Peri’s Spice Ladle is a blog, started in 2012, with the simple idea of bringing Indian and Parsi flavors to your table. As showcased for over a decade, “It’s easy to spice up just about any meal with a few Indian touches”.
Thoran-Style Spicy Shredded Cabbage
This week’s recipe will feel like a ‘food hug’; a warm slaw made with shredded cabbage and grated coconut, cooked down in an oil tempering of whole spices and fresh aromatics, all brought together with a hint of nutmeg and drizzle of tangy lime juice.
Indian-style Quinoa Pulao
A delicious Indian-style creation using quinoa with caramelized onion, walnuts, and cranberries, infused with whole spices and topped with cilantro and lemon.
Aloo Mattar - Homestyle Potato and Pea Curry
Aloo Mutter is a popular Indian restaurant favorite…a delicious preparation of peas (Muttar) and potatoes (Aloo), cooked together in Indian aromatics and spices.
Parsi Lagan (Wedding) Nu Stew
This healthy, vegetable-rich, gluten-free Parsi stew looks and tastes unlike any other you’ve ever had! It’s made using hearty vegetables like sweet potatoes or yams along with regular potatoes, carrots, green peas, and bell peppers, with a unique flavoring blend of cider vinegar and sugar.
Parsi Chicken Bafat
This Parsi specialty, to me, brings back childhood memories of family dinners around our cozy dining table. As we kids chatted about our day at school, all five of us would happily soak up the home-cooked goodness of Parsi chicken Bafat, at times made with mutton in place of chicken.
Parsi Ravo, a Semolina Pudding
Parsi homes celebrate the start of auspicious days and special occasions with sweet servings (you’ve probably heard that before.)
Growing up, it often meant a delightful breakfast of ‘Ravo’, a semolina and milk pudding, or Parsi ‘Sev-dahi’ which is sweetened fragrant vermicelli topped with cardamom vanilla yogurt.
Parsi Chicken Farcha
Served at most Parsi events and occasions, ‘Chicken Farchas’ are a uniquely Parsi cuisine serving of chicken pieces that are crisp on the outside and succulent on the inside, much like a spiced version of the western concept of fried chicken.
Makai Palak (Saag)- Spinach and Corn Curry
Add a handful of sweet corn to a spinach curry, and you have a flavor-filled and colorful Makai Palak (palak is spinach and makai is corn), a truly delicious Indian preparation, worth bringing to your meals.
Restaurant-style Daal Tadka
An Indian meal is considered incomplete unless it is accompanied by Daal, a word that applies to cooked and raw lentils. Daal preparations differ from one part of India to another; each one is equally delicious.
Parsi Choi (Tea)
The flavorful cup of Indian tea coming up today is a personal favorite Parsi-style ‘Choi’ (as pronounced by us Parsi folk.)
Infused with mint leaves and optionally lemongrass, along with fresh ginger and cardamom, this cuppa ‘Choi’ has been kick starting my mornings ever since I can remember; a tea I can prepare with my eyes shut (most mornings, I’m pretty sure I do just that.)
Guide to Indian Chutneys and Pickles
Let’s Go Chutney and Pickle Hunting
Get ready to be dazzled by colorful, tangy, spicy, and sweet chutney and pickle condiments; each one is a mouthwatering bite worth tasting.
Cashew Chicken Curry
A unique set of flavors add depth to this easy-to-prepare white chicken curry made with cashew nuts, onion and coconut along with a touch of whole spices and herbs. Makes a hearty weekday meal or an impressive entertaining option; best served with Indian bread Naan or steamed Basmati rice.
Indian Rice-n-Lentil ‘Khichdi’
Almost a generic term for comfort food, India’s favorite ‘Khichdi’ (pronounced and spelled in a variety of ways based on the tongue being spoken), in its many avatars definitely fits the bill.
A word that means 'mixture', Khichdi in its most basic version is a combination of basmati rice and moong/mung lentils, with minimum spices and aromatics, simmered in a covered pan till the rice and lentil grain are well cooked.
Vanilla Cardamon Chai Latte
It’s time to take charge of your Chai Latte! Make your own custom homemade warm and spicy brew that’s perfect for any time of year, especially during the winter months.
Citrus Mint Turkey with Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Californian flavors are the inspiration behind this recipe, prompting me to lighten things up with fresh citrus and mint-flavored marinade for the turkey meat. Accompanying moist slices of turkey breast is my signature cranberry sauce, lightly spiced with whole Indian spices, a hint of ginger, and a hint of mint.
The Incredible Parsi Dhansak
A culinary specialty that is almost synonymous with the word Parsi is Dhansak Daal (better known as just ‘Dhansak’). Flavored with Indian spices and inspired by ancient Persian cooking methods, it manages to draw attention to an impressive manner of bringing hearty vegetables, a meat of choice and wholesome lentils together in one delicious pot of goodness.