Browsing: Indian cooking

In a changing economy & environment, it helps to have always been creative with very little. Every day at lunch break at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in Delhi, India, hordes of ink-stained white-uniformed schoolgirls would surround me, salivating for a taste of my home-made lunch: aam ke achaar ke sandwiches.

Vikas Khanna’s new book ‘Indian Harvest: Classic and Contemporary Vegetarian Dishes’ begins and ends with his poems. No, it is not a book of poems but a recipe book which is part memoir, part travelogue and part encyclopedia, as well as his repertoire of traditional and modern vegetarian recipes.

Indian cooking fans! Welcome to Lassi with Lavina’s blog which flies you to quite another universe – Foodiesphere! Alka Keswani of Sindhi Rasoi.shares some very authentic, typical home recipes for vegetarian Sindhi food which have been made by grandmas and mothers for decades. Sindh is the lost homeland of hundreds of thousands of Hindu Sindhis who had to flee as refugees in the Partition of 1947, and their food, culture and language are the anchors they hold on to.

“I have to say that I was very blessed as a child as I grew up in a family that was blessed with great cooks! My dad is amazing at making meat based dishes, my mother – I think she should be called the Vegetable Whisperer – has a delightful way with vegetables and pretty much my entire extended family either cooks well or knows where to take you for a great meal!

My fondest memory as a child is sitting in the kitchen with my dad and watching him cook his legendary butter chicken. Not only did I know the dish would turn out amazing (it always did) but it was a time for us to connect and talk about his world travels. I adored listening to his stories and was thrilled whenever he would make this dish as it meant he would be in a mood (and have time) to talk!”
Monica Bhide chats with the Single Desi on Food, Family – and recipes for the perfect date!

Zambar, a restaurant in Vasant Kunj in New Delhi, is an exploration into South Indian coastal cuisine, highlighting the catch of the seas – prawns, fish and crab with authentic recipes from the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. The dishes are a union between fresh seafood and pungent spices and ingredients including lime, tamarind, chilies, peppers and coconut milk. So till you can get to go and try Zambar yourself, here are two recipes for you from the chef to try at home.

In a time of Tweets, frenetic commutes and mountains of stress, imagine slooow cooking, food which cooks itself, slowly, deliberately throughout the day while you’re out earning a living or are just immersed in the latest best-seller. It’s almost like having one of the legendary ‘bhaiyas’ of India doing your cooking for you, and quite welcome in the US.

For fans of Indian cooking, what can be better than Madhur Jaffrey? – Madhur Jaffrey simplified! The noted cookbook writer, who has won the James Beard Award six times, has taught countless women – and men – how to cook. Now she’s set off on a very 21st century mission: Saving time in a hectic world. These recipes retain the classic touch without the classic toil of gourmet Indian food.