mooli.life

Trinkets

Today is Day 14 of my visit to Karachi. I got here after delaying the trip numerous times to get our renewed passports located and in our possession. The day after I got here, the country went into lockdown. My dad is on Day 12 and mom on Day 8 of their Covid diagnosis. It…

Chicken Pulao

The delicious smell slowly wafting up to my room is an enduring memory of Sunday lunches growing up. It was a tradition carried over by my mother from her parent’s homes when she was growing up. Actually, I believe my paternal grandparents had the same tradition. Our family loved Sunday pulao and had many ways…

Avocado toast on-the-go

A blessing of weekly farmer’s market trips is that I have in-season foodstuff in the fridge that wouldn’t necessarily buy in a grocery store. It makes for fun experimentation when in a rush or not. A selection of choice ingredients and this was a delicious lunch. Ingredients: Avocado, ripe Red radishes, 3-4, thinly sliced and…

Pickled Beets

I pickled these beautiful beets two ways in Spring this year – red beets with cloves and star anise and yellow beets with nigella seeds and red pepper flakes. Both had a good amount of crushed poppy seeds which I add when pickling. Easy to do and so delicious! One thing to keep in mind…

I made Ratatouille!

I have been obsessed with ratatouille since I saw the movie by the same name in 2007. Loved everything about it, the animation, the music, the city and the sentimentality of a rat who outwits a food critic with a simple dish that reminds him of his mother. I must have seen the movie half…

Scrumptious Chicken and Spinach Saag

Many winters ago, I had gone for a vacation with some friends. Zain had stayed behind. Along with him, what I missed very much was cooking in my kitchen. I daydream about cooking on my trips away, is that normal? To figure out ingredients, smells and taste of dishes I enjoy and think of how…

Roasted Radishes in Salted Butter

I love radishes! So much that they are the inspiration for my blog (mooli = radish in Urdu). In addition to being delicious, radishes are full of fiber and antioxidant vitamin C, along with other vitamins and nutrients, including compounds called glucosinolates, which are being studied by researchers for their role in reduction of the…

Mixed Pepper Pickle

Throwback to the summer; the Farmer’s Market was overflowing with all types of peppers this summer. So beautiful, in a plethora of colors and sizes, ranging wide across the Scoville scale. Mouth-watering and numbing! Definitely not in season anymore but the pickles are keeping us ‘warmed up’ in these frigid, snowy times as a fiery…

Kale in a Smashed Tomato Sauce

A rustic, versatile side dish packed with flavor! Kale simmered in a smashed tomato sauce. Ingredients: 1 bunch kale, stalks removed and chopped 3 plum tomatoes, whole 1 tsp. garlic 1 tsp. mustard seeds 1/4 tsp. ground clove * 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom * 1/2 tsp. paprika salt and black pepper to taste Olive oil…

Penne with Arugula and Parmesan

it is such a dreary day. There has been bad news in the family and I have no motivation to eat, much less cook. The gray weather outside is not bringing any cheer either. The world just seems so bleak. What a year we have had! So much can be said about that but back…

Summer’s Swan Song

So we moved recently. Well, relatively recent. In May. At the height of the pandemic. The uprooting was especially difficult given the world that we found ourselves in. Organizing movers in the days when even a look could feel too much and breathing in another’s vicinity felt ominous. The poor movers, essential workers, handling the…

Cooking for the times: Two Peas and Beets

A can of chickpeas, another of black-eyed peas and a beet. These are the things that I jumped out at me when I opened the pantry today for lunch ideas. Seasoned and tossed with some herbs. Perfect. On a different note, I went to the grocery store to get some herbs today. On the way,…