The word "khana" in Indian Khana Made Easy means food. So come on, let's explore and cook some easy Indian food together including gluten-free and vegan dishes.

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November 22, 2013

Bombay Grill Restaurant - Permanently Closed but not Forgotten!

Oh Bombay Grill, oh Bombay Grill,
of all the North Indian restaurants most yummy
Oh Bombay Grill, oh Bombay Grill,
of all the North Indian restaurants most variety
Every dish was a treat to eat and brought me much delight
Oh Bombay Grill, oh Bombay Grill,
your friendly service can never be forgotten
Oh Bombay Grill, oh Bombay Grill,
oh how I will miss your sweet greetings and warm welcomes.


  
I request a moment of silence to recognize a fallen restaurant that has impacted my life greatly. I was on my way to meet a friend for lunch and the place was boarded up. Surely this must be a mistake, but it wasn't. I couldn't believe it. I had recently I've dined at this restaurant many times in the past couple years and am sad to see it go. It was a boutique restaurant with seating for up to 40 patrons with clear view of the kitchen. The family that owned the restaurant was friendly and catered to their guests' needs pretty well including adjusting spice levels of their dishes and as well as food allergies. It felt like I was "home".
On all the occasions I've dined here, I ordered from their a la carte menu and loved all their dishes very much. My favorite dishes were Garlic naan, Paneer Bhurji, Chicken Shahi Korma, Sarson ka Saag with Makki ki Roti. The dishes were always well prepared and one could tell from the clean plates left behind after guests left. Since it was a small restaurant, you couldn't help but smell the aroma of roasting spices and fresh naan being baked in the clay oven. I surely hope this restaurant makes a comeback soon!


For more restaurant reviews, please visit our Where To Eat page.

November 10, 2013

Keep Calm and Enjoy a Hot Bowl of Carrot, Ginger, Tofu Soup

Spinach sorbet? Kale sorbet? Kale and carrot smoothies that are drinkable? How is all this possible? This is all made possible by the Vitamix Blender! Where have you been all my life? I know. Before the blender's arrival, my mom and I used to eat salads for dinner and then made smoothies with the Magic Bullet. Unfortunately, the smoothies weren't as "smooth" and we could only make one serving at a time. With the Vitamix blender we made ~4-5 (8oz) glasses of smoothies per session -- Vegetables never tasted this good.

That's not all! We can make soups, dips, sauces, and even frozen desserts. What a mouth full!! There's a world of possibilities with this blender...now that's what I call a resourceful gadget -- it earned a spot on our kitchen counter!

Last night, I took a break from smoothie making and tried my hand at Hot Soups, especially in this cold weather. Below is one of the recipes which I found to be easy and did not require many ingredients (compliments of the Vitamix cookbook). This recipe makes 4 servings.

Carrot Ginger Tofu Soup 

Ingredients:
- 2 cups (260g) chopped carrots
- 1/4 small onion, 1 ounce (28g) peeled and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp (30ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch of white pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root
- 1/3 cup (70g) refrigerated tofu
- 2 cups(480ml) chicken broth
- Fresh coriander for decoration (optional)

I tweaked some of the ingredients to meet my family's eating habits: they're vegetarian!! 
- 2 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste
- pinch of ground black pepper 
- Vegetable broth (Made broth using 1 vegetable bouillon cube and added it to 2 cups of boiling water)

Procedure:
Heat oil in a small pan and saute carrots, onion, and garlic over medium heat until onion is clear and carrots are tender about 15-20 minutes. Add a little broth, if needed. Place into the Vitamix container. Then add salt, pepper, ginger, tofu, and broth in the order listed into the Vitamix container and secure lid. Select Hot Soups program. Press Start. Allow machine to complete programmed cycle.