Prerna Singh

Back in the day when I religiously ate home cooked meals there was almost little to no fuss involved in eating whatever my mother prepared for the day. Just like majority of Indian mothers, mine wouldn’t give me the liberty to choose what I ate and hence had me forcibly shove every green vegetable (which many of my peers do not! ) Known for its health benefits- or at least that’s how my mother would coax me into having it, eventually I would succumb to eating it with the help of a few or maybe more glasses of water. A handy dandy tip for those working with the vegetable for the first time- soak sliced karela in a bowl of warm salted water to reduce its bitterness.

Ah, the aroma of ginger and cinnamon, married together with the depth of nutmeg, these gingersnap cookies will bring you right in the mood for holidays as soon as they start baking in the oven! If you try to multi task while working with kids in the kitchen, it can confuse them and fluster you. * For younger kids, measure the ingredients and lay them out for them to just start mixing and baking. Lastly, best mantra for having a fun baking with kids in the kitchen, take it easy!

But as diverse as India is with its regional cuisine and in the day and age with no internet, it wasn’t as easy as today to learn, let alone taste the cuisine of places as close as a few hundred miles away. But I got to taste my first chole bhature on the streets of New Delhi, outside Qutab Minar, by a roadside stall. All the hustle and commotion around me, the sounds of street hawkers and that of honking auto rickshaws, aroma of all that mad varieties of food being served around me and me propped on a worn wooden bench with green paint chipping off it. Unirked by the all that going around myself, just going at the puffed steaming bhatura filled with spicy chole served in green leaf dona (bowls made with green leaf).

It is sometimes funny to see the 3 year old gobbling bowl after bowl of quinoa kale salad, while the 9 year old is fishing cilantro out of her salsa. So dishes like Palak Kale Paneer , Beetroot Paratha, Leftover Dal Paratha OR vegetable poori are what come to my rescue. Palak Ki Puri is a traditional recipe where spinach puree is added to whole wheat flour along with salt and some whole spices. I send these as lunchbox food with my kids, serve as part of a luxurious meal on special days (like the Diwali celebration that you might be preparing for- hint hint! ) and serve as a whole meal when out on a trip.