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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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Garlicky Spicy Egg Fry – Egg Masala Bruschetta

April 26, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

There are some dishes we make when there’s nothing in the refrigerator. There are some dishes we make when you have no time at all. There are some dishes we make that are purely comfort food and remind you of home. This dish is all of those things for me………

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Vegetarian Mulligatawny – Spiced Vegetable Pepper Soup

January 13, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

A pepper vegetable soup with lentils, so so good and perfect for cold weather. Vegetarian Mulligatawny – Spiced Vegetable Pepper Soup

One of the main things that makes me smile about this soup is its name. The word is derived from Tamil (South Indian language). Mulliga means pepper, and tawny/tanni means water. I speak that language, so you can imagine why I find it slightly amusing.

I have had my share of this soup in restaurants, not because I love soups, but only because I was intrigued by the name. Because soups were not part of meals growing up, we were adventurous and just had to start off very daintily with a soup at restaurants. When a bowl of soup was kept in front of us, I always had this expression: like how could this be pepper water? Some served it with a mango relish, some were soupier and had tomatoes in it. Chicken broth was used in many and chunks of chicken were found in some. I even had mulligatawny soup once which was so bombarded with cream that I wanted to chat with the chef. Honestly though, I have no clue what the original was and how it came about.

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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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Balsamic Spiced Mixed Nuts

December 7, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Christmas is just around the corner. It will come by, before we know it and will pass by in a blur. The journey during December is a beautiful one.

Amidst all these you guys, it’s been a tough last 4 weeks for a place very dear to my hubby and a lot of people who belong to Chennai.

I met my husband in Chennai Airport for the first time. A memorable moment that I will never forget. What Chennai and the 6 million people in it won’t forget is, what they saw and experienced in the last few weeks.

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Bruschetta with Persimmon Chutney

November 4, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Happy November!!

There’s something about the cooler weather, twinkling stars as early at 6.00 p.m., and all the festive pumpkins and persimmons in the grocery store. Everything screams of holidays, parties and food. Everyone gets in the mood of perfecting their pies, the sides and their birds.

The appetizers are some of the last to be remembered. Don’t you think?

I have a great one for you. Just make a lot of it and have some bottles of chutney ready to go for your guests, they’ll want it.

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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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Vegetable-Quinoa Rolls with Sweet and Spicy Green Chutney

April 27, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Hi Friends! Happy Spring!

Is it spring already? It’s spring now, and Saturday felt like winter. It was rainy, and gloomy all day. I know it’s spring cause’ I’ve had the worst allergies ever. Sinus and I’ve been asking the boys in my life to press one side of my face. They find it funny but always do it.

I’ve been everywhere in the last couple of weeks, from Bikram yoga to a hike to a boxing class. I ate up a storm, cooked like crazy, and have been insta crazy. I went to the library. I got a bunch of books which are just lying around, and I just got a notice saying that it’s due in 2 days. I wanted to blog. I wrote so many recipes and tested a few, but I had no mojo to take pictures.

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Peanut Spice Stuffed Peppers

April 8, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

As food bloggers, we are trying and testing out recipes all the time. I post my daily food on Instagram and Facebook almost everyday. However, I noticed something very funny. Throughout winter I really haven’t had a decent ‘party’ at home. Friends have dropped by, and we’ve met them outside, but we’ve not had an actual party. It’s very surprising how sometimes we get caught with so many things that entertaining does take a back seat.

Finally, I decided to have a few friends come over for some wine and snippets. Around the kitchen table, laughs and discussions about everything happened. Wine flowed as the spicy paneer was devoured. This unique looking chili kept our conversation going for at least 3o minutes. Food, wine, and friends are so magical.

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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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