Haagalkai Gojju ~ Amma’s recipe

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Radhika @ Just Homemade

Bitter Gourd in a palate clearing sweet and spicy tamarind gravy – mom’s recipe

Haagalkai Gojju and oil

It was end of the 90′s and the beginning of my hostel days. The very first time that I was on my own, in a place far enough from home and certainly with no access to home food. Home sick I was, like hell. Except, once a month when Amma would come to see me. Religiously, I would look forward to the first week of the month, because I could get to see Amma, spend the special day catching up and end the day co-sleeping, sharing the same hostel bed, chatting away into the wee hours until we fell asleep before she left early the next morning. Continue reading →

Fresh Walnuts in shell

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Radhika @ Just Homemade

fresh walnuts

I was reading this book on foraging last week when I learnt that United States is the most nut endowed country in the world. Upon reading that, I realized, my life so far has gone by without having sighted a single nut-tree or a fresh nut. However, living in Houston has come to be a boon in certain ways. Over the years, we have come to know this city to be a melting pot of cultures owing to its bustling oil and gas industry. As a result, this place is dotted with food joints representing a variety of cuisines and specialty grocery stores from around the world, Mediterranean being one of them.

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Roasted Butternut Squash and Kalonji Paratha

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Radhika @ Just Homemade

Super soft Roasted Butternut squash Paratha speckled with Nigella seeds

Recently when I was reading this, I realized just how well we, my daughter and I, fit into the foodie mom-picky eater child paradox that I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I often resort to sneaking vegetables and fruits, vegetables mostly, so that my almost-five-year-old gets her nutrition while fussing less about new food she’s not comfortable eating or even touching.

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Green Beans and Carrot Puzhi Kootu

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Radhika @ Just Homemade

Green Beans and Carrot in a freshly ground South Indian coconut masala gravy

Puzhi kootu rice papad

As a young girl, I was always curious about the goings-on in the kitchen. Hovering around my dear aunt, the then head chef in my grand dad’s kitchen was one of my favorite pastimes. Over the years, whether it was for my keen interest or my unsolicited opinions, somewhat naturally, I had earned a say in vital decisions such as the daily menu. Vegetables would be brought fresh for the next day, the evening before, in a green tarpaulin bag. Plastic had no place then. And in the morning, before leaving for school, I would dash to the kitchen to see what’s cooking for lunch. Whenever it was green beans, there were only two ways I would love them, either in a simple stir fry with freshly grated coconut or an elaborately prepared gravy in the form of this lip smacking traditional South Indian dish. This was the recipe I wanted to learn to make first, whenever I would start cooking on my own.

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