About Archana
Cooking has been my passion since I was a child. My mother always used to drag me to the kitchen to help her around. Over the years, being a wife, mother and a home maker, the kitchen has become the place where i sneak into to get some solitude. Cooking helps me gather my thoughts. In short, cooking is my meditation mantra.
Through this blog, I am imparting the “gyan” (knowledge) that I have acquired through my musings with food. I hope you enjoy reading, cooking, eating and savoring all the recipes on this blog.
Love the site. Fantastic recipes. Cool chef.
Archana, great recipes, nice effort. I promise to be a regular on this site.
Archana,
I am really proud of you. With two little children you find the time for writing receipes. Amazing! May God fulfill all your wishes.
Love,
Mummy
I know that my granddaughter is very capable. The site is too good. Fantastic receipes and I am going to try them out.
Manni
Hi Arch,
Amazing that you could write so many recipes and make it simple enuf for beginners like me.
i am surely going to try all of them…keep writing in…
Preeti
Hi Arch,
Your recipes looks great…. Have to try them…. Always needed some good veg receipes.
Regards,
Wilma
Great website and excellent content…just what I need in my endeavor to cook! Thanks Arch : )
Great site Archana!! I have not really looked at all but love what I have seen. I have not seen you for awhile, but now that I am seeing your picture here, I know both yours and Radesh’s smile is identical!!
Love to all
Bhagya akka
Good to see your food blog. I am definitely going to be a regular visitor here. Really great recipes, will be trying them one by one this week.
Regards to all at home ,
Love, Sylvia.
The blog is very well laid out and easy to navigate.
This will definitely become our top recipe lookup site.
Looking forward to any
I know every south indian family has a secret recipe.
- Gujarati/South Indian recipes (daal/sambhar at the top) Any chance of recipe of home made sambhar powder
- more snacks(especially ’street food’ like Daabeli,etc. ) That’s what I miss the most.
- Breakfast items
poha, upma, etc ..
Alternate preparations
Some recipes have long preparation times. It would be good to have alternate preparations which use off the shelf items. It would also help if there could be a section on cutting down preparation time, any short cuts which experienced cooks take(like telling Rutvik to do all the preparations). I love to cook from scratch but sometimes everybody gets lazy and needs that moong daal chilla in half an hour.
ArchanasKitchen YouTube Channel
If you have the time to put together cooking videos that would be great to have a link to a archanaskitchen channel on youtube. Lot more work than putting together a blog but some things in cooking are easier learnt by watching the cook in action. For example I just started grilling on a coal barbecue this last summer and even though it is a simple way to cook I became comfortable only after watching some videos online.
Will be waiting for more recipes. Keep blogging.
-Adi
Archana,
I am excited about this web site because I know you are a great cook.
I do look forward to some gujarati recipes in the near future.
Chithi
Hi Archana,
This is really great. Nice to see your creativity secrets being shared…….Everything looks yummy…….. I still remember your cooking……….I will definitely try your recipes sometime……….Good luck to you !
Love,
Aneetha
HI Archie,
Great recipies,, Will definetly try them and let you know. It looks yummy..
very good site..
Good luck to you!!!!
hi
great site…….
i would love to see more baking recipies tho- i just never seem to bake right:)
Unbelievable!!! I loved all the recipes, I can’t wait to try them. The photos are so professional and so is the writing. Fantastic job! I’m glad you’re doing this, now I can get your recipes online! Please post your Gujrathi dal, I’m really craving some…
Congratulations. Excellent job. Very good website, enjoyed it. Very interesting recipes. Daksha will now try many of your recipes. Hope you will publish all your recipes in the form of a book that people can buy.
Love from Suresh Kaka, Kuwait.
Archana this is great. I can now try out many recipes I was not confident about… Carry on the good work for people like us!
Archana great job.Really its very nice.Best of luck
Hi Archana
It is an excellent site. Not only are you an amazing cook but also an amazing IT person. I still remember the south indian food I had at your place…yummy….now i will pick up those recipes from your site
cheers
pooja
I’m constantly trying to figure out what to do with what’s avail in season in India… cool to see all your recipes!
Hi Archana,
It was really exciting to share your recipes. I have tried out some of them and found to be excellent. I will certainly try some of them in coming days. Now I expect more of such from you. Keep it up.
Kumkum
Hi Archana,
This is Arti(Sapan’s wife fonty) here…Really pleased with all the efforts u have taken to share ur knowledge with everyone..keep it up will definitely try ur receipes n let u know…
Arti.
Hi Arch,
I am so amazed looking at your web site. Its awesome that you have complied a lot of dishes with nice instructions. I will surely try the mutter paneer. My son loves Paneer :-).
Keep updating this site. Good Job!
Love,
Pavithra
Also Archana, have you tried Dal Dhokre where they cook dal and roti pieces together. I visit a gurati restaurant here and I have that every time I have been there. I assume you must be pretty familira with gujju cooking by now:-) . If you happen to know this dish, please post it when you can. Thanks a lot!
hi Pavi, yes i know how to make dal dokhli. Its a very traditional gujarati dish. I usually make it during raining season or in winter since it tastes best when savored hot from the stove.
I can get the recipe down, the picture will come only after i have made it.
Enjoy and I am glad you liked my recipes
Hey Archana,
Super great effort!! Very impressed with how far you’ve progressed with this. Seems like just yesterday when Archana’s Kitchen was just an idea you were toying with. Like the flow of the recipes, they seem quite simple and precise to follow through really. Also I like the fact that the pictures are originals and not picked off the www!! At least one can know what their food should really look like!!
Though it would be nice to see these pictures as part of the top banner, sort of to represent the variety available on the site for first time visitors. Would be nice to see more on the continental and dessert sections as well eventually. About Archana…talk a little about your personal favs or your specialties or maybe the recipe of the week in your musings? Its good to know the chefs recommendations ;0)
All in all I think its going fantastically well.
Wish I had the courage to follow my passion through…
All the best.
Hi Archie,
I love this site - it’s really cool. I can’t wait to try the recipes, especially the International section and the gujarati daal.
Love,
Vini
Hi Archana,
Just to let you know other INSEAD partners and I were discussing your website today - we all thought it looks great and we will definitely be trying the recipes. Good luck with it all.
Lovely stuff.
Thank you Kate. Would love to hear recipe comments from INSEAD partners.
Archana — Wow!! … on so many levels. The website is great, the recipes are fantastic and the fact that you are able to find the time to try out new recipes, take photos and upload to a website while managing 2 small kids… is amazing!! I look forwrd to trying some of these recipes soon.
Hi Sam,Thank you and glad you will be trying some recipes soon.Manage to take out some time to keep my mind from getting rustic
Archana, I know how difficult it can be to manage a blog, as I myself maintain a food blog:) so I wanted to congratulate you on your great efforts here..nice job!
Do drop by my blog too…would like to have your feedback!
-Mansi
http://funnfud.blogspot.com
Hi Archana!
It is good to visit your excellent website, read its contents and all the great recipes. Photographs look professional. Very good effort. I am poroud of you. I am asking Daksha to try many of your recipes.
Good luck to you.
Suresh Kaka, Kuwait
Archana,
What to say… IMPRESSED. Add two more to your evidently sizeable and growing fan club.
Kanishka & Ranjita.
You are very good:)
Even my picky daughters polished off your pudding:) That says it all:) Good luck in your endeavours:)
yay archie,
nice site. hope that you become india’s answer to Martha Stewart / Paula Dean
mohaps
Hey, mohaps, no harm trying to strive better, without going into Jail!
yeah keep it up…
stuff looks delicious.. will try out a few recipes and let you know.
–m
Dear Archana,
“Dahi Papdi Chaat” was selected by JoyfulBelly as one of our “Creative Dishes” for February. Your entry will be posted on February 3rd.
When we visited your website we were pleasantly surprised to find a new, incredible chef reporting Indian cuisine. We appreciate what you’re creating for the world!
Please nominate other great chefs creating the new food revolution. We rely on our readers for suggestions!
I hope you love our ayurvedic recipe website. We would be very happy if you post a link from your website to ours and write to us with your feedback. We tried to contact you on your old email address but couldn’t reach you.
Take Care,
Sincerely,
Joseph
ph. 617-869-8326
Go Archana!
Nice recipes, great effort. I am gonna try some myself as I toil through school again
cheers,
Kandarp
Archana, could you post some home-made baby food recipes please?
Hi..nice place you have here…went thr your parenting blog too…very interesting…thanks for dropping by my blog…
hey srivalli thanks for visiting. If you have children, do drop by and comment on emotional parenting as well.
hi,
i wanted to email you, but could not locate your email address on the blog.
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helloooooooooooo..Archana ji
I live myself last 4 & half yrs,so…i hv to cook my food,i know a bit cooking but ur recipes help me a lot for good food……Thx a lot…Meelan
Hi Archana,
Whenever I think of doing chapati I am worried about making side dishes.
As I make chapati every altenate days I am really struggling to think of a sidedish. And most of my side dish items includes cinnamon,cloves and all the usual spices which almost gives the same kind of taste with diferent veggies
Just my humble request, why dont you introduce a column for side dish alone that goes well with chapatis.
Also as we are making side dishes very often I would really love HEALTHY side dishes. I mostly try to avoid paneer dishes or deep fried koftas etc.
Thanks a lot.
Awesome, cant wait to see you in Bangalore and eat some of the stuff that you cook
Cheers
Rohit
hey rohit, when are you coming
Hi Archana,
Awesome site…and great recipes . Although i am not big on vegetarian food …your recipes looks delicious . I would however like to see more desserts…am always on the look out for desserts. I am half way constructing my own website -but its mostly non-veg..so wish me good luck and wish you the same too.
M so proud of you archana, Awesome site. Cant wait to try out ur recipies in UR kitchen- might come to b’lore in near future. will give u a call. give my luv to kids. call u later…
once again gr8 work…. reminds me of those days when we used tobe together in kitchen
hey parthavi, good to hear from you and thanks!
Archana -
I love your site! I know exactly what you mean about cooking as meditation…it is my way to relax as well. There is just something about chopping vegetables and stirring bubbling things that soothes my soul!
Your recipes look amazing…I might be brave enough to try them out!
Hi Archana,
Got your website accidentally as I was checking out Tarla Dalal’s recipe contest. Must say it is very informative and your receipes are good. Keep up the good work, please provide us with some of “Grandma’s home made stuff” and of course the street food of Mumbai.
Culinary regards
Sucorrina
Hi archana,i reside in newyork,saw ur beetroot sambar recipe today and today itself i am going to try………do pouring ur thoughts in……luv to hear from u….warm regards from jaya
Hello,
I absolutely loved and adored your food.
Thank u so much!
From,
Bhupendra P.
Hey,
I also wanted to see some marahti resipies, my wifer is mharati.
Thanks
Awesome. Just discovered this and will try them all soon. You have managed to keep this a secret for too long. I shall spread the word.
Love
Sanjay & Shailaja
You sure have an enticing site!
a great inspiration to home-makers to persue their passion!!
hi archana……….this was the first time i ever came over such an innovative person
Thanks every one for your warm comments
Hi,
Invited few guests over. Tried Paneer Makhani and Aloo Parval sabzi. It was a big hit. The guests enjoyed it and thanx to u, didn’t had to worry about storing the left overs. I talk about u often. Especially, about u’r keerai Sadam and Bhel puri. It was fun.
Regardz,
Sandhya.
Hi Archana,
Frankly speaking, when I clicked on the About Archana tab, I was half-expecting a middle-aged lady with gray hair.
Amazing! You are a mom of two and still you find time to follow your passion.
Today is my first visit to your site and I am going to add this in my favorites now. I have already taken 3 recipes that I am going to try this weekend and give a surprise to my husband who is coming back home on Sunday.
I will definitely keep you updated how your recipes came out!
All the best!!!!!
Chandrika
Hi Archana .. I am back with a request to check out some of my new recipes that I just uploaded. Do visit: http://blog.felinemusings.com/2008/06/04/cooking-up-colocasia/
hello ,
very interesting blog. i love ur recipes, ur style of presenting and the pics.