Good-bye 2005...with a favorite dish!

The past few days, a knee injury has kept me out of commission, but I am healing slowly in time to say good-bye to 2005 with one of my favorite dishes. 2005 has been an eventful year, and 2006 promises to be even more so. To bid farewell to 2005, I chose Idli-Sambar. A meal that is nutritious, wholesome and affordable. Idli-Sambar is a traditional Southern Indian breakfast recipe, but now finds

O is for ONION BHAJJI

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

N is for NAARAL WADI

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

Simple Dinners: Potato "Song"

Friday nights, I often plan my dinners around finishing stuff from the fridge, getting ready for Saturday (market-day). Last night, a quick peek in the fridge revealed 3 boiled potatoes (left over from a few days ago), some left-over crushed tomatoes, half an onion. Plus some ready-made rotis (Indian flat-breads). One easy recipe jumped to my mind: Potato "song", a Konkani (a coastal region of

Tea with Cathy!

Guess who came to visit me on Sunday? Cathy from my My Little Kitchen was in NYC briefly and took the time and effort to navigate the subways and come uptown to share a cup of tea with me. It was my first time meeting a blogger face-to-face and that made it so exciting! We chatted non-stop about food and our holiday plans and can I just say that she is the warmest and nicest person ever? Cathy

A Menu For Hope II: Chai Hamper

Food bloggers come together every holiday season to share their good fortune with people who need a helping hand: This year we are going to have a fun fund-raising event to raise money for UNICEF for their relief efforts in Kashmir, to help the millions of people affected by the massive earthquake in October. This event is a foodie raffle being organized by the wonderful Pim of Chez Pim. Many

Happy Birthday V: An Indo-Chinese Feast

To celebrate V's birthday, some friends came over to join us for lunch. The menu: Indian-Chinese ! In decades past, Chinese cooking has become a major food trend in India, and as with all transplanted cuisines, there has been the evolution of a unique Indo-chinese fusion cuisine. Chinese food carts dot every city in India, and many Indian restaurants will obligingly include some Indo-chinese

M is for MOOGAMBAT

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

L is for LASUN CHUTNEY

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have

Weekend Dog Blogging: Dale, the Fitness Freak

Move over, Yogi bear, Yoga Dog is here. Dale is maintaining his sleek figure by trying some yoga poses. Here he is practising his Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose). Check out all the pooches hanging out with Sweetnicks!

An exciting day for One Hot Stove

Today, I am shocked to tell you, my picture won (!!) first place (it was a tie with the amazing Stephen of "Stephen Cooks") for "Originality" in the "Does my blog look good in this" (DMBLGIT), a competition for best food-blog photography every month. I *totally* don't belong in this gallery of talented photographers but am very grateful for this pat on the back. Thank you, judges, and thank you,