Everyone in my family loves mint chutney. So we grow organic spearmint (pudina) plants round the year. A hardy, creeping shrub, mint is easy to grow in composted, well-drained soils in full sunlight, or in the partial shade. However, they have a tendency to rot in the excessive rains of the monsoon season. so…
10 ingredients or less
Tomato Smoothie (Vegan + Gluten Free)
My husband’s chief hobby is organic gardening and he spends much of his spare time growing a plethora of vegetables and fruits in our garden. I never feel the need to refrigerate any vegetable or fruit as any day, I only have to step out to collect what I need, pesticide and chemical free, fresh…
Rava Unniyappam – A sweet evening snack (Vegan)
Homemaking mothers often ponder on what dish to prepare for their hungry kids coming back from school at four in the evening. Rava unniyappam is an excellent treat which you can cook easily and is always loved by children and adults alike. The batter can be prepared at noon and the rava unniyappams can be fried…
Indian Mint Fritters (Vegan + Gluten Free)
Plectranthus amboinicus or Coleus aromaticus is a thick-leaved, creeping, perennial plant of immense medicinal benefits to mankind. Also known as Indian borage, Indian mint, Mexican mint, Cuban Oregano and Spanish Thyme, this wonderful plant has graced the courtyards of Indian households for centuries. While the Konkani people lovingly refer to it as sambraguli, the Malayalis call…
Indian Mint Cough Syrup (Vegan + Gluten Free)
Millions of people may share nostalgic memories of the unforgettable taste of homemade cough syrup that they were made to drink as kids and even as adults when laid up with the flu. Such is the taste and efficacy of this simple home remedy that even today, my husband asks me to make him some whenever he…
Vegan Coconut Smoothie – A drink of love (Gluten Free)
Would you like to hear a story? This happened over a couple of decades ago. A dozen girls, studying in high school, gathered at their tuition center at Calicut. Their happy faces indicated that they had no intention of attending tuitions that day. The elder sister of Rahianath, one of the girls in the group,…
Shallot Rasam – A simple Kerala pouring curry (Vegan + Gluten Free)
At my parents’ home at Calicut, comes a sprightly old lady named Maniyamma. She started to work as our house maid ever since I was 3 or 4 years of age. Though she is probably in her eighties now, she looks more like 50. Short and stocky, with a smiling visage, she even plays with…
Kadgi Podi – Tender Jackfruit Chips (V+GF)
There were several jackfruit trees embraced by pepper vines in our land when we bought it more than 8 years ago. To add to their number, my husband planted around 25 different varieties of special, grafted jackfruit plants. To my delight, some of them have started to blossom now. This morning, he brought in a…
Mango Blossom Chutney (Vegan + Gluten Free)
Covering the courtyard of my ancestral home at Thalassery stands a huge old mango tree. Proud and tall, it produces baskets of delicious country papaya mangoes (also called popai ambo in Konkani and kappa manga or ko manga in Malayalam) invariably every year. During the ripening season which coincides with the summer holidays, we children used to run to the base of…
Sweet Khichadi – A traditional teatime snack (Gluten Free)
Whenever I think of Khichadi, all of sudden, I am a little schoolgirl again, transported back to the magical time of childhood. I remember waiting for the long bell to ring at the end of the last period to rush back home, often running at breakneck speed, to see what goodies mother has cooked for…