After buying my Instant Pot about a year ago at the urgent recommendation of a friend, after watching the Facebook groups for Instant Pot grow faster in a few months than my blog has grown in its 8 years, and after testing out various kinds of recipes, I'm ready to announce that yes, I'm a devoted follower as well and that I need to share what I have learned! In fact, I am such a fan of this electric pressure cooker with 7-in-1 functions that I created recipes specifically for it and have written several articles on pressure cooking. I still use my stovetop pressure cooker because I'm ... read more
Chili Garlic Compound Butter + Spices & Spreads Class!
Compound butters... the essence of simplicity and versatility! Depending on what you put in them, they can jazz up any cut of meat or fish or give a major upgrade to your morning toast (cinnamon maple butter, anyone?). Compound butters can be as simple as mincing a few herbs or zesting some lemons, or you can up the ante. CGB is what I named the compound butter I'm teaching in my next class. Here's a recipe for something very similar, incorporating corn INTO the butter. Both the butters wake up your palate, but they are also made healthy with the addition of healing spices. Chili ... read more
EatingWell Magazine September/October 2016!
Have you seen this month's issue of EatingWell magazine yet? You might spy a familiar face! It was such a thrill to be featured in the latest issue. My sister Amee and I shared plenty of recipes, like bhindi masala (okra fry), a beautifully creamy dal makhani that can be made in the slow-cooker, cilantro chutney, a healthy twist on chicken masala made with cashew butter, and lots more. Though it may seem intimidating, we wanted to emphasize the ease of cooking Indian cuisine even on the busiest of weeknights. It's all about planning ahead and making sure to have a repertoire of meals that you ... read more
A Look at the “Chigh” Tea Pop-Up
Nothing like afternoon tea and some beauty treatments to relax on a manic Monday. On Monday's Chigh Tea Pop-Up event, we served traditional Indian masala chai, savory snacks like the haandvo from our feature in Eating Well magazine this month, Indian-inspired tea sandwiches, cardamom shortbread cookies and more! The setting for our tea party? Pieces Austin's charming studio on Kerbey Lane. Their impeccably curated vintage tableware collection will make you want to drop everything and throw a dinner party. Seriously- take a look at their gallery. Their studio provided gorgeous serving ... read more
Fresh Pineapple Sundae Sauce, The Real Thing
I love my summers, hot as they may be in Austin. Summer means no schedules and no "place to be". Every day is different and there is no pressure to be at school or after school activities at a particular time. As much as a planner I am, this surprises me. Tells us all that a little room for spontaneity is needed in life. Those were the kinds of summers we had as kids. I remember frequent trips, usually spontaneous evenings, to the ice-cream store. After a good ole Gujarati dinner of chapattis, dal, shaak (vegetable curry), and rice and yogurt we would stave off the salty spicy remnants of ... read more
Easy Recipe for Phyto-Rich Roasted Cherry Tomatoes With Turmeric
I think people are getting the hang of it. Turmeric I mean. I think not only are they learning how to properly spell it (not tumeric), but they can pronounce it too (correctly with two "r" consonants)! YAY for linguistics! (I have a secret love of language and linguistics--I wish that had been my college major. Seriously!) But back to people. They're also realizing the use of turmeric beyond South East Asian cuisine. I've certainly realized from teaching culinary medicine classes that we need to create recipes that are more approachable, yet use turmeric and other healing spices without ... read more
Salmon Burgers with Harissa “Special Sauce”
Lighten up the grill a little with these nutrient-dense patties and you can still modify your 4th of July menu to include deliciousness to splurge on. For me, I'll be splurging on pies. I love love love little fried hand pies and I enjoy them about once a year (I'd enjoy them more than that but it's a bit of work to make them). So to balance it out and "keep in moderation", I like these salmon burgers. They are low in saturated fat, but more importantly, high in omega 3 fatty acids. Wild-caught salmon is the best option, nutritionally speaking. With a touch of harissa in the mix and in the ... read more
Tomato Rasam Recipe
Rasam=Comfort. Brothy, highly seasoned, savory and hot. Best over a bowl of rice and a topped with a scoop of homemade yogurt. A dash of a spicy salty aachaar (pickled condiment) is the ultimate yet optional finish. This is a classic South Indian last course in a dinner meal. It speaks home. It speaks the South. And it's just comfort. Tomato season is here and it's time to use the best ones for this rasam recipe. The juiciest ripest reddest ones you can get. It's worth it to get them at a farmer's market but if you do buy them at the supermarket and they are cold and hard, leave them on the ... read more
My Favorite Plant-Based Cookbooks, Part 2 of 5
Early this year, I posted the beginning of a series on plant-based cookbooks that help me plan nutrient-dense healthy meals for my family. In the first list I included books I use regularly that have no specific international focus. This second list includes books that I and others deem very valuable in flavor and in health, because they have significant vegetable-heavy and other plant-based recipes but they also have a unique spin with international flavors, including spices or interesting ingredients. Most of these books I already own and use. There are a couple that I've been eyeing but ... read more
Green Bean and Coconut Dry Curry
What is a dry curry? I'm sure some would think that is a paradox, but these kinds of curries that don't have a wet masala base can't quite be called a stir-fry IMHO. Dry curries are simpler and take less time typically than a regular stew-type curry. There typically are less ingredients and less cook time, but still have pronounced flavor from spices; look at this fenugreek fish curry for another example. Thoren would be the name to this particular kind of Keralan curry. I am on a Kerala kick---I love that the region uses fresh coconut (not only the cream or milk but the actual meat of the ... read more
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 12
- Next Page »
