Saffron Rice cooked in the Microwave

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Filed Under Rice, Rice Or Biryani | 22 Comments

After almost two weeks of eating out, the cravings for homemade food got unbelievably strong today. I had some frozen spareribs in the freezer, which I cooked with Indian spices to make a spicy pork fry. I don’t mind eating dry dishes with plain rice, as long as it is spicy, but Siv usually prefers a gravy with white rice.
First inkling was to make a fried rice, but the fridge was completely empty, even the eggs had expired almost a […]

Sausage Fried Rice - Javanese Style

Monday, March 10th, 2008

Filed Under Pork, Rice, Rice Or Biryani, South East Asia | 37 Comments

The husband is away on a business trip, the fridge is practically empty and it is pouring outside to go shopping. This was the situation at home tonight when it was time to start thinking about dinner. I raided the fridge to find some Portuguese sausage links, eggs and left over rice. First thought was to just have sausage and eggs, breakfast for dinner, why not? But then I thought of Meeta’s Monthly Mingle, and that today is the last […]

Indo-Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice

Monday, January 7th, 2008

Filed Under Eggs, Indo Chinese, Rice, Rice Or Biryani, Vegetarian | 50 Comments

Once in a while I get e-mails from readers asking for menu suggestions for a dinner party they are planning. This is my absolute favorite part of any party- coming up with the menu. Siv and I spend days planning a menu for the parties that we throw, and come up with an over-ambitious menu comparable to that of a tasting menu at a fine restaurant. But due to utter laziness and the tendency to procrastinate doing any kind of job till the absolute last minute, more often than not we end up ditching the pre-planned menu and do a d-day scrambling to buy groceries […]

Ila Ada and Kozhukkatta - Steamed Rice Delights from Kerala

Thursday, September 6th, 2007

Filed Under Desserts, India - Kerala, Rice | 34 Comments

The house sure feels empty, now that my parents have gone back to India! Three months sure flew by so quickly, I hope they had a nice vacation here. It’s been almost fifteen years since I spent three months at a time with my parents. Well, during college days, I used to go home every weekend, so that doesn’t really count I guess! Even then, its been eleven years! We had a great time, but I know they were more than eager to […]

Purple Rice Payasam / Kheer

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

Filed Under Desserts, India - Kerala, Rice | 35 Comments

I had completely forgotten about my leftover stash of Forbidden Rice till I saw this beautiful creation by Sra. Well, timing was perfect: Onam was here, my mom wanted to make the full blown Onasadya (a grand feast), and the only dish she wanted me to cook was Payasam. So one shot, three birds - a way to use up my purple rice, a payasam for Onam and my entry for JFI. Well, it is not a traditional Onam Payasam, but […]

Forbidden Rice Pudding

Tuesday, May 15th, 2007

Filed Under Desserts, Diary, Mango, Recipes, Rice | 37 Comments

Don’t let the name confuse you, it is not a forbidden pudding, it is a pudding made of Forbidden rice. I picked up this rice from the Asian store, just because I was intrigued by the name. Also because the packet had the following description:
Legend tells us that Forbidden rice was once grown exclusively for the Emperors of China to enrich their health and ensure their longevity.

So that’s where the name came from, it was reserved for the Emperors. Well, […]