International Cuisine

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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Best Authentic Vegetarian Vegetarian Khow Suey – Lightly Spiced Coconut Milk Curry with Noodles and Condiments

October 6, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

It’s October, it’s Autumn. To me, it’s the start of a lot of baking, cooking, festivities and entertaining. I hope everyone’s as excited for Fall, Pumpkins, Warm Spices, and Soups.

All of that can get overwhelming at times.

But, sometimes, even too much of a good thing is really good, like this soup!

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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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COCONUT-RED BEAN PUDDING

February 17, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Happy Chinese New Year!!! It’s the Year of the Goat.

A chilled smooth, silky coconut pudding with sweetened red beans is one of my favorite desserts. Served in most dim sum restaurants, it’s a popular dessert. You might forget what you ate, but never this dessert. Without a heavy texture, it’s scrumptious, smooth, and super additive. The oomph definitely comes from the coconut milk.

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MIXED CHAAT/Salad

January 12, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Taste a good chaat, and you will soon know why it is not forgotten. Chaat is a jumble of flavors and textures. It’s sweet, spicy, tangy, crunchy, and quite wild in flavors. Ask an Indian about chaat, and you will see their face light up. It just does that. Chaat is traditionally eaten in between meals in India. It is just not like back home. There is something amiss in the authenticity of chaat we get here. I guess it’s because it has to be catered to people of different cultures.

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DOSA- A SOUTH INDIAN SPECIALITY

February 5, 2014 By Asha Shivakumar

DOSA with PEANUT CHUTNEY(a perfect South Indian breakfast)

Imagine going to your in-laws’ home for the first time, that itself is nerve wrecking(it was for me). How would you react if they ask you to make dosa? It was quite overwhelming. At that time, I didn’t know how to make coffee to save my life, leave alone the art of making a perfect crispy dosa. I slowly made my way to the kichen, kept the flat iron pan, and started making my dosas. That was not so bad until my father-in-law came and said, “hold on, let me show you how to make a proper dosa”(in a nice tone). My ego was hurt, and I was not a happy girl.

Back at my parents’ home, we did make dosa, but it is not as popular as it is in some parts of Southern India. My hubby comes from Coimbatore, a place known for its idli and dosa. Well, along the years, I’ve learnt much traditional cooking from my in laws, and I love their cooking style.
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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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STUFFED COOKIES – Pastry stuffed with nuts and dates

September 9, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

Festivals are fun. Festivals in India are very colorful. Whats your favorite festival/holiday?

It’s one of those festive weeks for Indians. It’s called Ganesh Pooja. The festival of THE ELEPHANT GOD.
Throughout India, people celebrate this festival. It’s colorful, bright, with people singing,chanting, music screaming everywhere, it’s a beautiful atmosphere.
Kids dress up in their new clothes, visit family and friends. It’s a time when people unite in streets to decorate and it’s a big grand affair.

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THAI COCONUT CURRY SOUP- Spicy topped with NOODLES – 50th post and Giveaway/gift

August 16, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

Yes, it’s my 50th post and I can’t believe I made it this far.

These last 3 months have been beyond what I could ask for. You being a huge part of it. Can you imagine that you work so hard on your recipe, your writing, your pictures, and you see 3 views? That sucks big time. I also saw that those views were mom’s, my teen’s and mine.

I remember when I was overwhelmed at the very thought and process of creating a blog. There were questions like ‘Honey, how can I make this picture bigger’ to ‘Nik, can you please teach me how to add links’. They seem simple right, but too much for me then. Technical details seemed to pass through me without touching me.
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ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND GARBANZO COUSCOUS With BALSAMIC CANDIED WALNUTS

August 8, 2013 By Asha Shivakumar

“I’ve been on a diet for two weeks and all I’ve lost is two weeks”- Totie Fields

Do you love crazy scary rides?

We were in Disney for the weekend.
We ate Churros, Mickey Ice creams, cheesy pasta, frozen lemonade and a lot in between. I am not even making up what I ate, it was a little too much. I feel stuffed and not so a little guilty to have eaten my way to happiness. Now, I fear the scale. Why am I only talking about food, we were in Disney right???…

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