We are headlong into festival mode here in India since August. There was Raksha Bandhan, followed by Krishna Jayanti, Ganesh Chaturthi, and a week from now it is going to be nine days and nights of celebrating women power, in the form of various Godesses of Hinduism. That is the core. A festival is never read more…
Zunka (with spring onions) | Patichya kandyachi peeth perun bhaji

Zunka is a traditional side dish from Maharashtra made with roasted gram flour. This rustic side dish has an extremely appetizing, and sunny appearance because of the bright yellow colour and the contrasting greens from the spring onion. The basic version is made with white onions (recipe here). I came across this version of read more…
Carrot poduthuval ~ A traditional stir-fry recipe

“Mummy, you like this very very much, don’t you?” The girl asked. “Hmmm….,” I replied, still digging happily and a tad greedily into my bowl of sweet and mildly savoury carrot stir-fry. I knew I would go for a second, more generous helping. “Then, why is it not on your blog yet?” She queried. “Too read more…
Suvir’s beans poriyal ~ Stir fried green beans with coconut

It is festival time! Navratri is special because this is an annual ‘remembering-my-girlfriends’ ritual for me. We gather together for long chats, delicious snacks and catch up on the year’s gossip. Just the joy of being around them, is enough inspiration to cook up the best meals, and the thought, washes away tiredness that creeps read more…
Kathrikkai Curry ~ Roasted eggplants

Kathrikkai curry as it is known in Tamil is a simple eggplant roast, perfect with rasam-rice, dahi-rice, or kadhi-rice. It is aromatic and quite spicy, but not the kind that will burn your tongue. Best had with bland dishes to spiral the yum quotient. The eggplants used here are small, oblong, very firm, purple ones. read more…
Green Beans and Potato Saute

The ‘re-doing’ work of our house has come close to its end. The invasive smell of paint, putty and ‘lambi’ is certainly not something I enjoy anymore. There was a time when as a child I found them very interesting and longed to dabble with a pot of wall paint. Not anymore! Twice, during the read more…
Begun bhaja – Spiced Pan toasted eggplants, my version of a traditional Bengali recipe

This quick recipe serves as a tasty accompaniment to your lunch or dinner. The best suited are the oblong fat brinjals that one uses for begun pora or bharta, or thick long purple variety. I prefer the latter. The recipe I use is my version of a traditional deep-fried, Bengali dish. I know mine read more…
Kumbh hara bhara ~ Mushrooms in greens

My husband and I work at two ends of the snaking city of Mumbai. I work in the town side of the city while he works closer to the suburbs. It so happened that last month he had to make trips to my part of the city. Now, you know how couples with children read more…
Ullakazhangu Podimas ~ Potatoes rolled in coconut

I know this must be the umpteenth recipe featuring coconut or potato as the prime ingredient on this blog. Being married to a Manglorean does not help much in weaning myself, in fact I think it increased my love for coconuts all the more after discovering several other ways to use it in cooking. There read more…
Mezhukkuvarati / Mezhukkupurati ~ Roasted vegetables with black eyed beans

It is 7:46p.m as I am starting to type this post. I got back home five minutes ago. Now that P is back for good and because he is able to get home quicker than I do, I got treated to hot tea as soon as I stepped into the kitchen. The sight of the read more…