Out of the many things I love about Indians, one is our ability to welcome and inculcate different cultures within our setting and colouring them with our ‘Indianness’. As we move a hundred kms, along with the landscape we can see an amazing difference in the language, dressing, culture and food of people of the area. Idlis and dosas in the south, Missal pav in Maharashtra, Bengali sweets or the mouth-watering Delhi chaat, every region has its delicacies.

This is no less than a treat for the foodies we Indians are known to be! While we believe in preserving our culture which greatly revolves around specific food items prepared in a traditional way, with so much of cross-border exchange of food and travelling happening among nowadays our tastebuds are ready to experience a surprising burst of never-before-known flavours.

Enterprising chefs, food bloggers and even home chefs have always appreciated and encouraged gastronomic innovations. I’m not sure where I fit into this league of extraordinary food connoisseurs who know all about their food but I do love creating something, first with my imagination and then with my culinary skills.

I’m sharing three simple fusion recipes with you today that don’t require additional effort but can certainly make you feel, “Why didn’t I think of and try this before?”! Ready?

Paneer Salad Dosa 

People say that paneer and dosa don’t go together. Well, I believe that any excuse to make my kids get their share of protein is worth it. I made a Paneer salad (with onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, salt, black pepper powder and lime juice) and used this colourful mixture as my dosa stuffing. Added some tomato ketchup and diet Caesar dressing for flavours, on the tava. It turned out a hit and didn’t need any side-dish too! 🙂

Khakhra Pizza

My daughter loves Khakhra and likes it in her tiffin and also for afternoon snack. I like it too but apart from Methi khakhra, I find the other ones bland and hardly filling. To make it interesting I created this Khakhra pizza recipe by topping it with sprouts, fine-chopped onions, tomatoes, carrots, capsicum and grated cheese and seasoned it with oregano and chilli flakes. My son gave me full marks for it. (I think I should train him to make this now. 😉 ) 😀

Chocolaty Gajar ka Halwa

I know life’s too short and desserts have to be eaten first yet I saved this sweet treat for the last! This is the simplest twist to our Gajar ka halwa. I had some freshly made chocolate sauce at home and decided to drizzle some of it over the gajar ka halwa to break the monochrome. There was much curiosity about the outcome. The halwa was overpowering while the chocolate sauce had a yummy aftertaste. I don’t eat or make a lot of sweets but this novelty made me feel immensely proud of myself.

I respect tradition but also feel that being conservative curbs creativity and innovation sometimes. We can always go back to the comfort of known experiences if we don’t enjoy the difference. Agree?

Did you like my recipes? Would you like to try them out? Please share with me.