About
About Me and Hungry Desi
Hi and welcome to Hungry Desi. Hungry Desi is written by me, Nithya. I always struggle with what to say on this page because I’ve been told that a good “about” page should be brief. But part of the reason why I started Hungry Desi is because I have a difficult time being brief about my love for food. So, briefly: I love to cook. I love to eat. And I love sharing stories about what I cook and eat with others.
I live in Brooklyn, New York with my husband my husband and our daughter. My husband and I are both lifelong vegetarians who grew up in the U.S. with Indian parents. So our palettes and my cooking are largely influenced by Indian spices and flavors.
In my effort to be brief, I won’t take up time telling you how our vacations center around eating, that cooking after a hectic day is my way of relaxing, that grocery shopping is an exercise in curious excitement for me, that I plan dinner before breakfast or that I can spend endless time researching new restaurants and ingredients.
What’s Hungry Desi mean? And how do I pronounce Desi?
Hungry – characteristic of an appetite
Desi (pronounced like “they+see”) – a South Asian
Hungry Desi – South Asian with an appetite for traditional Indian food and spicy vegetarian dishes
How can you reach me? Feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email at nithyadas1 (at) gmail (dot) com with questions and suggestions. And as always, I welcome and appreciate your feedback! You can also follow me at www.twitter.com/nithyadas.
Comment Policy: I love reading your comments and feedback on posts. If you try out a recipe, please let me know how it turns out. Trust me, I’m elated to hear from you! And if you have a question, feel free to ask it. I try my hardest to respond to all questions and suggestions in the comments. If you’re question seems urgent, I’ll try to respond by email as well. Lastly, if your comment doesn’t show up right away, it probably has a link in it and got caught in the spam filter. Be patient -I’ll release it soon enough.
Reviewing Products and Accepting Samples:
I do not post about products, places, etc. in exchange for money. If I receive a free product to test or review, I will mention that in my post. I welcome review copies and products, but I reserve the right to not post about the product and to state my opinion, whether positive or negative, about the product. Acceptance of your product does not guarantee a review or a positive review of the product. Please feel free to contact me at nithyadas1(at)gmail(dot)com with such requests.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful picture
Umm thanks, mom.
I like the write up. Good that you keep changing things here and there…gives a fresh look.
Nithiya! So I am up early looking up recipes for a spicy basil pesto for a last minute dinner party I have been guilted into attending. I want to infuse the pesto with grilled shrimp. I can’t believe I came across your blog- what are the odds! I only recently threw out my bright green Bala for President shirt that every friend of mine absolutely hated! I hope all is well with you and this was a great surprise and thanks for the recipe. I think that I will try it!
Nithya: Dante, such a small world. Just sent you an email.
Oh yeah, go Cocks!
Nithya: For anyone wondering about this reference and why I didn’t delete this comment, it’s a reference to the Carolina Gamecocks. Hopefully hungry desi doesn’t start coming up in any XXX google searches.
Hi,
I was wondering if you guys have a daily or weekly newsletter? I would like to sign up for it
Emma
ND: Thanks for the comments! You can sign up to receive updates (which are sent out when I update hungry desi with a new post) by email or by RSS from the home page of hungry desi (see the far left column).
Love the site! Bright spot in my (yawn. I know.) day.
Great space…the pictures match the essence of India’s Cuisine and spirit ..
Lovely pic! First time here. You have a lovely space and I am glad I found your blog.
Nithya, I love your blog. You know that. I know your life is extra busy right now, but I personally am thrilled that you are still making time for this great hobby of yours. Good job!
Hi Nithya,
Nice to browse your blog. Beautiful presentation and good clicks.
Best wishes.
I love finding other desi food enthusiasts! Your recipes look lovely. I will definitely be checking back
Hi Nithya
This is my first time here and i think i am going to be a frequent visitor ! Good job. I like your recipes as well as your easy-going down to earth style of writing.
Thanks so much for the compliment and for visiting hungry desi. I hope you do continue visiting!
Thanks for visiting! Looking forward to checking out your blog.
This is my first visit to your site and the first comment I’ve ever posted on line! I’ve been enjoying looking through your recipes, especially the Indian ones. I like to try new, different international foods and have a cupboard full of “exotic” spices to prove it. I’d like to make the lemon spinach dal, but am not familiar with sambar powder. Can any other spice or spice mixture be substituted?
@Maria – Thanks for visiting hungry desi and for your comment. Sambar powder is like an “all spice” of South Indian cooking. It’s used in South Indian style kuras (stir fries) and kootus (stews). There are a lot of different recipes for making sambar powder, but it generally consists of ground coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried chilis, toor daal, channa daal, mustard seeds and dried curry leaves. Sounds like you have a fully stocked spice cabinet, so chances are likely that you have a lot of these spices already. Try making your own mix. If you decide to buy the powder, I like 777 or MTR brand.
I love you blog and look forward to preparing many of your recipes. I also hope you will take a look at my blog. http://www.beanbasics.blogspot.com
I came across your site today as I was doing a search on Chayote Squash. I tried your Kura recipe and it came out well. I too grew up in the US, and married someone who also grew up here. My family is from the South and my husband’s side is from Punjab. I am always looking for quick and easy indian recipes to fit intoy our hectic lifestyle. My mom tended to overcomplicate things so I got intimidated by indian cooking, but I really enjoyed looking through your site and how you write. Would you mind sharing what type of skillet you use. Like for potatoes, I tend to overcook the potatoes, by the time they are cooked, they get burned on the outside. Also, I get used to the pressure cooker. Stil trying to figure out how much water to put into pressure cooking dals, etc.
Thanks again for your great blog. I am looking forward to trying your tapioca payasam, as I also do not make indian sweets and am eager to try something simple out, and this one seems simple enough
@Vina -thanks for visiting and the feedback. I’m also from the South, and my husband is Punjabi. I use a nonstick, anodized skillet like the one shown
here
. When you are frying potatoes, try cooking them on a lower heat and stirring them frequently. My dad makes crunchy potatoes – soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside – and they are a labor of love requiring lots of attention.Good luck and let me know how the payasam turns out!
Nith – Post a picture of you with cupcake