Ven Pongal with Kathrikai Gothsu (Khara Pongal with Eggplant Curry)

Re-posting this post: Happy Pongal/ Sankranthi! Pongal is a holiday celebrated in Tamil Nadu on the 14th of January. It is a harvest festival; celebrated all over the country and in Karnataka and other parts it is called Sankranthi. In Karnataka, a snack made of roasted gram, dried coconut pieces (kopra), peanuts, jaggery pieces mixed…

Daikon/ Icicle Radish (Mooli) Greens Dal

Daikon greens in a spiced lentil and coconut sauce This is a dish my mom has been making for years. Usually the leaves of the radish are discarded. In fact when I was living in India and I would buy icicle radish from the street vendor with the leaves, I would ask for more leaves….

Orange and Radish Salad

It is summer again and I have started growing vegetables in my garden. For the first time I grew icicle radish (mooli/diakon). I had never realised how easy it is to grow diakon radish. You plant them in the spring (sprinkle seeds on the soil) and in 21 days you have fresh radish. A recipe…

Vietnamese Inspired Salad

A friend on Facebook has been posting pictures of pho with the whole process. It takes time but I can only imagine how good it tastes. We were going to the neighboring city which had a Vietnamese restaurant and had great reviews. I was so looking forward to the pho but it was of meat…

Spicy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

On a cold, snowy day, a hot bowl of steamy spicy soup is just what I need. This soup is one of my favorite soups. I make it lactose-free and have add ons like cheese or sour cream for the vegetarians. If you add avocado, you get the creamy feeling without the cream. I sometimes…

Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Muffins

Adapted from Genevieve Ko‘s recipe from the NYTimes Cooking Most people who know or have worked with me have eaten my banana bread. I made it often especially when the kids were in school and I needed to send a snack. I baked 2-3 loaves of banana bread and took one to work to share…

Vegan Chickpea Harissa Soup with Homemade Harissa Paste

I was introduced to Harissa paste during the start of the pandemic. I was looking for sauces or dips to serve and somebody said harissa is the new sriracha. That piqued my interest and I looked it up. It had all the ingredients I likes and it was spicy. This is a chilli paste used…