Chicken

Kheema Matar- Spicy Chicken Mince Pizza, no knead quick pizza

August 2, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Kheema matar or chicken mince is a popular Indian dish. Top it on pizza and it becomes a delicious treat. Spicy chicken mince pizza for the win!

THE INSIDES

“If you get the insides rights, the outsides fall into place.”

The older I get, the more comfortable I feel with myself. Whether it’s my introverted side, which I discovered recently, or just accepting the now, the present, not only of ourselves but of others, I’m learning and improving everyday.

It’s a very simple proposition—loving yourself. Loving oneself comes from self-acceptance, and the ability to unconditionally value all the parts of yourself. Easier said than done, one might say, but in reality, it’s a subconscious effort of taking steps….

Spicy Amaranth Chicken Curry/ Thotakura Chicken

March 27, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Amaranth Chicken Curry is popular throughout the state of Andra Pradesh. Their cuisine is known for their spicy food and hearty distinctive taste. Amaranth leaves come in shades of red, purple and simple green. They are easily available in Asian grocers and widely popular in Indian cooking. They are robust in flavor eaten raw, but when cooked they turn mellow and add an extra layer of flavor to any dish.

Midweek rush.

Have you packed your bags? Print everything you want for school now, nothing in the morning. I’ll wake you up at 6. am., if you want to finish your homework.

After making sure things are a bit organized, I send the little one off to bed, kissing him on his cheek and squeezing his chin. I come down to finish the chores, prep for tomorrow’s lunch, and stare at the dishes for a while before tackling them. Once I find myself standing in a clean kitchen, I am pleased with myself. I put on a kettle, pour some boiling water in my mug and sit down with my green tea on the sofa, taking a deep breath. My phone is in my hand.…

Chinese Chicken Salad Tacos with Home made spiced tomato tortilla

March 15, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Salads are great. My family likes their salads with a little protein, an extra crunch, and a fresh, sweet touch. Having a salad once a day is definitely a good habit. Of course, having someone chop and prep a salad is even better. I am absolutely loving the ready to eat organic salad kits we find these days. They’re so convenient, with such clean ingredients. Here, I made a tortilla and topped it with the salad and some chicken. It was a complete, delicious meal of Chinese Chicken Salad in a tomato tortilla.

I was glad to partner with FeedFeed and Earthboundfarm. I am usually very skeptical about bagged salads and bottled dressings. However, this one defied my expectations. I stand by this brand., and am so impressed with this little kit. It comes with a dressing (which by the way is good), some chips, and nuts. I add this salad mix to my chow mein, omelettes, pastas, and pretty much everything else that I can add vegetables too….

Spicy Chicken Pakora/Fritters

December 28, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Chicken Pakora/fritters is an amazing appetizer and perfect party entertainer. It’s best made using boneless chicken and chickpea flour/besan.

We are thoroughly spoiled by where we live. Right in the middle of the bay, there are farmer’s markets every week, people with light casual clothes all year around. There are strawberry picking, the cherry festival, the peach trees, and garage sales which will close down the streets. Apple orchards filled with the most delicious ones to pick, tangerines and oranges everywhere. We are greedy every season and try to hold on to the harvest preserving it bottle by bottle. When there are snow and storms everywhere, we are trying to preserve the water because of the dry weather. Craving for exotic food, we have options: we can either make them because the international grocery stores carry everything and the restaurants here are amazing. There are mountains to one side and sea to the other. Ski resorts are a couple of hours north and Disneyland a few more to the south.

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Spicy Mango Masala Chicken

July 3, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

There are many words to describe food. Three words to describe this chicken, no cliché here, are “FINGER LICKING GOOD.”

This recipe was definitely an accident, a happy and yummy accident.

This is a re-post from few years ago. I’ve made it a number of times. Yesterday I made a huge batch of the mango barbecue sauce and decided to click some better quality pictures, if you know what I mean. I haven’t deleted the old post. If you’d like to see the old pictures and how this recipe came to be, here’s the link for the original Mango Chicken.

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Grilled/Baked Chicken in a Tamarind Masala Sauce

June 15, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Whew, it’s the holidays. The last two days have been relaxing and a big break from waking up early. The business of the school year was filled with some challenging and some fun days. I’m looking to relaxing days, hikes, and a little bit of traveling. Most of all, I’m looking forward to doing some impromptu stuff with the family. Summer in Cali is quite intense. The last week has been hot. Our grill, all cleaned up, is ready to work for us.

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White Chicken Curry Pot Pie

May 2, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Every year, I’m asked what I would like to eat on Mother’s day before they decide on eggs and toast. Kids plan with their dad, and they always make a tasty breakfast of Indian eggs with toast. It stops there :). I thoroughly enjoy my morning with some strong Indian filter coffee and the masala eggs. Then I get this: “Mom I don’t know how you’re able to cook so much all the time… It’s so tough.” As cooking is second nature for me at this point, I would be more than happy to enjoy in my kitchen the whole day. Even though I tell them I could, all I get is a big “No.” Afterwards, they tell about reservations for lunch and dinner. Mother’s Day is always fun, a bit of pampering.

Hypothetically speaking, if some one were to cook a nice meal, I’d love these mini pot pies. With this, a beautiful red wine, and a movie on Netflix, I’m all happy. It’s a flower bouquet in puff pastry form. What more could a food lover want? :)…

Chettinad Spicy Chicken Curry

March 17, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

I don’t experiment a lot with family recipes. I pretty much follow a step-by-step written formula. Recreating childhood memories is an experience quite special to me. Especially when being this far away, food makes me feel at home and close to family back home.

I come from a family of great cooks. They made some delicious food and some cringe-worthy exotic food too. Curries were almost non-experimental; they cooked what the family liked and that was that. As a result, a couple of next generation home cooks ventured and branched out into different methods of cooking and different cuisines, although the food made on Sundays were some of the best. We learnt the art of making Dum Aloo(potatoes in creamy sauce), chicken tikka masala(needs no intro), hariyali chicken(green curry chicken), aloo posto(Potato dry-bengali cuisne)and many more.

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INDO THAI – SPICY CHICKEN CURRY with VEGETABLES

December 17, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

If I had to summarize my weekend into one word, it would be: congested. Isn’t it annoying when you feel feverish but the temperature couldn’t be more normal. The whole weekend almost flew by resting and take out food. Not sure how you feel about NyQuil, but I can sleep 2 days straight with just 2 tbsp of it. I actually did(not literally), it did feel good.

What I did miss was home made comfort food, like some rice and spicy curry. I’m pretty exhausted from all the take out.

So after couple of days of take out food, I got up on Sunday and made my Indian Thai Curry(spicy). We enjoyed it with some coconut rice. Yum.

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PEPPER CHICKEN On Rice Cracker( PAPAD)

December 8, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s 3.30 p.m.; the front door opens to two hungry boys. The perfume of pepper, warmth from the spices, and the sizzling sounds are just inviting. If I was in my parent’s home, I would ask the same thing, “Mom, it smells so good, what are we eating?”

I have to put my foot down on some things.”Go change, wash up, put on your home clothes, and I will tell you what I cooked,” I say.

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