If you watched Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations – Kerala episode last month on the Travel Channel, you might have seen Tony sampling beef biryani from a street side vendor in Kerala. I don’t know about you, but ever since I saw that episode, I’ve been having major cravings for this dish and finally got around [...]
If you follow my photo blog, you might already know that I made a mini-Sadya for the grand Kerala festival Onam yesterday. Avial is an integral part of the traditional Kerala Sadya line-up. I don’t know why I make Avial only when there is a sadya, it is one of the easiest vegetable dishes [...]
We Seattleites are obsessed with weather. People over here spend so much time outside in summer, as if it is the last time we will ever get to see the sun! This year especially since the weather has been so inconsistent, any day we get some sun everyone is out in droves. I am the [...]
Once upon a time, a girl and a boy fresh out of college moved to a big city far away from home to pursue their dream jobs. They were both living away from home for the first time, all determined to enjoy the new found freedom and were making more money than they had ever dreamed [...]
I can’t believe it’s only been 6 days since I got back from India. Life is already back to normal, except for a bit of jetlag that hits me in the afternoon. It is almost like I never left at all. We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on Friday and managed to get away for [...]
I am more than half way through my vacation and now I don’t even know how I’ll ever be able to go back to my desk job. Not having any responsibility suits me just fine. Wish I could do this back home in Seattle, just laze around all day and eat yummy home cooked hot [...]
I am writing this post from Kerala, where I’ve been for the past week. This year has been really hectic so far and then suddenly I end up here having absolutely nothing to do. I am in such a Zen state that all my plans for collecting as many Kerala recipes as I can and [...]
Am I on a roll or what! Two recipes in a week, it’s been a long time since that has happened! Just trying to get all my drafts cleaned up before leaving for India. I have such mixed feelings about this India trip, while I am all excited about seeing my family, just thinking about [...]
I haven’t posted any Tamil recipes in a while, not because Siv is not cooking anymore, but because he has a tendency to stick with a few tried and tested recipes whenever he does. I think I have posted all the dishes that he regularly makes. Today when he said he wanted to cook goat, [...]
I’ve been trying to figure out ways of getting out of this blogging rut I am stuck in. Someone suggested creating cooking videos, but boy, that sounds like way too much work. But I can see how the videos can be helpful, especially for those who are totally unfamiliar with a particular cuisine or are [...]
I haven’t posted a Naadan Kerala dish here in a while; so here goes one which qualifies in terms of ingredients at least. I kind of made up the recipe as I was cooking, so I can’t claim that it is a traditional dish. It sure tasted like one to me though. We haven’t been [...]
I am one of those people who start salivating at the mere mention of the word Chettinad. It is the spiciest cuisine I have come across and you all know spice is my favorite flavor. Now, whenever I mention a region in a dish title, I know what’s going to follow next – the authenticity [...]
Comfort food has been discussed to death over here and in many other forums. To me, comfort food is what I won’t mind eating every single day of my life if I had to. In fact I had a post about two years ago asking the readers to share their pick if they had to [...]
I can hear the collective yawn already – No, not another Biryani recipe! Hasn’t she posted all the possible variations out there already? Well, no, I haven’t even scratched the surface yet. Every time I make Biryani it turns out a bit different, so you should really thank me for not posting the hundreds of [...]
After I started blogging, I bring back quite a few Indian cookbooks every time I visit India. Due to the generous exchange rate, you get about 10 Indian cookbooks for the price you’d pay for an average cookbook here in the US. I am a total novice when it comes to the different regional cuisines [...]
In my last post I ranted about folks who don’t respond to my oh-so-very-helpful e-mails. But to be honest, I have to say that I am no saint either! I have promised many things on e-mail to readers which I never delivered. One such undelivered promise is about posting an Indian themed South Beach Diet [...]
This one is a rather boring looking curry, but it was really tasty for a quick fix dish made with this and that from the pantry and refrigerator. I have never really combined chickpeas (garbanzo beans) with eggs before, I wasn’t planning on it this time either. As the chickpeas were simmering in the gravy [...]
If I had to pick my favorite from the different Chinese cuisines, I would pick Szechuan without a doubt. Szechuan cuisine is all about bold and spicy flavors, you know that is right up my alley. My only issue with Szechuan is that I can’t spell it right to save my life! Spelling has always [...]
Aval is the Malayalam name for flattened or beaten rice. Growing up, one of my favorite snacks used to be Aval Nanachathu (which translates to wet aval), which is just flattened rice mixed with grated coconut and jaggery or sugar. It is very easy to make, so it was a frequent tea time snack at [...]
It’s been a week since I came back from India, but I’ve been ignoring this blog completely. Let me blame it on jet lag and not mention my laziness for once. As usual, I am back with big plans. Plans for a more structured life, a life where we cook every day and shop wisely [...]
I am in the second week of my India vacation, though it feels like ages since we left Seattle! The days seem so much longer here! It’s not like I’ve been sitting at home doing nothing, we’ve already traveled to Bangalore and Chennai, finished most of the shopping too. Back in Seattle, my weekends usually [...]
Win $100 or a copy of the cookbook Flavours of the Spice Coast by Mrs.K.M. Mathew.
Ends Sept 12th 2010.
