Vengaya Vatha Kuzhambu (Shallots In Tamarind Curry)

Vatha Kuzhambu refers to a group of dishes cooked in tamarind paste. The cuisine emanates from Thamizhnadu and Palakkad. There are, however, some differences. In Palakkad, sun-dried vegetables are used in this curry whereas Thamizhnadu uses fresh vegetables. However, there is no hard and fast rule about this.This dish is so integrated into the psyche…

Murungai Elai Chutney (Moringa Leaves Chutney)

I have a large moringa tree in my garden – and therefore have an inexhaustible supply of fresh leaves. I often use these greens in my smoothies. They taste wonderful. And there are several other recipes using moringa leaves. My favourite is murungai elai adai – a delicacy in Thamizhnadu and Kerala. The recipe is…

Office Salad

What an interesting name! I customised this recipe from the late Tarla Dalal’s website. Tarla Dalal was India’s most iconic and proliferous food writer. All her recipes were vegetarian, making it easier to customise so that they are WFPB compliant. She christened this ‘Office Salad’ as it was capable of being packed and carried to…

Kaddu Simla Mirch Sabzi (Pumpkin And Capsicum Curry)

Every evening, Hari and I sit down to discuss the menu for the following day, with my vast collection of music playing in the background. The conversation begins with the smoothie, breakfast and accompaniment (sambar, chutney, raita…) followed by the salad, wet dish and accompaniment. Hari prefers the tested and tried, especially South Indian. I…

Spanish Salad

It seems that I have travelled all over Europe in search of my salad recipes! I do post Indian salad recipes. But the recipes from various other countries are also very interesting and tasty. The only issue is that the ingredients may not always be available. I then have to find the closest substitute. In…

Chettinad Vendakkai Varuval (Okra ‘Fry’)

Okra is one of my favourite vegetables. There are literally hundreds of recipes using this very versatile vegetable, each one tastier than the next. Every region of India has it’s own unique recipes. Being a summer vegetable (in the Northern parts of the country), it is available only seasonally. But it is available throughout the…

Russian Salad (Modified)

I have heard of Russian salad, but it has never been top-of-mind. It always sat on the edges of my memory. As my experiments with salads continued, this salad popped up in my mind. What a happy happenstance – it was a delightful recipe. Of course, I modified it using vegetables that I had on…

Vegan Mayonnaise

I have been extremely lazy to try out a WFPB mayonnaise. One of the reasons is that most WFPB recipes for mayonnaise contain cashews. Which results in me consuming more cashews in a day than is the permitted limit of 2 tbsp per day – the restriction that I follow. But one day, being in…

Basic Coleslaw

About three months ago, my doctor told me two important things.1. To make a salad the largest part of my lunch and dinner. In fact, she recommended that it should form about half my meal2. I should chew on my meals. Till then, I used to gobble up my food and any meal was over…

Lebanese Salad

I have started including a huge salad as part of both, lunch and dinner. The salad forms half of my meal. This, along with a simple smoothie in the morning helps me keep my blood sugar under control. This necessarily means that my salads must be exciting. I am constantly on the lookout for new…