Karela Fry (Bitter gourd)

Cooking time: 30 minutes prep + 15 min cook | Difficulty level: Easy | Makes: 4 servings

Karela! The most hated vegetable. I remember when I was a kid and mom used to make karela for dinner, it was like the worst nightmare come true. But karela is packed with nutrients and is REALLY good for health. So my mom tried out various ways to cook it in order to make it palatable for us, yet preserve all the nutrients. Out of all the versions of this bitter vegetable, karela fry was my absolute favorite! So get excited folks, we are about to turn the most hated bitter gourd into a delightful snack!

Karela Fry

Baked Maple Gajar Halwa (Carrot Pudding)

Cooking time: 30-40 minutes | Difficulty level: Easy | Makes: 6 servings

Gajar Halwa or carrot pudding is a very popular North-Indian dessert and one of my favorite desserts of all time. Basically 'halwa' is anything that is cooked with milk, and this particular halwa is a very smart way to make your kids get their daily source of Vitamin A and fiber, disguised as yummy dessert! Recently we had a bake-off at work where the theme was "baked" and "fall." So I made some autumnal modifications to the contemporary gajar halwa by using maple sugar instead of regular sugar, and baking it in the oven.

Baked Maple-Carrot (Gajar) Halwa