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Jeera Hing Aloo Mattar Fry- Cumin spiced Potato and Peas

April 1, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

This Cumin spiced Potato and Peas is a take on potato roast from Southern part of India~ this is a spring version and packs a punch. It uses the tiniest new potatoes you can find, and fresh garden peas. A perfect spring salad or serve with rotis.

Perfecting Indian food is truly an Art.

Indian cuisine has an overwhelming array of spices. The country’s fiery curries, complex rubs, and addictive street foods owe their flavor to a long list of spices from all over the world. These are combined, blended, fried, and toasted in millions of kitchens all over the country. The spices are not just for a layering effect of flavors, but also for their nutritional/medicinal values which are rooted in Ayurveda.

Having said that, Indian recipes also doesn’t have to be complex with a gazillion ingredients and steps. Sometimes all you need is couple of spices to make a dish, and you can taste India through that dish….

Pineapple Rasam

March 13, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

Pineapple Rasam is very famous to Karnataka. This ultra satisfying, sweet and spicy is comforting and flavorful and so soothing. Pineapple Rasam has a touch of sweetness and tanginess, peppery and warm to all the senses.

My favorite (and I think the best) is a bowl of Spicy rasam with rice! Rasam’s simplicity is what is enticing. The soothing sweetness from the tomato, slight tingle from the pepper and that fresh curry leaves and asafoetida thaalipa is the crowning epilogue.

The history of rasam is as engrossing as the rasam itself. Rasam is also called chaaru, saaru and was originated in Madurai and it has probably hundreds of versions that satisfy South Indians and many around the world.

South Indians have an intimate relationship with rasam. The answer to all sickness is this slightly spiced, mixed with mushy overcooked rice. It’s given to kids, adults, when happy, sick or sad. It’s a pacifier in a bowl. Bolstered with an extra dash of ginger and pepper, it is an instant fix for an itchy throat….

Chili Garlic Sauce – One sauce, many uses

March 2, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

Chili garlic sauce- you will skip all other sauces for this. Easy to make and so versatile that you’ll be making it on repeat. Spicy and flavorful. A MUST MAKE!

Back in the Eighties Indo-chinese was all the rage in India. Indian-Chinese cuisine originated in India and is a uniquely South Asian phenomenon, drastically different from the Cantonese Chinese cuisine available in the U.S. When Chinese settlers immigrated to a city, Kolkatta..they set up their own chinatown.

It all started with chicken manchurian which went viral, and it grew because of love of the merging of Chinese flavors with Indian heat. Then came the Vegetable Manchurian or Gobi (cauliflower) Manchurian, chili paneer, hakka noodles, idli chili and a ton more recipes that captured the hearts of Indians. The common sauce among all is the Homemade Chili garlic sauce….

Marinated Greek style Gigantes

January 12, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

Greek style Gigantes has few ingredients with bold flavors. This easy Greek style Marinated Gigantes is so moreish and makes for a perfect appetizer or a light lunch.

“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.

Just keep going.

No feeling is final.”

~Rainer Maria ~

I think of happiness as being something that we’re always chasing — the right person, the right job — external things. To me, joy is quieter, more internal, and we often find it in simple moments along the way. Like i read somewhere: the author writes about her mother, who experienced so much disappointment and loneliness in her life, yet finds solace in the little things….

Fatteh – Pita topped with chickepeas,eggplant,potatoes in yogurt sauce

December 16, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

This Fatteh is a delicious combo of flavors made with tahini yogurt sauce, spiced chickpeas, smashed peppery potatoes, paprika eggplant, poms and crispy pita bread!

It’s only normal for me to love this Lebanese Vegetarian Fatteh that feels like Indian chaat, but so different too.

I’ve learnt a few dishes from my neighbor: shish barak and this Lebanese fatteh, my top favorites. A generous lady with five kids, always made it a point to share special dishes, and this was one that I gobbled up. The holidays makes me miss her more, it was lively with kids playing in the yard, the screams, lights and action. After they moved, I kept in touch with them for few years, then life happened. Her food and warm personality will always be close to my heart….

Paneer Lababdar – Rich and Creamy Restaurant Style Paneer Curry

November 6, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Paneer Lababdar, a traditional Punjabi style paneer curry is creamy without any cream. A restaurant style paneer curry, that is rich and perfect for any festivities and easy to make. It’s predominantly made with melon seeds and cashews or almonds. Butter, enhances the flavors. A mild paneer dish that silk creamy smooth, goes so well with naan or jeera rice.

There’s as many paneer dishes in India as there are toppings of a pizza. This is one of my favorite restaurant style paneer curry next paneer tikka masala.

Paneer is such a versatile protein for vegetarians, it takes on the flavor of anything you add it to. It’s creamy and a non meat eater’s meat. There are so many Indian paneer curries that I love: paneer mattar, paneer makhni, paneer pulao, paneer butter masala, paneer masala and the list goes on. If you want to learn how to make paneer from scratch, check this post out. This dish has no cream or milk or lots of butter, it’s creamy from the nuts and tastes excellent….

pumpkin roti

October 27, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Pumpkin roti. Three ingredients, few important steps, and you have the easiest and softest roti there is. This pumpkin roti stays soft for two days if wrapped well and you can skip the pumpkin and make the most perfect delicious plain rotis/ Phulkas.

My love for pumpkin just gets stronger by every passing year. I have a plethora of PUMPKIN recipes on my blog and I can’t believe I didn’t share this one, it’s something I’ve been making for years.

The minute I posted my quick gluten free roti recipe, I started getting requests for the wheat fail-proof phulka or roti. For some reason it has taken this long to share. Every time I share rotis or phulkas on instagram, I have had a sea of requests for a foolproof roti recipe that stays soft for a long time. It’s the season, and why not pumpkin roti?…

Banana Blossom Poriyal – Vazhaipoo Poriyal

October 22, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Vazhaipoo Poriyal/Banana Blossom Sabzi or Banana Flower Stir fry is a very tasty side that goes perfect with a simple dal rice or perfect with chapathis. Made with potatoes and coconut, this is a vegetable which is very special and extremely healthy.

Vaazhai poo or Banana blossom/flower is widely used in Asian cooking. Known for it’s health benefits, this is also extremely tasty and rarely found in the markets.

Cleaning the banana blossom is quite a tedious task. It involves removing the outer purplish layer(bracts or petals), peeling the florets and meticulously removing the stigma and the plastic cover(perianth). It is so worth it!!

I learnt how to clean and cook this Vazhaipoo or Banana flower from my mom in law and her sister. They make it often and they have patience to clean a bunch of them. Late afternoons, they sit on the large dining table, oiling their hands and ready to take on the task of cleaning four to five banana flowers. They make amazing Vazhaipoo Vada, a fritter made out of the banana flower, which is so tasty. But, I love this poriyal that they make….

sweet bonda -Vada in Coconut Milk

October 20, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Sweet Bonda- soft spongy Urad Dal Vada soaked in sweetened coconut milk. It’s a heirloom recipe of a very culturally rich small community of a district in Tanjore/Thanjavur. Perfect Navratri Sweet.

The memories of this sweet bonda traces back to when I was about 14-15 yrs. Back road drives, our yearly trips with aunts, uncles and cousins.

That year we visited Tanjore, South India. Tanjore is known for many things: It’s paintings, the very popular temples that were build during the Chola empire, and their hospitality. How can I forget the food?! To this day, Thanjavur and it’s food has stuck with me. We stayed at my mom friend’s home. A traditional home with thatched roofs, inviting thinnai and beams that were intricately carved out of teak wood. There are not enough synonyms to describe how varied their food is and how very delicious it is.

Reaching Tanjore past midnight, we went straight to bed after a few minutes of obligatory talk….

Pumpkin Dal with Beet Greens

September 27, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Cozy and comforting Pumpkin Dal or Poosanikai Kootu is perfect for autumn and cooler months. It’s easy to make and with the addition of beet greens adds so much more flavor.

Happy Autumn!!

It’s that time of the year when pumpkin and butternut squash is in abundance, and I’m all about pumpkin recipes, be it sweet or savory. I’ve been eating this pumpkin kootu or pumpkin dal from when I was a baby. I’ve always liked the slight sweetness in my curries and this one with chapathi or just plain rice is phenomenal.

Authentic South Indian everyday food/recipes uses very less spices, simple local ingredients and never over the top hot. It’s always fresh and few ingredients. This recipe uses channa daal for it’s bite and texture, creamy which also holds it’s shape. This pumpkin dal works best with channa dal/split yellow chickpeas or even split yellow moong daal.

Flavorful Indian food is so much faster and you can get the most authentic taste with just a few ingredients.Thanks to my mom for yet another healthy and delicious recipe that is a staple at home….