San Choy Bao - Chinese style Lettuce Cups

San Choy Bao is a classic Chinese dish; a nice, refreshing, light meal that can be served both as an appetiser and a main course - a dish that is equally loved by young ones and old alike. Crispy, ice cold lettuce cups filled with a warm flavourful filling of minced turkey and vegetables makes it a balanced nutritious meal. It is quick and easy to prepare and at the same time a fun dish because it involves a little bit of playing and messing around - you have to assemble the ingredients to make your own cups to chomp down!

Olan

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Olan is a stew dish, usually prepared by cooking ash gourd, pumpkin and red beans in water with salt and finished off with coconut milk and fresh coconut oil. It has a very refreshing taste that is very unique and

Pavaykka Kichadi

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below is enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Hmm... I've been sitting on this post for days. Looks like my capacity to write is wearing out. Tell me - what should I write about pavaykka kichadi. Pavaykka is bitter gourd and kichadi is again another Kerala

Kovaykka Mizhukkupuratti

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Mizhukkupuratti is Kerala-style stir-fry and for an everyday Kerala meal could easily substitute Thoran. You should either have a thoran or mizhukkupuratti as the dry vegetarian component of a meal. Kovaykka, better

Mathanga - Van Payar Erissery

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Mathanga is Malayalam for pumpkin. And I hate pumpkins. As a child I was brought up not to hate food; you can like or not like food, but never hate it. Unfortunately, I couldn't resist myself hating it. I still had no

Sweet Boli

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Boli is a flat bread stuffed with mashed lentils that has been sweetened with sugar. Boli, as it is known in Kerala, have different names in different parts of India; Holige in Karnataka, Bobatlu in Andhra Pradesh,

Beetroot Pachadi

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

There are different varieties of pachadis that could be part of the menu in Sadya. Serving beetroot pachadi adds a purple colour on the leaf when all the other curries are a boring yellow or brown or red. A pachadi is

Inji Achar/ Ginger Pickle

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Inji curry is an inevitable dish for Sadya and is served along with pickles. It is enjoyed together with pulissery, which is the third course of Sadya. Anyone who knows about the medicinal properties of ginger, do not have

Kaithachakka Madhura Curry/ Pineapple Sweet Curry

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

This is a sweet, tangy, spicy curry prepared with pineapple in a coconut based sauce with a touch of yoghurt. During sadya, the second course of Sambhar is usually finished off with madhura curry, which refreshes your

Kootu Curry with Tyson Chick Peas and Yam

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Have I told you of the first time I prepared Onam Sadya, all by myself. It was our first Onam after marriage and we were living in Pune at the time. I was only learning to cook then, and to impress my husband, GC, I

Sambharam/ Spiced Buttermilk

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Before the state, opened its doors to artificial thirst quenchers like aerated drinks and squash and even before they used lime/ lemon juice, there were two natural thirst quenchers commonly available in all

Ada Pradaman

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Those who know me are well aware that I do not make payasam or pradhaman. GC, my husband, is the King of payasam/ pradhaman at home. So if ever I am alloted a payasam or pradhaman for a potluck, GC is

Aviyal in a Pressure Cooker

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Aviyal is a dish from vegetarians paradise. It is a semi dry preparation of mixed vegetables with crushed coconut, cumin, garlic, green chilly and yoghurt and finished off with fresh coconut oil. The tartness of the

Paneer Makhani/ Butter Paneer

I've spent the first 23 years of my life in Kerala and Sharjah, but had never tried any North-Indian dishes. I guess the answer to that is that my parents are not foodies. They never ventured into new territories of the food land; always satisfied with their limited sapidity of Kerala, Arabic and Indo-Chinese cuisine.

Cabbage Thoran

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

A "thoran" is a side-dish that is part of an everyday meal in a Kerala household. It is a dry side-dish, usually cooked with crushed coconut, green chilly, turmeric powder and cumin seeds and sometimes other

Palada Pradaman

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Palada Pradaman was indeed a great challenge for me this year. This is only the third time that I ever made it and it is the first time I succeeded in getting a light rose colour to the pradaman; thanks to LG and RI for their

Tomato Rasam

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Rasam is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Rasa' which means juice. Historically, it was prepared with black pepper and tamarind but over time, different ingredients were added to this base to prepare different types of

Parippu Curry - Onam Special

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Parippu Curry is made with mung bean lentils and is served as the first course of a sadya with clarified butter/ ghee. For a normal lunch, this is usually prepared with ground coconut paste which makes it a rich side-dish.

Wambatu Moju/ Fried Eggplant (Sri Lankan)

No festival in Sri-Lanka is complete without this spicy fried eggplant curry which is commonly known as Wambatu (Eggplant) Moju. It is more like a pickle than a stir-fry or a curry and is served with plain rice and other curries.

Sambhar

This post is a part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Sambhar is a spicy medley of lentils and vegetables. The vegetable could be limited to just one variety or it could be a mix of any vegetables of your choice. One of my best friend from Uni, whom we adoringly call

Minestrone Soup with Garlic Bread

We (GC - my husband, JK - elder boy, MK - younger boy and myself) absolutely love soups. It is a staple in our household, especially during the cold winter months. It keeps you warm and cosy and is both comforting and nourishing at the same time. Of all the soups I make at home, the Minestrone Soup tops our list.

Vazhuthananga Theeyal/ Eggplant in Roasted Coconut Gravy

This is another traditional Kerala dish made with Vazhuthananga (some call it Kathirikka) which is available in markets here as the Lebanese Eggplant (long, thin and purple). Some say that Vazhuthananga is the name for the green variety of eggplant and Kathirikka is the long, thin, purple variety and the round variety is called unda-kathirikka. Others say that they are just different names for the same variety. But I am not sure!

Now, I've read many articles about "Theeyal" describing it as a "burnt dish". I am quite disappointed with that

Easy Toasted Garlic Bread

Yes. That is it. A simple easy garlic bread recipe that you can make with any bread loaf in your pantry and escape that last minute rush to the supermarket for the ready-made ones, when you are just about to sit down and enjoy a big bowl of hot soup. Oh! But that is if you have butter, parsley and garlic at home or at least at your neighbour's and you can borrow it. Otherwise, the drive to the supermarket still looks inevitable. But, won't it be nice to make some garlic bread at home, adjusting the amount of butter, garlic, herbs and salt and grill or bake it to your liking than being forced to eat what the supermarket has to offer you.

Kurukku Kalan in a Foreign Land

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Kurukku means any liquid form, which includes solids, that has been reduced or thickened. Kurukku Kalan is prepared by simmering vegetables in a yoghurt and coconut based sauce, until it reduces to a thick creamy