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A perfect weekend menu with the classic combination of onion sambar and potato curry. Check out the menu details and recipe links below. Today, I am sharing my MIL’s classic Sunday lunch combo – vengaya sambar and potato-onion curry. This is a popular combo at my husband’s place. They either make avial with potato curry or stuffed brinjal or this vengaya sambar and potato-onion curry. We love both sambar and potato curry and rasam and potato curry combo and I try to make it whenever possible over the weekends....

Imagine with me. You get invited to a party or barbecue cookout and the host asks you to bring an appetizer. You consider bringing deviled eggs. Everyone loves them but they seem a little dull. The usual. Ho-hum. How long it takes: 30 minutes Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, small mixing bowl, piping bag or ziptop bag Servings: makes 24 appetizers (Truthfully, I actually do love good ol’ traditional deviled eggs but sometimes it’s fun to kick things up a notch, right?...

Ever have one of those days where you just need a quick and easy solution for dinner? Something that everyone will like, something that doesn’t make too many pans dirty, and something that comes together fairly quickly. Or maybe one of those days is actually more like every day. That’s what I’ve been feeling like lately. Don’t know if it’s the weather or what, but I’m just not in the mood to create some elaborate dinner that my kids won’t even like....

Tell me, are you all meal planners? Do you sit down on a certain day of the week and plan your meals for the entire week? How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 1 hour to bake Equipment you’ll need: 9 x 13 inch baking dish, measuring cup Servings: 6 (2 drumsticks each) I’m kind of a half-hearted meal planner even though I’m pretty much a type A personality....

How long it takes: 5 minutes Equipment you’ll need: jar for storage Servings: 11 tablespoons Whether you cook the steak on the grill, in a cast iron skillet or grill pan on the stove, or in your air fryer (yes, you can air fry steaks!), this steak seasoning is the one simple trick that takes any steak dinner to the next level. There are endless ways to make steak seasoning but this is my spin on it....

The Best Summer Drink Recipe Today’s strawberry lemonade is simple, refreshing, and full of fresh strawberry and lemon flavor. It takes just a few minutes to make and delivers a perfectly balanced (and perfect for summer!) drink. As with my lemonade recipe and sweet tea, we start with a simple syrup, which not only gives a smooth flavor, but it also ensures the sugar is fully incorporated (no more stirring to make sure it hasn’t settled to the bottom!...

Recently I have been sharing quick vegetarian weekday lunch/dinner recipes that you can easily make in your Instant Pot. Earlier I shared chakalaka, the South African vegetable relish, and then zucchini chili, and now it’s time for the Thai coconut curry noodle soup or the khao soi. Looking for more Thai-inspired recipes? Check out these amazing dishes: Thai Peanut Sauce, Vegetarian Thai Green Curry, Vegan Thai Mango Curry With Cilantro And Cashews, Vegetarian Thai Red Curry With Tofu, or Thai Iced Tea to enjoy with your next meal!...

Theme: Cook with Coconut Dish: Thai Coconut Lime Dressing The coconut & lime dressing is then poured our a colorful assortment of veggies and black rice. I didn’t notice until later that veggies completely covered up my rice in the photos, but if you look real close (I guess) you can see a few grains of black rice. Brown rice would be a great alternate too. Also original recipe had shredded chicken which I subbed with some store bought baked tofu....

Like the Uppu Seedai recipe I shared earlier, Thattai—also known as Thattai Murukku—is a cherished snack often prepared during festivals, especially Janmashtami. Thattai is a traditional South Indian snack that is special to Tamil Nadu. These flat, disc-shaped treats, usually about the size of a palm, are made using rice flour and urad dal flour. “Thattai” means “flat” in Tamil, reflecting their distinctive shape. Similar snacks can be found in neighboring South Indian states, such as Nippattu in Karnataka and Chekkalu in Andhra/Telangana....

Can you believe we are almost over with most of the festive season, the New Year is all done and gone are those festive eats (not sure should I be happy or sad though…I Miss some of those lavish food). Okay, getting back to our Best Artichoke Garlic Hummus and some of you might even be wondering WHY am I call it so…well, here it goes…. Three hours before a gameday at friends house, she calls and tells me ‘Oh the guys have requested if we could get your ‘Homemade Spicy Hummus’ – AWESOME!...

Moist, with lots of real banana flavor, this easy cake may become your go-to dessert. It’s a perfectly delicious way to use the overripe bananas sitting on your counter at home. How long it takes: 15 minutes to mix it up, 40 minutes to bake it Equipment you’ll need: Mixing bowl, mixer, cake pan, oven Servings: 10 My mom makes this cake frequently. I think she overestimates how many bananas she’ll use in a week now that it’s just her and my dad at home....

Don’t you just the love the idea of cookie dough waiting for you in the refrigerator or freezer? When cookie cravings hit or unexpected company arrives, or you receive a party invitation and you don’t want to arrive empty-handed, slice and bake cookies are THE answer. Homemade is always better! I know that the grocery store carries all sorts of pre-made cookie dough. I checked the ingredients of a popular sugar cookie refrigerated dough and let me just say, I would rather use real butter than canola and palm oil....

This year for the Diwali snacks, I am taking a different route. Instead of traditional savory snacks, I am going to share all quick and easy chaat recipes. Chaat for Diwali I know chaat is not a norm in our household. We usually make traditional savories like karasev, kara boondi, mixture, murukku, omapodi, etc. I wanted to share something similar this year, but last week I had some oil splattering during frying, and I decided to skip fried goodies and share easy chaat recipes....

Triple Chocolate Cake with Ganache If you’re a chocoholic like me, you’re probably always on the hunt for your next fix. Devil’s food cake or fudge cookies will do in a pinch, but if you have a really stubborn itch to scratch, this triple chocolate cake will do the trick! With three types of chocolate and an intensely fudgy texture, this cake is truly enchanting. In fact, I’m convinced this cake tastes just like the one Bruce Bogtrotter stole from Mrs....

Tropical Mango Coconut Smoothie with Turmeric: A delicious and creamy blend of tropical flavors with a hint of turmeric for natural healing. Another weekend went and here we are staring at a brand new Monday And I’m sharing this delicious Tropical Mango Coconut Smoothie with Turmeric to cheer you’ll up for a bright and sunny week ahead. As I mentioned in my previous post, we just came back from a week-long vacation....

I make this fusion veggie noodle soup in the Instant Pot. One pot dishes like these are so easy and convenient to make for a weeknight dinner. Food of Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh is in the North eastern part of India. The name ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ means the ’land of the dawn-lit mountains’ or the ’land of the rising sun’. Because of it’s geographic position that the sun hits it before spreading its rays to the other states or regions of India....

I started this blog in 2006 to share the recipes I was trying at home and at the time I wasn’t even thinking of how long I would keep doing it. I am actually surprised that I have been doing this for 10 years already. So here’s a chocolate cake recipe to celebrate the occasion. This cake is dedicated to the BM group, all my blogging buddies, my readers and my family who inspire me to keep blogging....

Here is the detailed arachuvitta vengaya sambar recipe with step-wise pictures! Ok, this is not my first arachuvitta sambar recipe on my blog. I have shared my mom’s arachuvitta sambar that has a strong coriander seeds flavor and her unique tiffin sambar. Also, I have other arachuvitta sambar recipes like Thiruvadirai sambar, pitlai, rasavangi, etc. I didn’t realize that my MIL’s version was missing, especially her onion sambar. Here I am amending that....

White wine vinaigrette is the most versatile dressing there is. It matches almost any salad. If I were stuck on a desert island, I’d want to have either this dressing or red wine vinaigrette. It’s kind of a toss-up. You could pour your homemade vinaigrette on palm leaves and coconuts, and you’d have a great salad. Maybe add a freshly skewered fish or something. How long it takes: 5 minutes Equipment you’ll need: small jar or bowl with whisk Servings: makes about 1 cup of dressing All kidding aside, you’ll find that white wine vinaigrette adapts itself to a variety of salads....

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies So far this summer I’ve shared two tasty new ways to use up garden zucchini: chocolate zucchini muffins and chocolate zucchini cake. Today, I’m adding these chocolate chip zucchini cookies to the list, and I really can’t wait for you to try them. Why you’ll love these cookies: Hearty texture and flavor from oats and cinnamon. No peeling the zucchini. A food blender makes quick work of shredding for you, though I also include notes on how to simply use a box grater....