An Indian Food Blog

Maple Masala Paal
The trees towered above them. The canopy stood high above and dwarfed Poet and Flower. Flower was carefully carrying a a very full bucket of sap when plop, she tripped over her feet and fell into a sweet, sticky mountain of maple sap.

The latest recipes.

4/5/21 4/5/21

How to Change a Lightbulb - Dill Pickle Egg Salad

The house was suddenly cold. It was very cold. It was one of those snowy winter days where the heat is on constantly. You can hear the hum of the system as it pumps out hot air, keeping us all warm and toasty.

3/22/21 3/22/21

Learning about Expectations - Masala Dosa

It had been some time since we had been out for dinner. Perhaps my expectations were too high. This dinner was before these times of social distancing, and before our favorite restaurants disappeared.

3/15/21 3/15/21

Jumping into the Deep End - Sabudana Kheer

I jumped into the deep end with careless abandon. I was maybe 5 or 6 years old and had taken a few swim lessons. As a master of the pool, I thought I could fearlessly swim on my own. But within a few seconds, I began to sink despite paddling furiously.

3/8/21 3/8/21

The Great American Road Trip - Tomato Rice

As the road stretched out ahead of us, I pulled my sunshade down and listened to my Walkman. When I was a kid, my parents loved the great American road trip. We would be woken up at 4 am and then gently shepherded to the car.

3/1/21 3/1/21

Things Do Not a Life Make - Idlis

Yesterday the postman delivered a package with two glasses and a seashell. My dad had carefully packed the box, and the delicate glasses had not broken. Every few weeks or so, he sends me small packages with things that used to be my Mother's.

2/22/21 2/22/21

Learning to Love the Outdoors - Seviyan Kheer

good cup of masala chai. I would check the temperature outside and think about how many months there were until spring. This year the pandemic has turned everything upside down.

2/15/21 2/15/21

Growing Up With Art - Uppit with Vegetables

Art surrounds us. G is an artist (and professor, and dad, and lots of other things). Sometimes I wonder how G and I managed to meet. My world has almost always been medicine, and we moved in different spheres with virtually no overlap.

2/7/21 2/7/21

Only One Way Forward? - Pink Masoor Dal

I am a physician. It is almost a cliché. Medicine was the only profession I could choose. My parents were Indian immigrants, this was part of their American dream - for their children to become doctors.

1/31/21 1/31/21

Getting a Little Lost - Bombay Pav Bhaji

I wish I could wander. Wandering is a lost art, at least to me. I envy those people who love to wander. Something is freeing about making a wrong turn and suddenly finding yourself someplace unfamiliar.

1/24/21 1/24/21

Less is More? - Ricotta Ras Malai

It is the simple things, a recurring theme over the last year. When G and I first met, I loved fussy food. I mean food that required 20 different ingredients (perhaps a little bit of an exaggeration).

1/3/21 1/3/21

Everything Happens for a Reason - Spicy Cheddar Scallion Biscuits

Does everything happen for a reason? I don't know. But, my mother believed very strongly in this idea. She would use this phrase often when we were disappointed as kids. My mother wasn't particularly religious but thought this was some divine sign or message.

12/28/20 12/28/20

Waking up to Breakfast - Khichdi

We are all waiting. We are waiting to spend time with family and friends, waiting to celebrate birthdays and weddings, waiting to do the many things that are important to us. One of the things i'm waiting to do is travel.

Hi! I’m Sameena

Welcome! I'm Sameena. I'm a physician by day, mom on call round-the-clock and avid cook. Poet and Flower is an Indian food blog celebrating my passion for food and family. I learned to cook in my mother's kitchen. My kids, Poet and Flower, are both the inspiration for the blog and the main distraction which keeps me from it.