Indian

Garlic-Coconut Spiced Hash with Eggs

September 11, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Being a foodie has always made me think in one perspective, the sensual experience of eating is all in the head. I’ve always felt garlic is a package of surprises. You can use it in every possible innovative way, and there’s a new surprise each time. Now let’s hold onto this thought for a while…

Our bags packed and we are ready to get this thing going. We drove four hours to this beautiful site with winding roads. We reached our destination and were able to stretch our legs a little. Tall redwood trees, green and white tents, sounds of birds chirping invited us. It was hot, but we felt cool under the shade of the tightly packed trees. The tall trees towering above called us in a way with their outstretched branches. The warm sunlight streaming in was definitely inviting. We parked our cars and decided to poke around some more. Little did I know, I’d see the shadow of a bear that night…

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Instant Savory Vegetable Cake- Handvo

July 29, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

It is probably the 5557th time he has asked me, “What time is the flight landing?” The baby bear of our home is a big fan of his dad. He calls themselves “the twins.” To him, his dad can’t do anything wrong or say anything wrong. His trust and love for him is unparalleled. When I am cross, it doesn’t take him a moment more to say I was wrong. He’s around his dad every minute possible. He’s the biggest fan of his dad, and takes every word his dad says to heart, and those are the final words. Imagine a kid who sounds squeaky and loud going daddy, daddy this, daddy that. It can get quite annoying, but it’s too cute for us not to smile.

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Lychee-Ginger Lassi and Pineapple Lassi

June 24, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

A common summer day, to me, means pj’s, workout pants, and staying in all day procrastinating. Days start late and run late. The workout pants are very convenient for regular hikes and runs. There is no routine and no professionalism, just hanging out and thinking about what to do next. Sometimes we decide an impromptu drive, a swim, or a movie marathon. We are regulars to the half price book store. By the end of summer, we have a huge sale ourselves. I love summer and hanging out with the boys very much. Of course, every once in a while, I get bored of this regimen and decide to have friends over. Summer entertaining is the best. I get out the frills, the flowers, and a pretty hair do, which is always fun.

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Naan- Quick/Instant 20 minute No yeast Naan/Pav Bhaji Naan Pizza

May 22, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!! Have a great weekend, you all!

It’s not too often that I make naan at home. In reality, it’s not too often that we eat Indian food other than at home. We cook so much Indian food at home that we hardly have the urge to eat Indian food outside. Does that happen to you?

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Momos Manchurian – Vegetarian Dumplings

May 14, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

I forget how I exactly got introduced to momos or when. I know one thing, I love them.

I went through a stage a few years ago when I researched about various cuisines of India, few countries too and wrote about them in my note book(which I thought I’d publish one day). I was so intrigued by local food of different countries. I tried speaking to friends from those regions, learnt how to make some authentic food(I tried). I could have a conversation about local cuisine to people and that felt good. Don’t know what happened to that book or that enthusiasm. I can go on and on about the various types of dishes I’ve learnt, but I’ll bore you’ll next time. Today it’s about the beautiful country, Nepal where Momos are a popular delicacy.

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2 Vegetarian Healthy Weeknight Curries

April 16, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Growing up, I always saw Mom making these dishes during weekdays. It was served with rotis/tortillas all the time. There wasn’t a particular pattern, but I knew what was coming some of the days. The very interesting thing was, they tasted the same every time she made them. Now, it makes me wonder how she did it. No recipe, just add this and add that. Our lunches were full course meals, most of the time. Weekday dinners were usually a simple roti with a vegetarian side.

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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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Burmese Tea Leaf salad

March 10, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Around this time, a few years ago, was when I started enjoying green tea. An introduction to an actual green tea salad came way later, with a lot of resistance. I am not a salad lover, let alone a fermented green tea salad… That’s a stretch.

If you visit San Francisco and you have some time to wait in line to grab a bite, do not miss Burma Superstar. The food is delicious, and the fermented green tea salad is outstanding. What I don’t enjoy is the wait (which is crazy), and it’s even worse when you go there hungry. So, you know, I had to find a way to make one my favorite salad at home. I was inspired by the excellent salad I ate there, and just had to make my own version.

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Malpua (Sweet Pancake) with Pistachio Cream(Halwa)

March 4, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s Holi!!! It’s the Festival of Colors.

I didn’t really experience Holi when I grew up. We South Indians did not celebrate it. So, my memories are just seeing few of neighbors running around and dunking each other in color.

That changed though after coming to the States. It was a Culture Adventure overload.

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Tandoori Fish and Yucca Chips

March 1, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Happy March!!

I’d like to believe a lot of us are creatures of habit. In my mind, there are very few things better than a nibble here and a sip there around a table with nodding heads and bouts of laughter. Conversations start and flow, taking us around a whole lot of subjects with a lot of food consumed.

The only drawback to this is you get used to this, a bit too much. A simple ritual but a fond one.

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