I really enjoyed seeing all the photos for January’s contest. Here are the two winners that I selected at random. Congratulations to both of you. 1st Place: Monica Prashar 2nd Place: Tonya McDaniel Thank you to everyone else that also participated in the contest.

This month’s contest is to make bread! It can be any kind of bread (for appetizer, desert, etc). The specific rules for March are the following: Any type of bread recipe. It must be vegetarian and also egg-less. Please submit only ONE recipe. Please see my bread recipes for examples. In general I will only consider recipes that I feel are [...]

I was happy to see so many bread recipes last month, but it was a lot more work this time to review, try and select the winners.  Thank you to everyone who participated and you all did a great job. However, I did have to disqualify some due to missing photo or copied recipes. Please make [...]

Everyone including myself makes big cooking mistakes from time to time. Sometimes I feel they always happen on important occasions. For this month’s contest, I would like to hear your cooking blunders. Maybe you were preparing for a big dinner party and things went very wrong. What did you do? Were you able to save the day? [...]

Similar to last month, April’s contest will be based on chickpeas or garbanzo beans. You can may choose to do any dish as long as chickpeas are the main ingredient.  I’m eager to see what you all come up with. Good Luck. Using chickpeas, create any type of variation. Be Creative! Search the web for [...]

For this month, I am resuming the monthly contest again. However, from now on, I will choose the top 5 recipe entries and then let the viewers vote for the 1st and 2nd place winners. Based on feedback, I feel this is a better way to continue the future contests. The rules for August are [...]

There were great recipes submitted this month. I would like to thank everyone who participated. I’ve chosen the following as the top five entries. The voting is now over. We had a very close race. The first place winner is Jyoti Ralhan (Eggplant Roti Wrap) and the 2nd place goes to Vinitha Krishnan (Kathi Roll).

For this month, the contest is similar to November. Create a unique variation for Papdi Chat: You can easily make it vegan by omitting the yogurt. There are so many ways to transform papdi chat into something unique and mouth watering. You can scour the web for ideas. You will be judged mostly on creativity, [...]

FIRST PLACE: Seema Kukanur created Hara-Bhara Palak Papadi Chat. The full recipe is listed below. SECOND PLACE: Richa Agarwal from Massachusetts created a variation called Bread Dahi Vada Papdi Chaat (also listed below). Other top contributions are also worth mentioning here. Thank you for participating: Murali Anantha Meeta Asarpota Prajakta Deodhar Ravi Vinayak Hamsaveni H.T. [...]

As the holiday season is going into full swing this month, I thought another dessert would be a good idea. For this month, the recipe can be any warm dessert that includes at least two of the follow nuts: walnuts, almonds, cashews, and pistachios. One of these however must be used as a main ingredient [...]

For this month’s recipe, I am choosing the classic Roti (chapati) or Paratha flat breads. You can make lots of varieties like Spinach Paratha, Aloo Paratha, Gobhi Paratha and Tandoori Roti. If you’ve never made Indian flat breads before, this is a great chance to try it. I’m eager to see what you all come [...]

It was very encouraging to see so many great entries this time around and I really had a difficult time choosing the winners! I was doubtful when I started these monthly contests that enough people will participate, but I feel reassured now. I want to thank everyone for taking part in this one, and congratulate [...]

Sorry for the late posting of the contest this month. This month’s recipe is Vegetable Rice (Pulav). I look forward to seeing your great variations. Take my recipe for Vegetable Rice (Pulav) and create a unique variation of it. Be Creative! There are many ways to vary this dish. Feel free to add your own [...]

FIRST PLACE: Joan created Mushroom, Fruit and Vegetable Pulav. The full recipe is listed below. SECOND PLACE: Jaya Rai from Amsterdam created a different version ofVegetable Pulav (also listed below). Other top contributions are also worth mentioning here. Thank you for participating: Lata Narayanan Adelina Moraru Shruthi Udupa Madhurya Karthik Richa Agarwal Smita Srivastava Rosha [...]

To start off the New Year, this month’s contest is something everyone can easily partake in. As important as it is to make healthy, heart warming, tasty dishes, it’s also important have a great presentation whether it be simple and elegant or exotic. We do “eat with our eyes first”! So this month I’ve decided [...]

For this month of June, the contest must use at least two of the following vegetables: Potato Cabbage Bell Pepper Green Peas And must use one of these: Tomatoes Yogurt You may use any herbs and spices. I look forward to your recipes. Good Luck! Be Creative! Search the web for ideas. There are many [...]

For this month’s contest, I am doing something a little different. I am selecting just a single vegetable (Califlower) and would like you to create a variation of any vegetable recipe on my website.  You can refer to my Aloo Gobi recipe for example as a start. Using Cauliflower, create any type of variation using [...]

Once again, this month was very difficult in choosing a winner as there were so many great entries. But in the end, I had to make a choice and the winners are listed below. Be sure to try their recipes! FIRST PLACE: Sharmila Krishnamurty from San Diego created a dish called Cauliflower Parupu Usli which [...]

For this month of May, the contest is based on Carrots. You can may choose to do any dish as long as carrot is the main ingredient. I look forward to your recipes. Good Luck! Using carrots, create any type of variation (main dish, dessert, appetizer). Be Creative! Search the web for ideas. There are [...]

Beginning this month of November, I will be having a Monthly Contest. Each month will feature a different contest with great prizes!! For November, your Objective: Take my recipe for Gulab Jamun and create a unique variation of it. Be Creative! There are many ways to adapt the Gulab Jamun recipe into something truly unique [...]

FIRST PLACE: Smita Srivastava from India created Kesariya Gulabjamun Pulao. The full recipe is listed below. SECOND PLACE: Spoorthy Prasad from Minneapolis created a variation called Snow Ball (also listed below). Other top contributions are also worth mentioning here. Thank you for participating: Menaka Seshakumar priya Suresh Vidya Lakshmi Keerti Prathak Pratima Adam Hall Seema [...]

For this month, I thought it would be festive to make holiday eggless cookies. You may make any kind of cookie as long as no eggs are in the recipe. I look forward to see your creations! Check out my recipe for whole wheat almond eggless cookies as an example. Below is my checklist: Ingredients [...]

I really enjoyed the entries this month for the cookies. I wish I could select all of them, but I’ve chosen the following as the top five entries.  Thank you everyone for participating. The contest is now closed. The first place winner is Nithu Bala (Bourbon Biscuits) and the 2nd place goes to Priya Ramakrishnan [...]

For Thanksgiving, this month’s contest is make any recipe using squash as the main ingredient. It can be any type of squash (ex. Pumpkin is in the squash family). You may make any type of recipe such as an appetizer, main dish, or dessert.  The rules for November are the following: Any recipe that uses [...]

I really enjoyed all the great recipe submissions last month. Thank you to all who participated. I will be keeping the same format this month where I will choose the top five and let you vote for the winner. The rules for October are the following: You may create any dessert with rice as the [...]

It was great to see so many recipe entries this month. Once again, I had a tough time selecting the top five. Thank you everyone for participating. I’ve chosen the following as the top five entries. The contest is over now! The first place winner is Sireesha Darbha (Appalu – Rice Flour Delicacy) and the [...]

Appetizers are a great way to share with friends and family during the holidays. Since Diwali festival is coming at the end of the month, I thought it will be nice to make the contest about an appetizer.  The rules for October are the following: You may create any kind of appetizer It must be vegetarian [...]

I was very happy with the last contest. Thank you to all who participated. There were quite a few votes and it came very close at the end. I will be keeping the same format this month where I will choose the top five and let you vote for the winner. The rules for September [...]

This month really had some unique recipes. Although they were all good, I could only select the best. Thank you everyone for participating. I’ve chosen the following as the top five entries. The contest is now completed. The first place winner is Satyasree Nivas (Delightful Bread Swirls) and the 2nd place goes to Harshitha Sanmathi [...]