Panfusine

The first time I made this recipe, my Iphone 6 was still halfway through its 2 year contract, and the only container available to stash it away was nowhere near photogenic. And perhaps, there was a sliver of uncertainty whether I wanted to post the recipe without giving it a second shot (which wasn't going to happen until I finished off the first batch). Nevertheless I faithfully recorded the proportions on my laptop, and let the whole recipe slip back to the recesses of my memory centers. The first batch got polished off soon enough, mainly by my other half  'G', who seemed to absolutely love it with fresh hot plain rice drizzled with sesame oil. Chutney powders by definition, tend to be 'reserves' in a 'Tambrahm' home (as opposed to Telugu households where they are a mainstay), and needless to say, the relatively extended storage period gave me an idea about how long I could store the powdered blend at room temperature - and yes, I'm a scientist b...

I'm not sure how a food related 'Jiminy Cricket' conscience would look like in real life but imagination tells me it would be brandishing a wooden ladle for sure and would probably speak to me in my mother's voice. Admonishing me for not keeping up on my writing for my blog posts (I realize that is my weak link) I seem to be quite happy creating recipes and  Instagramming  them daily. A sudden shuffling of photographs & backing up (for fear of the new worm virus crossing the net) suddenly put me into a shocked gasp mode.. (I have about 1/2 a terabytes of just photographs, of creative ideas that never made it past the hard drive, leave alone minor editing to tweak the images), ideas that were forgotten half way and never revisited again, only to flood my brain with taste and olfactory memories - which are superbly forceful when they come gushing back - and I realized that  I'm in need of serious organization in terms of my laptop. It will be a work in prog...

Grill baby grill is my motto during summer. (of course I can cheekily say so given that its in the comfort of my kitchen with the stove vent on at full blast.) Uber simple to assemble, Grilled paneer slabs cut into cubes, Black beans from the can, corn off the cobs grilled on the stove top, and fresh blueberries. spiced with smoky ancho chile powder, and lime. mmm... mmmm... Good!

This was an experiment done on a wing and a prayer, tried to satiate my deep craving for 'kadugu mangai' (baby mangoes in a mustard brine), a classic South Indian pickle that is a staple in my kitchen. Up until this year, these baby mangoes were simply unavailable. Sooo, instead of the mangoes, I decided to look outside the crisper drawer and before I knew it, I was stuffing an entire head of Napa cabbage liberally sprinkled with kosher salt and turmeric into a large glass jar. A month later, poured out the brine, combined it with raw mustard seeds, asafetida and arbol chiles, and gave it a whirl in the smoothie blender. The net result, a delicious kimchi (a tad salty though), that paired well with the tambrahm favorite - Yogurt rice!

I have a dear friend from school who lives in the City of Kolhapur in Maharashtra. When I visited her  at the  gorgeous heritage resort  she owns there en route to a holiday in Goa, she gifted me with a spice blend that I treasured to the last speck. It sat  at the bottom of my freezer and was doled out for special dishes just like Saffron is rationed out in many Indian homes. Its a lip smacking flaming  hot blend of onions, garlic and the famed Kolhapuri Mirch (red chili). I marinaded cauliflower florets in a paste of this spice blend , salt and oil, and roasted it in a 450 F oven. Finished with a handful of green coriander berries, this was a fabulous treat paired with roomali roti.

This was originally intended for my main blog 3 years ago , but it got diverted as a contributed recipe to a very prominent Indian Newspaper based out of Chennai. Little did I realize at the time what a bunch of sub standard unprofessional freeloaders they'd turn out to be. This soup was inspired and adapted to Indian flavors from Ree Drummonds recipe but took on a marked South Indian tinge with the finishing touches of pickle oil and 'kadugu mangai sauce'. Copying and pasting the entire recipe since it was mine in the first place! Cream of Broccoli & green pea soup (makes ~ 4 servings, Prep time: ~10 min, Cooking time: ~ 20 min) You need: • 1 1\2 cups Broccoli florets (no stalks) shredded through a grater • 1\2 cup fresh, frozen or dried green peas • 4 tablespoons Ghee • 2 medium sized onions finely diced • 1\2 teaspoon powdered cu...

Ever since I stopped buying the brand name wonder bread  type of loves at home, and switched to the artisan variety sold in the bakery section instead of the bread aisle, we seldom have slices that get the chance to go stale. The flip side - I keep having to visit the Grocery stores almost thrice a week. It was purely by chance that i completely overlooked half a loaf of rosemary olive bread of the organic kind. Cut the slices into cubes and toasted it lightly and tossed it into a salad with fresh mozzarella heirloom tomatoes ans  freshly picked basil. A generous sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of EVOO and voila a delicious light lunch perfect for summer.