Whenever anyone asks me where they should go when they visit India, one place I like to suggest is McDonald’s. I usually get a confused expression looking back at me. “No, seriously,” I have to insist. The McDonald’s in India are so different from anywhere else in the world, they have to be experienced, especially… Continue reading When McDonald’s Came to India; Curried Potato Sliders
I think of picnics as a major part of Indian culture, so much so that school field trips were even known as “picnics.” We would picnic to “National Park” in Bombay, or my family would often picnic at the beach. I used to talk about having picnics a lot in Virginia but it took a… Continue reading Indian Style Cumin-Ginger Potato Salad
I am a total podcast junkie! I listen to them all day long. Most of my podcasts are NPR programs and one of my favorites is the Splendid Table podcast by Lynn Rosetto Kasper. I always learn a lot about food from her. A couple of weeks ago they had Indian cookbook author Raghavan Iyer on… Continue reading Eight Ways to Cook with Spices
I am really looking forward to this weekend! We’re celebrating Steve’s birthday at a local brewery and I’ll be participating in this year’s San Diego Food Blogger Bake Sale to benefit Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign. There will be lots of other San Diego food bloggers at the bake sale. I haven’t had… Continue reading Steamed Artichokes with Curried Yogurt Dip
I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with asafoetida, or hing as we call it in Gujarati. Even though it is traditionally an extremely common ingredient in Indian cooking, I don’t often cook with it and when I do, I always use it in extremely tiny quantities (no more than a tiny pinch). Asafoetida is a… Continue reading Cabbage Saute with Mustard and Asafoetida (Sambharo)
My dad recently bought 38 pounds of honey tangerines. Yep, that’s right, 38 pounds! What does one do with that many tangerines? Give them away to family of course! So when we went to visit my parents, we came home with several pounds of the most deliciously sweet tangerines. I love to eat tangerines on… Continue reading Roasted Squash with Bay, Cumin, and Tangerine
Although many people probably haven’t heard of it, Fenugreek (known as methi in Hindi) is a very common ingredient in Indian food. Fenugreek imparts a very characteristic savory flavor that is slightly bitter but very delicious. Fenugreek doesn’t really taste a lot like maple, but it is used by many companies to give artificial maple… Continue reading Sweet Potato Fenugreek Saute (Shakariya Methi nu Shaak)
I love easy it is to cook this simple cauliflower curry. It is super healthy and it takes just a few minutes of prep and less than 20 minutes to cook from start to finish. It is a weeknight staple in our house.
Malai Kofta is a common indian dish made by frying balls of potato and paneer, then drenching them in a tomato cream sauce. I came across a variation a few years ago, made with cabbage instead of potato and paneer. The original recipe for Cabbage Kofta is at Married to a Desi, a wonderful food… Continue reading Cabbage Kofta
I turned 30 on Monday. All my life, I had thought of 30 as being the magical number that suddenly makes you old. Of course, nothing is farther from the truth. I am healthier than I’ve ever been, really enjoying life and feeling great. So bring on the aging! I look forward to it! To… Continue reading Garam Masala Hobo Packets for Camping
I can’t remember ever eating eggplant until I was with Puja. She loved it at a restaurant we used to frequent in Arlington called Delhi Club, so I figured out how to make it at home for her. Since cooking with eggplant, I’ve found a few different ways to use it that I really like,… Continue reading Spicy Eggplant and Tomato Mash – Baingan Bharta
Last weekend I got an unexpected lesson in food science when Puja and I went for lunch at her parents house. Sometimes I feel like a freak because I not only read ingredient lists on food packaging, but I make an effort to understand what the more mysterious products are and why they are in… Continue reading Eating Guar, As In Guar Gum
