I believe the heart of the family beats in the kitchen. Food fuels our body and nourishes our soul.
I share here real food made using whole ingredients with big flavour, fresh herbs and health-boosting spices, all influenced by my roots in India and my travels. That’s what you will find here. But I’m also not one to spend hours in the kitchen, as you can tell from my healthy shortcuts and tips in every post. My kitchen is a little complicated — we have a number of food sensitivities in the family — so I tend to make food that is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and tomato-free. Often but not always.
Choose what's good for us, and the planet too. Here's how.
Good Food, Healthy Planet
Your Kitchen Companion to Simple, Practical, Sustainable Cooking
Chia Seed Pudding: Not just for cool people
Tiny, black, oval, at first glance chia seeds look pretty ordinary. This humble seed is one of the most nutritional foods on the planet, and there's a reason why it's often on the breakfast menu in our home. Actually, there are many reasons why! What are Chia Seeds? Chia seeds are tiny, oval seeds of a plant of the mint family. They look a lot like mustard or canola seeds except that these are even more special. For starters, the seed is coated in a hydrophilic substance. This means, for the chemistry nerds here, the seeds soak up liquid really...
Prep-ahead Turkey appetizer to knock your socks off {Keema Pao Recipe}
I love food. I love feeding people even more, and when the food is nourishing and delicious, isn't that the best combination? Recently I shared with you an Indian family classic with my Canadian twist - Turkey Keema Matar {ground turkey curry with peas}. My kids love it but the best part of the recipe - it freezes so well that I regularly make a double batch and use the leftovers for this delicious appetizer - Turkey Keema Pao. Keema Pao literally means ground meat with bread. Portable and homey, this is classic street food available on carts and kiosks around western India. In India,...
Instant Pot Dulce de Leche aka Caramel
I've had the Instant Pot for a while now but it's only recently that I've actually started to have fun with it. This delicious, gooey Dulce de Leche, aka — caramel recipe is just that — fun! It also makes a fabulous hostess gift or a little bit of indulgence on a cold wintry evening. I promise I won't judge. What is Dulce De Leche? A caramelized sweetened condensed milk, dulce de leche literally means "sweet" of milk. It's popular around South America and often found in pies and flans and is also used as a base for a multitude of...
Turkey Keema Matar Curry – Traditions Old and New
Keema Matar curry is a ground meat and peas curry that's very popular in South Asia. Traditionally in India, this slow-cooked dish is made with mutton and is served at special occasions. I have reworked the traditional recipe, taken a couple of shortcuts and used my favourite protein, turkey mince. Make extra and freeze some of this turkey keema matar curry, and you will have two easy meals with the effort of one. Keema Matar curry can be spotted on Indian restaurant menus around the world. While popular across the South Asian sub-continent, you can trace this dish's roots back to the Mughal empire courts to a time...
6 Genius Hacks to hosting a stress-free Diwali party
Diwali is a festive time for many people around the world. Homes are cleaned and decorated and lights are put up. Rangoli - coloured art with powder - is drawn on the floor to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Who doesn't want more of that? Food is a big part of the celebration. Communities and families come together to prepare traditional dishes to ring in this festival, and menus are decided well beforehand. Cousins and aunts and uncles all pull together, Diwali back in India is a collective effort after all. So when I moved to Canada I...
Apple Peda | Indian Sweet with a Canadian twist
Recently I was invited by the Ontario Apple Growers to visit apple farms around Toronto. On that day not only did I learn how hard Ontario farmers work to bring their fresh and local apples to city folk like us, I also learned how ideal the weather is in the Great Lake region for apple farming. So if you drive an hour out of Toronto you are likely to bump into a fruit orchard or two. Thanks to Karen Ahmed of Kravings Food Adventure for taking this picture. Did you know that Ontario is the largest fruit-producing province in Canada? I...
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