Author Archives: dustandcolor

Okra is one my favorite vegetables (I think botanically okra is a fruit.) I like okra so much that when I was in boarding school, my friend and I once nearly wiped out a huge okra patch our school manager had planted. We would pluck the tender okra off the plant throughout the day, andContinue reading “Stir-fried Okra”

I have slacked on cooking in the last two months because of my travel schedules and moving to a new place. But that did not stop me from picking up some good pots and pans. For nearly three years we had been operating with a motley of mix and match cookware – couple of sauceContinue reading “Cookwares and Seasoning”

It has been snowing since yesterday morning, and I think the snow would be a feet or so deep. Well…it does not matter if it is feet or two deep..the fact it is snowing itself is enough for me. For a guy from the tropics, it takes few years to acclimatize to this kind ofContinue reading “Portland’s Voodoo Doughnuts”

Spices are synonymous with Kerala. Every household with little bit of land will have some sort of spice cultivation – black pepper, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, nutmeg, etc. My family is no different. Earlier we had a farm where we grew a variety of crops including spices. After we sold that, my parents have been concentratingContinue reading “My India Trip – Spices”

This trip to India was also when I spent Christmas with my parents, I guess in eight years?. ..maybe even longer.  We have always been a family of travelers, living at multiple locations at a given time. My wife and I were also lucky to be there during the annual St. Sebastian’s festival, the saintContinue reading “My India Trip – Festival Food”

It’s been over two months since I posted anything on my blog, and I didn’t realize that time flew so fast. I did get couple of queries from my friends – “what happened?”, “lost interest?” etc etc. The fact is end-November to mid-January we had a crazy…actually maniacal days. We moved to a new placeContinue reading “My India Trip – Local Cuisine”

I have a liking for offal meat – gizzards, tripe, trotters, brains, kidney. Though I don’t buy them often for home cooking (my wife has biased tastes towards offal meat), I never miss a chance to eat if I am offered, or if it is available on a restaurant’s menu that I can trust. TheContinue reading “Reverse-Braised Chicken Gizzards”

This week has been extremely busy, and bittersweet in many ways. We bought our first home this Wednesday, and in a short while I will have my first kitchen!! (I have been constantly on the move since I finished my undergrad in the early 90’s.). In the last 16 years or so, I have livedContinue reading “White Potato Curry”

We have been going through our pantry to empty it out, and have been finding packets of dried beans, lentils, and cans of this and that. Among them was a can of mango pulp made from Kesar mangoes we had bought this summer at one of the Indian grocery stores on Oak Tree Road, Iselin,Continue reading “Mango Farina Bread”

I hardly cooked this week. Work and catching up with friends saw us eating out most of the last days. So I decided to cook something today, and clean out the refrigerator. We had bought some paneer a week or so back, and it had been languishing in the recesses of the fridge. A “ProductContinue reading “Ginger Tamarind Paneer”

I was going through the pantry this afternoon and I found the puttu maker that I had bought three years back when moving to the U.S. I had completely forgotten about it. The puttu maker had traveled from India to California, then to Washington DC, and then two house moves in DC. Somehow it survivedContinue reading “Puttu and Kadala Curry”

Last week we went to try out IndAroma – a Indo-French cafe in Alexandria, VA. It turned out to be a nice cozy place with an eclectic mix of food – appetizers, entrees (biriyani, curries etc), breads, cookies, cakes and pastries. But what I really liked about the place was the ambiance. It was soContinue reading “Coconut Drumstick Curry”

I had some leftover cilantro-mint masala I had made for the Cornish hen. It stays good for a week or so when stored in a clean sterilized bottle. But I don’t like anything sitting in a refrigerator beyond two days. I have a love-hate relationship with  refrigerators. Though my mom does not keep too muchContinue reading “Hara Masala Chicken”

I touch the oven with the same trepidation as a cat would touch cold water. The first time I had to “operate” an oven I picked up the hot Pyrex pan without mittens, and burnt my palms pretty bad (But I didn’t drop the dish.) Well, I cannot be blamed completely for it. I grewContinue reading “Green Masala Cornish Hen”

Tapioca (yuca/cassava) is a staple food in Kerala. Referred as the “poor man’s food”, it is grown in the backyard of most houses in the state, and also extensively in farms. The root is steamed, boiled, fried, grilled, and eaten with an assortment of relishes, chutneys and curries. The most famous is the tapioca andContinue reading “Steamed Tapioca With Relish”

Work and some photo commitments took me off the kitchen for couple of days. While at the grocery store today, I spotted some plantains and decided to make the beef plantain roast, a traditional Kerala dish. I also got some yucca (cassava or tapioca) to make another dish, which I will explain later. Unripe plantainsContinue reading “Beef Plantain Roast”

I got up this morning not feeling very gung-ho and at the same time pretty hungry. I opened the fridge to make some eggs for breakfast and then I saw some of the leftover pumpkin I had roasted to make the pumpkin bean dish. So I thought why not some pancakes. I have never reallyContinue reading “Roast Pumpkin Pancakes”

When I lived in Kerala erissery was one of my least favored curries. There was nothing wrong with the ingredients..it is made with pumpkin, beans and coconut, and spiced with green chillies, cumin, mustard, curry leaves and red chillies. But the thick soupy texture of the curry used to drive me away from lunch whenContinue reading “Erissery (Pumpkin Bean Curry)”

I had my first stir-fried ramen when I was in eighth grade. I don’t remember who cooked it, but I do remember that it came topped with a sunny-side up egg and chunks of beef. Over the years I tried different ways to better the dish, till I one day I used black mustard seedsContinue reading “Stir-fried Egg Ramen”

We had some leftover ribs, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, and cornbread after eating out on Friday at a local restaurant in Washington DC (I am still trying to come to terms with the huge servings in US restaurants and doggie bags). Anyways….I hate to throw away food, and always try to “re-invent” them inContinue reading “Ribs Croquette”