rice

Yakhni Pulao

January 22, 2021 By Asha Shivakumar

Yakhni pulao is a light, yet full flavored rice dish. The Yakhni or the broth is where all the flavor lies, the more flavorful, rich and aromatic your broth is, the better the pulao. It’s simply irresistible with a spicy curry.

If you’ve been a reader of the blog for a while, you already know how inquisitive I can be about new food, the food I love and I don’t rest easy until I get the recipe. I’ve always been intrigued by different dishes from different regions of India and the World.

My hubby’s very good friend comes from a royal family in Aligarh, India. His mom is a stunner, has a glow about her. I still remember meeting aunt and uncle for the first time here in US. They had invited us for dinner. As a young bride, very protected..I was quite nervous and overwhelmed, before meeting them. After our initial introductions, the conversations flowed easily and comfortably. Aunt brought out shammi kababs, mantu dumplings and samosas and I immediately knew, we had something in common. FOOD. She started explaining how her family bawarchi/chef was the best and he was taught by his granddad who was also a royal chef. Aunty learnt a lot from him. I could sense how passionate aunt was about food when she explained in detail how to make the perfect chai….

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani – Best and Easiest Dum Biryani EVER

October 3, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

If you love biryani, this hyderabadi chicken biryani will WOW you. This layered biryani is so flavorful and will become your go to biryani recipes. You will love this easy and delicious recipe!

Can anything be more marvelous than a big pot of Biryani? Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani.

Woke up bright and early ready to embark on the art of making biryani.

We sit down to a mountainous task of peeling those tight headed mini garlic. Turmeric washed chicken gets a soak in a home made slightly sour but sweet yogurt, fresh ginger-garlic-green chili paste, red chili powder and the freshest garam masala. A squeeze of lemon splashes into an eye while I mix with my bare clean hand.

Precision cut onions get piled up on a steel plate just to be dumped in a kadai of hot oil, to get golden fried and caramalized( NO STORE BOUGHT fried onions). The marinated chicken gets cooked in an abundance of oil mixed with ghee, to a perfect 80% percent. On the side, the pleasant fragrance of basmati can be whiffed in the second floor as she starts dancing around in a large pot with spices. A steam rises to the face as I carefully drain the water separating the rice that look like glistening pearls not wanting to stick to each other. The rice is not fully cooked, because she needs to soak in the juices of the flavorful chicken when layered, later.

I line up everything like an organized morning assembly at school.

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One Pot Saffron Chicken Rice

September 22, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Saffron Chicken Rice is a one pot meal that is flavorful, comforting and weeknight recipe made easy! It’s robust, soulful and well balanced, the best recipe you’ll need. This post is sponsored by Spice Tribe.

Biryani, Pulao, Fried rice of any kind is our special meal and brings out the nostalgia in me. Our Sunday meals had biryani as the star, and mom made one of the best biryani ever.

Now, my boys are big fans of biryani or pulao of any kind, always with chicken. This recipe Saffron Chicken Rice is inspired by Turkish pulao, and it’s something I make few times a month, especially during a weeknight….

Kathirikka Rasam/Eggplant Rasam

July 18, 2020 By Asha Shivakumar

Rasam is a quintessential side dish that’s enjoyed with rice. This kathirikka rasam is a very special rasam that’s served in temples, or on special occasions. It’s a specialty in some parts of Tamil Nadu that uses eggplant and a spice paste made with coconut.

Some recipes are just meant to come your way and steal your heart.

Even if you despise eggplant as I used to, you are going to like this one. Take this from someone who used to be a staunch eggplant hater.

Many of you who follow me on Instagram know I was in India for four months during this pandemic, from March to end of June. Let’s just say it wasn’t a fun one. However, like many things in life, things happen for a reason, and I chose to see the positive in everything….

Dill Edamame Fried Rice

August 25, 2019 By Asha Shivakumar

This South Indian style Dill Edamame fried rice recipe is the absolute BEST. It’s quick and easy to make, customizable with any of your favorite mix-ins, and so irresistibly delicious.

Me and rice go way back.

I’m digging back into my mom’s classic recipe today to share one of my all-time favorite recipes with you again. And I really do mean all-time.

Because fried rice and I go wayyyy back. 😍

Like specifically, back to my picky-eating days that lasted — oh — until college, when I was totally “that girl” who refused to even look at anything which was not a little fancy. Guys, I was crazy about the different kind of fried rice. Mom would make a variety of rice for lunch with some fryums and I would gobble it up without complaining. I mean, back then, I just assumed that all fried rice was perfectly stir-fried and full of big flavors and irresistibly delicious! Little did I know about the painfully bland, boring, and tasteless stuff that I would encounter at places, once I ventured out of the nest. This dill fried rice is bomb, go try it out….

One pot Fruit and Nut Coconut Milk Rice with Golden Beets

April 15, 2019 By Asha Shivakumar

Coconut flavors are the prevalent ingredient in almost every South Asian entree. A South Indian meal always call for some coconut in some form. This coconut rice/coconut milk rice goes great with curries and a great side for any meal. Once you try easy coconut rice, you will see how quickly it will turn into the option of choice.

Coconut rice is one of those dishes that we eat a lot in a South Indian home.

Sunday lunches are very special. Growing up a Sunday lunch always consisted of biryani, some sort of chicken curry and pepper chicken. But, there were “fast” days when meat was not cooked and it was a vegetarian feast. Those days, it was Coconut milk rice, pakoda kurma, vada and some raita. I sure loved those days. I guess I was a vegetarian at heart growing up. But, I’ll never say no to biryani and any form of rice.

This is my favorite kind of rice….

Sweet Pongal / Sakkarai Pongal / Ven Pongal

January 14, 2019 By Asha Shivakumar

Sakkarai Pongal or Sweet Pongal is a speciality of Southern part of India. Made during the festival of Sankranthi and Pongalm its also a very popular breakfast. It is made with rice, daal and jaggery. It’s topped with ghee and nuts. A sweet treat like none other.

Pongal / Sankranti to all who celebrate!! When they say India is a land of festivals, it is true. We probably have a festival every month of the year. The crazy part is that they are not small festivals; each one is big. Pongal is a harvest festival dedicated to Sun God. It’s a celebration of the first crop. It’s celebrated over four days, each day with its own significance. You can read more about the mythology and significance behind Pongal here.…

Broccoli Fried Rice topped with crispy garlic and onion

August 30, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

A quick and tasty side dish, or can be served as a meal. This Broccoli Fried Rice with crispy garlic and onion will blow you away. No one will never know it’s healthy. You can modify this recipe to include any veggies you choose.

I was one of those fussy kids growing up, mom snuck in veggies in everything, coconut peas rice, cauliflower tomato rice, tawa pulao with more vegetables than rice, and I had no clue of her hidden intentions. Now, it’s more a habit, more than me wanting to sneak in vegetables in my kids.

I love the idea of an all-broccoli version of this, but I know not to test my luck too far, so for us, an equal amount of chopped broccoli to brown or white rice is the perfect compromise for the whole family. Just like cauliflower rice, you place the broccoli florets in the food processor and pulse until they resemble a rice-like texture. Be sure to watch is carefully because, if you process too far, then you’re on your way to pesto, but if you process it too little, then those indistinguishable grains of broccoli become chunks of green in your rice….

Beetroot Vegetable Biryani

June 6, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This easy and delicious beetroot vegetable biryani is my go-to on days when I feel like having a healthy biryani. A one-pot meal of rice, vegetables, and aromatic spices, it’s rich in flavor and elaborate enough to take center stage at parties or just for the family. Each bite is suffused with spice, veggies, or caramelized onions—deep and layered in flavor.

Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. – Barry Lopez.

When I decided to start my blog many years ago, my goal was to share food, the love of food, and the love of the stories behind the food. One of the very first blogs I followed and enjoyed reading was INDIAN SIMMER. Prerna’s penchant for Indian food is strong, and her stories were beautifully articulated. Her chicken curry post has to be my favorite, I’ve read it a few times and every time I read it, a string tugs at my heart. And it was no surprise when she won the SAVEUR blog award….

20 Minute Tomato Garlic Peppery Shrimp with Lemon Pilaf

May 27, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This juicy, tangy, spicy, and sweet 20 minute tomato garlic peppery shrimp is so easy and delicious. It’s perfect for entertaining, or for a weeknight meal.

Here’s how parties I threw looked like years ago. Plan. Plan for it for weeks. Write a list down, and shop. Make two to three desserts a day ahead, and have an array of dishes. Then came dressing up the room, flowers, and making sure everything is flawless. The morning of: you see your husband put his feet up on the coffee table to relax. You look at him, like “really, please can you help around..?” I turn on the music and start cooking, and start getting excited for the evening. I was on constant edge if I saw the kids mess the countertop, or left their shoes on my polished floors. Two hours before everyone arrives, the home looks like a model home, no smell of cooked meals, everything is neatly stored, flowers are smiling brightly. I light up my candles, put in some drops of orange essential oil in my aromatherapy diffuser, and sit down with a glass of wine, happily….