Welcome!

 

Hello!

My name is Sapna.  I am a Financial Specialist by day, a home chef by night.  I've lived in Northern Virginia my whole life and will never leave!

I went to Fairfax High School followed by the University of Virginia (WA-HOO-WA!) and I currently work for the Federal Government.

I have been married to my amazing husband for two years -- we are still loving the newlywed phase :)

I've been growing my cooking skills since college and this is my first attempt at blogging so please bear with me!  I am not a professional chef -- I just love to cook and my kitchen is my favorite place to be!  I prefer to use fresh, organic and/or all natural ingredients and I make sure my meats are grass-fed (I always shop at Whole Foods and/or Trader Joe's) and I cook from scratch almost always.  The recipes you see here will reflect that.  Not everything is organic, but as much as is possible.  When it comes to baked goods I don't use organic -- I go for the full splurge :)  You are more than welcome to make all recipes using non-organic ingredients -- it is still equally as delicious!

I hope you enjoy these dishes as much as we have!  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at sapna.s.bhatia@gmail.com.

XOXO
Sapna

Kheema - Indian Ground Lamb

Adapted from Aarti Sequeira's Food Network Recipe

Apparently I am on a roll with Indian recipes!  This is one of the first Indian dishes my husband made for me and I absolutely loved it.  I could never figure out how he got the meat to be so soft until he told me that the secret ingredient was a little bit of milk and/or yogurt!  So I added both and it turned out great!  I do have to say that I upped the spices from the original amount because we like lots of heat and flavor so feel free to tone it down if you'd like.  Also I ran out of fresh ginger so I used ginger powder.  You can really play around with the amount of spices to suit the dish to your desired taste.

Yields: 2 - 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large organic onion
• 1 medium organic tomato  
• 2 large organic cloves garlic
• 1-inch fresh ginger (I used ~1 tsp ginger powder)
• 2 jalapenos (optional)
• 4 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons paprika 
• 4 teaspoons garam masala
• 4 teaspoons ground cumin 
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder (2 tsp of red chili powder is quite spicy, reduce to desired heat level -- you can also use cayenne pepper if you don't have red chili powder)
• 1 pound grass-fed ground lamb
• 1/4 cup organic milk
• 3 tablespoons organic plain yogurt
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop the onion, tomato, garlic and ginger.  Slit the jalapenos length-wise.

In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden.

 

Add the garlic and ginger (or ginger powder) and saute for another minute. 

Stir in the coriander, paprika, garam masala, cumin and red chili powder/cayenne and cook for 1 minute.

Add the lamb, breaking up lumps with a spoon, and saute until the meat is no longer pink.  Add the milk and yogurt, season with salt and pepper and mix.

Add the tomatoes and jalapenos, stir well and simmer, partially covered, about 5 - 10 minutes. 

Chicken Curry

 

Hooray another Indian recipe that's ready to be posted!  Chicken Curry is an Indian staple -- so flavorful, pretty easy and uses the easiest protein :)  The recipe for the curry part is actually a pretty basic curry recipe that can be used with any protein so feel free to experiment!

Yields: 2 servings 

Ingredients:

• 1 large organic onion, quartered 
• 1 organic tomato, halved   
• 1 green chili pepper or jalapeno, chopped  
• 4 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 (2 inch) cinnamon stick
• 10 peppercorns 
• 2 whole cloves 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste 
• salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper  
• 1 lb organic boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala 
• 1/4 cup organic plain yogurt

Directions:

Place onion, tomato and jalapeno in a food processor and grind until it becomes a thick paste.

 

Heat oil in large pan; add bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and cloves.  

 

When leaves begin to sizzle and fragrance starts to release, add onion/tomato/jalapeno mixture and saute until onions are light golden, about 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in the ginger garlic paste, salt, turmeric, cayenne pepper and chicken.  Continue cooking, stirring the mix, for about 20 minutes more.

Add a little water if necessary to keep food from sticking. 

Add coriander powder and garam masala and stir for 5 minutes, adding 2 tablespoons water.  Simmer for 15 minutes, or until meat is getting tender.

Lower heat.  Whisk the yogurt with a fork; and add to the pot slowly.  Then cook until meat is done to your liking and sauce is thickened.