spicy

Lavanya grew up in Mumbai in an artistic environment. Her father, Pandit Narendra Sharma, was a renowned Hindi poet\; her mother, Susheela Sharma, painted with oil and water colour mediums. Lavanya started writing poems when she was 3 years old. Fir Ga Utha Prawasee (The traveller sings again) फ़िर गा उठा प्रवसी is her first book of poems. Her Hindi blog is Lavanyam -Antarman (Inner Voice of Lavanya ) लावण्यम्` अन्तर्मन्` She lives in the US and can be reached @ lavnis@gmail.com

In the early 1960s, when I was a school-going child, we lived in Bombay (now Mumbai) in a bungalow that had several fruit trees and jasmine shrubs in the back yard. My amma, late Shrimati Susheela Narendra Sharma, was an excellent cook. Her style of cooking was Surati (Surat is a city in Gujarat), which is spicier (using green chilies), oilier, and more elaborate than other Gujarati cuisine. A Gujarati saying praises this cuisine in this way: સુરતનું જમણ ને કાશીનું મરણ (meal be from Surat, death be in Kashi.)

I was born in England and raised in the US, but my soul and spirit are completely Indian. Most of my childhood summers were spent in India, soaking up the culture and traditions of my heritage and creating memories that I will cherish forever. One of my fondest memories is sitting around the traditional Indian kitchens, fascinated by the flurry of culinary whirlwind activity occurring around me.

This recipe is from my maternal grandmother, late Shrimati Annapurna Divekar (1920-1994).

She was only one of the seven girls who graduated from high school in Belgaum in 1938, with high scores in English and Mathematics. But what I remember most about her is her cooking!

As a Maharashtrian who moved to Bangalore after she got married, she was highly skilled in cooking from both regions. She prepared her own fresh masalas daily and cooked everything from scratch. Vaangi Bhaat is a delicious one pot meal, a wonderful combination of eggplant and rice combined with lovely aromatic spices. This is a typical Maharashtrian specialty but enjoyed throughout Southern India as well. My grandmother made this dish whenever we visited\; we would eat it with home-made papads (thin, crispy lentil wafers), a delicious combination.

For more of my recipes, visit http://indianfood.bellaonline.com/Site.asp.

Ingredients

Bridget was born and brought up in Kolar Gold Fields,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. She is a self-published author of five cookbooks specializing in Anglo-Indian cuisine, and works as a consultant on food related matters. For copies of her books, contact her at bidkumar@gmail.com or visit http://anglo-indianfood.blogspot.com

In the late 1950s to early 1960s, when I was a child, our Anglo-Indian family would gather every Sunday in my grandparent’s home in Robertsonpet, Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka. My siblings, cousins and I would crowd around grandma Maud White, who was in her late 60’s, as she prepared Country Captain Chicken, a favourite of the whole family.

Anglo-Indian cuisine is a fusion of Western and Indian cuisine, in which the normally bland Western cuisine is given a dash of Indian flavour. Over many years, Indian ingredients and cooking techniques were assimilated into western cuisine, giving rise to a distinctive cuisine that comfortably straddles both cultures.

Pratibha Jain (left)and Jigyasa Giri (right)are the authors and publishers of Cooking at Home with Pedatha which won the Gourmand award for Best Vegetarian Book in the World 2006. Jigyasa is a Kathak dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Pratibha Jain holds a Doctorate in Philosophy of Language from the University of Madras. Their website is www.pritya.com, and their email address is communicate@pritya.com.

This recipe is from our book Cooking at home with Pedatha, a tribute coffee table cookbook. Pedatha (short for Peddha Atthayya, which means eldest aunt (bhua - father' sister) in Telugu) refers to Mrs. Subhadra Krishna Rau Parigi, the eldest daughter of the former President of India, Dr. V.V. Giri.

In the book's Foreword, her sister wrote:

Pratibha Jain (left) and Jigyasa Giri (right) are the authors and publishers of Cooking at Home with Pedatha which won the Gourmand award for Best Vegetarian Book in the World 2006. Jigyasa is a Kathak dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Pratibha Jain holds a Doctorate in Philosophy of Language from the University of Madras. Their website is www.pritya.com, and their email address is communicate@pritya.com.

We have grown up believing that cooking is all about being quick, clever, and creative. Readymade powders, instant purees, and our freezers are now our salvation. We learnt something different from Pedatha, (short for Peddha Atthayya, which means eldest aunt (bhua - father' sister) in Telugu) - Mrs. Subhadra Krishna Rau Parigi, the eldest daughter of the former President of India, Dr. V.V. Giri. She is the protagonist of our book Cooking at home with Pedatha.

I was born and brought up in a traditional Telugu Brahmin family in Tamilnadu. I did my Masters in IT, and am currently settled in USA.  Cooking and entertaining are my passions. I want to share my recipes, so I have created http://neivedyam.blogspot.com:80/. Husband Venkat is a busy IT person and my best critic. I am a busy mom of two adorable kids, but do find time for my other hobbies: music, photography, travelling, gardening and cookbooks.

My memories still wander around my Nanamma's (father's mother in Telugu) lovely home, where her kitchen opened into a beautiful wide backyard with Tulasi madam (place where Tulasi plant is worshiped), hibiscus plants, and coconut trees. In 1990's I spent most of my childhood at my grandmother's.

I was born and brought up in a traditional Telugu Brahmin family in Tamilnadu. I did my Masters in IT, and am currently settled in USA.  Cooking and entertaining are my passions. I want to share my recipes, so I have created http://neivedyam.blogspot.com:80/. Husband Venkat is a busy IT person and my best critic. I am a busy mom of two adorable kids, but do find time for my other hobbies: music, photography, travelling, gardening and cookbooks.

My memories still wander around my Nanamma's (father's mother in Telugu) lovely home, where her kitchen opened into a beautiful wide backyard with Tulasi madam (place where Tulasi plant is worshiped), hibiscus plants, and coconut trees. In 1990's I spent most of my childhood at my grandmother's.

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.

When I got married in 1974 I hardly knew how to cook. I am basically a vegetarian, while Prakash, my husband, loves non-vegetarian food. Unlike many other young couples of those days, we moved into our own house immediately after our wedding.  So I had to feed my foodie husband by myself, but I knew I couldn't do it. Initially, we ate with my in-laws, but how long could this go on? So, I decided to cook.

I remember the first meal I cooked. It was a simple potato bhaji, and yet it was a total disaster. We dunked it in the garbage and went out for dinner!  How long could this go on?

I asked my mother-in-law, Dr. Shakuntala Rege, to teach me how to cook. Besides being a doctor, she was an excellent cook! I do not know how she found the time, but she wrote down her favourite - or rather my husband's favourite - recipes. All I had to do was follow them exactly, and they would turn out fine. And, yes, they did - just YUMMY.

Here is our family's all time favourite recipe.

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

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

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.