Party Ideas

Best Indian Style Chicken Nachos – how to construct the perfect Nachos

January 30, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

The BEST Indian style chicken nachos ever!!!! The thin crisp corn chips with the spicy chicken mince, its so so good. And it’s all in one single pan. MINIMAL CLEAN UP! YES!!!! Hit in all parties!!

I sit here, a fully shot and styled post staring at me and I am blank. I’ve made these Indian style nachos for years now, but how am I not finding the words to describe a dish that disappears in minutes of getting to the table.

It’s one of my best back-pocket meals, the chicken mince. One I can make on short notice, assuming that I can get my hands on the freshest mince from my butcher. It’s one of the things I get asked plenty of times:”can you share your Indian style nachos”. It’s one of those recipes that missed getting into my book MASALA AND MEATBALLS, it sure gave a tough fight with hush puppies:)….

Perfect CHEESE BOARD – Roasted red bell pepper and Tomato Chutney

December 28, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

A party feels complete with a perfect cheese board. Make this roasted red bell pepper and tomato chutney, which is spicy and goes perfectly with an array of cheeses.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying your Holidays. We had a relaxed and joyful one. I wanted to wrap 2018 on a fun note and was out of words to do it. I asked my teen to write a guest post and here goes… Hope you have a good laugh, I sure did….

Waffles French Toast with Maple Cream Cheese

December 21, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Perfect Waffles French Toast for those holidays mornings. These waffles are fluffy, crisp, golden, and decadent. With the final touch of maple cream cheese, this easy and delicious breakfast will win everyone over.

You know our love for Waffles. It’s become one of those staples at home that we enjoy, love, and keep on hand at all times. This more-ish breakfast of Waffles French Toast is perfect for entertaining, holiday brunches, or just for the two of you. I am so so excited about this one.

One of my early memories of cooking with dad started with French toast. The planning starts a day ahead at a specialty bakery with the perfect hunk of fresh-out-of-the-oven white bread….

Twice Baked Potato with Pepper Jack-Cauliflower-Peas Stuffing (Indian style)

November 14, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

A perfect snack, side or a light lunch. These twice baked potatoes are stuffed with a spicy cauliflower peas stir fry that’s mixed in with pepper jack and wild rice. It makes for an amazing Thanksgiving side, as well as a light, delicious lunch.

It’s okay to be an Idealist, I guess!!

Maybe you’ve been called a dreamer your whole life—by others and by yourself. Are you the person spending half your time envisioning what you’d love and want to do or be?

I see some of you nod in agreement. I also see my parents shake their head side to side and saying, “That’s not reality, step down my dear…”

Trying to bridge the two worlds, the practical and the reality, is a dreamer’s challenge….

Paneer-Bhaingan Bhurji /Eggplant Cheese spread Bruschetta

June 14, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

An easy appetizer to sip with some wine. Eggplant with Paneer scramble aka Paneer-bhaingan bhurji is so good topped on a lightly buttered and toasted french bread. The perfect summer pick me up. Thanks to Revol cookware for sponsoring this post.

Right now, I am over the moon thrilled and thankful to all of you for reading my previous post about my book announcement. It has been one of the most read posts in the last many months and that shows how supportive you are. Thank you!! I will fill in more details very soon. For now, sharing one of the dishes I enjoy making for company or just for the family with some rotis.

Indians have a love affair with paneer. Before we were introduced to mozzerella, parm or all the variety of cheese that’s available now, we knew only paneer in India. It’s often compared to ricotta or halloumi. We use it in curries, grill it and even deep fry it. I often find myself scooping just one more nibble of chewy, milky-tasting paneer from the dish long after I’m officially full. It’s that delicious….

Rustic Spring Sweet Kale and Egg Tart

May 24, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

I absolutely enjoy turning salads into something special and this Rustic spring sweet kale and egg tart is one of my favorite ways. Easy to entertain with and put together. I am so happy to partner with Taylor Farms to bring this recipe with one of my go to salad kits.

When I moved from India some 20 and more years ago, I was shocked when people served salads. It always left me hungry and craving for my carbs. Eating habits are something we grow up with and I did not grow up having salads, yes a cucumber salad with onions and tomatoes, if you can even call a salad. That was the most adventurous I got.

As years went by, I really have come to love a good hearty salad. Given a choice, salads are not something we gravitate towards, even on a healthy day. Although not a huge fan of having salads on it’s own, I’ve found ways to incorporate and enjoy a good healthy green salad. I may have a wee bit of an obsession to add salads to everything. I add it to stir fry, noodles, even my South Indian style potato fry….

Caramel-Mocha Raspberry Mousse

April 4, 2017 By Asha Shivakumar

Here’s my simple way to make this Mocha-Caramel Raspberry Mousse, using Werther’s caramel candies, and it’s all dressed up. Sweet treat Ker-uh-muhl or Kar-muhl, how do you pronounce it? What ever it might be, we love Caramel. This silky smooth Caramel mousse, layered with Mocha cream and raspberry mousse, altogether making it an indulgent beautiful Spring/Summer Dessert.

As the afternoon sun cast shadows of the trees in my garden on my dining floor, I suddenly had the urge to have something cool, creamy and rich. I opened the refrigerator just to find few eggs staring back at me. It’s almost like they were calling me to be used. I had guests 2 days later, so why not?, I thought to myself. Taking my steel bowl to break open the eggs, I stared at the egg shells and back to the most prettiest separated yellow yolks. This is where I belong, the kitchen, Waffles by me waiting for a spill, and a cookie if he got lucky. I took a sip of my coconut water and got out my double boiler and added water. I decided I was going to make a creme anglaise. Slowly whipping the eggs and the moment I added it to the cream, a perfume surrounded the kitchen.…

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….

Malpua (Sweet Pancake) Stuffed With Ricotta-Coconut Rum Cream

October 24, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

“Alcohol and desserts are pretty great on their own. When combined, the results are often epic”. – Ash

Diwali is right out the corner. Colors, lights, fireworks, clothes, family, friends, parties, dancing, and, of course, we can’t forget about the food. There is so much food and sweets. I love the spirit of this festival. It has the spirit of coming together, laughing over mugs of coffee and tea, snacking, and just relaxing. One of the specialties of Diwali is the snacks that are prepared days before the actual festival…

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Spicy Baked Cauliflower Fritter(pakoda) TACO with Mango Sauce and Red cabbage Slaw(Vegan)

May 17, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

The love of food the four of us shares is quite intense.

We all love to try different things, quite tough critics, and we might enjoy one more than the other. We enjoy a good hearty Lamb chop meal as much as we enjoy a loaded salad with some dressing.

Trying to balance out the carnivore loving boys with a lighter fare which suits our taste is a challenge I take on happily and love. I try not to fall into the routine of recipes and when variety is there, it makes it so much more fun.

This was one such thing.

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