Food Fashion Recipe Blog

Shrimp Curry with Potatoes and Peas – 30 Minute Curry

March 28, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Low and slow, is the mantra for a good Curry.

Curry comes in a variety of colors. Cooking is an art, curries are the colors.

Indian Curries are pretty time consuming, especially with the ones that involve meat. The pan or pot that a curry is made in also adds to its complexity. Everything must be slow cooked and sauteed without burning, and the meat almost always is cooked for long periods of time left unattended. For example, a good fish curry would always take a while to make. If it sat overnight before serving, the dish became exquisite the next day. A lamb/goat meat dish prep would start a few hours before lunch time and it was almost on Sundays. Cookers or slow cookers were never used. It cooked long hours leading to a ‘fall of the bone’ tender, flavorful and juicy meat. All these different curries really required a lot of time and love, but were so worth the wait.

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Red Rice Sweet Paniyaarm/fritters stuffed with Coconut and Palm Sugar

March 22, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s that time again for Indians to slap colors on each other. A festival which brings people together, a festival of camaraderie and jollity. Holi – the festival of COLORS.

India does have a lot of festivals, and the whole country turns into a colorful atmosphere. Among these festivals, some are religious, some are based on seasons, and some are of national importance. I consider this festival in particular to be a more free spirited, joyous occasion for the young and old and everyone in between. It’s a festival where people forget anger, sadness and join in for a day of fun, food and become kids at heart.

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Lentil-Radish Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing (Guest Post)

March 17, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Lentil-Radish Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing |foodfashionparty|Guest post by @boxofspice

With the rain and winds, the Bay Area is filled with pollen too. The only way I can communicate now, without messing my vocal chords completely, is to whisper. For some reason the husky and sexy voice(as someone called it) doesn’t seem to suit me and I’ve had a few people feel bad, laugh and make fun of me all at the same time :). It’s one of the worst sore throats I have ever had, and I refuse to go to the doctor. Trying to have green tea with honey, fresh turmeric and everything to soothe my poor little throat. I am so very thankful and grateful to Rakhee from boxofspice to fill my space today with one of her impressive salads.

As Rakhee puts it, we’ve known each other for the longest. I fell in love with her gorgeous photography and this post in particular Chaat Salad, and now we are great friends and I am in love with her personality too. She’s all ears when I want to and makes me feel like a million bucks (what more can anyone ask). Her artistic eye for dreamy and moody photography requires a standing ovation and her salads all belong in a magazine. Without further ado… Here’s Rakhee. Take it away my dear…..

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Green Masala Fish Curry

March 11, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Uncles, Mom and Dad have left for work. It’s just my Amma (grandmom) and I. It’s the peace after the storm.

With no one to order me around, tease me, or make me bring things, I very quietly walk to the balcony and hold the railings with my two tiny little hands and start my favorite pastime. Watching people. A variety of people with a myriad of emotions: preoccupied looks, busy smiles, the nervous laughter, all for different reasons. They all were in a rush to get somewhere. I was plain amazed by that. I looked at their clothes, their make up and everything. I remember one day asking my grandmom, pointing to a lovely looking girl: “She looks so pretty ma, will I ever be as beautiful as her?” To that she responded, “You, my dear, are much prettier than her and without all that makeup!” That made me feel good then. My ego booster, my Grandmom.

We sit chatting for a bit…..Until we hear the sounds of the guy we were waiting for….

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Taro/Arbi Spicy Stir Fry

March 3, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

She comes home and finds an empty container, which, only a couple of hours ago, had the very best tangy-spicy, oily, fried taro.

A year is a long time to be away when you’ve stayed with someone for 21 years. A trip to India after I came to US was an in-explainable feeling, and an exciting one. There were a lot of things I wanted to enjoy, first being the food. All the things I was overwhelmed to cook or plain didn’t know how to cook were the things I asked mom to make. Sometimes we just have a mind block, don’t you think? You believe it’s hard to cook something, just because. This was one of those things….

Almond-Cardamom Cream stuffed Apple Tarts

February 19, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

I wonder how the days were when there was no puff pastry in the freezer.

Making a puff pastry is an art, an art of being patient. The dough is breathtakingly soft and pliable. There is an aura of romantacism while you handle the dough and roll carefully, quarter turns and striping/dotting The ingredients are just a few, but so many small details go into making the dough. I had little clue until then about the process, and how amazingly flaky, pure buttery it would be. The first bite I took after we baked one batch just blew my socks off. I instinctively remember closing my eyes and tasting the butter, the flakiness and the gazillion layers so thin and crispy. The effort paid off….

Melon Noodles-Blueberry Sorbet Float

February 12, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Do you bookmark and pin a lot of recipes to try?

A few days ago, I saw an Indonesian Melon drink posted by the very talented Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella. It looked so fancy, simple and so different, I couldn’t wait to make my version and it went right on top of my ‘to-make’ list. I am sure most of you know her by now, if not please do check her out, you will love her. I am always amazed at how much great food she puts out on her blog. Apart from her fabulous food, I admire her sense of humor and she is such wonderful person.

I am a big fan of fancy looking food, which requires less fussing around and this cocktail/dessert is just that. So here is an inspired float. Simple, stunning and bombdiggity, if I may say so myself:).

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Red Bean-Cardamom Buns

February 7, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

What’s your favorite dessert?

I couldn’t pick just one. It’s coffee cake one day, falooda another, or a simple gulab jamun, which I always love.

While San Francisco is famous for it’s Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and earthquakes, it’s also very famous for its restaurants. There are no words to describe the popular sourdough of San Francisco, it’s amazing. The food truck festival is a very popular one. The Ghirardelli ice cream is just to die for. My mouth just waters with the memory of the English muffins from Model bakery. Ahhh, so good. Little Italy has some beautifully created dishes as well. While burritos are considered sacred here, Chinese food is like an institution. We have some very very popular chefs who have great restaurants, and I’ve been to a lot of them. It is a food heaven filled with culture and beauty.

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Vegetable-Tofu Wrap with Spicy Almond Cream

February 3, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Happy February!

The only thing that comes to mind during January is Downton Abbey.

We watched or let’s just say binge watched all 6 seasons under 3 weeks. I know..I know..it’s crazy. We did though. For a month I spoke in an accent new to me, and I felt quite posh. Now that fancy accent is fading away as fast as the memories of Downton Abbey are. I enjoyed it so much that I pretty much have withdrawal symtom now. I’m looking for another period drama. If you have suggestions, please do let me know.

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KIMCHI – Kimchi Ramen Noodles

January 27, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

As I stood massaging the cabbage with copious amounts of salt for the Kimchi, my thoughts drifted to a place where I spent a lot of my early school days.

Right in the middle of a very busy market street, a road with the honks of scooters and auto rickshaws and the bells of the cyclists, kids playing marbles on the side of the roads was a norm. There were so many stray dogs and cows walking like they owned the roads. The homes were all quite tightly packed, and a lot of them were built in the early 19oo’s. Made of brick and wooden roofs, rough walls, and carved wooden doors with so many subtle nuances was my Maternal Grandparents’ home, famously known as “Ayya’s home.”

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