The Singing Chef

The Singing Chef The Singing Chef is a home cooking blog that focuses on simple, fuss free baking and vegetarian cooking from all over the world.

A food blog that has over 500 easy to cook recipes. The variety ranges from simple home made pies, cakes and muffins to traditional Indian food as well as western and oriental dishes. Whether it is a healthy lunchbox option you're looking for or a quick sinful dessert, this is a vegetarian's one stop shop.

Sunday LunchIt’s been too hot to cook and I simply want food to magically appear on our plates. Since that isn’t going t...
24/08/2026

Sunday Lunch
It’s been too hot to cook and I simply want food to magically appear on our plates. Since that isn’t going to happen, I ditched the plates and stuck to bowls.
A featuring a Gochujang Cream Cheese Ramen with plenty of vegetables. I sauteed the vegetables in the Instant Pot Singapore and added the Gochujang. After cooking it for a few minutes, I added some Soy Sauce and some Ching's Secret Red Chilli Sauce. Then some water went in and I pressure cooked this for 0 minutes just like Aishwarya Rao taught me.
I opened the Instant Pot and added a tub of Cream Cheese and mixed it until it blended into the liquid. Then I added Kang Kang Noodles Ramen and finished it with Spring Onion Greens, Sesame and Chilli Oil.
Since a Sunday lunch needed a bit more oomph, I turned a bag of 삼립 공식 인스타그램 Vegetarian Dumplings into potstickers.
I’d much rather drink something cold than eat anything, hot or otherwise. The heat has been relentless and eating seems as much a chore as cooking seems to be.
But, somehow, we cook, we eat and we carry on.

Everyday MealsWhile there’s been a deluge of Saree posts here, we have been cooking and eating. Mostly simple meals and ...
22/08/2026

Everyday Meals
While there’s been a deluge of Saree posts here, we have been cooking and eating. Mostly simple meals and a good deal of hands off cooking, but a couple of labour intensive ones involving Chapatis and Biryani too! I’m trying to make these meals high protein without changing what we eat and how! Which would you pick?
Chapatis with a side of Aloo Gobhi where the gravy was made with high protein Paneer, Milk and Almond Meal.

Bisi Bele Bhat with Vellarikkai Pachadi and Vattal/Vadam.

Jeers Matar Pulao with Dal Makhani and Salad. The Dal Makhani had high protein Paneer blended with Milk used in place of Cream.

Biryani: I took a weeknight night off to finish a book and Sachin Pasumamula made us this lovely Biryani for dinner along with Raita.

A one pot Poondu Rasam Saadam with Vazhaikkai Vadakkal and Potato Roast and some Mirsange Pappad.

Narlya Kheeri with Bhajjye Randeyi and Cannellini Beans Sundal.

Hakka style Kway Teow with Vegetables and Tofu.

Butter Bean Stew with Spinach. I added High Protein Paneer blended with Milk to this instead of Cream. We had this with toasted and buttered Pane Di Casa.

Play date I don’t know if that’s what I should call it when a bunch of teenagers get together. But for now, let’s not de...
16/08/2026

Play date
I don’t know if that’s what I should call it when a bunch of teenagers get together. But for now, let’s not debate that.
Mr. 15 had invited his friends over during the holidays a while ago (and this post has been sitting in drafts for a while now). And when I asked him if I should make Sandwiches or Pasta, he said, “Make Indian food, Amma. I want my friends to taste your cooking.”
It took me back to my own childhood when Amma would make special dishes when my friends came over during the summer holidays. Her Green Pulao. Poori Chhole. Gulab Jamuns or Kulfi. Now, I think back and wonder what I was putting her through - so much work when it was her summer too.
That a child of mine who wanted to keep his Indianness to himself would make a request like this was a win in itself. So, while I say that there’s so much more to Indian food than Naan and Makhani, I decided to make a Vegetable Paneer Makhani for his friends.
Jeera Matar Pulao and a Moong Masoor Dal Tadka went along as the perfect sidekicks. I could have also made Aloo Gobhi, but I was lazy and added the vegetables to the Makhani. And everything that I’d made for the boys was polished off.
The next time they come, I might try Masala Dosai if I’m home. What do you think?

Chunky Oat and Protein CookiesThe school holidays are here. And while I don’t need to have snacks ready for the lunchbox...
31/05/2026

Chunky Oat and Protein Cookies
The school holidays are here. And while I don’t need to have snacks ready for the lunchboxes, I thought it might be a good idea to bake and have snacks ready for my littles who will spend most of their time at home.
I wanted to experiment a little and decided to substitute a bit of the All Purpose Flour in the recipe with Protein Powder. So, the resulting Cookies are higher in Protein than they might have been otherwise, but not really what one might call high Protein Cookies.
¾ cup Sugar
¼ cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Butter, softened
½ tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
½ cup Flour
¼ Cup Protein Powder (I used Orgain)
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Cinnamon Powder
¼ tsp Salt
1 ½ cups Oats
1 cup Dried Fruits and Nuts (I used Raisins, Cranberries, Pistachios, Cashews and Almonds)
Heat the oven to 375 F/190 C.
Line a cake tin with parchment/baking paper.
Cream the Butter and Sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add the Egg and Vanilla and beat some more. Add the Flour, Baking Soda, Salt and Cinnamon and mix well.
Add the Oats and the Fruits and Nuts. Mix together until well blended.
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out small portions of the dough and place them on the sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the sheet and place on a wire rack to cool.
These were a good combination of chewy and crunchy. And this turned out to be an experiment gone right!

Breakfast Round-UpI haven’t shared a breakfast round up in a while. Here are some of our breakfast plates in May.Bread U...
31/05/2026

Breakfast Round-Up
I haven’t shared a breakfast round up in a while. Here are some of our breakfast plates in May.
Bread Upkari: We found ourselves with 3 loaves of Bread as everyone who stepped out of the house was told that we were out of Bread. What better way to one loaf up?
Semia Upma: This is usually made every week. More disliked than liked in this household, but that has never deterred our beloved Semia Upma from appearing with amazing regularity.
Pitle on Toast: Some breakfasts are worth waking up for! This is one of those for me.
Panpole: As much as I love this, I think Mr. 15 loves it a lot more than I do. This is the easiest way for me to get him out of bed!
Kallaiyile Phovu: This is one of my weekend breakfast indulgences. Ready in less than the time it takes to make a packet of Instant Noodles and serves up all kinds of nostalgia.
Gava Pittye Doddak with Spinach Pitle: Vegetables, Protein Powder and Besan make this a powerhouse!
Pesarattu with Tomato Onion Chutney: The Pesarattu batter was fortified with Protein Powder and the Chutney had Pottu Kadalai - good enough to be a main meal.
Kaya Butter Toast and Soft Boiled Eggs: My breakfast every morning when I spent the night at the hospital. While this has always been an indulgence, the familiarity of this combination grounded me and brought me much needed comfort.
What have some of your go-to breakfasts been?

Comfort FoodAmma was hospitalized earlier this month. It all started with a loss of appetite. If you remember, I’d cooke...
27/05/2026

Comfort Food
Amma was hospitalized earlier this month. It all started with a loss of appetite. If you remember, I’d cooked her a meal featuring her favourites and she’d resumed eating.
However, I was finding it a bit difficult to keep up with cooking only her favourites and the food rejection resumed.
To cut a long story short, the loss of appetite led to her not eating enough and that led to some complications. In the hospital, they offered her vegetarian options but nothing worked. I offered to bring food from home.
After sleeping nights at the hospital, I’d come home during the day to rest for a couple of hours. Before resting, I’d cook and send food to her and then wake up and make dinner and take it back.
She got better and is back home and we got to eat some (mostly) Amchi favourites, thanks to this entire situation.
I now batch cook a one pot Dali Saar Sheet in the and have been making Upkari/Talasani and Ambat/Bendi/Ghasshi on rotation.
I took Avrya Bendi with Cauliflower Talasani with Rice and Dali Saar on one day. The next, I took Cannellini Bean and Spinach Ambat with Kairas and some Ambya Sasam with Rice and Dali Saar.
On Mother’s Day, I took her Bisi Bele Bhat with Seppankizhangu Roast and Vellarikkai Pachadi. I also made her some Mac and Cheese, which she relished.
Pooshnikkai Mor Kuzhambu, Beans Paruppu Usli and Vazhaikkai Vadakkal with Saadam and Paruppu didn’t land so well although the rest of us thought it was amazing. I’ve now figured out that she mostly only wants the food from her own childhood.
Now that we’re back home, I batch make the Dali Saar Sheet and we have an assortment of Masla Randeyi and some vegetable side always handy.
The last picture is my dinner plate from last night: Dali Saar Sheet, Beetroot Upkari, Cabbage Upkari, Butter Beans Bendi, Garduddhi Alsanda (Bottle Gourd And Black Eyed Beans) Ghasshi and Batata Saung. I was too tired to do anything and was so grateful to come home to a fridge full of some of my Amchi favourites.

Everyday MealsDisclaimer: This post has been sitting in drafts since December last year.Our meals have not been very ela...
26/05/2026

Everyday Meals
Disclaimer: This post has been sitting in drafts since December last year.
Our meals have not been very elaborate in the days after Deepavali. Examinations, a trip to India, and the workload at the end of the year - all of this has been accompanied by a sense of ennui. And I find that either the spirit is willing when the flesh is tired or vice versa, but it means that I don’t do any more than I have to.
But we’ve been eating, and generally well. Here’s a round up of some of our meals.
Ghugni from with Vegetable Jeera Rice.
Rice with Palak Dali Saar and Potato Capsicum Talasani.
Leftover Palak Dali Saar turned into Palak Dali Ambat, served with airfried Alvamaddi/Seppankizhangu.
Rice with Gummadikaya Pappu, Sorakaya Peel and Pith Pachadi, Paneer Ghee Roast, Roasted Mushrooms and a mixed Vegetable dish.
Char Kway Teow.
Rice, Dali Saar, Tori Bendi, Beetroot Tambli, Tomato Saar and Vaingana Talasani.
Rice, Pattani Kuzhambu, Roast Mushrooms and Brussels Sprouts.
Rice, Karamani Kuzhambu, Cauliflower, Paneer Capsicum and Mac and Cheese.
Rice, Cauliflower and Karamani Kuzhambu (again!)
Peas Pulao, Mixed Vegetable, Palak Dal and Boondi Raita.
Rice, Kachiya Moru, Vazhaikkai Vadakkal, Vendakkai Karumadhu, Palakkoora Pappu.
Chapatis and Paneer Bhurji.
Tengai P**l Saadam, Onion Raita and Chips.
Peanut Noodles with Dumplings.
Rice, Cauliflower Phodiyo, Dali Saar, Magge Ambat and leftover Aloo Gobhi.
Hakka Noodles with Roast Mushrooms.
Tayir Saadam with Varhal Kuzhambu.
Parathas with Paneer Butter Masala, Methi “Chicken” (Soya Chaap) and Peas Pulao.
Peas Pulao, Paneer Butter Masala and Dal Tadka.
Capsicum Rice with Fryums.
Our meals range from simple to elaborate depending on what’s in the fridge. I don’t cook a lot and I sometimes don’t cook everyday. I let my leftovers carry us through.
Which of these did you like?

Saree LoveAnother beauty from . This one is from their showroom on Mount Road in Madras. Bought almost 25 years ago.I ha...
25/05/2026

Saree Love
Another beauty from . This one is from their showroom on Mount Road in Madras. Bought almost 25 years ago.
I had just bought an apartment in Bangalore, but was living in Hyderabad. I traveled every month or two to oversee the progress and after 2 years, I’d finally moved into it.
Buying this apartment was a childhood dream come true. And I did the place up very lovingly, with whatever my budget in my 20s allowed. And I said to Amma that I’d like to live in the apartment for at least one year.
Well, I did. We had a grihapravesham and I decided to drape this saree that Amma had a couple of years ago to mark the occasion of my having bought a house. I moved in on my birthday that year and moved out after my wedding on my next birthday.
It’s a rather unique shade of Blue with a somewhat broad border. The blue isn’t exactly baby nor powder blue. And for the longest time, I wore it with the most ordinary 2x2 blouse.
Last year, In Bombay, I bought some material at a store in Matunga. Most of the blouse materials that I bought were from memory. And all except 1 turned out to be a perfect match for the sarees I’d bought them for.
This silk cotton Ikkat piece is something I specifically bought to wear with this Saree. I wasn’t going for a match at all, but for something that would be more contrasting.
I draped this last evening for a drama recital of Ms. 10’s and U was certainly overdressed for the occasion. However, if I’m looking for opportunities to drape my beauties, I must grab every chance I get. A life lesson I learnt from
I decided that this particular combination was perfect as it wasn’t too flashy nor too understated.
Swipe to see me in the same Saree 15 years ago.
The fall of a KSIC Mysore Silk is out of this world. It drapes like a dream. And while I have a more than decent collection of Crepe Silks, Georgettes and Chiffons from KSIC, whenever I see one in a colour I don’t have, my eyes most certainly grow much bigger than my wallet will allow.
For now, let me focus on draping all the beauties I have!

Mother’s DayI’m so blessed to have received the prettiest bouquet of flowers from Ms. 10. And since my love language is ...
11/05/2026

Mother’s Day
I’m so blessed to have received the prettiest bouquet of flowers from Ms. 10. And since my love language is food, I cooked Amma a nice meal of Bisi Bele Bhat, Seppankizhangu Vadakkal and Vellarikkai Tayir Pachadi.
The best gifts are those that money can’t buy. And time is most definitely one of those. I’m glad to have spent time with my mother and my children (and in the past few days with my own village and the village that raised me).
❤️

Saree LoveAbout 80% of my Saree collection comprises Kanjeevarams. But I find that I haven’t shared too many Kanchipuram...
05/05/2026

Saree Love
About 80% of my Saree collection comprises Kanjeevarams. But I find that I haven’t shared too many Kanchipuram stories with you here.
The story of this one is super special.
My mother’s sister had a very similar saree that I loved. When she passed away, my Uncle gave that sari to me. But since it was very old, it had started to give way. I didn’t want to wear it out of fear of tearing it completely. So, Amma decided to buy me one that was similar. I had gone shopping to with my college gang as one of them was getting married.

I saw this saree and fell in love with it. I bought it to wear at my friend’s wedding. When I took it home, Amma said that it was too grand a saree to wear at a friend’s wedding. She said, “I somehow feel you’ll be getting married soon, so you should save this for your wedding. I think you’ll get married before Diwali this year. If you don’t, then you can drape the saree at Diwali.”
I did argue that if it was too grand for a friend’s wedding, it was possibly too grand for Deepavali! But, I nicked her Paithani for the reception instead.

proposed to me 3 months after this conversation and we got married a month before Deepavali that year. And this was my reception saree. So, it is a special “lucky” saree.
I draped this Saree for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary and have draped it for several Navaratris as well.
The loveliest shade of blue to which only a self border could do justice. Radha Silks may not have been the store where I bought the most Sarees, but it definitely is where I found some of my favourites.

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