spicy

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.

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.

My mother’s instant rawa dhokla

Author: 
Purnima Patel

Category:

Snack/main meal, 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.

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.

dhokla

Picture courtesy Trushna

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Serves: 4 as a meal, 8 as a snack

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

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