May 2016

Srujan – An IT professional from Gujarat who is settled now in Banglore. Her food pictures are clean,simple and delicious. More than food I just admire the way she shares her love for food through her words. She doesn’t restricts herself to native gujarati cuisine alone. You could see a wide variety of Indian and International recipes in her Instagram feed. Harry Potter fangirl, quilling addict and a voracious reader. Here is the fun Q & A with Srujan where she shares her thoughts about cooking, books,bangalore foodscenes and many more… A big time foodie. Cannot deny that anyway, my…

‘Pitlai’ (பிட்ளை) is a traditional tamil brahmin dish which is prepared using either bittergourd or brinjal along with chickpeas. Unlike sambar, consistency of pitlai is very thick and can be served as a side dish to Idli/Dosa too. The recipe given below is exactly how my maternal grandmother and my mother makes it. However you could try few variations as mentioned below : – Kabuli channa or brown chickpeas is ideally used while making pitlai – You could substitue it with white chickpeas or green peas – Generally coconut paste is only used to spice the ‘pitlai’.However we do add…

If I have to prepare a lunchbox recipe within just 20 minutes, I always go for Fried Rice. A simple raita or tomato sauce would go well with that rice. So you don’t have to spend much time on thinking about side dishes. Also when the rice is cooking you could cut the vegetables finely. Once the rice is done, all you need to do is heat up the wok, add the veggies, saute it and finally add rice,sauces. It is as simple as that. But balancing the flavors, getting the right texture of rice is really really important for…

Halloumi – A variety of Cheese that is believed to be originated in Cyprus. It is widely used in Middle Eastern cooking and is popular in many western countries as well. The cheese is produced from Cow’s,Sheep’s and Goat’s Milk. When compared to other cheese varieties I find this cheese a bit extra salty and hence while cooking adjust the quantity of salt accordingly. Few months back when we had our lunch at a restaurant, we tasted Halloumi Skewers for the first time. Loved it totally and since then its been on my monthly grocery list. I usually pan fry…

Few years ago if someone had asked me to describe Madhumitha in just one sentence then it would have been this… From an ‘enthu potato’ 😉 to how she has transformed now is truely amazing. In this social media era most of the people think that being mean and negative is so cool. But Madhu proved them all wrong. That is what inspired me the most. She spreads only happiness through her words,food pics, baby’s pics. A very positive person and her parenting skills makes her a role model to new age mums. She is documenting her experiences on Baby led weaning, cloth diapering, breast feeding, baby friendly recipes and much more informative posts here. Do check it out. True to the saying “புலிக்கு பிறந்தது பூனை ஆகுமா” .. Madhu is definitely as talented as her Mom (Read about her mom Mrs.Shanti Ramachandran here) She is one her vacation right now and irrespective of that busy schedule, she managed to respond to my queries. Thank you M 🙂 🙂 

Couscous is one of my favorite ingredients and am incorporating it in many Indian based recipes too. This salad can be put together within few minutes and its vegan too. Instead of Tofu you could also add grilled halloumi or paneer too incase if you are not a vegan I have used only basic ingredients for preparing the marinade. The salad can be served cold as well. Hence you could prepare the Couscous mixture well in advance and can refrigerate for later use. Grill the Tofu just before serving

Pulikuzhambu, Kara Kuzhambu, Poondu Kuzhambu these are all various varieties of thick tamarind based curries that are most popular in Tamilnadu apart from the usual Sambar & Rasam. The consistency is the key to make a perfect poondu kuzhambu. Recently I brought around 1/4 kg of fresh garlic from farmer’s market nearby and was waiting for weekend to make the gravy. After painstakingly peeling 2 whole bulbs of garlic I looked around the pantry and realized there was no Tamarind. Tamarind pulp is an essential ingredient to this curry because it gives the right tanginess to the gravy. I blindly…

Am an ardent fan of her(food photos & recipes) since 2013. In these 3 years she has moved to different continents/time zones but her enthusiasm,energy when it comes to cooking, trying new recipes, sharing the knowledge remains constant. There are some moments in life where I feel that I really have to thank Social Media. Getting to know culinary experts like Anu is definitely one such moment. Not only me, for many people out there she is a virtual mentor and we are all trying to learn as much as possible from her . Anoosrini – A proud homemaker, mom…

Dal is an Indian dish prepared using various Legumes or Pulses. This protein rich, vegan dish can be served as an accompaniment to Rice or any type of Flat Breads. I have used Brown Lentils (whole masoor dal). However you could substitute it with canned Chick Peas, Kidney Beans or any other legumes. While serving the dal, you could also add a tbsp. of Butter to enhance the flavor. If you would like a more soupy consistency then add extra water accordingly. Since I was serving it with Rice I added less water to get creamy consistency. 

Gram Flour Pancakes aka Besan ka Cheela is one of the most popular breakfast recipes in India. There is no fermentation required for the batter and can be made within 20 minutes. They are gluten free, loaded with veggies and accompanied with hot Masala Chai, these pancakes are a perfect nutritious start for the day. The vegetables added to the batter can be changed according to your taste buds. To make it even healthier you could add a bunch of spinach/kale leaves too. The pancakes can be served with tangy Coriander/Mint/Tamarind chutney or with any hot sauces like Tomato Chili…