ORANGE CHICKEN SALAD

This is exactly what you think it is: Asian-style orange chicken, but served without the rice and instead fashioned into a scrummy salad. I air fried the chicken here, but you could just as easily get similar results (albeit with a bit more oil) with baking or pan-frying them.  Coat the chicken pieces (I like… Read more »

KIMCHI, TOFU & NORI FRIED RICE

I’ve been writing on here for more than 9 years now. Many things have changed and evolved along the way—priorities, methodologies, ideas—but one thing remains intact: I still forget to cook my rice. Just thought I’d point out that some things are still familiar around here. (A nifty trick – once the rice is cooked… Read more »

CHICKEN OATMEAL CONGEE

Eating a hot breakfast is a rarity in my world. It’s usually a cup of coffee and a banana (with a protein shake in hand) before I rush out the door with my toddler in tow. We do find time to make it a family affair on the weekends though, and for that I’m grateful…. Read more »

DATE BARK

Date barks are all the rage right now. It first made an appearance in a viral tiktok video (I think?) and soon started making its rounds on every food platform known to humankind. I saw it and instantly knew I had to try it. Some recipes are like that; you just know they’re going to… Read more »

CARAMELISED APPLE SALAD

Have some salad leaves wilting in the fridge? Here’s a good recipe to use it for. Don’t have salad leaves wilting in the fridge? Maybe buy some to try this recipe then? My solidly convincing arguments aside, this salad is so delicious and takes 15 mins from start (washing your lettuce) to finish (forking it… Read more »

PUMPKIN HUMMUS + SPICED BUTTER

  Pumpkin hummus. The usual crew: chickpeas, sesame (I use seeds; not store-bought tahini), lemon juice.  To dial up the natural sweetness of the pumpkin, we roast it in the oven until soft and yielding. Halve a whole head of garlic, wrap in foil, and add to the roasting tray along with the pumpkin. Once… Read more »

AIR FRYER PANKO FISH + MANGO SALSA

And as if on cue, I’m back with another seasonal mango recipe at the tail-end of mango season, when all you see on grocery shelves are varieties that are too sour to eat or popular ones past their prime. Which admittedly, is kind of the whole point of this dish. In an effort to prolong… Read more »

CHILLI OIL BROCCOLI & GREEN BEANS

When things are quiet around here it’s usually one of two things: I’m eating the same thing on repeat, or my 35-year-old body is giving out with toddler sleep regressions. Thankfully it’s the former this time around.  This is an easy side to make and it features heavily in our meal rotations. Even easier if… Read more »

PUMPKIN & FETA ORZO

I’m a creature of habit when it comes to pastas. I don’t do many meat versions either. (A vegetarian husband requires that my meat component is always on the side, and never in the pasta itself.) To make it into our regular meal rotations I make sure my pasta dishes follow these general rules. 1)… Read more »

BLUEBERRY & CHIA FILLED CHOCOLATES

I can count with one hand the number of times I’ve made a baked dessert this year. I don’t particularly enjoy tasks that involve precise measurements and temps (I find it counterintuitive to go down this path when I use cooking as a de-stress mechanism). Bunging things into a pan is my jam. This recipe… Read more »

Latest
  • MAPLE GRILLED NECTARINES & ALMOND-OAT CRUMB

    The stone fruit season might be long gone, but the last of these exotic (for Chennai at least!) nectarines still linger in the markets, so I’ve been making the most of them while I can. Although Chennai is not the first place you’d think of for stone fruits, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find them—even… Read more »

  • MELON JAM WITH STAR ANISE

    Who makes their own jam, right? That was exactly my line of thought when I set about making a batch, and only because I had a huge haul of plums languishing in the fridge begging to be used up. Now I’m hooked. Not only is it easy as pie (actually, way easier than pie), but… Read more »

  • ROASTED PUMPKIN AND HARISSA HUMMUS

    The real beauty of hummus as far as I’m concerned (apart from its taste of course), is that it’s just so quick to throw together. Even if you’re going the no-tahini-from-a-jar route. A can of chickpeas, some sesame seeds, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Blend. Eat. Lick. Do as you do. This basic recipe… Read more »

  • A SLIGHTLY UNORTHODOX MASALA CHAI

    My first instinct is always to reduce rather than to add. Masala chai as we know it has a whole array of spices – whole and ground – that makes up its base. My version here, has just three (two actually, since the third is fresh mint leaves). As with many old recipes, there is… Read more »

  • LABNEH WITH SUMAC, CHILLI, AND MINT

      Labneh is the easiest cheese you’ll ever make. Although called cheese, this Middle Eastern staple occupies the space somewhere between yogurt and cheese in the dairy spectrum. It is made very simply by straining yogurt in muslin overnight until all the whey water seeps out resulting in the most luscious ‘cheese’—labneh. Although making labneh… Read more »

  • ROASTED GREEN TOMATO AND OLIVE TAPENADE

    If you think adding roasted or sun-dried tomatoes to a dish (if you’re anything like me, any dish) elevates it, try roasted green tomatoes. They’re next level. Green tomatoes that I’m referring to here are basically unripe tomatoes; not the variety that stays green upon ripening. So you can use any variety of tomato that… Read more »

  • EARL GREY AND ORANGE ICED TEA

      This Earl Grey and orange combination is a no-brainer; it just makes sense. You would typically find iced teas flavoured with lime or lemon to give it that hint of acidity—which technically makes it an Arnold Palmer: sweet tea with lemonade—but since Earl Grey has hints of bergamot in it anyway, I switched up… Read more »

  • VEGETARIAN BORSCHT

    Ever since I made sauerkraut a few weeks ago, I’ve been thinking about using it in a borscht. I had my mind set on the more traditional beef version, but bad planning and an overload of beets languishing in the fridge made me go down the veg route. I was skeptical at first; just grated… Read more »

  • PEA AND PESTO SOUP

    Hundredth post on The blurry lime. Like, 100. One hundred. And I made soup to celebrate. I clearly haven’t figured this out yet. I realise that this pea and pesto soup is a far cry from being celebratory, but it’s so good I made it twice last week! And I’m not even a big fan… Read more »

  • HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT

    You need two ingredients to make this sauerkraut. If you think that sounds ridiculous, let me tell you that one of those ingredients is salt. Salt and cabbage. Super ridiculous. Fermented foods excite me. The other day I was in the kitchen when I heard this strange buzzing sound. After eliminating the possibility of a… Read more »

  • ROASTED BEET & HORSE GRAM SALAD WITH FETA

    Horse gram is a lesser known variety of lentil that is used a lot in South India. Chock full of nutrients, I often use them in place of the more common green or brown lentils. I find that unlike other lentils, they hold their texture upon cooking; meaning, they are slightly more forgiving when it… Read more »

  • ZUCCHINI AND CORNMEAL WAFFLE SANDWICH (GLUTEN-FREE)

    I wrote this recipe for Better Homes and Gardens, India, for their ‘breadless sandwich’ challenge. It’s in their July issue if you want to grab a copy! I contemplated lettuce wraps, veggie stacks, and polenta muffins for the base but they aren’t really sandwiches, are they? The real challenge here was to find a suitable… Read more »

  • SICHUAN GREEN BEANS

    The common green bean is an unsung hero. When you think about it, you mostly only see it used alongside other vegetables in curries or stir fries, as one of the sides for grilled meats, or in a kootu or poriyal to accompany rice; it’s always that default vegetable that gets bunged in with other… Read more »

  • BROCCOLI SOUP

    If you had asked me what my least favourite foods were ten years ago, I would’ve said mayonnaise, eggplant, and broccoli (in that order) without batting an eyelid. Although I seem to have gotten over and even come to love eggplant and broccoli, there’s no love lost in the mayo department. There’s nothing you can… Read more »

  • CHERRY CRISP WITH CRÈME ANGLAISE (GLUTEN-FREE)

      I think I may have done my fair bit of preaching about using ground almonds in desserts to replace flour. Not just from the health point of view, no, but for the texture and nuttiness that you get from the ground up nuts. I buy them in bulk, make big batches of this crisp… Read more »