About

 

Hi there! I’m Madhuri, the face behind this blog. I’m a passionate foodie, cook, baker, writer. My hope for your visit here is to be enticed by delectable recipes, inspired by delicious photography, and armed with increased food knowledge. I want you to leave with the insatiable urge to run into your kitchen and whip up whatever you have seen here, and the confidence to know that you can do it. Growing up, the kitchen was always the hub of activity – it’s where everyone gathered to talk, eat, and share life while great food was being created. I am so happy to have you here in my virtual kitchen and hope you’ll be back again and again, and again. Thank you for visiting!

A little about Me

I live in Bangalore, also known as the Silicon Valley, in the heart of South-India. A Retail Designer by profession, I’m rabid about Branding, Behavioural Economics and how people behave in the Shopping Environment, and How these impact the Store Design Process in turn.

Music is my middle name, and as long as I’m awake, there’s music around me…be it my iPod playing, the radio, or even just me, humming away. I’m totally kicked about Classic Rock, Reading fiction titles in one go even if it means staying up till 2am, Chubby Babies with toothless grins, Dogs & cuddly Puppies, Chocolate, Iced-tea, Good ol’ filter kaapi, Ice-cream, Muskmelon, Strawberries, Learning new languages, Shopping, Chunky junk-jewellery, Crockery & Cutlery, Embroidery and various forms of hand and craft work, Designing and making my own salwar suits,  Mehendi on my hands, Collecting Cookbooks, Going for long ‘n laid back swims in the pool, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Sketching and doodling, Photography and Travel, in no particular order. Gadget junkie. Self-confessed Foodie. Frantic Chocoholic. Sleep-talker. Perfectionist. Highly OCD-ed. Singer. Chatter-box. Avid Reader. Pacifist. Easily bored. Sensitive. Love Bangalore to death. Love the colours Yellow, Pink & Black. And needless to say, I looooooove to cook and bake. I find them both very therapeutic. Cooking and Baking along with Music are what kindle the fire in me, and my liaisons with all three started pretty early in life.

Food and Me

I have no formal training in cooking/baking, and everything I’ve learned has been through my folks and good cooks in the family/friends’ circle, my own experiments, reading and research. Amma, Daddy and my doting maternal grandmother Nani are the 3 main people responsible for my being a true blue foodie and a decent cook/baker.

I come from a Tambrahm family that is obsessed with their food. Ever heard of the term ‘Saappaattu Raman’? That’s Tamizh for ‘gourmand’. Yes, so our entire family consists of saappaattu ramans. And good cooks to boot. We love to eat, we love to cook. Needless to say, both Amma and Daddy are brilliant in the kitchen, and all the small things I pay attention to while cooking, I have picked up from them. Much like most girls, I would watch Amma at work in the kitchen in complete awe right from the time I was old enough to hang around her apron strings. I would always dream of being able to cook like her once I grew up. Everyone that came home would be ever in praise of Amma’s culinary skills. Sometimes, I would wonder how she managed everything – the home, us kids, cooking, cleaning, and everything there is to running a successful home and keeping it cheerful all the time. I vowed to be like Amma when I grew up, at least in the kitchen for starts. That’s how it all began…my love story with the pots and pans, the cutlery and crockery, the tantalising aromas and flavours, and everything there is to the Art of Cooking. Daddy contributed to my love for cooking too. He loves to experiment with new ingredients and new dishes, and all his experiments are big hits. We have always loved being his lab-rats. Whenever he was experimenting in the kitchen, he would call me to be his sous-chef and I would gladly hang around in the kitchen with him, and that’s how I learnt some really good tricks of the trade. Thank you Amma and Daddy! I owe it all to you both.

The Blog

I love to talk. I love to cook. I love to talk about what I cook. I also love to spread the love I have for the culinary art. I reckoned that an online recipe guide seemed like the perfect pool for other foodies to come and take a dip in, and that is how ‘Cook-curry Nook’ was born.

The word ‘Cook-curry’ in the blog name is actually a pun for ‘Cookery’, and that’s how it works. I hear people refer to/call the blog by different names like “Cook and curry nook”, “Curry nook”, “Cooknook”, etc. Please don’t kill the name. Some thought has definitely gone into it, and I wish for my baby to be known the way it was christened.

What you can hope to see on the Blog
A mixed bag of the choicest of Lacto-ovo vegetarian/vegan recipes that include healthy daily eats, special and rich recipes covering different courses in varied cuisines, the occasional bout of sugar-rush and my favourite bakes, both simple and advanced. And since we are just the two of us living at home, I always cook for two people plus a little extra just in case. So unless otherwise mentioned, most of the recipe proportions on the site would cater to two good eaters.

I would still urge you to use the recipes only as a guideline unless we’re talking about recipes to do with baking. The reason being that your palate can be completely different from mine. You never know. Do come back and let me know how a recipe from here turned out for you. Good or bad, I would love to know. If its good, we can give out a loud whooping cheer together. If it isn’t, ask nicely, and I would be more than happy to help you figure out what went wrong to the best of my knowledge. However, you must also understand that I wasn’t physically present when you cooked/baked a dish from here and may not be able to help completely every time. Rude and nasty comments are completely un-called for. I will most willingly turn a completely blind-eye towards them.

I keep brewing from my cook-pot often, so do take a peek every now and then. I certainly hope to see you around here a lot. So make yourself comfortable, settle into that seat of yours, put on that seat belt, and gear up for a delectable gastronomical journey you’re not going to forget in a hurry.

Photography and Me

Much like cooking and baking, I have no formal training in photography. Taking random pictures during road trips, parties and get-togethers is one thing, but food photography is another thing altogether. Food Photography was so challenging to me at first, I thought I would die of shame because of the pathetic pictures I took for my first post here. I gradually learned along the way, through practice and careful observation of other food and photography blogs. My food photographs were horrendous when I started the blog. Though it greatly pains me, I try not to remove too many of my beginner’s photographs because I think it is important to realise that everyone starts somewhere and has the potential to improve.

Between October 2009 when I started the blog and January 2011, I used a Canon Powershot A720s point-and-shoot camera for all of my photos. Between January and September 2011, I used a Nikon D70s with a 18-70mm Nikkor kit lens. I now use a Nikon D5100 and shoot mostly in diffused sunlight without any artificial lighting. I use a 18-55mm Nikkor lens kit that came with the camera, and sometimes I even use a 55-200mm Nikkor telephoto zoom lens. I recently picked up a 50mm prime lens and yes, totally loving it!

Freelance Work

Do you like the pictures you see here? I am available for freelance work as a food writer/food photographer. Do Write to me, and we’ll take it from there.

Connect with ME

If you have a specific question about a recipe that I have posted, please leave a comment on that post. If you have a question there’s a good chance that at least one other person might have the same question. By posting your question in the comments section (and having my reply posted there), it will benefit others who are planning to make the same recipe.

If you have any recipe requests, please leave me a comment here. At the same time, please understand that run this blog is not the only thing I do, and there could be times when I cannot comply to your recipe requests immediately. I request you to be patient with me.

For any other questions, comments, feedback, or inquiries, please free to connect with me through any of the following mediums:

Email: cookcurrynook (at) gmail (dot) com
Twitter: @cookcurrynook
Facebook: Become a Fan (“Like”)

Do take your time to browse through the site. I hope enjoy your stay here just as much as I enjoy cooking, photographing, and writing for you. Bon Appetit!