4 Homemade Recipes Shared by Food Lovers — With Serving Ideas ✅

Meet Mrs. Sona Walia

From Kapurthala, Punjab, Mrs. Sona Walia is a full-time homemaker with a genuine love for preparing delicious Punjabi food for her family and guests. As the wife of contractor and businessman S. Harpreet Singh Walia, she manages her home and family while making time for something she truly enjoys — cooking food that brings people together around the table.

Her cooking reflects the warmth and generosity that Punjabi food is known for: hearty flavours, familiar spices and dishes made to be enjoyed together. For Sona, cooking is not simply about putting a meal on the table; it is about making something delicious enough that everyone reaches for a little more.

Her Recipe -Fish Amritsari

And when it comes to a Punjabi favourite, Fish Amritsari is the sort of dish that needs very little introduction. Crisp, golden and packed with flavour, it works beautifully as a snack, a party starter or a side dish alongside the drinks Punjabi gatherings love.

One bite of that crunchy, spicy fish and you can almost hear the table go — “Oye hoye… Buraaah!” 😄

This is Sona’s take on a much-loved Punjabi delight — the kind of food that arrives hot, gets passed around quickly and somehow disappears before everyone has had their “last” piece.

🍗 Fish Amritsari (Punjabi Fish Pakora)

Crispy on the outside, tender inside and wonderfully fragrant with ajwain, Fish Amritsari is the kind of snack that rarely stays on the serving plate for long. A popular Punjabi favourite, it brings together lightly spiced fish and a golden gram-flour coating with just the right amount of crunch. Serve it hot with mint chutney, onion rings and lemon wedges for a delicious evening snack or party starter.

Ingredients

Fish: 500 g firm, boneless white fish fillets such as sole, basa or another suitable firm fish, cut into medium-sized strips or bite-sized pieces.

First marinade: 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, ½ teaspoon Kashmiri or mild red chilli powder and salt to taste.

Coating: 4 tablespoons gram flour (besan), 2 tablespoons rice flour, 1 teaspoon lightly crushed ajwain, 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon kasuri methi and ½ teaspoon turmeric powder.

For frying and serving: Mustard oil or another suitable neutral frying oil, chaat masala, onion rings, lemon wedges and mint chutney.

Method

Pat the fish pieces completely dry with kitchen paper. Add the lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder and salt, then gently coat the fish. Leave it to marinate for about 15–20 minutes. Avoid a very long lemon-based marinade, as the acidity can affect the texture of the fish.

In a bowl, combine the besan, rice flour, ajwain, crushed coriander seeds, kasuri methi and turmeric. Add this mixture to the marinated fish and toss gently until each piece is evenly coated. Add only a very small splash of water if necessary. The coating should cling closely to the fish rather than becoming a thin, runny batter.

Heat the oil to a medium-high frying temperature, around 170–175°C. Fry the fish in batches without overcrowding the pan. Cook until the coating turns light golden and the fish is cooked through, usually around 3–4 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. Remove and place the fish on a wire rack so excess oil can drain without making the coating soggy.

For an extra-crisp finish, allow the fried fish to rest for a few minutes before increasing the oil temperature to around 185°C. Return the pieces to the hot oil for about 30–60 seconds, just until the coating becomes deeply crisp and golden. This brief second fry is the trick behind that particularly satisfying crunch.

Transfer the Fish Amritsari to a serving plate and finish with a light sprinkle of chaat masala. Serve immediately with onion rings, lemon wedges and mint chutney.

Serving Tip

Fish Amritsari is at its best when served straight from the fryer while the coating is still crisp. For a relaxed evening gathering, arrange the pieces on a generous serving platter with lemon wedges, onion rings and a small bowl of mint chutney in the centre.

Royal Saffron Pista Kulfi Sundae (Layered)

When traditional kulfi meets a little dessert drama, the result can be hard to resist.

Rich saffron, creamy milk, fragrant cardamom and generous pistachios come together in this modern take on a classic Indian favourite, presented in beautiful layers for a dessert that looks as good as it tastes.

The beauty of this recipe is that it keeps the comforting flavours of traditional kulfi while giving them a more contemporary presentation.

Served in clear or lightly tinted glass dessert bowls, the creamy layers, flecks of pistachio and saffron come together beautifully for a special family treat or an elegant dessert after dinner.

Ingredients

Milk: 500 ml full-fat milk

Condensed milk: ½ cup sweetened condensed milk

Cream: ¼ cup heavy cream or fresh whipping cream

Saffron: A generous pinch of saffron strands, soaked in 1 tablespoon warm milk

Nuts: ¼ cup finely chopped pistachios and almonds

Cardamom: ½ teaspoon cardamom powder

For finishing: A few chopped pistachios and delicate dried rose petals or a little edible silver varq

Method

Pour the full-fat milk into a heavy-bottomed pan and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook patiently, stirring from time to time so that the milk does not stick to the bottom,

until it reduces to roughly half its original volume. This slow reduction gives the kulfi its richer, creamier character.

Add the condensed milk, cream and saffron soaked in warm milk. Stir well and continue cooking over low to medium heat for another 5–7 minutes,

allowing the mixture to become rich and slightly thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the cardamom powder and half of the chopped pistachios and almonds.

Allow the mixture to cool completely. Do not pour a warm mixture into glass dessert bowls, especially if they are cold, as the sudden temperature change can damage the glass.

Once cooled, spoon a layer of the kulfi mixture into each dessert bowl and sprinkle a small amount of the remaining chopped nuts over it. Add another layer of the kulfi mixture,

leaving a little space at the top for the final garnish.

Cover the bowls and freeze for at least 6 hours, or until the kulfi is properly set.

Before serving, take the bowls out of the freezer and let them stand for a few minutes so the kulfi softens just enough to give a creamy, spoonable texture.

Finish with chopped pistachios, a few delicate rose petals or a touch of edible silver varq.

Serving Tip

This is one dessert where presentation deserves a little attention. Serve the kulfi directly in elegant glass dessert bowls so the layers remain visible.

A few pistachios and rose petals on top are all it needs — the saffron, creamy texture and beautiful glass presentation can do the rest.

And perhaps the best part? It looks fancy enough for guests, but the little kulfi-loving critic at home may be the first one asking for another bowl. 😄

Meet Nishi Arora

A busy, energetic woman from YamunaNagar who seems to have mastered the art of fitting a little bit of everything into her day.

Alongside helping her husband with their business, Nishi is also busy taking care of her family and her grown-up daughters. Her days are filled with responsibilities,

yet when it comes to cooking for the people she loves, she doesn’t see it as another task on a long to-do list. For Nishi, making something delicious for her family is simply part of life.

And perhaps that’s what makes her approach to food so relatable. You don’t always need hours in the kitchen or an elaborate recipe to put something enjoyable on the table.

Sometimes, a little creativity and a few familiar ingredients are all it takes.

For our fourth feature, Nishi brings us two recipes with completely different personalities — a crunchy, tangy Crispy Fried Corn Chaat that’s perfect for a lively snack,

followed by a chilled Jaggery Cardamom Cold Coffee that gives the familiar cold coffee a delicious Indian twist.

One is spicy, crunchy and full of chaat-style excitement; the other is cool, creamy and gently flavoured with jaggery and cardamom.

Together, they make a rather tempting little combination — and prove that even a busy woman can still find time to make something special for her family.