Vegetarian

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

I was not fortunate enough to spend time with either my paternal or my maternal ba (grandmother in Gujarati).

However, my daughters and niece were able to spend a reasonable amount of time with my mother when she came and lived with us in the U.S. after my father passed away. On the weekends, she would ask the girls what they would like for lunch. Most often the answer would be dhokla.

Traditional dhokla requires prior notice since there is a fermentation process involved. So, my mother created an instant rawa dhokla recipe. It replicates the  taste of traditional dhokla, but is compatible with the "instant" lifestyle of the U.S.

My mother has since passed away but her rawa dhoklas are a staple snack in our extended family as far as Argentina and Geneva, where my niece Trushna makes them regularly.

Picture courtesy Trushna

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Serves: 4 as a meal, 8 as a snack

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: