About
Hello and welcome to
Stream of Flavors!
Hi, I’m Kanchan Dilip, and I am the author, cook, recipe creator, and photographer behind Stream of Flavors.
Inception of my culinary journey:
While I have hosted cooking shows in India, my own journey of a thousand steps began with learning the basics of cooking from my mom. My mom taught me the basics of cooking: using a balance of spices and techniques to create delicious dishes.
My culinary journey was enriched as I took baking classes when I was eleven years old. Intrigued by these lessons, I took further summer classes every year in making salads, desserts, multi-cuisine cooking, etc. The recipes that I present on my blog are those that I have prepared as part of my daily menu and are therefore, tried and tested by me for the last thirty years of my life. I make a variety of special meals every day through proper planning of groceries and other ingredients, which have subsequently resulted in pampering my family to healthy, gourmet food as a way of life without having to splurge for it.
While there is no ‘one’ Indian cuisine, India’s signature has always been the use of spices to showcase the various combinations of heat, acidity, and sweetness, while maintaining a lively flavor profile and texture. But as an Indian who joined the diaspora living in Singapore, the UK, and the US, I was fortunate enough to be able to immerse and therefore, increase my own repertoire of dishes with completely different flavor profiles, and more importantly their meaning.
I have been a home cook for three decades. My own cooking emphasizes freshness, not only of ingredients but also of flavor. Given that my husband is Singaporean, and my kids are Indian-American, our home cuisine is eclectic, reflective of our heritages and our travels. I have been a curious person who would not settle for the same recipe every day, that would have otherwise made life monotonous. There are times when we just want to have our usual comfort food that is authentic, passed down the generations. But making a variety every time makes me feel alive. We are a family of epicures who are fond of exotic gourmet food made at home and in quantities that allows for seconds.
Cooking has been an adventurous journey for me where I have explored various cuisines to bring more variety into our lives. Whether it is Char Kuey Teow, Chicken Carbonara, or the myriad of ‘curry’, no two dishes are the same. I am happy to share the recipes I have either acquired, created, or tinkered with in over three decades of experimentation. Whether it is South, South-East, or East Asian, American, Mexican, British, Continental, Middle Eastern, or North African, my repertoire focuses on bringing a variety of meats, seafood, vegetables, desserts, and baked goods to the table.
My Inspiration and Approach
Food binds families. While affection, conversation, and humor leaven the dinner table, sumptuous food that is prepared with love provides the “zing”. Having raised two kids with a busy lifestyle, I find that the rewards of making hearty meals are worth my efforts. Not only does making some of these dishes give me a sense of accomplishment, but my family’s craving for my cooking is also one of the ways that I bond with them.
My culinary approach to healthy meals adheres to these components:
- Minimize the use of fatty oils and heavy cream
- Create flavors using only natural ingredients
- Use fresh colorful ingredients
- Use of freshly ground spices, sauces, or pastes
An easy alternative to creating flavor is to use a lot of oil. My recipes stress a reduction in oil and emphasize using nature’s bounty to accentuate flavors. Generally, my dishes stress the importance of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, spices, and meats. Freshness of ingredients is one of the most important elements between food and a scrumptious meal. I believe that a healthy diet will have a balance of all tiers of the food pyramid.
I am including a category called “Quick and Easy” that will highlight quick, healthy, and wholesome meal recipes that I have taught my son who is in college in London to cook whenever he has the time, and my daughter, a college freshman in Vancouver, to make delectable food for pure enjoyment.
The purpose of Stream of Flavors
My passion has been in the exploration of flavors from various cultures to create something unique. That is why I call my blog, Stream of Flavors.
I have drawn inspirations from other cuisines and made versions of those that best suited my family’s preferences. I want to inspire others to try home cooked specialties more often without reserving them only for special occasions or when eating out. Why settle for ordinary when extraordinary is within your reach?
Use these recipes as guides. They are a place to start. You may find that your flavors are different from mine. Celebrate the diversity because a stream of flavors is your own journey based on your experiences and preferences. I have embraced the subtle nuances of other cultures through their cuisines by keeping an open mind to absorb and adapt the recipes. In this blog, I would genuinely like to present an array of multi-cuisines where I will aim to simplify the method for an enhanced stream of flavors to help you try these dishes and make them your favorites too. Besides my original recipes and the acquired ones that I have modified for my family’s preferences, I also wish to present our favorite dishes that I have re-created from various restaurants. Reverse engineering various dishes from our travels and restaurant hopping has helped me build a good repertoire. My vision is to make good, healthy, and flavorful cooking accessible to everyone who wishes to try. On a similar note, this blog is intended to make cooking a positive experience by making deliciously healthy food because “you are what you eat”. I enjoy cooking and baking; they are a means of unwinding and reflecting and living, while life throws its ups and downs at us.
At the other end of the spectrum, I respect the fact that not everyone who wants to try new dishes has the time to do so. Therefore, I have included a section on how to make quick meals that will be targeted towards students like my son in college and other singles and new home cooks.
Behind the Scenes:
I am the writer, cook, recipe creator, and photographer behind Stream of Flavors. Both my husband and my kids are the food critics. Being epicures, they love giving me an honest feedback and sometimes even new twists to all-time favorites.
Whether I am replicating a favorite dish using my imagination to decipher the recipe, creating original food ideas, or tweaking acquired recipes that give us joy, join me on my culinary journey as I continue to explore and learn many more dishes. I have pampered my family with vibrant food that is always evolving. I am on a curiosity and creativity spree when it comes to cooking. Variety is the spice of life, so let us embrace life, cook, share, and enjoy!
My background and hobbies:
I have a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Madras, a diploma in Interior Designing from Exterior Interior/Jenson and Nicholson and was a doctoral candidate in Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Besides being an involved and doting mom, I am an avid gardener. I cultivate my own herbs, some vegetables that are interspersed with fruit trees, and other colorful perennials for cross-pollination. As I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Mediterranean climate and soil profile help. I buy organic produce from the local Farmer’s Markets, where I take advantage of the seasonality of the local harvest to make a variety of dishes. Besides reading, traveling, volunteering for educational non-profits, and listening to music, I also enjoy dabbling with homemade all-natural beauty products with my daughter including serums, scrubs, moisturizers, and facial masks.
This food blog is about my personal culinary experiences making various cuisines. These recipes are my suggestions of how I made these dishes. Recipes are either acquired and tweaked, passed down by family, inspired by other cuisines, fused together to make novel dishes, or original recipes created by me. I am not intending to give out any advice on diet or nutrition. This blog reflects my culinary journey where I have enjoyed cooking and experimenting with a lot of love and care. I am merely sharing my interpretations on how to make these recipes all in one place. I am hoping to inspire my readers to make a variety of multi-cuisine dishes. The joy of spending quality time with your family over delicious food is priceless, and I am hoping that you will also have such blissful moments with your loved ones.
I would love to hear back from you. Please drop your comments and feedback and subscribe for weekly updates!
It’s all about the flavors, stay healthy, and be happy!
