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Buttermilk is known for its hydrating and refreshing properties. In Kerala, traditional Nair families used to give mildly spiced buttermilk or Sambharam to their guests. Even Christian families are known to have pacha moru (spiced salted buttermilk) or kachiya moru (buttermilk tempered with chillies and curry leaves) with their lunch. Buttermilk is known as Majjige in Telugu, Majjige Huli in Kannada, simply Mor in Tamil and Sambharam in Malayalam. I enjoyed this refreshing drink on a hot summer afternoon, around 2pm in the afternoon....

Who else loves lemon bars?! It probably comes as no surprise that these bright, zesty squares are one of my favorite desserts. I shared a recipe for vegan lemon bars in my second cookbook, but I’ve never shared a classic lemon bars recipe until now. I’m so excited to finally change that! This recipe comes to you after lots of testing and tinkering. To me, it has the ideal ratio of lemon filling to shortbread crust....

How to Make Mini Beef Pies These mini pies are perfect for lunch, snacks or dinner. The filling is made with ground beef that is browned in a skillet alongside onions and carrots. We add thyme, garlic and tomato paste then stir in a little flour to help thicken the mixture when we add the Guinness. In goes a handful of peas and we are ready to fill our pies. You can use store-bought or homemade pie dough for these....

Meal #2 this week: Nori wraps! If you missed Monday’s post, I made these Mango Black Bean Ginger Rice Bowls as part of this week’s three meal series showing how ingredients from one meal can work into the next, and then again into one more. I did a similar five part plan a few months ago, and many of you wrote to tell me how helpful it was… so here we are again!...

One night a week, Jack goes to comedy class, which means it’s the night that I have all to myself. In lieu of doing anything productive, I usually eat toast for dinner in front of the computer and let myself go down a rabbit hole of Youtube videos. I watch what people eat in a day, I watch people who live in vans and make vegan food (#vanlife), I watch people who live in vans and make vegan food while raising young children, and I read the scroll of crazy judgy comments that come as a result of that lifestyle choice....

Happy Friday! I have the easiest, summeriest cocktail to share with you: peach sangria! This weekend, it’s going to be 102 degrees(!) here in Austin. Because hot summer days call for cold, refreshing drinks, I decided to come up with a new summer party drink recipe. I figure everyone loves sangria, so I thought – what would be more seasonal than peach sangria? Now one of my favorite sangria recipes, this drink is sweet, but not too sweet, and packed full of fruit and herbs....

This classic deviled eggs recipe is so simple. Whenever we serve them, they disappear quickly! Our basic recipe calls for eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar (or lemon juice). The secret to the best deviled eggs is cooking your eggs properly. I’m sharing our foolproof method below! How to Make Deviled Eggs When boiling eggs for deviled eggs, I follow this simple method. In a nutshell, you will add your eggs to a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil....

I cannot stop making this homemade Mexican rice (aka Spanish Rice). We use the perfect blend of spices, fresh Anaheim peppers, and fresh tomatoes instead of canned to make it extra delicious. This Mexican-style rice recipe only requires 15 minutes of hands-on time. Then, everything is hands-off while the rice cooks and absorbs all the delicious flavors. Key Ingredients Long-grain white rice: For the best Mexican rice, use long-grain white rice since it cooks up to be light and fluffy....

I made a lot of things with pumpkin over the weekend – not just because it’s the cliché fall food blogger thing to do, but because I roasted one pumpkin and cooked from it for days! It was the roasted pumpkin that kept on giving… I’ll admit that when it comes to pumpkin I often reach for a can, but the flavor and texture that come from a fresh pumpkin are really worth it....

Pin Rava pongal is best served with gotsu or arachuvitta sambar and chutney. How to Make Rava Pongal Step by Step: Cook the moong dal with 1.5 cups water until mushy and soft. Mash further with a fork or potato masher until there are no more lumps. Pressure cooker works quickest here. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in pan and add the pepper and jeera along with cashew nuts. Roast until the cashew nuts turn a golden brown and then add the rava....

Raw Mango Rice | Mangai Sadam | Mamidikaya Annam Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Serves 2-4 Recipe source: Cooking at Home with Pedatha Ingredients: 2 cups of cooked rice 1 sour raw mango (a medium-sized one that yields one cup packed when peeled and grated) ¼ tsp of turmeric powder Salt to taste For the paste: ½ tsp of black mustard seeds ½ cup of grated coconut 2-3 of green chillies (adjust to taste) 1 small bunch of coriander leaves For tempering: 3 tbsp of gingelly oil like Idayam (Indian sesame oil) ½ tsp of bengal gram / kadala paruppu / channa dal 1 ½ tsp of skinned halved urad dal / split black gram / ulutham paruppu ½ tsp of black mustard seeds 2-3 of dried red chillies (adjust to taste) ¼ tsp of hing / asafoetida / perungaayam A few of curry leaves 3 tbsp of whole peanuts preferably with skin...

Midway through the book, I realised “Sandy” and “my sister who is an actress” that the author references now and then is Sandra Bullock! The author worked in Hollywood for a while and then moved to a small town and set up her own bakery. The promos and intros to the book hype this fact a lot. She gave it all up and moved away. But (thankfully) the book doesn’t dwell on this fact too much....

RICH DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE Ingredients: Plain flour or maida – 300 gms Powdered sugar – 450 gms (Please measure after powdering) Butter – 290 gms Milk powder – 20 gms Curd – 8 oz (250 ml) Cocoa powder – 70 gms Eggs – 5 big Salt – 1 pinch (if using unsalted butter) Baking soda – 1 tsp Vanilla essence – 2 tsp How to Make Chocolate Cake: Sieve soda + maida + cocoa powder + milk powder + salt six times....

If you’re used to topping your morning oats with nut butter and fresh fruit, the concept of savory oatmeal might sound strange. But give it a chance, and I think you’ll be surprised. Oats (which, after all, are a whole grain like farro, brown rice, wheat berries, or any other) pair perfectly with savory fixings like avocado, sautéed greens, and soft boiled eggs. These hearty toppings make this savory oatmeal recipe a satisfying and nutritious breakfast, and they also carry oats beyond the breakfast zone, transforming them into a delicious option for a quick dinner or lunch....

I realize the contradiction. Yesterday I was talking about not eating bread, and today I’m sharing french toast. That was just poor planning… Last week, after a chat with myself about basil and desserts, the idea for a strawberry maple basil-ey breakfast stuck in my head. I rarely make french toast these days. In a previous, less healthy life (college), I ate it just about every day. Sometimes for breakfast and for dinner....

Hands down, our most popular post has been this enchilada recipe with creamy cashew poblano sauce. I posted it over a year ago and I’m still receiving emails about it. So today I’m really excited to share this new twist: cashew cream meets chipotles. A happy marriage, especially if you like spicy food. You could top it on just about anything. At the risk of posting too many taco recipes, we did stuffed peppers this time....

This sweet potato casserole recipe is one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. I haven’t always been such a sweet potato casserole fan. When I was growing up, my family had sweet potato casserole with marshmallows every year, and I never loved it. For me, sweet potatoes plus sweet marshmallows is just too much sweet. But this sweet potato casserole recipe won me over. I swap out the mini marshmallows for a pecan crumble topping....

I hope you have some special Valentine’s plans this week! Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for heart-shaped treats. As an adult, it’s one of the most special holidays that Jack and I celebrate. Traditionally, it’s the one night a year that he cooks by himself, and whatever he decides to make is always a surprise. His trip to the grocery store, with zero guidance, is an approximately 2-hour adventure, and by the time dinner is done, every pot in the kitchen has been used....

When Jack’s devouring a vegan quesadilla, you know it’s good. He’s the biggest cheese lover I know, but he would happily eat 2 (erm, 3…) of these vegan quesadillas and still go back for more. While this vegan quesadilla recipe includes vegan cheese, we really love it because of the fresh veggie filling. Spicy poblanos play off caramelized roasted sweet potatoes, and diced bell peppers add a delicious crunch. Served with all the fixings, it’s super flavorful and fun....

Green curry goes best with steamed jasmine or Thai hom mali rice but you can also serve it with a light tofu and egg fried rice. We like our gravy a bit on the thinner side but you can adjust that consistency by adjusting the amount of water you add and keeping the coconut milk thick. I used canned coconut milk. If you use fresh Indian coconuts, the taste may vary a bit since Thai coconut meat tastes a bit different and to me, less sweet....