Wanderberry Tales

I have lived in Karnataka most of my life exempting the last 3 years in Dubai. Back in the days most of Kerala delicacies never crossed the Kerala borders. I lived close to Mangalore and Mangalore is only an arms distance away from Kerala (not literally:P) Despite this, it was a rarity to find any of the Kerala treats in Mangalore region or any neighboring areas. May be if you hunted down, you would find it in some corner of Mangalore unlike today when Kerala food is as popular in these regions. My parents say that after every vacation, when we come back from Kerala we had to lug across cartons filled with fish pickle, mango pickle, ari unda, achappam, ethekka upperi, chakka upperi, aluva, jelebi, puttu podi anything and everything. Now almost all of these are available in Mangalore sparing them the trouble of carrying cartons. My mother even ranted on once about how we managed to put everything into the bus at Mangalore station including me and my dad but before she and my sis...

My very first attempt at making the humble chicken curry was born out frustration of a year long preparation for the 12th standard board exams which was no less than a nightmare. I remember hunting for a recipe from the old cookbooks and landing on one recipe, although I cant remember the name - it was some sort of a Parsi preparation. My sister till today says nothing can beat the first chicken curry that I made - I have till date not been able to replicate it and neither do I know where that recipe book is. Although the outcome of my first attempt was delicious, I remember using copious amount of oil and just because I was not sure if the chicken was cooked - I vaguely recollect taking it out of the curry, frying it and dropping it back in:) One thing the recipe called for was using cashew paste and I have just done that in this recipe using chicken drumsticks. Some characteristics just don't die with time - one such is my penchant for chicken legs.  Thank God the chicken has ...

The festive season is incomplete without my favorite dinner - Slow roasted chicken with vegetables. It's been two years since we moved to Dubai and I have lost count of the number of times of I have made roast chicken. This was one thing that Shibin wanted to have ever since the decision to move to Dubai was made since his Mom made it for him when they were in Al-Ain! My first attempt at baking a chicken was a total disaster. I marinated the chicken a day in advance and I froze it! I did not thaw it before moving it into the oven. It sat in the oven for 2 hours and never cooked. We had to chop the half cooked chicken and fry it on a pan. Also, I had to throw off the vegetables since it tasted disgusting with the marinade I made. I am talking of our Christmas dinner two years back and we had our dinner finally at 12 am!! Ever since that episode, I have strived hard to perfect this - Tried different marinades and I stick to my favorite - seasoning of pepper, salt and lime ju...

On our recent trip to Archies library here in Dubai, I came across a cook book written by Madhur Jaffrey. A flip of the pages and I am her instant fan. The simple style of writing and her way of bringing in a personal touch to each of these left a strong impression on me.  It wasn't just her recipes but the intricacies of cooking she detailed in her book that mesmerized me.  From how to perfect your sauces to the tempering of the spices - it is all in there. True Indian cooking still original to her roots - that is Madhur Jaffrey's cooking to you. Having said this, it is my sincere endeavor to give my recipes a personal touch and keep it simple. Here is my latest venture in the kitchen - a retake on the pepper chicken by bringing in flavors of corriander and spiciness of green chilly. Ingredients Chicken - 1 kg ( cleaned and cut) Onion - 2 medium Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Salt to taste Oil For marinade: Pepper  - 2 tbsp coarsely ground Coriander leave...

I happened to leaf through the pages of my diary and came across this recipe taking me back to my PG days in Bangalore. With a lot of time in hand, nothing better to do and whenever I managed to overcome my lazy mode, I stepped into the kitchen for my adventures. Crunchy Oats Chicken was the result of one of these adventures.My friends and I spent quite a time debating on what the name of the dish should be. Chinese Oats Chicken we named it, is what the diary entry says! And one day we said, we will all look into this recipe journal and cook for our husbands'. Well my Mr. Husband did not find the name catchy enough and we renamed it to Crunchy Oats Chicken. So here we have the Crunchy Oats Chicken and a dip that goes along. A quick recipe -even your kids will enjoy, it is only mildly spiced with a sweet and sour dip. Ingredients for the sweet and sour dip Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp Soya sauce - 1 tbsp Honey - 2 tbsp Garlic - 1 tbsp chopped Ginger - 1 tbsp chopped Onio...

Did I not tel you that every dish has a story to tell.  This one connects my mother and my husband:) It's my mothers quick recipe that she packs when either me or my sister travel. She happened to cook this once, when my husband was home. He just loved it  and could not believe it was so simple to make.  He named the dish " Onion Chicken" and I retained the name in this blog. Time and again he has asked me to replicate the recipe and I have failed time and again. He " claims" - Ria your dish is good but definitely not like your mother's. Well, today I had my mother send me the recipe and tried it out in my kitchen. Yet I could not match her dish. After all your mothers recipe is always special. Nevertheless we loved the chicken and had a hearty meal. This is a very easy recipe ideal for working women who want to put together something for dinner after a long day at work. So, here goes -  Ingredients Chicken - 800 gms Onion - 3 big - ...

My inspiration for blogging is a college friend of mine - Anupa. We first started blogging when we were done with our MBA and were awaiting campus placements. A while after we got job, Anupa moved to USA and restarted blogging. Well, this time it was all about cooking and I was quite impressed with her work. I guess I took the inspiration from her again and started posting recipes here. Few days back, I was just going through her blog - palaharam.blogspot.in and I came across this recipe of lettuce wraps. I had quite a bit of lettuce in the fridge and the pictures of the wraps Anupa put in looked lovely. Well, I decided to have my own take of the recipe. Let us take a look at what goes into the recipe - Ingredients Fresh Lettuce - cleaned and dried Chicken - 1/4 kg diced into small pieces Onion - 1 big diced Ginger - 1 teaspoon minced Garlic - 1 teaspoon minced Soya sauce Tomato sauce Roasted Peanuts - 3 tablespoons Spring Onion - 1/4 cup Chopped Coria...