Couscous is one of my favorite ingredients and am incorporating it in many Indian based recipes too. This salad can be put together within few minutes and its vegan too. Instead of Tofu you could also add grilled halloumi or paneer too incase if you are not a vegan I have used only basic ingredients for preparing the marinade. The salad can be served cold as well. Hence you could prepare the Couscous mixture well in advance and can refrigerate for later use. Grill the Tofu just before serving

Pulikuzhambu, Kara Kuzhambu, Poondu Kuzhambu these are all various varieties of thick tamarind based curries that are most popular in Tamilnadu apart from the usual Sambar & Rasam. The consistency is the key to make a perfect poondu kuzhambu. Recently I brought around 1/4 kg of fresh garlic from farmer’s market nearby and was waiting for weekend to make the gravy. After painstakingly peeling 2 whole bulbs of garlic I looked around the pantry and realized there was no Tamarind. Tamarind pulp is an essential ingredient to this curry because it gives the right tanginess to the gravy. I blindly…

Am an ardent fan of her(food photos & recipes) since 2013. In these 3 years she has moved to different continents/time zones but her enthusiasm,energy when it comes to cooking, trying new recipes, sharing the knowledge remains constant. There are some moments in life where I feel that I really have to thank Social Media. Getting to know culinary experts like Anu is definitely one such moment. Not only me, for many people out there she is a virtual mentor and we are all trying to learn as much as possible from her . Anoosrini – A proud homemaker, mom…

Dal is an Indian dish prepared using various Legumes or Pulses. This protein rich, vegan dish can be served as an accompaniment to Rice or any type of Flat Breads. I have used Brown Lentils (whole masoor dal). However you could substitute it with canned Chick Peas, Kidney Beans or any other legumes. While serving the dal, you could also add a tbsp. of Butter to enhance the flavor. If you would like a more soupy consistency then add extra water accordingly. Since I was serving it with Rice I added less water to get creamy consistency. 

Gram Flour Pancakes aka Besan ka Cheela is one of the most popular breakfast recipes in India. There is no fermentation required for the batter and can be made within 20 minutes. They are gluten free, loaded with veggies and accompanied with hot Masala Chai, these pancakes are a perfect nutritious start for the day. The vegetables added to the batter can be changed according to your taste buds. To make it even healthier you could add a bunch of spinach/kale leaves too. The pancakes can be served with tangy Coriander/Mint/Tamarind chutney or with any hot sauces like Tomato Chili…

Ravi Chandran – A Software Engineer by Profession, loves Nature Photography, started cooking since the early teens, a doting father to two beautiful daughters and the author of “Nalabaagam”. Very apt name for the blog 🙂 🙂 (Nala is a Hindu Mythology character that appears in the Epic Mahabarat. His culinary repertoire was well known that the word Nalapaka became a synonym for excellence in culinary arts) Randomly I started following Ravi Anna on Instagram two years ago. His feed was full of interesting still photography, sunsets, handmade jewelry & quilling works done by his daughters and on top of…

On a Friday night I was wondering what to make for dinner. Then this idea popped up. Prepared a quick tikki with Potatoes and paneer,served with a simple home made green chutney, store bought Imli(tamarind) Chutney and a salad. It was a satisfying meal and a perfect start for the weekend. Instead of Paneer you could add Tofu too. Since these tikkis are shallow fried they didn’t consume too much oil too. The following measurement yields upto 12-15 medium sized tikkis


Quinoa pronounced as ‘keen-wah’ is one of the most popular Health foods in recent days. Gluten free, rich in protein and incredibly nutritious are the reasons which makes this cereal grain the most wanted. White, Red and Black are the three main types of Quinoa and I have tried various recipes using this. However the Indo-Chinese version of Quinoa is our personal favorite. I was initially confused as what to name this dish 😉 Veg quinoa somehow sounded incomplete. Hence going by this name “Veg Quinoa Fried Rice” for the dish. The classic Chinese dish gets a makeover with quinoa….

I started following Shanti Aunty in Instagram over a year ago and am truly impressed by her instagram feed since then. A Banker by profession,loves gardening, takes great care of her family,passionate about food and in spite of her busy schedule she manages to share her day to day preparations in various social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram without fail. She doesn’t stop at just uploading the pictures but painstakingly write down the recipes then and there along with the pictures. In an era where even if someone asks a recipe for a simple coconut chutney people will redirect…

Sambar Rice is like the ‘kichdi’ of SouthIndia. Perfect comfort food to have during elaborate weekend lunch or sometimes during dinner too. This recipe is based on Tamil Nadu style of cooking. It is prepared generally from Rice and Toor Dal. In recent days due to various health reasons people are trying to switch from White Rice to millets for day to day cooking. This sambar sadham recipe is made using Barnyard Millet(Kuthiraivali in Tamil) & Masoor Dal. Also this is the best way to sneak in the vegetables and even fuzzy eaters will love this dish.The millet version tastes…