Sambhar Recipe (Indian Soup)

Sambhar is a South Indian dish made of toor dal, vegetables, turmeric powder, curry leaves, tamarind, cinnamon sticks, whole dried red chiles, cilantro, roasted coriander seeds and other Indian spices. It resembles a soup; and is often served alongside idli (rice cakes) or dosa (Indian crêpe).

To make my version of sambhar, I start by boiling toor dal with a lot of vegetables, such as Indian eggplant, drumsticks, okra, carrots, turnips, pumpkin, sweet potatoes or Idaho potatoes and tomatoes, shallots and onions. Then I let the vegetables simmer until the lentils are cooked through.

If you’ve ever had sambhar at an Indian restaurant and wanted to make it at home, now you can. It’s very easy, healthy and filling.

Drumsticks.

Vegetarian Pot Pie with Lentil Pasta

If you’ve wanted to make comfort food healthy, this recipe is for you. As I've told you in the past, I often try to make vegetarian versions of the meat dishes I cook. One of my favorite dishes is chicken pot pie, and today I decided to make a variation of the dish with lentils and pastina pasta. I placed the mixture in mini soup bowls and covered them with puff pastry baked until golden and flaky.

The dish is fairly healthy, yet very flavorful due to the generous amounts of ginger, soy bacon bits, coriander, parsley and cilantro. The flavors and texture are spot on for a cold evening meal.

Baigan Bharta Recipe (Indian Eggplant Dip)

If you're an artichoke and spinach dip lover and don't feel guilty about the calories, baigan bharta is for you. Eggplants are chopped into small pieces, boiled until softened and drained. Then they are sautéed in oil until all the liquid has evaporated. After that, the eggplants are flavored with onions and many Indian spices. Once the mixture cools completely, yogurt is added and folded into the eggplant mixture. Raw onion is also added for a little bite to the Indian-style dip. Though non-traditional, I also add fromage blanc, which helps give a creamy and rich texture to the dip; it's also lower in calories and has less cholesterol than cream cheese.

Today was Game 1 of the World Series, featuring our hometown San Francisco Giants. I made this dish and served it with warm tortillas chips for Lulu and the girls to munch on while they watched the game. I don’t understand baseball, but I can definitely say that the food was a home run. That’s a baseball term, right?

Mattar Tofu Paneer (Indian Tofu Recipe)

Mattar paneer is a dish made with peas and Indian cheese. This time, I decided to make the same flavorful dish, but with fewer calories. To accomplish this, I substituted firm tofu in place of traditional paneer cheese.

I fried cubes of tofu the same way as I would paneer, then simmered them in a delectable, creamy onion and tomato curry sauce with green peas. If you’re looking to make a foray into veganism, this is the perfect way to start (see tips).

Of course, if - like my father-in-law - you feel cheated by the absence of golden chunks of fried cheese, you can always try the traditional mattar paneer recipe. I won’t tell!

Mini Keema Burgers in Pate a Choux Buns

What happens when you combine a classic American dish with recipes from France and India? The correct answer is mini pâte à choux keema burgers. These are definitely out of the ordinary, but they are fun and taste great.

Using choux paste, I made standard cream puff shells which I used as the hamburger buns. I filled them with Indian-style, spicy ground beef mixed with diced potatoes, called "keema". To reinforce the idea that this dish is supposed to be a burger, I added a slice of Gruyère and lettuce.

I was very pleased with the presentation; it really looked like an upscale hamburger. The flavors were fabulously sharp and spicy. These special treats will take you around the world with every single bite.