2020 will be a year which will go down in the history of mankind. Who would have known that a force unseen and unknown could immobilize the human civilization? We have been in lockdown for 8 weeks and if you ask me, this year will be no different even if we come out of this restrictive phase. Until we have a proven line of treatment and a vaccine, we have to practice social distancing for the greater good of every one. And for people like us who are responsible for presenting food on the table three times a day for everyone, it’s a constant struggle to keep it convenient, nutritious and exciting with pantry staples. I had reached out to my food blogger friends from all over the world to share one recipe that is their favorite weeknight pantry curry! And all of them graciously shared with me their recipe.
Please meet some of my very good friends, extremely talented recipe developers and par de excellence food photographers!

Kankana Saxena – Kankana lives in the Bay Area and is the creator and founder of Playful Cooking. Click here to see her work on Instagram!

Kankana Saxena

Kankana, please tell us about yourself and Playful Cooking!

I am a self-taught food photographer, stylist and recipe developer. I started blogging about 10 years back. It started as a way to pass time and eventually turned into a career. My debut cookbook – Taste of Eastern India is all about Bengali cuisine and is available worldwide. Originally from India, I currently live in California with my husband and son.

Tell us a little bit about your family and how you are coping with quarantine?

We are a small family of 3 and you can call us homebodies which is coming handy during this quarantine time. I like discipline and schedule and made sure to have a routine from day one of lockdown. Not that we have to follow it strictly, and we skip sometimes but more or less we maintain the time which makes my life easy. My son is 6 years old which means a lot of play time and crafting also started 🙂 It did affect my freelancing work as I stopped taking outdoor shoots or any gigs that includes going out too much. But all in all, it’s not been bad but we all are waiting to meet our friends and hang out in real and not just in zoom.

Which weeknight pantry curry recipe are you sharing with us today?

Chole Bhature is one of my fav takeout dish and I so miss it at times. It’s comforting and good thing I stocked up enough dried chana or garbanzo beans, so I can make this on repeat.

RECIPE : Click here.

Chhole Bhature

Karen Ahmed – Karen lives in Toronto, Canada and is the creative force behind the very successful YouTube channel Kravings. Click here to find her on Instagram.

Karen, please tell us about yourself and Kravings!

I started cooking at the age of 18 when I was in college and I had a sudden surge of creativity. Armed with a cookbook and some raw chicken pieces, I proceed to make a baked chicken in a coconut sauce. This was a disaster! The chicken at the end of the cooking process was still raw and not edible. Determined to make it work, I threw the chicken into a frying pan together with some spices from my mom’s spice cupboard and it was pure magic. From then on, my love for cooking and creating works of art just grew.

I’m self-taught and have had to rely on cookbooks, tv shows, YouTube videos and I used to watch my mom like a hawk when she came to visit before she passed away in 2016. I often find myself thinking about food during the day and about creating the next big food sensation for my family and friends to enjoy. I love to entertain and will often plan menus way in advance. During the holidays, I affectionately refer to my kitchen as my ‘test kitchen’, and its here that I try recipes and new ideas before I unleash it on the world.

Tell us a little bit about your family and how you are coping with quarantine?

The family seems fine, I’m going nuts with all the extra cooking and cleaning! My boys are three years apart so they spend a lot of time together and I am keeping myself busy cooking meals for frontline families.

Which weeknight pantry curry recipe are you sharing with us today?

Shahi Mushroom Korma. This korma is a balance of earthy flavors and unlike most Kormas, this is completely plant based. Mushrooms make this hearty and cashews coconut milk gives it it’s classic korma texture.

RECIPE : Click here.

Madhurima Chowdhury – Madhurima lives in London, United Kingdom and is the author and founder of Kitchenmai.com. Click here to find her on Instagram.

Madhu, tell us something about yourself and your blog!

I am originally from Mumbai, India, currently based out of London. Professionally I am an Economist and now a full-time food blogger, food photographer and recipe developer. When marriage brought me to the land of the Queen, I decided to pursue my passion for cooking – which with Mumbai’s fast paced life didn’t quite happen. I love food – eating, exploring and cooking. However, my love for Indian food is very deep. For one, I have grown up on the food. And second, given India’s diverse culture, geography and historical influences, the spectrum of flavors, colors, techniques, components and style of food is very wide! It is my passion to learn about these cultures and food traditions that various communities in my motherland follow. And I wish and hope to share them with you. Having said this, I also love trying my hand out at foods across the globe. So, you will find some international recipes here as well! Most of my recipes that you will find in my blog are for simple and satisfying home cooked meals – from appetizers to desserts. It is my endeavor to spread the joy to cooking to everyone, as I have realized it! After all, I believe “happy food makes happy people.”

Kitchen Mai is a blog I dedicate to my mother. As they say parents are your first teachers, likewise I have taken my first steps into the culinary world holding her hand. Also, mothers are referred to as “Mai” in many parts across India. Hence, this is my way of paying respect to the wonderful cook that my mother is.

Tell us little bit about your family and how you are coping with the quarantine?

I stay here with my husband and the quarantine has given us a lot of time to do things together. In normal times, usually weekends would be spent entertaining friends at home or dining and wining out with them or a short trip somewhere close etc. While we are terribly missing that, more so now since the weather is getting warmer, we are taking this time to make most of it. For instance, since even my husband cooks well and has a keen interest in it, we have tried out a lot of exotic recipes together, which otherwise due to paucity of time, wouldn’t happen. We also are nurturing a small garden together and are pursuing separate hobbies. Hence, though slightly bored, otherwise so far , so good in this quarantine!

Which recipe are you sharing with us today?

Dals or lentil curries are a staple in an Indian household and most of us tend to always have them in our pantry. My recipe is extremely simple yet flavor packed with the addition of tempered garlic in it. Both moong dal and garlic are items that stay well in the pantry, hence this recipe is a keeper as it pairs well with both, rice and Indian flatbreads.

RECIPE: Click here.

Shyamali Sinha – Shyamali is a resident of Melbourne, Australia and runs the successful blog Foodies Hut Recipes. Find her on Instagram here.

Shyamali, tell us something about yourself and your blog!

When we moved to Melbourne, the first thing, I was missing my regular Bengali food. I love to associate memories with food. During my college days, I was studying German in Max Muller Bhavan Kolkata, and more than the language I remembered the taste of Luchhi Aloor Dom, Club sandwich from the cafeteria! I love to cook with local, and seasonal produce; also, I love to read about food and their history of origin, evaluation.
Back in 2011, I explored a new world called YouTube. I loved the idea of sharing recipes from the home kitchen. Biswa ( Biswajit) is my partner in crime when it comes about food, movie, music. We decided to document Bengali recipes because those days there were not many YouTube channels which used to document Bengali recipes. We were enjoying the whole process of creating content! As time passes, we became parents, and with a little one, making videos was a challenging task, so we decided to stop making videos. But our viewers kept asking about our recipe videos! I guess it’s not about recipes, it’s all about the connections we built. Then we decided to write our recipes and make Vlogs to talk with them.
For us, food is also a medium to make new friends. Not only you, I know many of you through your blog, YouTube channel. I am sure I am going to make many new friends over the times!

Tell us little bit about your family and how are your spending your quarantine days?

Here in Australia, we are not experiencing the complete lockdown. We can go for a walk, cycling, grocery shopping too, but we are maintaining social distance. No parties, no gathering, work from home, homeschooling these are a new experience to all of us! But, as I say parenting, homemaking my day time job and blogging is my night time job, quarantine didn’t affect me a lot! Kids are doing virtual playdates, and we are trying to keep in touch with our friends over phone calls, video calls. These days I am cooking a lot, and trying to do some stitch-work, knitting, and not every day but a few days in a week trying to get dressed for my happiness! Yes, there is always a lack of real-life connection! But we are trying to be hopeful. I believe during a difficult time, Faith, Hope and prayers are our ultimate strength to keep us going.

Which recipe are you sharing with us today?

It’s winter our part of the world. Nowadays, Peas and coconut milk are the pantry and freezer staple ingredients for many of us! So I decided to make Koraishutir Dhokar curry. The silky curry has an umami flavor from the spices, coconut cream. When you bite on the Dhoka pieces, the peas cakes are a delicious substitute for meat!

RECIPE : Click here.

Koraishutir-Dhokar-Curry — Koraishutir Dhokar Curry

Deepasri Kar – Deepasri lives in Chennai, India and is the founder and author of Hamareerasoi.com

You can catch her on Instagram here.

Deepa, tell us about yourself and your blog!

Born in the holy place Haridwar, from an early age I was interested in the kitchen garden harvest and freshly cooked veggies served by my Mom. Staying close to the foothills of the Himalayas, opened up my perception of nature at its true form. Which I try to manifest in my photography.

In the coming month, I will be celebrating my tenth blogging anniversary. The blogging journey has given me some wonderful co-blogger friends and readers who come back to me after trying recipes from my blog.

Tell us little bit about your family and how you are spending your quarantine days?

We are a family of 3 – me, my husband and my son. We had come to Kolkata to celebrate my in-law’s 50th marriage anniversary during the mid of March. Little did we know now that such a long period of lockdown will be declared in India. Since then, all the domestic and international flights are on hold. That tossed our plan to go back to Chennai and my brother-in-law’s family who were about to leave for Canada, they are home and also got stuck with us.

In a small 2BHK apartment, with 8 other members, definitely the household multiplied by ten times. It is probably for the first time that the whole family is living together for such a long time. The blessing in disguise is that we all are staying together.

Which recipe are you sharing with us today?

“Bhaat Bhaja” is perhaps the easiest fix on days when you don’t have any side dish. Due to the lockdown in our area, not many vegetables are available. Not to mention that non – veg supplies are not so frequent. This Bhaat Bhaja can be made out of leftover rice with a medley of colorful veggies, which serves as a one pot meal.

RECIPE:

Ingredients :

2 cups of Cooked Rice

1 Carrot (diced)

1 Cup of Peas

1 Cup of Cauliflower Florets

1 Small Onion (sliced)

1/4th Cup of Peanuts

1 Tsp of Black Pepper powder

1/2 Tsp Ginger, minced

1/4th Tsp of Sugar

Salt to Taste

2 Tsp of Ghee (OR) Oil

Method :

In a kadhai, heat ghee or oil and add minced ginger. Now, add peanuts and sliced onions in the kadhai and cook on low flame till the onions become translucent. Toss in all the vegetables, sprinkle some salt and pepper powder. Cook them on low flame till the vegetables are almost done. Time to add cooked rice and give it a nice stir. Fry everything together in low flame for 4-5 minutes. Add a ladle of water if required to keep the moisture in the rice. Do not stir it for long or else the rice grains will break. Add sugar, check the seasoning and serve hot.

Note :

You can add fried eggs to the dish.
The choice of vegetables in this dish is as per your liking. You may add Capsicum, Sweet Corn and French Beans.
I have seen many of my aunts to add garam masala at the end.

Sayantani Mahapatra – Sayantani lives in Kolkata, India and is a real artist. Her blog is called AHomemakersDiary and she can be found on Instagram here.

Sayantani, tell us about yourself and your blog!

I am a mother of two and a small handicraft business owner. I started this blog 13 years back to save family recipes in one place. Along the way I learnt food photography and got interested in curating recipes. I have done a few TV shows with famous chefs and now I work for a few brands to develop new recipes for them, arrange for pop-ups and also do photography for food books and all.

Tell us a little bit about your family and how you are coping with the quarantine?

Being a mother of two small kids it’s very difficult to manage everything on my own. but we are trying to focus on the positive sides and trying to spend as much time together as possible. We do brainstorm at the dinner table to come up with new fun ideas to do together. We are doing a lot of craft and DIY projects together.

Which recipe are you sharing with us today?

This recipe has many memories associated with it. I learnt this on my first road trip to Ooty with my family, especially my mother. Its a very simple recipe, could be made with a very few pantry staples.

RECIPE : Click here.

Maumita Paul – Maumita lives in Bangalore, India and writes a visually stunning and old world charm inspiring blog called Experiences of a Gastronomad. Find her on Instagram here.

Maumita, tell us a little about yourself and your blog!
My blog is a humble attempt to share with my lovely readers the cuisine I grew up on. To recreate the delectable food Grandma would cook. Largely Bengali home food, with an unabashed bias for Sylheti delicacies. So clean flavours, austere usage of spices, abundance of vegetables and greens fresh from the kitchen garden and local farms and a bountiful profusion of freshwater fishes.
Food that’s unfortunately, in the hectic humdrum of modern life, getting forgotten and relegated to the realms of history. That’s the food my blog aspires to curate and bring to my gorgeous readers.

Tell us a little bit about your family and how you are coping with the quarantine.
S has been on the trot almost continuously for the last 24 months. In a perverse way, the lockdown helped us spend time together. And that’s the major standout for us, despite the millions of inconveniences. Unbridled family time together again.

Which recipe are you sharing with us today?Typically cooked with leftovers, chicken and / or vegetables, Junglee Pulao is the perfect panacea for that lazy lockdown morning when you want to whip up a quick meal with all those leftover curries piling in the refrigerator.

RECIPE: Click here.

Arpita – Arpita blogs from London, United Kingdom and is a fabulous artist and food photographer. her website is called The Gastronomic Bong. You will find her on Instagram here.

Arpita, tell us a little about yourself and your blog!

Like every Bengali, I am very passionate about eating and cooking and not to forget addas (gossiping). Food and blogging has always fascinated me therefore I decided to take the plunge! A former IT professional turned into a food blogger.

Born in a Bengali family and growing up in Mumbai, the most culturally-diverse city, I had a fair share of knowing multicultural food. Knowingly or unknowingly I have always been strongly attracted to food and cooking. I loved (I still do) and gorged on the lip smacking food my Ma cooked. Have always seen her cook with such passion and speed. She is a brilliant cook and is one of my greatest inspiration.

Tell us a little bit about your family and how you are coping with the quarantine?

We are a family of 3. My husband, my 2 year old and me. And this hyper active little one always keeps me on my toes. This quarantine/social distancing is definitely the most boring time for all of us for sure but I thinks it is for the best.

Fortunately the weather has been quite warm and amazing and we are definitely have a lot of fun as a family in our backyard.

Which recipe are you sharing with us today?

I am sharing the simple and easy Bengali style Dum Aloo. It is earthy and so delicious made with minimal ingredients which is easily available in the pantry.

RECIPE: Click here.

Madhushree & Anindya – Madhushree & Annindya lives in Kolkata and run the prestigious blog Pikturenama. You can find them on Instagram here.

Madhushree and Annindya, please tell us something about yourself and the blog!

Our blog is www.pikturenama.com. While I am the stylist behind the food pictures, Anindya is the photographer. The blog started with archiving Anindya ‘s travel pictures and slowly we moved to food stories. We like to document Bengali recipes as well as some everyday recipes, which I cook at home in the blog. While Anindya is quite an accomplished travel blogger too, I am getting involved in food consultations and pop ups. We have recently also started our YouTube channel ‘cook with pikturenama’ and we are thoroughly enjoying making videos with limited or no budget.

Tell us something about your family and how are you coping with the quarantine?

We are a family of 5. Our son is 8 years and busy with his online classes and other tutorials. Our daughter is 2 years and a busybody. My mother in law is with us and she is bedridden. So she needs a complete separate care. This situation is extremely difficult for us but we are coping as a family, trying to help each other in every possible way.

Which recipe are you sharing with us today?

Mutta Roast is essentially a breakfast egg recipe to be had with appams. However, being bongs and quite ‘bheto’, this has become a family favorite for a weeknight dinner with some steamed rice. While I have written the recipe, Anindya has very meticulously brought together food memories of several people from Kerala, for whom, mutta roast is an emotion.

RECIPE: Click here.

Mutta Roast

And finally a recipe by yours truly. A quarantine recipe which my family of three loves using pantry staple lentils.

Dal Kalbeliya – A nutritious melange of lentils which is a wholesome, high and protein and nutritious meal by itself alongside rice or rotis.

RECIPE: Click here.

Let us know if you link the recipes. Do share and follow these amazing bloggers for more delicious food and memorable stories.

2 thoughts on “10 Weeknight Indian Pantry Curries – By Prominent Food Bloggers from all over the World”

Ashish Patel
September 2, 2020 at 2:49 am
Such A Great Blog. Thank U For Sharing Useful Information About indian food. This Article Really Amzing And So Much Helpful For Me. Keep It Up:).
- Somdatta
  September 2, 2020 at 6:26 am
  Thank you so much <3

2 thoughts on “10 Weeknight Indian Pantry Curries – By Prominent Food Bloggers from all over the World”

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