A Garage Sale with Lots of Family and Big Bowl of Creamy Pasta

Wow, what a mouth full and that's just the title...

This weekend turned out to be too eventful if such a thing even exists. What I really meant was that there was never a dull moment with a packed house from Friday through Sunday.

On Friday, our relatives from Tenn. stopped over for a visit and we all enjoyed some good ol' home cooking courtesy of my mom. The special of the night was Masala Dosa (savory rice crepe) served with Seasoned Potato Curry and our favorite Peanut Chutney. Everyone knows masala dosa is always accompanied with potato curry and some chutneys like coconut chutney for instance. However, we NEVER eat dosa without Peanut Chutney. It wouldn't be right. It's like walking outside with just your unmentionables on. You would feel weird.

So next time you're eating dosas, DON'T FORGET TO DIP your dosas into the dollop of Peanut Chutney on your plate for a flavor burst. You'll thank me later. 

Saturday-Sunday morning and afternoon were spent attending to Garage Sale customers. Yes, I convinced my parents to have one and we made some dough. The stuff that didn't sell was donated to Habitat for Humanity. Saturday early evening and night was a riot. More relatives stopped by (from Atlanta this time) and while the adults sad around talking, the kids (including myself) played to our hearts content with PaperToy Monsters.

Check out Gene Chemzyme AKA The Creature from the Deep

I found the book at a boutique toy shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn and fell in love with it. It has 50 cool papertoys you can make yourself (like the one above) with pre-scored, easy-to-fold designer templates. Then at night, my baby cousin (who will be attending college this fall) made this gourmet pasta dish from a blog that he follows called Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato and Broccoli pasta. Like Emeril, we kicked it up a notch and added more than required red pepper flakes. It was a house full of desis, you shouldn't expect anything less!

Tonight's dinner was a combination of cool, hot, spicy and sweet dishes. We started off with Chili Poppers, Eggplant and Potato Fritters as appetizers, then ate Seasoned Pumpkin Curry, yogurt rice, and finished with sweet Kent Mangoes for dessert.

Overall I think I maintained a healthy figure through the whole weekend and that I can't wait for my Kickboxing class in a few days...Goodnight everyone!!

Hot Breads Bakery - My Favorite Indian Street Food Cafe

What do corn on the cob with queso fresco, fried yams, kenkey, injera, cassava bread, dhal puri, badam vaja, soto ayam, jalebi, empanadas, sabikh, and crepes have in common? Any guesses? They are all varieties of street food found across our borders. Street food is a ready to eat food or drink that is sold on the side of streets in stalls, portable carts, or folding tables, travelling pedestrian vendors, public markets.
My stomach cannot handle street food from a street vendor in India anymore (as I've tried and tested on my previous trips). Man I miss those gol gappas or pani puri served in dried banana leaves. It was all about the experience, you see. Lucky for me there are a few bakeries/cafes that sell such street food near my town. I can enjoy these in the comforts of air conditioned and spacious seating accommodations. The one I really like and go often is Hot Breads Bakery. I reviewed them about two years ago and cited how much I loved their cakes and cookies.
This year, it's all about their take on street food such as samosa chaat, kati rolls, and bhel puri. Oh man just typing these is making my stomach grumble.

Feast your eyes on this mighty filling and mouth watering Samosa Chaat. By far the best I've eaten in the NY/NJ area. It beat out Sukhadia's version in Edison. The breakdown of this meal starts with a warm and toasty samosa that is fried to perfection without being too oily and/or crispy. It is also important to note that the potato curry filling had just the right amount of seasoning without overpowering it. Once this crispy samosa is cut it into pieces, it's layered with other equally flavorful ingredients such as chole curry, tamarind and mint chutneys, sev, chopped red onions and fresh coriander. 

Check out these Super Sized Kati Rolls!

Their Paneer Kati Rolls are good as well! My parents are pretty picky and even they loved them; probably because they were well seasoned. I ate this for lunch and dinner one day because each  half was pretty filling. The Indian flatbread or tortilla is filled with roasted paneer, bell peppers, onions, tomato, and seasoning. It's flavored to perfection. You can ask them to make it mild, medium or spicy depending on your spice level as well as request more tamarind chutney (sweet) to tone down the spicy taste. 

The takeaway from all this talk about Hot Breads is that it doesn't break the bank..hence the term street food. Every "street food" item on the menu is between $5-7 and it's quite filling. That's enough for me to return. Next time, I'm going to try this popular Bombay item called Vada Pav. Have you ever heard of it?

Also check out Wanderfood Wednesdays; where Laura takes you on a journey around the world one dish at a time. Until then, tata!