Spoonful with Rashmi

A slow long weekend looked like this for me:

Strolling through the parks of Collingwood.
Spotting trillium flowers like little wins.
Racing each other to the end point of a hike.
Impromptu dinner with friends, and their cutest video bombing babies 😀
Oh and the Pistachio gelato at Nani’s. 👌

These are tiny moments of pause that are quietly fueling me through the May madness lately ✨

Someone asked me if it’s worth the effort.

48+ hours of cooking.
Days of conception and prep.
Moments of self-doubt in between.

Yes. Every single time.

Because this isn’t just food.
It’s Identity. Memory. Home.

Bihari food deserves more: to be seen, understood, and experienced beyond stereotypes.

And Laalima is my way of doing it.
One dinner at a time.

Some Thursdays are just… bitchy.

The kind where one small moment,
decides to live rent-free in your head for days.

And I’m still that person—
who feels it all, overthinks it all,
and then gives more than I probably should.

So instead of trying to “fix” the day,
I made pesto ramen— cilantro stems, spinach, garlic, jalapeño, walnuts… and instinct alongside two packs of Ramen.

No recipe. No plan. Just vibes.

And somehow… that was enough.

Because food doesn’t ask me to be less.
It just meets me exactly where I am.

homecooking torontofoodie womenwhocook reelitfeelit

It's Rasam Weather out here, and this is exactly how I have the tangy spicy broth 🥰

In a tumbler with rice, Milagai Podi, and a dollop of Ghee ❤️

It's a pretty rustic image, but I truly wanted to strip the presentation down to the basics, and capture the food in it's authentic form, with no gimmicks involved.

This simple yet flavorsome broth represents my summer holidays as a little kid at my Nani's home.

As she was based in Yercaud, our meals mostly revolved around South Indian delicacies, and rasam was a constant across all lunches. Towards the end of the meal, she would put 2 spoons of rice on my plate, and pour some rasam on to it. She would then mix them together with little Milagai Podi and make a cute rice ball in her palm. In a playful manner, she would then feed me that flavourful rice ball and off I'd go running to wash my hands and play outside. It became the highlight of my meals eventually 😊

Sometimes I find myself feeling like a little girl wishing for her Nani to feed her rasam rice. ❤️

Kesar Gulab Sheera ❤️

Sometimes you just need a little bit of sweetness to make your day! 😊
Infused with subtle notes of rose and saffron, this Sheera is my go to comfort food for when I wish for something light, fluffy, and mildly sweet.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Chilli Potato Chips 😋😋

Say hello to my Guilty Pleasure!

Everytime someone opens a bag of potato chips, the Lays Anthem starts playing in my head, and I instantly find myself grabbing one chip after the other till there's none left on the plate.

Overtime, I've been able to resist the temptation by ensuring that there are no potato chips present in my house ever! But once in a blue moon I do allow myself to savor the taste of some homemade Potato Chips seasoned with chilli, salt and turmeric. Exactly how mom used to make when we were growing up 😊

I remember she would slice the potatoes into wafer thin pieces and dab them dry!

Once the oil in the wok is super hot, she'd throw the slices in and voila, out came crispy Potato chips waiting to be seasoned and devoured instantly.

She would also sundry some potato slices and save them for later!