Author Archives: dustandcolor

Yesterday I was flipping through my wife’s recipe book, and to my immense surprise I found my mom’s beef fry recipe written in Malayalam, my mother tongue. It turns out my mom had given my wife the recipe nearly four years back, and I had no clue about it. So I had to make it..afterContinue reading “Beef Fry (Erachi Varattiyathu)”

There is nothing better and simpler in the morning than coffee, omelet and toast. This morning I decided to spice-up my omelet – Kerala style. I am not sure if it is officially “Kerala style”, but that is how my family makes eggs, so I will take my chances. I served it with sauteed redContinue reading “Masala Omelette”

I had some shrimp and mango in the refrigerator and I was not sure what to do with them. I had used half of the mangoes earlier to cook a fish curry. Then I remembered that I had some tamarind pulp too, which I had bought to make “Inji Curry”, which has not happened yet.Continue reading “Tamarind-Mango Shrimp”

Upma is my favorite breakfast and snack. Well..I can eat it for all three meals. Favorite accompaniments are coconut chutney, dhal or beef curry. Upma has a good number of accompanying dishes depending on tastes and the region where it is eaten. For this post I made coconut chutney. A classic Southern Indian dish, theContinue reading “Upma”

Walk into any Indian restaurant that serves northern Indian cuisine and the ubiquitous deliciously creamy matter paneer dish will be on the menu. Cooking a good mattar paneer is quite a elaborate procedure. I came home very late today and did not have the patience to go through all the “rituals”. Also I was notContinue reading “Mattar Paneer”

Fish curry and rice is kind of the staple diet in Kerala. If you travel across the state the chances of having a fish and rice lunch are very high, be it restaurants or at home. I have even eaten fish curry at 6 a.m. for breakfast with porotta in Kasargod (northern district of Kerala).Continue reading “Fish Curry”

The chicken pulao (pilaf) that I made last week was gone I wanted to make something that we could eat out of the fridge for the next couple of days. There was nothing much in the pantry and the fridge, and it was too cold to bike over to the grocery store for supplies. SoContinue reading “Egg Pulao”

This is a very simple hearty dish that I cook often to accompany with rice or any of the Indian flatbeards (roti, naan, parathas..etc). The beans and potatoes provide the protein and carbs respectively. The earthiness of the dish comes from the sauteed onions, ginger and green chillies, tanginess from the tomato, and the overallContinue reading “Roasted Potato Bean”

I love chicken and rice dishes, especially biryani’s and pulao (pilaf). If the restaurant that I am eating at serves biryani/pulao I would order it without batting an eyelid. It would be good or bad..but that is not the point..it is chicken and rice and I like it – period. I sometimes make them atContinue reading “Baked Chicken Pulao”

The first time I mooted the idea of grilling shrimp marinated in chiffonaded basil and mint, my wife was skeptical. I went ahead and tried in anyways. It tasted good, and now I have been grilling/pan searing this combination for the past 4 years. I sometimes add pureed ginger and habanero pepper to the mixContinue reading “Basil-mint Shrimp”