This is a dish I have tried in our office cafe when I was in Hyderabad. I always found it an interesting combination - ladies finger and peanuts. The crunch the peanuts gave to the curry was quite nice and though I wasn’t sure what recipe the chef there used, I tried to replicate it the other day and it did come very close in taste. BHINDI FRY RECIPE Ingredients: Okra / ladies finger / vendakka - 15 (number of okras) Raw shelled peanuts - 3 tbsp Shallots - 4, chopped Garlic - 1 tsp, minced (optional, but add for more flavour) Red chilli powder - ½ tsp Salt - to taste Oil - 1 tbsp Curry leaves - a few (optional)...

Learn how to make Palak Paneer: this my recipe that’s perfected over the years by adding and subtracting ingredients to suit our palates. This version of Palak Paneer contains no cream. Today, TH turns 31. I met him when he was 24. Both of us were younger, slimmer, naive, and he really wasn’t TH back then, just this goofy funny guy who made me laugh all the time and ridiculed my Tamil....

So here goes, my most versatile Indian paneer recipe - Paneer Bhurji. The beauty of this recipe is, it’s entirely flexible. You can change around the masala powders (like using pav bhaji masala) you use and experiment with adding different vegetables (like adding tomatoes). Paneer Bhurji Recipe Serves 2 Ingredients for Paneer Bhurji: 1.5 cups paneer, crumbled 1 small onion, chopped fine 2 green chillies, chopped fine (adjust to taste) ½ of a capsicum, chopped fine A pinch of turmeric ½ teaspoon jeera (cumin) powder ½ teaspoon garam masala Fresh coriander leaves to garnish 2 teaspoon oil Salt to taste...

We saw this restaurant tucked in one corner of the food court with this amazing looking thaali in the display window. My growling stomach urged me on for a try and I am so glad I agreed. We went pretty late on a Saturday for lunch at the food court in EA Mall but it was jam packed. Maybe 2pm is not that late by Indian standards but since coming to Singapore I’ve gotten used to lunch at noon and my stomach was crying bloody murder by then....

Soy-Oats Sugar Cookies Recipe What I Used: Makes 8-10 cookies Soy flour - 1 cup Maida - ⅓ cup Oats - ¼ cup Butter at room temperature - ¾ cup Powdered sugar - ½ cup (this makes the cookies mildly sweet, so you can adjust according to your taste) Cinnamon powder - one pinch (optional) Salt - one pinch How I Made It: Sift the maida and soy flour with salt until its totally blended....

Strawberry in lassi is not a conventional choice but when you have such amazingly sweet strawberries bursting with juice in the markets, it’s hard not to get excited and add it to everything, even your drinks. Also, this bowl of strawberry below is the first picture I clicked using my upgraded camera body, the Nikon D7100 . Oh but wait! Before I go on yada yada about strawberry lassi, I must explain my long absence from here....

Thai mango sticky rice ( Khao Niaow Ma Muang in Thai) is one of the reasons why I love going to Thai restaurants in Singapore. Of course, Thai food is a close second in my list of favourite cuisines (first is Indian food, in case you had any doubts) and I love Thai soups and salads and curries, but mango sticky rice is what I thank them for the most....

Unniyappam or Neyyappam is traditionally made with powdered raw rice as the base. My athamma (dad’s sister) makes the most amazing unniyappam with plain flour as the base and it’s delicious, not to mention fail-proof. I first tasted it a couple years back and since then the taste had been haunting me. This time, she made it for me in our ancestral home in Alappuzha as I watched and clicked....

Aloo Masala Sandwich Recipe: learn how to make aloo masala sandwiches, a grilled sandwich recipe with spicy potato masala filling. Served hot with ketchup on the side, these aloo masala sandwiches make perfect tea time snacks for kids and adults. This sandwich recipe comes with a story. We had friends, a couple, who used to live in Singapore who would have us over for tea now and then. Their company was great, they were lovely people, but more than that, their tea time snacks rocked....

Butter Chicken Recipe: Butter Chicken is probably one of the most popular Indian chicken recipes liked by all for its mild flavour and deliciously rich gravy. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the most popular dish in Indian restaurants and so, this is a restaurant-style Butter Chicken Recipe. Indian food is normally associated with dishes like Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka, ‘Naan Bread’, and Biryani. Having a good butter chicken recipe in your repertoire is not a bad idea, especially if you plan to entertain a mixed group of Indians and non-Indians and want a crowd-pleaser....

If you love South Indian recipes, then you’d love this capsicum rice recipe , South Indian coconut rice , and this fragrant sesame seeds rice . KOTHAMALLI SADAM (CORIANDER RICE) Ingredients: (Serves 2) Basmati rice (or any long-grained rice) - 2 cups Green peas - ¼ cup (optional) Salt - to taste For the Coriander Paste: Fresh coriander leaves - 1 cup Chopped onions - 1, medium Green chillies - 2, more or less For Tempering: Oil - 2 tsp Chana dal / kadala paruppu - 1 tsp Urad dal / uzhunnu parippu - ½ tsp Hing / asafoetida - a generous pinch Curry leaves - a few For Garnish: Roasted cashew nuts - a handful Chopped coriander leaves - ¼ cup...

Admittedly, dal makhani is not my favourite Indian dal recipe and I tend to lean towards the simple dal tadka , methi dal , or the fabulous panchratan dal when eating out, but since this creamy dal dish is so popular, I make it now and then, especially when we have guests and I need a good side dish for my tawa naan recipe . Dal Makhani Recipe Serves 2 Ingredients:...

Enough of my yada-yada. Here are the winners! Overall Winners First place: Soma of eCurry with her Strawberry Basil Ice-Cream . She is way ahead of everyone else in terms of her scores and also scored high for originality. Enough of my yada-yada. Here are the winners! Overall Winners First place: Soma of eCurry with her Strawberry Basil Ice-Cream . She is way ahead of everyone else in terms of her scores and also scored high for originality....

Although I realise the actual version requires coconut and freshly ground and powdered spices, etc, that’s not a very weeknight-friendly recipe. I have tried that a couple of times but the sheer time it takes to peel the shallots itself is a turn-off. Anyway, here’s how I make mine, the easy, quick version of Sambar Sadam made in a pressure cooker. Bisi Bele Bath / Sambar Sadam Recipe Serves 2-3 Preparation time - 15 mins Special utensil needed - pressure cooker What I Use: Rice - 1....

Before you run away after reading the title, repeat with me - “aperture is my friend”. If you haven’t met yet, then now is the best time! So, meet your best friend when it comes to food photography - aperture! Light is the most important component in any kind of photography. - If you determine where to place your food and how much light there should be, you are that much closer to clicking great pictures....

Pin Here are some examples of pictures taken using these bowls. I think I’ve used the black one the most. Pin Pin I use these in almost all my pics but here are some example pics where I have received the most number of questions about what background I used and whether I photoshopped the colour in. Photoshop is good to have, but really not necessary, trust me! Pin Here are some examples of pictures taken using these bowls....

Gotsu or Kathirikai Gotsu : try saying that recipe name a few times, it’s fun! Ok so apparently Ven Pongal and Gotsu are like Romeo and Juliet, only with a happier ending. As I have mentioned before, my Reddiar-Malayali mix of a household doesn’t see a lot of Ven Pongal (but my Amma makes Sakkarai Pongal for all sorts of non-occasions, even for reasons like “I felt like eating Sakkarai Pongal today) but my all-tamil in-laws do make and eat a fair bit of Ven Pongal and I thank my lucky stars for that....

For Kerala-style parippu curry , split yellow lentils (moong dal -herupayar), is used rather than toor dal. Moong dal is also a very important ingredient in Ayurveda based cooking and is said to have a better effect on our health than most other kinds of lentils. Serve this parippu curry steaming hot with rice and ghee and you don’t even need a side dish other than, maybe, a pickle. Find more Kerala Sadya Recipes here....

Masala vadai or medhu vadai is a choice that’s often as confusing to South Indians as coffee or tea but sometimes, the preference is strong and clear. I have always liked masala vadai better whereas TH wouldn’t even think twice before reaching out for his medhu vada. I love either types of vadai with some spicy green chilli coconut chutney. That combination is just out of this world! Masala vadai is also a popular festival snack prepared during Navratri or Diwali and the onion is usually omitted during these times....

Rasgulla . Say that word a few times and you will actually get a feel of how the spongy Bengali sweet rasgulla can taste like. You can buy pretty decent rasgullas in cans but nothing beats the taste of making it at home using your own rasgulla recipe, especially during Diwali. TH is not a fan of sweets in general but give him rasgulla or rasmalai and that’ll make his day....