Hi there!
Edible Garden is maintained, authored, and obsessed over by me, Nags. I am a full time working mom and this little website has been a passion project of mine from 2006. I am a bit of a Jill of all trades and like to try my hand at a lot of things although most of them fizzle out at some point. Food blogging, however, has been a constant in my life and I am so glad to have this little corner of the Internet to call my own.
I currently live in Singapore but was born and brought up in Kottayam, Kerala. My family has lived in Kerala for a couple of generations now but we are Telugu by origin and our food is a fantastic mix of Kerala food + South Tamil Nadu style cooking + Andhra cuisine and let me tell you, it’s unique and delicious! I document a lot of our family-stye recipes here under “Reddiar Recipes“.
I know most blogs talk about how they started off blogging so I feel obliged to share my story too. Actually, there’s no story. One fine day I came across a food blog. I thought it was pretty cool. A month or so later, I had my own although I was barely cooking back then. This was in 2006 when I had just moved to Hyderabad from Kottayam for my first job. I was living in a shared apartment with two other girls and among the three of us, I picked up most of the cooking due to my growing interest in it.
At that time, I got more interested in food photography, food styling, recipe development, restaurant reviews, blogging and a whole bunch of things which I never knew existed a few years back. It has changed my life, definitely for the better. I have made so many friends through the world of food blogging too!
The Recipes
The best way for you to get started is by searching for a recipe. You can also just search for an ingredient name in the search bar, whatever you’d like to cook or bake with at the moment. The category links on the sidebar work great too so feel free to use that to dive into a particular group of recipes you may be interested in.
All recipes are tried and tested in my kitchen unless otherwise mentioned.
Oh and also, use all recipes as a guideline. Food is a very personal thing and my tastes are almost definitely going to be different from yours. Use your discretion when you add, subtract, and substitute ingredients. If you are absolutely new to cooking and what you make looks nothing like the pictures I have posted, remember that cooking takes practice and patience.
Comments
My site is open to comments, which means you can check out what I have written and leave your thoughts and opinions. We are all entitled to have our own opinions and while I welcome yours, I do request that you share yours in a respectful manner. I know respectful is a very subjective word but if you are rude, crude, mean, or just not adding any value with your comment other than to spite someone (or me), then the comment may get deleted. If ever a dispute arises, we are going to assume I am ultimately right. Ok? Ok.
Advertising and Revenue
You may see ads on the website from time to time. I spend a considerable amount of time buying ingredients, cooking, photographing, researching, obsessing, and writing out the content of this site and that’s my excuse for monetising it. Since moving to WordPress in late 2015, I also incur significant costs in server space, site maintenance, etc. If at any time you feel the ads are offensive or annoying, please let me know.
Some posts may also contain affiliate links. This means if you follow a link from this site and sign up or purchase the item or service I have linked to, I get a small commission from it. This comes at no extra cost to you, it’s just a small token you are passing to me for recommending amazing things. Ah yes, I was going to mention that – I only recommend things I use and love and feel confident you would too.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What can I substitute ingredient A with?
This is tough for me to admit, what with me being perceived as a cooking guru and all. But I will say it anyway. In most cases, I have no clue. If you want to learn how to substitute eggs in a recipe, I would recommend a Google search. In fact, for most questions on substituting ingredients, I would recommend a Google search. Sometimes, a comment on the post itself may help or someone else may have asked the question and I or someone else may have replied. But, I would request you do your own research on this. I may have a suggestion but it’s likely that I haven’t tried it and so can’t vouch for it.
Q: How do I pre-heat my oven Model #XYZ
Again, no idea! As you can imagine, it’s impossible for me to know every make and model of ovens there is. Ironically, my post on how to pre-heat an oven made a lot of people ask me this question for their specific models. Sadly, I can’t help on a 1:1 basis. If my post doesn’t help, please check the instruction manual that came with your oven or with the retailer who sold it to you.
Q: I tried recipe A but it turned out different than your picture. What went wrong?
This is getting to be a long list of “I have no clue” answers but that’s really the truth. It’s tough for me to know under what conditions you tried my recipe. If you were cooking something, maybe the type of ingredient you used was different. Something as basic as a potato comes in so many different varieties! If you were baking, even tougher. You could have used your oven wrong, overbeat or underbeat the batter, used different-sized eggs, etc. Like I mentioned above, use your discretion and hopefully things get better with practice.
Q: Can I post a recipe of yours in my blog which I adapted from you?
Of course! All I ask is that you link back to my post and credit the original recipe to me by linking to my site. Also, it would be great if you could let me know so I can check it out too.
Q: I have a question regarding one of your recipes that wasn’t answered above. What’s the best way to reach you?
Leave a comment on the recipe and I will try to come back to you as soon as possible!
Q: Where can I get ingredient A where I live?
The best place to ask this question would be the Edible Garden Facebook Page because we have members from all over the world who could help answer you. Come on over and speak up, don’t be shy.
That’s it for now! I hope you like what you see and will stick around a bit more. Browse around, have fun.
Hi Nags,
I am just in "love" (emphasis) with your blog. I used to be a horrible cook and now for the last 5-6yrs thanks to a foodie boyfriend turned husband I do cook and like it too. I have been taking pictures of the food I cook for a few years now and after reading your blog for a couple of yrs now, I decided to start my own blog. Its more like a notebook wich I could refer to remember some of those recipes which maybe I havent cooked in sometime. Its a very basic blog and I am too shy to send you the blog link. Its very rudimentary, to say the least. But I hope to be in touch with you, as you have my source of motivation to start this blog. Hope to share more of this food love with each other.
Also, if you ever visit the Gurgaon office, let me know. I am a fellow Googler and work from the Gurgaon office. 🙂 Take care. 🙂
I saw your site, it's coming along so so well, you should not be shy to share it at all. Your comment is very timely, I will be in Gurgaon next week for ad:tech. Will be in office on Tuesday so email me and we can catch up 🙂
Thoughtfully and honestly written with good attention to the irritants that you probably often confront. This post reminds me of an amazing guitar artist who has a write up on his YouTube, with answers to all questions that probably haunted him forever including the inside story on why his guitar has an Adidas sticker. His page on YT is called Pete's Music Oasis. All the best!
more than irritating, it's just common sense I guess 🙂 Thank you for leaving a note for me 🙂
Hi Nags,
I love the way you write…About you section is very elaborate and clear…Loved to hear about you…I almost end up here in your page atleast once every day…Today morning too made Upma from your recipe…Yesterday it was Rava idli….The first time I need a recipe I check your blog before I google cause it is easier and simpler in your space and yes most important -Most of your recipes call for ingredients that are on my kitchen shelf…That gives me an advantge of not waiting till the next shopping session to satisfy my craving..Love everything about this space…Keep going girl…Though I dont post often I do read each and every post of yours and give you loud shout outs when someone asks me for a cookery blog…Few of my friends ended up here as ardent fans of you…Do bring in more & more simple and easy recipes for lazy heads like me….
Reading this page felt like I just met you over coffee! Nice work Nags!
danke 😀
Hi
I am a regular 'silent reader' of your blog and have tried some of your recipes too. Some, I have posted in my blog (due credit given to u) and some were just enjoyed with family.
I saw this 'About' page just now and wanted to let you know that it is awesome. Really liked the way it is composed : your cooking journey, the 10 kilos that you gained (15 is my number!)and the honest upfront answer of 'I have no idea' instead of bluffing through, are all very well written.
Keep up the good work and keep the recipes coming!
Rajani
Hi Nags,
I wanted 2 type this out for a long time. Probably now is the time. I stumbled on ur blog while looking for kootu receipe. I have been hooked since then. I have bookmarked and tried a lot of receipes.
I am not all that of a good cook and I find it annoying. When I quit my job a year back to take up freelancing, I turned to cooking, purely to beat boredom. Dats whn I found ur blog.
Thanks to you, I am turning into a good cook now. I am showered with compliments for most of your receipes. Your 'no bake brownies' is a big hit among my friends. Keep up your good work and continue showering us with ur wonderful receipes.
One day, if I happen to have a food blog of my own, you would be my sole inspiration. My hometown is Coonoor. I dont think you would have noticed an orange coloured house, visible from the backyard of The Taj.
Dat is mine. Drop in the next time you visit Coonoor.
I love your writing style too. I will keep visiting here… Good luck Nags 🙂
Monisha
Huge thanks for your nice words and comment, Monisha. Very glad you took up cooking and actually enjoy it 🙂
hi I am also Nagalakshmi from Coimbatore. Your blog is very nice! Keep it up!
Hey Nags, just saw your blog! OMG! your recipes and pictures are soooo goood! LOVE it!
~Payal Pisal
Hey Nagalakshmi.. This is an amazing blog.. Just loved it..!! Thanks a lot for those awesome recipes.. I am a guy who is studying ma masters in the UK.. So I have to cook on my own. And since it is like the first time in my life that I am cooking. I chose to make a rather simple recipe –> Paneer butter masala (restaurant style with that "secret ingredient" cream in it). I totally loved it. Thanks a lot once again.. 🙂
And hey I got a question.. Is there any possible way in which I can access these recipes on my iPhone? Is there an apple iPhone app or something for accessing this blog via my iPhone? If there is any other easier way (other than to go to your site eveytime) it would be amazing. And I am sure that way, the popularity of your sit will improve and it will reach out to a much larger number of people. Which these awesome recipes totally deserve.
Thanks a lot once again. 🙂
There's no app for my recipes but you can access the mobile enhanced website my going to the URL on your mobile browser (www.cookingandme.com)
hey Nagalakshmi.. Amazing site.. Just loved it..!! Thanks a lot for the awesome paneer butter masala (restaurant style with that "secret ingr." cream added) recipe. I got a question.. Is there any possibility that I can access these recipes of yours in my iPhone? Maybe probably via an iPhone app or something? Thanks a lot..!!