Vegetable Sambar is one of those dishes my husband and I have never fully agreed on. He grew up in a household where sambar was thin, sour, and almost broth-like. …

Surti Undhiyu is one of those recipes I made badly at least three times before I stopped rushing it. My first attempt, I did not marinate the vegetables at all …

Dried Meat Chutney first came into my life at a friend’s place in Nagaland, years ago, where her mother made it without measuring a single thing. She held the skewer …

Paneer Nuggets were the subject of a minor but memorable argument in my friend circle a few years ago. One friend insisted the coating had to be purely bread crumbs, …

Ennai Kathirikkai Kuzhambu took me three attempts before I stopped overcrowding the kadhai. The first time I made it, I added all twenty brinjals at once, turned up the heat …

Ragi Roti is one of those recipes my husband and I genuinely disagree about. He grew up eating it plain, just ragi flour, salt, water, and maybe onion if someone …

Dalcha came into my life through a colleague at an old office job, a Hyderabadi woman who brought lunch in a steel tiffin carrier every single day. One afternoon she …

Chettinad Chicken Masala found its way into my regular rotation because of my husband. He grew up eating Chettinad food and has very strong opinions about what a proper chicken …

Fried Chicken with Bean Shoots is one of those recipes I make whenever my husband announces, mid-afternoon, that he wants something “Chinese tonight.” I used to find that request stressful, …

You know Onam is close before anyone says a word about the calendar. The kitchen starts smelling of roasting coconut a few days early. Someone’s ammachi is already fussing over …

Sundakkai Gothsu is one of those recipes my husband and I have genuinely argued about. He grew up in a household where his mother made gothsu thin and pourable, almost …

Lebanese Chicken Wraps came into my kitchen through an argument. A friend insisted that a proper Lebanese wrap needs sumac and za’atar, full stop. I had neither that evening, so …

Beans Podimas came into my regular rotation because of a specific request. My husband kept asking for something different with flat beans, something that was not just the usual poriyal …

Steamed Vada Curry is one of those recipes my neighbour Lakshmi and I have argued about more than once. She insists the vada must be fried for the gravy to …

Mangalore Fish Curry earned its place in my regular rotation only after I ruined it twice. The first time, I added the fish too early and it turned to mush …

  Bubble tea looks like a drink that should require a professional tea shop, a wall of flavored syrups and several pieces of specialized equipment. In reality, a good homemade …

Hyderabadi Korma is one of those recipes I got badly wrong the first time. I rushed the onions, added the curd before the ghee had come back up to temperature, …

Prawn Rissois have been a small point of argument in my household for years. My husband insists that the filling should be made only with milk, no stock, because that …

Sookha Chicken has caused more than one argument in our house. My husband is convinced the way is to cook everything in one pan, low and slow, without a pressure …

Curried Potatoes came into my regular rotation because of a specific request. My neighbour’s daughter, who had just moved into her own flat, kept asking me for something she could …

Chicken Tamales came into my life through a Filipino colleague I worked with years ago at a small office in Chennai. She brought them in one afternoon wrapped in banana …