tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27124679656058574612008-06-28T19:52:27.332-07:00marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-79982699292421488602008-01-03T21:49:00.000-08:002008-01-03T21:54:21.987-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope to re-enter the blogosphere in 2008, and my inspiration is the new iMAC that Shankar bought me for our 2nd anniversary. Photoshop is on the way, and hopefully I'll be able to do some cool stuff this year. Have missed you all tremendously.  See you soon! Kanchana

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-1373189046205973922007-12-02T19:11:00.000-08:002007-12-02T19:18:00.126-08:00

I suck. Sorry to all of you who sent in your delicious Omelettes, I still haven't gotten a chance to post them up here. Ok here come the excuses, work has been insane, my social calendar is insane (does that count as an excuse?), and we've been travelling a lot. Hah, I know the uber bloggers out there are scoffing at me, because I know you guys to do ALL of that stuff above AND blog about it.

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-31372678393949180352007-11-02T07:18:00.000-07:002007-11-02T07:20:42.349-07:00

Hi All, Just wanted to thank everyone who has submitted an entry for WBB October: Omelette. I received several wonderful entries. Can't wait to put together the round up. Hopefully I'll have my act together and can unveil the new look of the site at the same time. Thank you all for your support and feedback! Happy Cooking! Kanchana

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-45755895339229764922007-10-15T06:41:00.000-07:002007-10-15T06:45:12.396-07:00

Hi All, I know the look of Married to a Desi has been changing a lot over the last month. I've been trying out a bunch of templates. But the problem is I upload one and then don't have the time to add everything in, and make all those small modifications! Suffice to say, the site is 'Under Construction'. So, for all of you who have left kind words for me regarding the site, that is the reason

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-8767579095049425502007-10-05T07:51:00.001-07:002007-10-14T21:45:02.998-07:00

The month of October brings me the pleasure of hosting Weekend Breakfast Blogging. This event has been created by the lovely Dr.Nandita Iyer of Saffrron Trail. Weekend Breakfast Blogging #16 will feature Omelette's. I figured since all you bloggers will be CLICKing away at Eggs this month, there will certainly be some left for making omelette's. My entry for this event will be Bread Omelette!

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-52526198991317638932007-09-29T13:37:00.000-07:002007-09-30T07:07:17.248-07:00

Nags is hosting her very first event called "Show me your Cookbook". As soon as I saw her post I knew I wanted to participate, but a good cookbook did not jump out at me right away. I rarely follow cookbook recipes, relying heavily on recipes from my Mom, Mother-in-law, and all the great Indian blogs I follow. Whenever I have a craving to cook something and need a recipe, I head straight to the

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-17220312469892280302007-09-24T22:25:00.000-07:002007-10-15T12:25:26.843-07:00

The other day I put together this healthy working lunch. A few nights before I had made a baby spinach salad with fennel, and orange with a citrus dressing. I served it with a roasted vegetable pasta with feta cheese. With the left over cup of pasta, and salad I threw together this quick working lunch. Pasta with Fennel and Spinach 1 cup of cooked penne pasta, 1 cup of baby spinach leaves, 1/

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-91025947058169322952007-09-20T22:21:00.000-07:002007-09-25T06:53:34.929-07:00

This is a subzi that was taught to me by my mother-in-law. Delicious bottlegourd that is cooked in a simple sauce of jeera, onions and tomato. The gravy that is used in this subzi can be used with any vegetable, but the soft bottlegourd creates a comforting subzi that is healthy and tasty. My husband is not a huge fan of sorrakkai but I love it. Shankar and I are pretty similar and we enjoy

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-63789091981265771012007-09-19T10:14:00.000-07:002007-09-19T05:05:44.936-07:00

I learned to make Badham Kheer from my mother. Its an easy sweet drink to make that works for many occasions. Life has been so busy lately, my father in law is visiting me and Shankar and Gopi are in the thick of school already. Appa has taken a major demotion from senior executive to taxi driver, ferrying his sons back and forth from school! I always have the most interesting conversations

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-37163042433936331722007-09-10T10:17:00.000-07:002007-09-10T10:53:59.365-07:00

I'm trying to eat healthy these days, which is hard given my favorite food group is potato chip. Maintaining a steady weight has been a lifelong battle for me. Despite all the swimming, skating, and dance lessons, as a child I was always a little chubby. At the age of 14 I became very involved with performing Bharatha Natyam, and in a phase of intense dancing, exercise, and strict eating I

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-23225165585961891282007-08-31T23:03:00.000-07:002007-09-01T10:26:43.231-07:00

I tasted my first Kothu Parotta this week. Before I go on about whether I liked it or not, let me give you a little background. Growing up in Canada, I never really had much of a chance to taste Indian street food. Though Toronto is one of the most multicultural places in the world today, the social climate 30 years ago was drastically different. It was in the small suburban, town of Oakville

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-25074877635207979362007-08-28T23:13:00.000-07:002007-08-30T22:13:15.451-07:00

Click on the picture to enlarge Of course, as soon as I start my new diet Shankar has to go and make these delicious Eggplant Pakodas. The chefmate threw these together as an afternoon snack the other day for Gopi and myself. I swear I only ate two, alright three. As we sat and munched on the pakodas we discussed the virtues of Indian pub fare, and how unfortunate it was for us that we were

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-7348760116811364972007-08-22T09:43:00.000-07:002007-08-22T14:06:38.277-07:00

Our friends Deepak and Aparna came to visit us this weekend, so of course Shankar and I had to have some sort of feast to honor them. I had asked Shankar if he would make jalapeno corn bread, this way he could make it a day earlier and it would be perfect to heat up in the oven for the brunch we were planning. So off to the grocery store we went to pick up creamed style corn, jalapenos, and sharp

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-29754269247922467762007-08-16T20:35:00.001-07:002007-08-17T12:50:59.996-07:00

Well it looks like I'm really craving pasta with capers. A few weeks ago while browsing our favorite Food Blog Desam I came across a new blog with a delicious recipe for pasta with artichokes by Poonam of Cooking Adventures. It inspired me to come up with this lovely dish which I've been meaning to make for a while now. One pasta dish leads to another and so today I whipped this up in no time

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-71093448570787377442007-08-06T19:52:00.000-07:002007-08-08T14:25:35.854-07:00

As the blog title would indicate, I did not have an Italian wedding rather I married a Desi. No ordinary desi, one who not only cooks Desi food but who also cooks delicious Italian food.In my humble opinion food fit for an Italian wedding. Last night we were joined for dinner by my brother-in-law Gopi, also the latest inductee into the Ross Business School Hall of Fame. (He'll be starting his MBA

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-78225980523186811722007-07-30T07:57:00.001-07:002007-07-31T19:37:18.119-07:00

Growing up in a Tamil Brahmin home, eating the likes of idly and dosai's a few times a week was standard operating procedure for us. As children we would have ghee with our idlies, and ghee mixed with sugar, or yogurt mixed with sugar for our dosai. As our palates matured the condiment of choice fast became idly milagai podi, or dosai milagai podi (milagai means chili in Thamizh). This hot

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-65144982722021605992007-07-25T16:03:00.000-07:002007-07-25T18:13:42.670-07:00

Ok I'll admit I did buy one non-produce related item the other day on my trip which I claimed was purely healthy grocery shopping. Meijer Organics Blue Corn Tortilla Chips which to my defense look very interesting. These chips are really different from your regular corn chip as they are filled with sesame seeds. Its a unique addition and gives the chip a very good flavor. I also picked up some

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-54228217151699051402007-07-24T11:21:00.001-07:002007-07-25T11:19:50.175-07:00

Summer is here, and along with it has come my taste for refreshingly crisp summer salads. I'm impressed with myself these days, heading out to the grocery store and staying within the realms of the produce section and not venturing over to the aisles laden with dangerous goods (mostly chips, ok sometimes cheese and maybe crackers). As Shankar and I hit the year and a half mark on our marriage

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-13863876401183606442007-07-19T08:53:00.000-07:002007-08-24T12:15:54.986-07:00

It looks like our potluck has now officially become a monthly event. The ladies regrouped for another night of socializing, this time hosted by the lovely Akanksha. We were joined by two new additions to the club, Radhika and Aparna. The evening was filled with a lot of talk about pregnancy since both Akanksha and Radhika are expecting to deliver babies in September. Aparna is also a new mother

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-80941209826936470612007-07-09T08:32:00.000-07:002007-08-30T22:09:51.339-07:00

Mushroom Biriyani is another creation of Chef Shankar. Served together with the Cabbage Kofta, this vegetarian meal would satisfy even the hungriest carnivore. Several varieties of mushrooms were used including Shiitake, Crimini, and White Button Mushrooms which when combined give the dish a nice satisfying texture and bite. The rice is flavored with biriyani pulav masala which can be bought in

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-19367850666476846342007-07-04T22:59:00.000-07:002007-08-30T22:09:51.340-07:00

Cabbage Kofta is my husband Shankar's signature dish. The finely minced cabbage with a hint of carrot is mixed with besan flour and deep fried. The cabbage balls are nicely textured and hold together firmly under the layer of gravy while still remaining light and fluffy. My husband concocts his own complex blend of spices which are freshly ground together to aromatize and flavor the dish.

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-51134705399038299372007-07-04T19:06:00.000-07:002007-08-24T12:15:54.987-07:00

The follow up to the first potluck post is here! After many requests for Pooja's Masala Macaroni, I've finally found the time to put up the delicious secrets from my friends. If you haven't been to a potluck with your girlfriends, I seriously recommend organizing one right away! Pooja's Masala Macaroni 2 cups macaroni, 1 tbsp garlic paste, small pieces of cabbage and capsicum - finely chopped,

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-24605104317580292322007-07-04T11:43:00.000-07:002007-07-04T16:36:52.843-07:00

On Saturday June 2, 2007 the stage at Toronto's Premiere Dance Theatre came alive with the ecstasy of one woman named Nalin Bisnath. 250 invitees were privileged with the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the true bliss of Nalin, in the form of dance. She took us on a journey that has been taken only by the devadasi's of another age where dancers surrendered themselves to their Lord by dance.

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-113245937245347522007-05-31T20:08:00.000-07:002007-08-24T12:30:29.911-07:00

The summer internships have started and since all our husbands have finally gone off to work, the wives decided to get together and have a potluck dinner. Three of my dear friends, who are married to Shankar's classmates, and I shared a fantastic meal last night. We got together, discussed life, Akanksha's pregnancy, what our plans are post graduation, and compared where each of us will be

marriedtoadesi.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04860464698454474847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2712467965605857461.post-81260601541622904002007-05-18T10:55:00.001-07:002007-09-25T06:58:05.043-07:00

Pickles are an important part of the South Indian meal, best eaten as an accompaniment to the last course of yogurt rice. Pickles in India are very different from the European varieties in that they are preserved in oil rather than vinegar. The acidic element of lemon or lime juice that is added prevents the pickle from going bad (bacterial growth), while the oil acts as a preservative. My

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