The Steaming Pot - Easy vegetarian recipes from India

Wondering what Easter gift to pick for your friend who enjoys cooking? I have a few kitchen tool ideas for you. These tools are light-weight, economical, and come in handy for a variety of kitchen activities. It doesn’t hurt that they look great too.

(more…)

Once upon a time, when I couldn’t tell the most basic cooking ingredients apart, I decided to cook myself some khichdi. The end result was a slimy mess. It dawned on me after downing a few spoonfuls that I had cooked the khichdi with dhuli urad dal instead of yellow moong dal. The two looked so alike to my untrained eye that, unless I was squinting to detect the right shade of pale yellow, I could swear they are one and the same.

My early struggles in the kitchen were peppered with many such quandaries. Is this coriander powder or garam masala? Is that besan or sattu? Nigella seed or mustard, cumin seed or saunf?

If only I had thought of labeling my storage jars then…

(more…)

Ingredients with a long shelf life.

Recipes that skip a key item or two.

Ghee and rice.

Dishes that are quick to put together on busy days.

(more…)

The world of technology looks firmly food-wards when it wants to add color and flavor to its vocabulary.

Presenting for you a sampling of food words that describe products or concepts in fields ranging from cryptography to programming style to automation testing.

(more…)

I often shop online for cookware. The result can be a hit or miss. We can’t accurately gauge the size, thickness and “feel” of pots and pans until we handle them non-virtually. Then there is the bigger question of how well the cookware would do their job, how sturdily they would hold up after months of use.

In this article, I talk about three of my favorite pots and pans – those that have stood the test of quality and time in my kitchen. If you’ve been wondering about buying cookware online, hopefully my experiences will help you make your decision.

(more…)

A selection of not-often-used words that convey something about food in a manner so remarkable, they had me pause and admire the first time I heard them. Some of these words are witty, some technical, some distill a wealth of meaning in shorthand.

(more…)

VV Puram Food Street – a bustling alley in Bangalore lined with small eateries – offers you mouthwatering delicacies from the state of Karnataka. Especially recommended during the avarekai season, when the shops here stock a gamut of goodies featuring the avarekai (hyacinth bean): chikkis, curry, dosa, jamoon – you name it.

Pictures and details from a debut group trip to VV Puram Food Street last month, made extra-adventurous thanks to our limited prior acquaintance with the language and the food.

(more…)