I know my Crispy Tofu Fried Rice looks loaded with more vegetables than is the norm. That’s because it’s meant to be a one-bowl meal. I love it. It has that salty umami that we love in Asian food and the added bonus of crisp-outside, juicy-inside chunks of tofu. This Crispy Tofu Fried Rice is a texture and flavour bomb, all in one bowl. How to cook the tofu to…
Vaangi Bhat literally means eggplant/aubergine/brinjal rice. And that’s exactly what it is – a dish of eggplant and rice lightly fried with an aromatic and nutty spice mixture. Vaangi bhat belongs to the cuisine of Karnataka in South India. It is an excellent one-dish meal and one of my favourite ways of cooking small, purple eggplants. Choose your eggplant Eggplants come in so many shapes and sizes and it is…
The celebration of sour flavours in Hyderabadi food is the inspiration behind the recipe for kairi pulao in this post. The abundance of raw mangoes in summer is used to make sour khatti (sour) dal, chutneys, pickles, curries, raita, chicken and meat dishes and even a kairi mutton biryani. My recipe for kairi pulao is a lighter, summer-friendly, less spicy version of chicken and raw mango pulao (pilaf). It’s ideal…
An everyday fish pulao is a wonderful dish to have in one’s repertoire. It makes a nice change from fried and curried fish. Like many if not most Indian home cooks, I cook from instinct, adding flavours and seasoning without always adhering to recipes and measurements. Cooking over time, one develops a sense of which ingredients complement each other and how much needs to be added to achieve a certain…
A prawn pulao is always a crowd pleaser. Seafood and rice have a synergetic relationship and together create the most soul-satisfying dishes, paella for example. One of my favourite comfort foods is a plate of fish curry and plain steamed rice. It needs nothing else, no side dishes, relishes or accompaniments required. The prawn pulao is similar. We’re a seafood loving family and when my local fish seller had a…
This is a methi chicken recipe that evolved on a lazy weekend to become a methi chicken rice, rather a Methi Chicken Pulao. A green, glistening bunch of fresh methi in and a bag of chicken in the fridge saved me on a Sunday, giving me the idea to put together a quick, fuss-free but special enough lunch.This methi chicken recipe was cooked simply with a few ingredients, but tasted,…
Meaty. That’s how we all like our burgers. Even the veggie burger has to have that deeply savoury, umami quality of meat to be truly satisfying. The challenge of making a flavour-packed veggie burger for my meat-loving boys made me experiment with everything from tofu to a variety of beans and whole grains. And, in the process I discovered that veggie burgers can be incredibly versatile; even more so than…
Coconut palms line the sea shore, the countless lagoons and backwaters and populate the landscape of Kerala like a mammoth standing army. Is it any wonder then that the bounty they yield complements the delicious gifts that the sea bestows on this rich land. Seafood and coconuts – a match made in foodie heaven – inspired me to develop a pulao recipe that is as easy as it is…
Sara Kayser and I must have exchanged more than 20 emails and a bunch of likes on Instagram and now she feels like an old friend. She has been generous enough to share her recipe for a Mexican-style lasagna that’s sure to feed friends and family. She blogs at theravenoushousewife.com, a blog that focuses on family-style and budget-friendly recipes. She’s partial to cooking pasta and baking cookies and is into all…
Mom makes a mean mutton keema pulao. She’s fast, unfussy and does not follow recipes. Her repertoire of pulaos (pilafs) and biryanis is extensive yet each every single one is cooked from memory backed-up by instinct. On my last visit, as I watched her put together her mutton keema pulao, I felt a strong urge to share the recipe. Busy moms everywhere could learn how to make pulao in a…