Secret Spices by Kannan

10/02/2026

Another breakfast series : My comfort food, Venn Pongal 🤤

Here is how to make:

🛒 Ingredients
• Rice: 1 cup (Raw rice or Sona Masuri)
• Moong Dal: 1 cup (Yellow split lentils)
• Water: 5 cups (for that perfect mushy consistency)
• Ghee: 4 tbsp (Don't skimp here!)
• The Tempering: 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tbs crushed black pepper, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1tsp of hing (asafoetida), 10–12 cashew nuts, and a sprig of curry leaves.

👩‍🍳 Method
1. In a pressure cooker, lightly roast the moong dal on low heat for 2 minutes.
2. Add the washed rice, water, and a bit of salt. Pressure cook for 4–5 whistles until the rice and dal are very soft. (If using a pot, cook on medium flame for 35-40 mins)
3. Once the pressure releases, open the lid and give it a good mash while it’s still hot.
4. For Tempering: Heat ghee in a small pan. Add cumin, crushed pepper (it will pop, be careful!) cashews, ginger, hing, and curry leaves. Let the cashews turn golden brown.
5. Pour this aromatic ghee tempering over the mashed rice-dal mix. Fold it in gently.

For the best taste: add few more tbs of ghee 😬 Some of you can find it a bit heavy, but trust me, it will melt like butter instead! 😉

Serve it with Sambar or coconut chutney or anything else you prefer. My wife loves it with pickles!

Mouth watering? Craving for Pongal now?
Don’t worry, call or WhatsApp your cravings at 0735619746 or check out our website at secretspices.se

25/01/2026

Here is our all time favourite breakfast/dinner South Indian star- our fluffy Idlis!

Idli is not just a food, it represents a tradition, symbolises simplicity and has been ranked the most healthiest breakfast in the world!

Let’s see how to make these naturally fermented fluffy rice cakes- The IDLIS

To make the batter -
—- for 4 cups of rice (preferably idli rice, available on Asian shops or rice with high carbs and less sugar) , use one cup of Urad dal (whole,skinless), and 1tsp of fenugreek seeds.
——- soak the rice for 6 hours along with the fenugreek seeds
—— soak the Urad dal for an hour max separately.
—- grind urad dal to a fluffy texture with 1 cup water and rice to a slightly coarse paste by adding minimum water as required.
—— mix them together.
—— let it ferment for 8-12 hours naturally.
Tips:
- do not add salt until fermented. This helps in better fermentation.
- During winter, I put my batter in the oven with lights on and do not turn the oven on. The head from the lights in the oven helps with the fermentation.
- clean your hands thoroughly and mix with hands rather than a spatula. Fastens the fermentation as well.

Now just take the batter, add it to the oil greesed idli moulds, and steam it for 10 mins at medium flame until they rise and dome.

Serve it with you favourite chutneys or sambar or any other curry.

Here is a glimpse of our idli week.

To order idli batter or idli and sides, call or WhatsApp at 0735619746

You are welcome to order from our website as well @ secretspices.se

02/01/2026

Stepping into 2026 a little differently this time! 🎊

Lesson learnt in 2025 or should I say until 2025- A happy wife is a happy life 😉
Haha, so unlike our usual Indian feast, we slurped up some Japchae - Korean sweet potato glass noodles stir-fried with veggies - while watching the Culinary Star Wars🍴, and clincked our glasses of wine 🍷 to new flavours, new memories and the same old love for good food. 🥘

At the same time I’m very grateful to have ended my 2025 cooking for you all.

All those overwhelming orders for New Year’s Eve, I rather cook for you all than do something else, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So here’s to exploring more recipes, learning from the food cultures around the world, bringing back the inspiration to my kitchen and delivering it to your doorstep, wishing you all a very Happy New Year 🥳

Thank you again being part of building Secret Spices.

Spreading love and wishing good health,

Kannan ❤️

25/12/2025

A Very Merry Christmas from us 🥳❤️

I have shared a couple of recipes here. One secret to my recipe of life is family, friends and little bit of chaos everywhere.

This year was incredibly special because little bakers had taken over my kitchen.
The dough was rolled uneven, flattened uneven, cut uneven and baked uneven. But the joy in making, just Perfect!

While we enjoyed our slow-cooked, herb-infused chicken Christmas roast, perfectly coupled with fine glass wine, Santa had dropped some love in our balcony! 😂

Of course the little monster 🐶 found the Santa 😉

To making more memories each year and wishing you the same,

Once again,

Merry Christmas 🎄

05/10/2025

Hello friends,

To my surprise the registrations are filling in very quickly. We have very few spots left. We unfortunately can accommodate only 150 people. So if you have already made up your mind, don’t wait and register today!

Here is the link:

Event Timing: 19- OCT- 2025, 14.30-18.30 Event Address: Vaksala skolan matsål, Uppsala Contact us at +46735619746/ +46735619507 or [email protected] Please register all members except children below 1 year. Points to remember : No pets are allowed inside the venue. Usuage of nuts or nu...