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Semaiya Kheer or Vermicelli Pudding to celebrate Eid
Childhood memories of Eid bring in the sweet taste of Semaiya Kheer or vermicelli pudding, also called Shemuiyer Payesh in Bengali. The shimuiyer payesh that I have eaten at most Bengali homes, is made much like the rice pudding. The shimuiyer payesh, however, is sweetened with sugar and Gur or jaggery is seldom used in it. It is also less dense. Here's my easy recipe for the delicious festive dessert.
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It’s time to reflect upon what we’ve been eating in our Chennai home
Delicious snapshots of our home cooked meals after settling down in our Chennai home... beyond Rasam! There seem to be more than fifty shades of rice, lentils and Poriyal. The fresh curry leaves plucked from our garden for using in the thalippu or tempering, and of course as garnish along with other subtle and not so subtle culinary nuances - I am totally overwhelmed by my new culinary knowledge.
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Celebrating Bengali New Year and Tamil New Year at home
Shubho Noboborsho! Wishing all of you on the occasion of Bengali New Year. Also wishing everyone for the other Indian regional New Years like Ugadi, Puthandu, Vishu , Baisakhi, Vihu, Gudi Padwa and others. If you aren’t celebrating a New Year… may we simply celebrate life! A new dawn and a beautiful morning… and some behind the scenes hustle We are blessed with stunning sunrises over an uninterrupted view of the backwaters. It had rained in the early morning hours and the horizon was still dark and thunderous on Noboborsho morning. The morning breeze carried the earthy aroma of the fresh rains and the seagulls seem to be too drenched…
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Kovalam Beach | Buying fish at the seashore and a recipe of Beer Battered Squid
Buying fresh fish from the fishermen straight off the seashore in Kovalam… this was kind of an ultimate ode to fish lovers like us. The warm glow of the rising sun, the fresh breeze and the excitement of the buyers added to the bustle of the morning. It was already 6:30am on a Saturday morning and we hurried. We had to reach Kovalam beach to catch the morning haul directly from the fishermen. Although the beach was very close to where we live, I feared that if we reached late, the fresh catch would be dispatched to the adjoining Kovalam fish market and the surrounding fish markets in the city.…
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I never aspired for any other passport but my Indian passport and it has nothing to do with patriotism
Happy 72nd Indian Republic Day! May the love and pride for our nation keep soaring high amongst all Indians, much like the Tricolour! I have been living abroad for the last 20 years and have just moved back to India from Dubai in October 2020. For those who may be expecting with fluttering hearts that the decision was initiated by a patriotic call to my roots, the country where I belong… the Bearded Biker got a transfer within the organisation that he has been working for many years. We were very excited as both our parents live in Kolkata and the last year was witness to the havoc it created…
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Celebrating Pongal with Sakkarai Pongal and other dishes
Wishing you abundance and joy as new harvest is celebrated all across India. They may have different names… Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Maghi Bihu, Uttarayan, Lohri and others, but the intentions are the same. It’s a celebration of nature’s bounty and to her show gratitude. It also marks the sun’s transit to Capricorn, hence marking the end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Needless to say, it’s the perfect time to release everything from the past and welcome a new decade by setting new intentions! I’m immersing myself into every new experience that I can get in my new adopted home, Chennai. Nothing can be better than a festive season or a celebration to…
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Chettinad Chicken cooked in a claypot
One of the most exciting ways of exploring and learning more about a region is through its regional cuisine. I cooked Chettinad Chicken in a claypot, an affair that I have been longing for a long time. It turned out to be delicious and I'm currently obsessing over everything about it... the aroma, the texture and the excitement of cooking in a claypot.
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Homemade spicy Chicken 65 for today’s lunch
Getting into the Chennai groove with a homemade spicy Chicken 65 for today’s lunch. I made two variations of it – with and without gravy. This is probably the closest any of my blogposts have gotten real-time! My last blogpost was kind of very long as I belted my heart out into how we have settled down in Chennai. The behind-the-scenes activities started in April 2020 and we moved into our home in Diwali. We finally felt at home by New Year’s eve… all of these culminating in a long emotional blogpost. The header image showed a meal that I had cooked a few days earlier, in the manner of…
A culinary travel blog
