About Abby

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Virginia Woolf said that, not me!

But she’s right. Food makes the world go round. Doesn’t it?

Okay, maybe just my world. I love getting lost in the kitchen baking cookies and cakes for tea or cooking up something new that my friends and family get to quality test.

They love the trials most of the time, except for when they complain that I’m fattening them up. Bah-ha! They don’t have to eat it, do they?

They just can’t stop themselves. Seriously, who’s fault is it? Theirs or mine? If you don’t want to get fat, just take a bit and leave it. You don’t have to come back for seconds.

Colorful inside of a marzipan egg. — Lush inside and out, I love Marzipan

Anyways, back to food. I’ve learned a lot from my mom. We grew up sitting on the paaneri (platform) stirring our traditional East Indian marzipan and vanilla cream since we were barely 5-year-old kids. And learning how to bake semolina cakes and fry potatoes and make a yummy chicken khudi. Or a chicken tope. Or a chicken roast. Mom’s chicken roast stuffed with liver pudding is so yummy. So is her duck moile and every other random thing she makes! That reminds me I have to put down every recipe one of these days.

And I love the way mom cooks. Food never tastes the same twice. It’s always throw approximately the same things together to make somewhat the same dish. No measurements! It’s almost like being Alice in Wonderland. Sis and me have learned to cook like mom. Just throw things together and it tastes awesome!

But what was I talking about? Yes, food!

Friends ask for recipes, and we rattle off a number of ingredients. Then they say, but how much. And we say, till it tastes good. Which really gets someone or the other miffed. So I finally got around to measuring out mom’s recipes a few years ago. And I’ve got my friends to put down some of theirs too. Smile, grin, smile!

Abby in a green dress making letri (rice based dessert) with a handpress. — That’s me making letri (al old rice based dessert) with a modern handpress

So if you’re looking for gluten free chicken soup or special East Indian chicken tope or a number of other dishes, you’ve come to the right place! And a PS, if you’re looking for healthy meals, what on earth is wrong with you? Okay, seriously, we make healthy dishes too, but the majority of our food is hearty homecooked food that’s rich, spicy, and flavorsome.

If you’re not crazy about cooking, and you’re looking for restaurant reviews and where to eat or what to eat in a city, head over to my other site TheWingedFork. Or if you’re looking for faith, home, lifestyle and DIY stuff, catch me at Abby’s Hearth. Otherwise, carry on reading for some yummy recipes. And thanks for stopping by. Your reads make it worth the work!

Pic of food blogger Abby of AbbysPlate in a red dress holding a watermelon juice.

Facts About Moi – Abby

I love Kiri, in both its forms. The first one being Kiri, the calcium-filled yummy French cheese that’s made for children. Yup, the French ex-BF’s mum introduced me to it, and I absolutely love it. Do you? And also kiri, the udders of a goat roasted on a shig in India. It tastes like a savory marshmallow.
My other favorite foods are chocolate and marzipan (Okay, I know these are not really foods), paneer (Indian cottage cheese), foie de morue (soft cod liver sold in tins in France), malawach (the yummiest flaky flatbread from Israel), mathiya (delicious Gujarati papad made from Math beans for Diwali in India), green mutton chops (only mom’s version will do), and a lot more.
I can’t decide whether I like wine or beer more. Or was it amaretto?
My friends and family complain that the wine I make gets them all sleepy, drowsy and lethargic. But they haven’t stopped drinking it yet, so I’ll take that as a compliment.
I’m an East Indian from Mumbai, India. Here’s a list of our different dishes.
I love eating raw cake batter. My brother and I used to eat a lot of it while young. Now not so much, but ever so often, you’ll see a spoonful or two disappearing.
I’m Christian and Jesus is first in my life.
My favorite pastors. There are so many of them.
I have a Master’s in Information and Communication Technology Management but got tired of corporate life. Which is when I started freelance writing and blogging on the side.
I love to crochet. It helps me to de-stress. And although I hardly find the time to do it nowadays; it’s one of my go-to relaxants, other than cooking and wine.
I’m like dad. I have to have at least one tiny piece of dessert after every meal. It’s a proclivity I cannot shake.
I’m a mosquito magnet. I’ve tried most tricks in the book to get rid of them.
I’m waiting for the day when I can afford to live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, with just the mountains and streams to keep me company. And maybe a few sheep and olive, almond, orange, lemon, and apple trees, and tomatoes, pumpkins, and so many other things.
My favorite fish is the fattiest one ever, the local baiki (not to be confused with the bhetki from the Bay of Bengal). It just oozes yummy sweet fatty goodness.
My favorite books and authors at the moment are Ann Voskamp, Max Lucado, Robert Hendersen, Brian Simmons, Lana Vawser, and John Eldredge. Just putting that out there in case anyone wants to gift me a book for Christmas. Wink wink!
I love listening to gospel and country music.
I’m left-handed. Go figure!