Entertaining

Top 10 Quick Diwali Sweets

November 1, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Here are a few quick sweets to make last minute Diwali is right out the corner. Colors, lights, fireworks, clothes, family, friends, parties, dancing, and, of course, we can’t forget the food. The food and sweet is in abundance. It has the spirit of coming together, laughing over mugs of coffee and tea, snacking, and just relaxing. One of the specialties of Diwali is the snacks that are prepared days before the actual festival. Here are my top 5 Quick Diwali sweets I make every year and it is loved and enjoyed. Happy Diwali from ours to yours!!

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Badam Puri – Deep Fried Almond Saffron Crispy Crackers

October 27, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

A sweet, layered, crispy, deep-fried delicacy of Karnataka, badam puri is an absolute delight during festivals. These badam puri/almond crackers, unlike the traditional ones, have badam/almonds in it and are sweetened with sugar. They make great Diwali sweet gifts, all wrapped in cute boxes.

All eight of us are put to work. Uncles, dad, mom and I. The prep for the big day of the year begins a week before the day. There’s the shopping for the pooja, the lights are put up. The home is cleaned; the baseboards, the fans, and every inch of the home are dusted and shown love. Shopping for new clothes is such a fun experience. The streets are filled with happy people carrying at least three bags on each hand. The spirit of this festival can be seen in their eyes and in the streets….

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Coffee Cake with Maple Drizzle

October 23, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This is the fall recipe I’ve been waiting to share, cardamom-spiced pumpkin cream cheese coffee cake! A big slice of spiced pumpkin cake with cream cheese filling in the center, with crunchy brown sugar coffee crumbs on top, drizzled with sweet glaze, paired with a cup of coffee… It’s the perfect way to start a fall day.

What is better than pumpkin and coffee cake, pumpkin coffee cake :). Come Fall, and my obsession for pumpkin and squash dishes reinvigorates. As it should be!!

With all of the pumpkin recipes floating around, there’s one extremely basic pumpkin dessert that I’ve never shared with you before. It’s my favorite pumpkin cake. Simple, straightforward, unadulterated, no strings attached, positively perfect pumpkin cake. It’s for those of us who want pure pumpkin spice flavor with nothing else in the way.

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Mutton Ghee Roast – Goat Curry in Spices and Ghee

October 19, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

This slow cooked goat curry is one of my most requested ways to cook mutton. Everyone who tries it seems to love it! Slow cooking goat meat with Indian spices results in a perfectly tender, juicy, and flavorful curry. This mutton ghee roast is just a keeper of a recipe.

Every meal is a celebration.

My Amma (grandma) made sure I realized that. She was not what you’d consider pious or orthodox. She was a modern thinker when it was frowned upon. She didn’t believe in fasting or the regular norms of life. But, she respected her sons and daughter in laws who were religious and had beliefs of their own. After a month of festivities and vegetarian food, she made sure to make some of the most delicious non-vegetarians meal for her clan of six boys and a loving daughter in law.

When she decided she was going to make meat at home, it was a process. Every process was thoroughly enjoyed; she lived in the moment. Amma took great pride in going to her favorite butcher and buying the perfect cut of fresh meat. She sat in our back veranda on a wooden mannai(stool), washing and rewashing while her hands turned a pretty hue of orange from the turmeric. I wondered then, how the masala didn’t fall off the ammikkal(flat version of mortal and pestle). On a beautifully cured mann-chatti(clay pot), she cooked and fried. It took hours. Then she calls me, Ashu and sits me down. Carefully blowing it so it doesn’t scorch my tongue, she feeds me the first bite of the juicy, spicy, and flavorful curry. I’ll always remember that first bite. Maybe it was her hands that fed me or those hands that cooked it. I’ll never be able to recreate that. But, this is close.

My grandma was known for her meat dishes. Not many at our home enjoyed goat meat. Lamb chops were loved, but not goat curry. Me included. She would shop for the best meat at her favorite place and meticulously cook the curry. Slow cooked curry is the best, she said. I never got it then. My palette definitely had not blossomed back then….

Green Peas and Papad Curry – Appalam Pattani Kurma

October 14, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

An easy and simple Indian style green peas curry with papad. This spicy Dry Green Peas Curry is made with sprouted dry green peas (a staple in Indian kitchens), onion, tomatoes, spices and papad. A vegan, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free recipe.

This is a month of celebration. Celebration of a woman. Goodess Durga in all her forms.

Entire India will celebrate Navaratri and Durga Pooja. Celebrating the victory of good over evil.

Everyone celebrates festivals for different reasons.

And when people do draw a boundary between spirituality and religiosity, they are often making a political or moral statement rather than describing what they believe.

To me, festivals have a deeper meaning….

Gluten Free Millet Roti – Softest and Easy Rotis

October 8, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Two ingredients, one important step, and you have the easiest and softest gluten free roti there is. This gluten free roti stays soft for two days if wrapped well.

The minute I posted my quick naan recipe, I started getting requests for a fail-proof roti. I somehow missed sharing wheat rotis. I’ve been on a gluten-free journey the last couple of months and have been experimenting with different grains. We make rice roti which is gluten-free. However, it is a bit thick and heavy and hence doesn’t really go well with sabzis. So, when I started sharing my experiments on social media with whole grain rotis, I have had a sea of requests for a foolproof gluten free roti that stays soft for a long time….

Instant Paniyaaram with Millets & Vegetables -Tomato Chutney

October 6, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Gluten-free and vegan, a healthy and tasty snack, this instant paniyaaram only takes about half an hour. Loaded with vegetables, made with millets, and with protein from the peanuts, it makes for an easy and healthy after-school snack or is great for school lunchboxes.

I’d mock my mom when I saw her cook with millets, oats, and whole grains. She’d slyly put a handful of millets in our pongal, or add some oat flour in the roti batter. We never realized healthier ingredients went into our food, but it did. But, every moment dad and I saw her sneak it in, we’d roll our eyes. Yeah… well, here I am living in the very world I lovingly mocked.

Who am I? I can’t believe the day has come that I’ve become my mother. I’m making millets paratha, quinoa pongal, chocolate oatmeal… And, I’m loving it. The family loves it too. Well, maybe not the whole family. The little baby bear will come around, just like I did. Or at least I hope he will 🙄 . He’s got a tongue just like his mumma used to….

Spicy Tandoori Potatoes/Aloo

October 2, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These crispy spicy and delicious tandoori potatoes makes for a great starter for the vegetarians or it’s a great side with naan and some sour cream-yogurt dip.

If you’ve never tried tandoori potatoes before, then you’ve got to try them! It’s a guarantee they’ll be making a regular appearance at house. Especially THESE, they are spicy and full of flavor. Smash them them and you have great smashed tandoori potatoes….

Dhaba Style Egg Omelette Tomato Curry

September 29, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

These mildly spiced eggs cooked in butter were rolled, cut, and simmered in a tangy garlicky tomato curry. They are fluffy and soak in the juices quite efficiently. This dhaba style egg curry is a perfect quick “lazy” meal for cold evenings. The curry goes absolutely great with rotis, chapathis, and parathas.

We’ve had an adventurous few weeks. Yes, we did travel quite a bit, but it is the adventure we had with my camera I’m referring to.

A few days before leaving on a trip to London and Oslo, my camera stopped working. The card reader was messed up. I was sick at that time. When I finally had some energy, I decided to take it to my local camera repair guy (which had a one-star rating) only because I did not want to drive an hour up to the city to get it fixed. We were somewhat relieved because the local guy told me he can try and give it before we leave on our trip, which was in five days….

Quick and Easy Miso Ramen with Spicy Tofu Scramble

September 5, 2018 By Asha Shivakumar

Calling all ramen lovers! You will have to give this quick, delicious, homemade, easy miso ramen recipe a try! This ramen can be made fully vegan and topped with eggs, corn, bok choy, and amazing ramen noodles. This will satisfy your ramen craving in a mere thirty minutes.

Happy September!! We are into soup weather, cozy sweaters, and festivities.

I had to dive into my favorite season EVER with this beautiful and ambrosial ramen, which I love just as much.

I had ramen for the first time many years ago and wasn’t impressed. Three years ago, however, when I had it in Totto Ramen, I was converted. We enjoyed it so much that we had it a couple of times during that trip alone, which is quite uncommon for us. After we got back, I was determined to find a good ramen in San Francisco. Although I’ve found a few good places, it has never hit a spot like Totto. Then, it was time to try it at home. After making ramen many times, I still felt like something was missing. I was determined, however, so I kept on. So here it is, almost a year into trial and error, the easiest miso ramen which is the closest that I’ve come to New York ramen. SO GOOD!!…