Pears are surprisingly hard to come by in Chennai. Sure, you find the locally grown green ones—the ‘hill station’ pears—but those still run a certain seasonal cycle and you see them around for maybe one or two months of the year. These local varieties are usually not very flavourful however, and the texture is often… Read more »
I always need to have beets in stock. I don’t know if this mindset came about after the lockdown or what, but I feel reassured knowing that I have a few kilos of them in the fridge. This sentiment doesn’t apply to carrots and potatoes which, realistically speaking are more versatile ‘basic’ vegetables. It’s reserved… Read more »
This muskmelon and feta salad might be my favourite salad of all time (a tall claim considering how I feel about a Thai mango salad). As much as I like the more popular watermelon version, there’s just something about muskmelon here that gives it that substantial heft that you don’t seem to get from the… Read more »
Disclaimer: I’ve used regular Indian chilli powder in this recipe, and not gochugaru, the traditionally used Korean chilli flakes. I’ve done my fair share of sourcing gochugaru in the past, but have since realized that the few Korean dishes that I cook and use them in actually work well with our more ubiquitous Indian variant…. Read more »
Okay first up, guess what makes the yogurt dressing spicy? PICKLE! I’m not talking about gherkins or brined vegetables, I’m talking about our very own ooruga! (South-Indian pickle for the uninitiated.) I figured if you could use curry pastes, harissa and other such punchy condiments to boost the flavour of dishes with one simple addition,… Read more »
If you’re someone that makes curry pastes and the like in bulk, there’s a good chance you’re also looking to use them in as many different ways as possible. I make and squirrel away huge batches of pesto, pasta sauces, curry pastes etc. and to be honest, as much as I revel in the idea… Read more »
I like guavas alright, but if you saw my fruit basket you’d think that I have some kind of an obsession with them. I don’t know what it is, but I seem to always have a few knocking about the house. I prefer the pink-fleshed ones to the white, but to be honest, that’s got… Read more »
I usually don’t hold back on posting recipes here that use ingredients like fish sauce and dried shrimp. They’re easy to get a hold of, inexpensive, and will last an age in your pantry. Basically ticks all my boxes. (Most grocery stores stock fish sauce and there’s a whole street dedicated to dried fish in… Read more »
Here’s a quick lowdown on this mysterious salad vegetable: chayote is a native Mexican plant and is a member of the squash family. (Chayote is called chow chow only in India; chayote seems to be the more commonly used name for it the world over). I’m going to unabashedly give myself full credit for this,… Read more »
I’ve never been a fan of mayonnaise. In fact it’s only more recently that I’ve been able to tolerate it in small doses and in certain dishes. It’s entirely possible that my bias stems from this background, but as expected, the popular mayo-blue cheese combination is not for me. I sub it with yogurt instead,… Read more »
Admittedly a boring photograph. In the (hypercritical) eyes of someone trying to make food look as good as it tastes, it falls short. Way short. A herb for contrast would’ve been great for this but nothing worked with the flavours here – mint, basil, coriander, parsley, nothing. My biggest food related pet peeve is… Read more »
In the diverse world of whole grains, barley occupies a prime spot. Aside from its stellar, nutrient dense profile, it’s been regarded as one of the best foods to eat for women with PCOS (me) and for women prone to UTIs (also me). I can attest to its remedial benefits from personal experience…. Read more »
Salads that double up as main course are the best kinds of salads. Load it up with vegetables—fresh as well as roasted —lots of herbs and a punchy dressing and Bob’s your uncle, that’s a meal! Use any vegetables you have on hand: root veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets and carrots hold their… Read more »
The first time I made this dish, I decided to keep the bok choy raw. And the sauce was more like a dressing – the ingredients added to a screw-top jar, shaken, and poured over. It was a bok choy salad of sorts. I knew it was a good pairing—ginger and miso—but the sauce… Read more »
A fresh head of lettuce is a thing of beauty. The iceberg is what my local grocer usually stocks—and this usually suits me just fine for all my salad and sandwich needs—but I was lucky to find some green leaf lettuce, red leaf, and romaine earlier this week. Also, snow peas! SNOW PEAS…. Read more »
