A Happy Vishu to all Malayalees who celebrate this festival.! This auspicious day is considered as a symbol of hope, luck and prosperity. Vishu is celebrated in Kerala as the New Year. People celebrate the occasion by makinga ‘Vishu kani’, which is a special colorful setting made for Lord Krishna using vegetables,rice and jewelry. Special dishes like payasam (lentil […]
Indian
Easy Indian Chicken Curry || Instant Pot Saag Aloo Chicken || Chicken Curry with spinach and potatoes
Many folks whom I know will tell me “Oh I just love Indian food but it is so complicated to cook it! “. My answer of course has always been – ‘that’s not true at all. Once you know the basic spices that make a curry, you can then really try and make it your […]
Holi Special: Puran Poli (Sweetened Lentil Stuffed Paranthas)
The festival of colors is separated all over India but the sweet treats vary from region to region. In Maharashtra, the ‘Holi special’ food is ‘Puran poli’ which means flatbread or parantha stuffed with a sweet lentil mixture. Yum! Holi celebrations start the night before with a bonfire lit to signify the victory of good […]
Shrimp and green mango curry || Chemmeen and manga curry|| Kerala Shrimp curry (Paleo)
Green(Raw) Mangoes are a delight! As kids I remember me and my sisters begging my mom to save us a few pieces while she was slicing the green mangoes to use in fish/shrimp curry or to make a green mango chutney. We would relish the tart mango slices dusted with salt on top!. Thinking about […]
Plantain fritters (Pazham Pori) and a taste of Kerala
Today I wanted to post a simple recipe for Plantain fritters (called Pazham Pori in Malayalam, the local language of Kerala) made in the Keralan way! A perfect accompaniment to your late afternoon tea ! Oh yes, late afternoon tea as you can imagine is very common in Kerala with these local tea stalls (called chaaya […]
Valentine's Day Specials: Vegetable Patties with beets
Valentine’s day is just around the corner (just 1 day away actually!)but in fact in my house the celebrations start a week in advance since our wedding anniversary comes a week before Valentine’s Day. So for the past one week I have been busy doing one of three things in the kitchen: Baking sweet goodies, […]
Asian style chicken with sticky sauce (Paleo, AIP)
Today being the auspicious Chinese New Year, I thought I will post a recipe for a Chicken dish that is a fusion of Indian and Chinese flavors! I also have an amusing story below to go with it (that is if you care to read 🙂 )…meanwhile I would like to wish everyone a very […]
Vegetable Stew (Kerala Style)
Coconuts grow in abundance in Kerala and hence coconut milk , grated coconut and coconut oil are widely used in Kerala cuisine. One vegetable dish that uses coconut milk and no red chilli powder and is therefore white in color is ‘vegetable stew’. The stew usually is made out of vegetables like potatoes , carrots and […]
Sesame Ladoo/ Brittle || Til Chikki with honey || Til Ladoo with honey
Today, January 14th is Sankrant or Makara Sankranti , which is one of the most auspicious festivals for Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of India and also in Nepal and SriLanka with great fervour and festivities. Sankrant is a harvest festival and it also is regarded as the beginning of an auspicious phase. In Maharashtra, which is a state in […]
Chicken Biryani (in a coconut and cashew masala)
Chicken Biryani is a labor of love …you have to take your time to assemble this beautiful, aromatic combination of fragrant basmati rice with delicately spiced and perfectly cooked chicken pieces. Today I am posting this recipe for my very dear friend, Amanda who simply loves this chicken biryani that I make. In this recipe, […]
Fluffy Rice Pancakes (Vella Appam)
Vella appams (which means White bread in malayalam) are a very typical Kerala bread that is eaten in breakfast with any of the following four curries – Egg Curry, Chicken curry, vegetable/potato stew or Kadala curry (black chick peas curry). These appams are round, white, fluffy and soft in the middle with thin and […]
Black chick pea curry (Kadala curry)
A traditional breakfast in Kerala is usually a very heavy meal (and now the health experts do recommend the same – eating a full breakfast loaded with carbs and proteins is the right way to start your day). I have to admit though that I have never been able to eat a very heavy meal […]