This is one of the simplest burger I have ever made. It is hearty, delicious and easy to make. I have tried so many recipes that end up with mushy or crumbly patties. But this recipe makes the PERFECT veggie burger. Recipe is adapted from Tricia Yearwood’s recipe for Sweet Pea burger on Food Network. What I love about this recipe is that it uses pantry staple ingredients and there is no chilling or freezing time....

Who doesn’t like simple sauce recipes that are so versatile? I always do, and this teriyaki sauce is one among them. Teriyaki- Teriyaki is a cooking technique or style widely used in Japanese cuisine. In the US, teriyaki refers to the sauce. Teriyaki is a combination of two words – Teri + yaki. Teri means luster/shine, and yaki means to grill or broil. The shiny soy sauce with mirin gives that glossy shine to the grilled dishes....

Isn’t Thanksgiving just the best? I love it! It’s a wonderful time to gather around the table with family and friends, appreciating each other and sharing good food. Take time to acknowledge the many ways we’ve been blessed. Tips For Success Plan ahead. If you haven’t nailed down every last detail of your Thanksgiving meal, I hope this round-up of delightful recipes will help you plan your dinner. I’ve also included a guide with a day-by-day, step-by-step plan for preparing for the big day....

Fast & Easy Egg Salad Today I’m sharing my personal favorite egg salad recipe! When my chickens lay a surplus of eggs (as they are now… I’m getting nearly 2 dozen a day), this is my go-to way to use them in a hurry (this and my angel food cake). Not only is this recipe fast, but it’s also so flavorful and always gobbled down in a flash. Aside from being a quick snack or lunch (and you probably already have all ingredients on hand!...

How long it takes: 50 minutes (most of that is baking time) Equipment you’ll need: large mixing bowl, large saucepan, baking dish Servings: 8 And it’s delicious! I’ve added a few embellishments (optional of course!) to enhance the flavor, texture, and nutrition. Crisp water chestnuts, bright green peas, and sharp cheddar cheese will make your casserole shine. Reasons To Love Tuna Casserole It’s made with pantry items. One of the attractive features of tuna noodle casserole is that you can make it with pantry items....

In restaurants, especially in Tamil Nadu, you can see chapati and parotta served with kurma. But kurma pairs well with idli, dosa, poori, chapati, naan, and parotta. You can also pair it with biryani or pulao, or brinji rice. I always pair this green turnip kurma with my coconut milk pulao / thengai paal sadam. Don’t forget to check out my coconut milk pulao platter too. Turnips in kurma Green turnips/turnip greens in kurma sound interesting, right?...

What is Matar ka Nimona? As intriguing as the name sounds, it’s an extremely loved, popular, and sought-after winter vegetarian green peas curry recipe from Northern India. “The fresh and soft green peas are mushed together to form a coarse paste and then cooked with potatoes, wadi (dried lentil dumplings), spices, and masala“. Winter is my favorite season and growing up, I used to patiently wait for ‘fresh peas or hari matar’ to arrive so that mom could prepare this dish....

Paruppu Usili is a classic and traditional recipe from the state of Tamil Nadu. Paruppu means lentils, and usili means crumbled or broken lentils. Along with lentils, we add a vegetable and call the dish with that name like beans paruppu usili, meaning beans with crumbled lentils or raw tomato paruppu usili means crumbled lentils with raw tomato. This usili is quite popular among the Tamil Brahmin community or as they say Tam-Brahm/Tambram community....

This Vegetable Quinoa Pulao has been on the menu twice last week and it’s one of my most requested weeknight dinner meal or lazy brunch. It’s healthy, super easy and the best part, it can be cooked in any of the three: Pressure Cooker, Instant Pot or Stovetop. So What is Vegetable Quinoa Pulao? Vegetable Pulao is nothing but a sauteed mix of rice/quinoa or similar grains along with a choice of vegetables and Indian spices....

I took a quick glance at that recipe and forgot the fact that the recipe called for tofu and scallions. I forget to buy those and came back only with wanton wraps as I had cabbage and carrots. But then I decided to try with what I have and it turned out pretty good. We paired this up with my BFF N’s Chinese fried rice. Her daughter and Vaandu enjoyed and loved the dumplings....

Check out how to make this delicious rice with step-wise pictures. Indian festivals are incomplete without sweets, and we offer sweets as offering to God for all the major festivals. In Tamil, we call these offerings as neivediyam or prasadam. Vella sadam or the sweet jaggery rice is my goto option for sweets, especially when the festivals fall on working day here in the US. Instead of kheer, I make this vella sadam....

Basically Mandi is the rice washed water which is one of the key ingredient in this dish. I usually take the second time washed water, as I am not sure about the chemicals and stuff used in rice. You can use the water that you use to soak the boiled rice for idly after washing it the first time. That water would be really thick and flavorful for sure. You can even soak the tamarind in rice washed water....

I had been so intrigued by ‘Soba Noodles‘ after a quick stopover in Tokyo while my trip to India. On my quest to eat a healthy-light meal while traveling, I came across this delicious warm combo of freshly prepared soba noodles with miso soup in the airport lounge. The bowl looked so cute and gave me an instant home-cooked meal taste (right in the airport, what more could I ask)....

Country: W for Western Samoa Dish: Poi (Banana Pudding) We are moving on to Western Samoa today. There are not too many countries starting with W and so I picked one from this list and cooked from it, not realizing until I started typing the post that is the former name for Samoa. Oh well, it is what it is now and I’m going with it!!!!!! Western Samoa/ Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean....

How long it takes: 15 minutes to make the dough, 10 minutes to bake each batch Equipment you’ll need: electric mixer (optional), large bowl, cookie sheets Servings: makes 5 dozen, depending on size Why make cookies with whole wheat flour and oats? Both are healthy whole grains that add fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals to your diet. I often use at least half whole wheat flour to make cookies, if not all....

I love yam because it is similar to potato in texture and taste. It is hard to find fresh Indian style yam here in the US. So I always have a few frozen packets in the freezer. They are great to make quick stir fry like this recipe or to make this Andhra style Kanda Bachalikura. Kerala Yam Fry | Chena Mezhukkupuratty: There are quite a few different versions to make Kerala style yam fry....

Cinco De Mayo, a day to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage is just around the corner and it’s been celebrated in California(USA – because of the large Mexican-American population) since 1863 with parties, parades, mariachi music, bbq and lots of Mexican food. Mexican food is one of my favorite comfort food – who doesn’t love lemony-cheesy food, however, I do try to reduce the use of cheese and other carbs in it....

My son actually likes these meatballs. This guy will not eat meat. He’s a carb boy through and through. While I don’t have a problem with a vegetarian diet, he also won’t eat beans, quinoa, tofu, or any other good source of protein, other than milk. How long it takes: 15 minutes to prep, 12-15 minutes to air fry Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, air fryer Servings: makes 20 meatballs Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I “forced” him to try an air-fryer meatball....

Homemade Apple Cinnamon Muffins My kids are muffin monsters. They love muffins, almost any kind, but especially these apple cinnamon muffins. And while Grandma is the undisputed muffin queen, these soft homemade apple muffins definitely rise to the occasion. Literally. They’re so fluffy! This easy muffin recipe is filled with sweet bites of fresh apple and warm cinnamon spice, with flavors reminiscent of an apple spice cake. They’re made ultra-tender with whole wheat and a touch of applesauce, perfect for snacking on this fall....

This blog post is in partnership with Spartan Nash and Family Fare. All opinions are my own. How long it takes: 15 minutes to prep, about an hour to bake Equipment you’ll need: large skillet, 9 x 13 inch baking dish Servings: 10 About This Apple Stuffing Recipe When you ask me what my favorite part of Thanksgiving is, my answer is always stuffing. Soft bread full of delicious add-ins and flavorful herbs?...