Wanderberry Tales

We intend to feature posts from our guests here - food blogger or not you are free to send in your recipes or any food musings. We will be happy to have you featured in our blog. You may send in your recipes to kitchenspellsblog@gmail.com

Vendekka or Lady's finger has never been my favorite vegetable. I found it quite slimy and difficult to eat. Marriage makes you do things that you never thought you would. Yes, I do cook Vendekka now and eat it as well because my husband loves it. What my mother could not do in years my husband managed in months! That's what marriage can do to you:) No regrets! Here is a very simple recipe for you this Onam straight from the USA. Safeera is a college mate of mine who sent across this recipe and managed to click some impressive pictures as well using yam leaf plucked from her backyard instead of banana leaf for a change. There you go - Ingredients Vendekka/ Okra/ Lady's Finger - 1/2 kg Tomato - 1 chopped Onion - 1 chopped Green Chilly - 1 to 2 slit Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Coconut Oil Salt to taste Method Slit the vendekka and cut into 2 inch long pieces. Pour the oil into a skillet, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter add curry leaves and gre...

When I was on the lookout for Onam recipes, it was Vineetha who suggested Ishtu. I had no idea that this was an Onam dish that is pretty popular in the Thrissur region. It is quite fascinating to  note that same dish is called by different names with very slight variations in the recipes. Had I not begun a quest of Onam recipes may be I would not have known either. Oh I forgot to introduce Vineetha - she is my TALL friend - yes I mean it literally. One thing I hate doing with her is posing with her for a photograph - so my height is left to your imagination. She is miles across in Brisbane and is currently busy shopping for Onam. This is a recipe from her kitchen. I miss you Vineetha and there goes your recipe - Ingredients: Potatoes - 2 medium diced Onions - 2 medium sliced Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped Green Chilly - 2 slit Coconut Milk - 1 cup Water - 1/2 cup Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Coconut Oil Salt to taste Method: Add the potatoes, onions, ginger a...

Sambhar is a traditional South Indian dish. I am not sure which state it belongs to - Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu seems to have adapted it as per their flavors and taste. It adorns the banana leaf for the festivities in each of the states. Sambhar is a popular dish for Onam as well and again the taste differs from the north to the south of Kerala. Here is an easy recipe for Sambhar, if you are hunting for one.  The recipe was sent by Vinitha, my cousin. She is a wonderful cook, probably inherited our grandmother's cooking traits. We have had our fair share of cooking experiments together during the summer vacations at school. Here is the recipe she has for you -  Ingredients T oor Dal - 1/2 cup Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Kaayam/Hing/Asafoetida - 1 small piece Onion - 1 sliced lengthwise Lady's Finger - 4 sliced Potato - 2 medium sized sliced Brinjal - 1 medium size sliced Carrot - 1 sliced Green Chilly - 2 slit Tomato - 1 medium sized sliced ...

I had Kootu Curry just once before for a Onam Sadya at a friend's place. Somehow, I did not quite think of trying it out myself until this Onam season. And I am inclined to believe that I just got the perfect recipe for it. Thanks to Sreelakshmi or should I say her Mom? Sreelakshmi is a good buddy of mine and we have had some really wonderful times together. Hoping to catch up soon:) Thank You Sreelakshmi for this amazing recipe. We just loved it! With no further ado, let us get to the recipe. Ingredients Raw Banana - 2 Yam/ Chena - 1/4 kg Brown Kadala/ Black Channa - 1/2 cup (soaked overnight) Jaggery - 100 gms grated Coconut - 1/2 cup grated + 2 tbsp Green Chilly - 2-3  Jeera - 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Dried red chilly - 4-5 Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Chilly powder - 3/4 tsp Coconut Oil Curry Leaves Salt to taste Method Soak the kadala overnight. Pressure cook with chilly powder and turmeric powder. Slice Raw Ban...

The recipe of pineapple pachadi sent by my friend - Vani, who has also been a guinea pig for my cooking experiments before marriage:) The bubbly and talkative girl shares my love for cooking as well. Here goes her recipe and what she has to say about it - Pachadi is a traditional kerala dish usually served as a side dish for meals. Pineapple pachadi is quick to make and delicious to eat. Alternatively, beetroot, cucumber and carrots are also used to make pachadi. This dish is a awesome combo of flavours.If you love the combination of sweet and sourness, you should definitely give this recipe a shot. Ingredients Pineapple chopped-1 cup Green chilly-2-3 (You can alter the spice quotient by going easy on the chillies) Turmeric-1/4 tbsp Curd-1/4 cup +(2-3)tsp Salt -As required To grind: Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Green Chilly - 2 to 3 For Seasoning: Oil - 2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 3/4 tsp Red Chilly - 2 tsp Curry Leaves Method Skin the pineapple and c...