Indian As Apple Pie

Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of my first book, The Indian Slow Cooker. It's you who have helped it sell out consistently. And, it's partially because of you that we are now heading into our fifth printing in about four months in the midst of fantastic press. While I continue to recipe test and write, I am also shooting a cooking show with a team of former co-workers in the news business who believe as much as I do that there needs to be an Indian cooking show out there that's for the everyday person --- just like...

Today was the last time. The very last. The very very last. It was the last time I'd stuff five chocolate chip cookies into my mouth. Granted, they were homemade. AND I don't normally eat a ton of sugary desserts. But, I had just vowed this morning that I'd focus on losing my last little bit of weight. But, I had just put the girls to bed after a grueling day of the little one screaming her head off in the car for an hour and I was tired and those little buggers looked tempting sitting on that cookie tray....

Growing up Indian-American outside of Philadelphia, we celebrated  ---- ummmmm ---- Christmas. Every December 25th, my mom would make a game of the presents, hiding them all through the house so that my brother and I could happen upon them while squealing with anticipation and excitement. One was behind the sofa, another under a table...you get the idea. We loved it but I realize now that it was assimilation at its very best. We were relatively new to this country (I was three when we came), and my parents were doing their best to make sure we fit in socially and culturally....

Welcome to everyone that has taken even a second of their day to stop in as see what I'm cooking. Lately, it hasn't been much. I think I've been on an unintentional break from cooking - especially Indian. Last month I cooked 20 dishes in 2 days for our first photo session for my upcoming book and I was literally spent. I managed to do it single handedly with two sick kids home from school but I needed to take a step back for some time. I'm glad to say I'm back and ready to cook and write some more...

After what seems like months on end I've perfected a few recipes. I have my Rajmah recipes down. One is posted and the other will be a surprise in the book (it's actually my dad's own recipe for rajmah). My butter chicken is great! And now today I've scratched off Lamb Keema and South Indian Sambhar. Guess what I learned about Sambhar? If you want the dal (lentils) to break down to the right consistency you have to wait to put in the tamarind paste and the veggies. My mom made a good point. She said likely the tamarind paste...

This cooking project has been really incredible. Largely, because giving away food has made me so many friends! Not just for the obvious reasons, but because I really think good food has a way of just bringing people together..people with varied interests and people with varied backgrounds. I only started to give away food because I knew I'd have a ton to spare creating a crock pot cookbook, and I didn't want any of it to go to waste. What I've learned is that I've also been able to help feed those of you that normally are too busy to...

Neha's fish Rana died today. It's about the 12th one that has perished in the tank of ... death. With this book on my plate and another Sun-Times piece to work on I'm so not interested in cleaning a fish tank in the 3-4 minutes I usually have to myself in a day. Unfortunately, Neha insisted through tears that we keep Rana downstairs in a cup. Inside the house so the rats don't get it in the middle of the night. So..I have a dead fish in a plastic cup sitting on my shoe rack right now waiting to be...

Folks, I was going to avoid blogging today but my cyber writing buddy C. on the west coast just became a follower of this site so I couldn't disappoint! Thank you to all three of you that are following right now. You're keeping me honest...and all my taste testers too of course. Keep the comments coming. Today, I revised my black lentil recipes. There will be three in my book: black lentils (dal makhni, black lentils and kidney beans, and Theen Tal Dal (Three Note Dal) with lentils, kidney beans and garbanzo beans. I want to post the last one...

So today I broke down and went to Whole Foods in Lincoln Park to buy beef. As most of you know by now I rarely buy or even eat meat. But - beef I haven't cooked or eaten in about 20 years. I just don't care for the smell or the taste. I don't judge you if you do eat it. Some of my best friends - oh, and my husband - eat beef. But here I was today standing at the counter looking forlorn and a little pathetic with a handwritten recipe for Nihari in my spiral cookbook journal....

It was a dreary fall Saturday in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Mom and dad decided to use the day to run errands, leaving me at home to babysit my grandparents visiting from India. I was in high-school – pleased to have some time away from the folks – thinking I could get away with some channel surfing and typical homework procrastination. Babaji had other ideas. “I’m going to teach you how to cook.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a declaration - as if, in his mind, the time had come. It did not matter that up until that...