Gluten Free

Instant Paniyaaram with Millets & Vegetables -Tomato Chutney

October 6, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Gluten-free and vegan, a healthy and tasty snack, this instant paniyaaram only takes about half an hour. Loaded with vegetables, made with millets, and with protein from the peanuts, it makes for an easy and healthy after-school snack or is great for school lunchboxes.

I’d mock my mom when I saw her cook with millets, oats, and whole grains. She’d slyly put a handful of millets in our pongal, or add some oat flour in the roti batter. We never realized healthier ingredients went into our food, but it did. But, every moment dad and I saw her sneak it in, we’d roll our eyes. Yeah… well, here I am living in the very world I lovingly mocked.

Who am I? I can’t believe the day has come that I’ve become my mother. I’m making millets paratha, quinoa pongal, chocolate oatmeal… And, I’m loving it. The family loves it too. Well, maybe not the whole family. The little baby bear will come around, just like I did. Or at least I hope he will 🙄 . He’s got a tongue just like his mumma used to….

Spicy Tandoori Potatoes/Aloo

October 2, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These crispy spicy and delicious tandoori potatoes makes for a great starter for the vegetarians or it’s a great side with naan and some sour cream-yogurt dip.

If you’ve never tried tandoori potatoes before, then you’ve got to try them! It’s a guarantee they’ll be making a regular appearance at house. Especially THESE, they are spicy and full of flavor. Smash them them and you have great smashed tandoori potatoes….

Dhaba Style Egg Omelette Tomato Curry

September 29, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These mildly spiced eggs cooked in butter were rolled, cut, and simmered in a tangy garlicky tomato curry. They are fluffy and soak in the juices quite efficiently. This dhaba style egg curry is a perfect quick “lazy” meal for cold evenings. The curry goes absolutely great with rotis, chapathis, and parathas.

We’ve had an adventurous few weeks. Yes, we did travel quite a bit, but it is the adventure we had with my camera I’m referring to.

A few days before leaving on a trip to London and Oslo, my camera stopped working. The card reader was messed up. I was sick at that time. When I finally had some energy, I decided to take it to my local camera repair guy (which had a one-star rating) only because I did not want to drive an hour up to the city to get it fixed. We were somewhat relieved because the local guy told me he can try and give it before we leave on our trip, which was in five days….

Broccoli Fried Rice topped with crispy garlic and onion

August 30, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

A quick and tasty side dish, or can be served as a meal. This Broccoli Fried Rice with crispy garlic and onion will blow you away. No one will never know it’s healthy. You can modify this recipe to include any veggies you choose.

I was one of those fussy kids growing up, mom snuck in veggies in everything, coconut peas rice, cauliflower tomato rice, tawa pulao with more vegetables than rice, and I had no clue of her hidden intentions. Now, it’s more a habit, more than me wanting to sneak in vegetables in my kids.

I love the idea of an all-broccoli version of this, but I know not to test my luck too far, so for us, an equal amount of chopped broccoli to brown or white rice is the perfect compromise for the whole family. Just like cauliflower rice, you place the broccoli florets in the food processor and pulse until they resemble a rice-like texture. Be sure to watch is carefully because, if you process too far, then you’re on your way to pesto, but if you process it too little, then those indistinguishable grains of broccoli become chunks of green in your rice….

Sheet Pan Bruschetta Chicken and Veggies

August 19, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

The convenience and simplicity of this chicken dinner makes it extra awesome. This sheet pan bruschetta chicken is fast, family-friendly, no-brainer dinner you need to make tonight! The best part, easy clean up. Change up the veggies throughout the year—the balsamic garlic sauce is good on all of them!

I’ts almost school time and I’m always looking for easy dinner options and this bruschetta chicken always wins.

Who doesn’t love bruschetta?!! To die for cherry tomatoes, fresh basil – the most delicious things coming out of our gardens right now. Toss with olive oil and sea salt all atop some olive oil toasted bread, HEAVEN!! And it’s so super flavorful for summer!

Bruschetta Chicken is a classic Italian-American bistro favorite in the spring and summer. My Sheet pan Bruschetta Chicken recipe is fast, fresh, and ridiculously delicious. This is the dinner we can’t stop making. The meal I’ve been serving quite often. The chicken that I make once a week to have on salads, on pasta, alone. This is the business….

Broccoli Cauliflower Goat Cheese Quinoa Patties with Avocada Cream

August 6, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These crispy, healthy, gluten-free broccoli cauliflower goat cheese quinoa patties are simple and nutritious. If you want, skip the cheese and use vegan cheese to make it fully vegan. These patties are very versatile. You can make them with different vegetables and your choice of cheese. Your meat lover will love it too.

Happy New Week you guys!!

I find it a little challenging to eat healthily while having all the good flavors, with portion control. When summer hits, it’s especially a little hard to maintain a decent lifestyle in terms of food. With the boys home, there’s a little bit of indulgent food, a lot of comfort food, and in between, I try to squeeze in some healthy food too….

Sweet and spicy Curried Mango chicken salad

July 10, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This is fun and tasty spin on chicken salad. This spicy curried mango chicken salad has diced grilled chicken, cashews and a creamy curry sauce. It’s addictive and makes for a nice wrap or like lettuce wraps. Perfect for Picnics or light lunch.

Summer comes and mangoes are everywhere. Although we don’t get that many varieties sweet ones,as we get in India, we are lucky to get some sweet ones here.

When mango arrives, everyone’s enjoying them to the core. Smoothies, Popsicles, kulfi, ice-cream, salads, sauces, you name it, people make it. I am not the biggest fan of mango as is, I know I know, weird, but true. In salad form, I could eat the whole bowl….

Spicy Hasselback Potatoes and Egg Salad with Fennel and Chives Tadka (Tempering)

June 26, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These Indian flavored Hasselback potatoes are roasted until crispy that’s drizzled with spices. A flavorful and wholesome side dish bursting with fresh herbs and seasonings. Make these Spicy Hasselback Potatoes Eggs for your next picnic or party. It’s a winner.

~The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s about what you’re made of, not circumstances.~

This tried and tested method for a good relationship I heard from my shrink years ago is a guaranteed way to keep arguments fair and civil.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about marriage, it is to not use the words “Never” and “Always”….

Creamy Pistachio Cardamom Horchata & A letter to grads

June 19, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Insanely rich and creamy. This is the best creamy pistachio cardamom horchata you’ll ever make. Spiked with some rum or served on some ice, it’s the perfect summer dessert or drink for parties.

We reached a milestone last week. My teen graduated from high school!

It is jarring to find out that he is an adult. A few of our friends’ kids, who we cradled in our arms, are now beautiful grown men and women, graduating high school. Gone are the days of Wii games and children’s books, and now comes the time where we ask them what they’d like to take to their dorm. A toaster maybe, or an instant pot….

Spicy Crispy Baked Popcorn Chicken – Juiciest and Easy

May 24, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This healthier version of spicy, crispy, and baked Popcorn Chicken is scrumptious. It makes for the perfect kid-friendly snack, and big kids love it too. If you’re looking for flavorful, garlicky, tender, and juicy popcorn chicken, this is for you.

The first time I had fried chicken was after my marriage when I visited my in-laws for the first time. We were invited to a dinner. My mum in law’s sister was known for her CHICKEN PAKORAS. They would get to know very quickly, that the newlywed girl was not shy about showing her love for food. Among all the chaos and the hustle, the chattering, the food that was being passed around, I got very curious. Curious about the person who was behind the food. I slowly crept into the kitchen to see who was sending out that plate of crispy, spicy red chicken pakoras in particular. There she was. Aunty was standing right there with the corner of her saree tucked into her waist, very busily looking at three stoves. One had biryani going, one had some curry, and the other had a large kadahi with oil and the CHICKEN….