Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Preparation Time:30 minutes

Cuisine Type:Chinese

Category: Main Course (Entrée)

Made for: 2 Adults

This is a dish loved by all. From kids to elderly people, fried rice is something no one can ignore. However, the fried rice we make at home never seems to live up to the expectations compared to those restaurant quality dishes, do they? In this recipe I have used few easy tricks to get that exact restaurant quality fried rice you are looking for.  An added bonus is that it is extremely easy to cook and uses really simple and readily-available ingredients. I served the fried rice with  Sautéed Oyster Mushrooms. You can use any Chinese or Korean side dish of your preference.

Oyster Mushroom Sauté Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Cooking Time: 35-40 minutes

Category: Main Course (Entrée), Sides

Cuisine Type: Chinese, Korean

Made for: 8 Adults

This is an easy to make oyster mushroom recipe. Oyster mushrooms are my favourite kind of mushroom. They are named so because of their contour that resembles oysters. Oyster mushrooms have a distinctive luscious taste that I prefer to preserve which is why I have used minimal seasoning and spices. You can use it as a side to pulao, fried rice or any other rice based dish. I made this dish as a side of fried rice. I still haven’t tried it with roti, so I can’t tell you whether it will go with roti or not. However, the taste itself is so incredible, I like to gobble up large quantities of the dish secretly before serving it ;)

Spicy Baby Corn Fry Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Category: Main Course (Entrée), Sides

Cuisine Type: Chinese, Indian

Made for: 2 Adults

Baby corns are of low-calories, low-carb and high fiber content. They are nutritious and tasty. This is basically a stir fried baby corn recipe with a certain Indianisation to the taste. The main trick in cooking this dish is in sautéing the baby corns. The idea is to cook them till they are nice and crispy. Since, I don’t like my dishes too spicy I have added only ½ teaspoons of red chilli powder. However, depending on your taste, you may add more. But, be warned, the cumin seeds will already add a certain amount of zest to the dish.

Chinese Rice Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Category: Main Course (Entrée)

Cuisine Type: Chinese

Made for: 2 Adults

I often wondered how the fried rice in restaurants has that extra tautness. Did they use some kind of special ingredient or is it some little trick in the process of cooking. Fried rice is one of my favourite dish, the craving of which made me visit restaurants frequently until one day I decided to pick up the ladle and prepare it myself. A little experimentation led me to this easy Chinese rice recipe. If you follow this recipe to the tee, you will get that exact restaurant quality rice. You can use it for Pulao, Fried Rice, Biriyani or other delicacies of your choice or you can just enjoy this with a few drops of ghee (clarified butter), dal (lentil soup) and boiled potatoes.

Homemade Tawa Pizza Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

Category: Italian Entrée, Snacks

Made for: 2 Adults

Tawa Pizza is no different from oven baked pizza. Even in terms of taste you can challenge any readymade pizza corner. From the pizza sauce, base, cream cheese to the seasoning everything has been made at home. I made two small sized pizzas for two adults.

Homemade Seasoning Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Total Time: 3 days

Category: All purpose, PizzaSeasoning, Condiments

While hunting in a departmental store for a packet of seasoning I thought what if I make fresh seasoning at home. I have a basil plant at my home. I plucked fresh basil leaves, bought 100 grams of oregano (Ajwain) seeds from the market and prepared this seasoning full of fresh aroma and flavour. This is far better than the packaged readymade variants of seasoning available in the market. It is a really easy to make seasoning recipe. You can make large quantities of the seasoning and store it for months at home. From spicing up your daily curry to using as chaat masala, this seasoning can be used for varied purposes. I particularly made it as a seasoning for homemade tawa pizza. Check out the recipe of the seasoning here:

Jaljeera Lassi Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Total Time: 5 minutes 

Category: Drinks, Summer Drinks

Traditionally, madani is used to make Lassi and a layer of makkhan (Indian butter) is given on top of it. However, if you are coming home all sweaty and tired, you can be hardly expected to gather the energy of going through such cumbersome process. This drink, on the other hand, can be prepared with a swish and flick. On top of being healthy, it is immensely tasty and recharges your body for the rest of the day.  

Restaurant Review: Bikaner Bhujiawala

Overall Rating: 7.8/10

Address:45A, Block C, New Alipur, Taratala, 700088, Kolkata

Phone: 033-3290 7697/6523 3311

Cuisine Type: Rajasthani Snacks, Desserts, Dry fruits

Bikaner is a celebrated vegetarian snack center. They have many outlets in Kolkata. The one we went to is located a little ahead of the Taratala mor. The authentic Indian flavours and tanginess is what makes Bikaner one of the best destinations for enjoying snack time.

Homemade Cream Cheese Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Total Time: 5 minutes & Setting 3 hours

Category: All purpose/ Sides/ Desserts

Made for: 5 Adults

Why do we always depend on shops & stores for cheese? As I’ve always said, I hate to go out on weekends even if it is for shopping. I wanted to have my favourite cream cheese sandwich and by my stomach’s grace I was left with zero stock in my fridge. But hey! I had yoghurt and a bowl of home made cottage cheese (Paneer/Chhana)! And I knew what to do with these awesome products. You can use this cream cheese for sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, etc. I used it in cream cheese sandwich and homemade tawa pizza recipe.

Guest Gallery: Chocolate Brownie Shake

Photos Shared By: Tiya Bhadra

Category: Desserts, Drinks

About the Dish: 

Tiya Bhadra, an IT professional from Kolkata, sent us these scrumptious snaps of Chocolate Brownie Shake from Coffee Blues. Coffee Blues is an outlet at FoodTalk in the famous South City Mall of Kolkata. In Tiya's own words “Every sip of this delicious beverage is refreshing like Lemonade and tasty like a Brownie Sundae. I am a huge fan of milk shakes and have tried so many at South City till date and I can’t believe I never came across this one. Do take a sip the next time you visit and give us a detailed review of Coffee Blues.”

Restaurant Review: Bon Appétit

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Address: 109/26 Hazra Road, Kolkata

Cuisine Type: Mexican, French, Italian & Continental 

Located on the interiors of Hazra road, Bon Appétit would leave a long-lasting impression on any foodie. Be it for their decor, unique seating arrangements or awesome desserts palette. Check out what WhenWeEat did when they visited this cosy little restaurant :)

Other Details

Bar Available:No

Veg/Non Veg: Vein  and Non-Veg both

Hours: 11 AM to 8:30 PM (Tue-Sun), Monday Closed

Home Delivery:No

Attendees:Red Chilli, Green Chilli & Friend

Dahi Vada Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Total Time: 30 mins + 15 mins (Prep Time)

Category: Appetisers, Sides, Snacks

On the day of Holi every Indian household gets to see lots of friends and visitors at their home invited or uninvited, as Holi is a festival of spreading love and friendship. And it does give immense pleasure to receive their love and affection in form of Abir/ Gulal. It’s a sweet gesture of splashing colours on their faces, hugging each other and yelling like ‘Holi hai’ ‘Bura na mano holi hai’. After Abir/ Gulal it’s time to treat them with sweets and snacks.

I, Green Chilli, had very little time to prepare anything before guests start pouring in. I preferred to buy readymade sweets but for snacks my inner cook shook me up and I made up my mind to make Dahi Vada. Originally the Vada is made with Daal, but due to the time crunch I took a short cut and made it with white bread. It was even yummier and softer than the usual Dahi Vada. Do give this recipe of Dahi Vada a try.

Preparation Time: 20-25 minutes

Category:  Snacks

Made for: 7 adults

Guest Gallery: Chocolate Ice-Cream with Chocolate Cake

Photo Shared By: Madhavi Parmar

Category:Dessert

About the Dish: 

The above picture is taken at 5 Spice , Sakinaka, Mumbai. An absolute choco delight as it seems in the picture shared by our guest. Picture suggests that this dessert is must if you are at 5 Spice. Well, 5 Spice is a Mumbai based restaurant chain,  Chinese, Dessert & Asian cuisines are its specialty.  You’ll find 5 Spice in these places: Sakinaka, Malad(West),Borivali(West), Andheri(West), Mahim, Mumbai(Central), Matunga(East), Bandra(West), Fort (Perin Nariman Street), Marine Lines.

Palak Paneer Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Total Time: 30 minutes

Category: Main Course/Entree, Sides

Made for: 2 adults

Palak Paneer is a North Indian dish made of Paneer and Spinach leaves. However, adding fenugreek leaves with spinach makes the dish even tastier. It is also referred to as Saag Paneer and is eaten mainly with Indian Roti or Naan. However, many serve it on the side of boiled rice. This an absolute favourite dish of mine and this is a dish you should prepare at home. I am never a fan of the oily Palak Paneer served in restaurants. To me, this dish doesn’t taste right until it is served with one special ingredient- the love and warmth of family. So, here goes, the recipe of Palak Paneer.

Puchka/ Golgappa/ Panipuri Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Preparation Time: 20-25 minutes

Category:  Snacks, Fast Food, Appetiser

Made for: 7 adults

In most of the recipes you will find directions on how to make panipuri filling or how to make panipuri water. But what about the ‘Puri’ itself? What if you want a healthy alternative to the delicious golgappas served on street?

Majority of us think that making golgappa at home is an arduous ordeal. But it is not. As you can see, we have categorized it under Quick Recipes. Making panipuri at home is really easy and not at all time consuming.

As you know, I, Green Chilli (co-author of this site) is the laziest of the lot. I hate to go to shops on holidays unlike others and always find a way to manage stuff by doing minimal work.

It all started on a Sunday evening when I was finished with my afternoon movie watching and was craving for Puchka. But being a lazy lassie, I did not want to take a single step out of my Home Sweet Home. So, what to do? Should I kill my wish to have Golgappa? What if I die very next day? What if the world ends because of some hellish Tornado! What I if the government bans Panipuri Stalls from tomorrow!  *dramatic pause*

All these scary thoughts started haunting me! Therefore, I did not waste any more time and headed towards the kitchen, armed with an idea of cracking the recipe of the world’s best snack known to some as Puchkha, to others as Gol Gappa and the rest as Pani Puri.

Weekly Tips and Trivia #2

By WhenWeEat

Every week WhenWeEat brings you seven most awesome cooking tips and food trivia to ease the pressure in your culinary world. Following are this week’s tips and trivia presented to you by Red Chilli and Green Chilliaka the authors of WhenWeEat:

1. During frying, the oil has to be at correct temperature. The food will absorb more oil if the temperature is below the required level. However, if the oil is heated too much, then the outer part of the food will brown up even when the inside is yet to be cooked properly.

Photo Courtesy: www.culinate.com

2. Cinnamon is an excellent natural remedy for stomach flu. It is extremely effective against certain strains of E.coli bacteria. In an experiment when a teaspoon of cinnamon was added in apple juice (that contained E. coli), it was found that as many as 99.5% of the bacteria were destroyed in just 3 days.

Photo Courtesy: www.gaiahealthblog.com

Homemade Cake Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Total Time: 25-30 minutes

Category: Baking/Desserts 

This is the recipe for a basic sponge cake made with vanilla essence and chocolate icing. Admin Green Chilli brainstormed the recipe during her Papa’s birthday. At the end of a particularly harrowing week in office, as she was climbing up the steps back home, she kept rummaging her brain on how to prepare a cake easily? That too…a birthday cake. But lazy as she is, she cracked an easy recipe for the birthday cake in her head and sprinted up the stairs with a new spring in her step. The result was this awesome cake that didn’t even last two minutes after the birthday candles were blown (it was so delicious). At least 10 hands made their way to the cake (the most eager belonging to the Birthday boy himself) and in a whoosh the cake was gone: appreciated, tasted and digested by the entire party. This is the main reason why we don’t have many pics of the cake….grrrrrrhh  >:(

Tiramisu Recipe

Guest Recipe By: Sanchita Tiwari

Category: Desserts

Total Time: 7 hours (1 hr Cooking + 6 hrs Setting)

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert made of sponge cakes (also known as Ladyfingers). The coffee flavoured layered dessert is very easy to make and excellent in taste. It only takes 1 hour to cook. Then, you just need to keep it in the fridge for 5 hours so that the dessert can set. The recipe has many variations. You can use panettone instead of ladyfingers or any other sweet/yeasted bread. Since our chef is vegetarian, she did not use egg yolk and wine. However, you can add dark rum, Marsala wine, brandy, etc in the dish. But many a time, even non-vegetarians substitute these with coffee or cheese mixture. So here goes, the ultimate recipe of Tiramisu. Godetevi il piatto (enjoy the making and baking).

Made for: 2 adults and 1 kid

Restaurant Review: Lebneh

Overall Rating: 1/10

Address: 65, SP Mukherjee Road, Hazra, Kolkata- 700026

Cuisine Type: Lebanese 

For all the lovely people out there planning to dine out on Valentine’s Day, if you are anywhere near South Kolkata, do read this review. Someone wise once said that in order to understand what you should do in life, you must gain the acumen of putting a seal on what you should NOT do. This SHOULD NOT part is what we, unfortunately, have to focus in this review, courtesy: our fantastic experience at Lebneh. But don’t just stop here, we urge you to read the full review before you jump to any conclusions. After all, any decision, however small, should be informed and rational.

Other Details

Bar Available: No

Veg/Non Veg: Veg and Non-Veg both

Hours: 12 PM to 10 PM
Payment Options: Cash/Credit Card (Debit Cards not accepted)

Home Delivery: No

Attendees: Red Chilli and Green Chilli

Atta-ka-Halwa (Gelatinize) Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes

Category: Desserts

If you want to treat your guests or yourself but the scarcity of time is the only hurdle between you and your wish to cook then all you have to do is open your store and get these ingredients. A little mixing and a little roasting and within 20 minutes your dessert is ready to be served J

Methi Paratha Recipe

By WhenWeEat

Total Time: 15 minutes 

Category: Breakfast/Entrée

Paratha is almost a staple item in the Indian subcontinent. It is prepared by frying with ghee (clarified butter). However, now-a-days people may prefer to bake it (mainly for health reasons). Methi (Fenugreek) leaves have high nutrition value and should be included in your diet at least once a week. It is especially beneficial for women in their early 40s. Paratha made from methi leaves is a popular dish in India and some of its neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Burma, etc.

Moreover, Methi Paratha recipe is not time consuming and you can always skip the trouble of cooking another curry and serve it with pickle and butter/chilled yoghurt as per your preference.

Weekly Tips and Trivia #1

By WhenWeEat

Every week WhenWeEat brings you seven most awesome cooking tips and food trivia to ease the pressure in your culinary world. Following are this week’s tips and trivia presented to you by Red Chilli and Green Chilli aka the authors of WhenWeEat:

1.      Coconut milk is a very good non-dairy milk alternative.

Photo Courtesy: cookingandme.com

2.      Want to preserve pickles for a longer time? Put 2-3 dry red chilies in the pickle jar. This will also keep the pickles fungus free.

Photo Courtesy: ecurry.com

Travel Log: Trip to Krishnanagar and Nabadwip

By WhenWeEat

Destination:Krishnanagar & Nabadwip in Nadia district of West Bengal

Expenses: INR 300-400 per head (approx) 

Duration: Less than 1 Day

This is an anecdote of a thoroughly unplanned yet enthralling trip to Nabadwip. I set out on a Saturday with my friends and returned back refreshed. It is the best impulsive short-trip I have had in my life.

Restaurant Review: Mrs. Magpie

Overall Rating: 8.3/10

Address: 570, Lake Terrace Road Extension, Keyatala, Near Southern Avenue, Kolkata.
Cuisine Type: Desserts, Bakery, Cafe

Other Details

Bar Available: No

Veg/Non Veg: Both

Hours: 12 PM to 10 PM

Home Delivery: No

Attendees: Red Chilli and Green Chilli