Welcome, Y’all
Howdy! Hey! Namaste! Greetings! Any way, you phrase it, I’m wishing y’all a warm welcome. I’m a cajun-raised Indian-American with over 2 decades of experience in Konkani-American-Cajun fusion eating, and this is my website.
In an attempt to document all of my mom’s (Aayi’s 1) creative and experimental cooking over the years, I’ve decided to brain dump and throw it out into the universe.
Disclaimer: Aayi1 is always the mastermind in the kitchen.
1 Aayi – pronunciation: “Ah- Yee”, definition: mother, language: Konkani
“Never question how many tablespoons, teaspoons, and cups. Shake the spice until you know.“
A little about me? … shucks, thanks for asking!
I grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana. A city filled to the brim with kind people, one “skyscraper”, and a giant 210 bridge that would give any new driver heart palpitations.
This town, most recently, popped into the news after Hurricane Laura took a devastating spin around the old block. You know it’s bad when an entire casino gets stuck under a bridge. The resilient city is healing and will be back better than ever, I’m sure of it!
Above photos of Lake Charles I-10 Bridge is from website: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/weather_traffic/article_af35c8f6-e86d-11ea-9cb8-77e371113d2f.html
Above photos of Capital One building is from website: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/ihqtp0/capital_one_building_in_lake_charles_la_before/
Destruction has a way of inspiring creativity. A local jewelry business collected shattered glass from the iconic Capital One building outlining Lake Charles’s skyline. The turquoise glass was shaped into earrings, each a unique cut. Pairs were sold out within hours. For all of my sentimental needs, I have my chunk of Lake Chuck thanks to Remy & Co.
As a daughter of two Indian immigrants, my childhood in the deep south was far from “conventional”. Every American holiday and tradition was modified for our Konkani household. Konkani people