Asha Shivakumar

Ambur Chicken Biryani

September 10, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Hello Biryani lovers!! Here’s the most popular South Indian AMBUR CHICKEN BIRYANI. If you love biryani, this chicken biryani will WOW you. This one pot biryani is so flavorful and will become your go to biryani recipes. You will love this easy and delicious recipe that screams comforting!

Ambur Chicken Biryani #amburbiryani #chickenbiryani

I’ve never met a biryani I didn’t enjoy. Can anything be more marvelous than a big pot of Biryani? My favorite right here is the AMBUR Chicken Biryani.

Biryani making is an Art. It’s about the process as much as it is about that final waft of smell when you open the pot and see the separate grains of flavorful rice, the first spoon and the tender fall off the bone chicken. India has a kaleidoscope of recipes when it comes to Biryani: there’s the Hyderabi style chicken biryani, Yakhni Pulao, Awadhi Biryani, Kolkata biryani, Malabar biryani, Dindigul Biryani, Memoni Biryani and more. I can assure you, a biryani lover does not play favorites. Then again, there’s one child you favor a tad bit more than the other. This one does it for me.

Woke up bright and early ready to embark on the art of making biryani.

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Steamed artichoke with yogurt mayo dip & Garlic Sweet and spicy Chicken Stuffed buns

August 7, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Steamed artichoke with yogurt mayo dip & Garlic Sweet and spicy Chicken Stuffed buns. Tender artichoke with a creamy light dip fish and Garlic Sweet and spicy Chicken Stuffed buns, a delicious meal in one all in the BUYDEEM steamer. Thanks to buydeem for sponsoring this post.

Of all the conventional cooking methods, steaming is one of the most natural and healthful ways to cook the food you eat; it’s a simple technique that allows you to experience the unique flavors of the food itself. Let’s explore why this timeless moist-heat cooking method is worth using in today’s modern diet.

Steaming leaves the food with bright flavors and textures of the food intact. Unlike boiling and simmering, steaming doesn’t agitate food, so it’s a perfectly gentle way to cook delicate items like meats, seafood and shellfish. And perhaps best of all, steaming keeps all those valuable nutrients inside the food, instead of in the cooking liquid….

Steamed Scallion Ginger Fish and Matcha Cake

July 11, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Steamed Scallion Ginger Fish and Matcha Cake. Tender spiced fish in a deliciously simple ginger scallion sauce and steamed matcha cake, a delicious meal in one all in the BUYDEEM steamer. Thanks to buydeem for sponsoring this post.

Steamed Cashew Chicken Curry and Steamed Yogurt Pudding

June 13, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Steamed Cashew Chicken Curry and Steamed Yogurt Pudding. Tender chicken breast in a smooth cashew sauce and steamed yogurt pudding, a delicious meal in one all in the BUYDEEM steamer. Thanks to buydeem for sponsoring this post.

5 days in Barcelona – Ultimate travel guide

April 15, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

This Barcelona guide is all you need to travel to BCN. Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It’s art-ful, hipster, open and addictive. It’s a nice city year-round and you will fall in love with its architecture, street art and all those tapas restaurants!

Barcelona is the world’s most beautiful city. At least to me. Because think about it. A city by the sea yet encircled by wooded mountains, with gorgeous architecture, beautiful churches, and a pedestrian thoroughfare that is one of the prettiest you will ever see (La Rambla). It is one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair, and cultural centers and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world’s major global cities….

Jalapeno Chicken with Bell Peppers

March 10, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Spicy and sweet this Jalapeno Chicken with bell peppers is easiest fanciest stir-fry you will ever make! With the juiciest, tender chicken bites and sneaked in veggies!

If you are anything like me, you love the heat. Here the jalapeno adds so much flavor and heat. Say Hello easiest-dinner-ever, jalapeno chicken with bell peppers. It’s such a quick, speedy stir-fry using of chicken tenders and you get the most tasty stir fry. But don’t worry, you can swap them out for chicken thigh if you like it.

I also love to add veggies for that extra freshness and nutrition, also soaking up all that saucy goodness. But you can use any veggies you have on hand – carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, baby corn, you name it! They are all good here….

3 days in New York City – Ultimate Travel guide

March 8, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Here’s a 3 days in New York travel guide, the only guide you need. The Urban Jungle, Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, the capital of the world – No matter how you’ve heard it called, there’s no denying that New York City is one of the most vibrant and fascinating cities on the planet.

Known as the urban jungle, BIG APPLE, the city that never sleep, New York City is the most populous city in the USA. New York City can feel like an overwhelming city to visit. New York was such an exciting city to visit and if you like fast-paced urban adventures then we think you will have a great time here. There are so many attractions, historical locations, pop culture landmarks and delicious foods that it may seem hard to cram everything in just one visit, so I hope this post will help you.

New York City needs at least a week to just scratch the surface. I’ve been to NYC four times now and I still feel, there so much to do and see. In this post I have covered it all, best places to eat, to see and things to do. Whether you stay for 3 days or a week, I have you covered.…

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Blueberries

February 8, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

This Chicken Tagine with Potatoes and Chickpeas right here is the BEST Moroccan Chicken recipe you will find! Succulent , tender chicken stew w/ warm Moroccan spices, cilantro, lemon & dried blueberries. No ordinary chicken dinner, this easy one-pot wonder will surprise your taste buds in the best way possible.

There probably hundred chicken meals in the blog and it keeps on coming. This chicken tagine with vegetables and blueberries is a new favorite. Tagines are definitely flavor-dense but are not necessarily spicy or hot. The use of fruits such as apricots or dates and almonds are common, but blueberries are a unique touch that we love more than any dried fruit. Sometimes honey often adds a slight sweetness to an otherwise savory dish. The word “tagine” also refers to the traditional clay and ceramic pots in which the tagines are prepared. The tagines are perfect for people who like tender and juicy food since it seals in the moisture for even cooking. The best part is that the tagine can be used as the serving pot, so straight out of the stove to the dining table.…

Udupi Avvalaki/Aval Upma/Spiced Masala Poha

January 18, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Udupi Aval Upma is a tea time snack also eaten during breakfast. It’s spicy, nutty and crunchy. It’s got the flavors of coconut, sesame seeds and spices along with jaggery to sweeten it up.

Last week a group of friends and I were discussing about how important it is to love ourselves, to be content and how to be self aware. It’s not something that comes easily. It requires consistent practice and over time without your knowledge, you are there, you really do love yourself. Just like this dish, it might look easy, but it has a good balance of many ingredients to all come together. It is about balance, about understanding the different aspects to coming to the final destination that you want.

The act of self love is often times misconstrued as being selfish. Coming to think of it, is it really being selfish?

If you got past that last sentence, then you have mustered every ounce of courage to finally teach yourself the essence of self-love.

In a world where we’ve been raised to put others first, self-love can often feel selfish. Setting aside time for self-love causes feelings of guilt, and we struggle to maintain a dedicated self-love practice. It’s frustrating. We know we need self-love, yet we have difficulty giving ourselves permission to experience it. Ironic, isn’t it?…

Egyptian Koshari Recipe

January 16, 2022 By Asha Shivakumar

Delicious Egyptian Koshari is the national dish of Egypt. This interesting combo of carbs on carbs on carbs with all the fixings is delicious and the most favorite dish we had in Cairo. It’s got spiced lentils, rice, vermicelli, pasta, chickpeas, topped with spicy tomato sauce and fried onions, SO GOOD!

Koshari (also spelled, Kushari) is both the street food and Egypt’s national dish, also known to be at least a thousand years old. This starch fest of a dish is made out of lentils, rice and has a spicy tangy kick. It came about when someone fell in love with the Indian dish, kichadi made with lentils and rice. You can find this at any street corner in Cairo.

“If you go to Cairo and not have Koshari, it’s like going to South India and not having Idli sambar”.

Kushari was originally sold as street food before becoming the crown jewel of brick and mortar shops all over Egypt—in fact, the late Anthony Bourdain, always a champion of quirky culinary gems, once shot an episode in Egypt where he enjoyed kushari from one of the most famous restaurants in Cairo. We were lucky to be dining at a local favorite Abou Tarek, where the Koshari is famous. Sold for pennies, a it’s a hearty vegan meal made with lentil rice, pasta, chickpeas, vinegar tomato sauce, and topped with fried onions. Perhaps unsurprising once you see the ingredient list, three different countries each contributed a piece of the culinary puzzle: India is behind the rice, lentils, and chickpeas; Italians working in the restaurants of Egypt added pasta and tomato sauce and Egyptians themselves topped it all off with those crispy onions and a bright, vinegary sauce to tie it all together. “It’s three different cultures all together in one meal.” Perhaps that’s why I love it so much.

It’s a culture overload along with sensory overload.…