About

Hello everyone, my name is Grishma.  Here on Zaika Zabardast (ZaikaZ) I am going to share my own recipes, my family recipes as well as the recipes I have tried and liked from other Bloggers, cooking books or TV shows (With proper credit given).

But before I start, first of all I would like to thank my Husband(V), my family and friends for loving my food and encouraging me to start a blog to share my recipes with them. This blog is for you guys!! Love ya!!

Now A little about ME:

I LOVE FOOD! Food is my passion. It is always in my mind. I can spend hours and hours of my life in kitchen. I never get bored about talking, eating and making food. Cooking or Baking are kind of stress busters for me.

 “Food should taste good and has to be healthy (at least I try to keep it that way)” that’s my Mantra and it is impossible for me to compromise on Good food.

Here is a short story of me falling in Love with Food (Some behind the scene info) 🙂 

Basically I am from Ahmedabad, India. Where I Spent 23 fun-filled years of my life with my family. I was brought up in a family who loves to cook, feed and eat as well. Every single member in my family loves good FOOD. Like my family I also love to feed people.  That’s my way of showing my love to people I love and care about.

In the beginning years of my life (May be I was 12/13) rather than spending my evening time with my friends I used to help my mom getting things ready for the dinner (Chopping vegetables, washing dishes, cleaning, making tea, serving people etc…). Slowly I started making basic dishes like Roti, Rice, Daal, shaak(sabji)… etc.

I am the perfect example of “Monkey see, Monkey do”. I always learn by watching others. I never took any cooking lessons. Not even my parents had to force me to learn cooking since I had so much interest in Food. And hey, you know what, when I was in college it was MUST for me to cook dinner almost every day. My mother was pregnant with my brother and this way I was able to help my parents and had opportunity to try out new things on my own.

My mom is my Inspiration.  Her food is always full of love and comfort.

That’s why we all love “Ghar ka khana (Home-cooked meal)”. Don’t we? And do I still need to mention that she is an AMAZING cook? So is my Dad who has a very unique taste for flavors. He always seeks perfection in whatever he makes (Although he will invest double the time but let me tell you one thing that the end results are all worth). He makes awesome Samosas, Upma ahhh and Paneer Bhurji..yummmm yummm 🙂

So I guess I got the perfect balance of both!!

Life moved on so I did. After finishing my under graduation in India I Came to Pocatello – IDAHO, USA (have to mention USA since many people in USA have no clue where IDAHO is) in August 2005 for further studies. Pocatello is simply the HEAVEN on the earth. Beautiful – Love it!!  May be I love it more since I found the Love of my life there (V). 🙂

Pocatello is a very small University town. The only missing thing for me was an International (Indian) grocery store and a desi (Indian) restaurant. So, you can imagine how tough it is to survive for a foodie like me for 5 years. But I managed, ordered groceries online and what not!!

Like other foodies I also crave for tasty food. But for me I crave it at weird times (nahhh I am not pregnant). Oh that reminds me of me making a Paneer Butter Masala when I was preparing for my finals in Pocatello… and guess what time did I make it? 3 AM…yes, at 3 AM!! See that’s the perfect example of me not compromising on good food. And BTW I got A- in my final 🙂 So it was worth an effort.

So getting back to the point that Pocatello was the main reason for me to try new recipes, new techniques, explore unfamiliar ingredients etc…And I am kind of person who loves to make anything I have ever tasted and loved.

Again life moved on, I got done with my studies and moved to California for further studies.

In Feburary 2010, I got married to Vikas (V) and again moved to Nashville, TN.

That's US

V is the biggest fan of whatever I cook and also proudly says that “I am the best cook in his family”!! Tadaaaa… Who wouldn’t love to hear that from her husband?? That’s worth all the effort! Isn’t it?

He holds a very important position of “The tester” in ZaikaZ. And his opinions are very Honest (VERY). Say for example, If I am trying something new and it didn’t come out well, he will still eat it but after dinner he will say that “G, please do not make it again” But that happens rarely!! How sweet is that!!  How supportive and honest!

He loves simple food. By the way he makes awesome Veggie sandwich which is the BEST!! He is a Research Scientist so he does not get lot of time to spend with me in kitchen but when he gets, he helps me.

"Our Life"

This is how we enjoy our life!

Since I got married, I am a homemaker and it gave me a chance to develop my skills in Food and Foodography (Food+Photography).

Professionally I am a Freelance Graphic/Web Designer. And I heart advertising (that’s my other passion besides Food).

So I think that is more than enough for my introduction now a bit about my BLOG.

What’s up with the name ZaikaZ?

Remember my Mantra? “Food should taste good”!! So the name has to be related…right? ZaikaZabardast…where “Zaika” means “Taste” and “Zabardast” means “Awesome”. Perfect it is…Isn’t it?

I will also call it sometimes ZaikaZ just to make it easier. (And yes, that logo is also my creation) 🙂

What can you expect from ZaikaZ:

I am strictly a LACTO-VEGETARIAN and so is V: That means no meat, no fish and not even eggs. It’s all by choice; we believe that”You are what you eat”!

But that does not mean you will not expect to see delicious and healthy recipes. V has a sweet tooth so I do make dessert often and they are way healthier than deserts that contain Eggs and are full of fat. I will sometimes try vegan recipes too. But no worries as I said earlier I will not compromise on taste!! ;).

I make everything from scratch. It definitely takes time but it’s healthy plus I strongly believe that fresh ingredients make all the difference in the world. So give it a try you will feel the difference.

I will only post recipes which I have tried and liked. All the recipes posted on this blog are either my original recipes or my family’s. I will also post recipes which I tried from my fellow bloggers, cookbooks or TV shows (with proper credit given).

Sorry Meat lovers if I disappoint you. But I strongly encourage you to try out Meat-free recipes. You will love the change.

In the end all I have to say is that, Do not just make Food for the sake of it!! Spend some of your valuable time on it. Enjoy your cooking! Let your positive energy and love flow in to it!! You will enjoy the end result and stay healthy too!! Believe me it’s totally worth.

Can You use my recipes or photographs?

I am the Author and Photographer of this Blog (If I use someone else’s work I will give proper credit).
And Yes you can use my recipes and my photographs. But only under certain conditions. The blog is licensed under Creative Commons. That means you have to give me due credit for it. If you chose to blog about  the recipes or photos, you must link to the original post on this blog. Thank you in advance for respecting my values.

Anyways, It was nice to meet you! Please feel free to leave a note or contact me on zaikazabardast(at)gmail.com. I hope my creation will encourage you to cook for yourself and your family. I also look forward to all your comments/suggestions on the ZaikaZ. That will help me provide you what you are looking for in this blog. And your comments/suggestions will make this blog even more enjoyable for both of us. Stay Tuned!!

Thanks n love,