Young Green Mango Pickle

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

Filed Under Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, India - Kerala, Mango | 45 Comments

There is nothing like the sight of a fresh green mango to bring back the nostalgic memories of a happy Indian childhood. Unfortunately after coming to the US, the only real sour variety of mangoes that I could find were the greem frozen ones from the Indian stores. It works in chutneys and such just fine. But those slices are so sad looking, with a tired texture once defrosted, I use those only in emergencies, when the cravings for the […]

Kothamalli Thogayal (Cilantro Chutney)

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Filed Under Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Greens, India - Tamil Nadu, Vegetarian | 42 Comments

Comfort food is something you crave to come home to after a few days on the road. Comfort food is usually synonymous to familiar food. It is something so personal, one person’s comfort food can send another person running for cover. For most of us, it is something that we grew up with, associated with a warm childhood memory, a special meal that only one’s own mother can really make perfect. So it is not surprising that Siv and I […]

A low fat Guacamole… with Tofu!!!

Saturday, January 26th, 2008

Filed Under Avocado, Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Tofu | 32 Comments

Guacamole is one of my favorite dips. I know a lot of people stay away from it because of the high fat content in avocados. But the fat is mostly heart-healthy mono-saturated fat, it is cholesterol free as well. So do you wonder why I am making a lower fat version of the guacamole goodness? Because of a certain someone who has been pestering me for the past couple of weeks asking - WHERE IS MY SOY ENTRY? So far […]

Spicy Pan Seared Scallops from the "Modern Indian Cooking"

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

Filed Under Appetizers and Snacks, Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Indian Fusion, Scallops, Seafood | 33 Comments

Yahooooo, I won, I won!!!!! Okay, its been more than a month since I won, but I never got a chance to share my reaction with you all, so here I go again… YIPPPPEEEE!!!!!!! So, what’s the story, you wonder? Well, back in November, multi-talented blogging diva Jaden of Steamy Kitchen, ran a contest on her blog, to give away a cool new cookbook called Modern Indian Cooking to her readers.

Nellikka (Indian Gooseberry) Pickle

Saturday, July 21st, 2007

Filed Under Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Gooseberry, India - Kerala, Recipes | 26 Comments

Oh, another childhood favorite - Nellikka or Amla or Indian Gooseberry. We used to have fresh gooseberries with all its bitterness, just to enjoy the sweet reward at the end; a drink of water after a bite of gooseberry, and voilà, the water tastes sweet! This was something magical for us kids. Coming to think of it, I still don’t know the reason behind this phenomenon! Yes, it is still magical.
I picked up some frozen gooseberries from a local Indian store […]

Apple-Mango Salsa

Friday, April 20th, 2007

Filed Under Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Mango, Recipes | 17 Comments

Homemade salsa has a recurring role in all my dinner party productions. It is easy to make, looks pretty and goes well with a variety of dishes from chips to lamb chops to grilled fish. I keep experimenting with ingredients, and since I was running out of ideas for the event A Fruit A Month, I thought of trying an Apple Salsa. The mangoes were added to the salsa mainly to add some color, since the apple pieces are not all that […]

Green Mango Chutney

Tuesday, April 17th, 2007

Filed Under Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, India - Kerala, Mango, Recipes, Vegetarian | 23 Comments

Mango is a tropical fruit consumed mainly in its sweet ripe form in the US, but in some parts of India the unripe version is a bigger hit. The taste of green sour mangoes with salt and hot chili powder is part of a lot of Indian childhood memories…
This is a traditional Kerala dish, a thick chutney made of raw mangoes and coconut. This quick and easy chutney is very versatile, quantity of ingredients can be adjusted to get the best taste to suit […]

Bloody Mary Dipping Sauce

Friday, March 30th, 2007

Filed Under American, Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Recipes, Shrimp or Prawn, Tomato | 15 Comments

I am not a big Bloody Mary fan, I like the taste, but don’t really like to drink a glass full of it. So when I saw Rachael Ray whipping up a Bloody Mary dipping sauce on Food Network for Halloween, I had to try and recreate it at home. After several tries, I got one mix that I really liked. This makes a great dipping sauce for Shrimp instead of regular cocktail sauce.

Ingredients

1 finely chopped shallot
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 […]

G is for Ginger

Saturday, March 10th, 2007

Filed Under Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Ginger, India - Kerala, Recipes, Vegetarian | 9 Comments

Is Ginger a spice or vegetable? I’m not sure if Ginger qualifies for the A to Z of Indian Vegetables event, since the instructions specifically says, use a vegetable, and I think of ginger as predominantly a spice. But if I use Ginger as the main ingredient in a dish, it could be considered a vegetable, right?
Vegetable or not, noone would disagree on the greatness of Ginger, it has been used as a medicine in India for generations. Ginger is a great remedy […]