Welcome to VeeVaasari. My name is Veena Joshi Kamath, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Vaasari means kitchen in my native language Konkani, Welcome to Veena’s kitchen!!

 

Cooking has always been my passion. I love cooking, experimenting and making different preparations for friends and family. My mom was a fabulous cook and my role model. Her cooking prowess was well known and appreciated by our family, relatives and friends.  My Dad was her biggest fan. The biggest compliment for my cooking came from my uncle, when he told me that my food flavors reminded him of my mom’s cooking. 

 

As a teen, growing up in Mumbai, I would occasionally make a cake, or a dish not cooked regularly at our house like Pav Bhaji.  Every time I cooked something, no matter how simple, my Dad would praise it.  His and my family’s encouragement nourished my passion making me want to cook more. 

 

I started cooking regularly only after I got married and moved to the U.S. I had many recipes and books from the cooking classes I had attended but nothing on daily cooking.  I remember sitting in the car on the way to the airport for my first trip to the US, asking my mom and jotting down a few everyday Konkani recipes. I still cherish the letters that my mom wrote to me with recipes that I had requested. 

 

US exposed me to other cuisines that I had never eaten before, and I started experimenting with new recipes to suit our palates. I like to work on making traditional recipes easier to cook using the microwave and Instant-pot (IP), also coming up with gluten free recipes for those who are allergic like me. Of the many hobbies I have, travel tops the list because I get to experience world cuisine.The world of cooking is like a vast ocean, the more you explore, there is still more to explore.

 

I have been wanting to do a blog forever. I initially started jotting recipes for my daughters and son in law, starting with their favorites and it slowly expanded from there. This is a work-in-progress. It is a way to connect my mother to my daughters, who they unfortunately never had the opportunity of knowing. I love the stories behind the recipes, they help in preserving the memories, and passing on the family heritage and culture.  My profound thanks to my husband and my nephew Sunil and his wife Manjula for all their help.

 

To my friends and family, and those interested, I am very happy to share these tried and tested recipes from VeeVaasari.  Please send me your feedback and comments and let me know what worked well and what didn’t work.  Your communication and encouragement will fuel my passion to keep on cooking and blogging.