Pongal is a fabulous, quick, any-time-of-day base for a healthy and hearty meal. It's sort of like an Indian risotto. More

We've talked before about how tamarind is the "secret ingredient" in a lot of Asian cooking. A combination of sweet and sour, it just gives some dishes an extra "oomph" that they wouldn't have otherwise. Until I googled "tamarind soup recipes" I had no idea exactly how many kinds of tamarind soup there are! More

Khara Bath, the savory preparation of Kesari Bath (featured Monday) is so satisfying, tasty and delicious, you may become addicted! This past weekend, I made it for dinner two nights in a row. Have you tried Khara Bath? More

If you've ever visited an Asian grocery store, chances are you've found yourself in the produce section wondering what all those green leafy vegetables are, and how to cook them. Each vegetable has its own taste and texture; from the crunchy gai lan to the spicy, mustard-y gai choy. As with most greens, these can be steamed, stir-fried, stewed, braised, chopped and cooked in dumplings, and cooked in soups. In this post, I'll demystify some of them for you. More

It's flowery, creamy, yellow, studded with pineapple and flecked with aromatic cardamom. Have you ever had the South Indian breakfast, Kesari Bath? More

Mangoes are divine any time of year, but this month they are used in a special dish for Ramadan. Do you celebrate Ramadan with any specific treats or traditions? We caught up with Pakistani food blogger Shayma for some ideas on breaking the fast. More

We love the spices in Indian dishes, and dahl is pretty simple to make. However, it still takes about an hour to prep it and some accompanying rice - on many weeknights that kind of time simply isn't there. Lucky for us, dahl freezes and reheats very well. Here's what we do to keep from resorting to those prepackaged microwave Indian meals from the grocery shelf: More

During this month of Escapes we asked some of our food blogger friends to share their food experiences and home cooking inspiration from travel and faraway places. Here's a Roman trattoria-style recipe from the delightful Maggie of Pithy & Cleaver.

When a friend of mine moved to Rome, I was consumed with pasta envy: every day, he could get amazing Spaghetti Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, Bucatini all' Amatriciana...what a life! More

Is it hot where you are? I've been hiking around New York City in 94°F heat, and I'm about to head back to the Midwest where it is still in the high 80s. It's so hot, most food doesn't even sound good. Drinks, on the other hand, especially fruity drinks, sound heavenly. Here's one that I've been sucking down for breakfast, since it offers both nourishment and refreshment. More

If you've ever seen a banana tree, perhaps you have noticed the teardrop-shaped purple flower at the end of the banana fruit cluster. This is the banana blossom, also called the banana heart. It is an edible flower used in Southeast Asian and Indian cooking, where they consider it a vegetable. You might be surprised that banana blossoms have a lot in common with a more well-known and popular vegetable. Can you guess what it is? Hint: while more widely known as a vegetable, it is actually a flower! More