic, onion, sauté till onion is translucent. 

Add tomatoes, stir and sauté till tomatoes are done, add salt, turmeric? Red chilly powder, stir, sauté on low flame for 1 minute, then add the rice and dal, water to cook. Pressure cook it for around 6-8 minutes 1 whistle on high flame and two on low flame. 

When the pressure cooker is done, let it cool down open and check the consistency. If not desired add water and stir and mix nicely on low flame (paste like consistency) simmer. 

Serve hot garnished with coriander and tspn of ghee 

Yumminess. 

What's your favourite simple food ?

Write to me. 

Until next time-- 

xoxo

Bhakti 

Colours of Diwali

The colours of Diwali through my lens in my city Pune. 

xoxo

Bhakti 

Unlimited store

This post is sponsored by unlimited. 

Unlimited stores- a brain child by Arvind fashion is slowly but steadily covering the entire country. It has made its presence felt already in the metros and now rapidly increasing. 

Arvind has re branded mega mart into Unlimited stores. They have done a good job with the same. With some fresh fashion at affordable rates. 

A quick video to peep into their collection 

It's a great place to treat yourself to some retail therapy without burning a hole in your pocket. 

Now - for my shopping haul from Unlimited stores.

Florals are one of my favorites, I picked up this simple black dress with white flowers and a pop of red. Love the floral ruck sack, it was on my list of must have.

I loved the burgundy stole, it is very warm and perfect for welcoming winters. 

Kept the entire look simple just the way i like it.

Outfit Details 

Black and white dress- Unlimited stores 

Bag - Unlimited stores 

Stole - Unlimited stores 

Footwear - Steppings 

Did you like my outfit? - simple everyday fashion.There is more - A surprise for you guys -

Guess what ? For all you peeps out there, you have a chance to take part in the Unlimited challenge -
Walk into an Unlimited Store, and create your own look for under Rs.3000! 
To participate in the #3KUnlimited challenge all you have to do is - 
DM @UnlimitedStores or Message fb.com/unlimitedstores"

Happy shopping !!

xoxo
Bhakti

Bloggers Soiree at Terttulia --

Terttulia definitely knows how to host events in panache. Attended the Bloggers soirée last Monday and it indeed lived up to the expectation. No more Monday Blues.

No sooner than I enter this place I am always engulfed in the laid back vibe and comfortable setting where I love to sip on my cocktail for hours. 

As I entered I was drowned in the familiar cozy warmth of the restaurant.

The bloggers soiree was an instant hit right from the word go with lovely foodies for company, some creative talk, mesmerizing setting, delectable food, warm host and chilled drinks - perfect !!! 

Let me take you through the night - 

The renovated seating section indoor. 

The vast spread designed just for us😍

No one does sangrias like Terttulia. ❤️🍷

Not to forget the ever fabulous Karari Roti .

The rosemary potatoes were so subtle with a hint of honey and just rightly done. 

Salmon in Labb with roasted cracker rice 

Chicken tapenade with garlic, black pepper, mixed herbs and BBQ sauce - another favorite. 

 Sweet potato fries with rosemary, sea salt and BBQ rub . These were so addictive, they go so well with the beer fans or for that matter they just blend in with everything. So crispy and not at all oily. The best part is they are more healthy than the normal potato fries . So all the more reason to indulge with less guilt.

Mini Quiches - corn, cheddar what can go wrong - perfect bite sized indulgence. They do have spinach in them too, so I guess it's healthy too 😜

Portabello mushrooms with feta and black olives drizzled with olive oil and they were yummy couldn't help but pop these beauties right into the mouth.

Chicken Caesar salad 

Mixed greens with honey mustard dressing for the healthy peeps. 

Herbed Quinia with tossed veggies and spicy tomato salsa 

Brown rice with tofu and veggies and mushroom ragout, loved the creamy ragout 

And they sure know how to keep the glass full 😀

Pizza Terttulia - arugula, Parmesan, spinach and scarmoza 

Bouef chilly 

Gunpowder basa with curry hollaindaise and mashed potatoes 

5 spice honey glazed chicken on the bed of finger veggies 

Desserts 

From top l to r - apple and cranberry crumble, Choco mud cake, salted caramel pannacotta and blueberry cheesecake 

The chocolate mud cake and salted caramel pannacotta stole the show right away. Sinful indulgence in every bite, rich textures and perfect flavors just made the night into a super success. 

The starts of the night for me were 

Sangria, Karari Roti, sweet potato fries, portobello mushroom,mini quiches, pizza Terttulia, Gun powder basa , 5spices honey glazed chicken, rosemary potatoes - must try. 

However the mud cake and pannacotta stole the show - the true show stoppers.

All in all a beautiful evening with wonderful foodies -
Pranjali Bhonde @moipalate    @pranjalib

Protima Tiwary @dumbbellsndrama  @protim

Maniesh Menghani @ManieshMenghani @foodporner

Akshay Dongre @akshayvdongre @akshaydongre

Vaibhav Karajgaonkar @tweetme_vk 

Manas Shah

Always the gracious host - 

Thanks Terttulia and Carpe Diem for having me over.

Its the weekend what are you waiting for take your taste buds to Terttulia.

until next time 

xoxo 

Bhakti

P.s find my earlier posts on Terttulia here and here.