Recipes

Fish Kalputi

Author: 
Rekha Rege

Category:

Rekha Rege

Rekha has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and works for the Bank of India. She loves reading and travelling. At present she is studying Vedanta. She lives with her husband in Mumbai.

This recipe has a very interesting history - that's what my mother-in-law told me. In the past, in Indian joint families, the men and children were served food first, and the women had to make do with whatever was left over.

The fish curry was made of the best fish pieces, and the head and tail pieces were not used. Most of the time, there would be hardly any fish curry left for the women after the men and children had finished eating. So the enterprising women would make this dish with the head and tail pieces for themselves!

This is a very simple recipe, but it has a unique flavour because of the ginger, green chillies and coriander. There is absolutely no garam masala, and yet it is very tasty. One of my favourites !

Serves 4 people


Ingredients

WW II Rice-Wheat Nonfermented Dosa

Author: 
M P V Shenoi

Category:

Vegetarian, main dish, spicy

M P V Shenoi

Shenoi, a civil engineer and MBA, rose to the rank of Deputy Director-General of Works in the Indian Defence Service of Engineers. He has also been a member of HUDCO’s advisory board and of the planning team for Navi Mumbai. After retirement he has been helping NGOs in employment-oriented training, writing articles related to all aspects of housing, urban settlements, infrastructure, project and facility management and advising several companies on these issues.

There are innumerable varieties of dosas. This is one type that my mother, B. Sharada Bai, used to make. My wife has helped me in putting together this recipe.

Spicy Kolakattai

Author: 
Veda Anantharam

Category:

Vegetarian, main dish, spicy

Veda Anantharam

Veda, a Bangalore-based artist, is currently pursuing a Distance Diploma in Art from Penn Foster School in Pennsylvania. Earlier, she studied Microbiology and worked as a research assistant in Denmark. On her Iyengar's kitchen blog she writes about the food insights she got from her grandmother. On her Kai Kriye blog you can see her paintings and other creations. She and her husband enjoy travelling, and their aim is to see as many places as possible. Her little daughter, Parnika, keeps her on her toes all the time!

My paati (grandmother), A.S. Padma (May 9, 1924 - April 3, 2007) was always acknowledged for her remarkable cooking and stringent disciplinary guidelines. Her Guests, relatives, friends and even her neighbours never went home hungry or even empty handed. Such was her generosity.

Spicy Modak

Author: 
Sushma Dhanesh Nagarkar

Category:

Vegetarian, snack, spicy, Maharashtrian

Sushma Nagarkar

Sushma Nagarkar got her M.Sc. Maths, Honours School from Panjab University. She lives with her husband Dhanesh in Nagpur. Her daughter is an ophthalmologist, and her son is a mechanical engineer.

I got married in 1979 and came to my in-laws' place at Nagpur. My husband has two brothers and two sisters, three of whom live in Nagpur.

We are a religious family, and celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi and Mahalaxmi Puja in Bhadrapada (Hindu lunar calendar month, usually in August-September).

The preparation starts about a fortnight before the Puja day as about 100 people dine on the Puja day.

Every day, the women gather at my husband's older brother's home, where my late mother-in-law, Shrimati Gangabai Nagarkar, lived.

Gangabai Nagarkar

Sweet modaks are made on the first day. These are sweets and Prasad for Ganpati.

We make lots of sweets and snacks, such as laddu, shev, karanji, chakli, and anarse. Nobody ­­- not even small children ­- are allowed to eat them until the Puja is over.

Eggplant Baked with Yogurt

Author: 
Anula Bhusry

Category:

Vegetarian, eggplant, baked, North India

Anula Bhusry

I was born in Pittsburgh, PA but moved back to India with my parents when I was 4 years old. I did not know much cooking till I got married to Sanjiv, who is a gourmet cook. One of his hobbies is cooking. I was forced to compete with him! We moved to the US in 1998 and since then have been living in a suburb of Washington D.C. with our two daughters.

Sanjiv and I had been dating before we got married in Delhi in 1985. So, at the time of our wedding, I knew that Sanjiv was a diehard non-vegetarian, who did not care much for vegetarian food. And he did not like eggplant cooked in any Indian style.

Sukesh Gugani - Anula Bhuaji

Soon after our wedding, my Bhuaji (father's sister), Shrimati Sukesh Gugani, invited Sanjiv and me to her home for dinner. Bhuaji's family are strictly vegetarians, and I wondered whether Sanjiv would eat any dinner at all at her home because there would be no meat dishes. Even though there was a risk it would be an embarrassing evening, it was not possible for me to turn down my Bhuaji's invitation - I am very fond of her.

Kai Murukku

Author: 
Nithya Balaji

Category:

Vegetarian, snack, South Indian

Nithya Balaji

Nithya Balaji holds an M.Phil. in Computer Science. Her food blog www.nithubala.com focuses mainly on South Indian Vegetarian Cuisine. She is interested in food photography, food art and floral rangoli. She is a writer of stories in Tamil and English. Her stories and recipes were featured in popular magazines.

Whenever I think about a fried snack, the first thing that hits my mind is Kai Murukku. Pankajavalli Patti, (Patti means grandmother in Tamil) my paternal grandmother, and Gandhimathi Patti, my maternal grandmother, were both experts in preparing Kai Murukku.

My mother’s White’s Yellow Coconut Rice, Mince Ball Curry (Kofta Curry) and Devil Chutney

Author: 
Bridget White-Kumar

Category:

Lamb/Mutton, main dish, spicy, Anglo-Indian

Bridget White-Kumar

Bridget was born and brought up in Kolar Gold Fields, a small mining town in Karnataka. She got her B Ed degree in Bangalore, taught for two years, and then joined Canara Bank, from where she retired a few years ago. Now she is a self-published author of six cookbooks specializing in Anglo-Indian cuisine, and works as a consultant on food related matters. Bridget has also published a nostalgic book on KGF entitled Kolar Gold Fields Down Memory Lane. For copies of her books, contact her at bidkumar@gmail.com or visit http://anglo-indianfood.blogspot.com.

MY MUM'S COOKING

I was born and brought up in a well-known Anglo-Indian family in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Karnataka, which had a large and predominant British and Anglo-Indian population.

Our lives were influenced to a great extent by British culture. There was no dearth of British goods in KGF during the 1940s and 50s. These goods were imported from England and sold through The English Ware House, Spencer’s Stores, the Clubs, etc.

My mother’s Handvo

Author: 
Purnima Patel

Category:

Snack, spicy, Gujarati

Purnima Patel

Purnima Patel has lived in many continents but now resides in Bethesda, Maryland. She is the mother of two grown daughters. She works as a cytotechnologist in the Pathology Lab at Virginia Hospital Center. In her spare time, she loves to cook, read and travel.

 

My mom married my dad – both Gujaratis- in 1945 at a very young age in India and went with him to start their life in Uganda, where my siblings and I were born and raised.

y mom, and many others like her, rooted their lives by establishing all their Indian customs and foods in the completely foreign environment.

A favorite ritual in my life in Kampala was Sundays. My dad would pack the family into our car and drive off to the beach at Entebbe to spend the day. My parents would have planned the food with our family friends and relatives ahead of time. All the children and dads would play on the beach, while the moms would turn on kerosene stoves to start cooking the lunch.

Champu Tai’s Stuffed Brinjal Curry

Author: 
Preeti Gurung

Category:

Veg, Main Dish, Mild, Western Coastal Region

Preeti Gurung

Preeti Gurung was born in post-Independence India. Since my father was in the Army, I grew up in Cantonment Towns all over North India. Now, I live in the US with my daughter and two delightful grandchildren. I retired in early 2013, and am enjoying being a Soccer (grand) mom to my grandchildren.  I volunteer in the Middle School/High School Marching Band Parents Association and in the Junior Girl Scouts. I have revitalized my green thumb. I make dishes from all over the world and enjoy reading. I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement after having worked for 40 years!

When I was 13, my father was transferred to Vietnam with the UN Peacekeeping Force, while my mother and I continued to live in a Cantonment town very close to the Pakistan border.

Shortly thereafter, the 1965 war between India and Pakistan broke out, and we were evacuated to New Delhi to live with Kamal akka, my father’s sister. She had a cook, Martumam, who had been in her husband’s family for years. In fact when Kamal akka got married, he came along, from her in-laws’ side and ruled her house with an iron fist!

Watermelon Rind Doddak

Author: 
Preeti Gurung

Category:

Veg, Breakfast, Mild, Western Coastal Region

Preeti Gurung

Preeti Gurung was born in post-Independence India. Since my father was in the Army, I grew up in Cantonment Towns all over North India. Now, I live in the US with my daughter and two delightful grandchildren. I retired in early 2013, and am enjoying being a Soccer (grand) mom to my grandchildren.  I volunteer in the Middle School/High School Marching Band Parents Association and in the Junior Girl Scouts. I have revitalized my green thumb. I make dishes from all over the world and enjoy reading. I am thoroughly enjoying my retirement after having worked for 40 years!

I come from a community known as Bhanaps (in Konkani) from the Chitrapur Math of Shirali, a town in the North Kanara District of Karnataka.

Bhanaps are one of the six Saraswat Brahmins  sects in south western India. We also call ourselves Amchi or Amchigele. We speak a version of Konkani which differs from the Goan Konkani.

We are an extremely small community with less than 30,000 Bhanaps worldwide. Our community is 100% literate, and very liberal in their views.

Our food is very distinctive. Coconut plays a major part in both our food and worship.

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