VEGETARIAN

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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3 Insanely Delicious-EASY Raita (Yogurt based)

May 5, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

I don’t know how to grow plants. I can’t grow plants.

We never know what we get into, until we are handed a tiny little bundle with just the face peaking, eyes stuck together with some liquid, flushed pink face, and a blue striped or pink striped cap. We feel an overwhelming sense of joy, a chilling and warm feeling. Tears swell up and the first smile you give your tiny baby is filled with so much joy and love (and oxytocin, as my teen adds). It’s a feeling that has never crept up until then, and will never go away.

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Lentil-Radish Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing (Guest Post)

March 17, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Lentil-Radish Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing |foodfashionparty|Guest post by @boxofspice

With the rain and winds, the Bay Area is filled with pollen too. The only way I can communicate now, without messing my vocal chords completely, is to whisper. For some reason the husky and sexy voice(as someone called it) doesn’t seem to suit me and I’ve had a few people feel bad, laugh and make fun of me all at the same time :). It’s one of the worst sore throats I have ever had, and I refuse to go to the doctor. Trying to have green tea with honey, fresh turmeric and everything to soothe my poor little throat. I am so very thankful and grateful to Rakhee from boxofspice to fill my space today with one of her impressive salads.

As Rakhee puts it, we’ve known each other for the longest. I fell in love with her gorgeous photography and this post in particular Chaat Salad, and now we are great friends and I am in love with her personality too. She’s all ears when I want to and makes me feel like a million bucks (what more can anyone ask). Her artistic eye for dreamy and moody photography requires a standing ovation and her salads all belong in a magazine. Without further ado… Here’s Rakhee. Take it away my dear…..

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Taro/Arbi Spicy Stir Fry

March 3, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

She comes home and finds an empty container, which, only a couple of hours ago, had the very best tangy-spicy, oily, fried taro.

A year is a long time to be away when you’ve stayed with someone for 21 years. A trip to India after I came to US was an in-explainable feeling, and an exciting one. There were a lot of things I wanted to enjoy, first being the food. All the things I was overwhelmed to cook or plain didn’t know how to cook were the things I asked mom to make. Sometimes we just have a mind block, don’t you think? You believe it’s hard to cook something, just because. This was one of those things….

Vegetable-Tofu Wrap with Spicy Almond Cream

February 3, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Happy February!

The only thing that comes to mind during January is Downton Abbey.

We watched or let’s just say binge watched all 6 seasons under 3 weeks. I know..I know..it’s crazy. We did though. For a month I spoke in an accent new to me, and I felt quite posh. Now that fancy accent is fading away as fast as the memories of Downton Abbey are. I enjoyed it so much that I pretty much have withdrawal symtom now. I’m looking for another period drama. If you have suggestions, please do let me know.

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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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Garlicky Mung/Moong Bean-Dill-Pomegranate Spicy Warm Salad

January 21, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

After a couple of years of pretty severe drought in the Bay, the wet weather for the past few weeks is a welcome change. I definitely am happy to hear the pitter-patter of the rain and rumble of the leaves. The deep brown soil turning brown and the dry brown grass on the mountains turning green are some very pretty sights.

Waking up to dark gray clouds, the sounds of rain, the trembling trees all makes us want to snuggle a bit more. Turning and struggling to wake up, going down for a hot cup of coffee and to a silent almost ‘pin drop silence’ except for the rain was an ideal start to my perfect day.

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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 Tomato Pulao with Vegetables

January 6, 2016 By Asha Shivakumar

Welcome to the first post of 2016. Happy NEW YEAR!!

“What do want for dinner?” – Mom

“Anything mom.”

“Something spicy today.”

“Something with rice.”

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Stuffed Eggplants Rolls in a mild Tomato-Almond Curry

December 18, 2015 By Asha Shivakumar

Eggplant is a love or hate kind of a vegetable. Most of our household belong to the latter. A reason that this is my first eggplant dish on the blog:). In the words of one of my friend, ‘this is a curry even a non-eggplant lover would enjoy’.

It’s just that growing up I was never fond of aubergines/eggplant and dad would sit next to me for hours staring and waiting for me to take a small bite. Time would go by slower than normal..tic toc tic toc. I didn’t give up, I didn’t eat. He gave up..poor dad. Although not a big fan then, now I am. I have found a formula that I love. Just that now, hubby will eat a burnt toast but not eggplant and he is the most non fussiest person I know. Oh well…to our post.

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